Empire of the Ring

“China is also a member of the international community. It won’t be overly compliant, but eventually, it is going to step back under pressure. The only place on Earth that’s clean is Greenland, which would be a means of pressure.”

“The Greenland government was too hasty. I don’t know what kind of profit they wanted by involving China. I have to say something.”

The queen was rather exasperated.

Although it was an autonomous government, the foreign and defense ministries belonged strictly to the Danish government.

Selling resources should also be approached cautiously in conjunction with foreign and defense ministries, but the autonomous government had acted out of common sense.

“That’s why I want to take the role as your knight. Shouldn’t Denmark deploy a bit of force in Greenland as a countermeasure for China’s potential show of force as resistance?”

“That’s right, but if the Danish army is stationed, it’ll alarm the neighboring countries…”

“The Kazakh royal family has a security company. It’s a company known internationally as well. If you mobilize the security company, it won’t be a matter to the neighboring countries. It’ll just be a company hired to protect Danish royal property.”

If the Royal Bodyguards of the Kazakh royal family were disguised and sent as Zeynep Security Service’s employees, no one would find out. Officially, it would be known that the Danish royal family had entrusted the security of its facilities to Zeynep Security Service.

“I’ve heard that you have a company that specializes in facility security and private security, but is it that big?”

“It consists of former special forces soldiers, so I can confidently say that it has the military power of a small country.”

Youngho bluffed a little bit to impress the queen.

“I guess Princess Zeynep is the owner of the security company.”

Queen must have thought the owner was Zeynep as the company was named after her.

“In the beginning, I used the name of Princess Zeynep without a special reason, so she’s been grilling me to pay the copyright fee for her name value. But now it’s known as a global security company, so I can’t change the name even if I wanted to. Instead of paying Zeynep for her name value, I created a social welfare foundation for her and make contributions to it every year.”

On the brand label of Zeynep Wine, which also had her name, Zeynep’s side profile was drawn on it, so it was natural for her to claim the copyright loyalty.

“Hohoho. Princess Zeynep has pretty good business sense. I’ve heard that the Duke cares a lot about the princess.”

“I knew her since she was young, so I care a great deal about her.”

Youngho could not help but smile to think of Zeynep as he was answering her question.

“Szechenyi bragged about his family’s tight relationship. It’s like your face is proof of that.”

“Hahaha… Did it show? I think it’s because we’ve been living together since they were young. I can only explain that the Queen and her siblings were destined for me.”

“Zeynep is such a dear princess for you, but would it be rude if I find a good man for her?”

“Princess Zeynep said she’d choose her own man, so I haven’t been able to do anything in that area. I should respect her choice.”

“Oh, my! It’s a royal wedding. It could be a laughing stock if we don’t care.”

“Didn’t your Crown Prince marry a commoner as well?”

“Phew! I still regret not being able to dissuade the marriage.”

The queen complained about the Crown Princess and how her vanity was damaging the reputation of the royal family for a long time, saying it was a secret between the two.

Her complaint was endless but as Youngho claimed to be the queen’s knight, he was forced to listen since he intended to fulfill his purpose to station the Kazakh troops in Greenland.

Excited to have met a gentleman who listened to her story for the first time in a long time, she did not want to let him go for a long time.

They had a complex relationship, and it was not a comfortable setting, but for her, it was fun to talk with a person of a similar rank.

He could leave the room after listening to her for two hours.

“Hyung, thank you for your hard work.”

Szechenyi smiled at Youngho, who was loosening his tie. It seemed Szechenyi often suffered from the Queen’s long chatting too.

“Man, I won’t ever shove your sister into the Queen’s office. If I do that, she’ll grill me for a long time.”

“Hahaha… Did Her Majesty agree?”

“Zeynep Security Service is going to take over the security of the Danish royal family.”

“Great. That would be a fantastic cover.”

“She decided it wouldn’t be a problem for Zeynep Security Service to make inroads into Greenland. The more we talked, the more she felt like a great general.”

“She’s absolutely rational. But on the other hand, she can also be hot-blooded. If she hadn’t been born a princess, she would have been a prime minister.”

***

Dr. Hanson from the Danish Shipyard asked to meet Youngho once more, so Youngho decided to stay another day in Denmark.

“Your Highness. I’ve asked you to meet me because I have some concerns.”

Youngho’s heart sank by Hanson’s remark since he was an expert.

