novelkee Chapter 177 : Cooperation (2)
Chapter 177 : Cooperation (2)
Chapter 177: Cooperation (2)
Like he said, at first glance it sounded like a fairly reasonable proposal.
But the other party was Edgar Bernhardt. There was no telling when he might stab someone in the back.
Moreover, the greatest obstacle in this negotiation was the fact that the one receiving the proposal was Maximilian himself—the person who hated Edgar more than anyone else.
As proof, Maximilian glared coldly at Edgar and spoke.
“You think… I would listen to your request?”
“…You’ve grown quite a bit. Back then, you couldn’t even properly raise your head in front of me.”
“Ever since you bastards tried to burn me alive, I was reborn entirely anew. There is only one being in this world worthy of receiving my reverence. I have no reason to fear trash like you.”
Seeing him deliberately raise his chin higher while glaring fiercely, Edgar chuckled.
“Well, it’s not like you absolutely have to accept… but you’d better think carefully, Maximilian.”
A sinister smile spread across Edgar’s lips.
“The more one has to lose, the more cautious and careful they become. The less one has to lose, the more radical and extreme they become. The damage you inflicted upon Bernhardt was far too severe, and we’ve already lost far too much.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Can you truly guarantee that we, who lost so much because of you people, won’t make radical and extreme choices against you and Michel, Maximilian?”
“…So that’s what you were getting at.”
As though that level of bluff was nowhere near enough, Maximilian scoffed as well.
“Go ahead and try. Even if I disappear from this world, it won’t affect the plan in the slightest.”
And above all—
“With the state you’re in now, you can’t harm either me or my master. Absolutely not.”
“I might not. But what about the mercenary corps?”
“…You mobilized the mercenary corps just to kill me?”
“Who knows.”
“Even if you did, at most you’d take my life. You still wouldn’t be able to do anything to my master inside Karbenna.”
“You don’t think Bernhardt secured at least a few insiders by now?”
“Hmph. Maybe a few months ago, but not at a time like this. There’s no way anyone would cooperate with you bastards now. As long as she stays inside Karbenna, you have no opportunity.”
At that—
As though he had been waiting for those words, Edgar stroked his lips and nodded.
“They say speaking of something makes it happen. Looks like you were the cause.”
“…What?”
“Michel is currently inside Bernhardt territory.”
---
KWAAAAANG!
Slamming the table violently, Maximilian released killing intent.
“If you lay even a finger on my master, your head will leave your shoulders that instant.”
“What a shame. If I were currently in Bernhardt territory, I could’ve already contacted everyone and spread the order. Unfortunately, I just so happen to be outside the estate right now.”
“You bastard…!”
“So shouldn’t we hurry and finish this agreement? That way I’ll have time to contact the estate, Maximilian.”
“…….”
The urge to rip out the disgusting tongue wagging inside this man’s mouth surged violently within him.
Still, Maximilian struggled to maintain his composure.
‘This could all still be a lie.’
Withdrawing the lawsuit itself was easy enough.
But that wasn’t what Edgar truly wanted.
If Greenwhistle simply altered the charges slightly and reported them again afterward, Bernhardt would be cornered completely.
‘What he needs is an article claiming Bernhardt and Greenwhistle reached a dramatic agreement. Crafty bastard.’
In other words, he intended to suppress public outrage as much as possible and muddy the waters.
If the leader of Greenwhistle—the voice of the victims—and the leader of Bernhardt—the representative of the perpetrators—joined hands, public opinion would immediately become chaotic.
Combined with the earlier revelations regarding Beastification, Greenwhistle’s own image would suffer enormous damage as well.
Yet rejecting this proposal outright was difficult when the weapon they held was Michel’s life itself.
After pondering for a long time, Maximilian finally spoke.
“…A complete withdrawal is impossible.”
Think.
What’s truly important?
Bernhardt’s destruction? Certainly that mattered.
But above all else, the most important thing was Lady Michel’s life.
He began this journey in order to save her.
“If the family head wishes to survive, then others will have to be sacrificed in his place.”
He did not know why she personally entered Bernhardt territory.
He simply trusted there was a worthy reason behind it.
Michel Bernhardt was a genuine powerhouse.
A mere one or two mercenary corps members could never stop her.
And there was no way she went alone. At minimum, she likely brought along the two people he met before here—Eugene Carter and Rubia Magnus.
Even so—
If there remained even the slightest possibility of her falling into danger—
Then even if it meant joining hands with his sworn enemy, he would eliminate that possibility entirely.
“Sacrifice four people, including Mikhail Bernhardt. Then I’ll withdraw the charges against everyone else.”
“…So that’s your answer.”
Now it was Edgar’s turn to think.
He had already considered this possibility before coming here.
Just like Robert had suggested, rotten wounds needed to be carved away.
Hella, Gilbert, Chloe.
Those three needed to be removed first.
Adding Vice Head Mikhail perfectly satisfied the condition Maximilian proposed.
‘…If I cut Mikhail away, can I truly survive afterward?’
They had shared everything all this time.
If he, of all people, abandoned his closest ally now, Mikhail would never quietly accept it.
