Chapter 152

“Tia, why are you so worked up?”

Here it comes!

From a distance, Princess Shirina raised an eyebrow, thinking that it was just as she suspected.

Upon hearing about Lynn’s crazy stunt tonight, she was surprised but not shocked.

Since their first encounter, she had a faint idea of how this little guy operated.

He was willing to go to any lengths.

He could turn white into black and claim the brave hero was a spy for the demon race.

It was ridiculous.

Now she was really curious about how he would handle the silent assassination attempt from Marquis Mosgra.

“If you have something to say, Lord Fred, just say it.”

Sixth Saint Roland nodded.

Hearing this, Marquis Mosgra stepped forward, bowed, and then raised his voice: “Your Majesty, I accuse!”

“I accuse Lynn Bartleon of spreading lies, using treachery to frame and slander me, gaining the support of an electoral prince.”

“Not only that, he publicly gunned down my grandson Dalian Mosgra, and with the support of the Third Princess and others, twisted the narrative, making his death seem like an accident.”

“Even Duke Tilius wrote him a letter to clarify, trying to hide the truth.”

“As a grandfather without much power, all I can do in a situation like this is rely on Your Majesty’s authority to forcefully state my case.”

As he spoke, Marquis Mosgra looked down at Lynn.

As their gazes met, Lynn sensed something dark and resentful in the old man’s eyes.

Clearly, this old codger showed no mercy towards the son of a friend long overdue for the grave.

The reason for his previous restraint wasn’t just the ambiguous attitude of the Second Prince after heading to the border; it was for a situation like this.

Once he took action, it would be lethal.

Having latched onto the Third Princess, this kid was an unstoppable force returning to the Imperial Capital.

In that case, why not hold this bullet and wait for him to expose a flaw before firing?

But unexpectedly, this kid seemed to be in such high spirits or something that a flaw appeared so quickly.

Hearing this, the Sixth Saint Roland’s face showed a trace of anger: “Publicly gunning down an heir of a marquis family? That’s outrageous!”

“Even if a prince committed such a crime, he would face the Empire’s laws. And you, as a subordinate of Ivyst, Lynn Bartleon, do you have any objections to the marquis’s accusations?!”

The emperor’s voice seemed to carry a soul-stirring authority, invoking a strong sense of awe.

All eyes were on him for a moment.

Seeing this, Lynn chuckled, “Of course I object.”

“If this old coot is so sure I’m spreading lies and twisting the truth, he must have evidence to convict me.”

“In that case, please present such evidence, otherwise, you’re slandering my innocence.”

At this, a cold smile flashed in Marquis Mosgra’s eyes.

He, of course, had no evidence.

The nobles present at the banquet had already turned against him under Duke Tilius’s coercion, refusing to mention the incident at all.

To uncover the truth, he even had someone kidnap a local minor noble and used memory manipulation to try and restore the events of that day.

But the minor noble suddenly had a fit and died on the spot.

It seemed that to cover up what happened at the banquet, the Third Princess employed quite a few tactics as well.

So right now, obtaining direct evidence was extremely difficult.

But for Marquis Mosgra, it was not an issue at all.

Sometimes, to pin enough crimes on someone, you don’t even need evidence.

Or perhaps the reason he’d laid the groundwork for so long was just to bring about this moment.

To draw out Lynn’s prior statement.

“So, to clear your name, you agree to let people investigate this matter?” Marquis Mosgra coldly looked at Lynn, “Even if the process involves using certain risky Sealed Items to search your memories?”

Lynn gave him a dumbfounded look: “I now have reasonable suspicion that you killed the sow next door to my house. Please cooperate with my inquiry and let me use a Sealed Item to investigate you.”

Marquis Mosgra seemed taken aback by the kid’s sharp tongue, frozen for a few seconds, then his expression darkened.

“Pfft!”

A sudden light laugh broke the tense silence.

Lynn instinctively looked up and found a silver-haired girl in the crowd, seemingly amused by his remarks, covering her mouth with laughter as she was surrounded by other nobles.

She was petite, around Eleanor’s age, and her silver hair, reminiscent of Felix’s, was tied in twin ponytails, falling delicately over her shoulders.

Her pale face was cute and flawless, like a finely crafted porcelain doll.

If Ivyst was a godforsaken one loved by no one, then this girl was likely the opposite.

It was as if she was naturally adored by everyone, a little princess raised in warmth, living in ultimate comfort.

Princess Aimeisda, the Ninth Princess, and also the younger sister of Second Prince Felix.

This information flashed briefly through his mind.

Noticing his inquiring gaze, Princess Aimeisda instantly withdrew her smile, giving him a haughty little huff while baring her small fangs.

At this, Lynn quickly moved his gaze away.

Meanwhile, the trial against him seemed to continue.

“Since there are objections to this matter and it’s a solemn occasion, let’s set it aside for now,” Marquis Mosgra seemed to ignore the little incident and respectfully addressed Saint Roland VI, “However, Your Majesty, I have one more accusation against this old friend’s son.”

“Another one?”

Saint Roland VI raised an eyebrow.

He seemed blissfully unaware of all that had transpired today.

Lynn glanced at him and said nothing.

“Indeed.” Marquis Mosgra looked up and made eye contact with someone behind Saint Roland VI, “Of course, it may not be fitting for me to bring this up.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Cardinal Connor Gregory from the Church of Heavenly Justice behind the Emperor let out a barely noticeable sigh.

Upon hearing this, the emperor turned to seek his opinion.

Wearing a red robe adorned with golden patterns and gems, Cardinal Connor gave a slight bow: “Your Majesty, this is a grand banquet held to welcome the Empire’s heroes back, and we at the Church of Heavenly Justice would rather not disrupt the atmosphere.”

“But since the old marquis has brought it up, I will then proceed to ask Mr. Lynn a few questions.”

“Ask away, Your Excellency.”

Saint Roland VI’s gaze lightly swept over Lynn.

Hearing this, a smile appeared on Cardinal Connor’s face as he nodded at Lynn, as if he was just calmly greeting him.

“We all have some understanding of the event at the border,” Cardinal Connor surveyed the room as an opening remark, “My first question is regarding the report provided by the Third Prince to the military, which mentioned that to stop the Sealed Item’s rampage, you personally absorbed the core characteristics.”

“As a Level 1 Transcendent, how did you survive the torment and corruption of the core characteristics?” Here it comes!

Lynn maintained a stone-cold expression while his mind reflected, “Just as I thought.”

He calmly replied, “All of that should be covered in the report.”

Cardinal Connor nodded: “Lynn Bartleon, although I hate to refer to you as such, as someone previously expelled from the Church as a ‘godforsaken one’, in your moment of desperation, you chose to pray to a demon and summoned an indescribable monster to suppress the violent outburst of the Sealed Item’s characteristics in your body.”

“Everything I said comes from the military’s report, and the contents have been verified and are accurate.”

“I am correct, am I not?”

After a long silence, the boy’s voice echoed in the grand Political Discussion Hall: “Correct.”

Instantly, everyone present gasped in shock, their eyes wide with disbelief.

Many instinctively took a few steps back, wanting to distance themselves from the boy.

After all, demons were synonymous with evil and brutality, longstanding enemies of the Empire, with countless soldiers dying on battlefields every year or being swallowed by those monsters.

The hatred there was too deep to ever resolve.

Yet now, this guy boldly admitted to being connected with demons.

A hint of wariness and disdain began to surface in the gazes of the crowd toward him.

“Second question.” Cardinal Connor seemed oblivious to the crowd’s reaction, “In this Level 0 Sealed Item rampage event, one hundred and eight Transcendents from the Church of Heavenly Justice stationed in Orlen City perished. Upon examination, all deaths were remarkably similar, as if their hearts had been ripped out by a demon.”

