Chapter 718: Seeking Straightness Through Crookedness

"So Your Highness is saying that Zayen used Covendier's power and credit as a guarantee to string together layer after layer of new chains of interest..."

A quarter of an hour later, Federico sat opposite Thales, his hands crossed, thinking carefully.

"...wrapping Jade City until not a crack was left. And when you took him down, you damaged Jade City's ruling order and institutional foundation, thereby affecting the current state of industries, sources of funds, market conditions, and even public security and popular confidence."

Thales sighed and nodded.

"When Jade City must protect the ducal family in order to preserve its own way of life, then even a central royal authority as powerful as ours cannot overthrow Covendier's rule alone without touching Jade City even slightly, and without affecting the existing structure of interests."

Federico's expression was grave.

"And if Your Highness insists on having your way, resolutely executing arbitration and investigating the truth from that year..."

Thales snorted softly.

"Then what Jade City will have to bear will not merely be losses in economics and interests. It may even be an overall great regression in civilization and institutions, which does not conform to anyone's interests, including my father's."

Federico was silent for a while.

"Mm. Using all of Jade City and even the South Coast Territory as collateral, making you hesitate over the consequences. This is indeed something Zayen would do."

He shook his head.

"Unfortunately, this is the field in which he specializes after stealing the seat of city lord and immersing himself in it for many years. I am ashamed to admit I cannot match him, and cannot defeat him in this."

Thales' hope fell through, and he could not help asking in confusion:

"Even if you replaced him and ascended to the seat of city lord, guaranteeing that Covendier's prestige remains unchanged and announcing to the outside that everything will continue as before, in order to recover Jade City's confidence and order?"

Federico's eyes moved slightly.

Thales tested further:

"Even if I use power to weave truth, wash away the stains on you and your father, and tell the entire kingdom that you are the rightful heir of Iris Flower?"

Federico looked back at Thales.

"And this is why you tested my ambition earlier?"

Thales smiled politely.

Federico's gaze flickered for several seconds. But a few seconds later, he still slowly shook his head.

"Naturally, I can ascend to the seat of city lord. But the problem is, Your Highness, neither you nor His Majesty will allow 'everything to continue as before.' If I cannot offer the same guarantee and protection as Zayen, Jade City's confidence and order cannot be recovered."

Speaking to this point, he carefully looked toward Thales:

"Unless you can promise that from money to personnel, from the army to taxation, you will not touch Jade City by even a hair?"

Thales scoffed when he heard this.

How could that be possible?

Was that not precisely why he had come here?

"If I could do that, why would I need to speak with you?" Thales said disdainfully. "Why would I not directly knock on the opposite door and invite Zayen Covendier to return to the seat of city lord, with everyone satisfied and all rejoicing?"

Of course, whether you, Federico, would be satisfied was another question.

"Precisely."

Federico thought seriously and could not help sighing.

"Worthy of Zayen. Borrowing the dignity of a duke and the foundation of several generations of ancestors, he gained dual identities in Jade City: first, a ruler standing in the old world, and second, a reformer bringing new order. Thus he occupies every advantage. In the old world, Jade City has no existence stronger than him that can oppose him or stand against him. In the new order, all newly born forces rely on his breath, are grateful to him, send him nourishment, and are restrained by him layer upon layer."

Hearing the other party's sigh, Thales frowned.

"Seeing you so happy, Fede, makes me quite happy too. But perhaps I still need to remind you of one more thing. If I stand aside and let things develop, then Jade City can only collapse from this point on, and everyone scattering is needless to mention. And if I compromise, if I have no choice but to yield for Jade City's overall situation, then my original intention falling through goes without saying. But as for you..."

"Then in the arbitration regarding my father's case, you would naturally also have to compromise," Federico calmly took over the prince's words. "Zayen would escape punishment, and I would lose the entire board. I might even become the gift you take to make peace with Zayen."

Thales raised his brows and lifted the teacup toward him.

Exactly.

"So, for your own sake, do you have any new ideas?"

Federico did not speak immediately. He thought carefully.

