---

Chapter 113: The Priestess and the Prince’s Banter

Although she probably wanted to stay as calm as possible, Vilyric could still sense a hint of jealousy and comparison in Ban’s tone.

“…Heh.”

This question might elicit a variety of different answers from different people, such as praising Liliya’s charm, admiring her talents and insights, or even admiring the Princess’s unparalleled beauty.

But Vilyric didn’t mention any of those.

“Because I want to.”

“…?”

Although Ban immediately wore a “You kidding me?” expression, the Priestess really wasn’t lying about this matter.

From the very beginning, the core reason she helped Liliya was simply “wanting to.”

Because it seemed interesting, she wanted to help, so she did.

Whether it was the promise to protect the Princess upon her first meeting or everything done after arriving at the City of Courage, it all boiled down to this straightforward reason.

Vilyric never considered matters like the country’s citizens or national interests.

She would only help those she believed in, doing things that interested her.

Staring intently into the black-haired girl’s clear and candid silver-blue eyes for quite a while, the second prince finally confirmed that she wasn’t just talking nonsense.

After downing his drink, Ban pursed his lips, a bitter expression settling on his face.

“…That’s a really selfish reason. So, you’re also willing to risk your life to come here and deal with me for that reason?”

“?”

Is this guy a bit too confident?

“Hmm… where did you get the idea that I ‘risked my life to come here’? And to be honest, as long as Your Highness doesn’t flip the table, I don’t intend to strike you. I just came here to confirm some guesses.”

“Heh heh.”

Ban laughed nonchalantly, poured himself another half cup of fine wine, and pointed at the cold beauty behind him, still staring intently at Little Dragon Daughter.

“Miss Vilyric is really confident. In that case, let me introduce someone—Miss Aaliyah, the Second Seat of the Throne of Immortality, the Twin Dragon Princess.”

“She’s a true Transcendent Level Expert, someone even my ancestor might have trouble dealing with. Even if she fought back, what could you do?”

“Well…”

The Priestess didn’t rush to refute, realizing that verbal disputes held no meaning.

Furthermore…

Noticing a certain item with clear spatial fluctuations on Ban’s table, Vilyric nodded knowingly.

“Since we have some time, and it’s not like I have anything better to do, why not clear up some confusion for me? Honestly, there are a few key points about this whole situation that I haven’t figured out yet.”

Both sides had their own strong points and felt fearless, and Ban wasn’t in a hurry, smiling as he nodded.

“Miss Vilyric, feel free to ask.”

“Hey, that’s exactly what I was waiting to hear!”

Without hesitation, Vilyric immediately tossed out her first question.

“First, was the rebellion outside something you planned?”

“If you’re referring to the city guard’s 6th, 7th, and 9th legions, along with the Necromancers and Demon cults, then yes, that was indeed my backup plan. I assume the city is in chaos by now?”

While sipping his wine, Ban spoke like a strategist, engaging in a grandiose discussion with the beauty.

“Since the plan has reached this point, there’s nothing left to hide. To be honest, I did organize some actions tonight against Liliya and a few of my brothers and sisters, but each of them has their own strategies and trump cards. I wasn’t counting on everything succeeding. The chaos in the city is merely a cover for my escape.”

“Oh right, and to frame dear Patrick while we’re at it, I borrowed soldiers from him, after all.”

Ban’s assertion perfectly matched Vilyric’s suspicions.

“Escape… you’re trying to flee the City of Courage?”

“No, no, no, how could I use the word ‘escape’?”

The man immediately retorted.

“This is a strategic retreat, Miss Vilyric. Given the circumstances, the chances of my legitimate succession are slim, so I must seek another path, cut land for myself, and see what flows from there, right? Liliya is forcing my hand.”

“Fortunately, there’s still half the lands in the east and a million troops willing to follow my orders. Since the Spirit doesn’t wish to acknowledge me, what use is it? Better to establish a new legitimacy.”

Ban smiled slightly.

“I think the Throne of Immortality sounds pretty good.”

“Wow, you really are a piece of work… Liliya was right about you having aspirations of secession.”

The Priestess blatantly criticized him.

“Heh heh, Miss Vilyric, you flatter me. One must always leave themselves an escape route, right?”

Seeing Ban’s shameless, somewhat proud expression, Vilyric couldn’t be bothered to continue with her sarcasm and moved on to the next question.

“Was it your idea to poison the little princess, Mona?”

“Oh, that? That was just a coincidental backup plan. Speaking of which, it was inspired by Miss Aaliyah, but it was spotted by Liliya, so it turned out to be irrelevant, utterly irrelevant! Hahaha!”

Laughing casually, Ban seemed to have finally found someone to confide in, spilling various classified information without the usual restraint.

Who knows, this might just be his most authentic personality.

As for the blue dragon, Miss Aaliyah, she stood behind Ban and subtly curled her lips but didn’t speak.

“Coincidental…? Tsk tsk…”

Noticing this, Vilyric raised an eyebrow but said nothing objectionable. Instead, she took out a thin sheet of paper from her pocket and laid it on the table.

It was the letter attached to the crossbow bolt that contained ambiguous threats, which led Vilyric to the Blood Clan estate.

“Did you set up this letter and the crossbow bolt? To let me know about the Fourth Prince Devitt and the Blood Clan’s plans, is this a case of using someone else’s knife to kill?”

This time, Ban finally didn’t respond immediately; he paused, seemingly not understanding the meaning behind the Priestess’s words.

“What letter, crossbow? I know Devitt is involved with those bats; we’ve collaborated to deal with my big brother before, but did I need to specifically tell you that? After all, we’ve only met once… Is there someone else who knows all this?”

After a brief moment of confusion, the cunning second prince quickly deciphered the information revealed by Vilyric, his gaze deepening.

“Well, isn’t this interesting? The idiot Third Prince can be directly excluded, the Fourth Prince has no reason to create trouble for himself, Liliya and you are in cahoots, so there’s no need for such tricks, and young Mona is just a child… Could it be an outside force from the royal family is involved?”

Ban’s reaction was more than sufficient.

Taking the letter back, casually shrugging, Vilyric joked with him.

“Who knows? Maybe it’s the First Prince’s vengeful spirit coming to find you guys.”

“Heh… even if that were true, there’s no need to go through you, a nameless adventurer.”

After a brief surprise, Ban returned to his previous posture and finished the last dregs of wine in his cup.

“The time is about up. Before I take my leave, does Miss Vilyric have any other questions? I’m in a good mood today, and I can share whatever I’m able to.”

“Hmm, indeed, there’s one last question.”

Before Ban could nod, Vilyric directly brought up the final and deepest doubt concealed in her heart.

She pulled out the formal document binding the Beast Kingdom with Ban, showing their stamped seals, and spread it flat on the table.

“Do you know who placed this in your personal ring?”