Chapter 83: So, you’re the only one who can cheat?

Half an hour passed quickly, and the crowd surged back into the Hall of Spirits, taking their places. The council led by President Herbert also summoned that group of High Spirits again.

“Now, let’s continue the deliberation.”

“Hehe, as I said before, I have no knowledge of the so-called ‘Throne of Immortality’ organization. Everything mentioned and done within the Hall of Spirits is true; there shouldn’t be any doubts left, right?”

After several rounds of meaningless opening banter, Second Prince Ban smiled helplessly, putting on a very innocent expression.

“On the contrary, I find it a bit strange. This cult has entrenched itself in the royal capital for a long time, and yet it has gone undiscovered for so long. How could you, Princess Liliya, pinpoint it at this very moment?”

Sitting next to the Princess and staring intently at the white orb of light, Miss Vilyric couldn’t help but chuckle silently, almost bursting out laughing.

Oh ho, turning the tables, are we? It seems the true face is about to be revealed.

“This information was provided by a friend of mine, someone with a clean identity. You might as well say what you have to, Brother.”

Liliya’s expression was flat as she locked eyes with Ban. She had already guessed her second brother’s intentions seeing the hidden ruthlessness behind his gentle smile.

“A friend? Impressive, indeed, Sister; your means are extraordinary, managing to turn even members of a cult into allies… I’ve heard some rather unpleasant things have snuck their way into the Mingluan Hall recently.”

Pausing for a moment, Ban tossed out the bombshell he had been planning for a long time.

“You have someone among your followers who was once part of the ‘Throne of Immortality,’ true or not?”

At these words, before Liliya could retort, the hall erupted in an uproar.

“What? The Princess is even involved with cultists?”

“I had a feeling something was off about this; do you think it’s a case of the thief shouting to catch the thief…?”

“Be careful! The Princess hasn’t spoken yet; it might not be as you imagine!”

“Exactly! Princess Liliya is brilliant and compassionate to her people; how could she possibly associate with cruel cultists? Besides, she led the charge to eradicate them herself; there’s no need for such contradictory actions!”

Seeing the nobles and powerful figures discussing amongst themselves, both supporters and skeptics present, Ban smiled as he stoked the fire he had just lit.

“Moreover, this friend of yours was even a leader of the cult—one of the Thrones! More importantly…”

As if victory were already in his grasp, the second prince feigned a deep sigh and spoke in an exaggeratedly sorrowful tone.

“It is an outsider, a Beastman.”

Liliya stayed calm, thanks to her superior’s composure, but the trusted confidantes around her couldn’t help but change their expressions slightly.

So this guy had his sights set there.

It is well-known that the United Kingdom of Humans strongly rejects outsiders, and non-human races can’t linger in the country on any pretext; otherwise, their lives can’t be guaranteed.

As royalty, they must set a precedent by their own behavior.

So if the princess really does have connections with a Beastman and even brought them to the royal capital, it would be a more serious issue than being involved with cultists.

Depending on the gravity of the situation, the most severe consequence could even be losing the right to inherit the throne, exiled to a far land.

While some may not take this rule too seriously, regardless of what everyone might do in secret, in this solemn and sacred Hall of Spirits, rules are absolute, with no leeway given.

If it were to come to that, it would be a dramatic reversal.

“So, Sister, aren’t you going to say something?”

Ban smiled as he cast his gaze toward the unusually silent princess, clearly exerting a lot of effort to keep himself from bursting into laughter.

It was obvious this was a premeditated scheme.

The other side likely had already deduced from various clues that Plakaka was serving Liliya.

After receiving news that the princess led an army to crush the stronghold of the ‘Throne of Immortality’ and thoroughly eliminated it, Ban probably decided to use this point as a counterattack.

No wonder he didn’t react at the time; he simply watched as Liliya netted useful allies and pawns, and those two Thrones never showed up.

When Liliya applied to open the Hall of Spirits for the supreme deliberation, Ban showed no sign of protest, almost implying his support.

Just as Princess Liliya planned to use the Spirit Deliberation to take down Ban, he intended to utilize this “impossible to lie about” absolute justice trial to remove the biggest obstacle in Liliya’s path to succession.

Ban had his leverage.

Within the kingdom, the ideology rejecting outsiders is deeply rooted. Not everyone can be as open-minded as Liliya in accepting beings of other races, especially some older, more traditional yet highly respected senior nobles and ministers, who have taken it to an extreme degree.

Take for example the kingdom’s prime minister, Griffiths Tuls, who sits right next to the deliberation platform; he is a pillar of the anti-outsider faction and even as a supporter of Liliya’s faction, he now looks at the princess with a somewhat strange expression.

This clearly shows how severe the discrimination is.

That’s why Liliya has never allowed Plakaka to reveal their appearance in public; it was to prevent unforeseen complications.

In other contexts, with Liliya’s means, this matter could have been smoothed over.

But here, they are being watched by the High Spirits.

Only in the Hall of Spirits, the “rules” are absolute, and anyone who violates them must be punished, even a princess is no exception.

“Dear Sister, remaining silent won’t work; according to the rules of the Hall of Spirits, if you consistently remain silent on the issues raised during the deliberation, it may be treated as a default response ~”

As the atmosphere in the hall grew increasingly awkward, and it seemed hard to contain, although President Herbert felt uneasy, he could only fulfill his duties as a councilor.

He tapped his wooden hammer to suppress the buzz of discussion, mustering up the courage to gently remind the somber-faced Liliya.

“Ahem… Princess Liliya, since this concerns the core topics of this deliberation, please provide an answer to this question.”

“…”

Liliya slowly rose, meeting the eyes of her smug half-brother, taking a deep breath.

Then, she suddenly smiled.

“I was wondering what it was… This is truly a boring conjecture. Since Brother wants to know, I will tell you.”

With that, she ignored Ban’s suddenly stiffened smile and spoke loudly towards the orb of white light above.

“I, Liliya Meikailande, the Fifth Princess of the United Kingdom, have never had any deep connections with any non-human races, nor have I ever taken them under my command. All my subordinates and friends are pure-blood humans, and that is…”

“All true!”

The girl’s declaration rang out loud and clear, far more upright than Ban’s soft-spoken, cautious demeanor.

After a brief silence, the Hall of Spirits erupted in thunderous cheers!

“Oh! Well said! As expected of the direct royal family of our United Kingdom—Princess, you truly are an exemplary model of self-discipline!”

“Phew… I said, how could Princess Liliya possibly do something like that? The second prince’s speculation was a bit excessive; frankly, there’s no evidence to back it up.”

“Exactly! Princess Liliya gathers sufficient evidence before making any accusations; she wouldn’t just throw them around like that. Who knows what intentions lie behind the prince’s baseless slander?”

The crowd supporting Liliya already held a significant advantage, and with this opportunity, they began to mercilessly bombard Second Prince Ban, leaving his face alternating between shades of green and white, finding it hard to save face.

Now, he couldn’t laugh at all.

   

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