In just two short days, the news of Bouriette had spread like wildfire through the streets and alleys. As Bouriette’s father, Matthan was so worried his hair was almost falling out.
But Baron Matthan, already middle-aged, was naturally balding with a receding hairline—so there wasn’t much hair to lose in the first place.
That boy—why did he have to provoke Cork, of all people?
Although Cork hadn’t yet arrived in Mobius City, his influence had already seeped into the police department and the guard units.
But the trouble didn’t stop there.
Recently, it seemed scandals about Bouriette were circulating everywhere. Matthan had originally planned to settle Angelica’s lawsuit against Bouriette with money, but now that approach seemed unlikely to work.
This left Matthan in a dilemma.
Saving his son would mean openly making an enemy of Marquis Cork; not saving him would deal a severe blow to his own reputation.
“I have an idea.”
Matthan’s secretary leaned in and whispered.
“Since both saving him and not saving him will bring trouble, weighing the options, not saving him seems wiser. You can publicly declare that Bouriette committed countless wrongs behind your back, that you intend to sever ties with him, and then find the right moment to speak well of Cork—perhaps even use this to build a connection.”
“You have many children; why focus all your attention on Bouriette alone?”
After listening, Matthan thought it over and found the secretary’s reasoning quite sound. He immediately ordered the secretary to begin preparing the necessary arrangements.
Meanwhile, inside the law firm, Antina, Vista, and Luo Jiani were bustling with activity.
They had organized most of the materials, and in a few days, the trial would officially begin. With Bouriette already captured and Matthan deciding to abandon him, victory was almost guaranteed.
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock at the door interrupted the busy atmosphere.
Antina quickly walked to the door and opened it to find a person in police uniform standing outside.
“Hello, how can I help you?”
Hearing the commotion, Vista and Luo Jiani also looked over curiously.
“Nothing major. Recently, Mobius City hasn’t been very stable—there are quite a few protesters, resisters, and gangs causing trouble behind the scenes. I’m here to ask if anyone in your firm is involved in protests or resistance activities.”
“You should know that participating in resistance activities can lead to a year in prison, and protesting can result in six months. If property damage occurs during such activities, the sentence will be even heavier. This is a leaflet we printed overnight. We hope you’ll fulfill your civic duty. If you notice any of the aforementioned situations, please report them immediately to the Lyons Street Police Department. We’ll naturally offer generous rewards.”
Antina took the leaflet and examined it closely. It was densely printed with new regulations, and the back urged citizens to report protesters and resisters.
“Oh, don’t worry, we’re all law-abiding citizens. Would you like to come in?”
The police officer glanced around the room’s layout, looking slightly surprised.
“What a nostalgic layout. Compared to modern counters, I especially like the old-fashioned desks from back in the day.”
Antina smiled in response.
After confirming nothing seemed amiss, the police officer turned and left.
“What happened?” Vista asked first.
“Nothing serious, just that the times are unsettled. Right now, the security forces in Mobius City are like a high-precision law enforcement machine. Cork wants to make a big move, so he’s mobilized all the guards and security units he can to round up all opposition in Mobius City and turn it into his personal fiefdom.”
“He’s even crazier than I imagined. Just because he’s caught some nobles’ weaknesses, he’s eager to take them down. But it makes sense. With his status as a marquis, there are almost no nobles who could openly oppose him with the power to do so.”
Just then, Renith emerged from the room and took the black-and-white leaflet from Antina’s hands.
“Cork has already started moving. If nothing unexpected happens, in just over ten days—shortly after he takes office—he’ll be able to clear out the city’s gangs and remove many of the spies planted by nobles.”
“If we want to pull off any tricks, it has to be now. After all, Cork and the ‘Chosen Ones’ haven’t truly arrived in Mobius City yet. Only some police departments, guard units, and ‘Chosen Ones’ are currently under his command.”
“There’s no shortage of opposition in Mobius City—police, guards, gangs, displaced people, nobles, and various workers. These are all potential sources of resistance. But if he leads his guard units and ‘Chosen Ones’ into Mobius City, even the loudest opposition will be like an ant trying to shake a tree in the face of absolute power.”
Renith couldn’t help but think of the transmigrators who had been exiled to small western villages. Their physical bodies might seem weak, but each possessed the power to massacre an entire town.
How strong would the transmigrators from the empire be? If even one among them was as powerful as Hestis, capable of cutting through thorns and confronting the Demon King, then a small city like Mobius would be nothing more than a grain of sand in the eyes of such a powerhouse.
Could the makeshift resistance, pieced together from all directions, really stand against them?
