Chapter 340 Chapter 340 War Of Words II
Christina began to act respectfully and refrained from making any improper remarks even though the princess acted like she wouldn't mind it one bit even if Christina behaved improperly.
A smile that was more like a threat bloomed on Candice's face.
"Now that I think about it, you are from THAT Elizabeth family, right? The one our royal forces ended up fighting, aren't you?"
"There they are; the thorns on the rose stalk." thought George as his gut instinct turned out to be completely on spot. Candice really seemed to have some hidden agenda, or she wouldn't have brought up a topic like this from the past.
"Indeed."
George knew that there was no hiding the truth from the princess. She definitely knew everything in advance and just wanted to threaten them with the truth that had gone unpunished in the past.
"From what I gathered, my brother was chasing after a succubus; the enemy of all humanity but someone hindered the royal forces midway and allowed that demon to escape with its life. Wasn't that man your son? Barry, if memory serves me right."
George could feel the perspiration on his forehead accumulating uncontrollably. The princess had mostly shattered his will through psychological warfare, but she had yet to reveal her true purpose in digging out old corpses.
"I will take the meaning of your expression to be a 'Yes'. So, George, tell me whether your son is guilty or not? He would rather save the enemy of all humanity instead of helping his fellow humans wipe out the vermin that infect the minds of our weak and defenseless people. What side is he on exactly? Should I doubt your loyalty as well?"
George could not, for the life of him, answer her question as it would be akin to giving up on his son entirely.
Moreover, the princess never brought up Zach or Christina who had directly fought against Prince Kolt. Instead, she pushed all the blame on Barry.
Obviously, she was targeting the Elizabeth family and was making up a reason for her actions.
George wrecked his brain thinking but was unable to realize what she was cooking in that mind of hers.
Christina too realized that the conversation had taken a cold turn. She wondered if it was something she had done that elicited such a response from the previously cordial princess. But recalling how her father had warned her through his actions, she figured that the princess never intended to befriend them.
She had probably come prepared, which meant that their presence at her welcoming ceremony wasn't a chance. She had most likely summoned them here to target them.
Christina could tell that her father, despite his wealth of experience, was not able to match the princess on an intellectual level. It wasn't that her father was weak, but that he was far inferior in terms of power and authority. A single word from the princess could doom the entire Elizabeth family as long as the former willed it.
George couldn't possibly offend her knowing that.
Christina wanted to help her father, but she didn't know how to handle the situation more appropriately.
She could only watch on as Princess Candice made several pointed remarks regarding Elizabeth family's actions that went against the interests of the state, and George didn't make a move to deny any of them.
She cursed inwardly as the royal family had been the ones who offered the position of Marquis to her father in an attempt to seek his cooperation in developing the modern transportation chain.
At the time they had been more than willing to overlook everything but now that they needed to coerce her father, they were digging out all the previous mistakes that the family had committed without any shame.
Lillard felt overwhelming delight with every passing second. He had already been dissatisfied with the old man and his daughter inwardly. Seeing their precarious state made him feel fulfilled, as if he had dined on ambrosia from the divine world.
But that wasn't all. His happiness came from the fact that he had come across another opportunity to make himself useful to the princess. From how she was targeting Elizabeth family, Lillard had already deduced that the princess either wanted something from them or she had a serious bone to pick with them.
Of the two, the first option was more likely in Lillard's opinion. He believed that the princess was using this method to gain the upper hand in whatever negotiations would follow.
If she were truly furious over what George or his family had done in the past, she could have just asked her guards to eliminate the Elizabeth family from Mesore state. It would have been as easy as raising her hand. There was no reason for her to resort to such subtle threats.
Lillard, being a seasoned politician, knew that a stick was more likely to break if stretched past its flexibility range. The way Candice kept on suppressing Elizabeth family indicated her lack of experience. She was on the path to break the stick instead of bending it to her will.
So, he kindly intervened in time and broke the tense atmosphere with a bright smile on his face.
"Brother don't make such a serious face. I am sure that the princess is only messing with you. How can a Marquis like yourself ever go against the interests of humanity to side with those mongrel demons? Aren't I right, my royal lady?"
Lillard's smiling face somehow alleviated the gravity of the situation created by the princess through her undue suppression of the Elizabeth family.
George had been holding his breath like his life depended on it. Candice's words had pushed him to the edge of despair as she was basically demanding him to throw his son under the bus. Even though he didn't say a word that would incriminate Barry, the princess somehow managed to use his silence against him.
Given his position, he was unworthy of opposing the princess even though every fiber of his being wanted to do that. Had it not been for his daughter who was accompanying him, George might have lost his cool for the first time in a long time.
He didn't want Christina to come to harm because of his impulsiveness.
As such, Lillard's words saved both him and his daughter and allowed them to breathe a little. Lillard's intervention also allowed them to muster their spirits once again after the princess' relentless psychological onslaught.
The father daughter duo felt thankful to the man even though they didn't have any good impression of the latter.
Lillard kept on glancing towards Candice from time to time like a shy maiden in order to ascertain whether his actions had brought about the desired result or not.
By using his wit, he managed to help Candice achieve her true goal and he had been wondering ever since if he had deduced her intentions rightly or not. After all, he didn't want his actions to have the opposite effect. He needed to get into Princess Candice's good books in order to rise to a higher station, probably in the capital this time.
To his relief, the cold and horrible expression on Princess Candice's face had vanished and it had been replaced by a frigid smile that seemed to be permanently plastered on her visage like an everlasting painting.
Gauging the change in her expression, Lillard found himself a new direction to show his abilities to his new master.
Candice's eyes met Lillard's sheepish grin and the latter almost jumped up in delight as if he had felt a sudden electric shock that fried his brain circuitry and left him grinning like a stupid idiot, permanently incapable of any other mental state.
Candice's first expression of the governor had been far from good. She disliked his overly eager expression and his spineless demeanor but that didn't keep her from recognizing his ability as a politician.
She made a note of this man mentally who knew how to distinguish benefits and risks and had the ability to make use of the opportunities in a cunning manner. Moreover, this was a man who was willing to dirty his hands on her behalf which could only be beneficial for her.
Candice smiled at George and Christina in a good-natured manner, but the frigidity hidden deep inside her made it impossible to warm the hearts of the father-daughter duo. They still looked at her cautiously as if prepared to retaliate against any kind of aggression on her part or her guards who were standing all around the venue at attention as if afraid that someone in the audience would have the guts to attack their young lady.
Like an expert politician who had already gained the upper hand in the previous negotiation, Candice refrained from discussing the same topic again. She didn't mention anything about the previous mistakes committed by Elizabeth family only because she knew that she had already left an impression on George. The latter wouldn't dare to go against her even if he wanted to.
"Currently the empire is facing several outside threats. My royal father and royal brother are both busy trying to suppress the various mutinous elements within and the powerful forces threatening to invade. As a Marquis of the empire, the least you should do is support the empire in these turbulent times, but you have been keeping your distance so far. Previously, we didn't have any interest in your meager force and authority. But things have changed. You need to play your part as well for the empire."
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