NOVPUB"I am completely certain that the robed man who aided Bishop Asksan of Nirvana in attacking me in the image is none other than Duke Morotian!"
Sigrid said to Great Sage Eiss.
Great Sage Eiss fell into deep hesitation.
Although she had a sense that what Sigrid was saying wasn’t baseless, the accusation that the robed man was Morotian was Sigrid’s subjective perception and lacked more concrete evidence from Bishop of Hegemony.
As the most prominent authority in the Protoss Empire, Duke Morotian Berenhaldhardt, Eiss knew the consequences of taking rash actions in the absence of definitive evidence.
Eiss’s gaze shifted back and forth between Sigrid and Morotian, trying to find answers from the expressions on their faces.
"Humph."
However, Morotian seemed exceptionally composed, showing no fear in the face of Sigrid’s accusations.
Morotian was calmly looking at Sage Eiss, waiting for her judgment.
"...!"
Sigrid appeared more and more angered, her fists clenched tight. Seeing Duke Berenhald’s relaxed expression, she felt mocked.
It was as if he was laughing at her: And then what?
You think you can catch me after all?
Sigrid firmly believed in his guilt.
Yet, without concrete proof, she understood that whether her accusation could be effective relied entirely on Eiss’s judgment.
"I can’t make a hasty judgement without sufficient evidence, Duke Berenhald. I won’t take any action against you unless further evidence emerges."
Finally, Great Sage Eiss spoke up in the tense atmosphere.
Although Eiss’s voice was calm, one could feel the helplessness in her words.
She knew, that even if she had the intention and suspicion, she couldn’t justifiably bring Duke Berenhald to justice. 𝚗ovp𝚞b.𝚌om
"Thank you for your understanding, Miss Isis."
Morotian gracefully bowed to Isis, then turned to smile towards Sigrid,
"Miss Sigrid, you must be prepared to pay a corresponding price for slandering my reputation, right?"
"It’s not slander."
Sigrid was intently staring at Duke Morotian.
With regards to the robed man that day, the death of Asksan today posed an obviously great disadvantage for Duke Morotian Berenhald.
However, Morotian remained in the dark. If he chose to cast all his votes for Mourning Bishop Amiles and tried to make Amiles win, he could legitimately expel the Hegemony Branch from the Protoss Empire.
The long, actual bargaining in the Protoss Empire would then start.
This would be a compromise that both sides were unwilling to accept, but also had to accept.
Even now, knowing full well that Duke Morotian Berenhald is behind the cloak, she couldn’t strike!
If she did, she herself would become a criminal of the Empire.
The fact that the distance between them was so close yet untouchable, made it hard for her to suppress her anger.
Asksan had just been tortured like that.
However, Sigrid had a completely trustworthy companion in whom she could entrust everything.
This accusation, was solely to point out their last enemy to the one at her side!
"Is it over just like that?"
"It won’t be over."
"But for today, it should end here as the Hegemony Bishop and Duke Berenhald clearly won’t come to a resolution."
In the eyes of everyone in the council hall, this sudden accusation seemed to end in peace, but the waves and storm it incited would not cease.
Even if today’s aftermath didn’t ignite, its effects would continue to spread, and eventually explode at some point in the future!
However.
Just as everyone thought the order in Franklin Hall would return to the bishop’s election amidst the standoff and passive compromise between the two sides,
"Great Sage, I too have a video to share."
Rocky McCarthy abruptly spoke up.
His voice echoed in the hall, attracting everyone’s attention.
People didn’t know why Rocky McCarthy was also taking the stage.
They also didn’t know who he was helping this time, or what key evidence he held in his hand.
Eiss nodded, and Lanci placed a crystal stone in his open palm. Soon, the crystal stone floated up to Eiss’s hand.
Under Eiss’s magical invocation, the crystal stone again transformed into a picture.
It was in the principal’s office of the Protoss Royal Magic Academy.
The characters in the picture were Rocky McCarthy himself and Miss Cloris Berenhald, who was sitting across the desk in a noble hunting outfit.
On the sofa sat a man in a black coat, with a touch of melancholy in his eyes.
Everyone in Franklin Hall looked puzzled at the image in mid-air, unsure why Rocky McCarthy would voluntarily release a picture of his conversation with the accused traitor Duchess Cloris and the missing Associate Professor Xido.
They couldn’t understand what the three of them were talking about for a good while.
Until -
"My father has actually been missing for a long time. The Duke Morotian you see today is actually a puppet under my control."
In the picture, Duchess Cloris sighed and said to Rocky McCarthy.
Even the principal Rocky, sitting across the desk, was stunned, clearly taken aback by Miss Cloris’s shocking statement.