“Are you saying now is our chance… as long as we take control of Mobius City in advance, we can unite the entire city’s forces to fight them?”
Antina glanced out the window, lowering her voice, afraid Renith’s words might be overheard.
“To be honest, it might not work. Even if all of Mobius City unites, we might not be able to defeat them.”
Renith had made it clear: only three paths lay before them. First, flee Mobius City and seek so-called “freedom” in the more remote west. Second, wait here to die, forever under the empire’s shadow. Third, rise up and resist, even though the outcome would most likely be death.
Antina fell silent for a long time.
“You know, my teacher and I once made a promise. Vista and Luo Jiani might know a little about it, but I’ve never told them the full truth. Actually, it’s less of a promise and more something I chose to believe.”
After a long pause, Antina softly began to speak, her voice carrying a touch of indescribable weariness as she returned to those youthful yet heavy years. Back then, she was still a student at the Empire Central School, struggling to find her way in a hall of intertwined splendor and decay.
Antina’s teacher was gentle, offering her students unwavering care.
For Antina, who came from a declining baronial family and had fought her way into this top-tier institution through sheer effort, her teacher’s care felt especially warm and precious.
In the strictly hierarchical Empire Central School, the children of powerful nobles always looked down with arrogance on students from humble backgrounds like Antina, subjecting them to bullying and harassment.
Yet, every time, it was her teacher who stepped forward, shielding Antina from those storms of malice.
Antina was deeply grateful. In her heart, her teacher was the first adult, besides her mother, to offer her care and protection.
Of course, her teacher was not only gentle and kind but also one of the earliest outstanding graduates in the field of imperial law. With profound knowledge and rich experience, she held considerable authority in legal circles.
In her spare time, Antina often listened to her teacher’s reflections.
Her teacher often said that when the law becomes a rubber stamp for the powerful, justice turns into a commodity for sale.
The legal profession should have been a sacred calling, upholding the dignity of imperial law and serving the empire’s people. Yet, the empire today was already shrouded in the stench of money and the gloom of corruption.
In the face of powerful nobles, the law was nothing but a piece of paper. The power of money could easily trample it, and the claws of authority could distort its meaning at will.
In such a twisted environment, lawyers had to bow to the nobles to survive—either attaching themselves to nobles, becoming tools in their power struggles, or turning to education, becoming teachers of legal knowledge.
As for entering the Senate to participate in drafting or interpreting laws, that was an even more distant dream, as the Senate’s doors were open only to members of noble families.
What a tragedy this was.
Antina’s teacher understood this well but refused to go with the flow. She resolutely chose to remain at Empire Central University as a teacher, openly sharing her deep insights into the legal profession and the state of society during her classes.
However, to those in the upper echelons obsessed with power and profit, her words were nothing short of heresy, a blatant threat to the empire’s foundations. Thus, her teacher often received warnings and pressure from above, but she paid them no mind.
In her heart, the empire’s foundation was not the lofty nobles but the vast populace. Nobles could act recklessly with their power and wealth, but the people had only one life. Their happiness and dignity could not be trampled upon.
Antina, too, was deeply influenced by her teacher.
Yet, fate is often merciless.
One day, an imperial official approached Antina’s teacher, hoping she would serve as the defense lawyer in a critically important internal empire lawsuit. Facing immense pressure from above, her teacher was reluctant but unable to refuse. Once she left, it was as if she had vanished without a trace.
Anxious, Antina repeatedly went to the imperial city gates, trying to find out what had happened to her teacher, but she was turned away every time. The school, meanwhile, remained tight-lipped about the matter, as if her teacher had never existed.
A sense of foreboding grew in Antina’s heart. She suspected her teacher might have become a casualty of the empire’s political struggles, discarded without a second thought.
That night, Antina stepped into a bar for the first time, trying to numb herself with alcohol. Glass after glass of strong liquor dulled her senses, and her tears mixed with the alcohol, soaking her clothes.
In her drunken haze, she seemed to see her teacher’s figure and hear her gentle yet resolute voice.
In that moment, she realized deeply that it was the empire itself that was flawed—this rotten imperial system that twisted the law into a tool for protecting noble interests.
Under the shadow of imperial law, the nobles recklessly wielded their power, ruthlessly oppressing the people’s bodies and imprisoning their free thoughts.
Antina clenched her fist, silently vowing to herself:
“Teacher, I believe the law itself is not wrong. It decays and falls behind only because of the incompetence of those who shape it. Just as the law has now become an accomplice to evil, I will overthrow this evil… this rotten empire.”
After a long while, Antina snapped back to the present.
“Then let’s go to Mobius City to seek our opportunity.”
