As soon as the meeting ended, everyone left the hall except for Lenin, Julius, Moriganne, Arthor, and Lazarus. Lenin could see the concern in Julius’ eyes and decided to sit at the table with him.

“The crown prince has been doing well, Your Majesty,” Lenin said with a smile on her face. “He’ll become a great emperor one day,” she pointed out.

Julius’ expression turned bright when he heard about his son. He looked at Lenin with curiosity in his eyes and a smile formed on his face.

“Is that a mere compliment, Great Sage?” Julius asked in his gentle and soothing voice.

“No, Your Majesty, I wouldn’t dare speak lies,” Lenin shook her head as she crossed her arms and leaned back against the backrest. “We were very lucky to have a teacher that can make him grow. Not just Isador, Maximilian, Monica, and Aurelia, they’re all showing a promising future. I have never complimented any student like that before,” she added as she looked at Astrea, Moriganne, and Arthor.

The four of them including Lazarus found it intriguing when Lenin was impressed by their child and grandchild.

“How so, Great Sage?” Astrea asked as she walked toward Lenin so she could sit close to her.

“They were taught by someone who I can call a master in manipulation…” Lenin said with a serious expression.

Astrea and Moriganne already knew that since they had met and spoken to Rasmus before. They didn’t like him, and so did Arthor and Julius when they listened to Lenin.

“I understand your concern, and as a Chancellor, I’m responsible for every student’s future. I would prevent anyone who tried to harm my students in any way, but even so, I didn’t prevent that man who taught them,” Lenin explained as she looked at them. “The reason is because he didn’t teach them to be evil, he taught them pragmatism, sympathy, empathy, and the reality of human nature,” she added.

“He taught them how to be leaders. Leaders that don’t solely guide their people, but leaders that will lead this whole world into a better world than this,” Lenin said with confidence, her expression being serious and firm.

Everyone was in disbelief when Lenin could see so highly of them. They had never seen her with that confidence before because as a Great Sage, her words weighed more than all nations combined.

“That teacher you have mentioned, Great Sage, is he the same person who you quoted earlier during the meeting?” Lazarus asked, his gaze as sharp as a blade.

“Yes, his name is Rasmus, Rasmus Blackheart,” Lenin nodded.

Everyone was curious about Lenin’s admiration for Rasmus and why she looked up to him that highly. They wanted to see and converse with him in person to understand, Astrea and Moriganne had conversed with him before, and they already had the idea of why Lenin was fond of him.

“I believe one day everyone will see him in person,” Lenin said as she looked at the stained glass. “But there’s something else that I would like to say,” she looked back at the figures around her.

Everyone’s expression became serious and they stared at Lenin with their eyes and ears wide open.

“There’s a chance that someone from the council is a part of demon worshiper. My gut is telling me that they have infiltrated one or a few seats at this table. I don’t know who and why, but I feel like one of them isn’t on our side,” Lenin said with a serious expression.

Astrea and Moriganne shared a look while Julius and Arthor shared a look as well. The four of them didn’t expect Lenin to say something like that, but her suspicion wasn’t out of the blue. They could feel it as well in the back of their heads but they hadn’t pried on it yet.

“Everyone in this room is the only people that I can trust. All of you have something that I can see within you, and that’s integrity,” Lenin said with confidence. “I’m not saying that the others don’t have it, it’s that I haven’t seen it.”

Novia witnessed the beginning of discord in the council and she knew that it would grow worse from there.

(At the same time outside the hall.)

Aluca and Nior were following an elderly man in front of them in the long hallway. They watched the other council members enjoy their stay in the palace. They had no interest in them until they saw the golden-haired woman in golden armor and a scarf wrapped around her neck. The 2nd Swordmaster, Uriel Goldmane, the Queen of Swords, was the only knight who carried seven swords.

“Grandfather, please wait for a moment…” Nior looked at the elderly man who sat beside Lazarus during the meeting.

Nior and Aluca walked toward Uriel who stared out the window to admire the scenery of Gratlan. Uriel noticed, but she didn’t bother to look who they were until those two stood behind her.

“Yes?” Uriel asked without looking back, her voice cold and yet soft at the same time.

