"That should not be difficult," Orazio said calmly. "Please let the leaders speak. I am interested in hearing what they have to say." He looked toward one of the representatives of the Great Houses, who immediately understood his intention, nodded, and removed the mute restriction from the European leaders. By now, every one of them had gone noticeably pale as the reality of their situation finally settled in, and many silently cursed themselves for allowing greed to cloud their judgment despite knowing what these ancient families were capable of.
"You know," Orazio continued, watching them with genuine interest, "greed is one of the most dangerous traits a human can possess. When it is controlled, it becomes a powerful tool that drives ambition, innovation, and growth. When it controls the person instead, however, it inevitably leads to destruction." His lips curled into a faint smile as though he were observing a particularly fascinating animal inside a zoo rather than some of the most powerful politicians in Europe.
"In all of our recorded history," he continued, "I have never seen a single case where uncontrolled greed did not end in death or ruin." His tone remained conversational, but every word carried an undeniable certainty that silenced the room. None of the leaders interrupted him, partly because they recognized the truth in his statement and partly because they were afraid of what would happen next. Even the members of the Great Houses remained silent, allowing Orazio to continue uninterrupted.
"You can't do this to us!" Augustin shouted, finally breaking the silence. "You'll never get away with it, and no one will believe your lies!" His face burned with anger as he realized he was being treated like a disposable piece on a chessboard, discarded the moment he became inconvenient. To him, such treatment was completely unacceptable.
After all, he was the Prime Minister of France, one of the most influential political figures in the world. He had spent decades climbing to the top through careful alliances, ruthless negotiations, and political maneuvering. Now he was supposedly going to be executed simply because he had become interested in a handful of hidden families that Orazio considered untouchable. To Augustin, such a punishment was completely absurd.
"This," Julia Ravelino said with open disgust, "is exactly why politicians elected into office are always so troublesome." She looked directly into Augustin's eyes and saw no remorse whatsoever. There was no regret over the decisions he had made, no shame for allowing greed to guide him, and no concern for the consequences of his actions. The only thing she saw was resentment that he had been caught.
"I know," Orazio replied with a sneer. "But what exactly are you planning to do about it? Don't forget that the most important institutions are already under lock and key." His confidence was not misplaced, as nearly every permanent government employee who remained in office regardless of elections ultimately answered to the Great Houses. They even maintained influence within the military, although to a much lesser degree because the current commander knew far too much to be manipulated and cared only about defending the continent.
"Please tell me something," Edison said quietly after remaining silent for several minutes. The struggle had already left his face, as he now understood that these people genuinely possessed the ability to remove every one of them from office. Public opinion had always been the final safeguard protecting elected leaders, yet every other layer of protection had apparently already fallen under the influence of the Great Houses. As for public opinion itself, he doubted it would save them once their countless scandals were brought into the light.
"Are these trade families truly that important?" Edison asked, looking directly at Gustaw. "Are they really valuable enough that you would remove all of us without hesitation just to protect them?" His voice no longer carried arrogance or defiance. Instead, it contained genuine curiosity, as though he wanted to understand why ancient craftsmen were worth more than the governments of Europe.
"You have absolutely no idea how important they are," Gustaw answered, his expression completely serious. There was no humor in his voice and no trace of exaggeration in his words. "Their importance goes far beyond their ability to threaten governments or defend themselves. That is merely the smallest part of their true value."
"You must understand that much of their history disappeared during the Second World War," Gustaw continued. "Both we and they deliberately erased countless records to mislead the Americans and prevent those families from becoming targets." He paused for a moment, allowing the significance of those words to sink in. "As a result, you have no real understanding of everything they have contributed to this continent over the centuries."
"Their influence is still visible throughout European history if you know where to look," Gustaw explained. "You can occasionally spot the marks they left behind in technological breakthroughs, medical discoveries, and countless other fields."The Bingen family alone played an essential role in developing many of the techniques that eventually made modern organ transplantation possible."
"But remarkable achievements like that are not what truly make those families special," Gustaw said, shaking his head. "Their greatest strength is the obsession every single family member possesses for mastering and improving their chosen craft." Respect filled his voice as he spoke, and the other heads of the Great Houses silently nodded in agreement. They had witnessed that relentless pursuit of perfection for generations and knew that it was something no government could simply recreate.
"Many of their discoveries remain private," Gustaw concluded, "yet those families have always served as the foundation upon which Europe's great crafts were built." While inventors and scholars introduced revolutionary ideas, the trade families refined those discoveries, perfected every detail, and found practical applications for them across entire industries. They pushed every breakthrough to its absolute limit before spreading it throughout the continent. Without them, countless innovations would have remained little more than brilliant ideas written on paper instead of becoming the foundations of European civilization.
