King
Chapter 1207 - 1207 200 Affecting Innocent Bystanders_2

1207: Chapter 200: Affecting Innocent Bystanders_2 1207: Chapter 200: Affecting Innocent Bystanders_2 Having competent subordinates, Hudson was too pleased to shuffle off responsibility.

“Transfer the accounts as soon as possible and have another accidental fire to destroy all traces!”

Hudson sighed.

At other times, he could resist investigations and even withstand political storms, but now he could not.

The assassination of the Crown Prince was neither a common case of crony corruption nor merely internal factional strife; it had crossed the King’s bottom line.

Anyone daring to obstruct the investigation on this matter would be challenging the sovereign authority of Caesar IV, leading to a fight to the death.

With the King’s authority restraining, direct confrontation between a subject and the Monarch usually never ended well.

Those Nobles who explicitly opposed the King might have their moment of grandeur, but after their glory, the fate of their descendants usually was not favorable.

Even if the Clan remained strong, once signs of decay appeared, calamity swiftly followed.

Even if there were changes in dynasties, don’t expect to get off easily.

No monarch likes insubordinate subjects.

It could be said: It is exhilarating to stand out, but afterward, you go straight to the crematorium.

Wise people keep themselves in their right place, even in a conflict of interest with the Monarch, ensuring they are the party reacting passively.

In the Continent of Aslante, as long as one held moral high ground, confronting the King within the rules was not seen as rebel or traitor territory.

At this moment, staging the accidental fire to pretend to destroy the bank records was Hudson’s way of explaining to all parties.

“Duke, taking such action might not lead the investigation team to drop the case; they may further target the Near East branch.

Our operations in the Capital may suffer greatly.

If His Majesty’s anger falls upon you, the aftermath could be troublesome.”

Rudolf advised gravely.

Confronting the royal power was undoubtedly the prerogative of Major Nobles and beyond his comprehension, hence anxiety was inevitable.

“Rest assured, the Near East Development Bank has many shareholders who won’t sit by and watch the investigation team act wantonly.

At least for now, all operations of the bank have been within the legal framework allowed by the Kingdom laws.

We are not ordinary traders who can be easily butchered.

As long as operations are legal, no one can do anything to the Near East Development Bank.

If things were to escalate, the investigation team members themselves wouldn’t be able to handle it.

This matter is mostly just a probe.

If they really wanted to act against the Near East Development Bank, the investigation team would directly go there to inspect the accounts, why would there be rumors flying around?”

Hudson coolly remarked.

The more critical the situation, the more it was necessary to calm people’s hearts.

Knowing that matters wouldn’t just end like this, all he could do now was brace himself.

Earning this money meant facing corresponding pressure.

The most important thing about running a bank was reputation; the Near East Development Bank was the largest commercial bank in the Kingdom but not the only one.

All major commerce organizations within the country are setting up their banks, and many Major Nobles locally are eager to act; it’s only a matter of time before banks are everywhere.

The Near East Development Bank, holding the first-mover advantage, must establish its credibility to maintain its current advantageous position.

If there had been no initial promise of confidentiality of accounts, letting the investigation team inspect the accounts would be fine.

But since a promise was made, it needed to be kept.

With the deepening investigation of the Crown Prince’s assassination, numerous related cases have already been unearthed.

The last operation of this scale within the Kingdom Government was the assassination case of Caesar III.

Naturally, the Crown Prince’s status was no match for the King, but his death, and by poisoning no less!

Hesitating briefly, Hudson added, “Setting a fire directly might be too abrupt, first divert the bank guards under the pretext of escorting Gold Coins.

Then find a few unfortunate drunks with substantial capabilities, lure them to a tavern near the bank to start a brawl, and then ‘accidentally’ start a fire that spreads to…”

Conspiracy was not something Hudson liked.

But sometimes, it really was effective.

Destroying records by setting them on fire oneself is blatantly problematic.

But if it happens by accident, then it’s a different story altogether.

No matter how deep the investigation team probes, an accident remains an accident.

As a victim, there is no responsibility to be held.

With the records burned, only when customers come with their Magic Crystal Card to conduct transactions can past transaction records be retrieved.

And these records would only show the times of transactions in and out, who exactly the dealings were with would remain a foggy mess.

…

In Dapes City, a debt restructuring negotiation commenced at a rapid pace.

When small amounts of money were involved, everyone responded quickly.

Aside from a very few creditors sending representatives, most appointed the Ambassador to Moxi Duchy to handle things on their behalf.

After all, since all the creditors came together for talks, the final solution had to be unified; otherwise, those at a disadvantage would never agree.

Interests are the best unifiers, and the first representatives to take action ousted the Elf Race, citing a clear reason: no formal treaty had been signed, so it could not constitute a legal debt.

There was no choice, Moxi Duchy’s debt repayment capability was just this much, someone getting more inevitably means someone getting less.

Everyone being Human Race, teaming up to exclude the Elf Race was undoubtedly politically correct.