Blackwater Company

"You should rein in your anger for now. It will accomplish nothing except push the nobles into doing something drastic," Queen Tiffin said helplessly. "Our kingdom has only just been reborn. It cannot weather another storm."

"Your queen is right. The nobles have banded together and refused to pay. Any extreme measures will only lead to worse consequences," Arthas said.

In truth, Onyxia was also deeply involved in the Stonemasons' Guild's failure to receive the payment it deserved.

It was the Black Dragon Princess who had pulled the strings behind the scenes, ordering the many nobles on her side to refuse to pay for Stormwind City's reconstruction.

Without the nobles' support, Varian would inevitably fall out with them. Then she would only need to fan the flames a little to ignite a conflict between three classes: the king, the nobles, and the ordinary citizens represented by the stonemasons.

If her scheme succeeded, Stormwind City would immediately be in grave danger. Mutual distrust and hatred between the classes would soon erupt into upheaval that swept across the entire Kingdom of Stormwind.

Onyxia's chain of covert plots and open schemes left Varian with almost no room to act. He had no idea where to begin unraveling it.

Go after the nobles? Deeply entrenched noble families were everywhere in the kingdom. As things stood, Varian had no chance of successfully taking them on. In the end, he would either bring disaster upon himself or destroy both sides.

Go after the Stonemasons' Guild? Quite apart from the fact that they deserved payment for rebuilding Stormwind City, a considerable number of their members were veterans of the Second War. Refusing to pay them would turn the entire populace against him.

Neither side was easy to deal with. As king, Varian could only mediate cautiously between them. But the overdue wages had to be paid eventually. One day, the balance would break, and the entire kingdom might be overthrown.

This was the Countess's open scheme, and the most crucial link in her entire plan.

Stormwind City lacked the funds to pay the enormous sum and still owed debts to many human kingdoms. Varian's treasury had long since been emptied. There was simply no money to fill that terrifying shortfall.

To break the deadlock, they had to seize the weight that controlled the balance from Onyxia's hands. That meant finding someone whose wealth rivaled a nation's, and who was willing to help Stormwind City pay off this immense debt.

Unfortunately, few humans in the entire Eastern Kingdoms possessed such wealth. Even if they had the money, why would they spend it helping a kingdom that was utterly broke?

"That's the situation. I really have no way out."

The Council of Nobles had collectively decided to withhold payment. Although Varian and Tiffin had vehemently opposed them, their efforts had accomplished little.

There was no helping it. Stormwind City was simply too poor. All its wealth lay in the nobles' hands. Even if Varian gave up everything he owned, he could not produce that many gold coins.

Arthas pondered for a moment, then asked, "How much does Stormwind City still owe the Stonemasons' Guild?"

"About a million gold coins."

That was indeed an enormous sum. Even Lordaeron, the wealthiest of the human kingdoms, collected only that much in taxes each year. An ordinary family's annual expenses, meanwhile, would not exceed five gold coins.

Varian had already abandoned any hope of repaying the debt, but Arthas's next words nearly made him think he had misheard.

"Then let me pay everything you owe the Stonemasons' Guild."

"How could I allow that?! His Majesty Terenas would never agree! And I won't agree to you doing something like that for me either!" Varian assumed Arthas intended to use Lordaeron's treasury to settle his enormous debt.

Queen Tiffin nodded beside him. "Prince Arthas, thank you for your kindness, but we already owe Lordaeron far too much."

Arthas immediately realized the couple had misunderstood. "Don't get the wrong idea. I won't be using Lordaeron's funds. I'll be using my own money."

"Your own?!" Varian's mouth opened wide enough to fit a hawkstrider egg.

When had his brother become fabulously wealthy? How could he speak so casually about a million gold coins, an entire kingdom's annual tax revenue?

"You've heard of the Blackwater Trading Company, haven't you?"

"Of course. It's the largest trading company in the entire Eastern Kingdoms. They say even the elves trade with it." Varian nodded without hesitation, then seemed to realize something. "Wait, don't tell me you're the one behind it?"

Arthas smiled and nodded. "That's right. The Blackwater Trading Company is actually a branch of the Secret Council Bureau. It provides financial support for the entire bureau."

Varian looked utterly bewildered. He had known Arthas was a prince, but not that he was a merchant as well. "When did you learn how to run a trading business? Is Uncle Terenas supporting you behind the scenes?"

"No. My father hasn't been involved in the company's operations. And I don't really know much about it myself. I just barely cover my subordinates' living expenses."

Arthas might indeed have known a fair amount of commercial knowledge that did not belong to this world, but he did not consider himself gifted in business. When it came to actual trading expertise, he still had to turn to this world's specialists-the goblins.

