"You really picked the wrong time to come."

Ethan poured a glass of wine for Carlos sitting opposite him and said.

"Is there anything you need my help with?"

Carlos took a sip from the glass.

Indeed, it was Carlos who came.

The first officer of the Sea God.

The first person Ethan met after coming to this world.

Also his important business partner.

In fact, this wasn't the first time Carlos had passed through Winster since he left last time.

After all, their business had to operate, and the contraband needed restocking.

Otherwise, just that initial trip, a business run only renewed every five months, really wasn't very profitable.

But previously, Carlos always came and went in a hurry; either he was busy or Ethan was busy, so they never ran into each other.

This time was different, though; they were going to stay in Winster for a long while.

Normally, they would take their breaks in the Royal Capital.

This year is different because they now have business in Winster.

And it's a big business.

The contraband business was initially thought to be profitable, and the past few trips have brought them unimaginable profits.

So, the captain of the Sea God set Winster as their vacation destination.

But unexpectedly, Ethan happened to run into trouble at this time.

"No, you can't get involved in this."

Ethan appeared quite confident. He paused for a moment and added.

"By the way, all the expenses of the brothers in Winster are on me, don't hesitate at all."

"But... hasn't your money been frozen?"

Carlos was quite worried.

"It's just a little money, Carlo, don't worry, you must enjoy yourselves."

Ethan clinked his glass with him.

Carlos seemed reassured, but as he was leaving, he couldn't help but say: "Ethan, Lord Alberto has always been kind to me, and now we are the closest of partners; whatever you need, I will definitely help you."

"Don't worry; if I really need you, I'll definitely find you."

Ethan didn't need Carlos for the time being.

But Carlos's arrival was indeed a huge variable.

Moreover, the Sea God would be staying in Winster for a long time.

——————

The news that Joseph was to publicly try Ethan spread quickly.

Within a few hours, the whole of Winster knew about it.

Ned also called: "I didn't expect him to come up with this idea. With a public trial, our Judicial Hall would find it hard to intervene..."

"That's what I'm not worried about," Ethan said instead.

"Oh?"

"Actually, what I want to know now is what actually happened with my bank." Ethan still didn't understand the exact reason Joseph ultimately froze his bank account.

Eugene had already been confirmed detained.

There wasn't anyone familiar in Butan City either, leaving him in a state of information isolation for the moment.

He sent Vincent to Butan City, partly to open up the situation.

"I've already started looking into that for you." Ned, after all, was the man firmly sitting in the main seat of Winster Court, and his thinking was naturally quick.

He had already thought of this point.

"Joseph moved very suddenly this time, not using all his own people, a lot of outsiders were used on the Butan City side, and I just happen to have acquaintances over there, so there should be results soon."

This was good news.

"Regarding the public trial, I'll think of a way. Even though the Kingdom Statistical Bureau has extremely high authority now, this is still against the rules, and there's a chance to turn it back to the Judicial Hall, which would make things much easier to handle."

"Hmm."

After hanging up the call, Ethan thought for a moment and made another call, a long-distance one.

This time, he called Pupol.

"Master Pupol, it's me, Ethan, I'm in trouble..."

And outside this phone line, someone was listening to the conversation.

The listener was Joseph and his subordinate, Captain Steve.

In fact, ever since Joseph had come to Winster, he had been bugging the phones in the homes and offices of a few key people.

For instance, Ethan, and... Oswaldo.

Wiretapping technology in civilians or security systems hadn't really been widespread yet; only the Security Department in the Royal Capital had applied this technology.

But Joseph came from the military, and the military has always been the earliest user of all technology, so naturally, they had wiretapping technology early on.

After listening to this call from Ethan, Joseph looked at Steve and asked, "What do you think?"

Steve thought for a moment and said, "He's already thoroughly disorientated, even seeking help from a painter like Pupol. No matter how good Pupol is at painting, what can he do in terms of taxes?"

"So, he's already lost."

After listening, Joseph shook his head and said, "Steve, never underestimate your opponent, especially one like Ethan. A person who can go from nothing to defeating overwhelmingly strong opponents, becoming an underworld king of a major city, in fact, already has the talent to build a kingdom. A man with the potential to become a king, could he be so simply discouraged and disheartened? How do you know he's not deceiving you right now?"

Steve was stunned for a moment.

And Joseph had already picked up the listening headphones again; he was rewinding and replaying Ethan's recent call.

In the following two days, the matter of the Kingdom Statistical Bureau publicly trying Ethan for money laundering and tax evasion continued to ferment and spread.

First, people from neighboring cities started coming over, from Butan City, Itasca City, and even further Hill City; journalists from these cities arrived in succession.

Because Ethan's fame had already gone beyond Winster.

After one of his paintings sold for a sky-high price of ten million in the Royal Capital, he was gaining renown throughout the Kingdom.

An emerging star-like avant-garde painter, caught for money laundering, was explosive news in itself, and combined with Joseph's idea of a public trial, this definitely was news designed to catch eyeballs.

By the fifth day, even reporters from the Royal Capital had arrived.

And it was on this day that Joseph finally announced the date of the public trial.

April 10th.

This date made many people finally understand Joseph's intentions.

He was dragging things out; he wanted more attention, he wanted more people to come to Winster, to watch this public trial.

He wanted his success to echo throughout the entire Kingdom.

He aimed to become the brightest star of the Kingdom Statistical Bureau.

When Ethan heard this date, he laughed, laughed very happily.

These days, although he hadn't been arrested, he had also been under house arrest, with people all around the Bolita Clan's vicinity.

He could only walk in the garden at most.

He was currently in the garden, moving his body, both twisting his torso and gazing into the distance.

Across the garden, beyond the dense city, was the surging sea.

Time, the thing he needed most right now, was time.

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