Anything…
Talulah fell silent.
She ignored the champagne, but her hand immediately went to the product list.
Flour, pure water, edible salt, canned goods, antibiotics, winter coats, Originium…
for anyone living in modern society, these things were readily available.
But for Talulah, who now roamed the snowy plains of the Ursus northern territories, they were incredibly precious.
Aside from the lack of Oripathy inhibitors, almost everything Talulah needed was printed on that list.
“…”
Talulah was silent.
The items on this list were astonishing enough, but the prices listed next to them were also remarkably low.
One two-hundred-gram Gold Bar could be exchanged for fourteen tons of flour.
This was a staggering figure.
Assuming all this flour was made into one-hundred-gram steamed buns, that would be roughly 210,000 of them.
In the northern territories of Ursus, this was completely unimaginable.
“…”
“What is it that you want?” Talulah fell silent again, looking at Russell with an unprecedented level of caution in her eyes.
She had initially thought she would be fleeced by Russell, who knew she was desperate for grain.
But from the looks of it now, she seemed to have stumbled upon a philanthropist.
There is no such thing as unmotivated kindness in this world.
Behind all sudden acts of goodwill lies the gaze of desire.
Talulah disliked her adoptive father, but she had to admit that many of his words held a certain truth.
[Go for it!
Steal a hook and they’ll execute you; steal a kingdom and they’ll make you a prince!]
[Hurry up and trick her into joining your side!
It would be best to seduce her or just sleep with her.
That way, you’ll have the qualifications to become a Prince Regent or even a King!!]
The detector chattered on, offering its lewd suggestions.
Russell rolled his eyes.
This damn detector was truly a capitalist blinded by greed, seeing only profit and ignoring all risk.
Putting aside whether Victoria even wanted this crown princess back, the woman herself was still carrying a vengeful spirit within her.
If it weren’t for the fact that pulling her into his camp would grant him a gacha pull, Russell would have already shown her the door.
“Please, state your intentions.” The red dragoness stared at the man who was busy internally scorning his own system, her expression growing graver by the second.
“A price that’s practically a giveaway…
this is not the way of an Ursus noble.
What is it that you truly desire?”
She had started using honorifics.
Rumor had it that Russell was Batman’s arch-nemesis, the “Red-nosed Baron.” But now, he was displaying a terrifying level of financial and material power.
It was hard for Talulah not to see him as a fierce wolf disguised as a husky.
Hmm.
Actually, half of that price is pure profit.
Besides, I’m quite hungry for you myself.
If anyone with the ability to read minds were present, their expression would surely be complicated.
Russell’s inner thoughts were as hyperactive as a husky bouncing off the walls, but his face remained serene, wearing an inscrutable, profound smile.
“You are worth my investment.”
“A red dragon…
The number of red dragons I know of is down to four.
You are one of them.”
A flash of understanding appeared in Talulah’s expression.
So that’s it.
Victoria was a country with a dual monarchy.
The Red Dragon and the Lion were their monarchs.
In a recent period of turmoil, the Lion King had killed almost all the red dragons in a coup, becoming the sole royal family of Victoria.
However, the death of the dragons also created a power vacuum, which was seized by dukes outside the royal family.
These rising dukes then sent that same monarch to the guillotine and conducted a massive purge of the royalist faction.
Currently, the throne of the Kingdom of Victoria was empty.
And Talulah just so happened to have a claim to it.
“Investing in me…
is not a good choice.” The young woman’s heart settled slightly.
The wolf, having torn off its sheep’s clothing, was after her, not trying to exploit the rest of the Reunion Movement.
“When it comes to investments, there’s no such thing as a sure bet,” the young man’s tone was slightly flippant.
“If I really end up losing everything, I can just choose between the guillotine, a rope, or a rooftop, and restart the game.
I’ll just reinvest in my new life.”
“…” Talulah stared into his eyes.
The emotions within those magnificent, ice-blue irises were simply impossible to grasp.
After a long moment, she spoke.
“So…
you and your faction want to support me in becoming queen?”
She didn’t believe she could become queen, but if she could acquire enough supplies to feed and clothe the entire Reunion Movement just by accepting a self-proclaimed vassal, it was an incredibly worthwhile deal.
Russell rolled his eyes internally.
The hell.
If I become your lackey, the detector isn’t going to give me a gacha pull!
Even if you are gorgeous, I won’t forgive you for making me miss out on my pull!!!
I’m here for one thing and one thing only!!
And that’s to make you my little secreta—ahem, my subordinate and secretary!!
As Talulah waited, the young man slowly spoke.
“Why isn’t it you who supports me in becoming king?”
It was as if an electric current shot through her veins.
Talulah snapped her head up, staring at Russell.
“You do not have the blood of the Red Dragon or the Lion,” she stated. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Russell was not of royal blood.
The young man was still smiling, but beneath that placid, water-like smile hid a burning desire that raged like a wildfire.
“‘The one with a strong army and stout horses becomes the Augustus.'”
“Talulah, my dear friend, do you understand my meaning?”
Talulah was silent for a long, long time.
She seemed to recall her history.
Victoria had not always been a closed-off, friendly, independent kingdom.
The Draco, the red dragon clan, had once been the sole rulers of this land.
Later, the Aslan, the lions who migrated from a distant country, waged war against the Draco clan.
The red dragons were forced to cede half of the throne.
That’s right.
Her ancestors became the monarchs of Victoria because they were powerful.
The lions were able to seize the throne because they possessed a violence that forced her ancestors to compromise.
Russell could, of course, become king.
As long as he could defeat the eight Grand Dukes of Victoria and storm the royal palace in the capital, Londinium, all others could do was condemn him.
But if she were to be the one to crown him…
then even their condemnations would lose their legal basis.
He would become the King of Victoria.
The plan was as laughable as a madman’s dream, and yet, it was strangely feasible.
Talulah looked at Russell again.
The strength he had displayed so far was like that of a small shrimp before the eight Grand Dukes.
But this man…
he seemed different.
If nothing else, at a time when the red dragons were declared to have been wiped out, he somehow knew the whereabouts of three of her kinsmen—something even she didn’t know…
That ability clearly required a vast intelligence network…
Perhaps he really could recreate a piece of Victoria’s history.
She remained silent for a long while before speaking.
“Publicly, I will not acknowledge that I am your subject…
at least, not before you enter the royal palace in Londinium.”
She disliked schemers.
But she clearly couldn’t stop the plan of the man before her—he knew where the other three red dragons were…
He had likely sought her out first simply because her situation was the most dire, and she was the one most in need of external help.
Refusal was meaningless.
Exchanging this opportunity for some much-needed supplies was the best she could do.
“Of course.” Russell’s expression became exceedingly cheerful.
In Talulah’s eyes, it was the triumphant sneer of a master conspirator.
So, what was this conspirator really thinking?
“Yeah!!!”
“I get a gacha pull!!!”
The husky in wolf’s clothing was giggling like an idiot.