Traveling through time, I'm making pancakes in Warhammer

Chapter 512 Bribery Conditions

"After learning about the Campbell family's situation, the head of the family expressed disappointment and heartache." The young man continued in a gentle tone, "Your family is a great family. So many talents and technologies should not be wasted on meaningless internal conflicts."

"So, the head of the family has always wanted to resolve the conflicts within your family."

I'm coming.

Marquez thought to himself that the next step would be to support himself against the other faction and allocate most of the vague area to his own faction, but the requirement was that his faction would always be loyal.

Should I refuse?

Marquez asked himself.

The answer is no, because there is no point in saying no.

As long as the Helvenson family makes this decision, there are plenty of people in the Campbell family who are willing to be pawns. By being a pawn, he can control the intensity and not make things too extreme.

And what Helvinson did was actually equivalent to manually dismembering the Campbell family, and there would be one less family in this star region that could challenge him.

Just as Marquez was analyzing the possible subsequent actions of the Helvenson family, the young man said something that he did not expect:

"The head of the family hopes that you and your faction can withdraw from the disputed area to completely resolve the dispute."

Marquez: “…”

Marquez smiled. "Forgive my rudeness, but if there are no follow-up conditions, even if I agree to this proposal, others may not agree, and I can't influence their choices."

"I know," the boy said, "but I know even more that although some people may not agree, you will agree, and you will be able to convince those who disagree to agree."

Marquez was waiting for the boy's further explanation, and the boy didn't intend to keep him in suspense, so he took out another document and handed it to Marquez.

After asking for the price and opening it, Marquez found this document less easy to read than the previous one, so while he was reading, the boy explained:

"Over five hundred years have passed since the end of that holy war. Now, everyone in the family has reached a consensus that the empire's territory is generally stable. The gains and losses of local wars, or the ownership of individual planets or star regions, no longer have much impact on the empire's territory. The empire has fallen into a state of...stable chaos."

"Chaos represents opportunity, and stability means that dangers are generally controllable..." The young man paused, glancing at the rotten wood of the recliner before continuing, "If the chaos becomes severe enough to spread across the entire empire, no one can guarantee their own safety. Just like everyone could die suddenly at any moment, we don't usually consider this possibility when planning for the future."

The young man said: "After careful consideration, the head of the family believes that it is time for Tessarell's fleet to set out again."

"The last time the Tessaril fleet set out was for war, but the Tessaril fleet wasn't always born for war. During this period of chaotic stability, we need a fleet to connect Tessaril with the rest of the empire. We need a fleet to help Tessaril obtain resources, technology, intelligence, and population from other parts of the empire, just like the Helvinson family's original business: Rogue Traders."

"If you can convince all decision-makers to give up those disputed areas, in return, the Helvensin family will grant your group the right to trade. This permission can be traced back to the great Lord of Humanity himself. You should understand its significance."

Hearing this, Marquez felt his tongue go numb. With the authorization of the sub-region governor's family and the trading license issued by the Lord of Mankind himself, how could the interests behind this be compared to one or two industrial planets?

Although this promise did not bring direct and ready-made benefits to the Campbell family and was accompanied by great risks, the benefits were unlimited.

The boy had essentially mapped out the location of a gold mine for him, the kind of top-tier gold mine where you could see gold fragments just by kicking away the loose soil.

However, the huge profits did not cloud Marquez's mind. He still asked a question:

"Excuse me for being rude, but why don't you let someone from your family run such a lucrative business?"

"My family?" the young man asked with a smile, "Excuse me, what does it mean to be my family?"

Márquez was speechless for a moment, but fortunately the young man asked this question just to answer it himself:

"If blood ties are the only way to be considered a family, then if war comes one day, won't the family members have to temporarily form an army?" The young man joked, then said, "Blood ties are never a guarantee of loyalty. Loyalty based on blood ties is the cheapest kind of loyalty, because it's not chosen by the individual, but by others. For us, anyone who is loyal to humanity and the Helvensin family is trustworthy."

Boy: "If I can give you support, will you be loyal to humanity and the Helvensons?"

Márquez: "My loyalty remains unchanged, regardless of your support or not."

Anyway, there is no need to swear on anything, so of course Marquez will say some polite words.

"Very good." The young man looked quite satisfied. He nodded and said, "Please pass this information on to your family head. We will begin formal negotiations regarding this cooperation in the near future. But until then, please keep this matter confidential from others."

Marquez naturally agreed. In fact, he also knew that he had no right to refuse. This conversation seemed like the young man was discussing with him, but if he were to lead a similar conversation, he would definitely be prepared with both carrots and sticks, and he believed that this young man would do the same.

It's only because of his cooperation that he can keep eating carrots. If he opposed, the other party might consider using the stick. Marquez believes that this is unnecessary.

Then the young man said, "I have finished talking about my family. If you and your family have any requests for us, we will do our best to meet them."

"It is the Campbell family's wish to be able to serve the Helvetic family forever," Marquez said. He paused and continued, "But I personally have a small... unwelcome request."

Boy: "Please speak."

Marcus: "...Can I touch Master Hildrasama?"

The boy was stunned for a moment. He glanced at the person on the recliner without leaving any trace, and then said, "Of course, but please be careful with your movements."

So Marquez slowly stood up from his chair, slowed his pace, walked to the front of the recliner, and then half-knelt down so that his eyes were at the same level as the person on the recliner.

Then he carefully held the man's hand.

This hand was equally skinny, and felt as dry as a candle, as if it were just a layer of skin stuck on the bones.

At this point, Marquez still doubts whether the dying person in front of him is really the legendary figure?

If she really was the legendary figure, then the hand he was holding at this moment had once touched the Primarch, and even the Emperor himself.

Young man: "You can kiss the back of the master's hand to show your respect."

After a moment's hesitation, with an unknown amount of piety, Marquez lowered his head and gently touched the back of the hand with his lips.

However, he was unable to raise his head, as if time had stopped for him at this moment.

The boy did not urge him. He maintained the posture he had in the last time he spoke to Marquez, but he could not take any further action.

Not only Marquez and the boy, everything in the cabin seemed to have been paused at this moment, even the flames in the fireplace stopped dancing.

In this still space and time, the only person who could still move was the person on the recliner, her chest still rising and falling at an imperceptible amplitude.

"Squeak-"

With a particularly harsh friction sound in the silence, the door that had been locked since Marquez walked in was pushed open again.