HPDBC Chapter 145 : Probing Battle (1)
Chapter 145 : Probing Battle (1)
Chapter 145: Probing Battle (1)
Gilbert’s proposal caused the entire room to fall silent for a moment.
Magic Tower Duel—Mallet.
Academy Karbenna.
The Imperial Special Task Force.
Though differing in scale, all of them were renowned powers within the Ribenia Empire.
And yet he was suggesting they crush one of them.
Normally, such words would’ve been complete nonsense no matter how prestigious one of the Eight Great Houses of the Empire was.
That is, if the family in question wasn’t the Bernhardts.
In truth, they weren’t remaining silent over whether it was possible or impossible.
The fact that they were sincerely deliberating over which faction should be crushed first perfectly demonstrated their standing.
“Rather than ranking them by which is easiest to attack, shouldn’t we rank them based on which will become the greatest threat to us in the future?”
At the words of the eldest daughter Greta, the second daughter Hella rubbed her forehead and spoke.
“I vote for the Special Task Force. It feels like it’s about time we start applying pressure.”
“This mother agrees with you, Hella.”
Once Duchess Diane added her vote as well, the balance of opinion rapidly tilted.
“Seems everyone’s thinking the same thing… so how about we each throw out ideas for methods of suppression?”
Gilbert had started getting excited now that the target appeared to be decided, but then a firm voice cut through the air.
“No.”
The direct eldest son of the Bernhardt Family and the blood relative most trusted by Family Head Edgar.
Robert Bernhardt crossed his arms and shook his head.
“I believe Karbenna should be destroyed first.”
Robert Bernhardt.
A highly capable figure who displayed the most outstanding achievements among the next generation, which was generally considered lacking in talent.
On top of that, his combat ability was also considered among the best in the Empire, to the point where the Bernhardt Mercenary Corps led by him was said to be capable of facing off directly against Dellowell’s elite believers or the Imperial Special Task Force.
In every aspect, he was incomparable to the other children, making him the foremost candidate for the next Family Head position.
Given the circumstances, even the direct descendants couldn’t help but watch one another carefully.
At that moment, Chloe—who had yet to voice her opinion—timed her interruption perfectly.
“I agree with Eldest Brother as well.”
Of course, the bigger reason she chose Karbenna was her obsession with Michel.
“…….”
“If Brother says so….”
Even the eldest daughter Greta was preparing to join in while carefully reading the atmosphere.
As the mood began shifting in an instant, Gilbert and Hella’s expressions visibly twisted.
Quietly observing the subtle battle of nerves, Edgar spoke heavily.
“That’s enough.”
Flinch.
“When opinions are divided, it’s only right to choose the more reasonable side. State your arguments one by one.”
“…Gladly, Father.”
Led by Robert, the six children aside from the Family Head all began presenting their own opinions without hesitation.
While they split into two camps and argued back and forth, Edgar carefully sorted through each argument one at a time.
‘…Prioritizing Karbenna does seem more reasonable.’
The biggest reason was, of course, Michel Bernhardt.
Her very existence opposed the Bernhardts. By any means necessary, she would seek the family’s downfall.
‘We wanted her isolated in Karbenna, left there alone to rot.’
Among all the fields the Bernhardts held influence over, the one where they had the weakest control was education.
The Empire itself had never shown much interest in educating commoners, and fields like Duel and other external factions were deeply involved there as well, making it a poor investment in terms of profit.
That was why they had sent her to Karbenna in the first place, believing it the ideal field for exile.
As a form of banishment.
Yet she had desperately endured and survived even there, ultimately proving herself fully qualified as Chairwoman.
The situation had already reached the point where pressuring her through the Bernhardts’ existing influence alone had its limits.
Even during the height of the pro-Bernhardt faction’s influence, Michel had stubbornly maintained her position. There was no chance she would be shaken by the current internal factions, whose dignity had already been tarnished through their large-scale absence from the war.
Then what about pressuring them through money?
In reality, the annual funds the Bernhardts provided Karbenna under the pretense of sponsorship exceeded fifty thousand Riben. If the contributions from the pro-Bernhardt factions were added together, it nearly reached one hundred thousand Riben.
If all of those massive funds were cut off at once, even with the strictest budgeting, Karbenna would run dry within a year.
‘…If Duel hadn’t intervened, that is.’
No matter how close Duel was to being a non-profit organization, its worldwide scale and influence could not be ignored.
This time it had been two hundred fifty thousand Riben over five years, but there was a strong possibility they could bring additional funding under different names as well.
With Mallet now beginning to receive reevaluation after the war’s victory, it would also become easy for them to ride that momentum.
Edgar smirked inwardly.
‘Those Dellowell bastards really made things troublesome.’
Originally, he had intended to actively block Duel’s intervention.
Using the grand justification of a Holy Nation as a framework, he planned to stir public opinion by bringing up countries suffering headaches from Duel’s cooperation.
But Dellowell—the strongest fanatic group within the Ribenian Orthodox Church, which formed the foundation of that Holy Nation—ended up repelling the enemy together with the mages of Mallet, completely tangling the situation.
The special report from Spiegel causing such a massive impact was surely for the same reason.
If the Beasts hadn’t appeared at that timing.
Or even if they had appeared, had their numbers only been minimal, the outcome would’ve been entirely different.
‘It’s too perfect to be called coincidence.’
Suddenly, a possibility surfaced in Edgar’s mind.
What if… it wasn’t coincidence?
What if someone knew that Beasts would erupt on that date, at that time, in that place?
Then the current outcome ceased being coincidence and became inevitability.
‘Could something like that really… be possible?’
