Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 819 - 82: Life-saving Charm = Death-inducing Charm

Overnight descent into the mortal world is certainly unbearable for ordinary people. At this moment, Alps Tarot Prison was filled with a large group of disheartened individuals.

In the face of crisis, these well-dressed dignitaries were hardly any better off than ordinary people.

Even after entering the prison, many still hadn’t accepted their reality. The shouting, cursing, threats, bribes... all kinds of bizarre tactics made their appearance here.

Leo Cohen was an exception, quietly squatting in a corner, silently watching everyone perform.

As one of the richest among the Jewish community and indeed the world, Leo Cohen was a well-seasoned veteran, having experienced every type of storm.

His journey to success, defeating numerous competitors, relied not only on ruthlessness but more so on his sharp judgment.

Before the 1848 Revolution erupted, while the capitalists were engaged in their final revelries, Leo Cohen had sensed the danger and decisively chose to lay low.

Even managing family business affairs from behind the scenes, when the accumulation of goods was exposed, he didn’t hesitate to introduce a scapegoat and took on all the blame without waiting for Austria to settle accounts.

When the Vienna government did their fall clean-up, Leo Cohen secretly handed over evidence of his peers’ crimes.

It was by bringing down his peers and seizing the opportunity that arose from a market gap, that Leo Cohen managed to rise and become one of the largest retail wholesalers in Austria.

Then, following the capitalist model, he took his business public to raise funds and cash out, before transitioning into the banking sector.

To be precise, he entered high-interest lending; Leo Cohen’s banks did not engage in regular commercial loans but specialized in profiteering schemes.

To secure even more profits, Leo Cohen even ventured into casinos and the drug trade, paving his quick path to riches.

Looking at Leo Cohen’s life records, he resembled the villain protagonist with cheats, who single-handedly transformed an ordinary Jewish family into one of the top Jewish elites in Europe.

Unfortunately, luck always runs out. When the anti-Semitic movements spread to Austria, they immediately caught Leo Cohen’s attention.

He chose not to flee because the domestic situation in Austria was stable without any signs of widespread anti-Semitic activities.

Then he was brought in. Until his imprisonment, Leo Cohen had not figured out how he had gotten there.

The network of connections he had established did not provide him with any safe haven, not even the basic warning of danger.

Although Austria was very strict in investigating corruption, this did not hinder a big capitalist like Leo Cohen.

Direct bribing might not work, but nobody could stop indirect transfer of benefits. Especially after owning his own bank, it was even harder to be regulated.

Leo Cohen was able to navigate through the realms of sin and gray zones, creating such a vast empire, relying on the power dealings under the transfer of benefits.

After long periods of dealing, both parties had dirt on each other, and now everyone was stuck together.

If anything happened to Leo Cohen, he could drag everyone down, according to the current laws of the Austrian government, no one could escape.

It was precisely because he had enough chips in hand that Leo Cohen couldn’t understand why he had been abandoned.

At that moment, a middle-aged police chief and several prison guards walked in, picking up clubs and administered a beating to quell the disorderly crowd.

Before Leo Cohen could feel relieved for dodging a bullet, the middle-aged police chief loudly scolded, "No matter what your status was outside, in here you have only one identity — criminals.

If you want to walk out alive, behave yourselves! Otherwise, any accidents that occur are your own responsibility."

The police chief’s outcry was not without reason; Alps Tarot Prison had another name — the Door to Hell.

Only those with incontrovertible evidence against them, merely awaiting the court’s final sentence, were qualified to be confined here.

Generally, those who come here, if not sentenced to death, are at least sentenced to thirty years or more of penal labor.

With such severe criminals, the prison guards naturally did not need to be courteous. The so-called living leave merely meant transferring from this prison to even worse conditions in the Middle East or Africa.

Hearing the middle-aged police chief’s warning, Leo Cohen knew things were about to get worse.

The guards could afford to be indifferent to their lives for only one reason, they were all to be executed. Only when it was certain that they would be sentenced to death did no one care how they died.

Seeing everyone quiet down, the middle-aged chief of police nodded in satisfaction and slowly said, "Who is Leo Cohen? Someone is here to visit."

All eyes immediately turned towards Leo Cohen. Since everyone moved in the same circles, even if they didn’t know each other, they recognized each other’s faces.

In the current situation, for someone to come to visit without hesitation, it must be a life-or-death relationship.

Seeing the envious and jealous expressions on everyone’s faces, Leo Cohen could only feel bitter inside.

Considering he had just been captured, even if relatives and friends were unfazed and willing to come to visit, it definitely wouldn’t be this quick.

The identity of the person now visiting was thus self-evident. Leo Cohen was very clear it was "visitation" not "bail", a single word difference that held vastly different implications.

Seeing impatience appear on the face of the middle-aged chief of police, Leo Cohen, adept at reading expressions, quickly got up and responded, "Sir, I am Leo Cohen, may I ask who..."

Before Leo Cohen could finish, the middle-aged chief of police interrupted, "Just go if you’re told to go. What’s with all the nonsense."

Curiosity killed the cat, this was the experience Manuel had accumulated over many years of work. He never asked about things he wasn’t supposed to.

With a nervous heart, Leo Cohen went to the visitor’s room, and Manuel decisively chose to leave, even the guard who was on duty was withdrawn by a hundred meters.

Feeling insecure, Leo Cohen took the lead and asked, "Sir Ledyard, how are things outside?"

Sir Ledyard shook his head, "The situation is very bad, Mr. Leo. Up to this point, thousands have been imprisoned.

In recent years, you have gone too far, and many people were displeased with you. Now, there are many piling on.

As an old friend, we will try to get you out, but the current situation is complicated. We must first control the situation and try not to let it escalate.

If things get out of control, you must be prepared for the worst. Of course, this is just a possibility. The likelihood of it happening is very small.

You should know how strong our influence is, even if things spiral out of control, we will ensure that your family is not implicated. If necessary, we will even send them out of the country."

Hearing this answer, Leo Cohen turned ashen. Although Sir Ledyard seemed to be consoling him, it was actually a warning, making it clear to him: careless talk costs lives.

Currently, without facing a court trial, he couldn’t leave, and after being convicted, getting out would be even more impossible.

It’s not feasible to save a suspected criminal, let alone a convicted felon. It wasn’t about whether one wanted to or not, it simply couldn’t be done by anyone.

Unless Franz himself issued a pardon, otherwise, according to Austrian law, unlawfully releasing a criminal was considered complicity.

Even if an official was bold enough to take the risk, those below him wouldn’t dare to execute it.

Too many people were involved, and if any part of the process went wrong, all participants would be doomed together.

There were precedents; a few years ago, there was a classic case where a second-generation individual dragged down more than a hundred others.

This wave was still considered lucky. If a death row inmate had been released, everyone would have had to go down to hell together, which would have been tragic.

Having heard many similar cases, Leo Cohen did not believe he had the privilege to make powerful figures risk their fortunes and lives to rescue him.

"Don’t worry, Sir Ledyard, I won’t cause you any trouble. But the situation here is complicated, and my frail body might not hold up. Could you help by sending word?"

With no way out immediately, the only option was to try to make his stay a bit more bearable.

Sir Ledyard smiled slightly and said, "No problem, we have it handled. Mr. Leo, if you need anything, just talk to the guards. Whatever can be provided, we will provide."

The brief visitation ended, and Sir Ledyard breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that nothing was said out of line, or else if the problems were exposed, they might not have been able to cover them up.

After much deliberation, Sir Ledyard made a decision deep within: "This Leo Cohen cannot be kept."

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