svetikya Page 166
Page 166
"Born a hero, I'm so sorry QAQ..." — Shana, the hero of sin.
“I am very sad, so I can only send the Pope off with champagne.” — En Lac, Chief of the Round Tower of Magicians and Holy Archmage.
“Cough cough! Pope Brad’s death seems to have left a deep wound on me, cough (spitting blood)! I think I will never forget him in my life…” — Grand Duke Thanaus.
Seven days have passed since the Pope's death.
Compassionate hymns echoed day and night over the capital, and a calming saint healed the wounded throughout the commoners' district. News arrived that a large amount of treasure had been stolen from Duke Moss's mansion, and then many generous relief points appeared throughout the commoners' district.
The Pope's body was placed in a crystal ice coffin crafted by the power of the Heart of Ice in the Holy Church, and he will be buried three days later.
Within the palace.
Prince Ota's study.
Rubbing his slightly sore temples, Otta put down his quill and briefly looked up from his tedious official duties.
The border war was suspended due to the nationwide mourning following the Pope's death, but the demons, whether out of fear of the Holy Maiden's awakening or some other force, did not take advantage of this opportunity to launch an attack, which greatly reduced the pressure on Ota.
The display case of figurines against the wall was covered with a red cloth to conceal its true nature. Ota's gaze fell upon the figures sitting in two chairs in front of the desk:
“I think you two know why I summoned you here today… Chief of Lak, Grand Duke Thanaus.”
Seated in the seats were the chief of the Round Tower, Lac, dressed in a black robe, and the pale-faced Grand Duke Thanaus.
The two truly influential figures in the kingdom, with their considerable experience and power, along with Prince Ota present, could easily form a small roundtable meeting to determine the direction of the kingdom's future. However, the reason Ota summoned these two today was clearly not for that reason.
“Your Highness,” Lark, seated on the left, spoke first.
“I am deeply sorry that I was unable to return to the capital that day. To prevent the demons from attacking, I had been patrolling the outskirts, but I never expected that the demons would appear in the capital in such an unpredictable way.”
“No one will blame you, Chief Lak.” Ota shook his head and sighed softly.
“Even if you were in the capital that night, you couldn’t have stopped the God of All Weapons. I should be glad that the kingdom didn’t lose two powerful warriors in succession.”
As the rising star of the kingdom, Lak naturally anticipated Ota's reaction.
It would be impolite to continue pretending nothing happened. Thinking of this, Lak's face twitched violently before he got to the point: "Also, I need to apologize to you for what happened at the Hero's Memorial Hall!"
"The fact that a black mage has fallen into evil under my command is a dereliction of duty on my part as the chief mage of the Round Tower!"
Lark's tone was almost laced with rage. He never imagined that the ruthless Brad would target his most elite squad of dark mages! Those were his trusted confidants, whom he had painstakingly trained for years!
Seeing Lark's reaction, Ota felt relieved: everyone knows that Chief Lark would not be involved with dark mages; those were definitely the personal actions of trainee mages, and Chief Lark was just implicated.
Judging from the way he was grinding his teeth to powder, you could tell how irreconcilably opposed this holy archmage of the kingdom was to black magic.
"However, I must reclaim ownership of the Hero Memorial Hall under your name," Ota said with some regret.
"This can be considered a superficial punishment for your joint responsibility. Otherwise, there might be some unscrupulous people among the nobles and ministers who spread rumors about you... such as that you are the culprit who instigated black magic. Of course, we all know that this is the most vicious slander, and I ask that you, Chief, must remain calm."
"I understand, Your Highness Ota." With a twitch in his eyelids, Lak could only reply somewhat dejectedly.
Losing that hideout will severely limit his intelligence channels and the forces he can command in the capital. This devastating development is exactly the same as the miserable situation when Mino and Lak were "fighting side by side" before. But this time, without Mino's participation, Lak can only accept his bad luck.
"And on your side, Grand Duke Thanaus."
Ota looked at Thanaus on his right. Even though he had prepared his words, he couldn't help but ask when he saw Thanaus's appearance, "Your Highness, what happened to you?"
Although it was already known that Grand Duke Thanaus was somewhat weak, his face was now much paler than usual, as if he had lost too much blood, and his body was wrapped in bandages, making him appear somewhat swollen.
