Chapter 541: Chapter 11: The Prince’s Ambition

"Your Highness."

"Robson! Just as I’d expect from you. So quick to act," Prince Noah said with a smile.

"Is there some important matter, Your Highness?" Robson asked.

"Oh, it’s nothing major... Uh, you all just carry on with what you’re doing. General Robson and I have some things to discuss," Prince Noah said.

The two men stepped outside the military tent.

"Robson, the main reason I came this time is that I want to go to the grasslands with you," Prince Noah said with a smile.

"The grasslands?"

"That... I’m afraid that’s not appropriate. If anything were to happen to Your Highness, I couldn’t bear the responsibility." Robson shook his head.

"You don’t have to worry about that. The Kingdom Knight Order will protect me," said Prince Noah.

"Why the sudden desire to go to the grasslands with me, Your Highness? To put it bluntly, I’m basically going on a raid. And I’ll be leading the Alien Race Corps to do it.

I’m afraid it might tarnish Your Highness’s reputation," Robson said.

The Jackal Wolfman Legion had already set out after receiving his message. Robson was planning to finalize the logistics and then depart with a few dozen cavalry.

"Well..."

"You’re aware of the Frank Kingdom’s current situation. We managed to fend off the Beastman Empire’s attack this time, but who knows what will happen next?"

"I wonder, do you know about the Algerians’ Half-Dragon People Legion?" Prince Noah asked.

Robson understood.

"Your Highness, are you suggesting..."

"The old ways are no longer sufficient," Noah said.

"The Beastman Empire’s territory is three times the size of the Frank Kingdom’s. We can’t just endure their oppression for generations, can we?"

"In this time, you’ve done quite a few things that I’ve wanted to do, but didn’t dare to, or didn’t have the power to," the Prince said with a smile.

Robson frowned. This matter could be a big deal, or it could be nothing.

On a grand scale, the Prince was talking about reform, and he wanted to pull Lord Robson into his faction.

On a small scale, the Prince was just bored out of his mind and insisted on going to the grasslands with him to see the sights.

’Reform...’ Robson mused, slowly beginning to grasp the extent of Prince Noah’s ambition.

’Considering the current situation in the Frank Kingdom and Prince Noah’s methods, it’s not like success is impossible.’

"Robson, you’re the bellwether here. Affleck doesn’t have a large population, does it?" Prince Noah said with a smile.

Those words hit Lord Robson right where he was most vulnerable.

"What does Your Highness plan to do?"

Robson was tempted.

"I was thinking, we could start a pilot program in Affleck. It’s perfect, since you’ve already laid the foundation," Prince Noah said.

"Of course, it doesn’t have to be in Affleck. Any place beyond the passes would do. Although I think this will succeed, what if it doesn’t?"

"I remember His Majesty the Sun King once had a similar idea," Robson said.

He was trying to ask what gave Prince Noah such confidence.

"Back then, there was interference from international powers. You know as well as I do, without the Beastman Empire, the Frank Kingdom would become the next Algeria."

"Right now, Algeria is about to launch an eastern expedition, Tilia is in chaos, and I hear a group of merchants is staging a rebellion in the Haven Kingdom.

And our own kingdom is on the brink of political turmoil," Prince Noah said.

"The next ten years! This will be the Frank Kingdom’s golden age!" Prince Noah declared.

"The Beastman Empire is on its last legs. From what I know, they’re rife with internal conflicts."

"Ten years..." Robson murmured.

"Does the Marquis know about this?"

"I mean, about you coming to the grasslands with me."

"How else could I have brought the royal Knight Order here?"

Robson nodded.

Seeing Robson agree with him, Prince Noah appeared very excited.

He’d had the idea for reform for a long time; it started brewing back when he was in the Algeria Kingdom.

Originally, Prince Noah thought this was something that had to be pursued slowly and methodically.

He never expected Robson to give him such a huge surprise!

Prince Noah had only just learned that Robson had secretly been training an Alien Race Corps, which would save him a lot of trouble.

Robson was currently on a trajectory toward becoming one of the kingdom’s top dignitaries; in the future, he’d be a Marshal Grantham at the very least.

With Robson’s support, the path to reform would surely be much smoother.

.....

After his discussion with Prince Noah ended, Robson returned to the camp tent with him.

Noah was eager to inspect the quality of the Alien Race Corps, and as part of their exchange of benefits, he decided to help Robson deal with the dirty business in the logistics camp.

He didn’t need to do much. As the Crown Prince, Noah’s mere presence was a deterrent.

"Your Highness!"

Sure enough, seeing Prince Noah enter with Robson, the faces of many people turned pale.

"No need for formalities. Please, sit down, sit down," the Prince said with a smile.

"I came over this time mainly because General Robson has just arrived and isn’t familiar with our logistical affairs.

So I thought I’d help the General get acquainted with things," Prince Noah said with a smile.

Certain individuals’ faces turned even paler.

The Marquis had given the order personally, Earl Lu Wen had voiced his support, and now even the Prince himself had come to help Robson.

Some of them had originally planned to cook the books while Robson was still figuring out the situation, but how could they possibly do that now?

Besides, a considerable number of people present were the kingdom’s civil servants, sworn to serve the royal family.

Prince Noah looked at everyone, then walked up to a middle-aged man.

"Your Highness," the middle-aged man said, bowing.

"Vino, no need for formalities.

Is that the ledger you were about to submit?"

the Prince said, pointing to a ledger in Vino’s hand.

"This..." Viscount Vino appeared hesitant.

"Give it to me. The Marquis wants to see you. You should go now, don’t keep him waiting," Prince Noah said.

Prince Noah took the ledger and, bypassing the official auditor Earl Uman, handed it directly to Robson.

Robson looked surprised, but silently put the ledger into his Space Ring.

Viscount Vino understood and his face showed his gratitude.

"Vino, we just..." Some of the other nobles were displeased.

"Just what?" Vino’s face flushed red.

"You lot, don’t you go hiding things from the General. Report things as they truly are."

Having said his piece, Viscount Vino ran off.

.....

Robson watched silently from the side.

Prince Noah had helped him take down the ringleader of these bureaucrats. The rest would be much easier to handle.

The noble lords managing logistics had no choice but to obediently hand over their ledgers. Many even tucked letters inside, their pleas for mercy all too obvious.

"Tsk..."

After the meeting, once everyone had left, Valentino was counting the ledgers.

"There’s no challenge in this at all," Valentino said.

"Feels like anyone could do this job."

"If it were a challenge, that would mean I didn’t do my part right," Robson said with a smile.

’He has a point,’ Valentino thought.

"Here’s the list. Take a look, see if anything needs to be changed." Valentino handed him a sheet of paper.

Robson looked it over.

"It looks fine. You’ve worked hard these past few days," Robson said.

"It was just some trivial matters. It wasn’t hard work at all."

"Are you going to the grasslands with the Prince?"

"Yes."

Valentino gave Robson a kiss on the cheek.

"Come back safe. Grandpa said that if things go smoothly, we’ll be getting married in September."

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