lpffa Chapter 162 : Workers of the World, Fight (2)
Chapter 162 : Workers of the World, Fight (2)
Chapter 162: Workers of the World, Fight (2)
We didn’t exchange farewells.
For some reason, I had a strong feeling we would meet again soon.
Perhaps because they had already said everything they needed to earlier, even Michel’s expression looked considerably lighter.
This time, insisting she would do it herself, Rubia stubbornly volunteered as the coachman again, so I briefly boarded the carriage instead and closed my eyes.
“…Then the important part is deciding when we release our side’s information.”
That was the first thing Michel said after getting in.
“…….”
The earlier it was exposed, the greater the shock would become.
The amount of material Greenwhistle possessed was at least ten times greater than ours.
Michel only had a few decisive weapons herself, so this wasn’t suited for a prolonged battle.
The moment the exposures began, the stage would instantly turn into a swamp of chaos.
And the longer the two factions exchanged blows and continued the media war within it, the more likely the original bait would be forgotten.
Even from a profitability standpoint, striking first was the far better choice.
…However.
Even considering all of that, we couldn’t reveal ours first.
“We’ll release ours later.”
“…Why?”
“To prepare for what comes after Bernhardt’s destruction.”
If the sole objective had been defeating Bernhardt, we naturally would have exposed everything first.
I still couldn’t be certain what Maximilian personally thought, but there was no way the Platinum Dawn Society would be satisfied with merely destroying a single family.
Judging from the changes within the Empire I had experienced so far, as well as the contents of our earlier discussion, they desired changes far more radical than we expected.
The possibility of them attempting this with only their internal forces was practically nonexistent.
If they possessed that level of strength, they would have risen up long ago in 1472, when Crown Prince Abel was running rampant.
“They’re trying to use the citizens to overthrow the current ruling class.”
Just ten years ago, nobody would have imagined this.
In the meantime, the Empire had lost far too much prestige. Both externally and internally.
In the past, far more people would have thought, “Wouldn’t it still be better to live as things are now?”
But now, more than half were probably thinking, “Either way life is miserable, so why not overturn everything once?”
If we tried to forcibly stop this tidal wave, we’d be swept away with it.
We shouldn’t block the wave. We had to weaken the wave itself.
Public opinion was always moved by a powerful focal point.
Maximilian was convinced his organization and their ideology would become that focal point.
‘Which means we need to muddy the waters.’
At the same time, we could thoroughly verify them.
Whether Greenwhistle, the Resistance, and the Platinum Dawn Society truly deserved to represent the citizens.
‘Though the chances of those bastards actually intending that are slim to begin with….’
Michel, who had been deep in thought after hearing me out, nodded and asked,
“…Do they have some hidden card we don’t know about?”
“They might. But it’s far more likely to be a bluff.”
And even if it wasn’t, they probably thought this was their only chance.
“Either way, it’s true that right now is the period where their chances of success are highest.”
“…….”
Michel stared at me for a moment before speaking firmly.
“Princess Edel’s role is going to become extremely important then.”
“Exactly.”
As far as I knew, there was no scenario where the Platinum Dawn Society gained control over the Imperial Army.
They probably believed they could handle mercenary forces mobilized by the nobles, but they definitely wouldn’t want to face the entire Imperial Army.
Which meant they possessed a “justification” that could prevent the Imperial Army from intervening in this matter.
‘…Citizen Revolution my ass. They’re clearly plotting something else.’
After accurately determining what kind of ending they envisioned for this revolution, I had to stop that ambition.
Only then could I save Edel Ribenia.
Once our conversation roughly concluded, our mouths closed simultaneously.
We exchanged glances briefly before both turning our heads toward the window.
We were deep within a forest road where not even a single ray of moonlight shone through.
---
At that same time, in Theodel, a small city within Parcel of the Ribenia Empire.
A count’s family ruled over the entire city, so Theodel itself was classified as a single territory.
Of course, that too was an elaborate disguise.
In truth, it was practically the headquarters of the secret society known as the Platinum Dawn Society.
Among its many buildings, a considerable number of people were gathering into one particularly shabby structure.
The leader of the black magic research society Ain Kabbalah, Ephraim Robinson, grumbled as he headed inside alongside two subordinates.
“Looks like things are getting seriously underway. If they’ve gone as far as mobilizing extras like us.”
“Seriously.”
Contrary to its appearance, the interior was brightly illuminated with extravagant decorations and lights.
They climbed the wide central staircase in large strides and entered the roundtable conference hall on the second floor.
The key figures of the subordinate organizations had already taken their seats inside.
“The Resistance, Guardians, Holy Word Party, Raiders… looks like Greenwhistle’s the only one not here yet.”
“I’d only heard rumors about them before. This is my first time seeing them in person… they’re all terrifying.”
“The truly terrifying person hasn’t even arrived yet, idiot.”
“…Pardon?”
The members of the other organizations, excluding Ain Kabbalah, were gathered in small groups chatting idly.
As expected, the center of the discussions was the Resistance.
Known publicly as the leading pro-Bernhardt faction and occupying the second seat within the Resistance itself, the head of the Wedmeyer Family—
Dale Wedmeyer casually responded to the conversations while observing his surroundings.
‘…Maximilian’s probably still negotiating right about now.’
Whether the negotiations succeeded or failed, there was no turning back anymore.
He didn’t know how long the revolution would take, but afterward, the Empire would become a completely different nation from before.
