Suh Min-seok, who carried documents dividing sections of the autonomous state, was proud that the area of the state was larger than that of Singapore or Luxembourg.

Of the world’s 254 countries or autonomous territories, it was ranked 178th in terms of its area alone. He got excited as he looked at the comparison table of areas by country.

“Prince consort, if the Arirang River dries up, can we also take the land north of the river?”

“It’s not difficult. Well, it’s a semi-deserted zone, so no one’s going to be jealous of us even if we take it. But why?”

“If we can do that, the nation’s ranking will jump.”

Youngho looked at Suh Min-seok with a pathetic look since his comment was quite childish for someone who would soon be 30. Noticing Youngho’s eyes, he soon stepped out of the office.

Speaking of world rankings, there was a magazine that ranked rich people around the world. It was Forbes. Youngho picked it up and saw the world’s billionaires’ list on it. He was surprised to see a familiar name. It was the president’s second daughter.

Her total wealth amounted to 12 billion dollars, which was jaw-dropping. This was an impossible amount she could have collected on her own unless she stole her country’s assets. According to the data that agents of the autonomous state collected, the youngest daughter also owned an Italian jewelry brand Damiani. This was too much.

Youngho remembered that the president complained about being for failing to control corruption among his relatives and close friends. He could not have possibly meant what he said since it was nothing short of giving away huge sums of money to all of his immediate children.

Maybe President Nazarbayev had given his money to the autonomous state to save himself from getting punished for stealing the nation’s money. Youngho wondered if that was the reason why he said that giving Youngho a billion dollars his insurance.

In the conference room, Kim Chun, Old Kim Sung-chan, Chief Niksic, Park Young-sun, Head Doctor Kim, and Youngho’s friends all gathered at Youngho’s call.

“I called you today to talk about an important matter. We should gather our insights to reach a final conclusion on the direction of our state. On your desk, I’ve printed out reports collected by our agents. Please read and share your candid opinion on it.”

“Is this true? No matter how blind people can be, the president’s daughters have acquired an unreasonable amount of money. This is unforgivable.”

Commissioner Kim was furious to look at the calculated wealth of the president’s family.

12 billion dollars was going beyond what an individual could acquire from bribes. The amount was only possible if the government siphoned off the national budget.

“If the person who said that he cares for Kazakhstan’s future did this, you should never believe him. We’ll be treated the same as him later.”

“The dice have already been thrown. You should also be aware of the aftereffects of not keeping your promise with the president. If you cross him, the state could disappear without a trace.”

“Do you think you could cover up this kind of corruption?”

“No, we can’t do that. We have to find any money that’s been siphoned off or hidden away and get it back to the national coffers if we’re to run the country.”

“The report says the eldest daughter is looking for a chance to take power. Do you have any ideas to beat her?”

“We don’t have one at the moment, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have any alternatives.”

“Even if we have an alternative, do we really have a future as a state in a country like this? It could be better off to give up already and save our power and strength for something better.”

“What would happen to the people of the autonomous state and the countless ethnicities of Kazakhstan if we gave up on ourselves already? I want us to try our best first before we give in to power.”

When he said he would not give up the state, opinions were divided on the future course of action.

“What if the deputy prime minister holds the presidency in any way possible?”

“If that happens, we’ll not be on the same boat as Kazakhstan. We’ll have to find a different way.”

“Are you thinking about the independence of the autonomous state?”

“Yes, we’re going to promote not just the independence of the state, but the entire West Kazahstan. The president’s base, the east side of Kazakhstan, will be next.”

“You mean you’re going to have a civil war.”

“If that’s necessary to protect our people. So from now on, we should build up our force. Only overwhelming force can avoid a civil war.”

“It’s going to be a long fight.”

“It could end sooner than we expect. We have a justification for proclaiming the present’s regime tainted by corruption. We also have a powerful ally.”

“We do?”

“I’ll let you know in time.”

“I’m relieved to hear that. Then, first of all, we should make the most out of what we have. You should get whatever you can get from the president. Our plans would only work if they don’t know what we’re up to.”

This was Park Young-sun’s remark.

“If this is your will, prince consort, you have my full support. This is our children’s home now.”

This was Kim Chun’s remark, and no one made an opposition. It was because everyone agreed with it.

***

After being determined to take advantage of the president, Yougho felt more comfortable.

Whatever his intention might be, Youngho decided to play along with the president’s plot for a while. It would be revealed whether the president wanted to use Youngho as a tool to put his daughter in power, or he truly cared about the future of Kazakhstan.

