C119- Popalis (5)

"What's it that you wanted to talk to me about? Is there a serious problem in the capitol?", asked Felyp.

Jack lowered his face and shook his head.

"It's not the protests, in fact, I think the guards are too violent..."

"They are under the Emperor, I can't do anything about that."

"But that's not why I came here. I wanted to talk about Noah and Corvin."

"Did something happen to them?"

"No. Actually, it's them who are doing something."

"...What happened?"

"So, a few days ago, I was observing the situation at the capitol per your orders. I came across Noah and Corvin. Before I could speak to them, they entered a building and I followed them secretly. I was going to surprise them but, they entered a secret room."

"...."

"After them, there were a few people who entered as well. I was trying to hide so I couldn't see them clearly. I then used my magic to listen to their conversation..."

"What were they talking about?"

"Overthrowing the Emperor."

Felyp froze for a second. After a second, he sighed and smiled slightly.

"Sigh~ I knew that boy was going to do something like this one day but... He is quite fast, isn't he?"

"U-Uhmm..."

"Don't worry about it, Jack. Did you hear who they were from their talking?"

"It's the head of the Sitta's, the heir of the Parres', Roz Falyn-"

"Oh, that girl is acting again?"

"Yes. And also the butler of the Duke, not as a traitor but as representing the Duke."

"Even the Duke?!"

Felyp's smile deepened as he scratched his chin.

"He gathered quite the group, hasn't he?"

"Wh-What should we do?"

"Nothing. Leave him be."

"Huh? Why?"

"I knew something like this would happen. Ever since that time... His dislike of nobles was always visible. Maybe not to others, but to me it always was. If he wants to do this, let him do it."

"Are you sure, sir?"

"Yes. We, the Vyolor family, might look like loyal dogs from the outside, but we are just following our own interests. That's why we became one of the strongest families of the Empire in the first place. If there is one thing we are loyal to, it is ourselves. So, I am not going to deny him the chance to be loyal to his own heart."

"So... Are you supporting them, sir?"

"That depends on how you look at it. I will help him in small ways, and won't stand in his way until the proper time comes. He is still a child. If he wants to do whatever he wants, he will have to stand against me."

Jack gave a tense smile and asked.

"Is this his 'wargame'?"

"Yup. This will be his final test as the next head of Vyolor just like all the ones before him. Only this time, instead of a military exercise, it will be a war for revolution."

"Ha-ha..."

Jack wanted to laugh but it didn't seem like what he heard was a joke.

*****

--A few months later--

While sitting in the slightly shaky carriage, Corvin read the newspaper in his hands on his way back to the Tarlen village.

'In response to the outrage about the recent public executions, Emperor Terry has stated that the executed were traitors who sowed discord between the people and the Empire and were paid to do so by the Eidzunge Kingdom. The Emperor also called for unity against the Eidzunge and blamed the recent raise in prices on the criminal acts the Eidzunge continues to commit in the sea.'

"Sigh~ Things still haven't calmed down..."

Corvin flipped the page, and saw a title that he recognized.

"Oh, this is the article we wrote!"

It's been a while since his first meeting with the heads of the Popalis. Since then, he met with various other people who were a part of their group. Every week, they met again and discussed their next steps like what to publish in the newspaper. At some point, they started to reach out to some other newspaper publishers and from time to time, wrote articles for them as well.

The one he was looking at was explaining who the latest executed were and their lives.

"Hmm... I was wondering why we were writing about this but... this is just indirectly disproving the Emperor's claims, isn't it? And where is the one I wrote about the economy?"

He flipped the page once again. He still couldn't get used to the illustrations that started to appear on the newspapers recently. On the page, he saw a drawing of many people shouting at something, with armed guards holding them back.

"Oh, is this illustration from the protests? The quality is quite good... Oh, C. Gull! That's my article."

While admiring the newspaper, he found the article he wrote under the name C. Gull. The article was about economics. It focused on the recent rise in food prices and blamed the nobles that were forcing villagers out of their villages and into cities to construct and then work at the factories.

"Hmm... Looks like they changed some words, but I guess calling the decision of some nobles stupid would be too far for them..."

He continued to read the newspaper and then think about the future until he reached his village.

When he arrived and got out of the carriage, he took a deep breath. With each passing day, he could feel the difference between the air in the cities and the fresh air of the countryside more and more.

"Brother!"

Just then, he heard a tiny and familiar voice and turned towards it. He saw a small girl with mousy brown hair running and hugging his leg. He looked into her red eyes that resembled his and patted her head.

"Luna, what are you doing here?"

"She was waiting for you for two days because I told her you were coming back soon."

He picked his sister up and hugged his mom.

"I came back finally."

"Welcome, Corvin."

"Where is dad?"

"He is still working at the construction."

"I see. I am sorry about that by the way. I suddenly started renovating the house and you had to stay in my workshop."

"Don't worry about that. The house was getting old anyways."

"You look tired."

"Probably because just getting the dangerous things in your workshop out of Luna's reach constantly is tiring."

"Ah! I'm sorry, I forgot about those! Why didn't you tell me earlier?"