Thales waited with great patience.

Since everyone was doomed anyway, there was no need to hurry over this moment.

"Regarding my father and my uncle, Your Highness, there is one point you said correctly," Federico said distractedly after several seconds. "Their political disagreement that year began from the difference in their positions, and also from the difference in the people they cared about."

He continued:

"My uncle led by example, forcing nobles and vassals to sacrifice and change. He firmly believed that the renewal and replacement of power would ultimately bring new life to Jade City and even the South Coast Territory. My father, however, insisted on strengthening the foundation, advancing step by step, and not rushing anything."

As Federico spoke, he fell into thought.

"As brothers and blood relatives, they should have cooperated well, complemented each other, and protected Jade City through its difficulties."

Seeing the other party lose focus again and speak beside the point, Thales could not help coughing.

"Fede?"

"Apologies," Federico came back to himself. "Do not worry, my prince."

His eyes immediately brightened, and confidence filled his chest.

"Imagine, if Jade City is truly interlocked and unified from top to bottom as Zayen says, if the new order he and his predecessors created is truly so powerful and flawless, then how did he fall into his current predicament, to the point that he has to use Jade City as a threat, taking out this final and most powerless bargaining chip to threaten you in such an ugly posture?"

"What do you mean?" Thales' eyes turned.

Federico smiled coldly.

"Your Highness might as well recall how we defeated him earlier and made Zayen cut such a sorry figure that he could not even sit on the seat of city lord."

How did they defeat Zayen?

Thales became thoughtful when he heard this.

"You dug up old accounts, accused him of killing his father and framing his kin, denied his inheritance rights, and questioned the legitimacy of his seat as city lord and ducal title."

The prince recalled:

"And I invoked the Sacred Stars Covenant and raised noble precedents, forcing him to give up the seat of city lord and accept arbitration."

Federico slowly nodded.

"In Zayen's view, he skillfully used the power of a Covendier duke, made guarantees, replaced the old with the new, and forced everyone in the South Coast Territory, from noble vassals to countless commoners, to turn together. He successfully pushed Jade City forward, rolling and reforming, and then climbed into the carriage, hid behind the curtain, and let Jade City operate and move forward, as if this could make him invisible and shield him from wind and rain."

Federico's gaze sharpened.

"But he forgot one thing."

The Covendier called Scarlet Iris stood, his face smiling, yet it made one feel not the slightest warmth.

"The power Covendier uses to guarantee and win trust, even to force and reform, still comes from the kingdom's old feudal legal principles. In other words, in the new world, the raw material he uses to forge his chain of power is still the soil and stone of the old age."

Thales' brow moved.

"So-called Queen of Cities, Jade City is in truth far less fashionable, advanced, and civilized than Zayen boasts. In fact, this city is nothing more than a castle in the air, shakily built by powerful old authority rooted in this land, by robbing other slightly weaker landed powers, feeding and watering newly born industries and classes, granting new power, coaxing and deceiving them, and papering it over all the way."

Federico began pacing in the room, and his words grew increasingly sharp.

"The new order and new chain he takes pride in, supposedly created through Jade City and unified from top to bottom, is only a hybrid monster mixed from old and new. And the most ancient, most rotten part within it, yet also the part most impossible to reform and replace..."

"Is none other than the South Coast Duke himself," Thales murmured, understanding something.

Federico nodded.

"Zayen, or the power he represents, merely hides itself. It has not changed in essence. The reason he slipped and stepped down this time is precisely that the ducal throne he inherited through surname and bloodline was shaken by us in the most traditional, most primitive, most backward way, and also the way he most looks down upon. It became no longer stable and reliable."

He slowly paced and sneered faintly:

"And we did not even use any more advanced, newer, or higher-level weapons. Institutional reform, commercial tools, interest transactions, none of them were needed. In fact, all we did was take an old legal shovel, ancient beyond compare, find the part of his dual identity that belongs to the old powerful class, avoid the hardest and brightest plating on the throne, and pry directly at the most rotten and ancient soil beneath."

