Ch.141I am the Chairman and You are (4)

Kashu von Adelbein couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

The prosecution’s search and seizure of his company was confidential. He had pressured the media to restrict reporting on it. Yet somehow, that fact had been exposed.

How? When? Through whom?

Was there an informant among his subordinates?

“Student, let’s have a talk.”

Kashu gestured toward the door. Eidel put a biscuit in his mouth and dusted off his hands.

“Let’s do that.”

Before Zernya could say anything, the two men walked away.

Once outside the mansion, Kashu immediately took out a cigarette. He studied Eidel’s face. Those weren’t ordinary yellow eyes. They sparkled like molten gold.

“Are you a direct descendant of the Rheinland family?”

“I am.”

“Then you must be that Eidel von Rheinland.”

Kashu lit his cigarette with a laser lighter. He was frowning. Eidel also furrowed his brow at the smell of cigarette smoke and stepped back.

After exhaling a cloud of smoke, Kashu asked, “I’ll be direct. Who told you?”

His tone was quite insolent. So Eidel responded casually.

“I figured it out myself.”

“You deduced it?”

“Yes.”

Kashu bit his lower lip hard. Looking at him now, this young man was no ordinary person.

“How much do you know?”

“Well…”

Eidel rolled his eyes before speaking.

“About the money envelopes you gave to prosecutors, covering up the Toba planetary system foreign press incident, and how you experimented on people to create artificial asymmetric polyhedra?”

Damn it. He knows everything.

“You played with people in the millions. If the prosecution and police decide to dig into this…”

“Hey!”

“…your face on the photo line would be the least of your worries.”

The situation was turning unfavorable.

“The embargo will be lifted eventually. Silencing people won’t help. When that day comes, what will the main family do?”

“…”

“They’ll cut you loose.”

These were statements that would have warranted immediate silencing if the speaker had been an ordinary person. But the other party was a direct descendant of the Rheinland family. Moreover, one renowned for resonator research.

Right. Resonator research. That’s it. Kashu was forming a sinister smile when—

“Yes, resonator research. That’s it. Let’s use that to sink him. Isn’t that what you were just thinking?”

“…!”

How could this be? Did he read my mind?

No way. That’s impossible.

“Haha, sir. I did apply asymmetric polyhedra to resonators. But that’s no reason for me to play games with you.”

“…What exactly do you want?”

Eidel laughed, “Hahaha.” It wasn’t the laugh of a young man but that of a seasoned politician. Kashu felt a chill. He trembled like a mouse caught in a snake’s mouth.

“Is it money you want, or information? Or something else?”

“Information.”

Thank goodness. There’s room for compromise.

“That right-handed asymmetric polyhedron, how do you make it?”

It was a trap after all.

“I don’t know that either!”

“But you’re the chief executive, aren’t you?”

“No, absolutely not! The laboratory directors handle the field operations. All I did was provide research funding.”

“Ah, so you drank alcohol but didn’t drive drunk?”

Eidel subtly raised his voice. Kashu was sweating profusely. How did he know these secrets, and what was his relationship with Zernya? All sorts of thoughts raced through his mind.

He crushed his half-finished cigarette under his foot. His throat felt parched. At this point, there was no other option. He started walking, leaving Eidel behind.

“Let’s go back inside.”

If a mere young man had discovered this, it wouldn’t be long before the special prosecutors caught wind of it.

Soon, he would need to set up a scapegoat and disappear.

***

The agreement was reached smoothly.

“Our company’s situation isn’t very good. Still, I’ll make sure to send a PR team.”

Thanks to Kashu’s submissive attitude, Zernya was able to maintain her dignity. Other Adelbein affiliates also expressed their interest in participating in the recruitment event.

“Well, I need to prepare, so I’ll be going now.”

“Grand-uncle! Where are you going! You need to explain the situation!”

That’s a separate issue.

Zernya was not feeling comfortable.

What was this about a search and seizure of the affiliate? And why did Eidel know about family matters that even she wasn’t aware of?

“Hey, you, come here.”

Zernya pushed Eidel against the wall. It was time for interrogation.

“How do you know about our family affairs?”

“Madam President, calm down. I’ll explain everything.”

Internal family matters were sensitive issues. Eidel knew this and began explaining calmly.

“Your family created right-handed asymmetric polyhedra. I don’t know the specific manufacturing method, but there were quite systematic human experiments. And your grand-uncle directed it all.”

“You!”

“Sounds like a lie? It’s not. Since I’ve been going from lab to lab making resonators, I couldn’t help but find out. You know that asymmetric polyhedra are used in resonator production, right?”

Eidel described the human experimentation methods as he knew them. It was a true story reconstructed based on Ireh’s testimony.

Zernya couldn’t close her mouth.

“Though it’s been buried, at least millions have died.”

Zernya had vaguely known about the human experiments. But this was the first time she’d heard about the specific processes or circumstances. Her stomach churned. It felt like acid reflux.

“Wait, stay here.”

Zernya stopped her interrogation and rushed to the bathroom.

A girl’s reflection appeared in the bathroom mirror.

When Zernya removed her scarf, the girl in the mirror did the same. Three black lines were visible on one side of her exposed neck. A barcode engraved with fake constellations. Evidence of human experimentation.

