The confrontation with the Zefner family has reached a stalemate. Maggie has cleared out most of the visible strongholds, while some have gone into hiding.

The progress of both the Paladin Order and the Holy Mage Order has slowed down considerably, but this was within Maggie's expectations.

It would be strange if the Duke didn't resist.

She would suspect that the Duke had a new escape route, had begun to disregard the Zefnia family's assets, and was ready to withdraw at any time.

So when Harlan and Gloria returned to report, Maggie remained calm, showing little anger or anxiety.

"What are your plans next, Your Highness?"

Gloria is a very upright person. Even though the evidence is incomplete and cannot fully prove that the slave auctions and the sale of addictive drugs are completely related to the Duke's mansion.

But based on Maggie's reaction and attitude, and some other clues, she is now quite convinced that there is a big problem with the Duke's mansion.

With the progress unclear and her situation restricted, she was even more anxious than Maggie.

If this kind of malignant tumor were removed, the temple and the three kingdoms would be much safer.

"wait."

Maggie looked up and met Harlan's deep blue eyes. He was looking at her with a smile in his eyes. Maggie looked away in an instant and left with only one word.

The moment she saw Harlen's eyes, she would remember that inexplicable hug from that day.

This makes her feel awkward whenever she sees Harlen, let alone talk about anything else.

It's unclear whether Harlan shared the same thoughts, but throughout Maggie and Gloria's conversation, he simply stood quietly to the side, not saying much except for essential information.

This made Maggie breathe a sigh of relief, and her expression became slightly more normal than before, eventually returning to normal.

"Wait for what?"

Gloria was somewhat puzzled.

"We'll be waiting for their reply. The Beard royal family and the temple are on the same side. We'll get their answer soon."

Maggie can't leave the temple anytime soon. If the Duke becomes desperate and tries to assassinate her somewhere, even if Maggie has a thousand tricks up her sleeve, she can only target the Duke.

If you waste it to survive, that's an absolute waste.

Not to mention that if she were to be caught off guard and the assassination were to succeed, leaving her no time to resist, she could simply go and meet God.

After all, her current strength is limited, so she can only resort to some unconventional methods.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Gloria knew that Maggie was more prepared and not helpless, so she felt much calmer and less nervous.

"When will Nesser and Xiu return?"

Harlan suddenly spoke, startling Maggie for a moment before she realized what he was saying.

She was a little surprised, since Harun didn't usually care much about other people's schedules and was more focused on her own things, so her sudden question was quite unexpected.

Besides, the people she was asking were Nesser and Xiu, and she remembered that Harun's attitude towards them wasn't exactly friendly.

Thinking of this, Maggie felt a faint sense of helplessness.

They used to be colleagues, and even friends in the comics. Although they eventually became rivals, their relationship is now worse than that of strangers. It really makes her...

It's a long story.

Although it was related to her changing the plot, it was truly a pity for her.

"If nothing unexpected happens, it should be within three to five days."

After thinking for a moment, Maggie chose a relatively conservative date, since Xiu and Nesser had been on their journey for quite some time and it was time for them to return.

She simply ordered them to investigate; she wasn't confronting them directly.

There shouldn't be any danger, right?

As Maggie was pondering this with some uncertainty, two footsteps suddenly came from outside the church.

The three of them turned to look, and what they saw were the two people they had just mentioned.

It's true what they say, speak of the devil and he appears.

Maggie muttered to herself as she stood up and nodded to them.

Upon seeing Maggie, Nesser immediately transformed from a serious demeanor into a sparkling little sun, unable to control his steps even in the solemn setting of a church.

He quickened his pace, eventually jogging, and rushed to Maggie's side, like a fledgling returning to its nest.

"Sister! It's really dangerous over there! I almost got hurt!"

Before even getting close to Maggie, Nesser couldn't help but start whining and complaining. His clear, boyish voice, like a nightingale's song, echoed clearly in the empty cathedral.

Xiu paused noticeably as he watched Nesser rush away and heard his utterly shameless remarks.

He turned his head slightly and quietly covered his face with his sleeve.

Unfortunately, this was in a sparsely populated, empty church, and his actions only gave people a comical feeling of trying to cover up the truth and burying one's head in the sand.

He cared about his reputation, but not everything.

Maggie couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips when she saw this scene. Xiu was a mermaid who cared a lot about etiquette, or to put it bluntly, he was aloof and temperamental. It was quite a challenge for him to go on a mission with an elf like Nesser who had a carefree personality.

"What danger did you encounter?"

Maggie looked away and asked Nesser in a soft voice.

"There are many mercenary groups over there, it seems to be the headquarters of some illegal organization. Not only the ones my sister mentioned, but also many mobile mercenary groups that go there to trade goods... that is, slaves."

Nesser paused at the end, his red eyes dimming slightly, but he continued speaking.

Maggie was quite sensitive to his emotional changes and immediately understood them.

This is probably because he saw the captured elven slaves and had just thought about them, which caused his emotions to suddenly turn sour.

Elf races are a popular race in the slave trade. The men are handsome and the women are beautiful. They are difficult to reproduce and most of them have good talents. Whether as combat slaves or... kept as concubines, they are in high demand.

"knew."

Maggie was silent for a moment before softly uttering three words.

If there were slave auctions, then there would have been the original trading venues and fixed locations for picking up goods; it's just unexpected that it would happen there as well.

"Yes, and inside the village, neither he nor I could get too close. There are many patrolling demon cultists, and they are all demon cultists who have fallen to the deepest level. As long as you don't have the aura of a demon on you, you can't enter the village."

"Even pretending to be a slave owner won't work."

As Nesser spoke, he gestured towards Xiu's direction with his lip. Xiu had already walked up to Maggie and nodded after hearing Nesser's words.

"Yes, that's right. It's difficult to investigate in depth, but we can roughly estimate the number, and their levels are all quite high. At the very least, they are high-level demon contractors, and there are quite a few great demons and demon lords as well."

As Xiu spoke, his expression became more serious, clearly indicating that the magnitude of the problem was troubling him and posing a significant challenge.