Thales' gaze moved, and he sank into thought.

"You mean we continue using inheritance rights, ethics, morals, bloodline, old legal principles like these, and pry once more?"

But Federico shook his head in denial.

"The soil has already loosened," he said excitedly. "What we need to do is only let the rotten, stinking worms inside appear under the sun in broad daylight. That is enough."

At this point, Federico's eyes were bright and sharp as hidden blades.

"As for the rest, let Zayen, or rather, let Jade City itself, complete it for us."

"Better because of friends than dead by enemies."

Thales could not help frowning.

"What does that mean? What exactly do we do?"

Federico turned his head, his smile cold.

"Your Highness, do you still remember? At the beginning of the power transition in Jade City, after Zayen stepped down, I once wrote to you suggesting that Miss Cecilia be appointed regent of Jade City."

Thales froze.

"Yes?"

Federico nodded.

"It is not too late now. You may announce that Hilley will be appointed regent, even acting city lord." His gaze was sharp. "To the outside, say that after the upheaval, you have finally stabilized the overall situation, and now it is time to be open and upright, to not cling to power, and to return Jade City to Covendier, letting Miss Hilley worry over city affairs."

"What?"

Shocked, Thales froze for a long while.

"I thought you had some ingenious plan or fine prescription that could change the balance of the situation and force Zayen to yield on his own. But the result is... using his sister?"

"She is also my cousin." Federico's gaze was complicated. He walked behind Thales' seat and stopped. "I said it before, Your Highness. Facing Zayen, we do not need advanced, fashionable, high-level, or complicated political methods or weapons. The simpler and more direct, the better. We should raise our strengths and avoid our weaknesses, not attack his extreme strength with our weakness."

Thales did not look back. He shook his head in disbelief.

"First, Fede, you must know, whether it is you 'seeking straightness through crookedness,' using extraordinary methods to pull Zayen down from the seat of city lord, or me exhausting my mind to make Jade City temporarily agree to and get used to rule without Zayen, we finally managed to defeat him in Jade City."

"Correct," Federico nodded. He stroked the back of Thales' chair and sighed. "Finally."

"Second, you underestimate Hilley," Thales said, doing his best to be rational. "That girl is close to her brother and wholeheartedly wants to rescue Zayen from imprisonment. Handing power to her may not be a wise move. What if the first order she gives after taking office is to summon Zayen to participate in government affairs, letting him return to the center of power in reality?"

"That makes sense. But precisely because of that," unexpectedly, Federico nodded in agreement with Thales. He pondered. "Your Highness cannot give up the most critical bargaining chip: the noble arbitration regarding Duke Lenster's assassination and death, regarding the conflict between Zayen and me. As long as this case remains in your hands, as long as you can still decide how to investigate, how to arbitrate, and how far to pursue it."

Thales' brow twitched.

"In fact, not only must you not give it up, you must make a great fanfare, hurry the investigation, pursue it with full force, and not let go of any detail of the old case, in order to let Zayen know that you are not yielding, but pressing forward. His future remains in your hands. Whether he is a serious criminal who killed his father or an innocent man implicated, whether he is someone who stole a high position or the rightful duke, all will be decided by your word."

Federico began pacing again.

"Then, you might explain it to my cousin like this: Jade City's deadlock has exhausted you, and it has also enraged His Majesty. If the situation continues like this and no improvement is seen, then perhaps Zayen's life will be difficult to preserve..."

What?

Thales' eyes widened.

"Therefore, for the sake of her brother's life, ask Miss Hilley to set aside past grievances and lend her aid. As long as she overcomes every difficulty from the seat of city lord, whether by selling family property or appearing personally to borrow debt, as long as she stabilizes Jade City's rule and preserves this money tree of the kingdom..."

Federico's footsteps sounded behind Thales, his voice seemingly filled with an incurable poison.

"Then perhaps you, no, no, it should be said, His Majesty the King will be satisfied, and during our arbitration, will treat her dear brother more 'fairly,' at least allowing him to preserve his life?"

At that instant, Thales felt the hair all over his body stand on end.

