In the end, no one knelt except for Egbert, who had already dropped to his knees.
Of course, Egbert was quickly pulled back up.
Su Li had a strong capacity for self-reflection. Since the book incident didn’t ultimately turn out badly, what Su Li needed to consider now was how to have the implications of the book officially validated.
Fortunately, despite all that had happened this past month, Ophelia and the King had not easily met their demise.
Willard’s thought process had gradually become bizarre. He had poisoned the King without hesitation, let alone when facing Ophelia.
Could the Grand Princess be so easily controlled?
The answer was yes.
Xiao Zuo was currently in a Schrodinger-like state, but regardless of whether his true existence leaned more toward the previous Xiao Zuo or the now-deceased Pope, he would no longer be controlled by Ophelia.
After the Grand Princess’s only chance to ascend the throne was delayed by Su Li, finding another perfectly timed opportunity would be as difficult as climbing to heaven.
Under these circumstances, the disinherited Willard couldn’t take the throne, while Qi remained in the Mercenary City without making any noise. Other potential heirs had all been suppressed by Ophelia more than once.
Conversely, either both the King and Ophelia should stay alive, or both should die.
They needed to keep each other in check, while ensuring the King didn’t discover Ophelia’s true identity. Otherwise, the King would completely eliminate Ophelia’s value to survival.
Willard had successfully mastered how to balance these two individuals over the past month.
Willard very decisively shifted the blame for poisoning Ophelia onto the King, while telling the King that the reason he had been so easily assassinated previously was because Ophelia had also poisoned him.
At first, the King was shocked and furious. Later, Willard told him: “If you can’t make a child who grew up in that kind of environment feel safe, then you can’t stop her from seeking safety on her own.”
With these words, even though the King’s mind was momentarily filled with the thought that “my Grand Princess has suffered so much during this time,” he still retained the concept that Ophelia had some issues.
After being satisfied with the King’s perception, Willard turned around to manipulate Ophelia.
When facing the Grand Princess, Willard always had a feeling of insufficient control. So although he eventually succeeded, Willard was still somewhat uneasy and brought his actions to Su Li for discussion.
After hearing this, Su Li’s lips twitched for a good while before affirming, “Don’t worry. Ophelia will be trustworthy enough until the King dies. What you need to do is ensure the King doesn’t die so easily, and even if the King does die, Ophelia won’t be able to truly hold power alone.”
Su Li didn’t explain why Ophelia could be trusted, and Willard didn’t need an answer, so he happily returned to the palace.
Later, others at the inn also asked why Ophelia was considered trustworthy at this point.
Lan Zhe, who had recently heard plenty of gossip, readily provided an explanation.
“Because in the Grand Princess’s eyes, the King’s current suspicion of her is because he knows she is the Pope’s daughter.”
“Ophelia might question why the King, who knows the truth about being cuckolded, doesn’t kill her. But once she realizes that if her true identity were revealed, she would not only lose her royal status but also be immediately excluded from the succession race, she can only choose to keep quiet.”
“As for what happens when Ophelia discovers the truth later… by that time, after being unconscious for a long period and then taking some time to understand the situation, that woman wouldn’t dare act rashly.”
“With no cards to play, unable to kill the King personally, and with Willard backed by the Grand Justice, plus the Queen having entered the game, Qi might also have a fighting chance. Therefore, all she can do is desperately accumulate power before the King dies.”
Even if Ophelia developed her own personal forces in the future, others wouldn’t remain stagnant either.
The balance of mutual restraint would remain stable.
However, the most important thing now was to solidify the extended influence of that book.
“Go find Willard.”
Roy promptly raised his hand. “I’ll go.”
“Come to think of it, the little master should also have a few people who can relay messages.”
Egbert decisively said, “Then you’re most suitable—a third-rate mercenary rented for ten gold coins a month.”
Roy almost beat Egbert to death.
Although what he said was true.
A two-star mercenary wasn’t much in the eyes of nobles, but if Roy had the strength of a three-star mercenary, that would be completely different.
Under these circumstances, no matter to whom Roy delivered Su Li’s message, that person would certainly take it seriously.
……
Meanwhile, after learning of Su Li’s requirements from Roy, Willard immediately contacted his maternal grandfather.