“Don’t worry about it, Your Highness.” Thanaus’s face twitched, his expression dejected. “I just accidentally bumped into a piece of metal…”
“Fine.” Otta cleared his throat, his tone turning angry:
"The dark secrets of the Morning Dew Orphanage have been exposed. Before this, I never imagined that someone would extend their evil hand to those poor orphans!!!"
“That blood disciple, who is almost a cultist, is still nowhere to be found. You two should be careful. According to the testimonies of bystanders, that blood disciple is far more terrifying than those wolf mercenaries. I am really worried that you will follow in Pope Brad’s footsteps, especially you… Grand Duke Thanaus.”
The intense gaze from Ota sent chills down Thanaus's spine, but Ota quickly said, "Your body is much weaker than when you were young. Be careful not to get attacked."
“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness Ota.” Thanaus nodded quickly.
"In any case, Your Excellency, your situation is similar to Chief Lak's." Ota resumed the conversation:
"As one of the main supporters of the Blood Cross, the Morning Dew Orphanage, and as its organizer, you, Grand Duke, have also received some criticism. The Blood Cross and you, Grand Duke, have been subjected to a lot of questioning... This has even affected the second phase of the noble selection, causing your votes to shrink significantly."
"It will take time to clear your name, but I assure you, we will capture that Bloodthirsty Thug as soon as possible."
"However, from now on, the Blood Cross's interference in the orphanages in the capital must be brought under the supervision of the paladins... At the same time, we will also regularly check the orphans' blood levels to prevent them from suffering harm again!"
Ota said indignantly, looking at Thanaus, and found that the man sitting in his chair was already in tears:
"Grand Duke Thanaus, what's wrong?" Ota asked, puzzled.
"It's nothing, I was just thinking about something happy..."
Chapter 236 The Girl Figurine and the Soul—One Must Have to Be Sold Out.
Thanaus felt a pang of heartache, a look of pain flashing in his eyes.
With the Knights' intervention, it means that the blood supply to these "blood banks" he keeps in the capital will be completely cut off! Not to mention producing blood essence stones, even his own diet will become a problem.
And he still had to keep providing financial support to those useless orphanages, otherwise, if he suddenly stopped the Blood Cross's support, even Ota would see that there was something wrong with him.
Brad, you really deserve to die... Thanaus blamed everything on Brad, but was also glad that he died quickly and cleanly. Who knows if he was really crazy or just pretending?
Now that things have come to this, all we can do is swallow our pride and bear it.
"Well, those are the two things I wanted to say. This time the situation is special, so it's better to clarify things face to face to avoid any misunderstandings. Grand Duke and Chief, you don't need to overthink it." With a smile, Ota stood up and had Tus see him off.
Lak and Thanaus stood up at the same time, and when they looked at each other, they both saw the helplessness in each other's eyes.
Thanaus felt somewhat relieved. He had indeed committed the dark act of blood-sucking, and there was nothing he could do about being caught. The best outcome for him all these years was that he hadn't left any trace.
The holy mage of the Round Tower in front of us is truly wronged. The Round Tower of Mages sends countless mages to the kingdom every year, many of whom have never even seen Lark's face... With such a large pool, it's perfectly normal for one or two to go astray and become dark mages.
He was so engrossed in his magical world, yet he suffered such an undeserved disaster, was smeared, and even had the Hero Memorial Hall, which was deeply connected to him, taken back. It is truly lamentable.
Lak looked at Thanaus with some pity. His own trained dark mage had been exposed, but there was nothing he could do about it. As long as he wasn't suspected, everything would be fine.
On the contrary, it was the Grand Duke of this kingdom who was implicated in an underground incident at an orphanage affiliated with a charity association. It can only be said that some people are being overly sensitive.
Even Lach had heard of the Blood Cross's selfless mission to help orphans. This benevolent Grand Duke was clearly doing good deeds from the bottom of his heart, yet now he was being pointed at and criticized in the open. It was truly a case of losing more than he gained.
Upon discovering that there was someone even more unlucky than themselves, the two felt much better and smiled as they nodded at each other.
As the two left, Otta's study fell silent once more.
"Your Highness, the estimated losses from this unrest in the plebeian district have been completed." The atmosphere in the study became somewhat serious after Tuss returned from seeing the two off.
