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Chapter 368: Lanchi's Business Acumen
Chapter 368: Lanchi's Business Acumen
In the living room of Gloria's mansion, the dark floor-length curtains were drawn, casting the afternoon with a muted and tranquil ambiance. The only persistent sound was the ticking of a wall clock in the corner.
Without a word from Lanchi or Sigrid, Gloria anxiously maintained her silence, awaiting their response.
"I'll have to leave for the Helrom Broadcasting Company in about fifteen minutes. After that, I'll be meeting with Miss Krollis Belenhard, the Duchess. She can provide us with a lot of help."
Lanchi finally glanced at the clock in the living room and addressed Sigrid and Gloria again.
Tonight's interview program was imminent, and it would help expand his influence in the Protoss Empire, allowing more Protoss who had only heard of him but had not interacted with him to learn about Rocky McCassy.
Before departing north from the Protoss Royal Magic Academy, Lanchi had formed an alliance with Duchess Krollis—
She provided him with intelligence and assistance, and in return, he helped her gather information from the dangerous northern borderlands.
Even though the intelligence Lanchi obtained in Bandra City, at the northernmost province, may not have been exactly what Krollis desired, the true state of the city and the presence of the mysterious black-robed figure were already significant.
This was originally an impossible task, similar to Major Fanleku's investigation team, where even finding a clue would not spare them from the grasp of Bandra City, let alone escaping through the blockades and pursuit to return to the imperial capital of Helrom.
Therefore, the value of the mission in Lanchi's hands was now unknown.
It was also time to discuss further plans with Krollis to delay the war in the Protoss Empire.
"..."
At these words, Gloria's expression turned even more gloomy.
"What's wrong?"
Lanchi noticed Gloria's change in expression.
"Krollis has recently been implicated in a charge of treason and has been confined to the Belenhard Duchy. She is prohibited from leaving or contacting anyone else until the investigation is cleared."
Gloria said quickly.
Although she should have been happy to hear that the Saint could seek help from the Belenhard family, it would be best not to be associated with Krollis at this time.
"When did this happen?"
Lanchi frowned.
"About two weeks ago."
Gloria replied.
Lanchi and Sigrid exchanged glances.
Two weeks ago, that was probably not long after their encounter with Askhsan and the black-robed figure in the northernmost province of Bandra.
So, could it be that their ambush and escape in the north had triggered a change in the enemy's plan and countermeasures, leading to simultaneous targeting of Krollis?
"What about Duke Morotian?"
Lanchi asked again.
In his collaboration with Krollis, one of the crucial pieces of intelligence that demonstrated her sincerity was the disappearance of Duke Morotian.
Lanchi had also promised Krollis that he would not reveal this information to anyone else.
The real Duke Morotian had gone missing in the empire's north, and the current Duke Morotian in the public eye was a puppet controlled by Krollis—a drug-made human. She was now manipulating the entire Belenhard family-related forces on her own, almost directly influencing the tilt of the bishop's vote in a week's time.
"Duke Morotian has not been affected, and at this critical juncture for the empire, he has stated that he will not shield his daughter if the treason is proven. He has requested the empire to execute her."
"?"
Lanchi finally showed a look of confusion.
According to imperial law, the imprisoned Krollis should have had her magic and movements restricted, preventing her from controlling the puppet, Duke Morotian. Therefore, Duke Morotian should also be inactive.
"Unless Krollis is controlling him, who is the current Duke Morotian in the public eye?"
"Is there something you haven't told me?" Sigrid asked, her eyes fixed on Lanchi without a hint of blame. She knew that he was a man of his word, and he must have promised Krollis not to divulge certain crucial information to anyone else.
Lanchi had not hidden the fact that he was acquainted with the Saint and Krollis, the Duchess's daughter. The large number of purple rare sealed magic cards he had were obtained with Krollis's help.
Sigrid had been keeping an eye on every promising student at the Protoss Royal Magic Academy, including Krollis, the Duchess's daughter.
While this Duchess had the qualifications to become the Saint of the Hegemony, her schemes ran too deep, and she would never truly be loyal. Sigrid didn't want a Saint she couldn't trust.
"Actually, the real Duke Morotian disappeared some time ago. The one who has been posing as the Duke recently is a puppet controlled by Duchess Krollis. One of the main reasons for my collaboration with Krollis is to help her investigate the mastermind behind the empire's turmoil in the north and effectively rescue her," Lanchi explained, no longer holding anything back.
With the Hegemony branch being an indispensable force, there was no need to keep secrets anymore. He had intended to forge an alliance between the Belenhard family and the Hegemony branch after returning from the north, and this piece of intelligence had to be shared.
Sigrid paused briefly to process the information, while Gloria's mind went completely blank.
"You don't say? This Duchess is quite ruthless. I'm starting to admire her," Sigrid remarked.
She now understood the situation entirely and was relieved that they hadn't considered making Krollis the Saint. If anything happened to the Bishop, Krollis, as the Saint, might be the first to turn against her.
"Normally, all the votes controlled by their family would have gone to us, but now it's hard to say," Lanchi sighed.
The developments in the imperial capital hadn't gone entirely as planned.
Perhaps the true enemies, the partners behind Askhsan, lurking in the shadows, were the most difficult to deal with and the ones truly manipulating the situation.
"Did you also get the Belenhard family's vote for me?" Sigrid asked, her eyes widening in surprise.
She had thought that this young man had only laid the groundwork for her in the south and won over an entire province in the north. But it turned out that he had also secured the support of the Belenhard Duchy in the imperial capital.
He had promised to help her win, and he was truly putting in the effort without any laziness. He was getting things done.
The happiest thing in the world was knowing that someone had already helped her achieve her hegemony when she knew nothing about it.
"..." Gloria looked back and forth between Lanchi and Sigrid, her brain in a chaotic mix of receiving and processing information. Finally, she understood just how formidable this Saint's son was.
His ability to get things done was simply too incredible.
It was hard to imagine where he could take things in the empire if given another year.
Gloria even started to worry if the Bishop would develop an affection for the Saint's son. He seemed to fit the Bishop's ideal type, except for his age and strength.
But Gloria soon breathed a sigh of relief.
The strength factor alone was a deal-breaker.
Gloria was confident that the proud Bishop of the Hegemony would never look down on a man weaker than herself. At most, she would see the Saint's son as a youth she was nurturing.
Unless one day this man became powerful enough that the Bishop had to rely on him, only then would there be a slight possibility for her to develop romantic feelings for him.
(End of Chapter)
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