The man who held judicial power naturally represented a kind of justice.
The book itself couldn’t represent anything, but whoever could guide the thoughts that had already spread would become the first to seize this opportunity.
The world was bound to undergo a major transformation.
Past rules would be largely overturned, and new rules would be established.
People would develop new needs and pursuits because of this.
Moreover, the public opinion field represented by Godfrey had already enabled the birth of print media.
What Su Li truly wanted was to stuff the concepts of the new world and the future into everyone’s minds.
During his time buried deep in the library, Su Li had asked himself why he was so afraid of what the truth represented.
Later he realized he had overthought it.
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When one develops fear of certain things, it’s usually because those unstable elements might affect one’s life safety, property security, or mental state.
Conversely—
All fear stems from insufficient firepower.
This wasn’t about going from one extreme to another. But when humans had developed in the elemental way for thousands of years without obvious progress, what harm would there be in appropriately referencing the system from another world that had already developed to a certain scale?
The Grand Justice later came to meet Su Li in person.
He only asked two questions. “Does what you’re doing harm humanity?”
“Is what you want to achieve making humanity better?”
Su Li didn’t answer, but the man who held judicial power already understood the answer.
Before leaving the inn, the white-haired man said, “I will support all your actions.”
After meeting this elderly man, Su Li suddenly understood why Willard, despite having such a prominent maternal family, could still be treated as a tool.
The elderly man had no intention of interfering with his descendants’ development.
Whether one lived like a human or a dog depended entirely on oneself.
He was an idealist who placed everything he pursued at the highest position.
The judiciary represented by the Grand Justice not only naturally possessed certification power but also needed public credibility.
The trust of the common people depended on fairness.
And when humans lived in a very unfair environment, that old man would only choose to do everything possible to bring fairness to the world.
Therefore, he cared about the judiciary, but not just the judiciary.
Su Li sighed. “At least we can avoid getting involved with Meredith at this stage.”
“Why do you say that?” the raven perched on his head asked.
Su Li was currently racking his brains to record the development path and direction of modern society’s weapons.
“That King wouldn’t want to see changes.”
It would affect his rule and his personal interests.
A person who had sat on the throne for so many years would certainly have a unique perception of certain political changes.
And when everything that was about to happen would be handled first by the Grand Justice, the King wouldn’t lose his rightful rule before his death.
Conversely……
If Mavis dared to attempt assassination once, she would dare to try ten times.
One of them would eventually succeed.
“I hope we can return to Mercenary City before New Year’s Eve.”
“Is that a special day?” the raven swung its feet.
Su Li smiled without answering the raven, because it was the only New Year’s Eve of the following year that he remembered.
From next year onwards, his ties to his original world would be repeatedly diluted by the flow of time.
So before that……
“No one can make me work overtime during the New Year, not even for triple pay!”
After saying this, Su Li continued to bury himself in work, implementing each item on the work plan that filled an entire notebook.
However, after working intensely for an entire day and discovering that the next plan was a banquet he had to attend, Su Li tried to push this task onto Egbert.
Egbert: “I do indeed hope that you would focus your attention on me at all times, but your living space absolutely cannot only have me in it.”
“So you’re saying I must attend the banquet?” Su Li lazily lay on the table.
Egbert hesitated.
Su Li pressed on. “I don’t think I have anything to discuss with those nobles who would label me as useless the moment they see me.”
“It would be best not to go.” Egbert smiled gently, but somehow it felt a bit terrifying. “How could a bunch of idiots whose brains seem to be running in the city’s outskirt cesspools have the qualification to meet you?”
“So this task can be crossed off, right?” Su Li excitedly picked up his pen, ready to cross out the banquet-related item from the notebook filled with plans.
When a corporate worker goes on a business trip without any substantial rewards… Su Li had only one judgment for useless social interactions.
If there was nothing to do, sleeping was a good thing too.
Socializing? Absolutely not.
Unfortunately, this idea was shattered by Mavis.
“The banquet hosted by the Gabriel family isn’t completely useless,” Mavis said. “The Grand Justice also thinks you should go and see.”
“At the very least, you need to let all the nobles understand that you have the power to destroy their entire family at any time.”
Su Li looked at Mavis and Egbert, suddenly enlightened.