Chapter 99
David, however, snorted derisively and mocked Leo’s father’s argument.
“Seems like your son wasn’t impressive enough to be invited.”
Unlike my brilliant son.
Everyone in the room could hear the unspoken implication. Nancy was surprised that David was taking her side, although she figured it wasn’t because he wanted to help her but rather to belittle his annoying rival.
Still, this was an important moment. She thought she might be able to get David on her side.
“I apologize, but your son wasn’t skilled enough to join us on the mission to the Demon King’s Castle,” Nancy said, clasping her hands politely and closing her eyes as if deeply regretful.
She could hear David stifling a laugh.
Not bad.
His gaze toward her had softened slightly. It seemed she had managed to gain a bit of David’s favor. On the other hand, Leo and his father’s faces flushed red with fury as they glared at her, as though they wanted to kill her.
But they had already made themselves her enemies. After all, they were the ones who started this fight.
With the threat of being exposed and possibly even losing her life over accusations of colluding with demons, Nancy had no reason to hold back now.
“The reason I recruited only Aaron for the party is because Aaron was enough.”
“Ha! How arrogant! What would you have done if the mission had failed? You must have planned for failure from the start…”
“But we succeeded. Aaron and I did what no Hero before us has ever done—just the two of us.”
The word succeeded silenced the room. Even Leo’s father, who had been enraged by her arrogance, had nothing to say.
“High Priest, are you accusing me of making a false claim about sealing all of the Cardinal Guardians?”
The High Priest groaned and shook his head. The sealing of the Cardinal Guardians had truly taken place. No one could deny the reality of that, even if they couldn’t understand how she had managed to do it.
“Maybe she just pretended to seal them, planning to release all the Cardinal Guardians gathered in Verus at once.”
“Yeah, good point, Leo. That must be part of the plan!”
“But I handed over all the Cardinal Guardians’ stones to the temple. How could I break their seals?”
“By sneaking into the temple and…”
“Are you suggesting the temple’s security is lax, councilman?” the High Priest snapped, clearly insulted.
David chimed in, supporting Nancy again, saying there was no proof and that Leo’s father was making baseless accusations.
It seemed the sentiment within the temple was shifting in her favor. Nancy began to feel hopeful that she might be able to escape from this situation.
As murmurs spread through the room, Leo raised the elder imp in his grip.
“While this is a diversion, my main accusation remains: that Hero Nancy obtained her title through illegal dealings with demons.”
“Illegal dealings? All I did was sell pork to someone I didn’t realize was a demon…”
“And you received the former Hero’s diamond ring in return, didn’t you?”
Unfortunately, there was no refuting that point. Nancy could feel everyone’s eyes on her, but one person’s gaze was particularly intense.
It was Aaron. He was staring at her with what seemed like overwhelming betrayal and hostility.
Cold sweat dripped down Nancy’s back. What should she do? She bit her dry lips nervously as her breath quickened. At that moment, the elder mouthed something to her.
She couldn’t quite make it out. Me… me-rrong… Was he saying me-rrong?
Me-rrong? Was he joking? After all, wasn’t this situation his fault for spilling everything?
As Nancy frowned at him, the elder shook his head and mouthed the words again. It still looked like me-long, but his expression was desperate. Why would someone be desperately saying me-long?
“You’re saying she stole your father’s ring, Councilman David.”
Leo’s father smirked at David.
Nancy regretted not getting rid of the ring earlier. At least then, she could have had a better argument. But unfortunately, the ring was still hanging around her neck, hidden under her clothes.
“It’s unfortunate, Aaron. The thief who stole your grandfather’s ring also stole your title as Hero,” Leo lamented.
Suddenly, Aaron let out an unexpected laugh, as if he had lost his mind.
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