69novels Chapter 176 : Cooperation (1)
Chapter 176 : Cooperation (1)
Chapter 176: Cooperation (1)
After instantly subduing the butlers and maids who rushed in to stop the intruder, I sprinted toward the second floor where the only light remained.
KWAAAAAAANG!
The moment I shattered the doorknob and stepped inside—
Everything had already been decided.
“…….”
“Huff… Huff….”
Michel Bernhardt emitted a quiet yet unmistakable killing intent, while Mikhail Bernhardt, who had confronted her in magical combat, had been reduced to a complete wreck.
One stood there without even her breathing disturbed, wand aimed calmly at her opponent.
The other knelt on both knees, glaring at her while gasping heavily.
“Wind….”
CRACK!
With a silent incantation, Michel fired a Wind Spear and snapped the wand her opponent had been trying to use for a counterattack cleanly in half.
Immediately afterward, she bound Mikhail’s left arm and twisted it violently in the opposite direction.
“Gghk?!”
His wrist shattered, causing the wand to fall from his hand as Mikhail clutched his arm and swallowed the pain.
Seeing that utterly one-sided victory, I silently walked over to Michel’s side.
From the very beginning, the only person in Bernhardt capable of opposing Michel’s overwhelming talent had been Robert Bernhardt alone.
The fact that Michel reached this place safely meant Rubia was handling Robert.
Whether it was Chloe or Mikhail—
Neither stood a chance against Michel once she truly revealed her resolve.
In the end, this fight was merely about whether she could steel herself or not.
And ultimately, she chose to place a period upon her own story.
The moment she made that decision, the ending had already been determined.
“You truly thought… you could defeat me, Mikhail Bernhardt?”
Looking sorrowfully at the man who no longer seemed to possess even the will to resist, Michel quietly asked:
“Was what I wanted… really so excessive? Wanting my parents to acknowledge me as their child?”
“…You never acknowledged me as your father, so why should I acknowledge you as my daughter?”
“That’s because you—!”
“That’s enough, Michel.”
Blocking Michel before her emotions could surge again, I stepped toward him instead.
“There’s no need to let someone like this control you anymore.”
Even though exhaustion was obvious across his face, the sharp gaze directed toward me remained unchanged.
“……Eugene Carter.”
“First time meeting since the summit, Mikhail Bernhardt?”
“What exactly is it you want? You humiliated the Orthodox Church, encouraged intervention from external powers like Mallet, and now you’ve even destroyed Bernhardt—the central pillar of the Empire. Yet the ones you joined hands with are subordinate organizations of the Dawn Society plotting national overthrow.”
“…Who knows.”
Meeting his gaze directly, I asked:
“What do you think, Vice Head?”
“…….”
“What exactly do you think I’m trying to do?”
“…I don’t know.”
After answering honestly, Mikhail twisted his lips mockingly.
“I’ve never been able to understand the thoughts of idiots.”
“…Is that so.”
Then die without ever understanding.
“I don’t want to dirty my hands any further because of trash like you.”
After saying that, I turned back toward Michel.
“Let’s go, Michel.”
“…….”
She still looked like she retained the slightest trace of lingering attachment—
But even so, she never stopped walking.
That was the kind of person Michel Bernhardt was.
She exercised extreme caution before making decisions, but once a decision was made, she never took it back.
No matter how distant they had become, she was still his daughter.
There was no way Mikhail did not know what kind of person she was.
That was why he gathered every remaining ounce of strength and shouted:
“That bastard only wants to use your talent, Michel!”
It was painfully obvious he still clung to the hope that some possibility of salvation remained for him.
But as though she had already expected even that, Michel answered indifferently:
“I know.”
“…And you’ll still side with him? That bastard might use you and discard you afterward.”
“You discarded me without even using me.”
“…….”
“If you had acknowledged me… I could have accepted a life as a sacrifice or a tool as much as necessary.”
“…….”
“You’re the one who threw away that opportunity, Mikhail Bernhardt.”
Stopping at the entrance, she looked back one final time and quietly declared:
“I hope you never appear before me again.”
.
.
.
After accomplishing all our objectives, we silently left the mansion.
“…….”
Looking at Michel’s comparatively calm expression, I cautiously spoke.
“Are you alright?”
“Of course I’m not.”
But I’ll be alright.
“Because I chose to live this way from now on.”
The faint smile beginning to form on her lips strangely carried a sense of relief, making me smile along with her.
“Let’s go.”
As I strode ahead, Michel asked:
“Shouldn’t we go assist Professor Rubia?”
“Yes.”
The mercenary corps members had already been thoroughly beaten down by me, so they would need to focus on recovery for a while.
The remaining forces would have their attention drawn elsewhere by Frederick and Walter during their escape.
That left only Robert Bernhardt.
She still lacked experience in one-versus-many combat. Especially against humans rather than Beasts.
But if the battle was one-on-one—
There was currently nobody in the Ribenia Empire who could confidently claim superiority over her.
Even if the opponent was the strongest silent-casting mage, Robert himself.
“She’ll join us soon enough, so we can head ahead first.”
“…If you say it that confidently, then I suppose I should trust you.”
