BXBX NOVEL Chapter 366 Accusation
"Count Maller is it?" Emperor Valentin\'s eyes squinted coldly as he eyed the group of novels headed by a count at the center of the hall.
Strangely, as he was doing it, the temperature of the entire room suddenly turned cold. An invisible intimidating force came from the direction of the throne and the honored seats of the High Priest and the grandmasters.
"Yes, your majesty." Count Maller looked at his allies nervously. They already knew that Eli would be backed up by the grandmasters but they never knew that this was the kind of pressure they have to take on.
Even the nobles who were in his side were trying their best to stop their legs from shaking. The other nobles around had also realized that the pressure was high on their area and so, they stepped back and avoided the nobles who tried to object.
"Then, you must have a valid case to state in the assembly as to why you led your men to object in the middle of the appointment?" Emperor Valentin\'s cold and authoritative demeanor did not change as he slowly demanded the men to explain.
"I-it\'s… it\'s…" Count Maller shivered in anxiousness as the pressure around them doubled making him hard to even open his mouth.
But then he received more piercing gazes towards his allies. Their eyes told him that he must pull through since the commotion was actually his idea and that they will be willing to betray him if he messed the matter up.
Leaving him with no escape route, Count Maller gulped fearfully before taking a deep breath to finally open his mouth and explain the reason for their objections.
"Y-your Majesty, forgive us for our insolence. I-it\'s like this.
We have heard the qualifications of being a member of the committee and we knew that the Great Inventor Lady Eli had already given countless contributions to the Empire.
However, we knew that the lady has not yet reached the second requirement as we knew that in the registry, she was just a class D summoner…
It is not that we look down on the l-lady… but the Anti Curse Committee is also a highly dangerous position for a class D mage like her. E-even the B-class and above were helpless with the curse users, how much more for mages like her?"
As Count Maller revealed his reasons, the onlookers seemed to have also realized this point so they started to debate among themselves if Eli should be disqualified for such a case.
The elders on the other hand continued to express their displease with their frowning expressions. Much to the noblemen\'s dismay, they completely shut their mouths and refrained from talking further as to nor incur the wrath of the greatest men in the Empire.
"Count Maller and your group of gentlemen, you are saying that the Grandmasters who personally nominated the lady took a blind eye on this matter and still insisted on getting her into the ranks?" Emperor Valentin asked cunningly.
The men flinched, completely flabbergasted by how the Emperor himself twisted their words and put them against their throats.
Not only did he defend Eli without even mentioning his personal judgment, he had also roped in the Grandmasters to further put them into a corner.
The noblemen who were watching the scene could not help but light a candle silently to the insolent foolish noblemen who were blinded by their own schemes. In their eyes, the nobles from the new faction thought highly of themselves, but in the end, showed how inexperienced and foolish they were.
This New Rising Faction thought that they could already cause a big wave in the palace just by doing such a clumsy scheme because the Vesala was no longer around.
"No, Your Majesty and Your Excellencies! We don\'t dare to insult you…" Flustered by the sudden accusation, Count Maller and his allies could no longer keep calm.
In unison, they all sincerely knelt and professed that questioning the Grandmaster\'s judgment was never their intention. "We apologize for causing such an unpleasant impression."
"You may say so, but that is what you meant by causing such a disruption in the appointment ceremony." Emperor Valentin looked at them frigidly, his tone was saying that he was not a bit convinced with their explanation.
"You lot were trying to tell everyone here that the great grandmasters, who went on their way to assist our land to clean up the mess made by the curse users, were only interested in putting their people in a position of power without even the proper qualifications right?!"
The peak of his anger emanated from his voice as he roared angrily while he pointed his staff at them as if to pronounce their crimes.
"Your Majesty, may I respectfully ask to speak for myself regarding this matter?"
Not wanting to make the matter be prolonged, Eli signaled Leon, Grandpa Ben, Grandpa Andi, and High Priest Enoch with a gaze, hinting to them that she will involve herself in the matter.
Upon hearing his future daughter-in-law\'s calm tone, the anger that was brewing in Emperor Valentin\'s heart slowly started to calm down. With a softened tone, he cleared his throat and nodded at Eli while responding,
"You have every right to speak for yourself as there were people who were trying to denounce you. This is a fairground, and no one could unjustly discredit one\'s abilities under my watch."
While Emperor Valentin was saying this, not only did he sweep his eyes toward Count Maller\'s party, but the entire hall. He was giving them a warning not to take the same foolish actions because of their own greed and interest.
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty." Eli smiled calmly while giving a graceful bow toward Emperor Valentin.
Then after that, she cast another glance toward Leon who nodded in the assurance that he will back her up if anything happens.
Seeing her partner\'s permission, Eli finally faced the crowd and her accusers. Her respectful and docile demeanor infront of the Emperor was gone, but instead, the gaze on her dark brown eyes seemed to emit a dangerous feeling to the crowd, especially to Count Maller\'s party.
She then slowly stepped down from the ceremony platform, with her steps ringing through the hall. No one dared to breathe loudly, as they were subconsciously lost in her intimidating aura.
Kazimir and Antoine felt the uncontrollable shivers on the back of their head as they realize how scary Eli really was.
At first, they thought that she was just an ordinary commoner lady who had more intelligence than all other noble ladies in the Empire.
Straightforward and highly intellectual, but now, they could not help but thank the heavens that even though the two of them eyed her for their own selfish agenda before, they have not really offended her for real.
As they saw Eli step down with her confident figure descending like a queen toward the crowd, the two princes turned their gazes toward Leon who was looking at Eli with a deep sense of pride and adoration in his eyes.
"..." They were left speechless by their madman brother\'s display of love.
\'They were truly a match made in heaven…\' The two elder brothers concluded in their hearts.
On Eli\'s side, she did not have any change of expression. During the entire commotion, she remained calm and unbothered, not even the most cunning noblemen around could figure out what she was thinking at the moment.
As she stepped closer, the people who were watching started to spectate with interest as to how the genius inventor would debunk the conspiracies thrown at her.
"Gentlemen, first and foremost, who gave you the authority to investigate my background when I had the status of an honorary contributor?
Didn\'t you yourselves propose the law of forbidding to have a conferred person\'s record become arbitrarily released without the approval of the Emperor himself?"
"For all I know, the moment I received the honor from the Emperor, my records in the registry were completely sealed from the public, unless I personally reveal it or was demanded by the Imperial orders… Tell me gentlemen, who gave you the authority to present information that was ILLEGALLY obtained?"
"Oh my goodness!"
"This did not even cross my mind?!"
"These men were doomed!"
As soon as Eli mentioned the law and her status, everyone understood what it truly meant. The ministry of the registry has been compromised and they have accepted bribes in order for Count Maller\'s party to get a hold of her magical aptitude assessment.
This time, not only the Emperor was visibly displeased but also the princes and the upright members of the council. To think that these men would commit such a foolish act.
"Gentlemen…Sigh…" Eli squinted her eyes and a subtle smile appeared on her face as she looked at the panicked expressions of the men.
"How could you even not think such a simple matter??
To think that you would completely forget about that fact! Hmm, in this case, it was either of these two reasons. First, you might look down on every distinguished personality in this hall, underestimating their intelligence…
Or that, you simply looked down on me that you dared to carelessly do it?"