"The winner of the secondpetition final," thementator announced, his voice ringing through the arena, “Phantom, from the Bluthelm Company!"
The stadium erupted-not in cheers, but in rage.
"Boooo!"
The sound crashed like a wave, loud and merciless. Thousands of voices joined as one, drowning the air with hatred.
Inside the reunion room, every head turned at the same time.
All eyes locked onto Tobias.
"How could you build something this cunning?"
“This is illegal. It has to be."
"You cheated."
His ssmates shouted over one another, anger sharp in their voices. usations flew like knives.
But Tobias barely heard them.
He was staring at Alex. And Sofina.
His throat tightened. His head buzzed.
"Exin this," Tobias demanded.
Alex blinked, putting a hand to his chest as if truly shocked.
"Exin what?" he said lightly. "That I let a cleaning-service robot pilot your
Phantom and it still won thepetition?"
Tobias felt a headache m into him, sudden and brutal.
Before he could respond, an egg-shaped robot glided smoothly across the floor and stopped in front of Sofina.
"Miss Sofina!" the Eve said brightly. "Did you see that? I won first ce!"
Sofina knelt and wrapped her arms around the small machine. "I saw, Eve," she said warmly. "I''m so proud of you."
Tobias stood frozen.
He didn''t know what he was supposed to feel.
Pride because his Phantom had taken first ce?
Or despair-because admitting that meant admitting Bluthelm couldn''t win without a cleaning-service robot at the controls.
“Tobias,” Alex said calmly. “Care to step outside? Private conversation."
Tobias looked up, a flicker of hope in his eyes. "Are you here to give me the eight million dors?"
Alexughed. “Nope. Phantom ranked first. That means you get nothing." The hope vanished.
?
"But," Alex continued, smiling, "someone wants to meet you. Someone with so much money you''ll never need to work another day in your life. Your only problem will be deciding how to waste it."
Before Tobias could ask anything, Alex grabbed his arm and pulled him into the hallway.
They passed through a restricted corridor, then another secured door. Alex stopped
in front of a quiet room and shoved Tobias inside.
"My boss wants to talk to you,” Alex said simply.
The door closed behind him.
Alex didn''t follow. His footsteps faded away.
Ragnar''smunicator buzzed.
He answered and his father''s voice detonated through the line.
"You bastard," Duke Eisenwall snarled. “You''ve disgraced the Eisenwall name. How could Alpha kneel before that tiny Bluthelm toy?"
His voice cut like a de. “Did you betray us? Did you sell Alpha to Bluthelm?"
“No!” Ragnar shouted, panic breaking through his anger. “Believe me—I don''t know how this happened!"
"Listen carefully," his father said, cold and merciless. "If Alpha does not win this year, I will seriously reconsider your position as my heir."
Ragnar stiffened. Sweat broke across his back.
“Father," he said quickly, forcing his voice steady, "Alpha already won the firstpetition. If it wins the third, Eisenwall still takes the tournament. I swear it will win. Please believe me"
There was a long, icy pause.
"You''d better be right," his father said.
The call ended.
Ragnar stood there, shaking with rage. He kicked the table hard. It skidded across
the floor with a violent crash.
"Where the fuck did Tobias go?" he screamed.
Meanwhile, Tobias took in the room—elegant, pristine, and suffocatingly silent.
Only one woman sat inside.
Countess Marlena von Adler.
"Wee, Tobias Bluthelm," the Countess said smoothly. "I apologize for having my people bring you here in secret."
"Countess Marlena..." Tobias froze. His mind went nk. He never imagined someone of her rank would ever meet him face to face.
"I''ll be direct,” Marlena said calmly. “Sell your Bluthelm Mobile Suit Company to Eden Group."
"What?" Tobias blurted out.
"You know Bluthelm can''t survive without funding," Marlena continued, her tone cold and precise. "So this is our offer."
She opened a three-dimensional bracelet document. The holographic contract unfolded in the air between them. She slid it toward him. "Please. Review it."
Tobias took it with his bracelet and shaking hands.
As his eyes scanned the numbers, his breath caught.
"A... a billion dors?" he asked, disbelief flooding his voice.
It made no sense.
At best, Bluthelm might someday be worth four hundred million. Even that was optimistic. Eisenwall had already made it clear-they were only willing to buy the entirepany for forty million, and that was before brutal cuts and devaluation.
And now Eden Group was offering one billion.
"Yes," Marlena said evenly. "And you will remain CEO. Outsiders don''t need to understand the internal structure. Bluthelm will still be
Bluthem. Operations continue
without disruption. What do you think?"
Tobias swallowed hard. His heart was pounding. “Can you give me time to think?”
"Fair," Marlena replied. "But not much." She checked the time. "The thirdpetition starts in one hour. This offer expires before it begins."
Tobias stood up abruptly and rushed out of the room, pulling out his phone as he walked. He needed to call his mother. Now.
Momentster, Alex entered the room and faced Marlena.
“Boss,” Marlena said, lowering her voice. "Are you sure you want to buy Bluthelm?
It''s extremely overpriced."
Alex didn''t hesitate. "We can''t start a mobile suitpany from scratch. The king will never approve the license."
He looked at the holographic contract, eyes sharp.
"The only way Eden Group enters mobile suit production," Alex continued, "is
through Bluthelm''s existing permit. That permission is priceless."
Alex looked outside, his gaze distant and sharp.
He knew Estoria well. He knew its people. He knew its governess had already made
up their mind-war with Prussia was no longer a question of if, only when.
If Estoria obtained this mobile suit technology, the bnce of power would shift. The
odds of winning that war would skyrocket.
"How much did we make from the second betting round?" Alex asked calmly.
Marlena''s smile brightened.