There was a three-minute gap between the interrupted televised address and His Majesty the Emperor appearing as Shang Boliang.
Those three minutes were Shang Boliang's opportunity.
He had to seize them firmly.
The televised address took place at night. The capital's lights had been left on throughout the night, searchlights thrusting upward as drifting snow left dark silhouettes within their beams, gone in but an instant.
It was rather moving.
Dim, dilapidated, with a biting cold wind—it truly looked like a nation at the end of its road.
There was a wall-mounted television in the Count's castle. Usually, it silently displayed No Signal, but today, for the first time ever, it began showing an image.
An abnormal sight appeared over the capital's night sky.
The television showed a waving Ursus flag in the background, yet there was not a sound. In Ursus, that often signified something was wrong.
The scene was terrifying. Outside, the dead attacked again and again, while a solemn flag drifted across the television screen. Even Hoshino's breathing fell still for a moment.
Six seconds of silence.
The solemn young Emperor appeared on the screen. He wore plain formal attire, without a cloak or scepter. Only the most serious occasions called for such clothing.
"My dear compatriots, my friends..."
"As a result of the situation Ursus has faced for so long, I will soon announce my resignation as Emperor of the Ursus United Empire and Commander-in-Chief of its armed forces. I have always firmly supported the nation's independence, autonomy, and the sovereignty of the Grand Dukes, while also supporting the preservation of the union of the regime and the unity of the nation.
Events have deviated from our original intentions. Though I cannot approve of the notion of dissolving this nation and dividing this government, that line