He vaguely guessed the other party's intention, and this made him even more uneasy.

What the hell?

In that case, Hilley would certainly disregard everything and exhaust all her strength to resolve all the deadlocks and problems he currently faced...

But if that were so...

"At the same time, do not forget to let Zayen, of course, from Your Highness, 'know' that his sister has been fortunate enough to ascend to the seat of city lord, and also let him 'know' what the lady city lord is doing at this moment." Federico narrowed his eyes.

Thales froze completely.

If Zayen knew...

"What exactly are you saying?"

Seeing this, Federico smiled coldly.

"Zayen has used every kind of trap, method, and ghostly trick to threaten you into yielding. Otherwise, he would rather Jade City collapse than let you get what you want," he said patiently. "But if the person sitting in that position is his own sister, will all these fallbacks he left in advance still take effect? Will he still be willing to sit by and watch, smiling as Jade City sinks, while waiting for you to compromise with him?"

Federico's voice was low, but the words he spat out were incomparably clear:

"When the carriage, in order to ensure the safety of its bright and splendid parts, has no choice but to painfully eliminate that old component inside... when Jade City, in order to preserve itself and its independence, has no choice but to betray the Covendier bloodline... when the duke's dual identities as 'protector' and 'ruler' conflict with one another..."

Federico said coldly:

"Can Zayen still sit so calmly in the carriage, transcendent and independent, untouched by a single leaf?"

In the extreme silence, Thales inhaled with difficulty.

"No. If I were Zayen, I would hold my troops and remain still," Thales shook his head with all his strength. "I would let my sister be overwhelmed in that position, even make countless enemies, and even if her reputation was completely ruined, I would not care at all, unless the prince first yielded on the matter of arbitration, promising to close the case there and let me leave clean and innocent."

Federico walked around to stand opposite Thales and shrugged.

"Then it depends on Zayen himself. Whether he is truly so cold-blooded that he would choose power and allow his sister to exhaust her heart and strength while making an enemy of the Jade City he created..."

At that moment, his voice was cold as ice and snow.

"...or whether he truly cherishes blood and kinship and is willing to stand out himself, clean up his own mess, withdraw his own trap, and even... go against the carriage he himself created?"

Thales clenched his fist.

"I always feel that regarding Zayen and Hilley, regarding this seemingly ordinary move, there is something else you have not told me."

Federico turned his head and smiled faintly.

"Since birth, Hilley inherited the weakness of Uncle's line. Like her brother, from childhood she carried a defor..."

Federico paused and changed his wording.

"She was weak and sickly, nearly dying young. To save their daughter's life, my uncle and aunt, as duke and duchess, even did not hesitate to seek gods and witches, provoking much gossip and even giving political enemies an excuse to attack. My father pitied his niece and likewise spared no effort, visiting famous doctors everywhere. Even Zayen's years of study and seeking medicine in the Eastern Continent were, to a large extent, for this younger sister, the treasure loved by everyone in the family."

"Now, the relatives of the previous generation are all gone." Federico's eyes moved. "Tell me, will he inherit their will and cherish this sister once protected by the whole clan?"

Thales frowned tightly.

Indeed, those who understood Covendier best, and could harm Covendier most...

Were only they themselves.

"The most ironic thing is, whether he would rather abandon his blood sibling for family tradition, or sacrifice family interests for his blood sibling..."

As he spoke, Federico became distracted again.

"A so-called family is composed precisely of blood relatives, one after another."

He said faintly:

"When Zayen chooses between family and blood kin, what exactly has he maintained, and what exactly has he destroyed? Has he protected blood kin, or harmed blood kin?"

Thales raised his head and looked directly at Federico.

He suddenly felt everything before him was somewhat familiar.

"You are forcing Zayen to make a choice," Thales said distractedly. "Bad, or worse."

Federico smiled without warmth.

"Your Highness has sharp eyes."

This time, Thales was silent for a long time.

"I once promised Zayen that I would not drag his sister into this."

