Chapter 996 - 995: Gambler

Chapter 996: Chapter 995: Gambler

Upon hearing Hadrian’s words, Matilda instinctively wanted to frown. However, this action only appeared briefly in her mind before being masked by her calm expression.

"The city is still engulfed in a tense atmosphere, but the order in factories and markets has begun to gradually recover," she approached Hadrian and spoke casually, "Due to the royal intervention, those merchants trying to speculate during the chaos and the nobles attempting to transfer assets were preemptively stopped. The supply of food, cloth, and medicine is no longer a problem... You deserve more than half of the credit for this."

"In special times, we need to use some special means to make certain people ’behave’," Hadrian chuckled softly, "Pursuing profit is human nature, but some people’s instincts are excessively out of control. By the way, Imperial Sister, I heard that there was a standoff between the Protectorate Knight Order and the National 11th Regiment. Has the matter been resolved?"

"We identified a batch of commanders and soldiers in the Eleventh Legion who were affected by mental contamination, and a few individuals became overly excited due to shallow faith—the source of the standoff was them—they have all been sent for treatment," Matilda said. "As for the others... once Duke Ferdinand Wendell showed up, the situation quickly calmed down."

"Duke Ferdinand..." Hadrian showed a thoughtful expression, "He is the most respected among the military nobility, and under his command, the Protectorate Knight Order absolutely loyal to the royal family and completely isolated from the Sect of the God of War. With him standing out, it’s more effective than a hundred generals."

Matilda nodded gently, "As long as the army is effectively controlled and the military nobility remains loyal, plus timely removal of belief contamination in several key legions, the situation will soon be alleviated—and we also have a large number of Combat Mage Regiments who are completely unaffected by this ’plague’, and the Royal Mage Association always stands by the royal family. As long as these forces remain under control, order will not be lost."

Hadrian’s gaze fell on a nearby list, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly, "This is also the primary guarantee that these lists can be properly ’handled’.

He understood that when a series of crises suddenly erupted, many people domestically felt a sense of pessimism. Some who knew too much about the inner workings even briefly believed that the Augustus Clan was going to collapse, thinking the Typhon Royal Family was finished—decrees could not leave the Obsidian Palace, the frontline troops lost control, the capital faced a ’mental plague’, and both the upper and lower echelons of parliament were anxious, seemingly at the brink of total collapse, and the royal family was powerless...

Hadrian understood these pessimistic, even extreme emotions but did not agree with them.

Because including the Protectorate Knight Order, Obsidian Imperial Guard, and the Wanderers, large military forces were still firmly controlled by the royal family, and due to years of deliberate control by the Typhon Royal Family, these forces were not influenced by any church, with the Royal Mage Association always on the side of the Obsidian Palace. The current association president and almost all powerful Mages are staunch royalists—and these Mages not only wield powerful force but also command technology, they are key figures in rapidly purifying the national communication network and quickly filling communication system breaches. Additionally, influential aristocrats led by Duke Ferdinand Wendell have already or quietly distanced themselves from the Sect of the God of War...

Typhon faced a crisis, but the situation was never out of control; the Augustus Clan was just caught off guard.

In this crisis, the only factor that made the young Hadrian feel uncontrollable and constantly uneasy was the seemingly calm Cecil Clan.

Angry Cecil Clan members are dangerous, but perhaps even more dangerous are the silent ones occupying the Winter Wolf Defense Line post-calmness—what’s feared is that all this is beyond Typhon’s control.

He shook his head and rubbed his slightly sore brow. Matilda’s voice came the next second, "Perhaps some people can be handed over to me..."

Before Matilda finished speaking, Hadrian shook his head. He raised his eyes, his gaze falling on the Imperial Sister’s face, and said seriously, "We both know why this matter must be entrusted to me."

Matilda frowned slightly but said nothing—she understood Hadrian’s meaning, and out of tacit understanding, they did not delve into the topic further.

Just then, a slight humming sound suddenly arose, and an earring worn by Matilda emitted a faint flash and sound, interrupting the siblings’ conversation. Hadrian quickly responded, "Father is looking for you."

"It seems so..." Matilda touched her earlobe and nodded to Hadrian, "Then I’ll take my leave."

...

Soon after bidding farewell to Hadrian, Matilda traversed the deep and long corridors and rooms of the Obsidian Palace, arriving at a study located in the inner court, where her brilliant father sat on his favorite high-backed chair—when Matilda entered the room, Emperor Rosetta Augustus was reviewing several documents. He looked up from those papers and, upon seeing his daughter, showed a slight smile, "You arrived earlier than I expected."

"I was just with Hadrian," Matilda candidly said, "I came immediately upon receiving your call."

"Hadrian... he should be quite busy nowadays," Emperor Rosetta casually stated, "So, what did you discuss with him?"

"Just a discussion about the recent domestic situation," Matilda said, then paused and could not help but say, "Lists, more lists... to be honest, they look somewhat unsettling."

Rosetta looked at her and shook his head after a few seconds, "Believe me, Matilda, I wish more than anyone else that those lists wouldn’t increase—but this is ultimately something we must do. This country still has many areas that need change, and this crisis has exposed all the entrenched rotten residues. If we don’t seize this opportunity to eradicate them, we’ll face longer-lasting difficulties and heavier hidden dangers in the future."

"Of course, I understand," Matilda immediately said, "It’s just... I always feel like I’m standing by and watching."

"...Standing by is your best way of ’participating’ right now," Emperor Rosetta deeply looked at Matilda before speaking in a hesitant tone, "Remember, child, you must keep your hands clean, especially in this matter."

Matilda’s heart skipped a beat, and she couldn’t help but widen her eyes slightly.

