Chapter 90: The Award Ceremony
by AfuhfuihgsThe Award Ceremony
“Why don’t you sit here?”
“……”
“Ms. Yena Freud?”
“…Yes.”
I posed as instructed by the photographer. If that wasn’t enough, I changed into outfits brought from somewhere by the staff and stood in front of the rigid metal photography machine.
There was no refusal or expression of displeasure. The current photoshoot was a task that had to be done steadfastly, even if I disliked it.
“Then I’ll take the picture!”
It was none other than the process of choosing the clothes to wear at the medal award ceremony. Today was the day I would give a speech on the podium in front of numerous journalists from around the world.
Erdoff, who surely wants to look as good as possible in the photos for the articles, must have requested this nonsense.
Click!
That’s why I forced a smile despite the barrage of harsh flashes. Although it was annoying, I had no choice; as someone who needed to be in the Prime Minister’s good graces, I couldn’t show signs of dislike.
“Hmm, something’s lacking…”
“Team leader! How about having her wear this outfit?”
“Ohhh! Good idea!”
Grind!
But isn’t this going too far? As time passed and unacceptable actions continued, my mouth went dry.
…Why do I have to wear these kinds of clothes?
I looked at the group of photographers excitedly chattering about me. Then I lowered my head and blankly looked at the clothing covering my chest and limbs.
After being told to wear a women’s coat, skirt, and backless dress in order, now it was a white noble-like women’s outfit.
“Yes, now she looks like a girl!”
As the reporter said, looking through the lens attached to the camera with one eye closed, I had become a typical female image. It was completely different from before when I wore a dull coat.
“Even though the excessive decorations of the dress might not suit her, her appearance isn’t buried at all? This is the first time I’ve seen such a pretty child…”
“That’s right. Puhehe, everything suits her so well that it’s hard to choose what to pick, isn’t it? Isn’t it fun?”
A typical woman would have blushed or shown some joy upon hearing their whispers.
But not me.
Since I hadn’t forgotten my memories from my previous life, this situation only felt uncomfortable. If circumstances allowed, I would have torn these clothes to shreds and thrown them in the trash.
“Surely I’m not receiving the medal dressed like this…?”
“Hm? That’s not the case. The Party Leader said you’ll enter wearing the Imperial Army’s formal uniform for the award ceremony. The outfit we’re choosing now will be used for taking photos to be published in articles.”
I was worried that I might meet the reporters like this, but apparently that wasn’t the case. At least I could feel somewhat relieved.
“Sigh, I understand.”
“Alright, anyway, we’re taking the picture again, smile!”
Still, my mood remained foul. In the short life I’ve lived as Yena Freud, today was the most humiliating. Even when Wolf grated on my nerves, it wasn’t this bad.
I hope I never experience such a hellish nightmare again.
“…Hee, heee.”
Praying to escape this hellish photo studio as soon as possible, I forcibly lifted the corners of my mouth and looked at the camera.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes, no problem.”
Although it was only an hour, after the photo-taking process that felt like half a day, I headed to the Party Leader’s office to finalize preparations for the medal award ceremony.
“Don’t be nervous. You can do well enough. Just think of it as a comfortable place to express your inner feelings.”
Inside, Paulo and Erdoff were already waiting, having finished their preparations.
“Thank you.”
I prepared my attire for participating in the award ceremony amidst their encouragement.
From the glossy black eagle hat to the stylish boots, the leather belt crossing between my chest and the overcoat, I adorned my body with the uniform provided by the Labor Party.
Ah, is this included too?
After putting on the armband with the Labor Party’s emblem on a red background, I transformed from a naive girl into a sophisticated lady.
Even the clothes I wear at the military academy aren’t this nice. Perhaps because I’ll be appearing in a public setting, it was clear that Erdoff had prepared it with care.
“It suits you well, indeed.”
“It’s an honor.”
He revealed a smile that made his mustache twitch, seemingly satisfied himself, and came closer to smooth out the wrinkles in my shirt.
“Don’t be nervous. I’m behind you.”
“…Thank you.”
“Then I’ll go ahead. When it’s your turn, the administrator here will guide you, so just relax until then.”
After that, Erdoff hurriedly moved his steps and left the office.
He’s probably going to the auditorium.
Although he didn’t tell me the destination, I could roughly guess where it was. The only place suitable for giving a speech in the Ministry of Interior was the auditorium at the back of the building.
Thud, thud!
As the Prime Minister moved, his close associates in the room, like Paulo and Göring, also left.
While Erdoff at least spoke to me, they didn’t even glance at me. In fact, since the last meeting, not a single person except the Prime Minister had spoken to me.
