Chapter 111
Prince Lloyd
Even Eivass hadn’t expected that the fish would take the bait so easily. He hadn’t even said much, barely dipping his line after preparing the bait, and the fish had practically jumped ashore itself. It seemed Mr. Fish was in a real hurry. Eivass didn’t call him out on it and instead followed Mr. Fish to the Lloyd Society.
The Metropolitan Area was northwest of the White Queen District. To get to the Lloyd District, one had to cross the entire White Queen District. However, as a port district, the Lloyd District certainly wouldn’t allow goods to pile up and become unexportable. There were more than one railway lines connecting the most populous Metropolitan Area to the Lloyd District in the southeast by the sea. But they all bypassed the White Queen District in the middle.
Lawyer York took Eivass onto the train. It was just past nine o’clock, and they had already arrived at the Lloyd Society. Although Lawyer York had said they weren’t a commercial company, what greeted them was a skyscraper. A building of over thirty stories was quite astonishing for the technology of that era. It was the tallest building in the entire Lloyd District, a stark contrast to the surrounding buildings which were only one or two stories high.
The Lloyd Society Headquarters Building was bustling with people, all doing their best to maintain a respectable appearance. At the entrance of the building was a giant revolving glass door, and the marble floor of the lobby was as bright as new. The lobby had many small round tables, with low stools placed beside them. Some young men in suits, who looked more like salesmen, sat there, quietly conversing with people dressed appropriately but appearing distressed.
On one side of the lobby was a large display board. The left side listed names like Tyson Crude Oil, Nimarsha Overseas Group, and Emerald Lizard Metal Timber Company, followed by rolling numbers precise to one decimal place. The right side listed names of goods, such as cotton, soybeans, white sugar, and wine, with their prices displayed on rolling boards to the right. A crowd of well-dressed people gathered there; some were discussing in hushed tones, some looked anxious, some were bragging, and others stood in a corner, taking notes in a book. Every so often, someone would approach the number boards to update them with the latest figures.
As Lawyer York led Eivass and Lily into the building, someone immediately approached them. A receptionist, who looked no older than twenty and was elegantly dressed with mature and beautiful makeup, greeted them politely, “Consultant sir.”
“Which of the higher-ups is available?” Lawyer York asked.
“Mr. Boka, Mr. Forbes, and Ms. Gray Green,” the female receptionist replied.
“Is Mr. Lloyd not here?” Lawyer York murmured softly, then instructed, “Please ask Vice President Boka to come to my office and tell him I’ve brought a new recruit.”
“Understood,” the receptionist replied.
Immediately afterward, Lawyer York took Eivass and Lily to the elevator and told the elevator operator, “To the seventeenth floor.” The elevator operator was a middle-aged woman in her forties. She nodded, turned the handwheel, and raised the wire mesh door. Then, she pulled the gate in front of her, and the half-open elevator began to ascend shakily. This was Eivass’s first time seeing an elevator in Avalon.
And this elevator was ancient. As the elevator ascended to the mezzanine between two floors, red bricks could be seen through the wire mesh door. The elevator continued to shake and make noises, as if bumping into something, during its ascent. Eivass’s heart suddenly tensed, fearful that it might break and fall from mid-air. Powder and small pieces of gravel occasionally fell into the elevator through the gaps in the wire mesh. The elevator operator, unfazed, kicked them back out through the openings.
Finally, it arrived safely at the seventeenth floor, stopping its swaying after a violent jolt and gradually coming to a halt. Lily let out an imperceptible sigh of relief. Her fingers, gripping the wheelchair, had been white from exertion.
“Have you taken an elevator before?” Lawyer York chuckled. “I’ve brought many people to the Lloyd Society Headquarters, but they were all quite scared the first time they rode this elevator.”
So this was their way of testing people, Eivass mused. But he simply shook his head and stated firmly, “I have never ridden an elevator like this.”
“This elevator, along with this building, was designed by architects from Star Antimony,” Lawyer York said, walking ahead and introducing enthusiastically. “You may not know, but buildings in our Avalon usually don’t reach such heights. Structures like the Great Cathedral of the Candle Holder and the Silver and Tin Hall come from blueprints from the Church, but they also don’t reach this high. For a building to reach this height, special reinforcement materials are needed. Otherwise, on a windy day, the upper floors would sway precariously and, with a whoosh, could easily bend and collapse.”
He gestured expressively as he spoke, as if he had already forgotten that he had just returned from a funeral, or perhaps had finally put something heavy on his mind. It was a natural outpouring of ease and lightness, his steps almost brisk, as if he were about to break into song.
“Not all buildings can be maintained regularly by Preservers like the Silver and Tin Hall. It’s very normal for most buildings to age over time. In such situations, the advanced technology of Star Antimony becomes evident…” Lawyer York’s words were full of praise for the technological prowess of the Star Antimony Kingdom. He spoke about the advanced technologies used in the building, from the architects to the structural physics, and then about the daily foot traffic.
*If only he knew I’ve been to Star Antimony, even if it was in my past life. The elevators used by the Star Antimony people are far more advanced than this.* Eivass thought.