So, shortly after founding the Secret Council Bureau, Arthas had sent someone to "invite" a goblin magnate over. A former magnate, to be precise. His bitter rivals had swindled him out of his entire fortune. The fact that he had avoided incurring debts he could never repay in his lifetime was already a testament to his cunning.

Still, he was a lucky fellow. After receiving Arthas's initial funding and some advanced knowledge of economics, the goblin became utterly devoted to the prince. He would gladly have grovelled at Arthas's feet for more ways to earn those lovely gold coins.

The trading company he managed operated across the entire continent. It even had trading outposts on Kalimdor, across the sea, a continent humans still knew little about. Having rebuilt his fortune, the goblin had even risen to his people's highest rank-Trade Prince.

The goblins also called the Blackwater Trading Company the Blackwater Company. Its wealth was enough to crush any human kingdom beneath sheer piles of money.

On the surface, however, this colossal enterprise had no connection to Lordaeron. In reality, Arthas was the company's hidden master.

A million really was not a particularly large sum to the prince.

At most, it would leave that money-obsessed goblin prince aching for ten or twenty years. But Arthas felt that money left sitting unused was nothing more than a number. Besides, he had already thought through this loan.

Once Arthas confirmed it, Varian suddenly hesitated again. He was not sure he deserved Arthas's help. "My brother, Stormwind City has no way to repay you a million gold coins. I can't accept this."

"Don't worry, Varian. You're a wise ruler. If you look after your people, the citizens of Stormwind City will stand behind you. I trust my judgment, and I trust you."

Arthas took two magical notes from his Space Pouch. One was for a million gold coins, the other for five hundred thousand. He pushed them toward Varian. "Take these. You can cash them at the Blackwater Company's bank in Stormwind City. Consider the extra five hundred thousand a gift for Anduin."

"But..."

"No buts, Varian. I'm not simply giving you that million, either. You can pay me back later. Besides, there's something I need your help with, so you don't owe me anything."

After a fierce internal struggle, Varian finally accepted Arthas's checks. He solemnly promised him, "Whatever you need my help with, I'll do everything in my power."

"No need to be so tense, Varian. But first, I need to meet the head of the Stonemasons' Guild. Hmm... his name is Edwin VanCleef, isn't it?"

VanCleef was uneasy. He did not know why His Majesty had suddenly summoned him. Could it be that the king truly had no intention of paying them? Had he summoned him to have him secretly killed?

Although he had a wife and a newborn daughter, the thought of his fellow guild members' difficult lives made him put on his coat without hesitation and hurry to a side hall in Stormwind Keep.

Varian, the ruler of Stormwind City, had been waiting there for some time. The moment VanCleef entered the side hall, the royal guards shut the heavy doors. Two guards stood at the entrance like statues, their halberds planted on the floor.

The dull thud seemed to strike VanCleef's heart. He could not help smiling bitterly. Judging by this reception, he probably would not leave alive today. He only hoped His Majesty would not take his anger out on his wife and child.

But he had no intention of simply waiting to die. VanCleef resolved that, whatever happened next, he had to explain the consequences to the young king. Even if he died, he would fight for the rights his brothers in the Stonemasons' Guild deserved and protect the Stormwind City he loved so dearly.

"Edwin, I hear you worked for SI:7 for a while before becoming an engineer?" Varian's voice was measured, giving no hint of what he was thinking.

VanCleef's heart lurched. The king was investigating his background. Had His Majesty Wrynn believed malicious rumors that he was using his former experience as a spy to sow chaos in the kingdom?

"Your Majesty, I did once work for SI:7, but now I'm merely an ordinary engineer."

"Ordinary? You're anything but ordinary. Could an ordinary engineer have rebuilt Stormwind City so beautifully? Your abilities are hardly ordinary!"

Convinced that his prospects were grim, VanCleef remained silent, considering how to answer Varian's next words.

"Come closer, Edwin. Don't be so stiff. Come sit beside me." Varian patted an empty seat next to him.

VanCleef eyed the longsword leaning against the armrest of Varian's chair, wondering whether the king would cut him down as soon as he approached. But he dared not disobey a royal command, so he obediently walked over and sat down.

"Actually, I'm not the one who wanted to see you today. Someone else does. I'm just having a little chat with you in the meantime."

Is His Majesty going to say he's sending me to meet the late king next? VanCleef shuddered inwardly, feeling that he might be cut down before he could finish speaking.

"Here. You've all suffered these past few months." Varian reached out and picked something up.

VanCleef immediately rose and dropped to one knee before Varian, speaking as fast as he could. "Your Majesty, you may kill me, but please think of the other members of the Stonemasons' Guild! They represent Stormwind City's ordinary people. They left their fields untended to come rebuild Stormwind City. Without their wages, many of them and their entire families will starve to death!"

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