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Chapter 405 - THAT'S A WRAP
Chapter 405 - THAT'S A WRAP
Chapter 405 – THAT’S A WRAP
NEOMA became a (beautiful) tree.
She turned Delwyn into her fake/temporary Soul Beast, and bombed Hazelden Kingdom.
Then she met Dahlia and Nabi– the two women she wronged in the past and in the present, respectively.
And now…
"Open the doors," Captain Henrik Benedict said in a commanding voice. "His Royal Highness Prince Nero has arrived!"
Two of the Holy Knights opened the doors to the temple's Council Room.
To be honest, the sight inside the Council Room was impressive.
High Priest Wellington and over a hundred of priests wearing white robes gathered inside. All eyes were on her, and everyone was obviously judging the "Crown Prince" from head to toe.
[Lezzgo.]
She wasn't scared because she wasn't alone.
Lewis (now free) was standing behind her, on her right side. Jasper Hawthorne, the empire's youngest duke, was standing on her left side.
Dion Skelton and Paige Avery were behind Lewis and Jasper oppa.
The royal knights that her Papa Boss sent from the empire were at the further back. And the royal knights were joined by some of the Red Butterfly Knights– Jasper oppa's private army.
"I understand that I've made a mistake. My love for the gods and the relics they've left in the world has made me greedy. I will pay the price for my mistakes, but I believe removing me from my position is too much," High Priest Wellington, who was standing on the podium, said after the greetings and formalities were finished. "I also can't help but wonder if the Lesser Moon, His Royal Highness Prince Nero, has an ulterior motive. Am I the only one who finds it strange that the unbreakable barrier of Astello Temple was infiltrated by Darkness the moment the Crown Prince arrived? Is it really just a co-incidence?"
Neoma, who was sitting on an elevated seat on the podium, right beside where the High Priest was, let out a sigh.
This situation was funny, but she couldn't laugh or smirk.
If she didn't see Henrik Benedict's disappointed face, she would have replied sarcastically to the High Priest. But she felt bad for the captain of the Holy Knights.
[Sir Benedict is looking at His Eminence like his own father betrayed him.]
She couldn't make fun of the High Priest after seeing the look on Henrik Benedict's face. It must have taken a lot of courage for the captain to take her side instead of the person he probably trusted the most before all of this.
"Your Eminence, let me correct you first," Neoma said in a somber yet polite voice. "You didn't make a mistake– you committed a crime. You know what you were doing when you traded the stolen weapons for some Holy Relics."
The High Priest flinched and was about to open his mouth when she interrupted him.
"Duke Hawthorne's investigation shows that the temple was infiltrated by a strange fellow after the saint disappeared," she said.
She couldn't say that the "strange fellow" was a crow executive because the empire didn't know about the existence of the royal princess, save for the select few who knew her royal secret. People knew the crows only existed if a royal princess was born, so they covered up the fact that the fake Holy Knight was a crow.
"But for months, you didn't notice that the newly recruited young Holy Knight in your troop was actually a follower of Darkness," she continued. "He left the bodies of dead Dark Elves in the well that serves as the source of your drinking water. Thus, to say I caused the attack is a bit of a stretch. Don't you think so?"
The High Priest glared at her.
"But pointing fingers at each other is pointless," she said. "We must focus on the current situation."
High Priest Wellington gave her a look full of resentment. "Your Royal Highness, are you that adamant to remove me from my position and place one of your people as the next leader of Astello Temple?"
"If it was only me, I wouldn't dare meddle with the affairs of Astello Temple, since Valmento is an independent state," she said carefully. "But Your Eminence, it's not me who wants to remove you from your position."
"Then who might it be, Your Royal Highness?"
"Do Your Eminence really have to ask?" she asked, pretending to be sad. "When you traded the stolen weapons for the other gods' Holy Relics, as the follower of Lord Yule, who do you think have you betrayed?"
Going by her logic, of course, the High Priest had betrayed Yule.
When His Eminence realized he could no longer refute her words after she brought up Yule, he instantly turned pale.
"Lord Yule, who is now in a deep slumber, has used the Spirit of the First Holy Knight as an instrument to send me another divine message," she lied with confidence. She was spouting bullshit, but her 'Alluring Aura' was turning her into the best scammer on the continent at the moment. "The First Holy Knight revealed to me that when Lord Yule opened the gates of heavens to bring the former saint and the current Moon Priest to the human world, he also let one of his angels go in order to prepare this moment."
A collective gasp was heard.
And soon enough, the hall was filled with murmurs.
"An angel?"
"Did His Royal Highness just imply that a fallen angel has landed on our continent?"
"But an angel who fell on our world would be a fallen angel."
"A fallen angel is still an angel, and if they kept their white wings, then it means Lord Yule still favors them."
"If it's a fallen angel who was chosen by Lord Yule to lead the temple before the new saint arrives, then they have all the rights to seize the position."