Actually, she knew her father would eventually clarify this matter, but she’d never thought it would be in such a circumstance, in such a manner, bringing it to the forefront.

After a brief silence, Rosetta Augustus continued, "Matilda, remember, if you want to shoulder the responsibility of a nation, every action you take must focus on the long-term future—you must consider more deeply than anyone else from the beginning, taking all costs and possible impacts into account. Specifically, for this situation, you must keep your hands clean, maintain a perfect posture to appease the nobles, meet with citizen representatives, announce subsequent welfare, production, supply policies—you must be the order’s sustainer and creator, while those unpleasant tasks... must be completed by others.

"Even if many actions and decisions are yours, you must maintain this ’clean appearance’.

"Matilda, those lists—and the purging work beyond them, we all know they are meant to eliminate the parasites within the Empire, to swiftly stabilize the situation and fend off internal and external threats, but many people won’t pay attention to these long-term results; they will focus on the fear and tension in the process, as well as those ’understandable sacrifices’... In fact, their thoughts are even correct because no matter the purpose, the methods of these purges can hardly be called honorable, and if misused, it could even be a disruption to order. These actions, no matter the current and short-term effects, will surely be filled with controversy in the long run—and these controversies should not fall upon you."

Speaking to this point, he glanced deeply at Matilda once more, revealing a faint smile: "Feeling like I’m overprotective of you?"

"Matilda, many years ago, I too faced a situation quite similar to today... even worse, because back then the list I made was much longer than today’s, and the people I had to deal with were much more cunning and insidious than the opportunistic merchants and selfish aristocrats now, and all of this, back then, I had to do myself."

"The consequence of doing it myself was that I made more compromises, weighed more balances, left more room, and had more enemies I couldn’t eliminate directly because only this way could I avoid the complete fragmentation of the country. I spent over a decade repairing these fissures, advancing many imperfect new policies through patching-up methods, and even so, many people in the shadows hated me, and as time went by, their hatred grew deeper—time has reached today, and I have no choice but to put those people back on a new list and face many new opponents affected by them."

"This drains energy and time too much, Matilda, I don’t want you to walk down this path again."

"Therefore, your hands must be clean."

Matilda quietly listened to her father’s teachings, a thought suddenly emerged in her mind—her father, like steel, had rarely spoken so much to her at one time in recent years.

"I understand what you mean," she nodded, "but Hadrian..."

"He knows what he is doing, probably you can see that too," Rosetta said solemnly, "it might be unfair to him... but it’s the responsibility of the royal family."

Matilda sighed.

"Now let’s talk about business," Rosetta shifted the topic, "I called you here to assign you a task."

Matilda immediately became serious: "Please command."

Rosetta reached out to the drawer beside him—from it, he took out a thick document and pushed it onto the table towards Matilda.

Matilda curiously took the document, and upon opening it, the first thing she saw was a line of large printed letters—"The Plan and Long-term Significance of Establishing Typhon Memorabilia Library."

She continued to flip a few pages, quickly discovering that a substantial portion of the content was bibliographies, a large number of bibliographies.

"This is..." she vaguely sensed a guess in her mind but dared not confirm her idea; she showed a puzzled look and gazed at her father.

"We are to secretly establish a memorabilia library—to encompass everything in Typhon. The scholars have already sorted out the catalogs of all historical and technical books, and further collection and organization work is underway intensively. According to the plan, more books will be listed and ultimately form a huge encyclopedia. Additionally, the collection and organization of works like poetry, drama, architecture, and painting have started, and now this work will be handed over to you to continue."

Matilda finally couldn’t help but interrupt Rosetta’s words, "Is this plan... meant to..."

"Just in case," Rosetta said calmly, "if we fail, someone needs to ensure that our traditions and history can be preserved."

"Has the situation already reached such a critical level?" Matilda couldn’t help but ask, "As things stand, everything seems under control..."

"Indeed, things haven’t reached the worst level yet, but we’re walking on the edge of a cliff, and it could worsen—and if that day truly comes, the work to preserve history and culture must start now."

Matilda listened attentively, contemplating, then abruptly realized her father’s true concern wasn’t about those lofty Gods but about people: "Do you think those Cecil Clan will seize this opportunity to launch a devastating war? And do you believe they have that capability?"

"I respect and am willing to support Gawain Cecil and the ’propositions’ he has declared, but we can never fully trust our enemies. As for whether they have the capability... Matilda, having the motive is enough, and I’ve recently found this motive for them, even their specific actions."

Matilda fell into short contemplation; a few seconds later, she said solemnly: "...If the situation you fear truly happens, despite us sorting and preserving these books, they might end up as exhibits in Cecil Clan’s museums—used to showcase their successful conquest."

"So this is the worst-case scenario, even hardly an effective counter," Rosetta said lightly, "if this crisis is passed smoothly, we will naturally have time and space to solve the problem slowly, but now... we can’t do much."

Matilda looked steadily at her father for a long time before finally bowing her head: "...I understand, Father."

Rosetta lightly acknowledged with a "Hmm," then the study fell into a briefly suffocating silence until Matilda couldn’t hold back, wanting to speak, when Rosetta suddenly said: "Do you think I’m too pessimistic?"

Matilda hesitated for a moment but still nodded: "...Yes."

"Indeed, I am a bit pessimistic, especially when we were not long ago immersed in the powerful national confidence, filled with pride planning for a glorious future; my pessimistic ideas now seem particularly unreasonable... But, Matilda, I’m undertaking a gamble."

"A ruler shouldn’t be a gambler, but throughout my life, I’ve always encountered circumstances where I had to be a gambler, and based on my experience, facing a gamble... being pessimistic is always better than blindly optimistic."