Chapter 165: Workers of the World, Fight (5)
The commotion had only just begun.
A servant who had been treated like a slave within Bernhardt for over twenty years had miraculously survived and declared that he would expose all the evil deeds they had committed.
The impact of that highly provocative declaration, linking it not to a personal struggle but to the struggle of all workers, was considerable.
The Bernhardt Family’s cris revealed the next day through two newspaper companies were more than enough to enrage the citizens.
The entirety of both morning newspapers was practically filled with nothing but Bernhardt scandals.
From the front page to the very last, there wasn’t a single keyword that lacked sensationalism.
Verbal abuse, unpaid wages, exploitation, sexual assault, docunt forgery, inhumane experintation, murder solicitation, attempted murder, murder, operation of violent organizations, involvent in Hokma manufacturing and distribution, extortion of tribute paynts, political lobbying, and the horrifying treatnt of servants—
Those morning newspapers, which exposed nearly every disgrace Bernhardt possessed, sold over five million and four million copies respectively, completely shattering Imperial newspaper records.
Even that wasn’t enough to satisfy demand, forcing citizens outside the capital region to share copies among entire workplaces.
anwhile, due to the massive exposure erupting right before their own large-scale accusation report, the atmosphere inside Ribenia Spiegel resembled a funeral house.
Ironically, the only person maintaining a neutral stance was none other than President Alberto Spiegel himself.
“At this rate, the breaking news we plan to release in two days is going to be completely buried, President!”
“So what if it gets buried?”
“…Pardon?”
“There’s probably a reason they intentionally scheduled their release later. Stop worrying about competitors and focus on your work, Ernest.”
The three reporters who had desperately worked the field looked thoroughly bewildered by their president’s indifferent attitude.
“Why’s he acting like this all of a sudden? He’s usually even crazier about exclusives than we are.”
“How should I know?”
“Maybe he’s just too shocked. It’s true Bernhardt’s always been treated like the Empire’s villains, but even we never imagined it was this bad.”
“There wasn’t any request for content revisions, right?”
“Ah, actually, there was one ssage from Eugene Carter….”
“…….”
After reading through the contents, Ernest let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
“Looks like things didn’t work out too smoothly between him and Greenwhistle either.”
“Changing the contents as requested would be easy enough… but suddenly taking this kind of stance now would damage the company image too….”
“Just do it.”
“…Will it really be alright?”
“Yeah. Looks like the president already roughly expected this too. They probably have their own plans.”
“…Understood.”
“Okay. It’ll make us look a bit pathetic, but let’s ride the wave and throw in our own comnt too.”
At the sa ti—
The entrance to the Assembly Hall near the front gates of the Arphe Imperial Palace was so crowded with reporters and civic organizations that entering the building itself was difficult.
“There! Look over there, everyone!”
“It’s Bernhardt!”
“That’s Edgar Bernhardt!”
The mont they saw the carriage bearing the family crest, people surged toward it.
Taking advantage of the crowd’s attention shifting that way, Edgar secretly slipped inside with his attendants.
“This is practically a riot.”
“…Indeed.”
After dismissing his attendants, he entered the Assembly Hall’s main building.
Inside Conference Hall One, a large number of familiar faces had already gathered.
Among them were many pro-Bernhardt assembly mbers.
“…….”
Normally, these people would have rushed over bowing and scraping before him.
Yet now, they rely sat in their places while casting cold gazes his way.
That alone perfectly demonstrated Bernhardt’s current image.
‘…It was the sa back then.’
When it had been decided that he and Mikhail—not the child favored by Father Johann—would inherit Bernhardt.
So mocked that Bernhardt was finally beginning its road to ruin, while most responded skeptically.
But the results had been the complete opposite.
Bernhardt achieved growth and accomplishnts unlike anything in its history.
And the people’s reactions instantly flipped by one hundred and eighty degrees.
It was a disgusting sight, but Edgar had no intention of denying that this was simply human nature.
That was why he ignored the countless stares entirely and strode toward his seat.
Even Kalli Arta, sitting silently nearby, refrained from provoking him today.
Perhaps he felt there was no need.
Or perhaps he thought stirring things up now would only ruin his own image.
Either way, the fact nobody openly picked a fight with him was at least sothing.
.
.
.
“With 2 votes in favor, 28 opposed, and 57 abstentions, I hereby declare the motion rejected.”
Bang, bang, bang.
As expected, the vote ended in utter failure.
Only two votes supported it.
A complete catastrophe.
Since the proposal had been rejected, it naturally wouldn’t be enacted either.
The mont Georg made the announcent, the assembly mbers imdiately rose from their seats as though they had been waiting for it.
Watching them hurriedly flee outside, Edgar let out a sneer.
After all, he had co here for an entirely different reason.
As Edgar slowly rose to his feet, Kalli Arta casually remarked,
“Take care of yourself.”
“…You as well.”
The next place Edgar arrived at—
Was the residence of Edel Ribenia.
“Please co in.”
Guided once again by Lea Bronte, he headed inside.
Sitting alone within the room, Edel didn’t even glance toward the familiar visitor and rely continued reading the newspaper.
The mont the door closed, Edgar dropped to his knees first.