Even if such a fraudulent ability existed, there were extremely few people capable of arranging the entire board around it.
Among those people, only two qualified as candidates.
The Third Princess of the Ribenia Empire, Edel Ribenia.
And the war hero of the Special Task Force and Karbenna, Eugene Carter.
‘…Or perhaps both of them.’
If so, what were their goals?
Their own survival? Prosperity?
Impossible.
The path they had shown until now was radical and unprecedented.
Especially after Carter returned to the front lines.
What they advocated was, for the most part, reconsideration of the existing system.
It could all be summarized in a single sentence:
“Is everything really alright as it is?”
In other words, it meant the collapse of the current system and the reorganization of the ruling class represented by the Bernhardts and the Orthodox Church.
‘If they attempt something like that… at least tens of thousands of people will die.’
And they weren’t fools ignorant of that fact.
Yet the fact that they still intended to force it through meant…
At the very least, it wasn’t for petty personal desires.
After contemplating for a long while, Edgar Bernhardt quietly muttered with a grave expression:
“…Does that mean, in the Empire’s future, the Bernhardts are nothing but an obstacle?”
“Pardon?”
“Father, what did you just….”
“Just talking to myself. Don’t mind it.”
Then Edgar tapped the table several times, drawing everyone’s attention.
“I’ve heard both sides well. Both Karbenna and the Special Task Force are urgent targets requiring restraint, so we’ll divide and approach both separately. Since opinions split evenly, it makes forming teams easier as well.”
“…….”
“Compile concrete plans and submit them before tomorrow morning’s meeting, and depart without delay.”
Watching his family silently express agreement, he slowly rose from his seat.
“After this matter concludes, I will reevaluate the next Family Head position and the ratio of asset distribution, so keep that in mind.”
“What do you mean all of a sudden, Father?!”
“Wasn’t the distribution ratio already decided long ago?! Why now of all times…?!”
Ignoring all the urgent cries of his children, Edgar exited the conference room.
The head steward Igor, who had been waiting outside, naturally followed after him.
“Shall I escort you to the annex?”
“No. We’re going to the Imperial Palace.”
“The Imperial Palace…?”
“Mikhail will be accompanying me as well, so make the preparations.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
He strode out beyond the Main Estate.
If the Bernhardts had merely been a rigid, old-fashioned group, there was no way they could have maintained such overwhelming influence for hundreds of years.
If necessary, they would cast aside even blood allies.
If necessary, they would make allies even of sworn enemies.
Not a mere noble house staking its life on honor and ideals, but an interest group willing to cut away its own flesh for survival and prosperity.
That was the true nature of the name Bernhardt.
There was no need to treat them as irreconcilable enemies simply because they had caused trouble for them a few times.
If those people were the protagonists destined to lead the future, then now the Bernhardts merely needed to stand on their side and move forward together.
And if, in the process, they actively intervened and reorganized the board around themselves, then the Bernhardts could remain the center of the Empire still.
Those who obstructed that would simply be removed without hesitation.
Just as always.
Even if it were the Crown Prince.
Even if it were the Archbishop.
“So spread your wings as much as you like, Edel Ribenia. Eugene Carter.”
Because the Bernhardts had always stood on the side of the future.
---
“A revision committee, huh….”
We paused briefly in front of the carriage door.
Lieutenant General Alvin shook his head with a troubled expression.
“Realistically speaking, revising the entire Field Manual would be impossible.”
“…That’s true.”
The war had only just ended.
I could move with certainty because I knew exactly what would happen in the future, but others couldn’t do the same even if they wanted to.
Regardless, the faction that would be most affected by the full-scale Beast outbreak was the Imperial Army.
Even if difficult for now, a complete overhaul would eventually become necessary.
Still, the reason I proposed this now was to emphasize just how serious the situation truly was.
“For now, Carter.”
Seeing my displeased expression, Alvin immediately offered a counterproposal as though he had been waiting.
“What do you think about pushing for revisions limited only to the Special Task Force and Karbenna?”
“…….”
“The Regular Army and Defense Forces are rigid organizations no matter what. They know full well that if they falter, the people who suffer real damage are the Empire’s citizens, so they naturally prioritize stability over change.”
Silently, I signaled agreement with my eyes.
“Even so, nobody can remain ignorant of how severe the current situation is. So we’ll prove it in their place.”
“So once the stability is verified, they’ll follow?”
“Exactly.”
“…I’ve got no reason to refuse that. Sounds good.”
Once we reached a conclusion both sides could roughly accept, we simultaneously boarded the carriage.
“By the way, how are you planning to form the committee?”
“We’ll select people. And while we’re at it, we’ll do some weeding out too.”
“Weeding out….”
“Please select the talented personnel from the Special Task Force, Commander. I’ll search for talent within Karbenna and Mallet.”
“Hmm.”
Nodding along, Alvin suddenly turned to me and asked:
“When do you think we should begin the public exposure?”
After calculating the dates, I answered casually.
“It’d be best to announce it through the Monday morning newspaper next week.”
“Two days from now? Isn’t that too fast?”
“The other side will be making preparations as well. The more variables we create, the harder it becomes for them to respond, doesn’t it?”
“We also need to consider the backlash that could hit us.”
“The backlash would’ve hit us eventually anyway. If it’s a fight we can’t avoid, then we should strike first.”
He looked convinced before cautiously asking another question.
“Shouldn’t we inform Her Highness first?”
“No. She’s probably already expecting this much.”
“…Alright. Let’s do it. I’m counting on you over there, Carter.”
“Of course.”
Once we finished speaking, we quietly gazed out the window for a while.
The sun hanging high overhead was slowly beginning to set.