“It’s an honor to be able to meet you in person, Queen of Swords,” Nior lowered her head and put her right hand on her left chest.

Uriel looked over her shoulder and slowly turned around when she saw the armor that Nior and Aluca wore. Her face softened a bit as she lowered her head at them because she respected those who showed respect.

“The honor is mine to be able to meet the Northern White Stars,” Uriel said as she put her right hand on her left chest. “Thank you for risking your lives out there and coming back to tell us the danger we are facing,” she added as she looked at Nior and Aluca. She then looked at the elderly man since she was aware of his intense aura around him.

“We did what we must,” Nior shook her head as she looked at the scenery that Uriel was admiring.

“Is there anything that I can help you with?” Uriel looked at them with her brows raised.

Aluca and Nior shared a look for a moment before they nodded.

“Would you do the honor of sparring with us, Lady Goldmane?” Aluca asked. “We… we were powerless in the face of evil, We wanted to know if one day we were going to face that evil again, would we have a chance of winning or not,” he added and stared into Uriel’s eyes.

Uriel looked into their eyes and saw the pride in them had been stained. She had seen them many times, and it was something that couldn’t be erased or removed. She knew that it was the wish of a drowning knight to find a reason to swim back to shore.

“Please follow me,” Uriel nodded with understanding.

All eyes were on them and some eavesdropped on the conversation between the three. They told everyone about the spar and it would be a rare sight to see Uriel fight against the Northern White Stars. Thalior who was busy talking with Garret watched his Commander-in-chief walk past him to the end of the hallway.

…

Uriel stood in the middle of the training hall with Aluca and Nior in front of her. She noticed the people who came into the hall, but she ignored them and focused on those two.

“Please don’t go easy on us,” Nior said as she unsheathed her long sword, followed by Aluca.

“It would be a disgrace to fight without putting my life on the line,” Uriel unsheathed two swords, one from her left hip and the other from her right hip. “Please don’t hesitate to kill,” she readied her stance with one sword facing upward and the other downward.

Aluca and Nior took a deep breath and instantly the ground cracked as they created a strong Aura around them. They both ran toward Uriel and broke the ground, creating two big craters.

Uriel narrowed her eyes as she tightened the grips on her swords. As soon as Aluca and Nior were in range, she spun around, releasing dozens of slash waves. The shockwaves collapsed the ground, shattered the stained glass windows, and cracked the whole building from the walls to the ceiling.

Aluca and Nior were thrown away by the shockwaves, but before their feet could touch the ground, Uriel appeared in between them. They both swung their swords at her, but she blocked them with her swords. The impact pushed away the rubble and smoke to the sides, forcing everyone to cover their eyes from the dust.

Aluca and Nior tried to kick Uriel away, but she dropped her swords and grabbed their legs. She pushed them away and immediately grabbed and unsheathed the other two swords from her hips.

Aluca and Nior landed and saw the rumored Invisible Hands skill that Uriel had. They watched as the two swords floated behind Uriel as she held the two swords in her hands. They were intimidated but that didn’t put them in fear.

“The pride of a knight isn’t about a glorious victory, it’s when they protected the lives of the people,” Uriel said as she readied her stance. “Victory fades. The lives you save… those are eternal,” she added.

Aluca and Nior received enlightenment from those words as if the guilt and shame that had lingered in their hearts were slowly being lifted.

“Now, knights of the North! Raise your weapon! Protect those around you with your sword!” Uriel shouted as she bent her knees and leaned her body forward.

Uriel swung her swords altogether toward Aluca and Nior, releasing an almost invisible slash wave. The whole ground turned into waves like water, moving toward Aluca and Nior.

Aluca and Nior trembled in fear but they both screamed their lungs out as they put all their might into their swords. They both swung their swords toward the invisible slash wave and the clash created both a shockwave and a powerful earthquake, trembling the whole palace and the surrounding areas near the palace, including the academy behind the palace that was quite far away.

Maximilian and the others were studying in their class when they felt the earthquake. They looked out the window and were shocked by it.

“An earthquake on a floating island?” Maximilian muttered.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep