Fifteen minutes later,
Shuang Ye had stopped her narration, and was now nibbling on a mini water ball floating in front of her, moistening her throat while surveying the existences standing at the pinnacle of power in the Violet Empire, a playful smile once again gracing her lips.
The oppressive silence did not last too long. Aside from Duke Buffy Marshall, whose expression was constantly changing, and Emperor Kleiwo, who had his eyes closed, lost in thought, the other six lords quickly began to converse in low voices. Grand Duke Crystal Wolf and Grand Duke Baloka were discussing something at a rapid pace, while Grand Duke Fernan craned his neck to listen in, occasionally interjecting a word or two. Grand Duke Hussein, who had been highly active throughout, was asking about Duke Dengtis's attitude. Grand Duke Simon had conjured a quill from somewhere and was scribbling something on the parchment Shuang Ye had given him, frequently looking at Kleivore, but the latter did not open his eyes, only his tightly furrowed brows indicating that he wasn't feigning sleep or dozing off.
A moment later, Shuang Ye yawned, somewhat bored, then lazily returned to her seat along the previous path. At the same time, everyone else tacitly ceased their conversations, and Purple Juniper Hall became quiet once more.
"Oh, my!" Shuang Ye stretched her body languidly like a lazy kitten, then curled her index finger to her lips and smiled, "Am I really that influential?"
Grand Duke Fernan, sitting to her left, forced himself to laugh twice, but then stopped abruptly when he realized no one was joining in, shrinking back into his chair with some alarm.
Grand Duke Crystal Wolf leaned slightly and turned to look at Shuang Ye, asking softly, "You survived being hunted by that Benny Crow!?
"And my other companion." Shuang Ye winked at him, nodding with a smile, "Of course, we both only survived by sheer luck. Leaving that guy aside, I, for one, understood how weak I was, which is why I worked hard to improve my strength afterward. Now I've finally made it!"
Aimilin's face flushed slightly, then she asked curiously, "Made it? What level is your strength at now?"
"The most awesome and divine junior mage in the whole city," Shuang Ye replied with a serious expression.
Aimilin couldn't help but laugh, shaking her head, "That doesn't really count as making it."
Grand Duke Simon couldn't help but frown, "Duke Kristol, I don't think this is the appropriate occasion for chatting."
"What's the big deal! You guys were whispering and muttering earlier and I didn't say anything, but now I'm chatting with Sister Aimilin about everyday things and you can't stand it?" Shuang Ye glared at Grand Duke Simon, then turned back to the slightly embarrassed Aimilin and smiled, "I have made it, yes. Haven't I become the most awesome and divine junior mage in the city? I instantly became famous in the Mage Guild, and then an old lady came scurrying over, wanting to be my mentor. Tsk tsk, and then I had a backer!"
"So her 'making it' had nothing to do with her strength..."
Aimilin nodded, then gave Grand Duke Simon an apologetic look, and asked Shuang Ye, not very enthusiastically, "Who is it?"
She intended to end this 'chat' as quickly as possible, after all, offending Grand Duke Simon just to chat with a girl she liked was too foolish.
But...
"She said her name was Ana Ta La Xia." Shuang Ye pouted, crossing her arms and muttering, "She had such a big mouth, but when I asked, I found out she was just a Grand Magister. Honestly, if it weren't for her Vice President badge looking real, I wouldn't have bothered with that guy."
"Oh, that's good." Aimilin replied perfunctorily, then her eyes suddenly widened, "Wait, you said Ana Ta La Xia!?"
Everyone around them also showed expressions of disbelief, and even Kleivore opened his eyes.
"Yeah, what's wrong?" Shuang Ye seemed startled by everyone's reaction and quickly asked, "Is she a particularly famous fraud?"
Aimilin shook her head stiffly, "Of course not..."
"The Vice President of the Saramun Mage Guild, Grand Master Ana Ta La Xia. Although her title is only Grand Magister, she..."
Grand Duke Fernan swallowed with difficulty, giving Shuang Ye a dry smile, "But she is a six-element Grand Magister of Fire, Ice, Arcane, Lightning, Light, and Space."