Neoma was relieved to hear that most of the high-ranking priests gathered there were open to accepting her candidate.
But of course, there were some who expressed their displeasure about her meddling.
[I bet they will get even more mad once they find out that the fallen angel I'm talking about is actually one of the emperor's Paladins.]
It would create a conflict of interest, but the solution was easy.
"Everyone, let me introduce you to the fallen angel that the First Holy Knight and Lord Yule have chosen to lead the Astello Temple until the new saint arrives," Neoma declared, then she stood up and pointed both of her hands to Dion Skelton who was standing beside her. "This is Sir Dion Skelton, the fallen angel."
Another collective gasp was heard in the hall, and even High Priest Wellington looked shocked by her revelation.
Of course, it was followed by murmurs again.
"Isn't Sir Skelton one of His Majesty's Paladins?"
"His Majesty made a fallen angel his personal knight?"
"Why didn't His Majesty inform the temple about the existence of a fallen angel?"
Neoma was about to open her mouth and make an excuse for her Papa Boss when someone else beat her to it.
"It was me who asked His Majesty to hide my identity in order to experience having a normal human life," Dion Skelton said in his usual calm yet slightly cold voice, rendering everyone in the hall silent. "I was told by Lord Yule to keep my identity hidden from the world until the right time comes."
Her jaw almost dropped from shock while listening to Dion's lie.
Of course, she was the only one who knew that the Paladin was lying. And she had an ominous feeling it was William who told Dion to tell that lie.
[Oh my god, I'm such a bad influence…]
"I believe this is the right time for me to reveal my identity to the world," Dion continued, then he closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, his real eyes– the ones that looked like they contained the universe in them– shocked and impressed the audience. "From this day until the new saint arrives, I'll serve and protect the temple."
Then the Paladin moved his shoulders.
His white wings oozing with pure divine energy appeared on his back, once again shocking everyone in the hall.
[Oh, he's a legit angel.]
"I am now announcing my retirement as His Majesty's Paladin," Dion declared firmly. "I cannot serve two masters at the same time, after all."
And yes, that was the solution to the conflict of interest.
But another problem occurred.
She let out a sigh internally. [Dion, we should have informed Papa Boss about your resignation first.]
Of course, she didn't let her distress show.
"Everyone, I shared the will of the First Holy Knight and Lord Yule with you, but I won't impose on you to do as I say. I believe in the freedom of choice," Neoma declared. She didn't want to appear like a tyrant who seized power from the High Priest, so she decided to do this. "Thus, everyone present here today must cast a vote."
Say hello to democracy, people of Astello Temple.
On the other side of the world, though, a certain first princess was exercising the opposite of democracy.
***
BRIGITTE didn't have Glenn this time.
Glenn left Hazelden Kingdom in order to personally inform His Majesty about their upcoming wedding. After all, marrying the emperor's personal knight would be a little complicated– especially since Hazelden Kingdom was no longer an ally to the empire.
But she wasn't alone.
The Crown Prince left the Wisteria Ladies (including Juri, of course), Greko, and Jeanne Audley to assist her with anything she needed.
Moreover…
"Princess Brigitte has arrived," Nowell Elwood, her cousin and a count of the kingdom, said to the knights guarding the doors of the conference room. "Open the doors."
Nowell Elwood wasn't present during the chaos because her cousin was on a mission. The count collected all the evidence that the nobles in her "hit list" were really involved with her father and brother's illegal businesses.
Originally, she already fired Nowell Elwood as her assistant because of an argument that they had. Helping her, in this case, was her cousin's way of apologizing to her. Thus, she accepted him by her side again.
Her thoughts were interrupted when the doors finally opened.
When she stepped into the room, the guilty nobles all stood up and bowed their heads to greet her politely.
Brigitte smiled, then she sat on the center chair of the long conference table.
It was a seat usually reserved for her father or her brother. But this time, she was the only family member who had the right to sit on that.
"I know you know why I summoned you all here," Brigitte said, then she turned to Nowell who quietly put a black book on the table. Then she looked at the nobles around her one by one. "Everyone here is involved with the illegal businesses of my father, the king."
The room turned cold.
Literally.
After all, it was the moment the ice wolf appeared beside her. The wolf was sitting lazily on the floor, but its sitting height reached the armrest of her chair. It was that big.
[And yes, Prince Nero lent me his Soul Beast before he left.]
The ice wolf wasn't alone.
A glowing snowflake the size of a baby's head was floating above the ice wolf's head. Apparently, it was the Snow Spirit that was causing the unending snowstorm in the kingdom.
The nobles knew what exactly the Soul Beast and the Snow Spirit were.
[They know they should fear these Spirits.]
"If you want to save your pitiful lives, you only have to do one thing," Brigitte said coldly, her eyes glowing dangerously while she was gently patting the ice wolf's head. Prince Nero told him to do that in front of the nobles. "Withdraw your support for my brother, and declare me as your choice to be the queen of Hazelden Kingdom."
***
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