Chapter 3057: Coward’s Fallacy

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Five Regions, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, TSR Tower, Guild Meeting Hall

"The same thing that’s happening right now," Aurelia answered without the slightest hesitation. "Another revolution."

"I mean no disrespect to His Highness by saying this, nor do I doubt him. But revolutions are what keep the rusted wheels of civilization turning."

She swept her hand across the meeting hall.

"There was a time when no one believed we could stand against the tyranny of the Central Government, the Royal Families, and the nobility."

"Yet we did. The Freedom Fighters, despite all their failures and sacrifices, proved that. Today, the New Empire is that revolution.And if one day it grows complacent and becomes just another shell of the system it replaced..."

She shrugged. "Then another revolution will come. That’s simply how civilizations evolve."

Aurelia’s expression softened slightly. "And it isn’t limited to civilizations. It’s true of every relationship between two people. Take marriage, for example."

"Two people choose to trust each other and give love a chance. No one can guarantee how their future will unfold. Only they can decide whether they’ll weather every hardship together, remain together until death, or eventually part ways and find freedom elsewhere."

She looked straight into Asong’s eyes. There wasn’t the slightest trace of hesitation in her voice, a faint sneer appeared on her lips, as she remarked, "Do you know what your real problem is? You’re a coward chasing absolutes."

"You’re searching for certainty. You’re looking for something that has never existed. You’re afraid to trust because you’re afraid of getting hurt. That’s the same reason marriage rates across the Five Regions keep falling. People would rather avoid the risk of betrayal than risk believing in someone else."

Aurelia crossed her arms with a smug satisfaction, "Go on. Tell me I’m wrong."

"So you’re saying..." Asong said slowly, nodding as she absorbed Aurelia’s argument. "...that we have no choice but to roll the dice. It’s either Wyatt’s New Empire... or going back to the Five Regions."

For the first time since the debate began, there was no anger in her voice. Only reluctant to understand that Aurelia was right about one thing. Asong was afraid. Afraid that, in their desperation to escape one system, they were blindly throwing themselves into another. Afraid that history was repeating itself.

Once again, people were placing their hopes in a single extraordinary individual, just as their ancestors had once entrusted their futures to the descendants of the First Heroes because of the heroes’ achievements.

"Let me stop you right there, little Miss Goody Two-shoes," Aurelia interrupted before Asong could continue. She shook her head firmly. "There is no going back. Only the New Empire."

Then she turned away from Asong and faced me. The hostility that had filled her expression moments earlier vanished, replaced by unwavering confidence.

"I was planning to keep this as a surprise," she admitted with a grin. "But I suppose now’s as good a time as any."

She straightened her back and declared before the entire assembly, "Your Highness, when you return victorious from your conquest of the Dark Realm. I, Aurelia, will present the Card World to you as my gift."

A collective gasp swept through the meeting hall. Every eye turned toward Aurelia. Her expression remained completely serious. She slowly scanned the room with an unwavering gaze before speaking.

"If you’ve all listened to Hive Spirit carefully and actually understood what she said, then one thing should be obvious."

"If His Highness truly wanted to, he could conquer the Five Regions overnight. But he isn’t. Instead, he’s focused on expanding into the Dark Realm."

She let those words sink in. She looked from one leader to the next.

"What do you think that means? It means the Five Regions are our proving ground. Our testing round. If we can’t conquer and govern our own realm through our own abilities. Then what right do we have to set foot in the Myriad Realms and claim dominion over them?"

Aurelia took a deep breath before placing a hand over her chest.

"I swear upon my name, Aurelia, Leader of the Bright Lions. I will conquer the Card World for His Highness and present it to him upon his return."

Her declaration echoed throughout the hall. A confident smile spread across her face and her eyes sharpened. She continued, "If you wish to help, your help will be appreciated. Otherwise, stay out of my way."

As she uttered those final words, her gaze deliberately drifted toward her boss’s three fiancées, then to her mother, the Field Marshal, and finally Henricks. The meaning behind that look couldn’t have been clearer.

Don’t steal my idea, find your own gifts. She had just publicly claimed the greatest campaign in the New Empire as her own responsibility, and she had no intention of letting anyone else snatch that honor from her.

As for Asong, Aurelia no longer paid her any attention. The people in the meeting hall weren’t fools. Most of them understood that Asong’s words weren’t born solely from distrust. They were born from trauma.

The once-revolutionary councilwoman who had stood as the voice of the voiceless had gradually become the voice of her own fears.

That was why Aurelia never tried to argue about Wyatt’s intentions. There was no point. Intentions couldn’t be proven through debate alone. Asong was no longer judging Wyatt for who he was. She was projecting onto him everything she feared another ruler could become.

A man who had saved her life. A man who, despite countless people standing against him, still continued trying to save them alongside everyone else. That realization wasn’t lost on the leaders gathered in the hall.

They all understood why their young ruler had always insisted on a strict no-killing policy unless there was absolutely no alternative. It wasn’t a weakness. Nor was it hesitation. He genuinely wanted to bring everyone, even those who opposed him, into the future he was trying to build.

A future where today’s enemies might one day become tomorrow’s citizens. Some truths didn’t need to be spoken aloud. They were better understood through actions than words.

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