"Now we can just try it out. We don't need to get very close to the monsters. Just stand on the city wall."
Maggie estimated the distance between her location and the city walls and found it to be within her spellcasting range. She was simply verifying her statement and there was no need to take any risks for the time being.
"Your Highness, are you truly confident in your words, or are you simply being reckless and greedy?"
When Devon saw that Maggie was ignoring him, his face suddenly turned ugly. He took two steps forward, pulled away the magician next to Maggie, and looked at her with hostility.
"I know what I'm doing. You can come out after I fail, why do you have to be the clown now?"
Maggie's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, and her words, spoken as she turned her head, were like sharp daggers, utterly devoid of any euphemism or politeness. This caused Dewen, who had been guarding the border town for nearly twenty years, to blush instantly.
Here, no one dared to speak to him in such an attitude, let alone mock him as a 'clown,' which would be no different from a great humiliation.
"Your Highness, you..."
Charles's expression also changed slightly. Although he was the legion commander of the Temple of Light, the four of them usually cooperated and worked together to protect the border city. There had never been any major conflicts, and he maintained a good balance.
Maggie's words were almost tantamount to a complete falling out, and the situation was extremely ominous.
After all, they'll still have to get along after Maggie leaves, and he doesn't know whose side to take now if they start arguing.
With the other two also watching, the conflict was huge.
Maggie hates people who cause trouble at such critical moments. To put it bluntly, this matter concerns the safety of the border region and even the entire continent. If the defense fails, the consequences will be unimaginable.
Only a brainless person would only care about romantic love and face that isn't even worth half a gold coin. If Dewen had even a little bit of sense, she wouldn't be picking a fight with her now.
"Stop trying to save face for Mr. Laurie. I don't have time for meetings, nor do I care. If he really wants me to regain my dignity, let him come in person."
Her tone was calm, without any anger at being provoked, as if she were stating a fact, which froze the atmosphere on the city wall at that moment.
By so directly revealing the issues between her and Laurie, and laying all the grudges out in the open, it was really unlike the style of the Holy Maiden of Light, who always spoke with veiled meaning. This also made Devon, who had originally wanted to find fault, look extremely stiff.
He had no way to respond to that; denying it was wrong, and admitting it was wrong too.
"Her Highness is probably in a bad mood due to the long journey and lack of rest, coupled with the approaching beast tide, Commander Wen..."
Charles tried to smooth things over between the two, but before he could finish speaking, Devon interrupted him.
"Since Your Highness is so upright and honorable, then I would like to ask Your Highness, when you publicly ordered my brother Laurie to dissolve his contract, was it with the intention of humiliating him?"
De Wen spoke even more bluntly, which surprised Maggie. She thought he was a treacherous villain, but he turned out to be quite different from what she had imagined.
Maggie stared at Devon's eyes, which were fixed intently on her face, her expression unchanged.
"No!"
She spoke those two words with absolute certainty, each syllable distinct and clear, leaving no room for doubt about her sincerity.
That's exactly what she thought.
"I just want that magician to be free. Wisdom that has been enslaved by humans for thousands of years or even longer should not be trapped in a cage forever."
Considering that Devon might still have some lingering issues, Maggie very considerately offered an explanation; whether or not he believed it was not up to her.
"..."
Devon eventually fell silent, his gaze towards Maggie growing increasingly complex, as if he couldn't believe that there could truly be someone in this world so selfless and so sacred.
But looking into her firm, clear eyes, without a trace of guilt, he was certain that Maggie was not lying and that her words came from the bottom of her heart.
After a while, he seemed to have lost all his energy and strength, and his words were no longer sharp and confrontational.
"Do you know what kind of punishment my brother will face after returning to the family? He will not only lose a mage, but he will also bring shame to the family."
This is probably the tragedy of being born into a large family: you have to consider more factors every step you take, and suppress yourself just to gain the family's approval.
“I really want to say that I don’t care and it has nothing to do with me, but since you’ve told me, all I can say is that he challenged me because he wanted to stand up for his friend, and his eventual defeat was due to his greed. This is something I cannot control.”
“I cannot be responsible for his future or the consequences of his decisions.”
Maggie remained calm and composed. What she said was indeed quite cold, but as long as Devon was a normal person and didn't get angry, he probably wouldn't continue to cause her trouble.
As expected, Devon gave a bitter smile, looked at Maggie one last time, turned and left, walking down the city wall.
There was no longer any resentment or indignation in his eyes, only deep sorrow.
The remaining two remained silent throughout, and even the legion commander, who was quietly observing the situation, cast an admiring glance at Maggie, probably because they hadn't expected the new saintess to be so aggressive.
In the future, when dealing with Maggie, I'll probably have some reservations and be much more restrained.
Maggie didn't care what others thought. Anyway, she would only be staying in the border city for ten days. She would leave as soon as the beast tide ended. Nesser had been bored these past two days and felt extremely guilty.
However, he seemed to be in a good mood, practicing magic diligently every day, and his eyes were full of anticipation when he looked at Maggie.
He must be eager to take her back to the Green Forest.
"Okay, let's continue."
Maggie withdrew her gaze, as if nothing had happened, and spoke to the magician who was standing to the side, completely stunned.
"Uh...ah? Oh, yes, Your Highness."
The startled magician snapped out of his daze, but when facing Maggie, he was no longer as dismissive and distrustful as before, and became as docile as a quail.
For the rest of the time, he did whatever Maggie said, without questioning her instructions in the slightest.
This made Maggie a little upset. She didn't know much about the frontier, and this person didn't say anything useful or offer any advice. Wasn't this just causing her trouble?
"You can tell me what you're thinking."
Maggie tried her best to give the young magician a kind and gentle smile, almost as if she were saying, "I don't eat children, don't be afraid."
"No, no, Her Highness's plan is perfect and very easy to implement."
The magician waved his hand in a panic, his fear visibly evident.
Maggie was speechless.
Has her charm failed her?
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