For a moment, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence, like a graveyard. Only the difficult gasps and coughs of Giss and the other two could be heard.
Silas stood there holding his staff, his expression calm, as if waiting for something.
Helles and Virginia silently came to Silas's side, waiting quietly.
About thirty seconds later, with a bang, the door on the second floor was suddenly thrown open. Elaina rushed out of the door in a flurry, anxiously shouting, "What's going on!? What's going on!?"
"Chief of Staff, burn them! These three are spies for the Duke of the Mountains! They want to assassinate Her Majesty!" Councilor Fulin immediately roared.
"Yes! I heard it too," Councilor Arthur followed.
Giss nodded along, staring at Maria, his tone laced with threat. "I heard it too; they want to assassinate Her Majesty."
Helles suddenly turned her head and let out a roar like a dragon's. "Shut up!"
Instantly, Councilor Fulin's face turned pale, the words stuck in his throat, and he gaped, unable to speak.
Elaina, on the second floor, nimbly jumped down. Looking at the surrounding soldiers who dared not move, at the disheveled Giss and the other two, and at the firearms cut in half, she instantly reconstructed most of the scene that had just transpired.
"Maria, is the situation as Councilor Fulin described?" Elaina turned her head and asked.
Maria, regaining her senses, immediately shook her head. "No, Councilor Fulin and the others are lying."
"You!" Councilor Fulin hadn't expected that this minor Head of Internal Affairs would dare to speak the truth against them.
"Very good! Very good!" Giss said in a low, cold voice.
Elaina said in a cold tone, "There's still a chance if you tell the truth now. Her Majesty and Master Mir are on their way. If Master Mir finds out who is lying, you know the consequences very well."
Hearing this, the three's faces instantly turned white. Only then did they remember that damn monster.
"Briefly explain what happened," Elaina turned and asked Maria.
Maria nodded. "Just now, while you were in the meeting, Bishop Sotos returned with his people, saying he had completed Master Mir's task and brought back a seriously injured assassin who possessed important intelligence. After Bishop Sotos and I arranged for the patient and returned, we saw General Giss leading people to surround Bishop Sotos's two attendants, and then…"
After briefly recounting what had just happened, Elaina's face darkened. She stared at the three and said coldly, "Giss, are you getting too bold!?"
Giss's face was cold. He slowly stood up and said, "It's not your place to judge whether I'm bold or not. I think you've also been bewitched by this fellow; you can no longer distinguish between truth and falsehood!"
"You!" Elaina clenched her fists. She wished she could burn this annoying fellow to death, but reason told her she couldn't.
Giss held a certain position in the army. His and Jim's father was the former marshal, and the two commanded a large number of soldiers.
These two had been arrogant for a long time. Apart from Vanas, no one could control them.
Vanas had already devised a plan for these two brothers. Now was a critical moment, and she absolutely could not rashly fall out with him.
Just when she was in a difficult situation, the crisp sound of high heels hitting the marble floor came.
Everyone looked up and saw Vanas, wearing a black pleated-sleeve dress with lace trim and a black silk long skirt, walking down the stairs accompanied by guards and Mir.
"So beautiful!" Virginia and Helles's eyes lit up simultaneously.
Maria and Elaina quickly approached and explained the whole situation.
Mir's attention was not on their explanation. His golden vertical pupils slowly swept over the broken firearms on the ground, a never-before-seen astonishment flashing in his expression. Finally, his gaze landed on Helles, beside Silas.
"A bit interesting!" The corners of Mir's mouth curled up distinctly, revealing a smile full of interest.
After hearing this, Vanas first ignored Silas and went to Giss and the two councilors, soothing the three with a smile.
Afterward, the three's complexions improved a lot. They snorted coldly at Silas and left with eyes full of venomous resentment.
After the three left, those guards also followed.
"Bishop Sotos, it seems we need to have a good talk," Vanas said, her expression cold and lofty.
Silas nodded slightly. "As you command, Your Majesty."
Subsequently, under the gaze of a group of guards, Her Majesty the Queen, with a cold face as if escorting a prisoner, led these three outsiders back to the second floor.
The group of seven did not go to the reception room but directly to Vanas's study.
Then, with three on each side, they sat down opposite each other, centered around the coffee table.
"I apologize for what happened just now," Vanas said sincerely after sitting down.
???
Seeing the queen, who had just been so lofty, suddenly apologize in a low voice to their Pope? This caught Helles and Virginia completely off guard.
Silas smiled slightly. "I know you have your difficulties; I don't mind."
Mir immediately asked, "This dragon person beside you, she's a demoness, right?"
Silas nodded generously. "Yes, Helles is one of the two demonesses I rescued in Bellandt. Now, under my orders, she has just rushed over from the Land of Night."
"Demoness!?" Hearing this, Elaina and Vanas were simultaneously shocked, their eyes widening as they looked at Helles.
Helles felt awkward being stared at by the two and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Elaina carefully sized up Helles, and a sense of kinship immediately arose. She turned to look at Silas and sighed, "No wonder you weren't surprised by my identity and weren't afraid of me going berserk. So, you've been taking in demonesses for a long time!"
Silas smiled and nodded. "Taking them in was also somewhat accidental."
"Hmm!?" Helles, beside them, grasped the main point and stared at Elaina, asking, "Berserk!? Could it be you're also a demoness!?"
Elaina said with a gentle smile, "Yes, I am also a demoness."
Helles immediately grinned happily, then retracted her scales and said, "That's really not easy. I've been out for several months, and you're the first demoness I've met."
Vanas asked tentatively, "Mr. Sotos, how do you handle the safety issues of demonesses? When we took in Elaina back then, Uncle Mir helped deal with Elaina's body and conducted regular check-ups to prevent Elaina from having problems. Otherwise, to be honest, I wouldn't have dared to become good sisters with Elaina."
Helles turned to look at Silas. She wasn't sure if she should reveal the Church's affairs.
Silas smiled slightly and replied apologetically, "Sorry, this is a secret, and it's not convenient to say right now."
Elaina was immediately somewhat disappointed but also relieved.
This kind of method definitely couldn't be casually revealed.
Mir squinted his eyes and asked, "The Holy Blood Church executes demonesses without question. All those who shelter demonesses, regardless of their status, will be sentenced to capital punishment. You, an apprentice bishop of the Holy Blood Church, are truly bold. To openly present this secret before us like this, aren't you afraid we'll report you?"
Silas smiled and said confidently, "Not afraid. I clearly understand your hatred for the Church, and I also clearly understand your principles and style. I have absolute trust in Elaina and Her Majesty, and naturally, I also have absolute trust in you. I believe we can now be considered our own people."
Mir laughed heartily upon hearing this. "Our own people… haha, this 'our own people' is used well."