Chapter 256 : Chapter 256
Chapter 256. The Brute-Force Method
Large beads of cold sweat rolled down the count’s forehead. He looked at the aggressively pressing Minister of Finance, then at the overwhelmingly forceful Eleanor. In the end, as if making up his mind, he forced out a smile even uglier than a grimace.
“Ex… extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures. The situation was critical at the time, after all. As long as the fortress could be held and the Kingdom’s territory preserved… whoever took command was only doing his duty for His Majesty.”
He chose to cave.
He even took the initiative to smooth things over for Logaris.
Because he understood it perfectly well: his family was in the Southern Territory, and the southeastern defensive line there was now, for all practical purposes, already under the Northern Legion’s direct control.
Moreover, with Carlisle finished, the only way to survive was to show goodwill toward the princess’s faction while their troops were still in the south.
Eleanor lifted a brow, sat back down in her chair, and shot the count a look that plainly said, At least you know what’s good for you.
A trace of disappointment flashed through the Minister of Finance’s eyes, but there was contempt there as well. The moment the Second Prince fell, these people had gone soft to the bone after all.
“Enough. There was never anything worth arguing about to begin with.” The Minister of Military Affairs coldly cut off this bloodless test of wills.
“According to Article 3, Chapter 7 of the wartime regulations: ‘Under extreme wartime circumstances, if the supreme commander is confirmed missing and the defensive line faces imminent collapse, then if an allied commander forcibly assumes command, so long as the final result is the repulsion of the enemy and the preservation of the defensive line, the act of overstepping authority shall automatically be deemed offset by merit, and no accountability shall be pursued.’”
The Minister of Military Affairs settled the matter with a single sentence. “Since the Second Prince’s faction has no objection either, then this matter is decided.”
The Minister of Finance, who had been secretly gloating over the Second Prince’s downfall, now frowned as well.
Carlisle was indeed finished, but the power vacuum he left behind had not returned to the royal family or to the First Prince. It had been swallowed whole, flesh and bone, by the man called Logaris.
“Wait.” The Minister of Finance shot to his feet, his chair scraping across the floor with a harsh, grating screech. Too anxious to care about propriety, he looked urgently toward the Prime Minister at the head of the table.
“Prime Minister! The beast tide has already been driven back. The ‘wartime’ state ought to be over. Scream Fortress is a crucial military stronghold of the Kingdom. It absolutely cannot remain in the hands of a… a force that already controls the northern defensive line for the long term! That violates the rules. I believe someone must be sent to take over immediately!”
“Take over?” Eleanor let out a soft laugh, her eyes full of amused mockery. “Whom will you send? Your accountants who only know how to tally figures? Or those pampered young officers who cannot even ride a horse? Don’t forget, that place just endured a beast tide, and demons have appeared there as well. Other than the Northern Legion, who dares go? And who could hold it?”
The Minister of Finance was about to retort when everyone’s gaze turned to the Prime Minister, waiting for the old man’s judgment—
Whoosh—!
A dazzling streak of golden light suddenly shattered the gloom outside the window. Like a swallow returning to its nest, it slipped with perfect precision through the slightly opened gap of the meeting room window.
The golden streak circled once in the air, scattering flecks of light, then came to a steady halt before the Prime Minister and transformed into a scroll wound with royal golden thread.
“This is… His Majesty’s edict?!” The Minister of Finance’s pupils constricted sharply, and he cried out in shock. “How is that possible? The frontline report only just arrived. His Majesty remains deep within the palace, so how could he react this quickly…?”
The ministers broke into an uproar.
That speed of response was almost as though His Majesty himself had been present at the scene.
The Prime Minister remained calm. He slowly extended a hand and caught the scroll, which still held a faint trace of warmth. His fingertips brushed lightly over the royal wax seal. Then he raised his eyes and gave the Minister of Finance a mild glance, his tone carrying an air of quiet inscrutability.
