Ch.189Chapter 21. The Art of Deceiving Each Other (1)

# “Marriage is the art of deceiving each other out of necessity.”

– Oscar Wilde

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<Chapter 21. The Art of Deceiving Each Other (1)>

The cell phone rang. After checking the caller ID, Virginia placed her phone face down on the desk. An hour later, an orderly rushed in, panting.

“M-Martial Law Commander! There’s an urgent call from the Presidential Residence!”

The orderly thought he could die happy now, as Virginia smiled at him gently. ‘How could such a beautiful and elegant officer be cold-blooded? That’s nonsense.’ Lost in these random thoughts, he was a bit slow to understand when she said, “I understand, now go attend to your duties.”

Had the orderly stayed a moment longer, he might have truly suffered a heart attack. Once alone, Virginia’s face contorted with a chaotic mix of rage, disgust, and hatred. She hadn’t been this angry even when she first met Leticia, or when Leticia betrayed her and ran away.

Ring ring. The landline in her office rang. Virginia bit her lower lip. This was inevitable, but she wished she could have been better prepared before taking this call.

“This is Martial Law Commander Virginia Helford.”

The President of Elza had appointed Virginia as Martial Law Commander—a position that could be described as second only to one, above all others. But even that meant nothing to the person on the other end.

“Father.”

It was none other than her father.

“Did you call the Presidential Residence to inquire about my well-being? Senator Römer directly contacting another country’s Martial Law Commander seems diplomatically problematic.”

“If you had answered your phone earlier, there would have been no diplomatic friction. But this isn’t a conversation between two national leaders—it’s an internal Helford family matter, so don’t worry about it.”

For a brief moment, Virginia considered asking, “You disrupted the Elza administration for a family matter? That’s absurd.” She knew it wouldn’t be effective, but it would certainly get under her father’s skin. She decided against it, though. There was no practical benefit. Some battles weren’t worth fighting.

“I’m listening, so speak.”

“A marriage proposal has come in.”

So it had finally arrived.

“The eldest son of the Branbrook family. He’s two years older than you and quite handsome. A young man working in the Foreign Affairs Bureau with a promising future. In these turbulent times, the Foreign Affairs Bureau naturally wields considerable power, doesn’t it?”

There were plenty of people who would lick military boots just to be connected to the Helford family. But the family considered only one thing: whether a marriage would benefit or harm the family.

Virginia knew why she had been assigned to Elza. It was to increase her value—to show other noble families how valuable she was as a bride, how suitable she would be as a daughter-in-law.

No noble family was unaware of Virginia’s unclear past records. That’s why she needed visible, verified achievements. Being an elite officer of a puppet government with distinguished military service made her an impeccable bride candidate in anyone’s eyes.

Of course, this wasn’t a personnel transfer Virginia had wanted. At first, it was a series of coercion and rebellion. But for whatever reason, Virginia eventually declared she would go to Elza of her own accord.

The Helford elders thought, “She probably wants to go to a distant country because we’ve made life so difficult for her here,” but they were surprised by how much preparation Virginia had done and how much she wanted. Among her preparations was a dossier on key Elza personnel.

This report, created by Römer rather than Elza, was much more reliable. Thanks to it, Virginia could string together information about countless officers’ strengths, weaknesses, concerns, interests, fears, and preferences.

This file proved highly effective in neutralizing regional defense commanders. There were many fools who believed they would fill a position once they ousted their figurehead superiors. Virginia approached them, persuading them to join her side, while simultaneously entrapping stubborn soldiers in slander and conspiracies, leading to their downfall.

The chaotic political situation caused by the zombie outbreak was, ironically, an opportunity for ambitious soldiers. After all, there wasn’t a young officer who wasn’t sick of the leadership’s incompetence. Virginia ignited the ambition and aspiration of these young officers.

And now, her family was telling her to stop playing games.

“I still have work to do here.”

“I’ve already spoken with the President of Elza. Tell him to assign someone else as Martial Law Commander. Elza is no longer safe. I’m recalling all the agents we’ve dispatched. Return with them and fulfill your responsibilities and duties as the eldest daughter-in-law of the Branbrook family.”

