"I am."
Lola giggled as soon as she heard Atlas’ voice. It felt healing, especially after listening to Jarvis’s nonsense for a few minutes.
"Do not cut him off the line," Atlas ordered calmly, almost as if he were competing with Jarvis’ composure. "Let him listen. Proceed with the original plan."
Jarvis’s brows twitched. "Proceed with the original plan, you say?"
"Mhm." Atlas humd. "Do you not approve?"
"Haha." Jarvis laughed. "That arrogance... I’ve seen it plenty of tis. There’s only one end to all of them."
"It does not matter whether you know my plan or not," Atlas replied flatly. "The result will be the sa... and fortunately, I do not carry arrogance to et the sa fate you just ntioned."
And Atlas ant that. He was not arrogant at all. He was honest, but everyone who heard him say that had secretly sided with Jarvis.
Their boss, after all, was arrogance in human flesh. Atlas just didn’t know that.
Hearing that made Jarvis chuckle, only for Atlas to add—
"Jarvis... is it?" Atlas paused, fixing his black gloves, one foot resting on soone else’s body. But instead of addressing him directly, his next words were ant for soone else. "Connect to the other governors. Are they ready?"
A voice answered imdiately. "Yes, sir. They were just connected."
"My na is Atlas, and I believe that at this mont, you have received my letter," Atlas continued, allowing everyone to hear his flat voice. "Tonight, I, Atlas, declare war against New Gheran—against its governor and Jarvis. If you plan to join this war, I will not stop you."
"However, if you do, I assure you that your fates will be just like these people," he added in a calm yet knowing tone. "I am not asking you to aid , but your actions tonight will be the only answer I accept."
"I give you my word," he continued, pausing briefly as his eyes glinted. "I did not personally co here with a plan to leave this territory empty-handed. Tonight, a blueprint is not the only thing you will be losing."
Silence stretched across the line as everyone listening to Atlas’ declaration struggled to articulate their thoughts. Yet that silence alone conveyed the weight of their reactions to such bold statents.
Even Jarvis was surprised.
Jarvis straightened his back as his brows twitched slightly. His calm exterior began to crack, showing more emotion than he had displayed since the beginning.
Did he really get the other governors on the line? he wondered. Or was this man bluffing?
After all, not a single person responded.
Jarvis waited a few more seconds. When no one spoke, he broke the silence.
"Atlas," he called. "Am I correct?"
Atlas didn’t answer, but that didn’t matter.
"I comnd your bravery, and for a mont, I was almost convinced," Jarvis continued. "Even so, assuming the other governors are listening, allow to say this: Ravah found its balance of power through the three governors. We lived in harmony and maintained a civilized relationship with one another."
Jarvis smirked. "Though we had our fair share of disagreents, Ravah is our ho—our territory. We unite as one whenever soone from outside challenges our power."
"You are not the first to try," he added, confidence seeping into his voice. "And you won’t be the last. Many will follow after you, but the result will be the sa for you, for those after you, and for those who ca before you."
Another mont of silence followed, but Atlas remained unfazed.
"Okay," was all Atlas said before he added, "Also, darling, the finger you’re holding up is the one in the middle. You should lessen the hints to make it harder to guess."
Then the line cut—just as Atlas would hang up on anyone. No exceptions.
Jarvis listened to the dead silence and released a shallow breath. Atlas had ordered the operators not to cut him off, but there was no longer any point in listening.
Slowly, Jarvis leaned forward and turned off the comms connected to the unwelcod guests of Ravah. As he did, the smile on his face faded.
"How did she find out about this?" he whispered, scoffing dryly as he shook his head. "She really hasn’t changed at all."
Or rather, Lola had beco sharper than she was years ago.
He might have mocked her and told her she was late, but he hadn’t expected her to uncover the truth so quickly. It made him wonder which part of his actions or orders had raised her suspicion.
Shaking his head, he pushed himself up from the armchair. But as he stood, a thought crossed his mind, making him pause.
"Was it a bluff?" he asked himself again, referring to Atlas’ claim that the other governors were listening.
Jarvis narrowed his eyes, weighing the seriousness of the possibility. A part of him believed the other governors would never abandon this region. Despite their disagreents, their pride wouldn’t allow an outsider to take even a small city within Ravah.
But another part of him... felt restless.
After all, Atlas had managed to send his résumé to the governor’s residence without anyone being caught. From what he heard, it was delivered by a pig—yes, a pig—with the letter strapped to its back.
"No," he told himself. "The other governors would never allow New Gheran to fall. Doing so would put their own territories at risk."
He nodded, knowing that if one region collapsed, the rest would follow. Greed was the only language spoken in this land, and it wouldn’t be far-fetched for outsiders to seize territory if weakness was shown.
With that in mind, Jarvis walked toward the door to proceed with his plan. After all, he stayed behind to do exactly what he was ant to do—figure out how to catch the rats that had snuck into their territory.
But just as he opened the door, he froze.
The young man—the sa one who had delivered Atlas’ résumé to the governor—stood outside, fist raised, about to knock.
"What is it?" Jarvis asked calmly. "I told you to stay with the governor."
The young man’s eyes flickered with worry as he sighed heavily. "Jarvis, I just heard from a border patrol unit. There’s a strange movent near the Ashkar border."
"Ashkar?"
"Mhm." The young man nodded. "The stationed troops reported what looks like a retreat—or sothing similar—"
He paused as his phone vibrated. He answered it, then ended the call without a word. When he looked back at Jarvis, his complexion had gone pale.
"Jarvis, just now, patrols near the border town of Halvik spotted a large group moving close to the border," he reported. "Are they... are they taking advantage of what’s happening here to seize it?"
Jarvis’s expression darkened as he ignored the panic in the young man’s voice.
"No," he whispered, walking past him, a malicious glint flashing in his eyes. "That’s their answer."
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