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~~Christmas Day Special - (page 5 of 24)~~

Damn. She sounded like she wasn't going to change her mind, no matter what he said.

Hector still wasn't quite prepared to give up, though. He had one more argument up his sleeve. "Your Highness... my bank has a lot of investors who've taken a big risk by supporting me. Including the Rainlords. If the Bank collapses, they'll take a huge hit. Not to mention all the Atreyan lords who contributed." There was Roman, too, but Hector had a feeling that he'd be just fine.

"Considering the ingenuity displayed by both Amelia Carthrace and yourself, I highly doubt that the Darksteel National Bank will collapse. I am sure you will find a way to continue operations within all currently legal means. Turning a massive profit, however, may prove to be a challenge, yes."

Ingenuity, huh? "...Does that mean you wouldn't mind if we expanded our operations into Lorent?"

At that, the Queen paused for a long moment, eyeing him, then Garovel, then him again. "Is that a threat, Hector?"

He could hardly believe his ears. "Why would it be a threat?" he said, unable to conceal his bafflement.

The Queen didn't answer. She just kept staring at him.

Garovel decided to step in now. 'This is getting a little too heated for my tastes. Let's all take a breath and remember that we're on the same side here, shall we?'

The Queen indeed took the requested breath. She shut her eyes for a moment, too, before opening. "Hector... my entire reason for blocking foreign banks from jumping in to aid with the economy was to prevent foreign interests from tearing this nation apart like a pack of piranhas. If you expand into Lorent, it would create a new stream through which such piranhas might arrive."

Hector wished Amelia was here to help. He felt like he wasn't making his best possible arguments. But he kept trying. "If anyone ever tried to use my bank in such a way, I'd have their account terminated in an instant."