It might fail to maintain the imperial system altogether, or even the concept of the nation itself might collapse.
‘Well… before that happens, Eugene Carter will probably step in.’
That bastard wasn’t the type to quietly watch the Empire collapse like this.
He didn’t know what Eugene’s goal afterward would be, but it didn’t matter much.
He merely needed to ride the flow of events and profit from it.
It was while he was entertaining those thoughts—
“Do you have a moment, Dale?”
At the voice of his one and only superior, Dale reflexively turned his head.
Count Chris Billfor.
The leader of the Resistance and the commander operating the volunteer army bearing the same name.
The Billfor Family had long been famous as one of the Empire’s most influential regional powers.
Using social responsibility as their justification, they had transferred all of their enormous wealth into foundations, and over half the operating expenses of the Platinum Dawn Society originated from those foundations.
After secretly supporting the secret society for over ten years like that, suspicion from the noble factions continued to grow stronger.
Until now, they had managed to smooth things over somehow, but even that would no longer remain easy.
At most, they had one year left to provide support on this scale.
Before then, they needed to make their decision.
That was the Resistance’s stance, though the members of the Dawn Society had remained fairly skeptical.
At least until a few months ago.
But Eugene Carter’s appearance changed everything.
As though it were fate.
“How many of the items have been completed?”
“…About six hundred.”
“You’ll be able to meet the deadline, right?”
“Well… that deadline keeps changing. But if we have another two months, I think we can complete over fifteen hundred.”
“Hmm… understood for now. I suppose I’ll have to advise the Chairwoman accordingly. How’s Bernhardt these days?”
“They’re in complete chaos. There’s a subordinate conference scheduled soon, but they don’t look like they have enough room to spare to manage external forces too.”
“Good. We need to keep it that way. If they start interfering with us, it’ll become troublesome. They’re probably quite sincere in wanting to preserve the Empire in their own way.”
“Don’t worry. Once Greenwhistle starts exposing things on a large scale, they’ll become even busier.”
“That’s true….”
Creeeeak—
At the sudden noise, Chris glanced toward the other side.
A beautifully dressed woman had appeared through the back entrance opposite the main gate and was striding toward the center.
“Looks like it’s finally starting. Come, Dale.”
“Yes.”
The gathered people began returning one by one to their designated seats upon the Chairwoman’s arrival.
Ephraim Robinson touched the corner of his mouth and smiled with interest.
“She’s arrived. Chairwoman Charlotte Platina of the Platinum Dawn Society.”
---
Charlotte Platina.
Though her appearance resembled that of an ordinary young woman barely in her mid-twenties—
Rumors claimed she looked exactly the same even when she first founded the Platinum Dawn Society.
“…Then does that mean she’s been alive all this time?”
“That’s probably the case.”
“…How?”
“Who knows….”
Ephraim made one thing clear first.
“It’s definitely not black magic.”
“Then maybe it’s Arcane Magic?”
“I got curious about that before and asked those guys from the Guardians, but apparently not.”
“Ah! Could it be related to a Beast? Like a curse of immortality…?”
“There’s no such curse, idiot. Curses are negative magic, but that’s something beneficial to humans.”
“Then how the hell—”
“How should I know?! Ask history about that stuff!”
“H-History?”
The leader tightly shut his mouth after saying that.
With every single step she took, the murmuring voices rapidly diminished.
And eventually, when the familiar silence arrived as though nobody had been speaking at all—
Charlotte answered everyone with a bright smile free of any blemish.
“Now that everyone seems to be here, shall we begin?”
There were a total of twenty people gathered around the round table.
The main executives and attendants of the six organizations under the Platinum Dawn Society.
While every leader was present, only Maximilian, the leader of Greenwhistle, was absent.
“So Greenwhistle sent the vice leader as acting representative?”
“Ah, yes. That’s correct.”
“…….”
A strange tension lingered within everyone’s gazes.
Paying it no mind whatsoever, Charlotte continued speaking while listing the names of the subordinate organizations one by one.
Holy Word Party.
Scarlet Fang Raiders.
Résistance.
Greenwhistle.
Ain Kabbalah.
Guardians of Arcane.
“The reason I gathered all of you, despite you having little interest in one another, is simple. At long last, the day we have awaited has arrived. The day of revolution—the collapse of the Empire.”
At that, murmurs once more spread among the crowd that had previously fallen deathly silent.
“…This suddenly?”
“We’ve only just started the propaganda. Isn’t this too radical…?”
“More importantly, don’t we lack justification? The Imperial Household’s tyranny has comparatively quieted down, the Orthodox Church has suffered damage and fallen silent, and even Bernhardt has become much calmer than before. Will the citizens really respond to this…?”
Amid the skeptical voices, Charlotte spoke sharply.
“Can’t any of you see that now is the perfect opportunity?”
Murderous intent filled her crimson eyes.
“Do you really think citizens move because of justification?”
Absolutely not.
“What moves the masses isn’t justification.”
“It’s practical benefit.”
“…….”
“The idea of taking what those arrogant rulers possess and redistributing it is fine too… but this phrase is more fitting.”
A chilling smile appeared on her lips as she spoke mockingly.
“It was something everyone should have shared from the very beginning. We’re merely distributing it equally.”
Then she added one final sentence toward the silent crowd.
“Starting with Wednesday’s exposure, we will prepare for the revolution. Anyone opposed may stand up now.”