After listening to Lawyer York ramble on for quite some time, Eivass finally couldn’t help but interrupt, “Has this building been here for two hundred years?”
“…You know that the Lloyd Society has a history of two hundred years?” Lawyer York sounded surprised, but then quickly understood. “That’s true, you are a ‘Moriarty’ after all.”
“But unfortunately, no. The elevator hasn’t even been invented for a hundred years, and this building was completed about seven or eight years ago.” Lawyer York smiled. “This building didn’t exist when I was a child. I remember ten years ago, the old Lloyd Society building was attacked and bombed, so President Lloyd at the time commissioned someone to build this new one.”
“President Lloyd?” Eivass knew where York wanted to steer the conversation, so he conveniently chimed in, “Does Mr. Lloyd have any relation to the Prince Lloyd of that year?”
As expected, this was the topic York wanted to discuss. He opened his office door and said with a smile, “Since you know Prince Lloyd, that makes things easier. Please sit down, Eivass— oh, my apologies. Please have Miss Lily accompany Mr. Eivass here for a moment while I make some tea for you both.”
Eivass keenly noticed that York had intentionally misspoken. His goal was to temporarily interrupt their conversation. This way, Eivass, bored, would look around the room. This vantage point allowed him to survey the entire room and its layout. The office was filled with well-cared-for plants, and a green parrot with colorful tail feathers sat in a cage. The fish tank next to it held goldfish, and the wall was adorned with heartwarming photos of Lawyer York with his friends. They were arm in arm, smiling broadly, and even captured in playful moments, dating from their twenties to the present. These friends were almost all celebrities or prominent figures.
Even while boiling water, York didn’t stop talking. As he estimated Eivass was looking at his photos, he resumed, detailing the history of the Lloyd Society. “How much do you know about Prince Lloyd?”
“A successful merchant, a disgrace to the Royal Family,” Eivass replied.
Prince Lloyd’s surname was not “Du Lac.” He was a merchant named “Lloyd” over two hundred years ago. Back then, Avalon’s shipping industry was reaching its peak. Prince Lloyd initially started as a coffee shop owner. His excellent coffee attracted many merchants, who brought valuable information with them during their conversations. Prince Lloyd keenly identified a business opportunity and, with a self-funded loan, published a newspaper called “Lloyd’s News,” which came out three times a week with a limited print run of five hundred copies per issue. It contained all sorts of shipping news and maritime intelligence, which was invaluable to merchants engaged in extremely costly overseas voyages.
Newspaper publishing was not yet developed at the time, and news was severely delayed. Lloyd’s wide network, however, allowed him to provide the most accurate and reliable information within the industry. Consequently, “Lloyd’s News” commanded high prices among less influential merchants. Those who couldn’t buy the newspaper had to visit his coffee shop to deal with him personally and seek his consultation. However, the information Lloyd published in the newspaper was only his “second-tier” news. He possessed even more secret “first-tier” intelligence, which he only sold to those willing to engage with him—exchanging his information and favors for theirs.
By operating his own intelligence business, Lloyd gained considerable influence. Captains, merchants, and loan sharks alike had to win his favor. Under these circumstances, he established his own rules and developed the insurance brokerage industry. Initially, Mr. Lloyd did not issue insurance himself, but all “maritime insurance” had to go through him, and he took a 5% net profit. It was a risk-free, highly profitable venture, and naturally, some people wanted him dead. So, he began to operate his own private armed force. Finally, seeing that he had military power, he personally started issuing loans – the “Lloyd Loans” – gradually becoming a colossal entity. And he gradually entered the circles of high society. Eventually, he, a merchant from humble origins without noble blood, fell in love with the Queen at the time and became a Prince. Even so, he never abandoned the Lloyd Society he had built from scratch. Instead, he used the authority of the Royal Family to his advantage, approving that Lloyd Society members could engage in all types of insurance businesses, including maritime insurance, and converted the original “Lloyd’s News” into “Lloyd’s Weekly.” Through his devotion to Her Majesty the Queen, Prince Lloyd continuously siphoned resources from the Royal Family and passed various laws that were indirectly advantageous to the Lloyd Society. Simultaneously, he cultivated an intricate network of personal relationships, bringing important members of knightly families into, or effectively into, the Lloyd Society. By the time that Queen passed away, the Lloyd Society had already become an unshakable colossus.
To this day, even the Round Table Hall finds it difficult to take action against the Lloyd Society. It is even closely tied to the revenues of multiple departments. Prince Lloyd has become a “disgrace to the Royal Family.” Because of Prince Lloyd, much of the Royal Family’s power was stripped away and restricted. It was also after him that knightly families were forbidden from marrying common merchants without noble blood. However, Lawyer York paid no mind to Eivass’s sharp words and simply smiled.
This is the first chapter, which is over three thousand words. The second chapter is not yet finished and will be released at 6 PM! We are resuming double daily updates today! I went to sleep at 9 PM last night and woke up at 3:30 AM. I feel like I’ve mostly adjusted, although my head is still a bit foggy. While I think your advice is sound, I’m already halfway through the adjustment, so I can’t just stop, can I (sadness)? I’ll stick with this for now—
