Emilia didn’t seem to care about the old general’s expression twisting hideously at all as she smiled. “Why do you look so unwilling? It’s as if you don’t even realize that whether it was your first proposal or the second one, nothing would change even if I accepted them, do you?”
General Green’s face on the screen froze for a moment, but he shook his head soon enough. ‘I knew she would be childish and resentful, but really, she’s even worse than I could have ever imagined.’
To think that his country had been handed over to such a brat… the general felt as if his intestines were about to turn green from regret.
Of course, although he didn’t say anything out loud, Emilia still found the expression on the man’s face very amusing. “If we were to hold a fair election right now, across all five provinces, I dare say that you won’t get more than maybe ten percent of votes at most. To call my victory a landslide would be an understatement.”
Had it been before he tried to ‘pull her off the throne’, General Green would have surely scoffed at her ‘overconfidence’ in derision. After all, even the most favored candidates in democratic countries rarely got that kind of landslide victory in a fair election, let alone her, a tyrant with literally zero experience.
But after having his decades of fame shattered within just a few days merely by the rebound of trying to smear her… he had the feeling that her estimate wasn’t far from the truth.
The realization shook him more than any of the crimson-haired girl’s words, and the general couldn’t help but shake his head in denial. “A tyrant like you can fool people for a while, but not forever! Believe it or not, once they realize how foolish they had been before, the hatred they will have for you will be dozens if not hundreds of times more intense than the affection they shower you with right now. At that time… where will you run?”
Looking at the surprised crimson-haired girl on the screen, General Green sneered. “It’s already questionable whether you would be able to control and manage just three provinces, so don’t bite off more than you can chew, little girl. This way… maybe you will at least have a chance.”
Much to his chagrin, however, Emilia actually grinned. “Really? Is that what you think? Listen, even if I were to concede almost half of my territory to you… and hand over the president… I don’t believe it will be long before he ruins whatever you hand over to him again.”
Before the general could refute, she interrupted him with a smile. “Don’t say anything. You can’t deny that he lost where I won. Since that is so, I’ll naturally seize my victory spoils before he has the chance to ruin them again, no?”
General Green was of course incensed when he heard the words ‘victory spoils’ being used for his country. “Who do you think you are, girl? Just because you started calling yourself ‘Empress’ doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want without repercussions! You don’t dare to do as I say because you know you will lose—!”
Emilia rolled her eyes dismissively. “What a drag… Why should I follow your rules in the first place? There is no fun playing with losers, and this princess… does not play boring games!”
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Having cut off the call after she was done speaking her mind, Emilia cleanly instructed her secretary to reject all communication from General Green. Of course, although it may seem like she was leaving him with no way out, the crimson-haired girl was well aware that no matter what she did, he wouldn’t dare to start a conflict.
Even if he felt that his dignity was being challenged, the general should know better than anyone else how much a disadvantage he was at when it came to both the civil and military resources at their disposal. And if an armed conflict could be considered hopeless, then the chances of them being able to snatch away Emilia’s power and popularity were even worse.
Since that was the case… he was almost certain to aim for his only way out — rescuing the old president, and having him figure out how to deal with the situation. Hilariously pitiful as it was, this was probably the general’s most ‘optimistic’ solution.
This was one of the reasons why Emilia hadn’t even tried getting the old president out of his bunker. After all… she couldn’t set a more perfect bait for this idiotic general hell-bent on resisting her even if she tried.
But since the old general wasn’t a fool, the key to it all was still to remain patient and not cause unnecessary alarm.
As long as he believed that she was an overconfident idiot… sooner or later, he would take the bait.
Of course, while she was patiently waiting for the general to fall into her trap, Emilia wouldn’t truly remain idle.
This was the infancy of her empire, after all, and for her child to grow up sharp and strong… a mother couldn’t be too negligent.
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If the matter of General Green could be considered a flesh wound that would heal with time as long as she didn’t allow it to fester, then the remnants of the Gray Wolfe and Black Tiger were like malignant tumors that had just fallen into temporary inactivity.
Whether it was their previous actions that harmed the people of Blue Dawn or their inevitable conflict of interests with Emilia in the future, the crimson-haired girl knew that they were mutually incompatible, to say the least.
But since the crimson-haired girl knew very well how much damage they could cause if she allowed them to remain, why would she ever let them go?
Of course, while getting rid of these ‘venomous snakes’ was important, Emilia realized that it was just as important to do it in a way that didn’t end up with her being poisoned in the process. After all, even if she wouldn’t die, it would still hurt.
Fortunately, since most of their higher-level subordinates fled the moment they got wind of the rising rebellion and the old president declaring an emergency, Emilia actually had a lot of leeway in how she wanted to get things done.
Naturally, the first and easiest step was to just take everything that they could from both the Black Tiger and the Gray Wolfe.
Noelle listened to her instructions carefully before nodding. “I understand. But honestly, the equipment and facilities that we can take are just a small part of their investments in the country, you know?”
Emilia smiled. “I know. But there’s no way for me to just seize their properties and put them under the Empire’s name, or my own.”
The gray-haired girl blinked in surprise. “Are you afraid of being called a tyrant? They’ll be angry, sure, but what can they do about it?”
Emilia chuckled. “It’s not that… I just want them to remain unaware of my actual intentions. After all… these two are pigs I’m raising for slaughter. I don’t want them to stop eating well, or worse, run away.”
Noelle couldn’t help but feel a chill run up her spine before she quickly shook her head in exasperation. ‘Sometimes I wonder why I think of her as adorable… but looking at her again… I guess it makes sense.’
Emilia looked at the gray-haired girl with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “Don’t worry about it too much. Just because we can’t take it doesn’t mean nobody can, you know?”
Noelle paused, a little stunned. “What… does that mean?”
The crimson-haired beauty giggled. “I mean… wouldn’t I be helpless if some of the most influential people who helped me take the throne were to seize those properties? Ahh… I’m just a figurehead, you know? A princess, no, um, empress in name, ahh! How can I stand up to them if that happened?”
Looking at her helpless and pitiful expression, Noelle almost believed it.
As if!
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While the Black Tiger and the Gray Wolfe’s hands and feet in the country were being chewed up by Emilia’s subordinates as she watched ‘helplessly’, two forces on the other side were watching her like ants on a hot pan.
One of them was obviously General Green, who felt like he had been left lost in the middle of the ocean without a compass, while the other was the old president, who was seemingly trapped on a deserted island with no way out.
But the general knew that situation was far from hopeless. After all, as long as he could take his ship to the president, he would have the ‘compass’, so to speak. It would not only be saving the man, but also saving himself!
Of course, while the general still had some hope, the ‘president’ of Blue Dawn felt like he was going through a long nightmare that he just couldn’t awaken from. After all, he had no idea if he was ever going to be ‘saved’, and the longer he waited, the less likely it seemed.
All the money, glory, and power that he had accumulated all his life seemed to have turned to ashes in the blink of an eye, and he could only stare at the blank walls of the bunker day in and day out.
Of course, as the emergency shelter meant to house the president, this bunker could house him for years without an issue, but was that any different from living like a rat to someone like him?
Perhaps the worst part of it all was that they had been completely cut off from communication from the outside world, and the president didn’t even know if there was any light over the horizon, or what was going on at this point.
That is, until he was awakened from his waking nightmare by a man’s excited voice. “M-Mr. President! General Green! I-It’s General Green at the entrance! He says he came to rescue us—!”
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