Shuang Ye blinked cutely, "And? Is that strong?"
"Miss Shuang Ye, you yourself are a mage, you should be clear about the concept of a six-element Grand Magister, shouldn't you?" Duke Dengtis shrugged, spreading his hands, "Even those of us who might only visit Saramun once every few years have heard of Vice President Ana's great name."
"But if I recall correctly, Master Ana doesn't look like an old lady at all. She looks to be in her twenties." Grand Duke Baloka cast a questioning gaze at Shuang Ye, thoughtfully stroking his stubbled chin, "Could you really have been tricked?"
Shuang Ye shook her head, "She does look like she's in her twenties."
"Huh?" Baloka was startled, and said hesitantly, "Didn't you just say..."
"But that doesn't conflict with her being an old lady, does it?" Shuang Ye rolled her eyes and snorted, "She told me herself she's over ninety! Isn't a human over ninety an old lady? Seriously, making a mistake in an experiment and ending up with eternal youth is simply too much, too unfair, too un-magical! I'm so envious..."
Baloka was stunned for a moment, then anxiously asked, "So she really agreed to be your mentor?"
"Ahem, it was I who reluctantly agreed to let her be my mentor, Grand Duke Baloka." Shuang Ye corrected him seriously.
Scorpi Hussein snorted, "Just because you say so? Although Master Ana is the Vice President of the Imperial Mage Guild, she rarely shows herself to outsiders. Even we lords have barely seen her. How can you prove she is your mentor?"
"How to prove it..."
Shuang Ye clicked her tongue in annoyance, then suddenly clapped her hands, "Ah! I remember now, Ta-Lasha told me that Grand Duke Baloka confessed to her over a decade ago!"
"Heh, that's absurd, such... Uh? Grand Duke Baloka?!"
Hussein was halfway through his sentence when he saw Vernon Baloka, who was sitting diagonally opposite him, slowly turning red and desperately winking at Shuang Ye.
The latter seemed to not notice at all, continuing to speak to herself, "Ta-Lasha also told me that she immediately replied to Grand Duke Baloka with five words..."
"This isn't a problem?" Grand Duke Crystal Wolf's gossip soul seemed to be burning brightly, and even Grand Duke Fernan and Duke Dengtis looked over with interest.
Baloka, flushed red, waved his hand at Shuang Ye, "Stop, stop, I believe you, I'm even willing to vouch for you with my character..."
"Go home and play with your eggs."
Shuang Ye solemnly repeated Ana Ta La Xia's twelve-year-old response to Grand Duke Baloka, then blinked at Vernon Baloka, who was separated from her by a chair (with Grand Duke Fernan on it), "What did you just say?"
The latter hung his head dejectedly, "Nothing..."
"Mmm, mmmph, mmmph-ph-ph-ph~" Grand Duke Crystal Wolf, who had been shaking with laughter while slumped over the table, finally managed to straighten up after a long while, and nodded to Shuang Ye with a smile, "Alright, alright, Little Sister Shuang Ye, I think everyone here understands what you mean. Let's stop talking about Master Ana now~"
The latter glanced at Buffy Marshall, whose expression was growing increasingly grim, and smiled meaningfully, "So that's how it is."
Her meaning was simple, and everyone present could guess it...
Shuang Ye's reason for deliberately mentioning that her current mentor was Ana Ta La Xia, the Vice President of the Saramun Mage Guild, was simple: to make Grand Duke Baloka want to dig a hole and bury himself in it...
Thinking that way would definitely be wrong.
Her purpose was to sound a warning to those present, to make those who might harbor ill intentions afraid to casually mess with her.
Of course, these Grand Dukes were not truly incapable of provoking Ta-Lasha, but Shuang Ye had still very successfully raised the cost for others to harm her. After all, the young girl had already revealed her identity to everyone in her previous detailed narration; aside from being a senior advisor to Fire Claw, she was just a low-level mage from the Marshall Autonomous Army a month ago, with no qualifications, no background, no title, and no foundation.
Even if this was the imperial capital of the Violet Empire, a great noble would have many ways to subtly get rid of her...
