When they saw Ayanokouji, the legs of the three hooligans went weak, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably, as if they had just seen a monster.
They didn't want to experience such severe physical pain again.
He was fully capable of killing all three of them, but he didn't want to cause too much trouble at that moment, so he chose to knock them unconscious.
The three hooligans didn't stay long. After seeing him, they quickly decided to flee, like seeing a pack of wild wolves, without even saying a word.
However, the others present did not know that the reason the three hooligans fled was not because of their arrival, but solely because of Ayanokouji.
"Ordinary people can be so cruel even when they rob." The woman said, opening her fan to cover her eyes, her gaze full of arrogance.
Ayanokouji turned and focused his attention on the woman.
She wore a black and red dress, with beautiful black hair accessories in her orange hair. She exuded a clear nobility. Her bright face was very delicate, and her red eyes were like flames of arrogance penetrating her bones. She was more 'noble' than any noble he had met before.
"Commendable, Al, you were quite smart to think of waiting at my destination." The woman said with a smile.
Ayanokouji carefully observed the other party. The woman looked different from the previous nobles.
After seeing the appearance of the other party, Emilia put on her hood and hid behind Ayanokouji, as if she did not want to be seen by this woman's face.
'Is she an enemy?'
Ayanokouji glanced at her from the corner of his eye and quickly dismissed the idea. Given Emilia's character, it would be hard for her to have enemies unless under special circumstances. There was only one possibility – this woman could also be one of the candidates for the throne.
Judging from her words, actions, and appearance, she wasn't Crusch who always wore a military uniform, nor the merchant Anastasia, so it had to be the noble Priscilla.
"Al, who are these people?" The woman asked, looking doubtfully at Ayanokouji and the others.
"Thanks to these people, I was able to find you." Said the man named Al with a smile, then turned, "I haven't had the chance to introduce myself. My name is Aldebaran, just call me Al. Thank you very much! How should I address you?"
"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka." Ayanokouji said calmly.
"No need to thank an ordinary person. It's all natural. After all, the whole world revolves around me."
The woman covered her expression with her fan, but when she heard Ayanokouji's name, her eyes clearly twitched.
"That's a really strange name." Aldebaran said with a smile, and there was some meaning in his words.
"If there's nothing else, let's go now."
Ayanokouji knew that the current scene was somewhat embarrassing for Emilia, so he left with her without saying a word.
"Is that person Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?" After the two left, the woman looked meaningfully at their backs.
As Ayanokouji guessed, this woman was Priscilla Barielle.
She inherited the noble Barielle family after her husband Leip Barielle's death and was considered a taboo as the "Bloody Bride." but she did not avoid it herself. With the "Divine Protection of the Sun." it would make various action corrections to move towards what she wanted.
Her magical nature was the Yang attribute combined with the Divine Protection of the Sun. She had excellent magic and swordsmanship talents, and possessed combat strength comparable to or even stronger than Crusch.
After Felix returned to the Royal Capital yesterday, rumors about someone named Ayanokouji being beside Emilia slowly spread.
"Since he is Ayanokouji, then the person beside him is the Half-Elf. With her abilities, she could never have gotten rid of the Sin Archbishop of Sloth. Is it because of the help of this man named Ayanokouji?"
Priscilla gently swung the fan in her hand and said with a smile, "It seems like it will be very interesting in the Royal Capital."
On the road, Ayanokouji and Emilia had already left.
"Emilia, was the person earlier Priscilla, one of the candidates for the throne?" Ayanokouji turned and asked.
"Eh? Ayanokouji, did you know?" Emilia's words were already a definitive answer.
"I could guess." Ayanokouji continued, "I think I fit well with you, Emilia."
Through the earlier conversation, he had a general understanding of Priscilla's character. She was a very selfish and arrogant figure.
"Yes." Emilia nodded slightly.
After thinking for a moment, she raised her head again and asked, "Ayanokouji, why did you lie in front of Julius? Isn't Elsa in our camp now?"
"Even if Elsa is from our camp, she has committed many crimes before. If the Knights knew, I'm afraid they wouldn't let it go easily, and it would impact your reputation." Ayanokouji said calmly, "Emilia, honest people can't win in political struggles. This is an eternal truth."
"I see." Emilia nodded thoughtfully.
And the reason why Ayanokouji did this was not just that. He planned to use Elsa's ways to do something 'beyond morality and law.' And it might play a key role in increasing support for the camp.
