Chapter 54: Exposed
Abium stared at the group of Nobles with wide eyes for a moment and finally sighed.
He had never heard of any news about Margrave Eliot betraying the Royal Family in the past.
But the current actions of these Noble Houses startled him deeply.
He didn't understand many of their words due to the shouts, but he was sure of one thing.
They were committing treason here!
Everyone calmed down after a few moments and waited for Eliot's speech.
At that moment, Margrave Eliot also stood up from his seat and made a final announcement.
"You must remember that we are revolting against the current administration. Once we put our project into action, the Royal Family will ultimately know that we betrayed them and brand us as traitors. If the Coronation Ceremony ended successfully, we would be the first suspects to be executed." Eliot paused for a moment and then added.
"Moreover, most of our family members will also become exiled. Even if the Crown Prince shows mercy on our kin, Princess Ankerita and Duchess Margery won't allow them to live in this kingdom."
Everyone nodded their heads and wordlessly waited for Margrave Eliot to proceed.
"So, Duke formed an agreement with the Southern Holy See. In truth, they also asked something in return, though." He deliberated for a moment and continued.
"We have to provide them with one of the kingdom's secrets first. The Higher-Ups of the Holy See stated that they would assist us in detaining those two Royal Princes if we gave the blueprint of the Magic Tower. They want the same Magic Tower blueprint that the Crown Prince has. They will also give us full protection."
At that moment, a noble from the crowd asked in suspicion.
"But what is their main purpose? I don't think that the Holy See will involve themselves in our kingdom's internal affairs for the Magic Tower blueprint. They must be after something else."
Many of them agreed along with him.
"Yes. There is one additional condition. It is to build an Archdiocese near the Capital City of Peral and establish Light Church in every town. Then, Royal capital will become the main branch for the whole southern Mainland."
The Nobles began to consider for a while and gradually started nodding their heads at those conditions.
Meanwhile, Abium also understood the Light Church's plan very clearly.
Every God needed countless followers to gather the faith power or divine power. So it wasn't strange for the Holy See to go after people's beliefs.
The number of believers a God owns from his Divine kingdoms and the maternal plane indicates his incarnation strength. That's what he had read about the Gods in books.
Abium also heard something about law domain power in the past, but he knew nothing about that.
While he was thinking about those kinds of stuff, a sentence came out of Margrave Eliot's mouth that caused every cell in his body to go numb.
"So, the Holy Maiden of Light is here to complete the mission and help us during critical situations."
Eliot said with a smile, moved away from his luxurious seat, and walked towards the red-curtained carriage.
'Sh*t!'
Abium cursed inwardly and was deeply startled inside.
He didn't want to stay any longer at that spot and backed away hurriedly. He might be able to fool these old fogies' senses, but against a Holy maiden's perception, he wouldn't be able to hide!
At that moment, everyone on the scene also began to guess who was inside that red carriage.
Meanwhile, Eliot arrived closer to the red-curtained carriage and slowly uncovered the curtain.
On the other hand, a beautiful figure emerged from inside.
A young lady with scarlet hair stepped down from the carriage and warmly smiled at the Nobles.
She wore a simple white gown with a nabla symbol engraved on it.
Her charm attracted everybody, even including Abium. She had scarlet eyes, fair skin, an oval face, and unique short ears seen only among the northerners.
"'I will now introduce Her Excellency Jeanette to all of you," Eliot said as he bowed his head towards her.
In the meantime, the other Nobles also stood up from their seats and bowed at her unconsciously.
On the other hand, Abium stood more than 50 meters away from them and stared at the group with wide-opened eyes.
'What the f*ck did I witness? These guys are planning big!'
Abium heard a lot about these Holy Maidens in the past but never met any.
Holy maidens were chosen ones of the Light God.
Their strength could even rival Bishops, and they were equally respected all over the continent.
Abium stood there with a stunned expression and finally turned solemn.
He never expected that the Holy Maiden of Light would be disguised as a wife of Margrave and hide inside the kingdom for two years!
Abium finally understood why no one knew about her whereabouts except Margrave.
Immediately, he lifted his head, looked at his best friend, and frowned.
Abium never thought that Nicolaus's family was working with Holy See and plotting against the kingdom and felt conflicted inside.
'Don't believe in everything you see or hear; inquire the truth is the pure form of wisdom.' At that moment, a quote from an old book appeared in his head.
'Yes, I shouldn't make my judgment here.' He nodded inwardly and shifted his gaze towards the group of Nobles.
"Your Excellency!"
Everyone greeted the Holy Maiden in unison, lifted their heads, and waited anxiously.
Meanwhile, Jeanette also showed a friendly smile, waved her right hand, and was about to say something but stopped.
She halted her footsteps and raised her eyebrows.
"Someone is spying on us." She said coldly and recited a word in an unknown language.
In the next instant, a dense amount of light-elemental energy came out of Jeanette's body and spread in all directions like waves.
Buzz!
Abium quickly sneaked behind a stone pillar and dodged those light waves without hesitation.
At that moment, Holy Maiden Jeanette turned her gaze towards the opposite sidewall and locked her eyes on the area where Hemarc was hiding.
She then casually raised her right hand, pointed her finger at that place, and muttered.
"Sanctus ray!"
As she spoke, a ray of holy light came out of her finger and moved upwards at an unimaginable speed.
It was a light magic spell!
It soon arrived near the fort wall and was an inch away from colliding against Hemarc!
But before that ray could attack him, Hemarc's figure leaped from there and slowly descended.
Like a feather, he landed a few meters apart from the crowd and stared at everyone with a smile.
"Whoa! I'm honored to meet a Holy Maiden of the Light church in a remote kingdom; I think Mother Nature must have blessed me with luck." He said in a casual tone.
Meanwhile, Jeanette showed a grim look on her face and asked threateningly.
"Who are you?"
Simultaneously, light-elemental energy gathered behind her back and soon formed into two dazzling white wings.
Both wings radiated in white light and removed the darkness from the courtyard.
At that moment, Jeanette's appearance looked more like an Angel from the Legends!
Meanwhile, Hemarc raised both hands above his head, let out a lazy yawn, and responded.
"I'm just a random guy. When I overheard some talks, I thought of taking a look. But I must say. For the Holy Maiden of the Light to serve as a wife of Margrave for almost two years, it must be hard for you!" His words instantly angered the Holy Maiden.
"Stop with your play and reveal yourself. You may have the skill to fool these peoples, but you can't deceive my divine eyes." As she finished her words, her eyes suddenly glowed in golden light and caused everyone in the surroundings to feel naked.
The whole crowd went silent, and nobody moved an inch.
Abium's face began to twitch when he heard Hemarc's words.
'But who is he really?' His amber eyes stared curiously at Hemarc.
On the other side, the Nobles became wary of the surroundings and quickly looked around.
Someone had overheard their earlier conversation without even alerting their senses and almost exposed their plan to the public!
Drops of cold sweats appeared on everyone's brows.
At that moment, they realized how careless they were!
Meanwhile, Margrave Eliot gritted his teeth, turned his gaze towards Baron Tibbott, and asked in anger.
"What is the meaning of this, Tibbott?"
Without waiting for Baron's response, he looked at the surroundings and roared.
"Where are the guards?"
More than thirty elite soldiers came from all directions, stood in lines, and bowed their heads in a few seconds.
"Lock this entire fortress. Kill anyone who tries to oppose the order and tries to leave. Even if it is one of your siblings, show no mercy. No one enters or leaves the fort until I say so." His voice appeared cold as ice.