The banquet hall was filled with the swaying of wine glasses and the clinking of glasses, exuding an atmosphere of extravagance. Compared to the farewell ceremony of the Kingdom of Arnold, this banquet was clearly more important, yet relatively more relaxed.
It was more like a social gathering for the elite, with many noblemen and their sons and daughters everywhere you looked, and of course...
And her dearest father.
Maggie's gaze swept over Duke Zefner, who was not far away. He had obviously noticed Maggie's gaze, and the two of them made eye contact.
The Duke's face turned ugly at a visible speed. Maggie thought that if there weren't people all around, this old bastard might come up and beat her up.
The demon he contracted was a Hell Servant, a being a level higher than a Demon Lord.
After being fully demonized... he will possess the strength of a Grand Magister. Currently, there are only three forces on the continent of Coral that can deal with him: the Green Tower, the Temple of Light, and the Silver Wheel.
Compared to the two forces that are more active on the mainland, the Silver Wheel is relatively unknown and has never received official certification from any country. They also generally do not engage in any conspicuous activities.
After all, a power that brings together multiple races, including even extremely rare ones, is not easy to be accepted and is easily coveted.
Coincidentally, in the manga's storyline, the Duke ultimately dies at the hands of the Silver Wheel's people.
However, it can be considered that they benefited from the main characters' misfortune.
The incident began when a fairy belonging to the Silver Wheel was auctioned off at a slave auction. Their internal unity was unimaginable, and their desire for revenge was terrifying.
The Duke had inadvertently stepped on their landmine; if Maggie hadn't been completely clueless about how to contact them, her first choice for cooperation would definitely have been the Silver Wheel.
As Maggie pondered this, she lifted her skirt and slowly walked into the Duke's residence, a perfectly polite smile on her face, showing no trace of the way she had left the Duke's mansion.
"Father, it's been a long time."
The Duke was not accompanied by the Duchess, and Maggie inevitably felt a little disappointed, but she concealed it well.
"Your Highness, so you still remember that I am your father."
The Duke's tone was unfriendly, but in this situation, he couldn't explode on the spot, so he could only warn Maggie with a sullen face.
"Father is joking. This should be hard to forget, right?"
Maggie's smile remained unchanged, but her tone held a deeper meaning, which only the Duke could understand.
She was referring to the hardship, the threat of death, and the sorrow of being a victim that the Duke had inflicted upon her.
As she expected, the Duke's expression grew even colder.
"Everything you have now is given to you by me. You'd better think carefully before you do anything."
The Duke snorted coldly, his tone laced with threat.
He's right. Maggie is now in cahoots with the Zefneria family. If the Duke's mansion falls, she will be the first to be dealt with by the temple.
This is also why the Duke is so confident; he is not worried that Maggie will lose her mind and deal with the Zephnea family.
He has always believed that all of Maggie's current rebellious behavior is an expression of her dissatisfaction with him.
Once Maggie faces reality, she will obediently listen to him.
“My father is right. I’ve always thought about this very clearly.”
Maggie was a very respectful person to her elders, so she nodded.
She has always felt that the Duke's mansion should disappear completely, and this idea has never wavered.
"It's good that you know."
The Duke seemed to think that Maggie's words meant compromise, and his expression softened slightly.
The irony is that the Duke never considered her a threat, nor did he believe she could harm the family in the slightest.
Unfortunately, there was no way to break his defenses.
However, for Maggie, the Duke's underestimation of her was actually to her advantage.
Maggie wouldn't kindly try to correct his thinking.
As the two clashed, Eve, who had entered from a distance, frantically searched for Maggie's figure. After catching Maggie's location, she immediately lifted her skirt and ran through the crowd to Maggie's side.
"Your Highness!"
Eve's eyes lit up with surprise, her chest heaving as she rushed to get closer to Maggie, her breath coming in short gasps.
Maggie sensed Eve's presence as she smelled the familiar perfume, and promptly stopped her conversation with the Duke.
"Princess Eve, you look beautiful today."
She exchanged pleasantries skillfully, though it wasn't entirely just politeness. Her gaze swept over Eve's expensive and glamorous dress; she really did look much better than usual today.
It must be said that the emperor was really good at raising daughters, and he raised Eve very well.
"Really? Hearing Her Highness's praise makes the three hours spent getting ready worthwhile."
Upon hearing Maggie's words, Eve visibly became happier, her face flushing with excitement, as if tiny flowers were blooming on her head.
"...."
Maggie fell silent; she regretted praising her.
However, just in time, Eve took the initiative to find her, so the mastermind behind the scenes could no longer find an opportunity to provide Eve with the method to activate the teleportation array.
Sure enough, it's better for everyone if Eve stays put.
The Duke seemed pleased to see that Maggie and Eve seemed to get along well, and then turned and left.
Maggie ignored him and chatted casually with Eve, her eyes scanning the banquet for suspicious presences. Only she could see that Roy and the little ghost were flying around the banquet hall, searching for anyone tainted by the aura of the dead.
Although she had identified three specific targets, they were drawn as such minor characters in the comics that they were difficult to distinguish, so she could only use this rather primitive method for the time being.
When the banquet moves into the ball later, we might find some clues.
etc....
As Maggie thought this, her gaze returned to Eve.
Has she lost her mind?
How come there's a humanoid recognition device next to you?
“Princess Eve, although I am from the Kingdom of Saint Na, I don’t usually attend social banquets, and later I went to the temple.”
"I don't know these nobles very well, and if there's a misunderstanding because I don't recognize them..."
Maggie carefully chose her words, hoping to take advantage of Eve's extensive social network, but before she could finish speaking, Eve impatiently interrupted her.
"As the princess of the kingdom, I certainly cannot let Her Highness the Holy Maiden fall into such an embarrassing situation. I will tell you everything you want to know."
Eve had a look of complete trust in me, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. She seemed to think it was something to be proud of to be able to help Maggie.
Maggie fell silent again. Sometimes, it was better to play mind games and deceive the naive and innocent. She always felt an inexplicable sense of guilt about fooling them.
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