Chapter 239: Ch 238: The Results I Wanted

Lyra’s confession stopped everyone cold, and they looked at her as if she had lost her head. But Lyra kept her head held high as she stared back at everyone.

Her short stature made most people question her claim. But the power radiating from her body was enough for most of them to back down and stay silent.

Still, some people had doubts lingering in their minds, which Adrian quickly cleared up.

"I can vouch on my name that this person is the demon queen. Not only have I seen her in action, but I have also crossed swords with her. But you are free to doubt my words if you want to."

Adrian was putting his name on the line over this matter, and that caused many people to take a step back. As much as they wanted to nitpick his words, he was the empire’s Duke, and they needed to be careful.

"Tsk, it looks like this was a useless meeting. Council, you have wasted my time with this, so you had better be prepared to compensate me for it soon. As for you, Adrian, my old friend, would you care to have some drinks with me after this? I feel like I need something to lift my mood."

The emperor asked, sounding tired and exhausted.

He extended his hand toward Adrian, but the duke in question just looked at it as if he were offended by the offer.

"I am sorry, but I have too much work to do. I do not have time to laze around and drink, unlike a certain someone I know."

That was a jab at the emperor, and everyone flinched at Adrian’s boldness.

The only one who did not find it insulting was the emperor himself, who let out a loud laugh and kept laughing until he could no longer control himself. Once he got his laughter under control, he looked at Adrian with an amused expression.

"I understand what you want to say, my dear friend. You are entitled to your excuses, and I won’t stop you either. Just remember that you can always come back and visit me if you want to reminisce about old times."

The emperor waved his hand, and the meeting came to an end.

Kael let out a sigh of relief as he watched the council grit their teeth in anger and frustration. They had just been taught an important lesson they would not forget.

But Kael had a feeling the council would not back down. They were already starting to plan something else.

"Sometimes, I really feel like I should destroy all those noble houses and be done with it. Just looking at them irritates me so much."

Adrian spoke from beside him, and his words echoed Kael’s thoughts so well that he almost thought he had said them out loud.

"Don’t be foolish. Those council members are an excellent smoke screen for us to pull off some of the craziest audits possible. You like making use of their presence once in a while as well, right?"

Seraphina asked, and Adrian let out a hearty laugh.

"Oh, you are amusing. I never thought I would see a saintess speak such words against the noble council. But I guess you are bound to see everything at least once in your lifetime."

Adrian seemed to approve of Seraphina as the saintess—not that it was something she needed his approval for.

But the fact that she looked happy to have been accepted by Adrian made Kael sigh, and he turned his attention toward the council chamber.

He could feel someone looking at him, and that made his senses tingle. He wanted to find out who had such a piercing stare, but when he looked up, it felt as if everyone was looking at him with the same sharp gaze.

"Tsk, these people are still looking for a way to cause trouble. Should I do something about them?"

Leon asked, and Kael shook his head.

"Let’s not do too much for now. We should head back home and rest. The less we get involved with these people, the better it will be for us."

They had taken down the elf tree, and with it, a huge part of the elves’ protection. Kael had a feeling trouble would come looking for them soon.

There were species in this world that were sensitive to corruption, and they were willing to take action the moment something happened to it. And one such species had been very active during the elves’ downfall in the past.

The dragons would be making their move soon. And if he recalled correctly, they would start by invading the Duke’s territory, and a war would break out.

Kael needed to check on the dragons’ war preparations and get ready to face them head-on. That would be the only way to protect the elves.

...

While Kael was busy planning what to do next, someone else was having a hard time keeping a straight face.

Council Head Kristain Han made his way to his office, but his face was twisted in an angry expression.

He swept everything off his table as soon as he reached it and slammed his hand onto the desk, causing it to shake and crack.

"Those fools are ruining everything. Who told them to put such an irresponsible person in as the representative? My secretary needs to be replaced as soon as possible."

He yelled, and his anger caused the room to vibrate.

Kristain had already sent everyone away, so there was no one left to witness his temper tantrum, but that did not make him feel any better. If anything, his urge to destroy things only grew stronger.

He picked up another vase to throw against the wall, but it started to float as soon as it left his hand.

He watched as it floated into Lumi’s hand, and the magician let out an amused chuckle.

"I see that you are taking your anger out on these poor inanimate objects. What did they ever do to deserve your ire? Or are you breaking them because you cannot break the humans you spent so much time and effort cultivating?"