"Then he must have already expected today's situation at that time and used your character of valuing promises to block off this road," Federico said unhurriedly. "But if you follow the rules, you will have truly fallen into his trap."

Thales exhaled.

"But if I truly make this move, it would be too low and too despicable."

"Could it be lower and more despicable than Zayen dragging the entire city of Jade City to burial with him in order to threaten you?"

Federico snorted disdainfully.

"Noble Prince Thales, I came from a predicament where I had nothing and was worth nothing. I overcame every difficulty and fought my way back to Jade City, only then struggling out the current situation for myself. So I understand very clearly: if we follow the rules, we will never defeat Zayen."

"Because like all long-ruling strongmen in this world," he looked down at Thales in the chair, "he has already, without anyone noticing, turned the 'rules' into his own weapons and chess pieces. If you follow the rules, you will certainly lose."

He narrowed his eyes.

"Whether you sit and wait for all of Jade City to destroy itself while your wish falls through, or force Covendier into disorder in order to preserve the overall situation, Your Highness has always had a wise reputation. I presume you already have an answer."

Thales breathed in a daze and said nothing for a long time.

"Fine. If Your Highness is upright and incorruptible, truly unwilling to break your promise, and also worried that once Hilley takes power, she will hand authority to Zayen, then you might first make a gesture," seeing this, Federico had no choice but to settle for the next best option. "Invite Hilley to participate in government affairs as an adviser, then reveal to Zayen that you intend to yield the position to her and see his reaction."

Only after several seconds did Thales raise his head with no small difficulty and look toward Federico.

The latter was perfectly composed, slowly sitting down in the seat that had originally belonged to him, still dressed thinly, his body frail.

"Your Highness, are you willing to believe me?"

At that moment, Federico Covendier smiled at His Highness the Prince, but the light revealed in his eyes was incomparably cold.

"Even if it means seeking straightness through crookedness and using power to weave truth?"

Who knew how long later, under the strange gazes of the Emerald soldiers and the Star Lake Guard, Thales walked out of Federico's room in a daze.

"Your Highness?"

Under Glover's worried gaze, he walked through the corridor absentmindedly, feeling the emptiness of Emerald Palace at that moment.

"Your Highness! Prince Thales!"

Miranda's voice sounded hurriedly, and Thales turned back in a trance.

"Your Highness, I am very sorry to disturb you!"

The female swordsman led Komuto and the others, her expression grave.

"But just now, a very, very terrible thing happened in Jade City. It must be reported to you..."

"What? Did we owe money again," Thales said numbly, "or did someone die again?"

Miranda's words caught.

"How, how did you know?"

"Someone really died?" Glover asked in surprise.

Everyone looked at one another.

Fuck, someone really died again.

Thales' face was gray. He pressed his forehead and painfully scoffed.

Fuck this.

Aside from good things, what kind of disaster did this broken city not have?

Even if Miranda told him right now that there was a mystic in Emerald Palace, he would not be surprised.

Thales mocked himself with sarcasm and powerlessness.

No, wait. There already was one.

And she was fucking sleeping in his bed.

"Your Highness?"

No. Pull yourself together, Thales. You are still managing a city.

Thales took a deep breath, tried hard to adjust his mindset, and turned toward his subordinates.

"Speak. Who is the dead?"

For Miranda to lose composure like this and hurry over to report past Mallos, the person who died was certainly not some nobody.

"A very senior old judge. Highly respected, and therefore the influence is quite large," Miranda paused for a moment. "Speaking of which, you have met him."

Thales' gaze changed, and he was suddenly moved.

"Someone I have met. Chief Judge Brennan?"

Miranda nodded gravely.

What the hell?

Thales woke completely. He straightened his clothes and quickened his pace.

"Was it Lausanne the Second?"

"We still do not know. But this time, the deceased, this old judge..."

Miranda hesitated.

"He left behind a suicide note, as well as case files from the past."

Thales frowned.

"What does that mean? What case files?"

Miranda and Glover exchanged a glance.

"Duke Lenster's death that year, Your Highness," the female swordsman said in a low voice. "There may truly have been something strange about it."