It was nearly midnight, but the front of Medea Hotel had suddenly burst into bustling activity.
Reporters from major newspapers swarmed the area, over a hundred people surrounding the hotel so tightly that not a drop of water could leak through. The popping of flashbulbs resounded in rapid succession, their flickering lights illuminating the night sky.
Word had it that a major incident had occurred.
However, the reporters were kept firmly outside the hotel doors, unable to pry loose even a single shred of information no matter what they tried.
Yet the more this was the case, the less willing they were to give up. Massive crowds stood guard at every entrance and exit of the hotel, waiting only for whatever was happening inside to conclude so they could catch a glimpse of clues from the aftermath.
A single glimpse would suffice; they could fabricate the rest however they pleased, leaving it to a contest of which newspaper could spin the most plausible tale.
Meanwhile, Lynch, the very man all those reporters were waiting for, was currently standing inside the conference hall prepared by Her Highness the Princess. As the center of everyone's attention, his mind was thoroughly consumed with doubt.
How in the world did a passing knight like me get pushed to the forefront?
However, the princess had already decided that he would personally voice his opinions and spar verbally with the crowd. Left with no choice, Lynch had to step up before everyone.
The matter had to be traced back to a split-second decision he had made half an hour ago.
The fatal question from earlier hadn't quite finished Lynch off, but the united front between the two young ladies seemed to have grown even firmer, showing a distinct momentum of banding together against an outside threat. Still, when you talk about banding together against an outside threat, could you please not grit your teeth while looking at me? You're not Tindalosians, so stop making that kind of threat.
Wiping away cold sweat, Lynch followed the crowd into the conference room prepared by Her Highness.
He actually wanted nothing more than to leave; he had very little interest in what was about to follow.
After all, although his purpose in wandering over today hadn't been fully accomplished—he hadn't managed to lure out the god behind the Shadow Alliance—he had successfully crushed the next phase of the Shadow Alliance's plot, making it a worthwhile trip.
Right now, he really didn't want to go around carrying a metaphorical nuclear bomb everywhere. He just wanted to return to the Church of the Black Night first, wait for Archbishop Trinlais to return so they could regroup, and discuss the matter of the Torch of Light. Unfortunately, as one of tonight's key figures, he couldn't stay out of it and was forced to participate from start to finish.
If he were still just a commoner, he could naturally leave whenever he pleased. But now he had stepped into the upper circles of society and lost the luxury of acting on whim.
There were no benefits in this world that came out of thin air; gaining something inevitably meant losing something else. While acquiring the corresponding intangible benefits of reputation, status, respect, and preferential treatment, he also had to shoulder the corresponding responsibilities and obligations.
Tonight's affairs concerned the reputation of both Lande and Friedman, and drew the attention of all the major churches. If he acted recklessly, he would damage Lande's reputation and implicitly harm the many people who had placed their faith and bets on him. He no longer represented merely himself, but the interests of an ever-growing number of people.
This was the price of climbing higher, and no one was exempt.
The meeting was actually quite simple: the princess, the prince, and Lynch would team up to talk nonsense—no, to recount tonight's events, establishing an official narrative on the spot so that there was no possibility of a reversal later.
Because of this, they needed to fill in various details to make the entire incident completely logical—such as why Her Highness had paid a sudden visit tonight, how the enemy managed to target the young prince, and why Lynch was able to realize someone was plotting ill intent. Though the people asking these strange questions harbored no malice and were merely seeking the truth of tonight's events, many of the questions were quite troublesome to answer. It was especially difficult to hide secrets without having colluded on their stories beforehand.
Fortunately, Her Highness calmly gestured to Lynch that she would handle any stories that were awkward to fabricate, leaving him responsible only for making up his own part.
There was such a good deal? That made things much easier.
Thus, Lynch calmly followed the princess and prince into the hall, standing under the bright glare of the gas lamps, and learned how to talk absolute nonsense with a straight face.
One wanted to cover up the fact that the previous princess had been an imposter, while the other didn't want to divulge the private affairs of the Friedman royal family. Thus, without any prior communication, the two royals displayed an extraordinarily subtle tacit understanding, spinning a story that was seamless and complete.
