Chapter 168 - 127: The Lust-Blinded Descendant of Moria

Chapter 168: Chapter 127: The Lust-Blinded Descendant of Moria

Yusofa.

The estate of the former Governor, Khrish.

The atmosphere in the council hall grew tense as the key figures arrived.

Mary stared at Lian, trying to use her seemingly all-seeing eyes to pierce through to his secrets.

Seeing the Disease Witch Dora at the engagement banquet in the Blue Moon Territory had already planted a seed of doubt in her mind.

Upon returning to Yusofa, she had immediately ordered a review of the archives to investigate Dora’s identity.

Nowhere in the archives or records was there any mention of Dora having a twin sister.

This confused Mary. ’If Dora isn’t dead, and Miss Magic Box is actually Dora, does that mean the Grand Priest and the Polestar Knight Order have all been bought off by Lian?’

’But if Dora is dead, then who is Miss Magic Box? Why does she look identical to Dora and possess the same abilities?’

’Is there something wrong with the archives, or does the problem lie with Lian himself?’

Mary wanted Nancy Scalia to get to the bottom of this. ’If Lian can truly save Witches who are Bordering on Loss of Control, then no matter the cost, I will imprison him by my side and make him my tool.’

She just didn’t know that her most prized Deacon of the Rose Thorn, Nancy Scalia, had already betrayed her and pledged her loyalty to Lian Moria.

She confidently believed that everything was still under her control.

"Is Lorne doing well in the Blue Moon Territory?"

Mary asked probingly, picking up a cup of coffee an attendant had brought her.

"Oh, the Blue Moon Territory is Lorne’s home. Nothing surpasses the warmth and comfort of home."

Lian didn’t answer Mary’s question directly, casually brushing it aside.

Not receiving a satisfactory answer, Mary glanced warily at the Witch, Miss Magic Box.

She didn’t want the Witch to bring disease to Yusofa. With one-third of her Rose Army gathered here, the Disease Witch was an undeniable threat.

Of course, she believed the Witch wouldn’t be so reckless. Unless she wanted to declare war directly on her, she ought to have the sense to restrain her behavior.

Lian, keenly aware of Mary’s gaze, looked at Dora with displeasure.

"Miss Magic Box, I’ve tolerated you long enough. You can’t act so wantonly just because you were a gift to me from Catherine. You attacked one of Nancy’s Knights and nearly harmed Nancy herself. And now you want to share my favor with Nancy as well? You are a greedy, self-righteous woman. I want you to return to the Blue Moon Territory at once. Get out of my sight. I don’t want to see you for a while."

Dora was a clever woman and immediately played along with the new "script" Lian had handed her.

"You will regret this! You’ll come crawling back to me on your knees, because I’ll be the first woman to bear your child."

Dora shoved Nancy Stuart aside and stormed out of the council hall in a rage.

Nancy Stuart remained expressionless, but she made a silent vow. ’I’ll pay Dora back for that, twice over.’

Mary signaled her subordinates to watch the Witch’s movements and see if she truly left Yusofa.

Lian and Dora’s public falling-out demonstrated how much he valued Nancy Scalia, signaling that his favor was shifting toward the Rose Territory.

But Mary was a naturally suspicious person. She suspected Lian had an ulterior motive for his actions.

’Surely he didn’t drive the Disease Witch away just to please me, to allay my fears that she might spread disease among my Guards, did he?’

But soon, Mary was presented with a plausible explanation.

She saw the documents her foreign affairs officials handed her, regarding Lian’s inheritance of Khrish’s estate.

Mary concluded that Lian was deliberately trying to curry favor with her because he wanted to obtain half the land in Yusofa.

The estate did indeed belong to Khrish, but how the inheritance rights had fallen into Lian’s hands would require some maneuvering to sort out.

Mary had long been wary of Khrish and had never allocated the domain of the granaries to him. Therefore, while the amount of land in the documents was vast, it wouldn’t have a decisive impact on the situation in Yusofa.

The Rose Army could still get its supplies from the granaries.

Therefore, even if Mary acknowledged the document’s legal validity, the loss would be acceptable.

It all depended on how much she valued Lian Moria. This was both a test and a transaction.

"What are your thoughts?"

Mary looked toward her four ministers of foreign affairs.

The four men exchanged glances, seemingly reaching an unspoken agreement in that brief moment. It was a silent understanding honed by years of handling foreign affairs together. Now, they would stage a heated debate in front of Mary to demonstrate their worth.

"I believe this is a blatant attempt to partition Yusofa. The Criss Clan has no living members. This estate should rightly be returned to Yusofa, to be held by the next Governor, not by someone with no blood ties to the Criss Clan."

"Indeed. The wealth and land described in these documents amount to half of Yusofa. However generous the Rose Territory may be, we must consider the nobles and people of Yusofa. They will feel as though they are being invaded, their territory carved up before their eyes."

"You are both wrong. Yusofa now belongs to the Rose Territory, so only Lady Mary has the right to dispose of its assets. No one can take what belongs to Lady Mary. If they could, why would the Blue Moon Territory send envoys to negotiate? Why would they offer to buy it back from us at a high price?"

An elderly foreign affairs official, his previous attitude gone, spoke in a tone that brooked no argument. "On behalf of the Yusofa People, we reject this document. This is a scheme by the Blue Moon Territory. They don’t want to pay a high redemption price, so they’ve resorted to this. I highly doubt the document’s authenticity."