Baptiste watched the dejected crowd, and the irritability in his heart actually calmed down.
This was exactly the effect he wanted. If he did not beat them down to rock bottom, they would never have the courage to burn their bridges.
He was the leader today; he had to mold these scattered sands together.
“President Baptiste, you called us here today, but you can’t just let us cry, right? What brilliant ideas do you have?”
The head of the Brewing Guild looked toward the blacksmith with hope, as he seemed the most composed.
Baptiste took a deep breath, intentionally deepening his voice to ensure every word sank into everyone’s ears. “Everyone, I have two moves.”
He held up two thick fingers.
“First: cut the ground from under them. His Mutual Aid Association has backing, and so do we! How much protection money do we pay those Robe Nobility masters every year? Now is the time for them to step up! If the masters behind our dozens of guilds unite, can we really not take down a mere Minister of Finance?”
He thought these words would stir their fighting spirit, but in return, he saw several faces looking more miserable than if they were crying.
Dead silence filled the private room, broken only by the rude bubbling of the copper pot.
“President Baptiste…” the head of the Baker Guild began tremulously, his voice so small it seemed he was afraid of disturbing something. “Haven’t you noticed… lately…”
He licked his dry lips and continued with difficulty. “My patron, Count Bogner of the High Court, he… he sent someone to return the money to me last week.”
“What?!”
“Not just this year’s, but for the past three years—not a single penny missing—everything was returned! He even attached a handwritten letter saying he was responding to His Majesty the King’s call to be honest and clean, and not to be an unrighteous official…”
“What?!” Baptiste stood up abruptly, his chair sliding back with a sharp screech. “How… how is that possible? Those greedy fellows who eat people without spitting out the bones would actually do something like that?”
The room erupted into chaos.
“My God! Count Bogner? That notorious miser who even wants to walk away with a silver plate when he eats—he would return money?”
“Is it true or false? Is the sun rising from the west?”
“It’s true.” The head of the Goldsmith Guild’s face was ashen. He was the most involved with the nobility and the best informed.
“It’s not just Count Bogner. The entire class of Robe Nobility has recently acted as if they’ve collectively taken the wrong medicine. Every one of them has become a saint! It’s crazy, all of them are crazy! They’re determined to stand with His Majesty! I just don’t understand it. The Moderate Faction was supported by the King, that’s true, but the money is real. How can they give up their very lifeblood?”
“Did the King catch them doing something wrong? Or did he control their families?” the head of the Textile Guild guessed.
“Who knows?” the head of the Soap and Candle Guild gulped a large mouthful of ale and burped bitterly.
“President Baptiste, we’ve already tried your first move. It’s useless. Find a patron? The patrons can’t wait to kick us away, for fear of being tainted by any association!”
“Even if those noble patrons were still willing to help us, the most they could do is delay the Minister of Finance’s proposal in the Privy Council. To crush the Mutual Aid Association, we still have to do it ourselves.”
Baptiste’s heart sank. He forced himself back into his chair, his knuckles cracking.
“Then we use the second move!” His voice took on a hint of ruthlessness.
“Which of our guilds didn’t start with armed enforcers? Where are our thugs? Muster the men! I don’t believe it. With several hundred of us, we can’t take care of a few traitors? We’ll create some ‘accidents’ to scare those new members and let them know the consequences of betrayal! If all else fails, we’ll hire a bunch of outlaws. I don’t believe there is anything in this world money can’t buy!”
“No!” The head of the Leather Guild shook his head like a rattle.
“Absolutely not! President Baptiste, how long has it been since you went out? Right now, at the entrance of all the factories under the Mutual Aid Association, their Workers’ Patrol is standing guard!”
“I’ve seen it with my own eyes! Those people are well-trained. Their formations are even neater than the Royal Capital Guard! Our courtyard thugs look like a bunch of beggars with fire-poker sticks in front of them! Going head-to-head with them is a death wish!”
The head of the Stonemason Guild nodded heavily, his face full of lingering fear.
“Exactly! At first, I thought they would eventually be wiped out by the King on charges of ‘privately maintaining an army.’ But who knew the direction of the reforms would change, and these Workers’ Patrols would actually be legalized! They’ve become some ‘City Law Enforcement Force.’ They’ve already started openly equipping uniform armor and weapons! Do we dare to copy them? The next day, the whole family would be on the guillotine!”
“What about sending people in to cause trouble?”
“Even more useless!” the head of the Leather Guild said with a long face.
“They have a special department for catching internal moles, and they even do something called Thought Education. Two clever guys I paid a high price to bribe were caught within three days of entering! Now they campaign every day to be wary of us ‘vampires’ who destroy workers’ happy lives! As soon as our people go in, they are watched closely!”