Youngho wondered if Basten and Eriksson of the Information Agency knew about the presidential family’s corruption. If she had amassed such a huge fortune, she would have been caught by the company’s antenna. It might be natural for countries on the Caspian coast.

The presidents here were almost treated like kings by the people here as their office was called the Presidential Palace.

Youngho decided to get Eriksson’s advice on the daughter of President Nazarbayev.

“I’m sorry to make you come all the way.”

“Not at all. It was time for you to call, so I’ve been expecting your call.”

“You knew I’d ask for help.”

“Well, there are so many tiger moths that jump towards power. I thought you might need help when you meet an obstacle. Please tell me what’s bothering you.”

Eriksson, who had been briefed on the situation, did not seem to be surprised at all. In a way, he looked so natural that Youngho—who was explaining it—was discouraged.

“You don’t have to take what was announced on Forbes directly. The second daughter’s wealth is believed to include the assets of her husband’s bank and stock firm.”

“Would Forbes publish a sloppy document that doesn’t distinguish between financial assets and personal assets? Her husband is just the nominal chairman of the financial company.”

“Maybe that might be the case. But wouldn’t it be natural for a family member of a president who has been in power for decades to have this much assets stored?”

“What?”

“You know, President of Azerbaijan’s assets are known to be immeasurable.”

Youngho was rather dumbfounded when Eriksson said it as if it were absolutely natural. It was like him saying, ‘what is wrong with a dictator and his family accumulating that much wealth?’

“You don’t seem surprised.”

“Wealth is natural for a leader of many developing countries that are resource-rich. The state-owned company is the president’s as well.”

“…”

“I’ve seen that a lot while working for the Information Agency. So it’s nothing new.”

“I understand that many leaders of developing countries are corrupted, but I am disappointed that even Nazarbayev’s integrity was fake.”

“Of course. There’s a chance that you’ll find more corruption from him. You have to be strong. Now when there’s a clean leader in a developing country, I think he’s crazy. That’s how the world has been. The kings and lords in the past had filled their stomachs with the blood and sweat of their subordinates. So, that’s why any ambitious people try to get to the top.”

“I’m in that category, too.”

“You’re a leader who’s close to a working philanthropist. You’re not greedy, and you’re a genuinely good guy. Well, the problem is that people around you will try to manipulate you.”

“It sounds like a compliment, but it also sounds like you have a thin ear.”

“Hahaha. You’re a saint-like leader who sheds light in the world.”

“I’m going to have to end the conversation because the more I talk, the more I feel embarrassed.”

“Any unjust personal assets will be resolved when you return it to the nation later. It would be a pain in the neck if they were to siphon off their wealth abroad or go into exile, but you can order an organization that specializes in such matter to retrieve that money.”

It seemed that there were many particular organizations since Eriksson was talking about an organization that Youngho had never heard of.

“Duke, let’s get down to business. You didn’t get the point yet.”

“Eriksson, you make it sound like there’s no point about talking. I already know that you’d be saying the woman in that position can have such ambition.”

“What? What about a woman?”

“It’s President’s oldest daughter. She’s the deputy prime minister now. I think she’s dreaming of becoming a president.”

“I know she’s been keeping quiet. Could you tell me about her in detail?”

Eriksson looked like he was totally unaware of her ambition.

Eriksson’s expression changed every minute while listening to Youngho’s explanation, and he continuously took notes. This was unexpected news for him too.

When Youngho was done talking, Eriksson closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“The eldest daughter was not a consideration at all to us. We judged that she’s popular among Kazakh people because she’s the daughter of the president. Also, it is very unusual that the president has offered his slush funds.”

“One billion dollars is a lot of money, but for him, it’s nothing if that was used to put his daughter in power. That is if this could be used as a pretext for him to condemn the autonomous state.”

“Yes, that could be a case. If the president said he would give you the money as if he had been waiting for you to step up, he might have other ideas. If things go too well, there’s a trap.”

“I can’t get rid of the idea that I’m only being used by him.”

“No, we’re talking about possibilities, but that doesn’t mean anything we said is confirmed. I’ll have to think it over a little more. The immediate analogy is that there’s not much justification for these ideas yet.”

“Eriksson, the aircraft manufacturer and the tank assembly plant are coming into the state soon. Would that be enough to manipulate public opinion and condemn us as a threat to Kazakhstan?”

“That’s still a weak cause. Don’t you think that a dictator can make any story look real by manipulating the media?”

“He can, but President is probably thinking that time is on his side.”

A plausible scenario had emerged in Youngho’s mind that the president could use to destroy Youngho and the autonomous state’s position. The conversation he had with Eriksson might be just a delusion, but it was better to be cautious. He just hoped that what he was imagining would not come true.