Chapter 324 Sound
"If 'ease' is what I'm after," the ghost said in a cold voice, "do you really think you can still stand here and try to negotiate with me?"
"Don't say that, sweetheart." The priestess deliberately stretched out her voice, pretending to be aggrieved, "If those white-robed people can all coyly bow their heads and fawn over you, why can't I?"
The professor narrowed his eyes slightly.
This "princess" is a pure fanatic. She has never shown any enthusiasm for worldly power in the past, but now she is trying to put the chips on him - he doesn't believe that this sudden "kindness" is to "help" the People's Party, it must be for Analenie.
——And the other party is even willing to pay such a huge price, probably not just to "know the whereabouts", what she desires is probably the opportunity to get close to or even control the God of Love.
As expected.
Seeing that the person was indifferent to the bait she had thrown, the priestess finally couldn't hold back any longer: "So what do you want, dear? Regarding the last transaction, I have already paid part of the reward in advance -"
She was referring to the secret about Esmerel and the use of royal blood to lure away some of the Silver Helmet Knights.
"Oh, so you're worried I might regret it?" The black-haired young man raised his eyebrows in understanding. His left hand rested lazily on his chin, while his right hand casually twirled a pen.
"Will you?" Apatella stared at him resentfully, her crimson eyes flickering. "So far, you seem to be a cunning and cold-blooded man—but still very charming."
"That's because you're talking in circles and wasting my time with nonsense, even though I clearly reminded you to 'get down to business.'" The professor glanced at her coldly. "If you had told me the truth, I would have told you the truth—as of now."
He sneered viciously and closed his mouth firmly.
The priestess who made things worse: "..."
The carefully applied layers of flirtatious charm on Apatara's face finally peeled away like a poorly made mask. Silence hung in the air for a long moment. Then she spoke again, her voice trailing off bitterly. "I know, in fact, that the gods of the olden days must have a purpose."
"Perhaps they will use my body as a vessel, or perhaps they will turn my soul into firewood." The priestess smiled wryly, her shoulders slumping slightly. "As Your Excellency the Owl said, the gods are dead. If they wish to continue to exist, they must pay a price, and I am that price itself."
"-But I don't care." She said softly, slowly raised her head, and a strange, almost crazy light appeared on her face.
"I don't care," Apatara repeated, his voice trembling slightly. "Just like you can use me as blood food to trap gods, or make me a vessel to carry divine power - I don't care. If you want to get everything I want, I'm afraid you are the only one in this world who can do it!"
"So, tell me, what do you want me to do?" The priestess took a step forward eagerly, almost touching the edge of the desk, her voice becoming sharper with desire: "I will be very happy to complete your order, as long as you can let me see my dear Analene, even if it means that I have to accompany her into eternal sleep -"
She smiled a twisted, expectant, manic smile, as innocent as a little girl longing for a teddy bear: "To commit suicide together, isn't that the ultimate sacrifice and perfection of love?"
"Your teacher Magnus is right," the professor stared at her for a moment, then suddenly said without warning, "I saw Analene."
Amidst the priestess's ferocious expression, instantly contorted by shock and ecstasy, he stopped elaborating and instead demanded, "I don't need the specific identity of that infant, the so-called Crown Prince—I want all the information about your teacher, Magnus."
After all, regarding the former, he only needed to ask the savior - the professor was more interested in the great prophet of the future whose intentions, identity, and position were unclear.
The pen was placed on the paper. The black-haired young man elegantly folded his hands, carefully wrapped in leather gloves. He leaned forward slightly, and a chilling interest flashed in the depths of his smoky gray eyes. "Now, please tell me, how much do you know about Magnus?"
Analenie was stunned for a while, and under the silent urging of the gray eyes with some impatience, an ambiguous smile slowly appeared on her face.
"I can't say I know him very well," the priestess said with a soft smile, without hesitation buying off her cheap teacher completely. "But I still know—he's mentally ill."
professor:"……"
With all due respect, the mental states of this master and disciple pair didn't seem normal. And now one lunatic was complaining to him that the other lunatic was mentally ill?
Apatella laughed at his indescribable expression.
"Dear, dear, I know I'm crazy." She said in a soft voice, "But you have to believe me, that guy is definitely crazier than me..."
