As soon as he thought it was the secret that the Devonshire family had guarded for a thousand years, the Duke of Devon stood up excitedly, disregarding the King, and bypassing Philip and Charles, he said directly to William with a furious expression:
"Are you crazy, William? How can you reveal your family's greatest secret? That's the foundation for your family to stand for a thousand years."
King Philip, however, stood up with a look of joy. "Let's go, we'll talk somewhere else." Then, after looking at Charles for a moment, he left without saying anything.
Charles knew that Philip had almost wanted to send him away. Now, seeing Philip's tacit approval, he quickly followed. The Duke of Devon glared at William for a few seconds, then snorted coldly and followed suit.
William watched the hurrying Philip with a smile, truly impatient. Led by a guard, the four entered a sealed secret room. After sitting down, Philip looked at William seriously and said, "I'll ask you one last time, have you thought it through, William?"
William smiled and said, "Of course."
"Then let's begin. Just tell me where she is. Although your family has guarded it for a thousand years, after the Knights Templar were massacred 600 years ago, that secret is no longer a secret to a limited few. Almost everyone who needs to know, knows."
Heh, not even discussing terms, not even offering benefits, how could he just tell them so easily? William lowered his head, smiling as he slowly drank his coffee, confident that Philip and the Duke of Devon wouldn't be unmoved.
Charles saw the atmosphere was a bit tense, so he winked at Philip. After receiving a slight nod of approval from Philip, he said, "Excuse me, William, can you tell me what you're talking about?"
William raised an eyebrow, glanced at Philip and the Duke of Devon, and then said to the curious Charles, "A story about the God of Light and his wife."
"What do you mean?" Charles looked at William in confusion. When did the God of Light have a wife?
William saw Philip and the Duke of Devon sitting upright and silent, so he explained the whole story to Charles. After Charles finished listening, he asked in surprise, "My God, where is she? And William, are you really crazy? How can you reveal such a secret?"
This time, Philip said to Charles dismissively, "He's not crazy. Do you think a person who can start from scratch and be worth billions would be a lunatic?"
Charles was enlightened by Philip's words. Yes, in their limited interactions, he didn't think William was a lunatic. He was more like a shrewd little fox.
Seeing William explain and then resume his unperturbed demeanor, Philip said helplessly, "Alright, tell me your conditions. As long as they're not too excessive, I'll agree."
William then chuckled and said, "First, I want to buy all the land around Oxford Castle. I'll buy it at market price. The only hurdle is the approval of the Oxford City Council."
Philip asked in surprise, "If you have the money and want to buy it, why do you need to find me?"
"Of course, I need to find you, because I want to buy all the land around the Devonshire family castle, which is about 30,000 acres."
Charles looked at the grinning William and wished he could punch him. God, 30,000 acres! That was 5,000 acres more than their family owned. As soon as he bought it, William would immediately become the largest landowner in England.
Philip shook his head after hearing William's words and said, "It's no use asking me about this. It depends on the Oxford City Council. No one is a fool; they won't let you buy such a large piece of land. If you develop real estate on it or fence it off and no longer allow outsiders in, it will affect the food and public resources of hundreds of thousands of people."
William didn't believe Philip had no solution. He had been on the throne for over 60 years and must have a way to persuade the Oxford City Council. It was nothing more than an exchange of interests. It seemed he had to offer some benefits first.
William smiled and said, "You know what? Someone offered $300 million to buy the Holy Grail this afternoon, but I didn't agree. Instead, I sent them directly to meet the God of Light."
Philip and the other two immediately thought of the intelligence they received around 4 PM about six council members of the suspected Church of Light and a black-robed bishop being involved in a car accident in Lyon, France. The bus plunged over a 100-meter cliff, and all eight people on board, including the driver, died.
They had been wondering who was so ruthless as to wipe out the leaders of the Church of Light, and they hadn't expected it to be this young man in front of them.
The three looked at the calm William with great vigilance, not expecting such a young man to be so brutal. They didn't pay much attention to the $300 million.
William said with a smile, "You must all know what the Knights Templar did to the Church of Light a thousand years ago."