It was also evidence that they thought of me as just a mere figurehead.
Do they not think I can show anything at the award ceremony? Well, judging only by external appearances, it’s not incomprehensible since I still look like I haven’t outgrown my childishness.
I’m not sure about Erdoff, but at least two of them besides Erius seemed satisfied with just using me to get a few news stories.
But I wasn’t discouraged.
Rather, I judged it as a good opportunity.
Isn’t this a chance to make a strong impression by demonstrating performance that exceeds everyone’s expectations? I was confident enough to boast that I would surprise Erdoff.
The less expectation there is, the greater the surprise tends to be.
“It’s time.”
About thirty minutes after Erdoff left the office, a man in Storm Trooper attire flung open the door.
“Ah…”
I had been waiting.
I picked up and ate one last biscuit that seemed prepared for Erdoff to serve guests, and stepped out of the room.
Click, clack!
As I narrowed the distance to the auditorium, my long hair and coat tails fluttering, the quiet corridor began to buzz with resonance. After taking a few more steps, the sound became clearer.
“Vicious Bolsheviks… punish… we will!”
Although I couldn’t catch all the words, even at a glance, I could tell that Erdoff was earnestly expounding his views.
He’s working hard.
His deep desire to crush the Communist Party by portraying the Bolsheviks as evil at this time of national attention was conveyed.
“You can enter now.”
“Right now?”
Since we’re in the same boat, I should show off some decent eloquence too.
“We will now hold the medal award ceremony for Yena Freud, a member of the Bern National Defense Force who personally practiced the spirit of a soldier!”
“Yes, right now.”
Although I had somehow arrived at the back door leading directly to the upper part of the auditorium and was planning to wait in the corridor until Erdoff called me, he called my name at just the right timing.
So what else could I do?
Without delay, I pulled the firmly closed door handle vigorously.
The interior was dark enough to be reminiscent of night, but the podium alone shone brightly. I immediately headed for the wooden stairs right next to the podium and silently moved towards where Erdoff was.
Clap clap clap!
As if they had been waiting, thunderous applause welcomed me. The barrage of flashes that came flooding in on the way was a bonus.
All the important people are gathered here.
Slightly raising my head to look around, below were Storm Troopers, Labor Party members, journalists, and ordinary citizens, while above the auditorium were relatively high-ranking officials.
Göring, Erius, Paulo, and old men who looked like the Labor Party’s election committee chairmen were sitting in chairs prepared along the wall.
“……”
Thanks to that, it’s quite nerve-wracking. As each one was a big shot who had tenaciously survived in the political arena, fierce and cunning gazes like those of vipers were fixed on me from all directions.
“Long live the Labor Party!”
“Long live the Labor Party.”
Erdoff was the same. While he had only shown the appearance of a kindly middle-aged man until today, up here in this auditorium, he exuded a cynical atmosphere befitting the Imperial Prime Minister.
It seems I shouldn’t allow even a single mistake.
Well, if that’s the case, I should play along.
“Thank you for protecting the Empire.”
“I only did what had to be done.”
After giving the Labor Party-style salute, I straightened my back and waited until he personally pinned the medal near my chest.
“Click!”
“Flash, boom!”
Then, following the planned sequence, I turned to approach the podium,
“Ah─, fellow party members, soldiers, and citizens, hello. I am the one who caught the perpetrator of the National Assembly Diet building incident.”
I greeted while sweeping my gaze over the Storm Troopers guarding the surroundings, the cameras glittering in the dim space, and the party members watching this place.
“My name is Yena Freud.”
By now, the shutter sounds and applause had ceased.
“First, I would like to dedicate today’s honor to my parents and begin my story.”
After taking a deep breath, I silently continued speaking while fiddling with the Silver Leaf Knight medal gleaming under the incandescent lights.
“Both of them were kind-hearted people who lived for me, and it would be fair to say they were upright individuals who lived without a single shameful act.”
Although my parents were expressed in just a couple of paragraphs and I had never actually seen their faces, I continued my speech, brazenly if you will, based on ‘Yena’s’ memories.
“On a bright morning when we were spending time as usual, my father left the village under the pretext of conscription.”
At this moment, I immersed myself in being a person born and raised in the Empire, a child who vividly experienced the pain of losing parents, and the protagonist of a tragedy lamenting sorrow.
“It’s something to be proud of that he naturally went to protect the country because war broke out. I, too, of course respected my father who left out of patriotism for the country.”
“I believed without a doubt that he would return alive. I never thought… that we would never meet again.”
Thud!
I clenched one fist and struck the podium forcefully. I chewed over each word with an angry tone as if I had personally experienced the terrible events of that time.