For a time, the private room was again filled with various discussions. All sorts of insidious and vicious tricks were proposed and then rejected one by one.
They discovered sadly that, faced with the tightly organized Mutual Aid Association, these old hands who had drifted in the gray areas for many years could not find a single crack.
Conspiracy, violence, money… all the means they relied on for survival had failed.
Where on earth did His Majesty find this group of ascetic monks who didn’t love money and weren’t afraid of death?
Baptiste was completely out of options. An unprecedented sense of powerlessness enveloped him.
‘I’m afraid that from the moment the Mutual Aid Association was born, it had already anticipated the attacks of all enemies and made full preparations for it.’
Just when everyone was in total despair and even the bubbling Hotpot in front of them had lost its attraction, the heavy oak door of the private room was silently pushed open a crack with a soft creak.
“Who the hell is so undisciplined?!” The head of the Brewing Guild was full of pent-up anger and wanted to curse, but when he saw who it was, he swallowed the rest of his words.
His face instantly drained of color.
A figure dressed in luxurious black robes, his face completely obscured by the wide shadow of his hat’s brim, walked in quietly.
The ebony cane in his hand, inlaid with a dim gem, tapped lightly on the floor, making a crisp sound like a knock directly on everyone’s heart.
The waiter who was just serving food turned pale the moment he saw this mysterious person appear.
Without even saying a word, he bowed his body and retreated quickly as if he had seen a ghost, considerately closing the door behind him.
The newcomer only glanced at the waiter through the shadow under his hat, and then spoke in an elegant, cold tone, devoid of any emotion.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. Your discussion is very interesting.”
“Who are you?” Baptiste’s muscles tensed instantly, his right hand already pressing the short sword at his waist that he had forged himself.
The newcomer seemed not to see his hostility. He just gently raised his left hand, which was wearing a black silk glove, revealing a ring worn on the middle finger.
It was an obsidian ring with a top hat Engraved Mark carved in mithril.
All the guild masters present sucked in a breath of cold air the moment they saw that ring clearly.
They had only heard of this kind of ring in certain ancient family secrets.
He was the most mysterious agent of the Sword-Bearing Nobles—”Mr. Hat.” This was an urban legend that only existed in the shadows of the top levels of power in the Capital.
It was said he came from an ancient noble family with an Engraved Mark ability so strange and unpredictable that anyone who saw him could not remember his face, let alone know his true identity.
He was the top Spy, the blade in the dark, and the manifestation of the collective will of all Sword-Bearing Nobles.
Once he appeared, it meant those long-silent ancient powers had begun to roar silently.
Rumor had it that the sudden death of the Tyrant brother of Louis XI was orchestrated by Mr. Hat.
The crowd subconsciously tried to see his face clearly, but found it was a blurry, featureless face.
You seemed to see his features, but the next second, those characteristics slipped away from your memory, as if your cognition itself was interfered with by an invisible force.
It really was Mr. Hat!
A fear originating from the depths of their souls made everyone unable to move.
They knew that when this legendary figure appeared before them, they had no way out.
The Sword-Bearing Nobles were planning to deal with the Mutual Aid Association too…
No! They intended to deal with the King!
Baptiste felt his throat become incredibly dry. He forced himself to speak, but his voice trembled. “You… you are?”
“You can call me Mr. Hat.” He sat down elegantly in the empty chair next to the head of the table as if he were the master here.
“I am very interested in your problem and that Handicraft and Labor Mutual Aid Guild.”
“What do you want?”
The head of the Goldsmith Guild asked, his throat dry, trying to maintain his last shred of dignity.
A dry chuckle came from under Mr. Hat’s brim. The sound was like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together, making one’s scalp tingle.
“I want to say that your enemy is far more powerful than you imagine. That Minister of Finance, and the King behind him, their purpose is to smash everything old. They want to replace you, and us, with their new rules that are completely obedient to the King.”
He paused deliberately, his shadow sweeping across the pale faces of the crowd, as he slowly cast the bait.
“So, your fight against the Mutual Aid Association is not just for your own pockets. You are defending the ancient traditions of the Kingdom and fighting those lunatics who try to subvert everything. I, and certain Big Shots behind me, are very happy to provide a little ‘convenience’ for you patriots.”
As soon as he spoke, everyone felt as if doomsday had arrived.
Everyone present was shrewd. How could they not hear the meaning behind his words?
Even if the Mutual Aid Association eventually replaced all the guilds, it would only be a reshuffling of the industry. At most, they would lose profits.
But once involved in the bloody struggle between the King and the Sword-Bearing Nobles… it wasn’t a question of whether they could retreat in one piece. It was… they would die without a place to be buried!