This meant that serious problems had occurred, and they were enough to slow down the schedule of the Duke of Kazakhstan.

“What’s the problem?”

“It may be a simple issue, but it’s definitely something to address as a shipping engineer. It’s a matter of the safety of the merchant ships that will be going to and from the Arctic Ocean.”

“There’s nothing to worry about guarding them. We are confident that the ships will be protected by our security company.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about. The first concern is whether the merchant ships can withstand the ice and icebergs, and the second is whether sensitive cargo, such as electronics, can withstand extreme temperatures.”

Last year, it was decided that the route would be secured by using an icebreaker to break the ice from fall to spring, and ships could travel on their own during the ice-free period. However, the problem was that the ice and icebergs appeared in the summer which was supposed to be the ice-free period.

“You mean ships have to be able to stand it when they hit an ice sheet or an iceberg.”

“Exactly. To minimize damage, hull reinforcement should be prioritized. Especially, it’s essential to reinforce the front part of the vessel. To do that, shipping companies would have to spend more money, and if they know that, they’d try to stay away from the Arctic route.”

“Would it be resolved if we just reinforce the front?”

“Yes. One good thing is that modern radar technology has developed, so icebergs and large glaciers can be identified in advance.”

“But you think it’s never an easy route.”

“That’s right. And if you’re going to take the Arctic route, you’re going to have to pay a lot of premium. It’s a dangerous route. Wouldn’t the insurance company require an extra premium?”

“If we prove safe sailing, there will be no further increase in insurance premiums.”

“It won’t be easy to prove that. There are many different types of ships that have to travel the route, but I don’t think there are that many luxury containers that can travel through the Arctic route without high insurance premiums.”

Who would choose the Arctic route if it would cost more to use it to reduce shipping costs?

If the cost of reinforcing the hull and the insurance premium were increased, no one would be looking for the Arctic route anymore.

“So, the alternative is the reinforcement of the hull. How much would it cost to reinforce the hull?”

“It depends on the type of ship. The latest super-sized ships that have dual-body structure will be fine, but it’s going to be a problem for ships over a decade old.”

“Didn’t you say that radar technology allows ships to avoid obstacles in advance?”

“You may find large glaciers or icebergs, but small ones will continue to threaten the hull.”

“Wouldn’t a ship of at least 50,000 tons of weight easily withstand that amount of ice?”

“If such thing hit the hull often, the hull’s bound to be scratched. It’s directly related to the life of the ship. That’s why the route is very likely to be shunned by shippers.”

Global warming caused ice to melt, but not all ice in the Arctic Ocean melted.

This was because large chunks of ice did not melt easily in cold seas.

For now, there was no choice but to hope that ship owners and shippers would prefer the Arctic route.

“It’s not like there’s no alternative at all. Maybe we should prove that it’s a safe sea route to attract customers.”

“If you have that will, the concerns I have will be no problem.”

And another problem was that containers carrying sensitive electronic devices should also have heating to withstand extreme temperatures.

“These days, many containers with heat-retaining function are being mass-produced to protect freezing of containers or electronic devices.”

“No matter what, won’t it be expensive? It would be unreasonable to attach a heating and cooling system to all cargo containers.”

“Once a container is made, it can be used for more than 10 years, so it won’t be too burdensome. If you have precision electronics or machinery to ship in that kind of container, I bet the shippers would be willing to pay special costs for transportation. Since they get to reduce the transport time, they won’t mind it.”

“The judgment should be left to shippers and shipping companies. It’s just your vague hope at the moment.”

“So, you’re saying the Arctic route development is a complex job because of the extra cost.”

“It’s a mere opinion as a shipping engineer. From an economic point of view, there may be other judgments, so just take it as a side view.”

“Thank you for bringing up important issues. Thanks to you, I’ve solved another problem.”

“…”

“We’d like you to reinforce our naval ship’s hull a little bit more as well.”

“Sure. I’ll use my humble technology to make it as strong as I can.”

“I’m very lucky to meet you on this trip, Dr. Hanson.”

“I’m embarrassed. I’m sorry to hear that my vague concern has disturbed your spirit. Please forgive me for being too presumptuous.”

“What do you mean? I don’t know how much you’ve helped me with your insights. Please feel free to contact us at any time if you feel we have a problem.”

“I’m just grateful for your generosity.”

“If you ever take the time to come to Kazakhstan, I’ll treat you with an Ural trout.”

“It’s an honor. Your Highness.”