Chapter 1777: Matthew’s Dilemma
Shara and the rest looked blankly, almost trying to see if this was a joke or not. After all, it was ridiculously funny.
Shara chuckled a little. "You say I cannot be a candidate any longer?" she asked. "Do you think you have the authority to take away my candidacy? Have you forgotten who you are talking to, Prince Trenaut?"
The prince adjusted the helmet on his head that he wore at all times. "I may not have the authority, but I do have the power," he said. "You can no longer be a candidate, for if you try to force your way to become the Emperor, we will start killing civilians."
Shara’s face fell almost immediately. "What do you mean?" she asked. "What do the regular people have to do with me? Why take out your anger on them just because you failed?"
"Because unlike the others, you would be affected by it, wouldn’t you?" he asked. "After all, how would you continue to be a candidate if the ones that give you that authority no longer wish to support you in fear of our retaliation?"
The prince’s eyes moved slightly, going from Shara to Matthew who stood tall behind her.
Ning followed his gaze too and saw where he was looking. Immediately, everything clicked.
Something that Shara and the rest had been taking advantage of for a while now in regards to the action of the prince and the other two was the fact that none of them were aware of just how connected they were to this land.
These people were their people. Matthew was a soldier of this country, who had vowed to protect it with his last breath. He had come this far to save his country and its people, so it would be very difficult for him to make the decision to keep supporting Shara if it meant his people were going to die.
’They got us,’ Ning thought. Things were going to get a little more difficult now.
Ning turned toward Matthew, wanting to say something, but Matthew did not turn to him. Instead, Matthew stared directly at the prince.
"May I ask what you mean to imply?" he asked.
"You don’t have to act like you don’t understand," the man said. "I know who you are, soldier. You’re a high-ranking officer of this country’s army, aren’t you? You care for these people."
"If you wish for no harm to come to them, stand down. Pull away your support for this girl. If not, this city will bathe in blood."
"And what?" Matthew asked. "Will you be the king of a town full of no humans and only spirits?"
"My people will fill these cities. Others will come to replace those that are killed," the prince said. "It is but one city, and I will be the Emperor of the entire continent. For something so grand, I am willing to make this small sacrifice."
Ning frowned and so did Mari. They glanced toward Matthew and the people behind him, each one of whom began to curse under their breath. Their plan to keep this information a secret for as long as they could had failed.
Ning could only wonder how they had failed. He didn’t think they had given away anything at all.
’How did the prince find out?’ he wondered. There was that information yesterday too about Shara. He had learned that somehow.
He frowned. Was someone from his group passing along the information?
That seemed highly unlikely. If they were, this information should have been passed along yesterday too. Why had the prince only acted today?
Ning looked back at the prince, wanting to say something to his smug face. But before he could, Matthew spoke.
"Go ahead. I won’t stop supporting her. She will be our Empress."
Everyone turned to look at Matthew with surprise. None of them had expected him to say that.
The prince paused. He looked back at his own people, none of whom seemed to understand what was happening either.
"Did you not hear what I said? Everyone in this city will die," the prince said.
"I did hear you, and my words still don’t change."
Several of the soldiers grew concerned, wanting to speak with their leader, but everyone trusted their leader to make the right decision here, so they simply waited and watched.
"What are you saying?" the prince asked. "You want all of those people to die?"
"No," Matthew said. "I would never want that on those people."
"Then—"
"But I still refuse your proposal," Matthew said. "I will stand behind our future Empress, forever."
Ning looked at Matthew and saw the slight movements within his body where he had hidden his other set of arms. He was clearly clenching them so very tightly.
"You are mad," the prince said and gestured a man to come in front.
The young man walked to the prince and nodded.
"Soldiers of the Coalition, listen to my words," the prince’s voice boomed through the palace and outside. "Surround the protesters at once, then wait for my command."
Squeals and shouts made their way through the gates as chaos took hold outside the palace. The people that had been chanting all this time were suddenly silenced.
Matthew glared at the prince, the full fury of his emotions now clear on his face.
The prince was quite smug now. "What? Did you think I was bluffing?" he asked. "Your people will die, soldier. Have you made your choice?"
Matthew continued glaring for a long moment before turning to look at Shara.
Shara looked at him and gave a slight nod. "It’s okay," she said, approving him to give up on her.
Matthew looked back toward the expecting prince and took a deep breath.
"Men!" he shouted, giving his command. "Prepare for battle."
Every single person who had been waiting for Matthew to call off his support for Shara was stunned by his response.
"What... what are you doing?" the prince asked.
"Keep your ears open for the prince’s command," Matthew said. "The moment he orders his soldiers to kill our people, we shall go kill him too."