Empire of the Ring

Following the sale of Greece's largest port, Piraeus, to the Kazakh royal family, the second largest port of Greece also fell in the hands of foreign capital soon as Hellenic Parliament passed a deal to sell its shares on the northern Greek port of Thessaloniki.

Greece, which was on the brink of sovereign bankruptcy, was forced to sell its major national assets, starting to privatize state-run companies and reform its economic structure at the request of creditors. This left Greece with the loss of control of its first and second ports.

The Port of Thessaloniki was fiercely opposed by labor unions and opposition parties during the sale, but the previously sold Port of Piraeus ended in an unusually quiet manner. It was because the Kazakh royal family had silenced opposition.

The Kazakh royal family not only helped to supply crude oil and gas but also bought bankrupt Greek shipping companies helping Greece's national economy.

Thus, there was no reason to oppose it. Rather, as the financially powerful Kazakh royal family took over the management, people of Greece were rather relieved to get out of the anxiety of losing their jobs.

It was because the Kazakh royal family promised to make additional investments as part of the normalization of management.

The investment was to expand the container field further so that it could receive more logistics, and to drastically reduce the time of loading and unloading containers by introducing the latest type of crane.

Upon hearing that the Port of Piraeus' normalization and development, foreign shippers who turned a blind eye to the port before soon returned.

Eriksson was in charge of the advancement process of the port. He stayed in Athens, Greece to oversee the whole process of expanding the crane yard, installing new crane, and introducing an advanced logistics system.

The reason was that the port should be normalized as fast as possible to quell complaints from interested parties. One of them was China, which was originally a subject of negotiation.

China was continuing to pressure the Greek government, blaming and questioning the sale process, not including the Greek anti-China sentiment caused by China's aggressive measure to take over the port.

Youngho was on the phone to talk to Jong-il who went to Greece to meet Greek government officials.

"What is the stance of the Greek government?"

-Well, the officials of the government said that they have repeatedly stressed that it will only take effect when the Parliament approves it. They also asked the Chinese side not to provoke labor unions or public sentiment, but they pressured the government mentioning the emergency management system, so the government was forced to feel burdened.

"I guess China is blaming the Greek government for their fault."

-It must be upset because it missed a place that would be an important business hub for One Belt One Road project. They need a scapegoat for their failure.

"If the Greek government is in trouble, tell them we'll help them."

-I've already told them that.

"Look closely to see if China has any other joint ventures with Greece."

-I don't think we're in a position to argue about a business that the two countries have already started, but if the Greek government is in trouble, I will find a way to help.

***

Youngho had no chance to see Park Jong-il's face since Jong-il had been too busy after he came back from Greece.

It seemed that the recent strengthened security of the royal palace and immigration control was Park Jong-il's work.

He only showed up at Youngho's office with tired eyes upon Youngho's call.

"Jong-il, what on earth are you doing these days?"

"Don't tell a busy man to come because he's playing hard to keep the royal family and Central Asia safe, Your Grace."

"I won't interfere if it's something that can be solved by running around alone. Why are you doing this by the way?"

"I told you. The Chinese won't stand still. I feel like my eyes will pop out checking satellite images in real time."

"Is there any indication?"

"I'll respond to any kind of movement immediately, but I'm very nervous because these guys aren't moving. I don't know what they're up to. They're the ones who mobilized a human trafficking ring. I think they'll do anything to tame us."

"Is that why you've tightened the security here?"

"I did it just in case. They're not going to get through this time."

"You don't seem to trust the ring's ability yet."

"Well, the ring works only when something is about to happen, but a man's judgment is ahead of it. It's my way of cracking down in advance."

Jong-il had been working on strengthening the security of the royal territory so secretively that it took a while even for Youngho to notice. His effort was quite impressive.

All organizations under the Arirang royal territory were stable.

About 70,000 Kurds were still moving in every month, but there was no sense of clutter as settlement was taking place naturally. The first settlers were helping the new settlers adjust to the royal territory, and it was going smoothly.

A year later, the first Kurdish settlers had completely melted into the royal territory.

Most of them, though temporary, got jobs, and young people were either entering the path of becoming soldiers or learning new skills in vocational schools.

