Chapter 90.1

“If there’s anything I can do to help, leave it to me, Duchess.”

“I would like you to publish an article about the Crown Prince’s impeachment in the media.”

“An article?” Viscountess Keynes asked in surprise.”I can’t post false articles in the media.”

“Of course, you can’t.”

Viscountess Keynes could lose the public’s trust and she might get harmed. Mercé flashed her a cold smile. It wasn’t that she didn’t do anything after leaving Louella like that yesterday.

The first thing she did after hearing from Gerald was to send a petition to the nobles. He couldn’t be treated unfairly so she moved ahead of the Crown Prince.

All of them answered one thing. That they found it unacceptable. The Crown Prince and the temple had to take responsibility for it. The replies they sent were on Merce’s table.

“I shouldn’t be the only one in this petition.” Mrs. Keynes said.

“We must not rush. A little tea time will be held soon at eleven. Like you, they all agreed to leave their carriages outside. The maids will usher the noblewomen to the Duke’s carriage. I asked you to come here early for the article, Viscountess.”

“I understand. The article will be published tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you.”

“It is something that must be done, of course. If we don’t expose a monarch’s injustice, we can’t call it a true article. Not many people had witnessed the disturbance near the temple yesterday but I heard that Lord Gerald had vomited blood. Is he alright?”

“He is. Now that he has returned to the mansion, Duke and Duchess Logan will be taking care of him.”

“How the hell did that happen? I thought the lord was a knight who has trained in kendo!”

Merce smiled faintly but anyone could tell that it wasn’t genuine. It was dangerous to mention something about that God here because it was an incident caused by the Royal Family. Bringing up the Crown Prince and the High Priest should be enough. Both of them were corrupt, but the God wasn’t.

People were more inclined to avoid things happening outside of their control out of fear. Merce could perfectly see through that. God must not be mentioned and the story about the Crown Prince and the High Priest’s wickedness should be weaved.

By attacking the High Priest, the other priests inside the temple would feel a sense of crisis, forcing them to create an opportunity where they would have to let go of the Royal Family’s hand that they had been holding so far.

“I didn’t know what was going on except for the fact that the Crown Prince attacked Gerald.”

“Oh my god! Duke Logan must have restrained himself. Weren’t the Logans loyal to the Royal Family for a long time? There was a reason why there were only two Dukes in this Empire! Your Highness, the Crown Prince, has crossed the line. Wasn’t Louella supposed to be Lord Gerald’s fiancé? Everyone knew that. This situation is disrespecting the powers of the aristocracy.”

The nobles were afraid to turn into commoners. Idealists often talked about abolishing the hierarchy, but these vested interests weren’t entirely made up of aristocrats. She had to take advantage of it.

“The High Priest, too. Isn’t everyone aware that the temple is siding with the Royal Family? I couldn’t believe that those who worship God would commit such a crime. They too must be punished accordingly.” Viscountess Keynes let out her anger.

Merce could easily guess that behind all that bravado, she must have been fearful of her own status.

“Nobles have been supporting the Arena Empire for too long. Every time a war would break out or something went wrong, the aristocrats were wrung out to solve it. I can’t believe this is happening. Not only our families but also those who write tabloids will not sit still. Long live justice!” Mercé sipped her tea. Persuading Viscountess Keynes was too easy.

As soon as the nobles arrived, Merce dressed up again and headed toward the place where they had gathered. The tea time, which should be filled with bright and cheerful chatters, was filled with gloomy silence.

In their hands were white candles representing Arena. The color representing the snake god was white, so the color of Arena Empire became white as well. Aristocrats used to carry white candles when demonstrating or making statements against the emperor’s will.