"So the geniuses of Europe could continue inventing," said Gustaw, "while the trade families dedicated to fields such as medicine, blacksmithing, woodworking, and countless other crafts were responsible for refining those discoveries and making them widespread throughout the continent." Every family devoted itself entirely to perfecting a single craft, constantly pushing every new discovery to its absolute limits before applying it wherever possible. That relentless dedication was the true reason Europe had remained technologically and economically competitive for so many centuries. Without those trade families, countless inventions would have remained little more than brilliant ideas on paper.
"Not to mention that we need their drive to help develop new skills, and frankly, it seems we have been far too lenient during the last thirty years," said Orazio with a smile that sent shivers down everyone's spine. The Great Houses had deliberately stepped into the background over the previous decades, believing that Europe had become stable enough to govern itself without their constant intervention. Looking at the reactions of the state leaders now, however, it seemed they had withdrawn far too early. Their absence had allowed far too many ambitious politicians to mistake freedom for weakness.
"So if we kill you off, it should send a proper message to the rest of the rats who have started getting ideas," Orazio continued with a look of complete disgust. There was no anger left in his expression anymore, only cold certainty, making his words even more terrifying. None of the other Great House leaders interrupted him or attempted to soften the statement. Their silence alone confirmed that they fully supported his conclusion.
"Right... it seems that we became too proud," Edison finally admitted with a defeated sigh. The confidence that had filled his voice only minutes earlier had completely disappeared after hearing the history behind the trade families and realizing how deeply rooted the Great Houses truly were. For the first time since entering politics, he understood that there were powers operating beyond governments and elections. Unfortunately for him, that realization had arrived far too late.
Before anyone could respond, the doors to Edison's meeting room were kicked open with tremendous force. A heavily armed special police unit stormed inside without hesitation, quickly surrounding the Prime Minister before he had the opportunity to react. His security personnel offered no resistance whatsoever, as they had already received orders from higher authority. Within seconds, Edison was pulled from his chair, restrained, and escorted toward an interrogation room without anyone daring to interfere.
Similar scenes unfolded simultaneously throughout Europe. Prime ministers, presidents, chancellors, and numerous senior ministers suddenly found themselves surrounded by elite police units carrying sealed arrest warrants. Government buildings that had once symbolized authority were now filled with confusion as politicians discovered that nearly every institution capable of resisting had already changed sides. The operation had clearly been planned long before today's meeting had even begun.
The Great House leaders calmly watched the live reports arrive one after another. None of them celebrated the arrests, nor did they express any satisfaction over what was happening. To them, this was simply another unpleasant responsibility that had become necessary after the state leaders ignored repeated warnings. They would much rather have avoided this entire situation, but greed had once again proven stronger than common sense.
"Right, I suppose we should get busy," said Orazio as he closed the communication channel. There was little reason to continue the meeting now that the outcome had already been decided. Aside from Edison and Augustin, the remaining state leaders had fallen completely silent after realizing the seriousness of their situation. Most simply stared blankly ahead, unable to accept that their political careers had ended within a single afternoon.
The holograms disappeared one after another until only the leaders of the Great Houses remained connected. They briefly discussed the next administrative steps before ending their own meeting as well. Several of them still had enormous amounts of work waiting for them, especially now that temporary governments needed to be organized across Europe. Stability had to be maintained above everything else.
Nearly two hours later, Herman sat quietly inside his office with two thick reports lying open on his desk. One was the official government report that would eventually circulate through the proper departments, while the second was a confidential document prepared exclusively for him. After reading both reports in silence, he could only shake his head at the endless greed displayed by those who had just been removed from office. It seemed that history truly never changed.
Setting the reports aside, Herman finally opened the information package that the Sonnenbergs had sold earlier that day. Unlike the politicians, he had no interest in monopolizing knowledge for personal gain. Instead, he carefully studied every page, appreciating both the practical value of the information and the incredible amount of research that had clearly gone into compiling it. Even after decades of experience, he found himself impressed.
The European government had transferred the requested payment almost immediately after reviewing the contract. The price had certainly been high, but no one involved seriously questioned whether the information justified the expense. First, the material itself was exceptionally valuable and could significantly improve Europe's preparations for the future. Second, it provided exactly the evidence needed to convince the public that the recently arrested politicians had genuinely endangered the continent through their actions.
Officially, the arrests would be justified by charges of harboring corrupted humans, abusing their authority, and attempting to monopolize information vital to humanity's survival. Whether every accusation could be proven beyond doubt mattered surprisingly little at this point, as political support for the operation had grown overwhelming. Many members of the European institutions had quietly grown tired of being manipulated by powerful state leaders for years. The newly uncovered information merely provided the perfect legal and political opportunity to finally remove them from power.