Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 132: Backstab (1)

The royal family’s response was lengthy.

They first denied the accusations shown on the advertising screens, claiming the evidence was fake. They then shared a stirring statement to sway the emotions of the Alliance people, hinting at the involvement of the Alliance Army and the Academy, suggesting it was their plot to tarnish the royal family’s reputation.

The post concluded with a demand for the rumormongers to cease immediately, threatening legal action.

Seeing the royal family’s firm denial and their vow to defend their honor, along with their tough stance against the rumor spreaders, many who had previously criticized them started to back down.

The influence of royalists within the Alliance was significant. Despite the royal family’s waning influence in recent years, they were still a force not to be trifled with by ordinary people.

As a result, some people quietly changed their stance, either defending the royals as innocent or adopting a wait-and-see approach, avoiding any comments.

Toru and Kimiko, back in the broadcast room, saw the royal family’s response and the comments below.

Kimiko, infuriated, blurted out, "They dare swear on the royal honor? What honor? They’re trash, and it’s unbelievable that fools still believe them!"

Toru nodded in agreement.

Yuka glanced at the messages from Ayoi and Alex on her opticomputer, asking if she had seen the major incident at Central Square.

After a moment of thought, Yuka replied, "I know, I’m sitting right next to Toru and Kimiko now."

Ayoi and Alex were shocked – so it was all true!

They didn’t complain about Yuka doing such a big thing without them, knowing she didn’t want to drag them into it. Exposing these heinous crimes felt great, but facing the wrath of three powerful factions was too dangerous.

Ayoi and Alex understood Yuka’s dilemma, but Kenji didn’t.

Returning from the front lines and seeing the news on his opticomputer, Kenji immediately thought of Yuka and messaged her, "Were you involved in this?"

Yuka sensed a faint threat in Kenji’s words and, following her instinct to survive, honestly replied, "A little, just a bit."

On the other side of the screen, Kenji took a deep breath and said to Yuka, "So, you went on another adventure behind my back."

Yuka, feeling guilty, struggled a bit before responding, "I didn’t take any risk; it wasn’t dangerous at all."

Kenji had no choice but to make Yuka promise that she would never again undertake significant actions without informing him.

As a form of punishment, he cruelly revoked the nightly privilege of showing Yuka his abs, for a duration of one week.

Just as Yuka was about to negotiate further, Admiral Kuba ruthlessly shut off the opticomputer. He stood up and began patrolling the front lines with his subordinates, focusing on eliminating the remaining insectoids.

Kenji had already realized from the last meeting that the Alliance Army was not as he had believed – not a disciplined, integrity-driven force solely dedicated to the people, but rather an army driven by self-interest, willing to compromise many things and principles for gain.

He could accept this reality, but other soldiers might not.

When some soldiers bravely asked Kenji if this was true, he remained silent for a few seconds before responding, "Regardless of whether it’s true or not, our current priority is to fight the insectoids and protect the Alliance citizens."

Meanwhile, Yuka stood up and looked out of the broadcast room’s window, noticing a squad heading towards Central Square.

It wasn’t the Alliance Army. The blond man leading them seemed familiar to Yuka; he had interrogated students during the insectoid incident at the small theater.

She remembered that he belonged to the Third Legion, which had been expelled from the Alliance Army. Thus, these men must have been sent by the royal family to capture them.

Yuka lowered the curtain and glanced at the message from Black One on her opticomputer. She then told Toru and Kimiko, "I’ll be right back," and went downstairs to the back door of the mall.

After receiving a note from Black One and letting the security open the door, she heard Black One say with a complex tone, "I knew it, such a big incident had to be your doing."

Yuka, accepting the note, shrugged and asked, "Is the Lev ready?"

Black One replied, "Ready, we can leave safely at any time."

Yuka nodded, instructed the security to close the door, and returned to the broadcast room.

Inside, Toru and Kimiko were discussing how to counter the royal family. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Yuka placed Nori’s note on the table for the butler to photograph and enter into the system. She then said, "Now is not the time to deal with the royal family. First, we should focus on capturing Humphrey. If he’s caught, his dealings with the royal family and space pirates will be exposed, rendering the royal family’s objections and cover-ups ineffective."

Noticing their puzzled expressions, Yuka continued to explain, "Humphrey is the current Empress’s brother. His capture could reveal their connections, leaving the royal family unable to hide the truth."

The butler had uploaded the recorded notes to the screen and set up the control center to loop all the evidence they had gathered. This loop would continue even if someone tried to forcefully shut down the system; only a physical destruction of the place would stop the broadcast.

After completing these tasks, Yuka said to Toru and Kimiko, "Let’s go. The royal family’s people are already here."

The three of them quickly went down the stairs and headed to the back door. Yuka instructed the person in charge to lift the lockdown on the building, saying there was no longer a need to guard it. They then quietly exited and got into the Lev that Black One had waiting outside, leaving Central Square.

With the new evidence released, people throughout the Alliance, especially those focused on Central Square, gained a deeper understanding of Humphrey’s misdeeds and grew even more indignant about Nori being wrongly accused and framed.

Their attention shifted from the royal family to the Academy; they demanded that Humphrey be handed over and urging a swift response to clarify the truth.

However, the royal family didn’t relax just because the Alliance’s focus had shifted. They had an unusual relationship with Humphrey. If he was caught or confessed, their deal with the space pirate would surely be exposed. The article they published to clarify would be ridiculed, and the reputation of the royal family would be affected.

The impatient blond man, after receiving an urgent message from the royal family, said, "I know," and then ordered his men to charge into Central Square. They didn’t care if they knocked down people around them.

While his men forcibly entered the commercial buildings to catch those spreading rumors, the guy shouted through a megaphone, "People upstairs, listen! Your actions have severely affected the reputation of the royal family. This is defamation! This is a crime! If you come out now and admit your mistakes, the royal family will forgive and forget."

Someone in the crowd questioned, "The Alliance Army and the academy haven’t said anything yet. The law enforcement hasn’t declared them as rumormongers. On what basis do you claim they’re defaming and arresting them so aggressively?"

"Yeah, is the royal family feeling guilty?"

"Do these people have the right to arrest others?"

"According to the royal family’s law, they are guilty!" The blond man clicked his tongue, not wanting to entangle with them further. He led his remaining men into the building.

But they couldn’t find the people they were looking for. The playback room was empty. Yuka and the others had already boarded Black One’s vehicle, preparing to head to the black market to lay low for a while.