“Ugh, ugh.”

Just looking at it made her retch.

As she hunched over the sink, a few drops of bile fell.

“Hoo, hoo.”

The memory of that day vividly replayed. The dark operating room, the stinging sensation digging into her skin, the nauseating smell of alcohol swabs. It was a past she didn’t want to recall.

[“I see why the Rheinland boy approached you.”]

She came to her senses at the voice.

It was that constellation that always spoke to her.

[“That boy wanted to use you as bait to catch Adelbein’s weaknesses. He saw you as competition. He probably wants to eliminate or ruin you somehow.”]

Zernya didn’t respond. There are foreign entities that mimic the voice of constellations. Be wary just in case. Remembering Eidel’s advice, she sharpened her breath.

[“You still! You believe that boy’s words without any evidence?”]

The entity, whether constellation or monster, sighed.

[“Think about it. Where in the world would you find a foreign entity that cares about people? The Rheinland boy is lying to you right now. To prevent you from obtaining a constellation and surpassing him!”]

There was some logic to it.

Still, Eidel was a friend? Yes. A friend. She had heard that friends should get along well.

[“Friends can betray each other too.”]

Zernya gripped the sink tightly. She imagined Eidel stabbing her in the back. If that happened, she would never forgive him.

“There’s no guilt by association in the Federation. Even if the family falls, I…”

[“True. You’ve done nothing wrong, so you won’t be punished. But society has something called stigma. Even as a victim, as long as you’re an Adelbein, you’ll live with people pointing fingers at you for the rest of your life.”]

For Zernya, who wanted to build a reputation, this was the worst-case scenario.

[“My dear. Right now, I’m worried about your re-election.”]

The student council election wasn’t the end.

The reason Zernya had placed second-year seniors in key departments was to aim for re-election. Simply put, she wanted to hold power for two years.

She hadn’t even properly built her reputation yet. She hadn’t even become independent from the shadow of her family. If a scandal broke out, it would be difficult to regain support.

[“Ask the Rheinland boy if he’s aiming for the next president’s position. That will make things a bit clearer.”]

Zernya rinsed her mouth and rubbed her face with a towel. It didn’t feel refreshing, just uncomfortable.

She was angry, and on the other hand, embarrassed.

“So what are you going to do now?”

Sonia looked back and forth between Zernya and Eidel.

“Isn’t this a private villa? A young man and woman alone in such a secluded place—it’s perfect for misunderstandings.”

“Ha.”

“Hmm.”

Eidel scratched his head, and Zernya finished wrapping her scarf.

Zernya rubbed her cheek. Perhaps due to the aftermath of anger, the burning sensation wouldn’t stop.

***

Other corporate recruitment proposals also passed quickly.

Wherever Zernya went, companies bowed their heads. The power of the Adelbein family was that strong. With Eidel as a totem alongside her, the effect was doubled. Even setting aside the fact that he was from the Rheinland family.

“How are you so good at talking?”

“Practice. Do it enough and you get better.”

Even mega-corporations with no open recruitment plans would nod their heads after just one display of Eidel’s verbal skills.

It was a talent Zernya didn’t possess. So she was secretly jealous.

“Where and when did you learn to be so articulate?”

“In graduate school. Every day.”

Eidel explained about proposals.

“You make research proposals to corporations or the government. It’s like saying ‘We’re going to do this research, so please give us money, boo-hoo’ but packaged elegantly. When you mingle with corporations, you naturally pick it up.”

Zernya bit her lip. She had planned to move him to the Interior Department if he couldn’t perform well. But he was doing too well. Her plans were going awry.

“Pandora Group. That was the last one, right?”

“Yeah. Now we can go back to school.”

“Good work, Madam President.”

Eidel smiled amiably as he walked. Now was the chance to ask.

“Are you going to run in next year’s election too?”

“Hmm, probably?”

Her heart sank.

“Early graduation is a major issue. It’s a campaign promise I need to fulfill somehow. And there are other things like improving graduate student treatment.”

Eidel had leverage over the Adelbein family. If things went even slightly wrong, it could bring calamity to the family.

[“See, I told you so?”]

She was beginning to vaguely understand her father’s words.

Eidel was someone to be wary of and monitored.

From the moment she thought this, Zernya tightened her grip on Eidel. They attended classes together without fail, and whenever student council matters arose, she always kept him by her side. Eidel didn’t object, saying it was the vice president’s duty.

It was called companionship, but it was essentially monitoring his every move. It got to the point where rumors spread that the two were dating. Both were too busy with work to hear these rumors, though.

“As has been the case every year, the major experience fair is coming up soon. I’d like the College Cooperation Department and External Cooperation Department to go to Academia as delegates.”

“…Academia delegation.”

“I’ll go check it out in advance.”

Before the change of administration. Eidel raised his hand to assist with the duties of the previous student council. As it was also customary, no one objected.

“I’ll go too.”

And Zernya also raised her hand.

It was solely to monitor Eidel. He shouldn’t go around telling outsiders about the crimes committed by the Adelbein family.

Because she was focused on this, and because she had been very busy lately, Zernya completely forgot.

Rustila Kersil was at Academia.

Naturally, Rustila was very displeased with Eidel’s consecutive broken promises.