Chapter 208: Breaking the Deadlock (Part 1)

  In the sleeping chamber of the imperial palace, General Thomas, who had just arrived, was full of anger. Looking at Cardinal and Rodhart, he opened his mouth and roared like a machine gun: "Where is Her Majesty the Queen? Didn't you say there was a matter of utmost urgency inviting us into the palace for discussion? How is it just the two of you? Why is the place arranged here? Isn't it supposed to be in the council hall? And what are so many Imperial Guards and members of the Paladin Order doing outside the palace, with swords drawn and bows bent? You actually won't let me bring attendants, are you afraid we'll rebel?"

  "Please be seated, General. Although the situation is indeed very urgent, it's better to wait until the Chancellor arrives before we talk," Cardinal answered very calmly. "Because the situation is extraordinary, there have also been some extraordinary precautions and measures. Please do not mind too much, General. You will know why in a moment."

  General Thomas glared at Bishop Javi. He had not the slightest bit of goodwill for this young bishop from the Church, and had even suggested to Commander Roland to find an opportunity to secretly get rid of him. Commander Roland and the Chancellor naturally did not agree, and now this little brat had, bafflingly, managed to gain a firm foothold in the royal capital within a few days through a series of small moves like treating the Queen's illness, seemingly on the verge of truly taking over the Magic Academy. If he weren't mindful that Commander Roland had his own considerations, General Thomas would have made his move long ago.

  Bishop Javi seemed to turn a blind eye to the fire and killing intent in the General's eyes. He just gave a faint smile, then cast his gaze toward the distance outside the hall.

  The sleeping chamber was very large. The bed for the Emperor and Queen's rest had already been blocked off by heavy screens. The other empty areas were still very spacious. Marquis Minsk, Minister Jason, and other court ministers had all arrived, all sitting before a temporarily moved-in conference table. Everyone was whispering to each other in confusion, discussing what this sudden, emergency summons meant. These veteran and heavy-weight ministers actually didn't pay much attention to these two young people, Cardinal and Rodhart, but this summons was not just from the two of them; it also came with the Queen's verbal decree, so they had no choice but to come.

  "The Chancellor has arrived." A swordsman from the Paladin Order walked in to announce.

  Rodhart and Bishop Javi exchanged a glance, their eyes identical. This was the person they had truly been waiting for.

  The Chancellor, in her official robes, walked in led by the swordsman. At the same time, Cardinal's and Rodhart's eyes both met hers. And almost at the same time, both their hearts were stirred. They both knew that something had happened.

  The Chancellor's expression was very calm, her demeanor natural, as if nothing unusual had occurred. But with their insight, they could naturally see that this calm was not the flatness of a shallow lake, but the stillness of the ocean's surface—deep and unfathomable. Though it appeared calm now, beneath it perhaps endless waves and undercurrents were hidden.

  Rodhart's heart sank. This indicated that the Chancellor knew some inside information, and since she was unharmed, that other person was naturally also unharmed.

  Bishop Javi's mood, however, was much more complicated. He had great confidence in his father's strength and judgment. He believed that even when facing Gru and Lancelot, Marquis had enough strength and wit to escape unscathed. So he was not worried about Marquis. Although it seemed that kid had used some unknown method to shake off Marquis, which was indeed unsettling, the current situation was also almost completely under his control. Alone, how could he play any tricks? The entire Paladin Order was on guard in the imperial palace; not even a fly could fly in. So what stirred his heart was not these problems, but her.

  Although it was just a hasty meeting of eyes, Bishop Javi could feel that what her gaze contained when she looked at him was a hundred times more than before. Without a doubt, she already knew who he was, knew why he had returned, and what he had done.

  But even so, her expression could remain so composed, her ability to hide so many emotions so deeply—this kind of cunning and city-building was outstanding even among men. And she knew full well this might be an emergency summons targeting her, knew her own sister had fallen into another's grasp, yet she could still come alone. This kind of courage and heart was something even men could not match. So Javi was very moved.