“Other churches’ Transcendents have claimed to have witnessed the entire incident, which is inextricably linked to the demon that appeared that day.”

“What do you have to say about this?”

At this point, Cardinal Connor’s demeanor remained gentle, but the sharpness of his questions increasingly intensified.

The implication of his words was clear: Do you acknowledge that this atrocity is your doing?

Lynn, of course, wouldn’t admit it; he would need to be out of his mind to do so.

So he shook his head: “I know nothing.”

Seeing this, Cardinal Connor’s eyes showed no disappointment; he merely nodded.

“Then we move on to the third question.”

“However, I want to direct this question not at him, but at another individual present.”

With that, the cardinal slightly turned to cast a friendly look at Xia, who stood beside Shirina.

“Captain Xia, as the Empire’s Battle Hero, you possess admirable noble qualities.” He nodded, “So for this question, please answer truthfully.”

Xia, suddenly caught off guard by the unexpected topic, frowned.

He was still reeling from the shock of Lynn’s impressive display at the border, feeling a mix of indignation and disgust.

Now everyone suddenly focused their attention on him.

Yet he didn’t flinch, nodded: “Please, go ahead.”

“According to certain rumors from the military, it appears that prior to your departure from the teleportation facility, a small altercation occurred between you and the Third Prince’s party.”

“This Mr. Lynn publicly defamed you and attempted to brand you as a demon spy. Is this true?”

Recalling that scene, Xia’s mood darkened.

But he still nodded: “True.”

Cardinal Connor continued: “Additionally, according to him, despite being unfamiliar, you expressed inexplicable disdain for him.”

“In your view, is there a possibility that ‘Lynn Bartleon is contaminated by demonic power and is trying to retaliate out of guilt’?”

Upon hearing this, Xia instantly grasped the cardinal’s true intentions behind these questions.

His eyes brightened.

If this was the case, this guy’s crimes could be definitively established, leaving no room for escape!

Just as Xia was preparing to answer, a slender figure suddenly stepped forward beside him.

Tia had appeared in front of him at some point, looking at Lynn with a cold gaze: “No need to complicate things.”

“I swear in the name of the Silent Saint, this incident absolutely has nothing to do with Captain Xia. He is innocent.”

“The real culprit is right in front of you.”

“To clarify what happened that day is quite simple; all it requires is for him to agree to undergo a Sealed Item examination in front of everyone and restore the events of that day.”

“It’s a pity that he doesn’t seem to have the guts to do so.”

Tia’s voice was ethereal and pleasant, yet carried a hint of urgency that was subtly detectable.

She didn’t know why she had suddenly stepped in.

According to her character, she would normally prefer to avoid this kind of attention.

But Xia, unaware of her inner thoughts, felt a surge of strong emotion at her proactiveness in proving his innocence.

All previous grievances from Lynn instantly vanished.

But why did it seem like Tia was a bit… overly excited?

Although confused, this wasn’t the time to consider such things, so he pushed it aside for now.

And Tia’s proposal quickly received the approval of everyone.

After all, the current situation was as straightforward as that.

We just needed to see what actually transpired that day to determine who was innocent.

In no time, all eyes again focused on Lynn.

The atmosphere fell back into silence.

Just as everyone thought the boy would refuse again, for some reason, he suddenly glanced in Tia’s direction.

Then he bowed his head deeply.

“Alright.” Lynn’s voice was emotionless, “Since you all request it, I agree.”

Wait, he actually agreed?

Clearly, his response once again astonished everyone.

Just moments ago, the boy had been quite stubborn, yet for some reason, he chose to yield now.

However, at that moment, only Tia could grasp what had just transpired.

Recalling the pained look Lynn gave her, filled with sympathy and loss, a peculiar sense of unease resurfaced inside her.

Don’t look at me like that!

I don’t even know you!

And don’t make it seem like it’s because of me that you chose to agree to this proposal!

In the corner, the Silent Saint gritted her teeth, her heart racing.

(P.S.: Still running a fever, sorry)