For example, let Elsa kidnap children from a certain noble family, and then he and Emilia save these children. In this way, the nobles would definitely be grateful to them and become Emilia's supporters.
Of course, Ayanokouji could not tell Emilia all this. Although Emilia was simple, she would never allow herself to do such things because of her kind nature.
"Then, can we go back now?" Emilia asked.
"No, I also want to buy some snacks for Betty." Ayanokouji said, "She must have been waiting at home for a long time. If we return empty-handed, we'll surely be blamed."
The scene changed, Ayanokouji and Emilia returned to their mansion in the Royal Capital with many snacks.
The house, which was originally dusty, became completely new after a few hours of cleaning by Rem. The floor could even reflect light.
"Welcome back, Emilia-sama, Ayanokouji-sama." Rem immediately said respectfully after they returned, "Also... Betty-sama seems a bit angry..."
Before Emilia and Ayanokouji could say a word, a voice came, "Betty was left at home!"
A few seconds after that voice, Beatrice quickly came out of the house.
"Sorry, Betty, Emilia and I had things to take care of today." Ayanokouji said slowly.
He had things to handle in the capital recently, and it wasn't appropriate for Beatrice to follow him.
"Huh, you clearly agreed to take Betty for a walk! But you left Betty alone again!" Beatrice pouted and seemed angry.
"I haven't forgotten you, Betty." Ayanokouji said without expression, then brought out the snacks he had just bought one by one and handed them to Beatrice.
"Do you think Betty is still a child who can be appeased with delicious food!"
"I bought these snacks especially for you, Betty. Emilia can testify." Ayanokouji said, then turned his gaze to Emilia.
"Yes, Ayanokouji bought these especially for you, Betty, and these are snacks you couldn't eat in the mansion before." Emilia agreed immediately.
After hearing that Ayanokouji bought something specifically for her, Beatrice's expression changed slightly, and one of her eyes opened a little: "Huh, Betty is not a child, how could I... because of some snacks..."
Before she could finish, Ayanokouji took a piece of candy and put it into her mouth.
"?!"
Beatrice was initially shocked.
When she realized what he did and was about to get angry, she felt a sweet taste coming from the tip of her tongue – it was really delicious.
This was a taste she had never experienced before. She had been living in the Roswaal family territory since she was created. She had never traveled anywhere else, let alone eaten special foods from other places.
"Snacks like this are pretty good." Beatrice took a piece of candy from his hand, "Huh, since you sincerely brought me food, Betty will reluctantly forgive you – and it's definitely not because of the snacks!"
Even though she said this, her slightly chubby cheeks made her speech a bit unclear. She looked like a child and was very cute.
"This is the first time I've seen Betty like this." Emilia couldn't help but laugh.
Beatrice's slightly chubby cheeks immediately turned red. She quickly lifted her head and once again changed to her somewhat arrogant previous appearance.
She quickly swallowed the food in her mouth: "Alright, I'll forgive you today, but you have to take Betty with you tomorrow!"
"Tomorrow we will go to the palace to attend the throne meeting." Emilia immediately said.
"Let's go together with Betty." Ayanokouji said slowly, "After all, Betty is also one of us. If Roswaal isn't there, we can fill his position with Betty. After the meeting, we can wander around for a while, after all, she has never been to the Royal Capital."
"Yes!" Betty nodded eagerly, with a smile on her face.
Night soon fell. After dinner, Ayanokouji checked the surroundings to ensure that the area around the mansion was completely safe.
As he walked near a nearby alley, a dark figure emerged from the alley and quietly appeared behind him.
Being highly perceptive, he naturally sensed someone behind him, but he wasn't alarmed because he clearly knew the person's identity – Elsa.
"It's been a long time, I've missed you, Master." A charming voice came from behind.
"How is it?" Ayanokouji asked, making sure no one else was around.
"Master, the people you chose really surprised me a lot." Elsa smiled and handed him a phone.
Ayanokouji turned it on and saw that there was more information on it about the nobles. Their family whereabouts, their lives... There were also some things outside the law and morality, including bribery, cheating, and other behaviors.
He nodded, now he had control over these nobles.
"I have some more tasks for you..."
After he finished explaining the mission to her, a meaningful smile appeared on Elsa's face: "Just as expected from Master."
She then retreated into the darkness and disappeared.
Ayanokouji also returned to the mansion, and no one noticed his conversation with Elsa.
As he opened the door, he saw a small girl with long cream-colored hair sitting on his bed, casually reading a book.
"Betty, why are you in my room?"