Chapter 513 - 441: Intricate Love, Sacrifice, and Choice

Lady Catherine had been laying the groundwork to take down Ariel for at least six months.

Hoarding goods to drive up prices, imposing last-minute price hikes, and unilaterally tearing up grain supply agreements—all these crimes, combined with the substantial evidence she had gathered of Ariel secretly colluding with Grand Lord Kles and financing Interstellar Pirates, built her case.

Then, seventeen days ago by Holy City Time, the Vengeful Angels contacted her to discuss the issue of securing funds for the counter-insurgency war.

The two sides reached an immediate agreement.

Legally speaking, although Lady Catherine was the Lord of Hurst World, head of the Capet Family, and one of the titans of the Administrative Region, her authority was insufficient to try and execute the leader of a Merchant Family.

Confiscating his family’s assets and reporting the matter to the Judgment Court was the absolute limit of her power.

Lady Catherine had managed to stand at the pinnacle of power in the Administrative Region for many years, despite being a merchant, due to her formidable strength, extraordinary methods, and her cautious approach to everything—treating each matter as if she were treading on thin ice.

Most importantly, she knew very well what she could and could not do.

Politics was just that sensitive.

To overstep was to harbor ill intentions, to invite suspicion of treason and rebellion.

Especially since she held the economic reins of the entire Administrative Region, the number of people who wanted her dead could form a mountain.

She might not have had that power, but Reinhardt did.

As the Supreme Commander of the counter-insurgency war and the Lord of Vengeful, Reinhardt’s power had reached the point where anyone he wanted dead would die.

Unless one had an exceptionally thick neck, not just anyone could withstand being branded a rebel and a foreign collaborator.

It was true that in the eyes of the various Lords, and even the Iberian Dome Council, Ariel was a grain magnate whose wealth rivaled a nation’s, one who could not be easily offended.

But before the immensely powerful Reinhardt and the Vengeful Angels, his status as a merchant tycoon didn’t even grant him a seat at the table.

Besides, the evidence Lady Catherine provided had already confirmed his numerous crimes, so Reinhardt’s order to Urus was to execute him on the spot, no trial needed.

As for why the Capet Family’s merchant caravan leaders were needed to take over Ariel’s assets, the reason was simple: neither the Vengeful Angels nor Reinhardt had the authority to confiscate the property of a major merchant family.

The higher-ups in the Civil Affairs Department and the Military Affairs Department weren’t fools. Granting the Vengeful Angels partial taxation rights during the war was already a desperate move, a choice made when they had no other recourse.

If they also handed economic authority over to Reinhardt...

What if the Vengeful Angels rebelled and declared the establishment of a new Imperial Administrative Region? That was a risk they could not afford.

In other words, the Vengeful Angels couldn’t touch these assets on the books. But if they were spoils seized from a campaign against Interstellar Pirates... well, the amount recovered would no longer be for the Government Hall to determine.

While the Ariel family’s assets were being seized, the garrisons on the first batch of Tax Collection Ships leaving the Golden City this year had already been swapped out for Vengeful Angels troops. Furthermore, Stearns, disguised as part of the Death Battle Group, was personally commanding the 2nd Company aboard.

They were just waiting for the Interstellar Pirates to walk right into the trap.

Moreover, Lady Catherine had also reached an agreement with Reinhardt: after Ariel’s assets were confiscated, she would quickly allocate a portion of the grain to supply the counter-insurgency war before the Civil Affairs Department could take over.

Whether for the sake of the bigger picture or because of her personal friendship with Reinhardt, Lady Catherine—who had directed the Administrative Region’s economy for years—knew full well that once those resources fell into the hands of the Civil Affairs Department, it would be extremely difficult for the Military Affairs Department’s counter-insurgency war office to ever requisition them.

Using her power to prioritize grain allocations for the counter-insurgency war would, at worst, create a few hundred more political enemies for her in Iberia. But even if those people wanted her dead, they would have to get in line.

...

Upper City District Private Port.

This exclusive Barge Port, which had once welcomed many important figures, now showed signs of repair all over its reinforced concrete ground. There was even a construction site just three hundred meters from the docking point.

The afternoon wind was warm and gentle.

But the smell of gunpowder smoke hanging in the air refused to dissipate.

Even from a kilometer away, the noise of small-scale conflicts in the Middle and Lower City Districts could be faintly heard. Looking down at the jagged border of the districts, one could even see a Law Enforcement Team in pursuit of a Wandering Mage.

From time to time, buildings would collapse, sending up plumes of dust and smoke.

Lady Catherine wore a black combat suit, similar in appearance to a Law Enforcement Officer’s uniform, that she had specially commissioned as a private order from the Aquitaine Casting World. The long purple hair she’d had when receiving Ariel now pulsed with a dim Witchcraft Energy, turning it a deep black. It was tied back simply with a leather cord.

She looked up into the distance. A Combat Boat, like a streak of light, made several successive jumps through the atmosphere, arriving at the outskirts of the port in an instant.

The merchant caravan leaders accompanying her knew they were waiting to welcome some great personage, but they had no idea who it was.

The Combat Boat slowly came to a stop at the docking point, its hatch gradually lowering with the ROAR of hydraulics.

Four Imperial Knights in deep black Power Armor were the first to exit the cabin. Their shoulder pauldrons bore the insignias of different Battle Groups, and the Power Swords in their hands pulsed with a ghostly blue light.

After a quick scan of the surroundings to confirm it was secure, they stepped back to flank the ramp.

The assembled merchant caravan leaders watched the cabin cautiously until a tall, imposing figure stepped out of the shadows and strode down the ramp.