I will be crowned king

Karin Jacques' words made the tavern owner stunned. He stared blankly at the guy in front of him, drinking dark beer and taking a plate of garlic sausage from the cabinet:

"What do you mean, what does 'assuming there was such a country at that time'...Have you heard any news again?"

"I don't know anything, I haven't heard any news - I just use money to do things." Karin Jacques smiled, eating cheese and garlic sausage, and ate the freshly baked brown bread:

"The little unlucky guy in the box alerted several 'big shots' in the upper echelons of Clovis City; they didn't want to see such a fly from Carindia buzzing around, and they didn't want to get their hands dirty, so... They're going to get a professional to deal with him."

He pointed to his chest with his greasy right hand: "I am a professional."

"Big shot, what big shot?" The tavern owner was stunned and snatched the plate from Karin Jacques' hand:

"What, there's more than one?!"

"Once again, I don't know anything." Karin Jacques rolled his eyes again: "Even this job was not directly offered to me, but to a relative of mine as a middleman - you know him too, He’s my cousin who likes to draw.”

"Like to draw... David, David Jacques?"

The tavern owner was stunned for a moment, and a certain scrawny young man with ragged clothes but bright eyes appeared in his mind. He often said words like "dream", "future", "art" and the like that he didn't understand at all.

The reason why I have an impression is that this young man often doesn't have enough to eat, and occasionally he will come to his place to eat and drink. After a long time, he will do chores for himself to pay off his debts. He is honest and hard-working.

"He got rich?"

"Well, he is now painting for the eldest daughter of the Franz family, and his salary is equal to that of a lecturer in the college; he is also invited to the salon regularly every month, and the guests are all wealthy daughters and noble young men." Carlin ·Jacques said this with a little pride:

"Have you ever heard of the painting "Storm Master Climbs the Dawn Ice Peak"? The reserve price at the auction was several thousand gold coins - he painted it!"

The tavern owner didn't pay attention to his boast, and his eyes widened in surprise:

"So it's... Sophia Franz, she..."

"For the last time, I know nothing!"

Karin Jacques, who looked suddenly cold, interrupted, took a vicious bite of the "sausage sandwich" in his hand, and stared at the tavern owner with burning eyes:

"You! It's best not to know...for the sake of your life."

The tavern owner turned pale instantly, his throat twitched in fear, and he pursed his lips tightly, not daring to say another word.

The atmosphere suddenly became serious, and in the quiet kitchen there was only the sound of two people eating and drinking.

"...So what are you going to do next?"

After being silent for ten minutes, the tavern owner who watched Karin Jacques eating and drinking couldn't help but ask: "Even if it's... a job given by someone else, if you deceived him so hard, wouldn't he come back to look for it when the time comes? you?"

"Of course, so I will hide for a while - the leader of Clovis's Tribunal, Cole Dorian, seems to be planning to cause trouble recently. I have to find a way to cut off from a few old clients to avoid being implicated. .”

Karin Jacques spread his hands with a helpless expression: "You also know that people in my profession can easily be misunderstood, thinking that we are engaged in heinous and prohibited business, and that we are cultists who believe in the old gods."

"But in fact we are just middlemen, buying low and selling high, and earning a little bit of hard work for running errands. Except that we don't pay taxes, we are no different from serious businessmen - I often secretly stuff money into the donation box of the church! "

"That's right, just like I always have to fill the wine barrel with water." The tavern owner agreed deeply:

"They all say I'm a profiteer, but if I don't do this, how can those poor guys afford it?! Do they really think I like doing this? I'm so sneaky and tired that I'm almost dead - I'm obviously thinking of them, but I still have to be accused by them!" Give me some pointers!”

"Yes, nothing is easy."

Karin Jacques nodded seriously, then looked at his wine glass: "You didn't fill this with water, did you?"

The tavern owner hesitated: "Did you drink it?"

"No." Karin Jacques shook his head: "To be honest, it tastes pretty good."

Tavern owner: "...Yes, that's my exclusive recipe."