Mr. Hat enjoyed the changing colors on their faces with interest, seemingly satisfied with the effect.
“I know what you’re afraid of, and you’re thinking about how to refuse. But—”
He changed his tone, the coldness in it almost freezing the air. “Why do you think the King can win in the end?”
This rebellious sentence caused the air in the private room to freeze instantly.
“This Kingdom was, in the end, guarded by our ancestors through thorns and brambles. The Order and security of this Nation are also maintained by us with blood and honor,” he said in a flat tone, as if stating facts but speaking world-shaking words.
“His Majesty the King is just the strongest agent among us. Unfortunately… like the Mutual Aid Association you hate, he has broken the rules.”
“What we want to do is nothing more than let everything return to the right track. Reform? Reform will not have a good result. You may not know that behind this reform is a plot by a traitorous Demon to subvert the Kingdom. If the reform is allowed to continue… this Nation will be devastated.”
He leaned forward slightly, his voice like the hiss of a venomous snake. “The Durand Family has Demon Blood flowing in their veins. This is the real reason why they go to any lengths to cover up their Engraved Mark.”
“Now, having heard this secret, do you still feel you can pull yourselves out cleanly?”
The flat words were the most naked threat.
The guild masters felt like dying.
Why! Why did they have to know a secret that was enough to exterminate their entire families?
This was not a request or an invitation, but a forced choice using absolute force and irresistible secrets.
They knew very well that in front of the Sword-Bearing Nobles, all the Robe Nobility added together were just a group of fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
They simply didn’t have the power to refuse.
Baptiste’s lips trembled for a long time, and he asked almost in a breathy voice, “What… what do you want us to do?”
A smile seemed to appear on Mr. Hat’s blurry face.
“The King likes to use white gloves. We’ll help him chop off that glove. Go and do what you wanted to do from the beginning: smash that Mutual Aid Association.”
“Don’t worry about being unable to beat those patrols who are just mercenaries in disguise. When your people act, our people will be mixed in with them. The Capital’s patrols will also ‘happen’ to be in other districts dealing with more urgent matters and will be unable to get away.”
“If there’s trouble afterward, a Big Shot will step forward to speak up for the righteous act of maintaining the guild traditions. After all, clearing out a tumor is the responsibility of every patriot, right?”
Having said that, he didn’t even bother to look at everyone’s reaction and stood up straight. With a light tap of his cane on the floor, he disappeared quietly outside the door just as he had come, as if he had never appeared.
He was gone, but the fear he brought shrouded the entire private room like a thick fog.
Several guild masters were ashen-faced, slumped in their chairs, feeling the strength in their bones drained. Cold sweat soaked through their expensive silk shirts.
Just then, the waiter entered the room again, with an impeccable professional smile on his face, ignoring the heavy atmosphere in the room.
“Distinguished guests, the soup base is boiling. You can put the meat in. This top-grade tripe is best when dunked in and out seven or eight times. Swish it in the pot for fifteen seconds, and the texture is best…”
This steaming introduction formed an absurd contrast with the atmosphere of death in the room.
“Haha… hahahaha!”
The head of the Brewing Guild suddenly let out a burst of neurotic laughter.
He grabbed a plate of bright red tripe and rudely dumped the whole thing into the boiling red oil pot, roaring with red eyes, “Eat! Damn it! It’s a dead end anyway. Let’s die with a full stomach!”
Awakened by his reckless action, everyone looked at each other.
They silently picked up their unfamiliar chopsticks. At first, they ate with heavy hearts.
But when the first piece of tender meat, covered in spicy soup, slid down their throats, that domineering, spicy, and unprecedented flavor instantly detonated their taste buds.
Soon, Sword-Bearing Nobles, Kings, and survival were all temporarily pushed out of their minds by this bite of food.
“Hey! That piece of fatty beef is mine!”
“Bullshit! I put it in the pot first!”
A plot enough to subvert the Capital was temporarily suppressed by a bustling Hotpot feast.
……
But the waiter had not forgotten.
When Matthew finished listening to everything that had happened in the private room, his hand holding the account book stopped in mid-air, and he didn’t speak for a long time.
“What’s wrong, Mr. Matthew?”
Martin passed by with a plate of freshly made desserts and saw Matthew dazing.
His newly developed desserts were very popular, and as a small shareholder, he had been very happy lately.
Many poor relatives from the countryside had heard about his success and come to join him, making him feel more successful than ever.
But the solemn expression on Matthew’s face began to make him feel uneasy as well.
Matthew sighed. This former agent of the gray forces who had drifted between the black and white worlds said in a heavy tone, “Young Master Laval… is in big trouble.”
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