Such a stable settlement in a short period of time was a phenomenal case that had not been found anywhere else.

"Youngho, we once said China was likely to readjust its boundary before building a wall in the Xinjiang Uyghur area. That keeps on bothering me. I don't think the provocation will end only in the border area."

"Do you mean it's not likely to end only in the border area?"

"It's because Il-kwon said something that the Chinese might be after the royal family. It keeps on getting on my mind, and I can't get my hands on work. So, I'd like to bring Zeynep and Yunsuh's family here for a while. What do you think?"

Youngho also knew what Kim Il-kwon was worried about.

After becoming the head of the security team in the royal territory, he tightened the security of the palace and the personal guarding of the royal family members scattered around.

Even Szechenyi and Isabella in Denmark and Yunsuh's family in Frankfurt were protected strictly by bodyguards.

"They have bodyguards with them, so what are you worried about?"

"The best thing to do when it rains is to avoid it as much as possible."

Park Jong-il's plan to bring the family members living overseas seemed a bit too much, but there was nothing wrong with being cautious.

"All right. Call them in if you think it's necessary."

"You're making a good decision here. Now I'll stretch out my legs and get some sleep."

"You wouldn't be too glad when Yunsuh comes here, would that be all right?"

Jong-il had a history of making Yunsuh's friends cry, so the two bickered with each other whenever they met.

"It's easier to listen to Yunsuh's nagging than to be afraid that something will go wrong. In fact, I should thank her for reminding me of beautiful memories in the past."

"Oh, what memory? You seduced innocent girls and made them cry."

"What are you talking about? I'm sure they'd think of it as great memories. How proud must they be to think that they once were lovers of the Count of Kazakhstan's royal family? Maybe they'll mention it to their children as well."

"You shameless jack*ss!"

"It's just a memory of your youth. I pity a man who doesn't even have such beautiful memories."

"Oh, shut up!"

Effective security was almost difficult because security targets were inevitably exposed in places other than the royal territory. Especially Zeynep's security was the hardest.

She was a free soul and often seen wandering off her guard line, making her an easy target.

Youngho did not want to imagine what would happen next if something unexpected happened.

Yunsuh's family and Zeynep soon returned to the royal territory without delay when Youngho asked them.

It would be inconvenient to stay in the royal palace where they had to follow the royal code, but it was better than to fidget about every day with anxiety.

The person who was most dissatisfied with her return was Zeynep.

"So, you mean this is all Jong-il oppa's doing?"

Zeynep was sour as she claimed that she was called in for nothing.

"Zeynep, would he have made up a story just to make you come? It's time to be careful."

"And if I can't graduate, you two are responsible."

"…"

She was trying to take advantage of this situation since she never studied hard as she was busy with her Social Welfare Foundation's work.

If he answered poorly here, he would be caught up in Zeynep's trick, so Youngho shut his mouth.

"Hohoho… It doesn't mean you can't live in society without a college diploma, so it's okay."

She then answered on her own.

"Do you have any plans to graduate?"

"Yes, I'm going to go to a graduate school."

Youngho was shocked because this meant that Zeynep would stay in Frankfurt longer.

Aside from the cost of security for her, her bodyguards were extremely fatigued due to her lifestyle, and special measures needed to be taken.

"Why don't you settle down and go to college here?"

"What? The royal territory's college doesn't even have my major."

"Why don't you major in nursing at the Royal Medical College? I'm recommending you this since it'll be helpful when you work at your hospital ship."

To keep Zeynep in the area, Youngho had to do something to get her hooked, and as she was into the hospital ship she was building these days, he put it up as bait.

Then her eyes glistened momentarily. This meant that she liked Youngho's proposal.

"You mean you don't mind if I go around the world on the hospital ship later? Do you mind if I go to a dangerous area?"

"I won't mind. If you go to the Royal Medical College, I'll allow you to do whatever you want."

Zeynep was skeptical because Youngho had never made such an unconventional offer before.

Youngho was not worried about her being on the hospital ship as bodyguards would be around the ship anyway. By then, the Kazakh Navy would be equipped with power that no other force could compare.