“We couldn’t even hold a proper funeral because they said the body couldn’t be found.”
“My heart was torn. Every day was hell, plagued by guilt. I burst into anguish every time I saw the forest around the house where I once made memories with my father.”
“Ah…”
“How could such…”
Sighs flowed from here and there. Because the interior was so quiet, even those small voices clearly pierced my ears.
“I thought it was fortunate that my mother was still alive. Although we went through very difficult days, I believed it was a trial we could overcome if we became each other’s support.”
The current atmosphere was already sufficiently gloomy, but I lowered my head deeply and brought up a story that would make the air even heavier.
“…At least until I returned home after gathering wood as usual and saw the miserable ruins.”
Grind,
I clenched my jaw so hard my teeth ground together.
“It was a bombing. It was a misfire by the Allied forces who mistook it for a military facility. Even the last straw I was holding onto disappeared from this world, leaving only tragic traces.”
Completely immersed in Yena Freud, I swept my gaze over the crowd looking up at the podium with dejected expressions.
“……”
From the fact that not only were people’s voices silent, but even the intermittent flashes were no longer visible, I immediately grasped how absorbed they were in the current speech.
This is the moment when everyone is finally focused on my words. The scene I had so desired was now unfolding right before my eyes.
I’ve been waiting for this day.
The time has finally come to burst out with the emotions I’ve been accumulating. In a situation where everyone, regardless of race or nationality, was looking only at me, I opened my mouth, drawing an arc with my eyes.
“I wanted to give up. I wanted to lay everything down. But! I never let go of hope in the end.”
“Never give up even if it’s painful. There’s always hope, my parents said. I clung to life tenaciously, holding that maxim in my heart!”
My voice changed from a calm tone steeped in sorrow to a passionate and intense tone.
“That’s why today! I could stand proudly and face those evil ones trying to burn down the Diet building without yielding!”
Breaking free from my statue-like body, I proudly thrust out my chest and raised my clenched fist into the air to express my emotions.
“The fiercely rising flames from my childhood experience! The heat that seemed to tear off my skin! I was able to resist the Bolsheviks who resisted with the eyes of demons!”
I didn’t complicate my brain to spew out words.
“Now that I’ve received this medal! I’ve finally understood the meaning of the maxim my parents emphasized so much!”
I was only conveying my true feelings as my head led, as my heart commanded, as my lips moved.
“Their cry to approach everything passionately was the forgotten aspiration and strong will of the Empire. It was the collective spirit of the people that we must reclaim from the past!”
Thump, thump─!
I feel a strange sensation of my heart boiling. Despite not having exerted much physical energy, I exhaled roughly.
“At some point, life became impoverished due to defeat, and we lost our passion in the succession of days where we couldn’t even have a proper meal. We had forgotten the glorious past glory of Bern.”
I grabbed the microphone and pulled it towards my chin. I pressed down on the podium with my palm, damp with sweat.
“Now we must awaken! Even if it’s to eliminate the Bolsheviks threatening our homeland today, we must now rise above the humiliation of the Great War and be reborn as true Bernese people!”
I’m happy.
And I’m excited.
Recognizing the world as reality rather than virtual, my cheeks burned hot with the feeling of making a mark on history.
“Of course, I’m just an ordinary soldier belonging to the National Defense Force. But nevertheless, I want to ask all of you.”
Using that heat as a foothold, I delivered a speech with all my might.
“Do you want to reclaim the greatness of Bern?”
Lowering my eyes intensely, I lowered my voice to a level that could barely be heard through the speakers, just like when I first announced my thoughts on the podium, speaking softly.
“For the construction of a new nation, for the spirits who sacrificed to protect this land in the Great War, for the Labor Party striving to realize the noble goal of Bern’s revival…”
“Are you prepared to sacrifice willingly?”
Whoosh!
In the moment I paused my words, I spread both arms wide, savoring the cool breeze passing through my hair.
Many events will occur from today. Cruel things will arrive befitting this era enveloped in madness.
Due to the influence of the medal award ceremony, communists will face more severe oppression than in the original history, and the Labor Party will establish a stronger power base to rule the Empire.
Many people will die and countless tragedies will occur.
I will stand at the center of it all and move thoroughly in the direction that benefits me. While ordinary people might fret about whether their actions would affect history, I was not like that.
Having prepared for a harsh future, there was nothing to fear. I will only walk forward mercilessly.
And,
“Then rise up! The ones who will reignite the coldly frozen heart of the Empire are none other than its citizens!”
Today is the first step towards that.
“Waaah─!”
“Long live the Labor Party!”
“Long live Bern!”
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