Philip and the other two laughed and nodded, of course they knew, wasn't it just extorting the Church of Light?
"I don't want much, just $500 million. If there's no cash, fixed assets in England will do. As for how much you can get, I don't care."
Philip didn't respond to William's request, but just chuckled and said, "Haha, William, haven't you thought about going to the Church of Light yourself?"
William rolled his eyes at Philip in exasperation. Although he had indeed thought about it, he wasn't an idiot. If he went directly, he might be silenced. Even if William could escape, trouble would follow him for the rest of his life.
It was much better now. He didn't have to charge into battle or show his face and incur hatred. If the sky fell, wasn't there still a king, a prince, and a duke to bear the brunt? Besides, he had no intention of revealing the angel statue in his home.
What he would talk about was definitely the fake Holy Grail in the Louvre. As for whether it was real or fake, that depended on one's discernment. That Holy Grail had been personally authenticated and stored by four elders of the Hermetic Order more than ten years ago. If it was found to be a fake, that would be the problem of the four elders of the Hermetic Order.
If Philip and the other two really extorted the Church of Light, the Church of Light would certainly not hate him the most. "I'm not an idiot. The power of one person is not as great as the power of a group of people, and I'm not greedy. I'd be satisfied with $500 million."
Philip and the Duke of Devon nodded in satisfaction, thinking that William was quite self-aware. Although the Church of Light had declined, anyone who underestimated them would surely pay a heavy price.
They also understood why William sought them out, but the value of the Holy Grail was too great. They couldn't help but be used as pawns by William, and William's demands seemed reasonable to them, even too low.
This made the two of them a little puzzled as to why William would hand over the Holy Grail. "Alright, I agree to both of these conditions. Tell me your third condition. I don't believe you would only ask for so little."
William knew the most important part was coming. If he couldn't dispel the doubts in Philip and the Duke of Devon's minds, the two might not take the bait.
William quickly showed an annoyed expression, breathing heavily, "I hope you and the Church of Light can join forces to eliminate the Church of Light's guild. They have seriously threatened my mother's and my safety."
When Philip heard this condition, he thought with some alarm, William's vengefulness is really strong, and his heart is incredibly dark. Just because his safety was threatened, he wanted to uproot others.
King Philip and the Duke of Devon pondered for a long time. The two knew that William had not come to them with good intentions, but this bait was too great for people from these top-tier families. Moreover, if William was pushed too hard by the Church of Light's guild or the Church of Light and recklessly revealed the Holy Grail, things would become uncontrollable.
"Alright, as long as the Holy Grail is real, I agree to your conditions. Now tell me where the Holy Grail is. You wouldn't disbelieve something I, the King of England, have agreed to, would you?"
"Of course not, but I want a $500 million deposit."
Philip and the Duke of Devon exchanged glances and then nodded in agreement. That's more like it, no one would be foolish enough to work without getting paid.
It took almost two more hours to discuss which assets would be used to offset the $500 million. After the discussions, King Philip said somewhat wearily, "Are you relieved now?"
William looked at the documents in his hand with satisfaction, not expecting that King Philip and the Duke of Devon's private foundations would hold 4% of Apple, 7% of Amazon, and 3% of Disney shares.
William immediately demanded all these shares. These companies were publicly traded, unlike the startup phase, so it wouldn't be easy to dilute his shares.
He also asked for 11% of Chelsea shares. The Chelsea shares would be a perfect birthday gift for his mother; Lena had always been a Chelsea fan.
William chuckled and said, "The Holy Grail is currently in the basement of the glass pyramid at the Louvre Museum in France."
Upon hearing this news, King Philip and the Duke of Devon were so enraged they almost had heart attacks. They glared fiercely at William, thinking that they knew this wouldn't be so simple. This damned William had sold something that wasn't his for $500 million.
However, on the other hand, they became convinced by William's words. This also explained why William would sell the Holy Grail to them at such a low price. So, after they sent William and Prince Charles away, they happily raised their glasses to celebrate. These two old foxes still had to discuss the distribution of profits.
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