Chapter 540: Inflated Courage

Before videos and discussions related to Emilia’s announcement had spread, Alexander Gray’s murder and the Black Tiger’s ‘collapse’ were without a doubt the most hotly debated topics around.

From diplomatic discussions to family dinner tables, people simply couldn’t help but poke at it from time to time. After all, even though Amos Black was the ‘most likely’ murderer, the mystery still wasn’t set in stone.

And although it was in somewhat bad taste, there were already dozens of unflattering clips of both Amos and Alexander’s ‘blunders’ making their rounds around various forums.

In its current state, the Black Tiger naturally couldn’t interfere or suppress such discussions, but the Gray Wolfe’s silence was more of a surprise.

Of course, the insiders knew that the former most powerful corporation in the world wasn’t just ignoring the slander against its deceased heir, but was simply too caught up in its own troubles instead.

Those who worked within the Gray Wolfe could tell that the behemoth they served was struggling. It was struggling not against some external foe… but itself.

Or more precisely, it was struggling to continue surviving as ‘itself’, though the concept of what it even was became more and more blurry to everyone involved each passing day.

With some outside encouragement, it didn’t take long for dissenters to start vocalizing their thoughts in the right settings.

“Sanders has gone crazy!”

“He’s too obsessed with his comatose wife and dead son, and clearly doesn’t have our best interests in mind!”

“What future do we have in continuing to follow the whims of such a man?”

Many of the higher-ups remained ‘stubborn’, however. “Aren’t you only saying this because your daughter married into the Nightingales? Old man, let me tell you this… if they were really involved in Alexander’s murder, what makes you so confident that they won’t turn on us next?”

It was human nature to resist change, and the uncertainty of the future scared more than a few who simply wanted things to return to how they had been in the past. “That’s right. Don’t get your priorities messed up out of affection. Once a dog starts to bite back at its owner… it’s time to put it down.”

“If we can raise one… we can raise another.”

But how could it be so easy to argue against these ‘hot-blooded’ rebels? With both reason and resources on their side, they would have to be crazy to not continue pressing their advantage!

“Am I the one getting led by emotions, or you? Think about it, Jasper and Ginny are both young and talented, and have everything that the leader of Gray Wolfe needs… everything!”

“As long as we put the crazy ramblings of Sanders aside… isn’t the choice obvious?”

Of course, if it was so easy to shake off the control that Alexander’s father had on the Gray Wolfe Corporation, the decades he spent at the top would have been in vain, and that ended up being just another ‘fruitless’ secret meeting between the higher-ups.

Fortunately, Ginny clearly saw the opportunity that presented itself with Emilia’s announcements.

Facing her most trusted subordinates, she couldn’t help but grin. “No need to interfere. Since that’s what they want to do… let them. But of course, make sure you vocalize and present how fiercely we are against opposing the Empress of Blue Dawn and the White Deer. When they look back in regret, I want everyone to realize just how ‘right’ we were, and how stupid they were to not support us instead.”

She sneered. “So make sure to let everyone know! Go!”

Of course, it wasn’t long after her subordinates had left that her brother came storming through the door, his expression twisted hideously. “What the fuck are you doing, Ginny?!”

Facing her brother’s thunderous expression, the woman’s smile still remained unperturbed. “Why? I’m just taking advantage of the situation to deal our dear ‘father’ a decisive blow, aren’t I?”

Jasper frowned as he sat down on the chair in front of his twin sister gloomily. “Listen, I’m all for whatever crazy crap you want to pull to drive that old bastard crazy, but don’t play around when it comes to Emilia, alright? That’s a tiger’s nest we really, really shouldn’t poke right now…”

Ginny couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Oh come on, little bro. Don’t tell me you really think I was going to provoke our ally without reason? I just want these idiots to go smash their face against that wall and suffer.”

Her brother sighed. “But what if she misunderstands? It won’t be funny to lose White Deer’s support—”

“She agreed.”

Jasper couldn’t help but turn to his sister, stunned. “S-Say what…?”

Ginny coughed. “W-Well, not directly, but Samantha told me it was fine for us to ‘sit back’, as long as we hand over the names of everyone involved in slandering her little sister.”