Before I knew it, Michel had already begun walking ahead of me.
Watching her back briefly, I hurried to match her pace.
The noisy late-night chaos was gradually giving way to silence.
---
At the same time.
“Hmmm….”
Throughout the entire journey back to headquarters, Maximilian continuously let out low groans.
‘…What exactly is she thinking?’
The brief conversation he had earlier with the leader echoed through his ears.
“Very well.”
“Ah, yes. Then I shall… Excuse me? Truly?”
“The outcome will not change regardless, so saving one or two people you wish to protect should be acceptable.”
“…Ah… Ah. Thank you very much, Chairwoman.”
“However, there is one condition.”
“A condition…?”
“Michel Bernhardt must not inherit the Bernhardt name.”
“…….”
“As long as that condition is fulfilled, I will not interfere no matter what you do or whom you save.”
“…I can guarantee that will never happen.”
“Then we’re done here. You may leave.”
“…Excuse me.”
She was probably certain that even delaying Bernhardt’s collapse and exposing Greenwhistle and the Platinum Dawn Society publicly to calm public opinion would still be insufficient to stop the coup.
But even considering that, her agreement had felt far too easy.
‘Does she have some other hidden scheme?’
The Platinum Dawn Society existed long before even his grandparents were born.
Greenwhistle itself was comparatively young, founded in 1431, but even it already possessed a history spanning forty-six years.
Before Maximilian became captain, Greenwhistle had already accumulated enormous amounts of incriminating information.
From information now too outdated to use, to information so severe one wondered why it had never been exposed—
Over thousands of cases documenting the crimes committed by nobles and Imperial figures over half a century had been stored away.
Yet Maximilian only revealed the evidence he and his collaborators gathered regarding Bernhardt instead of utilizing everything.
Partly for the sake of securing his own standing—
But mostly because he wanted the citizens’ rage focused entirely upon Bernhardt.
Because only then could they deal a fatal blow.
Of course, the remaining noble factions would not escape unharmed either.
In fact, several nobles had already half-abandoned governance of their territories and barricaded themselves in due to worker uprisings.
He did not care what happened to those bastards.
No, rather, if he could personally witness their downfall, nothing would satisfy him more.
But if the result was even greater chaos engulfing the Empire—
And if his master and those who helped her ended up dying because of it—
Then he would never forgive himself for causing such an outcome.
Under the name of the Platinum Dawn Society, they had fought together against a common enemy.
But that only applied until now.
As long as their final destinations differed, conflict was inevitable.
‘Though I still raised my voice pretending otherwise in front of Eugene Carter.’
Now then… what should he do?
After Bernhardt’s destruction became official, should he persuade those two to withdraw from the front lines?
“Though whether they’d actually listen is another matter entirely….”
Right then—
The Orb inside his coat suddenly began shining brightly.
It was a communication from his subordinate, Jack Brown.
“…What? Right now?”
The message itself was simple.
Edgar Bernhardt wished to meet and requested a location.
“…You said he’s coming together with Dale Wedmeyer?”
“Yes.”
“…….”
“What shall we do?”
“…Gather troops at the usual location. Just in case, bring around ten elites.”
“You’re going personally?”
“If their side is sending their leader, ours should send its leader too. I’ll head there shortly, so tell them to wait.”
Ending the communication, Maximilian immediately broke into a full sprint.
.
.
.
Just past midnight.
Barely arriving at the old Abattoir headquarters on schedule, he was greeted at the entrance by Jack Brown.
“You’re here, Captain.”
“And him?”
“He’s waiting.”
“…Did they really come alone?”
“Yes.”
“……Let’s go inside.”
To think that in the same place where he had spoken with his master not long ago, he would now be speaking with his sworn enemy Edgar Bernhardt.
As Maximilian thought that, he repeatedly took deep breaths to maintain his composure.
No matter how toothless a tiger became, it was still a tiger.
One needed proper resolve to face a beast.
Entering the executive meeting room, he saw two familiar faces.
“It’s been a while, Maximilian.”
Edgar Bernhardt extended a hand with his characteristic shameless smile.
Ignoring it openly, Maximilian gestured toward Dale instead.
“We have something to discuss privately, so everyone else should leave for a moment.”
Since they already knew each other well as members of the same Dawn Society, Dale rose without objection.
In the first place, the only reason he had been called here was because Edgar personally insisted upon it.
KWANG!
The moment everyone exited and the door slammed shut loudly behind them, Edgar immediately got to the point.
“Withdraw the lawsuit, Maximilian.”
“…I wondered what kind of nonsense made you request a meeting so suddenly, but it seems you’ve lost even your pride now.”
“That disappeared a long time ago, naturally.”
“Well, I didn’t drag my busy self all the way here just to exchange empty words either.”
Saying that, Edgar extended his hand once more.
“If you simply withdraw the lawsuit, I’ll mobilize every resource Bernhardt possesses to support the Platinum Dawn Society’s revolution.”
“…Have you lost your mind?”
“Unfortunately, I’m perfectly sane.”
Watching Maximilian freeze in shock, Edgar grinned broadly.
“So? Doesn’t this sound like quite a reasonable deal?”