BLOODY LOVE'S
Episode 230's

Lady Chantall gave Nolan a hint of what she should have said: "Half must be honest, half bent close to true. Avoid lying, but use ambiguous language."

"What do you mean ambiguous?" Nolan hates being made to ask. He felt that the woman was deliberately using difficult words to make him feel stupid.

"Are you a girl, Nolan?"

"Huh?" Nolan frowned. "Of course!"

"Ambiguance is when you answer: I often wear skirts. Let others interpret your own sentences as you wish, try to make answers that allow you to give."

Nolan can do that. He nodded.

"I won't lead what you have to say. No offense, but I don't think you're quite the showman. You're an honest man, so let's just use that as a weapon. All you do is avoid giving the wrong information. So I'll give you a clue to what things you can say and what's forbidden." Lady Chantall opened her note and began to explain.

Nolan still vividly remembered what the woman had said. Although Nolan hated to admit it, Lady Chantall had a nice voice to hear. Every word he spoke was so clear, his Skot accent was not disturbing, his intonation made people want to keep listening. The woman is an expert in her field.

As soon as he reached the South, Nolan was soon invaded by many people. Her aunt cried watching her until her sisters started crying too. Her mother gave one gentle hug and rubbed her back affectionately, but did not manage to bring her in without a fuss.

People kept coming to their homes, asking Nolan a lot of questions, and telling him about what happened last night. Nolan listened quite a lot, then started telling her what she was going through.

One, Lady Chantall's voice echoed in her mind, saying that you were kidnapped by the man who made the golem.

Nolan tells the story from the moment he followed Gladys, saw a suspicious man make a golem, then caught with Marco.

Two, don't mention Inspector Robert's involvement. The image of the police force is necessary for Bjork to come forward.

Nolan did not explain that the one who attacked him was a policeman, but he told about being caught by the police who thought he was a vagrant. He also told me what Jose did to set him free, emphasizing clearly the name Argent because:

Three, emphasize to them that Argent is the opponent of the monster and they can deal with it.

"I heard the noise in the North, they were actually still forcing me to stay in the mansion," Nolan somewhat exclaimed as he wanted his voice to reach many people who were noisier from not hearing behind. "But I ran here because I felt the need to tell you all so quickly! The monster will come again! The people there are already noisily wanting to take shelter!"

Four, emphasize that their home is safe and they do not need to go anywhere. Show the Northmen who take refuge to the South. Emphasize that you know all this just from hearing someone else talk. Southerners tend to believe more in facts that are heard accidentally.

After hearing the story, people were noisy. They're all booing. Many immediately accepted the story because there was no more fog since yesterday. Nolan also brought several North-issued newspapers whose names were credible for their village chiefs and the people who were being poured there. The newspaper he brought up supported what he told. Obviously because the paper was published under the supervision of Lady Chantall.

As soon as he read and discussed the contents for several hours with the other elders, the village chief immediately called Nolan and asked him to tell him again what he was going through. Nolan told the full story, the story coincides with the testimony of some parents who found their teenage sons always go for several hours to an unknown place. Nolan also pointed to injuries to his arm as evidence. The healers in the South checked, assuring them that the wound was indeed due to the sword.

Nolan went back to telling different people. The story is consistent because it only tells the truth. The village chief matched his story to the contents of several newspapers, discussing many things while whispering with the men, some calling the dead bodies and the river shining.

By sunset, everyone had heard Nolan's story and finally agreed that it was true. Conditions are precarious in Bjork and they should help Argent— by praying.

That's all Lady Chantall asked for. If Mount Bjork grows stronger if anyone believes, then the Southerners closer to the mountain are the right side to ask for help.

The order to stay at home and pray and accept that there are Northmen coming soon. Because the one who asked was the village elders, no one fought back. He doesn't even have to lie. Everybody believes. Everyone obeyed.

Nolan swallowed his saliva seeing how easily everyone was influenced to do something they had never thought of.

The green-eyed lady outside, her name was Jeanne de Chantall, Marco's words yesterday flashed clearly in Nolan's ears. He can make a whole Bjork antagonize you overnight.

Nolan thought it was just a prank.

