Chapter 73
“Would it be better to treat them?”
Ann whispered beside him, but Anschel shook his head.
“Please wait just a little longer.”
Then Jayden’s gaze turned toward Ann. Anschel tensed as he felt Jayden staring at Ann’s blue hair.
“Do you think you’ll win the vote?”
Anschel hesitated at Jayden’s words. Without Ender in this situation, he struggled at the crucial crossroads of whether to trust Jayden Olden or not. It was hard to trust Jayden Olden when he was one of the few people Dante Maxim trusted.
Contemplating what to do, Anschel answered with a groan.
“Probably not. Although there are those who oppose the radical Dante Maxim, public opinion supporting the current president is dominant. Most representatives are Dante Maxim’s pawns, so honestly, if we proceed with a vote, there’s no chance of winning.”
For now, Anschel answered with information that wouldn’t matter if anyone knew. But Jayden had been navigating the political arena for decades. He smiled with satisfaction.
“That’s right. Not with a vote.”
“But we’re not talking about a coup. Our forces aren’t strong enough to push through Dante’s military power with a coup, and if we did, we’d lose all public trust.”
Anschel opened his mouth hesitantly while looking straight into Jayden’s eyes. All hope for the sea was now directed toward the Northern Sea. It was terrifying to even imagine how the world would change if the merpeople royalty living there were also annihilated.
Anschel moistened his lips, wondering if Jayden Olden was truly an ally or an enemy.
“…Then, Chairman Olden of the Peace Committee. Would you share your thoughts with us?”
Anschel took a gamble. Jayden glanced at Ann and put a cigarette in his mouth. The burned ash fell to the floor with a small thud.
“I tried to kill myself several times after hearing about Alcita’s death. I couldn’t bear to think of a world without him. I made all kinds of fuss, saying I should have drowned in the sea with him to stay by Alcita’s side.”
This was news to Anschel. But Jayden Olden’s voice remained level and calm.
“But then who would carry out Alcita’s young revenge? With his killer living so brazenly. Who would avenge him against that old man who rose to the top of the world through Alcita’s death? Who would console the spirit of my person? Yes. It’s not me who consoles Alcita’s soul. It’s Dante Maxim and his cronies who drove him to his death.”
In Anschel’s eyes, Jayden Olden’s body trembled with rage as his yellow eyes flashed. Though he was in his mid-fifties, his spirit and presence were no less than any young person’s. His blazing yellow eyes were already filled with love for one person and rage toward another.
Anschel swallowed hard. If nothing else, Jayden’s anger toward Dante Maxim was real. He swallowed a couple more times, then lowered his head before looking up with determination.
“…We can’t win with a vote. But… we might be able to get Dante Maxim disqualified as a presidential candidate.”
Jayden’s yellow eyes curved. When he smiled, his wrinkled face looked much younger.
“Human experimentation.”
“I know about that. And Dante knows it too.”
Dante Maxim’s human experimentation would cause enough waves to shake his political career, but that would be the end of it. Dante Maxim had maintained the presidency for 20 years and had seized control of the media first. His words were the truth, and he could bury any truth he didn’t want known.
“Even if we expose the human experimentation, it would be hard to find that article on any portal. The news would focus on other topics, and the fact that Dante Maxim conducted human experimentation would be buried as a conspiracy theory.”
Cold sweat ran down Anschel’s back. He realized that with his limited experience, it would be difficult to persuade Jayden Olden to join hands. Anschel was weak and fearful. He was timid and had so little courage that he could barely speak properly when nervous.
Anschel and Jayden locked eyes simultaneously.
“If we somehow spread that video, the majority of citizens will turn their backs on Dante. Then the remaining vote would be…”
“The representative vote.”
“The representative vote.”
Jayden maintained a satisfied smile. He recalled the past when he had jokingly said he would grill Anschel like charcoal barbecue if he turned out to be just a fool with big ambitions.
“If it comes to that, you can count on all the Peace Committee members supporting you. Once Dante steps down from the presidency, he’ll be immediately prosecuted. A criminal can’t become president.”
The Jayden Olden in front of Anschel was the head of the Peace Committee, the largest force within the committee. Jayden tapped his fingers on the table and licked his dry lips. Anschel’s lips were equally parched, and his throat burned too.
