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Some people put too much trust in others, while some tended to be overly suspicious instead. And in Emilia’s opinion, one’s own behavior played a major role in deciding which category that person belonged to.
When dealing with someone who was usually known to be good with their word and kept their promises, Emilia knew that they would generally also have some faith in their subordinates and colleagues. On the other hand, someone who was used to deceiving others would naturally never put complete faith in anyone else keeping their promises either.
As for the political and administrative leaders of Carmen… Emilia didn’t need to dig around much to know which category they belonged to.
“Even though we’ve already gone from the border of the capital to the center, not even a single soldier is to be seen anywhere, huh?”
The crimson-haired girl had already changed her form to that of ‘Little Emi’ not long after parting with Dixie, though that wasn’t really necessary considering she’d already covered her face with a mask and was doing her best not to be sighted.
Normally, her current behavior would stand out, and it would have been preferable to mix in with the crowd on the streets to scout instead. But considering the rather unstable condition of the country, even if someone spotted her at this time, they would only assume that she must be a scout from either the Gray Wolfe or the government, and was just doing her job of making sure there were no secret gatherings in the city.
In the off chance that she stumbled upon some actual government agent, though, Emilia would have to ‘deal with them’ to make sure she didn’t get caught.
“Well, it all looks good so far. Too good, in fact.” Emilia tapped her chin thoughtfully as she stared down at the ‘civilians’ casually hanging in and around one of the best hospitals in the capital.
Even with their wigs on and the distinct lack of weapons in their possession, the crimson-haired girl could tell that they were from the Nightingale clan. And the fact that they weren’t being questioned or chased off by anyone could only mean that, just like many around it, not only was this place already secretly in their control, but the government officials also had no idea about it at all.
Of course, even though she hadn’t thought their plan would be effective to this extent, since it was all good news to her anyway, Emilia wasn’t complaining.
Just to be sure, however, the crimson-haired girl decided to go through several more core locations once again, and even tried peeking at some of the ministers to see what they were up to.
Even Cynthia started feeling a little exasperated at her partner’s overly cautious behavior. “As long as the military isn’t being allowed into the capital, isn’t that good enough? You really don’t need to be so worried.”
Emilia hummed thoughtfully, but didn’t refute her partner’s words.
It might take them a while to finish taking over the government from the inside, and while that was happening, it would definitely be a huge mess if someone managed to alert the military of something that they shouldn’t.
After all, while most loyal military commanders wouldn’t even think about taking over the country by force, their perspectives would be quick to flip once the words ‘foreign enemy’ entered their ears.
That was why Emilia was so adamant in making sure that the government not only lost any remaining public support they might have, but that the change of ‘regime’ was also done in a way that could be justified by Carmen’s existing laws.
Luckily, the Gray Wolfe Corporation was deeply involved with the government of Carmen, and with Jasper and Ginny’s help, the chances of Emilia’s successful takeover went from ‘unlikely’ to ‘almost certain’.
As soon as they received Emilia’s instruction to start the next phase of their plan, the twins and Noelle immediately instructed their subordinates to start watching out for the movement of their ‘targets’, while the White Deer Corporation’s people started openly violating the orders of the government to help the struggling population through various relief efforts.
Of course, since their actions were only slightly worse than what they’d been previously doing anyway, the government officials weren’t immediately alarmed when they received such reports. In fact, such things were well within their expectations.
“Let the law enforcement in the inner regions and sensitive areas use non-lethal force to curb any unrest, and in the outer regions… we can leave that to the military.”
Most political and administrative leaders agreed with the president’s words, and his instructions were quickly conveyed down the line of command.𝑜𝑣𝒍xt.𝗰𝒐𝑚
With most of their military concentrated on remote areas like this, they didn’t need to worry too much about them trying anything strange. And with their way of doing things, as long as they used the press and media well, the military would only continue becoming more of a villain in the public eye.
Of course, their own image wasn’t particularly good either, but the government leaders understood that as long as they weren’t the ‘most hated’, the people were quick to forgive and forget.
At most, they would only be blamed for being slow and incompetent, just as it had been with the gangsters and crime lords before. Something like that… didn’t matter at all.
After all, so long as they got to enjoy all the power and wealth that came with their positions, who cared about the opinion of some inconsequential ants who would never even be able to say a word to their face?
Of course, with both the gangsters and the civilians heavily suppressed through force, dealing with the continuous annoyance of the Gray Wolfe’s twins became the biggest headache of these leaders instead.
Why couldn’t they just accept that they would never be able to return to their former glory, and kept futilely trying to get included in the government instead?
The president snorted in derision. “Heh… do they think this is still the era of their father?”
As he instructed people to go meet on how to deal with the situation, the man remained completely unaware of the uneasy glances exchanged by several people around him.
With their family and friends already ‘compromised’, and the threat of a remotely administrable poison within their bodies… they simply had no means to resist, after all.
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