The priestess approached mysteriously and whispered, "After all, I once heard him claim to be someone who came from both the past and the future."
…
Under public outcry and urging, news finally emerged about the second Blooming Conference. The venue would remain at the Kite Heart Palace, but the format would be radically different—the three councils would no longer sit together to discuss state affairs. Instead, each council would meet separately at a time determined by the royal family, presenting their respective demands to the king. The royal family would then announce the final voting results.
"What's the point of this?" Fina stared at the newly released royal notice, her face flushed with anger. She quickly figured out the ins and outs of it. "This way, the royal family can say whatever they want, right?"
Although it was similar before, the "Thirteen Taxes" was brought to the table with the support of the king, and the members of the other two parliaments might not necessarily support them - but at least they were equal in a sense, under the same dome, and those people would have some concerns about this.
"We disagree," said Mr. Phantom beside her bluntly to the royal envoy. "Please inform His Majesty that there has never been a Blooming Conference like this since the founding of the Empire. The 1795 edition of the Constitution of the Silver Iris Empire also stated that the Blooming Conference was 'to present the true thoughts and demands of the people in every region, every position, and every field of the nation.' This violates the original purpose of the Blooming Conference."
Ignoring the royal envoy's slightly pale face, the black-haired young man spoke in a low, yet icy voice. He declared decisively, "The Third Council refuses to participate in a separate meeting. We demand that the royal family abide by the meeting's rules."
He even began to threaten with a deadpan expression: "If the royal family persists in carrying out their decision, then any future announcements of the Blooming Conference will be deemed illegitimate by the Third Council. As for the consequences, Your Majesties, please consider yourselves."
A low cheer suddenly rang out from the surroundings. A few people couldn't help showing worried and hesitant expressions on their faces, but when they saw the excitement and resentment of their colleagues around them, they finally swallowed back the discouraging words that were about to come out of their mouths.
Looking at the royal envoy's hurried departure, even staggering and embarrassed, and seeing Mr. Ghost standing there without saying a word, as if he was lost in thought, Fina hesitated and suddenly raised her voice.
"Gentlemen, those high-ranking figures don't understand what it means to refuse to listen." The girl's voice was clear and powerful, echoing among the gathered members of the Third Council. "Do they think that by ignoring us, treating us as invisible air, as dust on the roadside, they can allow hunger, poverty and injustice to continue to shackle us like shackles?!"
"Never!" someone immediately shouted, "We want the royal family to hear our voices!"
"If they don't listen—"
"We're going to let the whole empire hear it!"
These little disturbances were reported to Cassius II and the queen through the royal envoy, mixed with the fear he felt at being frightened by those gray eyes, in an exaggerated manner.
The Third Council refused to attend, and the royal family couldn't possibly send troops to herd its members to the Kite Heart Palace like ducks. Cassius II, with a rare moment of composure, was irritated by the increasingly dire and troublesome situation. He simply kicked over the table and cursed, "Let those country bumpkins wait for a meeting with the air!"
The queen sat aside, saying nothing, and she even seemed a little distracted.
"Your Majesties, this is inappropriate..." a minister cautiously advised. "This group is quite vocal and vocal. If they were to absent themselves en masse in protest, it would only reinforce the accusation that the royal family is ignoring and suppressing the common people, potentially causing even greater discontent and perhaps even... riots."
The royal family has suffered a lot in terms of public opinion recently. God knows how the ghosts and the People's Party did it. Just relying on their clever mouths and magical skills on paper, a group of fools who have been bending over and digging for food in the mud all their lives now dare to stand up and roar at their king.
"What good will come of trying to please those peasants?"
Cassius II sneered, his slightly yellowed eyes bloodshot. "All they want is to ride on my head. Do you expect me to kneel down and let them ride on me?"
A flicker of surprise crossed the minister's eyes. He had never imagined that a king who only cared about eating, drinking and having fun could have such a penetrating insight. But soon, Cassius II burst into a tirade again: "Besides, my Canary Theater has been stuck for days because of these low-lifes. If we don't rehearse soon, those bitches will forget all their fucking lines!"
Minister: "..."
Well, Cassius II is still Cassius II.
"That's enough, it's settled." Queen Esmerel slowly stood up and said gloomily and concisely, "The Third Council's objection is invalid."
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