“I learned of Dante’s ‘certain plan’ and went into hiding six years ago for investigation. I hurriedly returned when I heard you had put your name forward as a presidential candidate. With Ender McGuire as your guardian.”
“Yes.”
Anschel looked at Harriet. He had his eyes downcast with an unreadable expression. Looking at the soldiers standing behind him, Anschel asked.
“Are they trustworthy people?”
Jayden laughed arrogantly, as if he’d heard something absurd. Then he nodded.
“We are people who have sworn to give our lives for Alcita.”
The eyes of those gathered to console the soul of Alcita—a dead son to his father and their master—were bright with determination. Jayden pointed at Ann, who was standing behind Anschel.
“Is that a merperson?”
“…Yes.”
Anschel couldn’t completely trust Jayden, but he realized they shared the same objective. Their common enemy was also the same. Jayden examined Ann with an interested gaze.
“Chairman Olden. How could you be so certain that the merpeople didn’t kill Alcita Maxim?”
Jayden answered indifferently.
“Because Alcita told me so. He said merpeople love peace.”
“……”
In a tense and desperate situation without any proper information, what Jayden Olden believed was the word of the deceased Alcita. Anschel was dumbfounded. For some reason, the image of his superior, Ender, came to mind when looking at Jayden.
“The merpeople Dante shot didn’t die, so come pick them up later. My subordinates were waiting underwater and rescued them.”
Ann’s expression eased considerably. It was truly fortunate that the merpeople, who were thought to have been horribly hunted down, were alive. Anschel squeezed Ann’s hand reassuringly.
Jayden looked at the two people in front of him, chuckled, then turned his head. He then focused his attention on the person with the most out-of-place atmosphere here. The man, white from head to toe, had a very faint presence with a dim face.
“Who’s that guy?”
They were all from special forces backgrounds, with pride in their skills. Jayden looked at Harriet, who had defeated them single-handedly, with watchful eyes.
At the same time, Jayden felt Harriet was very familiar and wondered if he had seen him somewhere before. Seeing Jayden observing Harriet with complicated eyes, Anschel carefully told the truth.
“He is the first successful subject from the laboratory. The military’s first artificial merperson…”
“Astonishing.”
Jayden Olden’s eyes widened as if truly amazed. He had vaguely known that artificial merperson experiments had been conducted, but seeing the result firsthand increased his surprise.
‘So that disgusting and cruel experiment ultimately succeeded.’
Jayden narrowed his eyes in discomfort. Then he realized what card Anschel had prepared.
“He must have been brainwashed.”
“……”
“I see you haven’t been able to undo it yet.”
Jayden smiled as he took out a new cigarette.
“He’s an important person. Somehow we need to undo the brainwashing and make him free…”
“That’s not my business.”
If Anschel had chosen the artificial merperson as his human experimentation card, undoing the brainwashing was solely their job, not something Jayden needed to get involved with.
Still, as if curious to examine Harriet who had survived the human experimentation in detail, Jayden seriously looked him over. He narrowed his eyes while looking at Harriet, then gasped.
A small child hidden in Harriet’s afterimage was looking up at Jayden Olden. Empty green eyes without emotion came to mind. Jayden rushed forward and grabbed Harriet’s wrist.
“You… kiddo…”
He had always called Harriet “kiddo” when he followed Alcita to the orphanage. Harriet smiled awkwardly as if to say, “You finally recognized me?”
“…Why, are you…”
Harriet tilted his head slightly toward Jayden, who finally remembered him.
He mumbled with a choked voice. His usually tense face relaxed. The shock on his wrinkled face showed how surprised he was. His dazed yellow eyes filled with moisture.
“I see…”
Do Jayden and Harriet know each other?
Anschel observed the two, looking back and forth between them. Harriet wore a troubled smile, while Jayden was gradually lowering his head like someone who had committed a sin. And tears streamed down his eyes.
Anschel was taken aback when the older middle-aged man, who looked like he wouldn’t shed a tear even if stabbed with a knife, started crying.
Jayden Olden cried for a long while, kneeling and looking up at Harriet. As if freed from a spell, he recognized Harriet and stroked his hair and cheeks over and over again.
Harriet’s small smile gradually faded. He looked down at the crying Jayden with an expressionless face.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