  In his eyes, "strong" and "weak" had always been the most important standards for measurement. Those women who couldn't even control their own emotions, who were short-sighted and had no magnanimity or bearing, like her queenly sister, for example—no matter how beautiful, he would not give them a second glance. And she, while perhaps not the only one, was absolutely the woman who most caught his eye, the woman most qualified to enter the trajectory of his life. Furthermore, he had regrets about her. To him, she was a symbol that he had completely surpassed his former self.

  Most importantly, in the deepest part of his heart, a part he himself did not often perceive, she truly held a position that could not be replaced by any concept of strength or weakness, nor judged by any value system. It was the place in his heart that could radiate the most warmth and gentleness.

  Such a woman, and now the two of them were standing on such a strange, opposing footing. Javi's mood was a bit strange. But regardless of his mood, the current situation was the most important. He revealed a similarly calm, unruffled smile and bowed to the Chancellor: "We were just waiting for you, Chancellor."

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  The Chancellor gave a slight nod, looked deeply and without a trace at Cardinal, and took her seat with a blank expression.

  Rodhart then signaled all the swordsmen and guards to withdraw far away. He then gave the order for all members of the Paladin Order to tighten their defenses to a hundred meters outside the sleeping chamber, ensuring they could not hear a single word from inside, and also guaranteeing no one could infiltrate or approach. Only then did his heart settle a little. Relying on these several hundred of the Empire's most elite swordsmen and high-level mages of the Paladin Order, it would be enough to hold back even Gru and Sedros if they came in person.

  "Alright, now that everyone is here, can we ask Her Majesty the Queen to come out?" Thomas said in a deep voice, glancing at the space blocked off by the screen at the back.

  Cardinal withdrew his gaze from the Chancellor, scanned the ministers present once, and said slowly, "Actually, today's invitation to all of you was not Her Majesty the Queen's intention, but rather the result of a discussion between Lord Rodhart and myself..."

  "What?" General Thomas slammed the table and stood up, his eyes glaring at Rodhart. "What are you, you punk, colluding with this guy to do? Is this how Commander Roland instructed you when he left? Don't think you can just act recklessly now that you can mobilize the Paladin Order. Believe it or not, I'll immediately make you..."

  Cardinal suddenly spoke, his faint voice interrupting the General's words: "Please calm yourself, General Thomas. Hasn't someone once told you: Impulsiveness is your greatest enemy? And you yourself know that mistakes made out of impulsiveness are sometimes irreparable..."

  This sentence didn't seem very suitable for persuasion at this moment. But General Thomas, upon hearing it, shuddered. His whole person froze, then he slowly sat back down in his chair. All the ministers at the table looked at him with very strange expressions, unable to figure out how this hot-tempered general could be subdued by such a baffling sentence. But he himself looked at Cardinal with an even stranger gaze, one that actually held some fear and awe.

  Bishop Javi smiled an enigmatic smile. Having lived in this royal capital for twenty years, having served for so long as the deputy to the capital's former number one politician and schemer, he knew enough. This included the fact that this general, one night while drunk, had impulsively raped and killed a common girl. In the end, it was covered up by that seasoned politician. And the sentence Bishop Javi had just spoken was precisely what that well-meaning politician had said to the general at the time.

  That well-meaning and seasoned politician, Bishop Javi's former idol, had taught him the most important point: information and methods are what are truly useful in officialdom. That idol had understood the personalities, habits, quirks, and even unknown faults of all the powerful ministers and nobles in the royal capital. Although he himself no longer had any use for them, they were very useful to Bishop Javi now, and this was one of the reasons he dared to come to the royal capital alone.

  Everyone fell silent. Cardinal sighed lightly and said, "Actually, it was rather presumptuous of me to invite all of you here in my name, but the situation is indeed very serious, having reached a point you all cannot imagine. That is why Lord Rodhart and I had no choice but to do this." He paused, raising his voice and spoke with a heavier tone. "I'm sure you all still remember the incident from a year ago, when that vampire caused a ruckus in the royal hunting grounds..."

  Everyone nodded, and several of their faces changed. They had been there in person. The bloody and cruel scene from that time was enough to be remembered for a lifetime.

  "Although I did not witness it myself, I heard that this vampire was eliminated at the Chancellor's hands. Is that right? Then surely the Chancellor must have a fresh memory of this incident?" Bishop Javi looked at the Chancellor and asked.

