The Villainess With A Heroine Harem

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

In fact, misunderstanding the relationship between the Gray Wolfe and the White Deer wasn't entirely their fault. After all, the latter did try to destroy the former's monopoly in Carmen in a decidedly unfriendly way, and even before that, the two never dealt well with each other.

Even if the corporation itself had now changed hands, the experts believed that as long as the underlying conflict of interests that caused their initial disputes still existed, there wouldn't be much of a change in either corporation's overall stance.

Of course, just as there were many who tried to 'flatter' the new head of the Gray Wolfe Corporation, many more took a completely different stance.

"You cannot compare Emilia with Ginny, and I think people should stop doing that. Aside from both of them being born in wealthy families, do they even have anything in common?"

"Right? Whether we're comparing them in terms of age, character, or appearance, the two are miles apart. And I don't think I need to clarify who belongs in which direction."

Having had the misfortune of tuning in to this exact channel at the 'perfect' time, Ginny almost choked on her own spit. 'D-Did they really have to put it that way?! We're even allies! Allies!!!'

Looking at his sister's furious expression, Jasper couldn't help but chuckle. "Bet you're regretting not letting some of that info on Emilia leak, huh, 'Miss President'?"

His sister snorted. "You know that wasn't up to me."

Of course, given that the outside world didn't really have the full picture of the situation in Carmen yet, neither of them took the news too seriously.

After all, compared to causing a disaster while they weren't yet prepared, being the target of some criticism was really a small price to pay.

"By the way, I still think that it's too risky letting everyone use the internet so soon. Even if we try our best to make sure nothing critical is leaked outside, there's no way to be really sure."

Ginny agreed with her brother, but could only shrug helplessly. "Well, can't do much about it. Emilia listens to certain people more than the others."

Who could have thought that even after she became the president of Carmen, and her brother the chairman of Gray Wolfe, they would still have to listen to 'orders'?

The hint of jealousy in her tone was obvious to Jasper, but he pretended not to notice it. After all, Emilia couldn't be blamed for trusting Noelle and Crystal over her sister, and her trusting Ginny as much as she had could already be considered a small miracle.

Fortunately, Emilia's trust didn't seem to be too misplaced. Even if there had been certain incidents where people from Carmen talked about the crimson-haired empress being their new 'special executive' or something, the rest of the world only treated them as trolls.

In fact, Emilia's fans even went so far as to directly ridicule them.

The fact that the Empress of Blue Dawn didn't officially respond to such things only proved that these statements were completely baseless and ridiculous, as far as they were concerned. And since Penny didn't step forward to clarify or stop them from responding, it only made them more sure of their guess.

That being the case, how could they just stand by and do nothing? Since they dared to call themselves knights, even if they couldn't directly protect their princess, could they not even defend her name?

"Do you really think you're so important that our princess would lower herself to such an insignificant position just to help you out? Sheesh."

"That's not the right way to treat someone who stood up for your rights while you were still being oppressed. Oh wait, has that changed already?"

"Don't think so."

Of course, the one in the most embarrassing situation of all was Ginny, who had become a target of scrutiny for both her 'allies' and 'enemies' alike. But no matter how much they wanted to clarify the situation, the twins knew how critical it was for them to remain patient.

There would be no May flowers without April showers, after all.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Just as it was impossible to forge something legendary in the blink of  an eye regardless of how talented a smith might be, it was similarly impossible to completely change the fate of millions even with the combined efforts of the new government and the two allied corporations.

Of course, the fact that the White Deer Corporation couldn't openly start pouring too much of their resources from the outside also slowed them down considerably, but that was pretty much unavoidable considering what they were trying to do.

After all, no matter how much they spoiled their so-called princess, some people would definitely start to have doubts if the White Deer Corporation suddenly started going 'all in' on a deal they'd already apparently lost.

Not only would it be a dead giveaway of the fact that more was going on than it seemed, but it might also put their enemies on high alert. And once they really started digging into things and disregarding any pretense of being friendly or nonchalant, it wouldn't take long for the truth to be completely exposed.

Fortunately, all the preparations that Sam and Noelle had made in Carmen while waiting for the previous government to fall greatly boosted their progress at this time, and while the situation was still far from ideal, the contrast from what it used to be was still almost unbelievable.

After all, for most people who'd only ever known to fear the gangsters and hope that the situation doesn't keep getting worse, watching them all be swiftly taken away was like a dream come true.

Of course, the organs they had already taken away and sold couldn't be brought back, nor could the dead be resurrected, but not letting them continue their tyranny was a good step forward in the right direction.

Not to mention, when was the last time that the cost of basic necessities in Carmen actually went down, and not up?

Perhaps to those born in more fortunate conditions, these things might not seem like much, but for the people of Carmen, the difference was like night and day.

All of a sudden, they couldn't help but rekindle hope for the future.

Even if it was a corporate woman at the top, and most people still expected her to be selfish and greedy, so long as their own lives turned for the better… did it really matter?

It was these tiny sparks of hope that slowly spread and seemed to warm up the previously cold and desolate Carmen from the inside, and within a short period of time, those who'd been there forever almost couldn't recognize the place.

People were no longer as afraid to wander around, nor did many continuously worry about offending someone they couldn't afford to every step of the way.

The schools and offices no longer seemed like jails with the teachers and staff watching the children like hawks, terrified of what might happen if their sight slipped for even a moment, and with the newly formed state guard around, even the pubs and bars no longer seemed as dangerous and unwelcoming as they had been before.

Of course, things weren't perfect, many people were still desperately looking for a good job, even with both the Gray Wolfe and the White Deer opening many new positions every day, and many were still in desperate need of external support to pull themselves back up from otherwise irrecoverable situations.

But as the general sentiment and the outlook of people slowly shifted, none of that seemed to matter much. After all, so long as there was some hope for the future, most people would always look forward to it getting better.

And that was what really made the difference between stagnation and growth, and changed Carmen from a dark and desolate corporate farm tinged with despair to a country full of hope and vitality.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━