The members of the Supreme Council waited in silence for the meeting to begin

They were suddenly informed that they had to return to the imperial capital for a new meeting

This made people living far from the capital fidgety, as this was the third meeting in just a month

Do they have to waste their valuable time traveling back and forth?

But they suppressed their complaints and meekly came to the capital because they are well aware that holding a new meeting means that there are new developments in the current crisis.

All the ministers and heads of noble families were thinking about the reason for this meeting

Has the headquarters of the Bloody Crescent Organization been discovered?

Or perhaps an important member of the organization has been arrested

Most of them expected that Winston Hitler, whom the intelligence services had recently been searching for, had finally been arrested

But their jaws nearly dropped to the floor when they learned the real reason for holding this meeting

We are here to negotiate with Alexander to obtain the recipe that Winston Hitler taught him... This is what old Walter told them.

Why do we have to negotiate with him about this?...That's what everyone thought

But no one was stupid to say this out loud because that would be understood as an interrogation of the decisions of the Emperor and the intelligence

So they decided to keep quiet and wait for things to slowly unfold

The council members sat silently, looking at the black screen in front of them

“Turn this thing on, I want to finish this as quickly as possible.” George ordered

Everyone in the room could sense the annoyance in his voice

The screen opened to reveal a white-haired young man wearing a green formal suit

"...." Everyone's attention focused on the color of the suit, which was annoying to some and scandalous to others

Alexander took a deep breath as he prepared to greet the Emperor

He's seen a lot of VIP reception ceremonies, but he doesn't know exactly how it's done in this world. This made him try to do something that was acceptable to everyone

All he had to do was say a few honorific words

Long live the sun of the empire and the master of grace that bestows upon the citizens of the empire, blah blah blah.

After Alexander finished his simple greeting, he sat in his chair and his eyes wandered among the members of the Supreme Council

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Alexander...” George began the conversation. “You know that we need this recipe to catch some criminals, and we know that this will cause you to suffer a great loss. So we are ready to compensate you.”

George knew well Alexander's purpose for this meeting

Walter told him how it went when they went to the academy in their attempt to convince Alexander to hand over the recipe

This greedy little brat was afraid of losing his wealth and nothing more

Therefore, George decided to listen to Alexander's offer and fulfill his request if possible

“I appreciate Your Majesty’s generosity, this is not an easy choice at all...” Alexander lowered his head and seemed to be struggling greatly to make this decision. "But everything is easy for the safety of the empire."

“…” Walter’s eyes shook when he heard Alexander's statement

Everything is easy for the sake of the empire?

Didn't you say that you would be willing to sacrifice the empire in order to secure your future?

Where did that insolent selfishness that you were bragging about go?

“I understand your struggle...” George nodded

“But, Your Majesty...” Alexander turned his head to the side, hesitating

Finally, he returned his eyes to them. "I'm just an ordinary young man trying to build his future. I'm not one of those spoiled kids who get money whenever they want from their families."

Some looked at Theodore as soon as they heard Alexander's words, but they quickly looked away from him so as not to attract his attention.

Alexander continued. “I was trying to get an honest job to build a better future for myself. But I did not expect to run into this problem...”

“I understand...” George said impatiently, not understanding the reason for this tossing and turning

“But it is more difficult than you can imagine. I am facing a difficult situation because the government has closed all my factories and they forced me to stop sales of the sweets that I make.” Alexander said sadly with some anger hidden in his words

He really wanted to slap everyone in that room because they had made such a decision that cut off his livelihood

“…” The ministers and heads of noble families looked at each other strangely

For a moment they had the feeling that Alexander was secretly cursing them

“Look at this suit...” Alexander pointed to the green suit he was wearing. “I had to borrow this suit from my friend because I don’t have the money to buy a new suit. But do you know what’s worse?”

Alexander's face became worse. “I couldn't tell him how bad the color of this suit was...”

Alexander suppressed his tears with difficulty

"..." Most of the ministers agreed that this green suit was the worst thing they had seen in a while

"Alexander..." George's voice became deeper. " what do you want?."

George gradually realized that Alexander was spouting this nonsense because he was preparing for something big

He had an inner feeling telling him that Alexander would drop a big bomb that would shake the place. Therefore, he decided to stop the flow of words that were coming out of Alexander in order to end this topic

Alexander wiped away his tears. “All I want is some financial support from the empire.”

" financial support?." George raised an eyebrow questioningly

Alexander scanned the faces of the ministers and his eyes fixed on the face of old Walter. “Mr. Walter, can I ask how much your annual salary is?”

Walter was surprised by this unexpected question, and answered after some hesitation. “Six hundred and seventy-seven thousand coins.”

“Why not six hundred and eighty thousand?”

"..." Why do you care about my salary more than I do?

Alexander returned his eyes to George. “I want six hundred and seventy-seven thousand coins.”

One of the ministers hit the table hard and got up from his seat, pointing at Alexander. “How dare you make such an impudent request? You must hand over the recipe without conditions.”

“Alan...” Macron whispered towards Alan

"You're wrong..." Alexander shook his head. “I don't want you to give me this amount just once, but I want you to give me an annual salary.”

"..." Everyone's eyes widened in shock

“I am warning you that you are trying to eat more than you can handle.” Alan's words were full of menace

Alexander looked lightly at Alan

Then he returned his eyes to George. “I also want the bonuses that ministers receive on holidays and public events.”

“You little impudent, it seems that you have not learned how to deal with your elders.” Alan became angrier at Alexander's heeding of his warnings

Alexander looked at Alan a second time

Then he quickly directed his words to George again. “I also want a pension when I reach retirement age.”

" You-"

Alan was about to attack Alexander with his words, but George hit the table hard and shouted at Alan. "Can't you just shut up for a moment!"

Alan sat in fear, his gaze bearing hatred towards Alexander

Alexander didn't care much about this petty man who was trying to ruin his plans. “So, do I consider this an acceptance of my offer?”

“The government will give you a thousand coins a month. This amount is enough to support a family of eight people for two months.” George made his offer.

Alexander's tone became stronger. “I'm trying to make concessions in order to reach an agreement between us. But it wouldn't be fair if I was the only one making concessions here.”

"..." The ministers' mouths opened in disbelief

Alexander tore his face apart and revealed his true intention

He did not hesitate for a moment to blackmail them for money

“Like I said, a thousand coins.” George was not greatly affected by Alexander's threat

" Hundred thousand..."

"Two thousand coins..."

“Well, we won't reach a solution if we continue like this...” Alexander leaned his back on the chair. “I want twenty-five thousand coins per month.”

George thought for a moment. Alexander's current proposal was much better compared to his first demand for six hundred thousand coins

" Alright..." George nodded

“Your Majesty—” Alan wanted to interject

But George raised his hand to stop him. He was now in a bad mood and did not want to enter into a discussion with anyone else

“And what about my pension?” Alexander asked innocently

The corners of George's mouth twitched. "You better stop here."

Alexander decided to stop pressuring George, because he knew that he would not get any more benefits from George, so he got up from his seat and bowed gratefully. “Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty...”

George covered his face with his right hand and whispered. "Someone shut this thing down."