Chapter 143: Winds of Upheaval (3)
That evening.
Late into the night, two middle-aged n were sharing bottles of Bongmil Liquor.
Frederick Lake, Director of Academic Affairs at Karbenna, and Alvin Caldwell, Commander of the Special Task Force.
It was a reunion after a long ti.
And a sudden one at that.
“This really brings back mories, Commander. Thirteen years? Fourteen? Around then, I think.”
“It’s already been fifteen years. You served as an Operations Officer in ’62, after all. Where did you go afterward?”
“I spent my later years at the Imperial Military Training Center. I was in charge of formation training, and thanks to that experience, I was able to move to Karbenna without much difficulty.”
“So, how’s life in education? Manageable?”
“It was quite difficult for a while. Especially back when that Carter brat was still a cadet….”
Rembering those days, Frederick shook his head with a sigh.
“To think that the sa brat who caused so much trouble back then is now sincerely trying to change the Empire’s future… ti really does change people.”
“…I agree, Frederick.”
As they exchanged one glass after another while reminiscing about the past, the alcohol gradually began to settle in.
Thinking it was finally ti to bring it up, Frederick cautiously began speaking about the outco of the war.
“I believe you’ve already guessed as much… but it was a victory that couldn’t have gone any better, Commander.”
“Yet your expression doesn’t look particularly pleased.”
“Right after we beca certain of victory, Beasts suddenly attacked.”
“…Beasts?”
“The enemy was made up of Beasts, and there were so many of them that everyone had no choice but to fight together.”
“So that’s what happened….”
Lieutenant General Alvin silently poured himself another drink and sank into thought for a while.
After remaining silent for roughly five minutes, he suddenly muttered:
“The entire Empire is going to beco a complete ss soon.”
“The Special Task Force is going to have a trendous burden on its shoulders.”
“But you didn’t co all the way here just to tell this, did you?”
“…Well, no.”
Frederick tilted his glass once more before getting to the main point.
“You know Dale Wedyer, Commander?”
“The head of the Wedyer Family, isn’t he? One of the leading pro-Bernhardt figures.”
“He and I go quite a ways back… but he participated in this war as well.”
“…That’s rather unexpected. Isn’t he soone who supports the Bernhardts while helping Karbenna and the Special Task Force?”
“That’s exactly why I found it strange too, so I tried probing him a little… and it seems he believes the Bernhardts may cut ties with the Ribenian Orthodox Church.”
Frederick also shared his thoughts regarding Michel Bernhardt, but ultimately decided not to voice that part aloud.
Karbenna and the Special Task Force were now practically bound by blood. Saying it outright could end up sounding like he was trying to drive a wedge between them.
Hearing Frederick’s words, Alvin quietly nodded.
“That certainly sounds like sothing the Bernhardts would do.”
“But I don’t think Dale helped us because of that.”
“Then?”
“How should I put it… he feels like so sort of gray opportunist whose only goal is chaos. Compared to how upright and rigid he used to be in the past, his stance changes far too frequently these days.”
Though without concrete proof, it was still nothing more than speculation.
“I just have this feeling that when the Empire’s reforms begin in earnest, he may interfere in the worst possible way.”
After finishing his thoughts, Frederick refilled his glass.
They clinked glasses again, followed by another stretch of silence.
Rubbing his forehead, Alvin cautiously asked:
“…Do you wish for to inform Her Highness as well, Frederick?”
“…That depends entirely on what you think, Commander.”
“…….”
At so point, the liquor bottle had already run dry.
The two n exchanged glances as they raised their final glasses.
The night was deepening.
---
The next morning.
Ahead of our departure, we were inside the Commander’s office reading the morning newspaper.
Beside it sat a replica Projection Orb.
At 9 AM on April 1st, the woman known as the “Executor of Blood,” Karen Rosefield, officially declared the end of the war.
It had been a continuous battle lasting thirty hours. A desperate struggle too brutal to fully capture in written records.
Whatever the reasons may have been, war broke out, and many people died.
Even if it was a victory stained only with wounds, victory was still victory. After a long conflict, winners and losers had been decided, and the war itself seed to be nearing its conclusion.
At that very mont, the Beasts descended upon them.
They were an entirely new kind of Beast, colloquially referred to as “Gate Beasts.”
Academy Karbenna, the Imperial Special Task Force, Duel—Mallet, and Dellowell.
The four factions joined forces against a common enemy.
Those who had crossed blades in a fight to the death re monts earlier now stood back-to-back.
The result was a miraculous victory. A glorious victory without sha or humiliation.
“Before interests or ideology, there exists the sanctity of life,” Michel Bernhardt stated.
Imdiately after the war, the four factions dispatched follow-up investigation teams.
The investigators announced that “the outbreak of hostile forces is only the beginning, and there is every possibility they will continue growing larger and stronger in the future.”
In the endless struggle for survival against the Beasts, humanity is slowly losing its place in the world.
Faced with the crisis of extinction, we are forced to ask ourselves what truly matters.
Division and conflict caused by ideology forced the Empire into a state where each faction had to survive on its own, leading to qualitative growth in technology and institutions.
Yet the distrust born in that process suppresses even the absolutely necessary harmony we now require.