  "Mm," the Chancellor replied faintly, her not-large but very charming eyes also gazing faintly back at him. The things contained in her gaze, only he could feel, but he could not articulate them.

  Bishop Javi couldn't help but smile faintly in his heart. To confront a woman he was determined to have in this manner. This was truly a very interesting and strange matter. But on the surface, his expression was incomparably heavy, and he said in a muffled voice, "The Chancellor must also remember that at that time, that vampire nearly bit Her Majesty the Queen on the neck, right. I'm sure the ministers present at the time also remember this very clearly..."

  A few ministers just nodded, while the Chancellor replied faintly, "Yes."

  Bishop Javi continued in a sorrowful tone, "Everyone should also remember very clearly the incident some time ago when Her Majesty the Queen suddenly fell ill... and then the appearance of a vampire in the royal capital..."

  No one spoke anymore. Everyone here was not a mediocre, foolish person. They could all vaguely sense the thick, ominous aura in Cardinal's words. Many eyes showed fear, only the Chancellor still maintained that strange, calm gaze.

  Javi became even more curious. He very much wanted to know whether she had a way to break this deadlock, or if she had already succumbed to despair, accepting this dead-end situation. If there was a way, what on earth could it be? He scanned the ministers present once and, as they had expected, said in a very grieved, heavy voice, "When I was treating Her Majesty the Queen back then, I discovered an unusual condition within Her Majesty's body. As a result, a vampire's tracks were then discovered in the royal capital. So, after Lord Rodhart and I investigated together, we finally discovered... that the vampire had indeed bitten Her Majesty the Queen at that time, and... Her Majesty the Queen had long since become a vampire..."

  "What?" "Nonsense!" "Impossible!" A chorus of exclamations rose from among the ministers. Although they had been mentally prepared, they were all still thrown into panic and confusion. The elderly Minister Jason even stood up and roared, "If something had really happened, why didn't Bishop Ronis see it at the time? Is it up to you, you punk, to talk nonsense here now?"

  "According to my investigation at the Magic Academy, after questioning the priests who were there at the time, I learned that Bishop Ronis did not personally go to inspect, but rather had a acolyte conduct the examination," Cardinal said, completely ignoring the ministers' doubts and angry roars. His voice suddenly sank, gaining a more imposing manner. "And that acolyte was precisely the one who later assassinated Bishop Ronis, and finally assassinated Duke Mrak—the mastermind behind that vampire incident."

  "That vampire was originally released by him, and that whole scene he staged was just to get closer to Bishop Ronis. Everyone already knows this. That fellow also saw His Majesty's fondness for the Duke's young lady at the time, and so he turned the Duke's young lady into a vampire..."

  As Cardinal spoke, the ministers' agitation grew even more intense. These people, who were normally old and cunning, now seemed like headless flies. This news was not just an earth-shattering shock to them, but to the entire court and the entire Empire. And yet, his words were very logical. The situation at the time was indeed as Cardinal had described, and it seemed inevitable that it would develop this way.

  But even if it was logical, no one could easily accept this fact. the Old Marquis Minsk said in a deep voice, "You've said so much, but do you have proof? Where is Her Majesty the Queen? We need to ask her face to face."

  Bishop Javi let out a long sigh, nodded, and said, "Of course. This is also the reason Lord Rodhart and I invited all of you here... Now, please have a look at Her Majesty the Queen." He turned and walked toward the screen, pushing it aside to reveal the large bed behind it. Her Majesty the Queen was lying on it.

  When they saw Her Majesty the Queen, everyone let out a gasp. Because the first thing they saw were the two white fangs protruding from Her Majesty the Queen's lips.

  The Chancellor's expression was still that of an extremely resolute calm, but tears finally burst forth from her eyes.

  Before coming here, she had already known all of this. But when she saw with her own eyes the two terrifying fangs at her sister's lips, she finally couldn't hold back any longer. Even the strongest person has their breaking point, not to mention she herself knew that she bore a certain responsibility for this matter. The story she had fabricated back then to cover up the truth for her father had become the accepted fact in everyone's minds, and now it had become the proof in Cardinal's words.

  The gaze within these tears was incomparably sorrowful, but on her face, which she tried to keep calm, it appeared even more resolute.