“Father, the Römer borders are sealed, and Elza’s roads are blocked. It’s not even easy to contact the agents. I can’t guarantee that I and the others can escape from this capital, let alone reach the border area.”

“Then I’ll send a military aircraft. Surely you’re not saying there’s no airport. I’ll arrange it to be sent as soon as the day changes, so don’t be late to the airport. Don’t worry about your position. The President will take care of everything.”

The call ended.

After putting down the receiver, Virginia fell into a long silence. There was something her father hadn’t mentioned. In the position of Martial Law Commander, someone more compliant to Römer would be placed instead of Virginia herself. In a situation where the Western nation of Minsk’s provocations were intensifying, Elza, caught between Römer and Minsk, was a suitable buffer zone from Römer’s perspective.

But that was under normal circumstances. With zombies swarming everywhere, the situation was completely different.

The zombie outbreak wasn’t as severe in Römer and Minsk as it was in Elza. They were monitoring it strictly, but not to the point where daily life had collapsed. This was partly because these two countries were more developed, but also because the virus had spread much later than in Elza, allowing them to learn from Elza’s trial and error.

But that only meant they had “learned more,” not that they had overcome it. They still hadn’t found a vaccine. The Disease Control Bureau had released an infection delay agent, but it wasn’t clear whether it was truly effective or just a placebo effect.

‘The origin of the Cro virus must be in Elza. More specifically, Cybele Corporation. To stop this whole situation, research on Cybele Corp is necessary.’

A vaccine was absolutely essential. With a vaccine, one could gain absolute advantage in political and economic aspects. Depending on how it was applied, it could also be used for military purposes. Various ideas and concepts bubbled in Virginia’s mind.

‘To create a vaccine, I need to stay in Elza.’

She had no desire to return home. No matter how powerful Römer was, Virginia herself had gained command over Elza’s entire military. Whatever Elza’s national power might be, it surely wasn’t so weak that it couldn’t repel a single transport aircraft from Römer.

“Orderly!”

Virginia called out. A soldier rushed in hurriedly.

“I will address the nation, so gather the reporters!”

* * * * *

“…Wow.”

Cassandra was bewildered, Leticia rounded her mouth with a “whoa,” and Camilla clicked her tongue.

“Total war? Did she say total war? Conscripting all civilians, denying rights to private property, and placing everything under state control?”

It wasn’t quite that extreme, but it was close. Virginia had become the Martial Law Commander and was given the authority to set Elza right in its time of crisis.

Virginia strongly argued that Elza citizens should relocate “near areas with proper electricity and water supply.” The reason was to ensure minimum living standards to prevent new zombies from appearing.

The conscription of all civilians, when examined closely, was also somewhat reasonable. She explained that since transactions requiring credit cards or digital payments had collapsed, they needed to return to the traditional era of bartering.

But since the zombie crisis had left everyone with little to barter, she proposed putting everything under state control and letting people keep the spoils they acquired.

“So Elza is finally heading down the path of a dictatorship,” Camilla muttered in a bitter tone. But the radio broadcast wasn’t over yet.

“Finally, I, Martial Law Commander Virginia Helford, sternly warn the Western nation of Minsk. First, any further military provocation will be considered an invasion and responded to accordingly. Second, recall all mercenaries and regular army guerrillas currently operating in Elza territory. And third…”

This must be why Leticia called me. Western mercenary groups were still roaming around, desperately searching for materials related to Cybele Corporation. If all that was true, most places were dangerous.

“At least she seems to be trying to act as a leader…”

But Virginia wasn’t finished.

“The Robarten region was originally Elza’s territory, so I request its immediate return. I would appreciate a prompt response to this request.”

Robarten? Robarten?

“Where is Robarten?” Camilla asked, scratching her head in confusion. I know where it is.

“…It’s in the Western nation of Minsk’s territory. Specifically, it’s quite far beyond Elza’s western boundary. What makes Robarten important is that it has a direct highway to Minsk City, the capital of Minsk.”

“…But now she’s asking for it back? What is she talking about? It wasn’t even originally Elza’s land.”

I thought I understood. Leticia also had a troubled expression. She knew what this meant.

“She’s building a pretext.”

“What kind of pretext?”

“War.”

I looked down at the radio and said, “It seems Virginia has no intention of avoiding war.”