What shall we leave behind for future generations?
A fallen Empire that permitted the overflow of Beasts due to endless division.
Or a glorious Empire that overca the Beasts through unity transcending ideology and doctrine.
The ti to choose is approaching.
Having already reviewed the contents beforehand, the Commander was watching the major scenes of the war, including the ceasefire declaration, through the Projection Orb replica.
While he quietly continued watching, I stared at the photo on the front page of the newspaper and let out a faint laugh.
‘Still, I never expected that young reporter to write such a strongly worded article.’
I had asked him to add content capable of stirring the citizens, but to fra it around unity and minimize public rejection to this degree—
The figures of the Taurus Family barely had any presence in the ga, so I hadn’t expected much… but with skills like this, he’d be useful in the future too.
‘Looks like the Spiegel side made quite the gamble as well.’
The greatest dia company in Ribenia, Ribenia Spiegel.
Whether by sales revenue or company size, it overwhelmingly surpassed even the second-place “Arpe Post.”
Still, completely disregarding the support of the existing ruling class couldn’t possibly be a profitable decision.
‘Maybe the results of this war were just that shocking.’
If they genuinely intended to stand with our claims, then the future battle for public opinion might actually beco manageable.
While I was lost in thought, the Commander finally finished watching.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Carter.”
“Not at all.”
“Now then, let’s get moving. Did you bring everything you need?”
“As long as I’ve got my body, that’s enough.”
It took nearly two hours to travel from the Special Task Force Headquarters to the Imperial Capital Arpe and enter the Imperial Palace grounds.
After passing the stone towers and arriving at the residence reserved exclusively for the Third Princess, a familiar face greeted us.
“It’s been a while, Instructor.”
It was Lea Bronte, personal maid to Edel Ribenia and forr Karbenna cadet.
The mischievous deanor she once had was nowhere to be seen, replaced instead by graceful movents as she lightly lowered her head.
“Her Highness has been waiting. Please co inside.”
The doors to the guest room on the second floor of the residence were already wide open.
Beside the window overlooking the outside scenery sat Edel Ribenia at a small table.
A white shirt layered with decorative fabric and dark brown breeches extending into boots imdiately caught my eye.
The mont he saw her, Lieutenant General Alvin saluted with razor-sharp precision.
“Vena Ribenia!”
As though accustod to such situations, Lea naturally closed the doors behind us.
Now only four people remained in the spacious room.
Picking up the morning newspaper that had been resting on the table, Edel stood.
“Welco, both of you.”
“As requested, I brought Colonel Carter with , Your Highness.”
She placed the newspaper down on the large oval table in the center of the guest room and gestured toward us.
“Co sit… Lea.”
“Yes.”
Lea filled the teacups with black tea.
After taking a light sip, Edel subtly signaled toward Lea with her eyes.
The mont she noticed, Lea imdiately pulled out her Wand and cast Locking Magic on the doors.
Watching carefully sit down, Edel revealed an amused smile.
“I read the article, Colonel Carter. You really accomplished sothing incredible.”
“…You flatter .”
“That’s true.”
Saying that, Edel took another sip of tea.
“It was only possible because luck was on your side.”
“…….”
She wasn’t wrong.
Holding the line against Dellowell’s powerhouses was certainly a trendous achievent, but that and the Beast outbreak were entirely separate matters.
If the Beasts hadn’t appeared, Dellowell and we never would’ve joined hands and fought together. And if that hadn’t happened, the dia would never have reacted this strongly either.
In the end, it was rather ironic that the current situation had all been triggered by the Beast outbreak itself.
Seeing the conflicted look on my face, Edel snickered and waved her hand dismissively.
“Don’t make that face, Carter. I’m joking.”
And then—
“The people I trust most are lucky people.”
Now then, putting that aside.
“There must be a reason you summoned during such a busy ti… so why don’t you explain it already, Commander?”
“…Hm?”
Wait.
Edel wasn’t the one who summoned us?
Lieutenant General Alvin set down his teacup as though he had been waiting for this mont.
“For the sake of the Empire’s future, the ti has co for you to make a decision, Princess Edel.”
He abruptly got straight to the point.
I carefully watched the two of them and kept my mouth shut.
The smile disappeared entirely from Edel’s face as she asked firmly:
“What decision?”
“The unrest in Eber, and now these so-called Gate Beasts as well… neither situation is ordinary. If we continue waiting for the other side to make a move, there’s a high chance the Beasts will seize the initiative first.”
“And?”
“…….”
It was one of Edel’s common responses.
Her own signal aning: If you have sothing to say, say it clearly.
Alvin steadied his breathing a few tis before finally speaking.
“…Shouldn’t the Imperial Family also choose capability over tradition now?”
Though he softened his wording due to the limitations of rank and status, it was practically the sa as saying it outright.
‘Abel Ribenia lacks the ability to beco the next Emperor.’
Edel crossed her legs and arms in opposite directions while lightly tapping the table with the tip of her foot.
“A prince over a princess, and among them, the one with the higher succession order inherits the throne….”
Then she suddenly stopped moving and leaned her body toward us.
“You’re telling to break that existing tradition, aren’t you?”
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