Her brother stared at her for a few moments in silence before sighing. “You told her we couldn’t stop them, didn’t you?”

Ginny rubbed her nose in embarrassment. “Um, well, it’s not wise to expose the entirety of our strength, even to allies.”

Jasper groaned. “Unbelievable. And what do you think will her older sister do with those names?”

“… who knows?”

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Although the power that the followers of Alexander’s father could exert was quite limited, combined with many influential figures already criticizing Emilia’s ‘immature’ and ‘ill-thought-out’ policies, the effect was clear for all to see.

From online blog posts and articles to local newspapers, if one wasn’t lamenting how the Empress of Blue Dawn was well-intentioned but ‘misguided’, they were more than likely scolding her openly.

The fear of retaliation from the White Deer and the girl’s often rabid and crazy ‘knights’ kept them somewhat in line at first, but the more they remained silent, the more unbridled these ‘critics’ became.

Maybe those fans of hers were finally disillusioned, and even her previously doting family couldn’t continue indulging her unconditionally anymore, especially with her rapidly growing strength, they thought.

The more their courage grew, the harsher their remarks became, and it didn’t take long for those who didn’t even dare to voice their thoughts against Emilia at first to finally find some ‘voice’.

Obviously, their thoughts hadn’t really changed, and their hatred for the girl wasn’t anything new, but it was the first time in a while that they felt like they could mock her openly without being ridiculed and satirized dozens of times by ‘crazies’.

Many even started suspecting that the reason they were so silent was because the White Deer Corporation might also be going through something similar to Black Tiger. Maybe it won’t be long before it, too, ‘mysteriously’ changed hands.

“I’ve never liked her. People say her intentions are good, and maybe they are, but the way she does things is just crazy. I’m surprised it took this long for it all to come crashing down.”

“What good intentions? It’s just hypocrisy at its finest.”

“Right? She claims to care for everyone in her empire, but I don’t see her going to the hut of the poorest man in Blue Dawn and sleeping on his bed!”

“Although I don’t agree with that kind of thought, it’s really too much to preach things like this while living in a multi-million dollar mansion…”

“I can’t wait to see her face when she realizes only desperate criminals and degenerates are flooding into her empire thanks to her stupid new policy!”

“Even better, her economy will definitely tank from the load of everyone’s medical expenses, and I bet it won’t be long before we start seeing inflation in their currency!”

“Will she finally realize that she’s not a fairy who can wave her hands and make everything better just by thinking about it?”

“I guess even the princess has to wake up from her dreamland eventually.”

Of course, these people didn’t really care about all the careful thought and planning that went into Emilia’s announcements, or how hard Noelle had worked to make sure that the minimal amount of tax they were collecting could even cover the cost of the whole empire’s medical expenses.

After all, even if the government corporations could make up for a deficit in the short term, it simply didn’t bode well for the future of the empire to make systems that depended on others just to continue functioning.

Emilia would rather just hike the tax a little if really needed, instead, even if it earned her some backlash.

Fortunately, it turned out that only a little over a third of the taxes they would be collecting at the current rate was needed to cover the empire’s medical expenses, even in the worst case, so there was no need for a tax hike.

So while everyone else criticized their Empress for being a fool and ‘ruining’ the empire, the citizens fiercely fought back as best as they could against the abuse.

“Don’t talk to our princess like that!”

“We have it way better here than wherever you are from!”

Of course, the naysayers chalked them all up as trolls and pretenders who were either Emilia’s obsessed fans or ‘hired help’. Not only were their arguments not considered ‘credible’, but were even used as ‘evidence’ to ‘prove’ Emilia’s guilt.

After all, wasn’t it a classic tactic of ‘dictators’ to use propaganda to pretend that their bad decisions were actually good, and hire a bunch of people to be ‘happy’ about it all in public while everyone else suffered?

Given such a ‘great’ opportunity, it was impossible for them not to take a jab.

“I thought she was better than this, but I guess a dictator is a dictator. Even if they come in young and beautiful skin, the insides will always remain ugly and rotten!”

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