Chapter 442

Chapter 442: Documents.

Tyrian raised his head. His single eye locked on the confidential secretary in front of him, his face full of an expression that clearly said: “Are you kidding me.”

As the greatest Pirate Lord on the Frost Sea, he had only ever worn such utter shock on his face when he was standing in front of his own father.

He did not touch the pages the other man had pushed over. After he forced his mood to steady a little, he turned and glanced at the man across from him, General Lister.

The Frostholm general’s eyes looked just as stunned as Tyrian felt.

“Looks like this really is a ‘surprise message’,” Tyrian let out a slow breath and spoke in a flat tone. “Even the ‘General’ sitting in front of me didn’t know about this arrangement.”

“Because this is not any kind of ‘arrangement’ at all. It is only a proposal, and a very new one at that,” the confidential secretary adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose and looked seriously at Tyrian as he said: “Right now the situation in Frostholm is complicated. We do not have much time to discuss every single matter to perfection before we act, so I decided to bring this ‘proposal’ straight here. In the presence of General Lister, we can discuss its feasibility together.”

“Feasibility? You actually think this is feasible?” Tyrian almost laughed. He looked at the confidential secretary as if he were looking at a madman. “Me, the leader of the Sea Mist Fleet, the most vicious and dangerous Pirate Lord on the Frost Sea. For the past fifty years almost every scary story you Frostholm folk used to frighten your children has been based on me. And now you tell me you want me to be this city’s Governor… Mister, we only fought side by side once. I think you have seriously misunderstood the nature of our relationship.”

“We fought side by side, and together we held off a crisis that could have destroyed the city-state. Now many people already know it was the Sea Mist Fleet that stepped forward at the last moment to stand with the navy and defend the city. By this time tomorrow, that news will have spread to every corner of Frostholm. City Hall will tell the people this: fifty years ago, the Sea Mist Fleet left only because of a disagreement over course. The Iron Vice Admiral who stormed off in anger never really gave up his duty to defend the city-state.”

The confidential secretary paused here. After he saw that Tyrian had no intention of cutting him off, he went on: “Everything can be given a new explanation. Every change can be dressed in a suitable reason. You may think this kind of change would be impossible for the people of Frostholm to accept, but in truth… most ordinary people are not so good at holding on to their ‘original convictions’ in the face of long-term, one-sided propaganda. Peace in daily life and a real improvement in order will soon outweigh everything else. People’s ideas can be ‘shaped’. It only takes some time.”

Tyrian listened to all of this without interrupting. His expression stayed calm as he stared straight into the confidential secretary’s eyes: “It seems you are very good at this kind of thing.”

“Every city-state is good at it, including Frostholm in the days of the Queen,” the confidential secretary said with no change in his face. “Creating a set of ‘ideas’ for the people that fits the current social environment and eases the burden on most minds is not a dirty task. Making fine speeches and then failing to maintain order or keep most people’s lives stable is what is shameful.

“Captain Tyrian, City Hall’s duty has never been ‘justice’. City Hall’s duty is to let as many people as possible stay alive.”

“…‘Let as many people as possible stay alive.’ She said that line once too.”

“Yes. That sentence is still carved on the door of the domed office,” the confidential secretary replied. “What we overthrew back then was only the Queen, not the things that were correct from the start.”

Tyrian did not speak for a while. He sat in silence, deep in thought. Only after a long time did he finally speak slowly: “Why do you think I am suited to this position?”

“At first, it was a suggestion brought by Lady Agatha,” the confidential secretary said. “But she only mentioned that you and your Sea Mist Fleet might be able to help the city-state restore order. The further decision came from an emergency discussion inside City Hall. As for me, I am actually not sure if you are the right choice. In fact, I still have doubts about this matter. But the others think… before you were a ‘pirate’, you were first a General of Frostholm, and since the city’s written history began, one third of its Sovereigns or Governors have come from the military.”

“You are still thinking about things too simply,” Tyrian shook his head. “This is not a question of whether the candidate is suitable or not. It is the sum of a whole heap of ‘historical leftovers’. Even if, like you said, people’s ideas can be shaped, you also said it takes time. Frostholm does not have that time. This city has to restore order as soon as possible, so you had better look for someone el—”

“Captain Tyrian,” the confidential secretary suddenly cut him off. “Before you refuse clearly, please look at what I brought. It may give you a new sense of how ‘feasible’ this is.”