Perhaps during the upcoming sensitive period, no one would dare to touch Shuang Ye. Perhaps the aura of Fireclaw Duke could also protect her. Perhaps, now that she not only possessed evidence but also became a witness herself, she didn't need to worry too much about such things. But circumstances are always relative.
The more formidable one is, the more valuable it is to eliminate them. Shuang Ye understood this clearly, so she needed to add several layers of insurance for herself; relying solely on certain conveniences of her player identity and Kasi's protection was not enough.
Since the rather famous Master Ana just happened to come knocking, and indeed expressed her willingness to protect her, not bringing her out to show off would simply be a shameful waste.
Of course, it wasn't entirely true that she just happened to come knocking; there were many elements that Shuang Ye deliberately orchestrated, but such harmless details will not be elaborated upon here.
In short, after ensuring that everyone present had intelligently grasped the gist of it, Shuang Ye sat quietly in her seat.
Although at this moment, no one present would consider her 'obedient'.
"Buffy." Emperor Kleiwo looked at Grand Duke Marshall indifferently and said softly, "You may now state your opinion."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Buffy Marshall stood up, bowed to Kleivore, then surveyed the others whose gazes were fixed on him, finally meeting Shuang Ye's eyes. He let out a soft breath, then surprisingly showed a relaxed smile, "First, I must apologize to you for my previous attitude, Miss Shuang Ye. If what you just said is true, then you, standing here at this moment, are absolutely worthy of the word 'hero'."
Grand Duke Crystal Wolf and Grand Duke Baloka's faces were filled with disbelief, and no one else, including Shuang Ye, showed any obvious emotion.
"Hero, no, only dead people are called heroes, and even if I'm eventually killed, I could never be associated with those two stressful words." Shuang Ye, sitting directly opposite Buffy Marshall, shook her head noncommittally and spread her hands, "So please hurry up and start your defense."
Grand Duke Marshall nodded. He pondered for a few seconds, then slowly began to speak with a grave expression, "I smell a conspiracy, a huge, far-reaching conspiracy, one that involves me, Fireclaw Duke, Scorpi Grand Duke, and even the entire empire."
"The fact that it involves you is beyond doubt." Grand Duke Baloka narrowed his eyes, then slammed his palm heavily on the parchment in front of him, his voice low as he demanded, "The key is what role you played in this so-called conspiracy!"
Grand Duke Hussein frowned, "Calm down, Vernon, obviously Buffy hasn't finished speaking yet."
"And your role, Scorpi." Vernon Baloka tilted his head and looked at him, his deep blue eyes flashing with cold fury, "I just hope your humanity hasn't deteriorated to the extreme, like hoarding those blood-stained coins or something."
Thump thump thump~
Grand Duke Simon rapped hard on the table, shaking his head at Grand Duke Baloka, "I also beg you to be quiet for a moment, Vernon."
"It's alright, we all know each other's personalities very well. Vernon merely said what he wanted to say." Marshall, however, smiled at Grand Duke Baloka, saying with a gentle smile, "You should know that Benny Crow has been working for the Marshall Family for a long time, right?"
The latter snorted, "Of course, and I also know his reputation isn't good."
"People always have this or that flaw." Buffy Marshall sighed, then gave a bitter smile, "But I seem to have been too tolerant of that fellow. In fact, there's one thing you probably don't know: Benny Crow, who was originally under my command, left the Marshall Family two months ago, and also took several of my private collections without even a word of greeting~"
Everyone showed thoughtful expressions, and Grand Duke Baloka was immediately choked up. It took him a while to recover, "What do you mean by that?"
"Literally what it means." A hint of gloom flashed in Grand Duke Marshall's eyes, and his voice gradually deepened, "Actually, I originally just thought he was tired of a life of peace, or perhaps dissatisfied with me, his stingy employer, and intended to return to a life of danger, but..."
Shuang Ye looked at him coldly, "But after you heard what I said, you suddenly realized that perhaps Benny wasn't so simple?"
"Yes."
"You're full of crap."
Chapter 257: End