“Though shaless, I beg you, Princess. Please save us.”
“…So you finally ca crawling here.”
Only then did Edel lower the newspaper and glare at him.
“I told you before, didn’t I? That you people were arrogant.”
“…….”
“You said it was justified arrogance, didn’t you? You said the citizens would never follow . That this was a self-destructive move. That there wouldn’t be a second chance.”
Pointing at him, she repeated his words from before one by one.
Her expression was utterly frigid.
“Did you really think you’d never get caught? After committing cris on that level? Did you think throwing around money and silencing people would let everything pass safely? Do the citizens look that stupid to you?”
“…I admit we were complacent.”
“Complacent? No.”
Edel shook her head while pointing her wand directly at Edgar’s bowed face.
“This is inevitability, Edgar Bernhardt.”
There’s no need for rotten organizations like yours in the new Empire.
“You probably thought you could sohow survive if I covered for you, but too bad. I have absolutely no intention of doing that.”
Those excessively firm words caused Edgar to slowly raise his head.
“If we collapse, the Imperial Household will collapse too.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“The national treasury has already been nearly empty for quite so ti, hasn’t it?”
“Once you bastards are destroyed, we’ll simply confiscate everything and replenish it.”
“Do you truly believe we committed cris for this long without preparing contingencies? We can easily smuggle our resources abroad and seek asylum elsewhere.”
“You think countries struggling just to manage themselves would willingly shelter notorious criminals who would only bring controversy?”
“The value of the technological patents and confidential docunts we possess surpasses the value of our wealth itself. Losing those to foreign nations would deal a fatal blow to the Ribenia Empire.”
“So you want to embrace you? In exchange for handing over all your technology?”
“Don’t you wish to beco the Empire’s first Empress?”
Flinch.
For the first ti, hesitation flickered across the face that had remained unwavering the entire ti.
Edgar imdiately seized that opening and continued persuading her.
“You can only protect the Imperial Household by protecting us. If you embrace us and unite the citizens, stripping Crown Prince Abel of his authority will beco entirely possible.”
“…….”
“Wash away the sins known as Bernhardt and lead the Empire toward a new future, Princess Edel.”
---
Sophistry.
Utter nonsense.
And yet, she couldn’t completely ignore the confidence filling that shaless face.
So Edel fell into thought for a mont.
“…….”
Even if Abel and Rachel were overthrown, that didn’t guarantee she herself would beco Emperor.
There had already been more than ten futures where those two raised forces against her in hostility, resulting in civil war.
And even if she sohow succeeded in suppressing them, nurous rivals would rise simultaneously during the chaos, plunging the Empire into disorder anyway.
Beast outbreaks.
Foreign invasions.
Internal collapse.
No matter which choice she made, only destruction awaited her in the end.
‘…Perhaps embracing Bernhardt might actually be an unexpected solution.’
Greenwhistle was an organization beneath the Platinum Dawn Society.
At the very least, their goal was certainly not preserving the Imperial Household.
Not every citizen would be swept away by the agitation, but so would inevitably be consud by fanaticism and join the coup.
At this point in ti, when deploying the Imperial Army for internal defense was difficult, there were very few forces capable of opposing a hastily assembled citizen army of that scale.
Dellowell and the Special Task Force were still recovering from the aftermath of the previous war.
Furthermore, both organizations had been established specifically to combat heretics and Beasts, so there was no way they would welco fighting fellow Imperial citizens.
The fact that many mbers had suffered severe ntal trauma after the Mallet Joint War only further proved that.
Now that most reserve forces among the noble factions had been disbanded for various reasons—
Bernhardt’s reserve troops and rcenary corps remained significant military assets.
If all problematic direct bloodline mbers were punished and a new Bernhardt centered around branch family mbers was established…
Then perhaps the furious public outrage could be cald sohow.
Just as Edel was about to offer her conclusion—
The words of that man echoed through her mind.
“The extinction of humanity. That’s the future I fear the most.”
“Soone has to prepare for it. That’s the duty of a leader guiding the glorious citizens of the Empire.”
“Once Bernhardt is brought down too, our chances will improve considerably.”
“This isn’t collapse. It’s reform.”
“Coincidentally enough, it seems we share the sa dream.”
“There’s simply soone I want to save.”
If Eugene Carter truly was like her.
If he possessed abilities similar to hers.
Then in the future he had experienced, Bernhardt’s reform must have been an essential elent.
And the one capable of accomplishing that—
Would undoubtedly be Michel Bernhardt.
‘Then there’s no reason left to hesitate.’
In this uncertain present, if she had to trust just one person—
There was nobody more suitable than that man.
“Even if Bernhardt survives, there’s no chance you people will remain at its center.”
Just as she had already decided, Edel began presenting her proposal.
“Even so, under two major conditions, I’m willing to consider embracing Bernhardt.”
Though naturally, with slightly altered terms.
“…And what are those two conditions?”
Edgar asked cautiously.
In response, Edel raised the index and middle fingers of her right hand and folded them down one by one.
“First, all major direct bloodline mbers of the current Bernhardt Family who beca the center of this exposure will be stripped of their qualifications.”
And second—
“Michel Bernhardt will be appointed as the next Head of the Family.”
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