“Although His Majesty’s sacred body is unwell, his eyes have always remained upon this land. In this Kingdom, nothing can be hidden from His Majesty’s divine powers.”
With that, the Prime Minister unfurled the scroll.
In that instant, an oppressive aura unique to the old king spread from the scroll, making every minister present lower his head instinctively.
The Prime Minister read the contents of the scroll, and an almost imperceptible curve touched the corner of his mouth. Then he read it aloud in a clear voice.
“His Majesty’s decree: ‘Since the Northern Territory can hold this king’s lands, then let it hold them. Whether it is the princess or the prince, whoever can drive back the enemy is a hero. As for how matters will develop in the end…’”
The Prime Minister paused, his gaze sweeping across the room before he uttered those four characters:
“‘Let nature take its course.’”
“‘Let nature take its course’?”
The Minister of Finance looked grim, and then a vicious gleam flashed through his eyes.
The meaning of those four words was obvious: the old king had tacitly approved the Northern Territory’s expansion.
To the First Prince’s faction, that was nothing short of disastrous news.
Their faction had never issued an order to assassinate Carlisle. Since it was not their doing, then only one possibility remained. And the timing of Carlisle’s murder by demons had been so uncannily perfect, while the beast tide that followed had been so fierce and so organized, that this was clearly no mere natural disaster.
Someone had let the demons in.
The one who smiled most happily atop the ruins, the greatest beneficiary of it all, was the one who had opened the gate.
If they did nothing, then once the Northern Territory completely absorbed the southeastern forces, the First Prince’s position as Heir Apparent would truly be in jeopardy.
They had to strike back.
And they had to strike hard.
“Prime Minister, I have a suggestion.” The Minister of Finance suddenly rose again, shoving his chair back. His voice sounded especially shrill in the spacious meeting room.
The Prime Minister stopped and turned his head slightly. The gaze behind his lenses was as still as an ancient well.
“Since His Majesty’s sacred ruling is to let nature take its course, then naturally we dare not defy it on the matter of who takes over the defensive line. But there is one issue that concerns the Kingdom’s safety and its bottom line.”
The Minister of Finance’s tone turned cold and sinister, his gaze sweeping across Eleanor opposite him like a venomous snake.
“Do none of you find it strange? The moment Prince Carlisle disappeared, the beast tide that had lost its command instead became even more frenzied and more organized, as though… it were cooperating with some kind of operation.” He let out a cold laugh. “I do not believe demons descend into the mortal world for no reason—unless there is a traitor within!”
The moment those words fell, the air in the meeting room seemed to freeze.
“The Court Mage Corps cannot divine His Highness’s whereabouts because the other party possesses extremely powerful anti-divination methods. But we can take a different approach.”
At last, the Minister of Finance showed his dagger. His voice rose sharply.
“To rule out the suspicion that someone colluded with the enemy, I propose that we activate Brute-Force Divination! We will conduct divinations on every key suspect who had motive and who appeared near the southeastern defensive line during that period!”
He stared fixedly at Eleanor and enunciated each word.
“Whoever has a past that cannot be probed is the traitor!”
Viscountess Eleanor’s expression changed abruptly, and her brows drew tightly together.
The move was far too vicious. If she opposed it, she would look guilty. If she agreed, she would be allowing the other side to pry into the privacy and hidden trump cards of her faction’s strongest figures at will.
Subconsciously, she looked toward the seat of honor. Was this old fox really going to let the Minister of Finance do as he pleased?
The Prime Minister was silent for a moment. His cloudy yet sharp eyes swept across the Minister of Finance, as though he had seen straight through the man’s intention to use the matter as a pretext. But in the end, he actually gave a slight nod.
“Collusion with demons is indeed something that cannot be ignored. Since the Minister of Finance harbors such doubts, then for the sake of proving the Northern Legion’s innocence, and for the peace of the royal family, let it be investigated.”