"How are the casualties among the people?" Ota asked the question that concerned him most.
“Basically none,” Tus stated. “On the night of the incident, all the civilians in the slum gathered on the street. The collapse of the houses did not cause much damage. In addition, almost every household had a figurine of Saint Lena, which was blessed by the Holy Church... Therefore, only some civilians suffered minor injuries. On the other hand, the Knights Order had more seriously injured paladins who are still recovering.”
"I understand." Ota reached out and took the loss estimate brought by Tus. Seeing the numbers on it, his heart ached.
He closed his eyes, unwilling to look any longer, but his tone was heavy with sorrow: "The people of the civilian districts cannot be allowed to suffer this natural and man-made disaster. The kingdom shall bear the full cost of rebuilding houses, protecting property, and providing food relief. Not a single kyr coin should be spared..."
Tus nodded, showing no surprise at Ota's instructions, though a worried look appeared on his face:
"But this will put unprecedented pressure on the kingdom's treasury, and even the entire kingdom will..."
Tus hesitated, but Ota understood what he meant.
Taking such a large portion of the kingdom's planned funds carries equal risks. If handled carelessly, it could trigger even greater disasters and upheavals, which the kingdom can no longer afford.
“The funds can’t come from the national treasury.” Ota felt immense pressure. “But… where should we even begin, given the current situation…”
Turning around, Ota froze.
His gaze fell on one wall of the study... a glass cabinet filled with first-edition limited-edition girl figurines.
"Pope Brad, you truly deserve to die..."
Before she knew it, Ota was already in tears.
Inside the study, watching Prince Ota's desolate figure, Tus hesitated to speak.
There was another matter that needed to be reported to the prince, which had been gradually escalating in the capital as the grief had subsided over the past few days. However, at this moment, Tus felt that His Highness needed some peace and quiet.
Tus quietly walked out of Ota's study, closed the door, and stood silently by the door for a long time. Soon, he heard Ota's heartbreaking sobs coming from inside.
“Prince Ota, your love for your people is truly profound.”
With a soft sigh, Tus lowered his head and looked at a freshly printed light gray newspaper in his hand, which bore an extremely eye-catching headline—
"Peerless Duke! Who says standing in the mud is necessarily shit! The one wronged by everyone! Duke of Light: Moss!"
Tuss's lips twitched slightly, and he increasingly regretted the suggestion he had casually made to Tang Ke.
……
The eyes of the people are discerning.
In the seven days following the Pope's death, as the grief gradually subsided and settled, some previously unnoticed blind spots suddenly came to light amidst the discussions—
"It just so happens that the Morning Dew Orphanage and the Mino Hero's Memorial Hall have run into trouble... and not long ago, Duke Moss almost demolished the Morning Dew Orphanage and gave that dark magician at the memorial hall a good beating..."
"Could it be that……"
"Could it be that……"
The citizens of the commoner district were shocked and filled with lingering fear. If it weren't for Pope Brad's intervention that night, they would never have imagined that such a ruthless and dark force was lurking so close to them!
And what if it weren't for Pope Brad? Those orphans would have been brutalized long ago, and who knows what horrific acts those dark sorcerers would have committed afterwards!
That night, the Pope was able to pinpoint those terrorists with such precision.
Could Duke Namus's actions really be... a coincidence? As the "clues" were pieced together step by step, this thought gradually emerged in the minds of all the citizens.
"Humans always believe in what they have figured out themselves." — When recalling the core essence of marketing that Mino had taught him, Tang Ke belatedly realized that the other party's wisdom was even more advanced than he had imagined.
Countless people verified, debated, and filled in the blanks with their own interpretations, until an unshakeable belief formed in their minds, and everyone's eyes welled up with tears as they understood the truth:
"—The first to realize all this was Duke Moss!"
Chapter 237 A Reversal of Public Opinion! The Nobles of Light! Duke Moss!!!
"That's impossible!" someone in the crowd immediately objected.
After all, Duke Moss's image was so deeply ingrained in people's minds that even with the fact that he had been nominated as a great nobleman, some people still refused to believe it and pressed him relentlessly:
"If Duke Moss had already discovered the truth, why didn't he warn us? Why didn't he just send the Royal Knights to check our water meter?"