***

No one's talking. There's five more kilos until they get to Bjork. They all drove horses at high speed and were fully armed. Firearms for long distance. Sharp weapons if bullets run out.

Marco is a calculating and level-headed man, he knows that. His best friend was not one who could go wrong. If the man said that they would be able to defeat the demons by using swords and firearms, then he believed it. Greyland did not doubt his comrade in the least.

There was a long desing sounding. Greyland raised his face, seeing there was a vertical white line rising into the sky in the distance. The line exploded into a reddish circle that disappeared quickly. Greyland turned his head, seeing that Edgar was similarly shocked. It's a Rolan flare. The flare has only one meaning: a danger sign.

"Faster!!" Greyland exclaimed loudly while swiping the stirrup.

***

Lady Chantall also saw the flare from the window of the Daily Bjork office. He bit his lips, desperately praying for Marco's safety.

"Ma'am?" Hubbert called, re-stretching his recently repaired notebook. Since three hours ago they chatted about the broadcast schedule on the radio which will be done at seven in the afternoon after the prayer broadcast, it's one more hour. "Is this right?"

Lady Chantall accepted the proposed concept and quickly read it once and repeated it more thoroughly. His lips are not moving. Only her green eyes winked slightly and shifted when reading. "I feel the opening is less persuasive .. less bam! You know what I mean?"

Hubbert doesn't know. He can write controversial things. It can make things seem bigger than they seem. But since Lady Chantall rejected her draft, she did not know what was inside her head.

Lady Chantall thought for a long time. "We don't have time. Just wear this. It's better than it was. Without music!"

"Wait, if you don't like it, I don't want to use this either!" Hubbert got up from his desk as Lady Chantall stood up. He knew she was busy, but radio broadcasts were important. Moreover, Bjork has been wanted to listen to the radio, they are all waiting for news. "What is bam? I don't understand what you want. At least tell me how wrong it is!"

"It's not wrong" Lady Chantall said. Again he looked out the window anxiously. "Just I think it's less interesting. But it's just a matter of taste."

"If you make it, what will you make it?" There's no guts in that question. Hubbert really just wanted to find a reference.

Lady Chantall forced her brain to think. "The opening is no more than fifty words and must tell what is going on in Bjork. Don't beat around the missing persons case, we're not storytelling. Our focus is not there, we can use it as a repetition only. Let them know what our condition is as clear as it is. Who is our enemy, who we can count on, what we should do, how to stay safe, until when this will take place, what risks we will experience, explain how Argent defeated the enemy later. They have to believe we're gonna win."

"But we don't know how it turned out" Hubbert protested. "That's not a fact. I'm just presenting the facts."

"You're just presenting the facts, because that's where you're here." Lady Chantall raises her hand in annoyance around, to Hubbert's dirty little cubicle. "While I'm making facts. I make something the truth. Do you want to trust your work instincts or my calculations?"

The man's ears are red. His face looked offended, but Hubbert was still trying to be polite. "Ma'am, I have a principle that I will not make news. I may present it rather bombastically, but never write propaganda."

"Propaganda" Lady Chantall laughed. He sighed. "Did you know the mercenaries from Jorm stormed Argent's house last time? They use your writing as a reference. They think Argent is behind the disappearance of these people. And don't you think so yourself?"

"That was."

"Yes, your truth has changed. The facts you believe have changed. That's what happens when you're just a blind consumer." Lady Chantall crossed her arms under her chest, but quickly lowered them again. In the past he always used the trick to tease the interlocutor, distract them with his curves and make them agree with him in confusion. But he won't do it again. He would only do so to seduce Marco. Just that one guy. "Look, I don't want to criticize your moral principles" he said softly. "Maybe I said it wrong to you. What I mean is for them to have hope that this will all end well. You know why we're here? We keep the Bjork people calm. Their calmness and their trust will lead us to success. That's how trust works. You know what happens when someone doesn't believe us, suspects us? Keos. And we're gonna have a new problem that we're gonna have to squash."

Hubbert silent. Lady Chantall knew the man was digesting his words. As he walked past him, he stopped and gently patted the man's shoulder. "There's a time and a place for everything, Hubbert" he whispered. "Sometimes we use the middle finger, sometimes we have to hide it and use the little finger."

***

¬Laksa: ten thousand