Bernhardt, already teetering near destruction, might collapse completely through internal conflict.
Even so, Edgar understood all too well.
Now that the Ribenia Orthodoxy had fallen, Abel Ribenia severed ties with him, the noble factions turned their backs, and even Edel and Rachel rejected him—
Failure in this negotiation would destroy the final remaining option available to them.
“…As long as my wife and eldest son survive, that’s enough. I don’t care what happens to the others.”
And so Edgar Bernhardt hardened his resolve and accepted the proposal with a heavy expression.
“Bernhardt will provide the supplies and manpower necessary for the coup.”
---
Just as I expected, Rubia had already arrived at the cemetery long ago.
She had concealed herself perfectly using Illusion Barrier.
I lightly scraped the ground with Lukezax as a signal, and Rubia immediately dispelled the magic and ran toward me.
“Eugene!”
Responding appropriately to her greeting, I asked:
“What happened to Robert Bernhardt?”
“Ah… well.”
She honestly recounted the events from one hour earlier.
“…You just let him go?”
“Yes. He said he had a feeling we’d be fighting together soon, and that it would be a waste for both sides to perish here when our skills were too valuable….”
Fighting together soon?
What kind of nonsense was that supposed to mean?
I instinctively began sinking into thought before shaking my head.
“Let’s get out of here first. We can talk while moving.”
“Ah, yes!”
.
.
.
Although it resembled a cemetery, the area designated 4-1 was practically empty.
After clearing away the dirt and grass and digging nearly one meter downward, cracked stone stairs and an iron door appeared beneath.
When Michel placed both hands upon it, the engraved seal flashed brightly, and the door split apart from both sides, opening just enough for one person to squeeze through.
The moment we entered, the door shut tightly behind us.
With each of us producing different footsteps, we walked through the narrow passageway.
“I only retreated because I had no reason not to… but do you really think that’ll happen, Eugene?”
“…It’s possible.”
But that likely wasn’t the only reason.
From Robert’s perspective, killing Michel would’ve been the optimal choice.
As long as uncertainty remained regarding the authenticity of the will, killing the person named within it was the surest solution.
However, the moment he failed to gain superiority over Rubia, that plan became impossible.
The mercenary corps was undoubtedly one of the strongest organizations in the Empire—
But the majority of that strength came from Robert Bernhardt himself.
‘There’s definitely another plan.’
If they truly had no alternatives left, they would have fought desperately to the end.
The fact they withdrew so cleanly meant otherwise.
And that applied not only to Robert, but the other corps members as well.
“Regardless, everyone worked hard.”
At my words, Rubia let out a deep breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
“So… it’s all over now, right?”
“It’s only beginning.”
As Michel answered, I nodded and added:
“Just like Michel said… this is only the beginning, Rubia.”
On the surface, the reason for this infiltration had been reclaiming the true will.
But the real reason she voluntarily stepped into this place was to bid farewell to the two people who tormented her all this time—Mikhail and Chloe.
Of course, if possible, she likely wanted to receive sincere apologies and forgiveness from them as well…
But she already knew long ago how unlikely that was.
Still, that did not make her resolve and actions something ordinary.
Aside from a tiny handful of allies, she had essentially been forced to survive alone, isolated from nearly every human relationship.
The reason she managed to endure nearly twenty years without dying was because she believed everything could someday return to how it once was.
But no such method existed.
That hope had become impossible.
And yet—
Even after realizing that hope could never be fulfilled…
She still stepped forward proudly.
Without running away or avoiding reality, she looked directly at her own circumstances, accepted them, and decided to keep living.
Among every version of Michel Bernhardt’s story I witnessed while repeatedly playing MAGA, there had never once been a transformation this fast or dramatic.
That alone proved how difficult the journey was, and how extraordinary the achievement.
However, there was no time to simply savor that achievement and feel satisfied.
Even the battle against Bernhardt was not truly over yet.
And the disaster awaiting us afterward had only just passed its introduction.
“Michel.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s delay using the will for a little while.”
“…….”
“We’ve weakened Mikhail Bernhardt and the mercenary corps, but we still don’t know what Edgar Bernhardt is thinking. Let’s first observe how he and Greenwhistle move afterward…”
“I was already planning to do that, Instructor Eugene.”
“…That’s a relief.”
“The name Bernhardt… and the grand ambition of inheriting that family… they all seem faded now.”
Even so—
Michel smiled faintly.
“There are still people I need to protect. The pitiful people who suffered there for so many years.”
“…….”
“If it’s to save them… then I’m willing to accept even this stained name.”
“…….”
“Because that was Grandfather Johann’s wish as well.”
“…Very well.”
Returning her smile with one of my own, I briefly looked between the two women.
Suddenly, the words I once muttered myself surfaced in my mind, causing me to unconsciously speak aloud.
“A family unrelated by even a single drop of blood… huh.”
“Eugene?”
“It’s nothing.”
I brushed it off vaguely and continued leading the way.
Inside the narrow, lengthy passage—
The irregular footsteps following behind me sounded strangely comforting.