"Are you drunk? Let's go back!"
Rennes smiled at Lifa and whispered intimately into her ear.
When Rennes had suddenly appeared in the middle of the hall on the second floor, it caused a wave of exclamations from the nobles.
Lifa nodded. She felt that the banquet this time was very successful, and it was about time to go back.
Just as Rennes had placed his hand on Lifa's shoulder and was about to teleport back to the palace, he heard a sharp rebuke from the outer periphery of the banquet.
"Charles, what are you doing? Do you want to destroy the trust between us and the Queen that we've only managed to build with great difficulty?"
Rennes, who had an extremely sensitive hearing, naturally heard the commotion and was immediately interested.
"Hold on. Something interesting is happening," Rennes let go of Lifa's shoulder.
After a while, a brown-haired middle-aged man approached Lifa.
His face was thin, but his eyes were very bright.
"Your Majesty, I have a request to make of you!" He bowed and said respectfully.
"Charles, if you have something to say, say it!" Lifa had closed her eyes and rested for a while just now. Thanks to her strength as a Grandmage, she had managed to disperse much of the effect of alcohol using magic power.
"Your Majesty, I hope you can hand over the grain industry, which the Lucas family was originally in charge of, to the Charles family!" The man named Charles looked straight at Lifa and said resolutely.
"The grain industry?"
"That's a really lucrative industry!"
"How dare he covet an industry that belongs to the royal family?"
"Damn Charles, he's destroying the trust that we've painstakingly built with the royal family!"
The nobles present had different reactions to Charles' words,.
Some were impressed, some were envious, some were angry, and some were looking forward to seeing Charles make a fool of himself.
"You want the grain industry? What is your intention?!" Lifa looked at Charles coldly.
This guy actually dared to challenge the authority of the royal family, especially when she had just dealt with the Lucas family not too long ago.
The more Lifa thought about it, the angrier she got. She even wanted to thoroughly investigate the Charles family now.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. I didn't mean it that way.
"It's just that we're approaching the end of summer, and autumn is arriving soon.
"The Lucas family has fallen, but no one has taken over the matter of transporting wheat from the south to the north.
"When the time comes, a large amount of golden wheat in the south will end up being stockpiled in the barns without being sold.
"The residents of the north would also need a large amount of food to survive the winter.
"I just want to share Your Majesty's burden!"
Facing Lifa's anger, Charles lowered his head and did not dare to show his face.
"As far as I know, the demand for food in the Noah Kingdom has decreased significantly after the war.
"Therefore, there is definitely enough food for everyone.
"If I'm not mistaken, you're just planning to sell the food and use the money for your port business!"
Lifa's face was red.
She threw her wine on Charles' face in anger.
"Yes! Your Majesty is wise. That's exactly what my plan is.
"The Noah Kingdom has closed its border for far too long. We're gradually finding ourselves unable to keep up with the world's development.
"The domestic economic is in a downward trend, declining day by day. I'm doing all this for the sake of the Noah Kingdom!"
Charles' eyes were bloodshot by now. He picked up a glass of wine on the table and drank it in a single gulp. He even roared loudly after that.
"Look at our neighboring country, the Faroe Kingdom. They have been vigorously developing port trades in recent years.
Their goods are transported across the entire continent via oceans and rivers. In the last few years, their national strength has doubled!"
"The Noah Kingdom won't be able to go far with just agricultural economy. Commercial trade is the future!
"And now, the kingdom happens to have surplus food. Why not let me develop the port and expand trade? This is definitely the best opportunity to do so!
"Please give me the permission, Your Majesty. I'm even willing to sign an agreement with you. If the port doesn't show satisfactory results within a year, the Charles family is willing to be stripped of its nobility status and be demoted to commoners!"
Charles gritted his teeth and knelt on the ground.
This shocked all the nobles.
In the Noah Kingdom, the nobles did not actually have to kneel to the royal family.
The kneeling was a display of Charles' determination.
Of course, what was even more shocking was that Charles had actually gambled with the fate of his entire family on the line.
It had to be known that death was not the most terrible fate for a noble. Even more terrible than that was losing their nobility status.
Losing their nobility status meant abandoning everything the Charles noble family had, including their noble tradition, their noble history, and their past glory. All of these would be lost.
No one had expected a fine banquet to end up like this.
Most of the guests were silent, watching the situation develop quietly.
Rennes stood unmoving, seemingly in deep thought.
In truth, he had already noticed Charles when Charles was still discussing this matter with the other nobles.
In the end, Charles could not hold back any more and wished to explain the matter directly to Lifa, but the other nobles were naturally unwilling to let him do so.
And so, the quarrel began.
Rennes was already rather interested in this matter before this, especially after listening to Charles' explanation. And now that he had witnessed Charles' determination, Rennes was filled with even more anticipation.
Although Charles' actions were a little impulsive, he had a really good reasoning.
Rennes had to admit that the guy was quite to his liking.
Especially the word "commercial trade is the future". Upon hearing that, Rennes instantly felt that Charles was a rare talent.
He could see the shortcomings in the development of the Noah Kingdom in comparison to other countries.
Charles was, without a doubt, a visionary of his era, but he was unable to devote himself to political aspirations.
Therefore, he spoke boldly not long after Lifa took the stage.
Although the timing was a little wrong, it could be forgiven.
Looking at the two figures who stared at each other in silence, one kneeling and one standing, Rennes made up his mind.
Lifa had received a traditional education since she was young.
Those things bore the ignorance of the times and could not clearly envision the future.
But Rennes was different.
After all, he was an elite youth from the 23rd century Blue Planet Federation.
He walked forward.
He looked straight at Charles and asked, "Charles, I'm willing to give you this opportunity. I only ask for one thing - I want to see your port become the best port in the eastern region of the Arnold Continent. Can you do it?"
Charles' eyes widened at Rennes' words.
He raised his head and was so emotional that tears welled up in his eyes.
He bowed deep at Rennes and shouted, "Thank you for your kindness, Chief Consul. I definitely won't let you down!"
Charles' words echoed loud and clear in the banquet hall. Everybody looked on in shock.
Rennes smiled in satisfaction.