Karin Jacques suddenly realized it and drank it down happily.

"I plan to live there in Baihu Park for a while. You'd better go out and hide, close the tavern or sell it."

Putting down the wine glass in his hand, Karin Jacques wiped his lips and said: "That little unlucky guy can't find me by then, and he will definitely come to you - it's not that I can't believe it, but you can't be exposed easily."

"Closed?!" the tavern owner said with surprise and anger:

"Then how am I going to live next?"

"It's simple, just open a new store in the inner city." Karin Jacques said matter-of-factly:

"Don't open a tavern. You can't make a lot of money in this kind of shop; open a cafe, cake shop or restaurant near a commercial street. It's not enough to have a place with many people. It has to be a place where there are many people and they are willing to spend money. "

"It's really not possible to find two skilled Imperial people as chefs to prepare a few high-end dishes that are particularly unpalatable to the Clovis people. The food needs to be barely edible, but the coffee, wine, and tobacco must be good; the decoration must be exotic. For style, waiters must know imperial etiquette - look for them in circuses and small theaters, there are plenty of girls and boys there who are good at pretending to be foreigners!"

"If everything goes well, as long as you have two or three regular customers, your future income will be two or three times what you are now!"

"But I don't want to open a cafe or a high-end restaurant in a commercial street!" The tavern owner shook his head with a look of surprise on his face:

"I just want to open a lively tavern, where dozens or hundreds of customers can drink from dawn to dawn every day!"

"But this is very tiring." Karin Jacques frowned: "Your work and rest are almost on the same level as those of factory workers."

"It doesn't matter, I've gotten used to it over the years."

"There are always so many guests, don't you find it troublesome to prepare or clean up - and there are those gambling gangs who like to cause trouble and fights, drunkards, and residents who always refuse to leave?"

"It's okay, I like them."

"real?"

"Really! I like liveliness. Life is interesting when it is noisy and tiring. In fact, I regard those guests as friends."

"But you can earn more that way."

"Life is more than just making money, there is more to it!"

"for example?"

"For example, as long as my pub remains open, workers in nearby factories will always have a place to hang out after get off work. This makes me feel that it makes sense for me to open this pub..."

"Then what if I give you five thousand gold coins?"

"This and money don't...well, what did you say?"

"I said I would give you five thousand gold coins to open a new store in the inner city."

"..."

In the quiet back kitchen, the tavern owner stood up silently, picked up a pipe and started smoking it expressionlessly. After a long silence, he slowly said:

"Actually, I have always had a dream, which is to open a cake shop."

Karin Jacques thought about it carefully: "But cake shops are usually not very busy."

"It doesn't matter, I figured it out." The tavern owner smoked his pipe, his eyes full of happiness: "After working hard for so many years, it's time to take some time off."

"It's also more profitable." Karin Jacques nodded:

"But it's not as meaningful as opening a tavern, right?"

"No, quite the opposite!"

The tavern owner immediately corrected him: "The cake shop is a place that spreads happiness and allows every customer who comes to the door to gain happiness and joy. How can it be said that it is meaningless?"

"Besides, who are the patrons of the cake shop? Children, is there anything more meaningful in this world than making children happy?"

"No more." Karin Jacques took out the envelope containing the check from his arms:

"But if you run a cake shop, there won't be many workers nearby..."

"For the sake of the children, sacrifice is necessary." The tavern owner said seriously:

"Let the adults bear all the costs and pains. Children have the right to enjoy a happy childhood - what do you think?"

"I think what you said makes sense and is very convincing."

Karin Jacques nodded and handed the envelope to the tavern owner: "By the way, the little unlucky guy in the box is also asking you. He will stay with you for a week. After a week, you kick him out and then clear this place as soon as possible." Dispose of it.”

"No problem, I'll cover it!"

The tavern owner patted his chest and stuffed the envelope into his arms calmly: "Then if he wants to find you, what should I tell him?"