The princess had come to express concern for her grand-nephew; the two parties had actually agreed on a time, but the princess had arrived early and happened to catch the culprit's plot red-handed. As for the reason for arriving early, it was naturally because she heard Sir Lynch Levive had been wandering around the hotel half an hour prior, prompting her to come ahead of schedule.
Mhm, the liquid softness in the princess's gaze as she looked at Sir Lynch Levive fully conveyed the plausibility of this excuse. Recalling everything that had transpired at the ball earlier, no one doubted it any longer. People even had the mind to turn back and glance at the other two ladies, all wearing subtle smiles.
The stage was then handed over to Lynch.
Lynch had already decided to speak the complete truth, hiding only the young prince's request.
His reason for detecting the enemy was changed to having heard Dr. Sven mention the sound of insect wings fluttering in a relic memory, knowing that such a sound could be linked to a type of mysterious heteromorph. In any case, the doctor was far away on the Old Continent and dead to boot, with no way to verify it, so Lynch could make up whatever he wanted.
If you don't believe it, go ask him face-to-face. If you manage to get an answer, I lose.
As for why he connected the heteromorph to the Shadow Alliance right away, the reason was that the Shadow Alliance had collaborated with heteromorphs multiple times before—Deep Ones, ghouls—so it would be stranger if he didn't connect them.
Indeed, Lynch had made a sudden decision: except for a few sensitive parts, he would directly disclose his feud with the Shadow Alliance to the entire world.
Since you keep scheming against me time and time again, singling out one sheep to shear continuously, don't blame me for flipping the table and exposing your plots in public.
It wasn't entirely an impulse either; he had weighed the options carefully.
With the help of Mrs. Nightingale, his feud with the Shadow Alliance had actually already been indirectly spread around.
The Shadow Alliance's anti-human atrocity of attempting to create a plague was no longer a secret to many high-ranking members of the churches; it simply hadn't reached the general public yet.
What he intended to do was use this opportunity to let ordinary people know about the Shadow Alliance as well, cementing their anti-human acts of spreading plagues and instigating wars.
Achieving this goal through remarks at a meeting alone was far from enough, as knowledge would still be confined to the churches and high-level officials of various nations, falling short of nailing the Shadow Alliance to the pillar of shame. Therefore, after finishing his speech, Lynch put forward a proposal that sent the entire room into an uproar.
To immediately convene a second press conference hosted by Lande officials, selectively releasing tonight's events as appropriate to let the entire world know as quickly as possible.
This was Lynch's counterattack.
Hailing from an era with highly developed media transmission, he understood the power of public opinion far better than the vast majority of people in this age.
As long as they presented a unified stance, disclosed the inside scoop, took the initiative to define everything, and cemented the Shadow Alliance's anti-human conduct, any organization wishing to collaborate with them in the future—whether official bodies or secret societies—would have to think twice. After all, they weren't as elusive as the Shadow Alliance and would have to consider the consequences should their cooperation be exposed.
He wanted to sever the Shadow Alliance's tentacles as much as possible, making every step forward difficult for them.
“Ladies and gentlemen, wake up. We have entered the Age of Steam. We must face the power of the media head-on and stop fearing them like evil gods.”
“The power of the media is a double-edged sword. It can indeed harm us, but it is equally sharp against our enemies. In this brand-new era, we must learn to harness their power to serve us. Only then can we stand on invincible ground.”
“There is no need to worry about mystery leaking to ordinary people; we can align our story and erase any parts involving mystery to make it more acceptable to the public. Nor do we need to fear the media exaggerating or twisting our intent. When we release information in a unified manner, giving media outlets the ability to cross-verify with one another, they will actually refrain from making up brazen rumors.”
“And there is no need to feel conflicted about a lack of precedent. Rhine City previously organized a press conference that was a resounding success—that is our precedent. Facts have proven that harnessing public opinion is feasible.”
“Therefore, I propose that we immediately convene the Kingdom of Lande's second press conference to selectively disclose tonight's events through official channels.”
“I have spoken. Who agrees, who opposes?”
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