The Martial Unity

"Well, well, well…" Rui smirked. "What do we have here?"

His very voice seemed to trigger deep trauma in each of them.

Prince Randal's breathing grew heavy as his expression crumpled, gritting his teeth. It was as though he needed to exert himself just to maintain his composure before Rui. Princess Ranea stared at him with unadulterated fear while Raemina's demeanor grew psychotically hateful.

Princess Rafia started shivering uncontrollably.

"Tsk tsk," Rui tutted lightly at her. "How brittle. The mere failure of the assassination attempt and the revelation of our blood relationship were enough to break you mentally? What a joke. None of you would last a day as a Martial Artist."

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Princess Raemina screeched.

"Ah, the psycho has snapped," Rui heaved a sigh. "Behave unless you want to be stripped and thrown into a cage like an animal. I can arrange for that if you want."

His words shut her up on the spot. She certainly despised him from the depths of her heart, but what he had described was soul-excruciating to even fathom, let alone actually experience.

"…Soft," Rui huffed, shaking his head. "So addicted to your luxury that even a commoner's life must be gut-wrenching to you."

"…What do you want?" Prince Randal managed to squeeze out.

Rui turned to him. "I have an offer. If you refuse, I will ensure that you will live like animals for the rest of your life. If you accept, I can arrange for more amenable circumstances. If you do really well, I might be willing to have the Martial Union reduce your sentence to house arrest."

Hope lit up in the eyes of the four royals.

Rui had purposely let them spend a little time in the most extreme prison the Martial Union had to offer. He needed to bring about a deep desperation in their hearts and souls. He needed the gravity of the situation to truly set inside their bones.

It was one thing to wave around the threat of life imprisonment, but unfortunately, they each lacked the understanding of how horrifying the threat was to them. They couldn't fathom how much despair and misery it would bring about on an emotional level.

After all, the standards of living the royals considered to be normal were what commoners would consider to be paradise. What the royals considered to be bad was still quite very hospitable by commoner standards.

They simply lacked the context of how horrific things could truly become.

That was why he had allowed them to rot in a holding cell for three days while the Martial Union prepared their trial so that they could gain the context needed.

The moment he mentioned the possibility of house arrest. Their eyes lit up with deeply desperate hope. They leaped for the bars, abandoning all dignity, grasping at it as they stared at him with desperation. "We accept! We accept!!"

"Are you sure…?"

"Yes!!!"

"Hehe…" Rui chuckled, taking a moment to enjoy the view.

He had no sympathy for them. He didn't care for them even before they tried killing him, but once they did, he could watch them burn without feeling damping his mood even in the slightest.

They got what they had coming.

"As for what I need you to do…" Rui narrowed his eyes. "I need you to consult with each of your patrons, benefactors, and consultants and inform all of them personally that you have decided to cease your campaign and abandon all claim to the throne. Tell them that you are grateful for all the money, Martial capital, and resources that they have given you, but unfortunately, you cannot return all of it. Apologize for the inconvenience courteously, and brush them off when they demand explanations."

The four royals widened their eyes with shock. "…That will antagonize them and make them our enemies!"

A sinister smile emerged on Rui's face.

"Exactly."

Horror flashed on their faces as they understood Rui's true intentions!

It would be all too easy for Rui to just have the Martial Union arrest the four royals in public with the publicly stated charge of Martial murder conspiracy against Prince Rui. However, this would be easily distorted as the Martial Union unlawfully eradicated competition with some bullshit bogus charges, especially when the evidence could not be released according to regulations for high-profile cases.

Normally, only the Emperor had the authority to authorize a public review of the case, but he was not available, which would only further inflame the nation's suspicions that the Martial Union had crossed a line with a fascistic attempt to instill their own puppets specifically during this time.

Rui would not be immune to this. If he was known to be responsible for this suspiciously convenient arrest, he would become a target of suspicion and hatred. He would not be able to convince and compel the high-ranking government officials of the four royals to defect to him, not if he was seen as the front of the Martial Union's potentially unlawful misapplication of the Crimes Against Martial Art Act of the Kandria Martial Covenant.

In the worst-case scenario, his campaign could be deeply stalled.

That was why he resorted to this instead.

"As long as you convince your stakeholders, donors, patrons, and benefactors that you are truly abandoning your campaign and running away with the money that they gave you for the sake of the campaign…" Rui smiled. "I will ensure that you will live a luxurious life under house arrest in the Vargard Royal Palace, protected by the Martial Union from your angry patrons."

The moment they heard 'luxurious life,' they did not even hesitate.

"Deal!"

"Good," Rui smirked.

This was also a part of his plan. If their donors, patrons, and benefactors saw the four royals suddenly abandon their campaign, brush off their demands, and then hide under the protection of the Martial Union in luxury, there was only one explanation to be deduced.

The four royals sold themselves to the Martial Union.

Corruption was not rare among members of the royal family. Once all the supporters of the four royals realize that they sold out to the Martial Union to stop their campaigns in exchange for luxury and absolute protection, they would undoubtedly garner deep hatred and break all ties with them.

"…And then I shall swoop in and offer myself as a new candidate willing to compensate them for their losses, secretly using the same money that they gave to the royals, as long as they join my faction," Rui smirked. "It's too strong an offer for them to refuse."

This was the way that he could smoothly win over all their patrons, donors, and benefactors in one fell swoop.