"Well……"

Karin Jacques, who was about to turn around and leave, stopped, turned his back to the tavern owner and fell into deep thought.

He thought seriously for a minute, then turned to look behind him, as if ten thousand scenes flashed rapidly through his pupils:

"Just tell him..."

……………………

"So, haven't I told you everything?!"

In a prison room outside the Clovis Privy Council, an extremely excited young man shouted to the two Whitehall policemen in front of him: "I am not a liar, I am the genuine envoy of Carindia, really!"

Facing the obviously mentally unstable young man, the two policemen quickly exchanged glances and nodded in unison. Then the policeman sitting on the left spoke first:

"Um...ahem, sir, please don't get excited yet."

"How could I not be excited!" The young man was furious:

"Today is the big day for me to meet His Majesty Carlos II. If it were you, wouldn't you be excited?!"

"I'm excited too, but no matter how excited you are now, the Privy Council guards won't let you in." The policeman smiled apologetically:

"They would even call us over, and it was still during lunch, and the two of us had just finished our dishes - digressing from the topic, uh... you... are you the envoy of Carindia?"

"yes!"

"Is there any evidence?"

"……lost."

"Oh...then do you know any congressmen?"

"Viscount Bognar, he promised to help me!"

"Yes, we have verified this. He is not in the Privy Council now - is there anyone else?"

"there is none left."

The young man was a little frustrated, but still stubborn: "But I am really the envoy of Carindia, and I want to meet with His Majesty Carlos II today!"

"Yes, we believe you, really!"

The policeman nodded matter-of-factly and secretly glanced at the colleague next to him.

According to a "very experienced" veteran police officer, they once reminded them that this "patient" was extremely stubborn and they must not argue with him, otherwise it would be useless even if he was put in jail - and it would also be a waste of their time. Budget.

"What do you think?" the policeman asked tentatively:

"It is now half past one in the afternoon, and the Privy Council will meet in an hour. If Viscount Bognar has indeed raised this matter, then the Privy Council will definitely send someone to find you; we at Whitehall Street can send a special car to take you there, so With us here, you can avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble.”

The young man's eyes lit up, this was indeed a good idea.

"I agree!"

"That's it!" The two policemen breathed a sigh of relief and finally had time to have lunch.

At this moment, the door of the interrogation room was suddenly pushed open, and a young man with a short ponytail suddenly walked in. Before the three people in the room could speak, he leaned into the ear of the police officer and said something quickly, Nervous expression.

"What did you say?!" The policeman's expression changed instantly.

"Really, this is the news that was just sent. The Privy Council just got it now - and it has already been published in the newspaper!" The short ponytail stammered nervously:

"When I went to ask, I happened to meet the newspaper deliverer to the Privy Council. He told me directly that several major newspaper offices were crazy and were printing more papers at the last minute!"

"What's wrong?"

The young Carindia envoy looked at the three policemen who suddenly became excited with a blank look on his face, and couldn't help but ask: "Does it have anything to do with my matter?"

At that moment, three pairs of embarrassed eyes turned to him at the same time.

"Ahem...Sir, I remember you said you were...the messenger of Carindia?"

"yes."

"Carindia...is also part of Hantu's territory, right?"

"Yes, that's right." The young man blinked:

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." The three policemen shook their heads at the same time, and the smiles on their faces became even more embarrassing:

"We just wanted to say that... you may have... uh... traveled for nothing today."

"Um?"

The young man frowned, his expression even more confused: "What do you mean a trip in vain?"

"that is……"

Before the police had finished speaking, the childish cries of newsboys could be heard outside:

"Extra! Extra! The empire has invaded Hantu and has captured Carindia!"

"Extra! Extra! Claude Francois, the Grand Duke of Thun, announced the unification of Han Territory, crowned him as king, and declared war on the empire!"

"Extra! Extra! Anson Bach, deputy commander of the Southern Army, announced his support for the unification of Hantu and promised to fight side by side with Hantu to the end to defeat the imperial invaders!"

"Extra number! Extra number!..."