Tyrian paused, then, for the first time, he truly looked at the few pages the other man had placed on the table.

There were no grand titles or fine covers on those documents. When he opened the simple folder, all he saw inside were plainly written ‘proposals’ that read like statements of fact.

Tyrian glanced over the first lines. His expression visibly changed.

He quickly flipped to the end, snapped the folder shut with a sharp sound, and raised his head to stare at the confidential secretary.

The latter still kept a calm face. Before Tyrian could speak, the secretary only gave a small nod.

“First, the Vision disaster that struck the city-state of Frostholm was triggered by Annihilators, but its root cause lay in the unsafe mining carried out by the old City Hall in the deep shafts beneath the city over the past decades. Failing to take enough safety measures in the darkness, plus neglecting or even hiding Anomaly warnings, was the main reason the situation grew so bad.

“Second, all former Governors knew about this and chose to hide it for the sake of profit.

“Third, the Sea Mist Fleet chose to leave Frostholm fifty years ago because of a disagreement over course. The split was tied to such ‘illegal mining’ and to different attitudes toward the foreseeable Vision disaster.

“Fourth, all former Governors carried out a planned and ongoing campaign to smear the Sea Mist Fleet and hide the truth. It covered up the real disagreement between the two sides and guided public hatred toward General Tyrian himself, so people would not look too closely at the problems in the mines.

“Fifth, Governor Winston is under strong suspicion of colluding with Annihilators. Before the Vision disaster broke out, he had already received news but failed to take any effective action. Instead, he chose to flee. He will become a public enemy of the city-state. We believe he has already become a member of the Oblivion cult and will be hunted by Frostholm for all eternity.

“Sixth, the new Governor will reshape order in the city-state. A full investigation of the mines will begin at once, and the settling of accounts with those still alive and responsible will also start immediately.”

Tyrian said nothing. He sat there like a statue carved from deepest ice, staring at the confidential secretary. The weight in his gaze made it hard for anyone in the room to breathe.

But the confidential secretary only drew in a slow breath. Then he took another, thicker bundle of papers from the briefcase at his side.

This file was much thicker and held far more content.

“This is the list,” he said, lifting his head and meeting Tyrian’s heavy gaze. “The first half is the evidence needed for the purge. It includes some records of the illegal mining in the shafts, traces of how Anomaly warnings were covered up, and the orders to twist and slander the Sea Mist Fleet. Right now, for this part we only have the catalogue, but in three days all the evidence will be complete.

“The second half is mainly names. It lists the responsible people who can be arrested and tried, along with their ‘crimes’. Rest assured, they are not innocent. They simply have other charges on record. But that does not matter. Their real crimes no longer matter. Right now the city-state needs them to have ‘colluded with Annihilators’. These people are City Hall’s ‘reserve criminals’.

“And last, there are letters and some pages of diary entries, evidence of Governor Winston’s collusion with the Annihilators. Some of these carry his signature.”

Tyrian did not look at the second stack of papers the man was handing over.

Cold mist slowly rose around him. A fine layer of frost crept across the surface of the tea table. The breath of everyone in the room who could still breathe turned to pale white vapor in the air.

“…Who prepared these things?”

“The former Governors,” the confidential secretary answered calmly. “Every administration prepares one copy, and many ‘backup plans’ as well. They are not necessarily prepared for you. They might be for some other successor, such as the next ‘rebellion’. The last set of materials in front of you was left by Governor Winston. As it happens, he also listed the Sea Mist Fleet as one of his ‘backup plans’. That happens to match Lady Agatha’s ‘suggestion’.”

Tyrian slowly put his hand on the file. Fine ice crystals almost froze it into a solid block. He raised his head and stared into the confidential secretary’s eyes: “So this is enough to define Winston’s role.”

“There is a saying in Frostholm: the dead must give way to the living,” the confidential secretary said quietly. “General Tyrian, you were not born and raised in Frostholm, but I am sure you know this line as well. If defining Governor Winston and the former City Halls in this way lets the city-state regain order quickly, I do not think he, or any former Governor, would mind.”

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