"I am certain that the black-robed man who helped Bishop of Extinction Askesan ambush me in the footage was Duke Morotian!" Sigrid declared to Great Sage Isis.
Great Sage Isis fell into deep hesitation.
Although she had an inkling that Sigrid's words were not without basis, the accusation that the black-robed figure was Morotian rested purely on the Bishop of Domination's subjective perception, lacking concrete, substantial proof.
As Duke Morotian Bernhardt was the most prominent authority in the Protos Empire, Isis knew full well the consequences that reckless action without definitive evidence might unleash.
Isis's gaze shifted back and forth between Sigrid and Morotian, attempting to find an answer in their expressions.
"Heh."
Yet Morotian appeared remarkably composed, showing no fear in the face of Sigrid's accusation.
Morotian looked calmly at Great Sage Isis, awaiting her judgment.
"...!"
Sigrid grew increasingly infuriated. Her fists clenched tightly; in Duke Bernhardt's relaxed expression, she sensed outright mockery.
It was as though he were laughing at her: *And then?*
*Does that mean you can catch me?*
Sigrid was utterly convinced of his guilt. Yet without decisive proof, she knew that whether her accusation carried any weight depended entirely on Isis's verdict.
"Without sufficient evidence, I cannot make a rash judgment. Duke Bernhardt, I will not take action against you unless further evidence comes to light."
Amid the tense, bristling atmosphere, Great Sage Isis finally spoke.
She spoke in a calm voice, but the helplessness in her words was palpable.
She knew that even if she harbored suspicion and inclination, she had no justifiable way to bring Duke Bernhardt to justice.
"Thank you for your understanding, Lord Isis."
Morotian bowed gracefully to Isis, then turned to Sigrid with a smile. "Miss Sigrid, in slandering my reputation, you have surely prepared to pay the corresponding price, haven't you?"
"It is not slander."
Sigrid's eyes remained locked on Duke Morotian.
For the black-robed man of that day, Duke Morotian Bernhardt, Askesan's sudden downfall today was undeniably a severe blow.
Yet Morotian remained in the shadows. If he chose to cast all his subsequent votes for Bishop of Mourning Yamiles and found a way to secure Yamiles's victory, he could legitimately expel the Domination branch from the Protos Empire.
This would mark the start of a truly protracted struggle within the Protos Empire.
It would become a stage of compromise that neither side wished to accept, yet both would be forced to endure.
Even now, when Sigrid understood that Duke Morotian Bernhardt was the black-robed architect behind all those crimes, standing just steps away, she could not strike him down!
The moment she raised a hand, she would truly become a criminal of the Empire.
This unbearable distance—so close yet untouchable—made the rage inside her chest nearly impossible to contain.
Askesan had just been tormented by this very sensation.
However, Sigrid had a companion she could trust without reservation, one to whom she could entrust everything.
Her accusation had only ever been intended to point out their final enemy to the person seated in the hall!
"Is it over just like that?"
"It won't end here."
"Still, that should be it for today. The Bishop of Domination and Duke Bernhardt clearly won't settle anything right now."
To the onlookers in the parliamentary hall, this abrupt accusation seemed to have ended quietly, but the ripples and storms it stirred would not subside. Even if it did not erupt today, the aftershocks would continue to spread, eventually culminating in a complete explosion at some point in the future!
Yet, just as everyone thought the order in Franklin Hall would settle into a stalemate of reluctant compromise and return to the bishop election...
"Lord Great Sage, I also have a recording here."
Luoqi McCarthy spoke up suddenly.
His voice rang through the hall, drawing every gaze toward him.
No one understood why Luoqi McCarthy had stepped into the fray, nor whose side he was taking, let alone what mysterious, critical evidence he held.
Isis nodded. Lanqi placed a crystal onto his open palm; moments later, it levitated and drifted into Isis's hand.
Under the activation of Isis's engineering magic, the crystal turned into an image once more.
It showed the Headmaster's Office at the Protos Royal Magic Academy.
The figures depicted were Luoqi McCarthy himself and Lady Cloris Bernhardt, dressed in aristocratic hunting attire across the desk.
On the sofa sat a man in a long black coat, a quiet melancholy lingering in his eyes.
The audience in Franklin Hall stared bewildered at the projection suspended in midair, unable to fathom why Luoqi McCarthy would willingly share footage of his meeting with Lady Cloris—who was suspected of treason—and the missing Associate Professor Sido.
For a while, they couldn't understand what the three were discussing.
Until—
"My father actually went missing long ago. The Duke Morotian on the public stage right now is merely a medicinal puppet controlled by me."
In the footage, Lady Cloris sighed as she spoke to Luoqi McCarthy.
Across the desk, even Headmaster Luoqi paused with his teacup frozen midair, visibly stunned by Lady Cloris's explosive revelation.
Every subsequent word exchanged between Lady Cloris and Headmaster Luoqi was a bombshell!
There were recordings made in Lanqi's office, but Cloris and Sido had known about them.
Cloris had spoken those words directly in front of the recording magic apparatus. She had understood the conversation would be documented, willingly handing Lanqi leverage as a gesture of her sincerity.
The footage in the projection crystal concluded shortly after, sending a tumultuous roar of voices across Franklin Hall.
By now, no one could tell truth from falsehood.
If Lady Cloris's words were true, and for a long time Duke Morotian in the Imperial Capital Herrom had been a medicinal puppet puppeted by the duke's daughter, then who was the Duke Morotian sitting right here?
Their eyes turned once more toward Duke Bernhardt, this time laced with unmistakable suspicion and distrust.
Even the nobles seated beside Duke Morotian grew restless and fidgety, terrified that the duke next to them might suddenly transform into the black-robed man from Sigrid's earlier recording!
"It is quite evident that Associate Professor Sido Arendelle bewitched my daughter. He has fled to escape punishment, and Cloris deceived you. There was never any medicinal puppet taking my place."
The brewing unrest finally made Duke Morotian frown, and he asserted loudly.
His steady, imposing presence briefly calmed the room once more.
Witnessing Luoqi McCarthy unexpectedly entering the fray himself, Morotian was now virtually certain: Luoqi McCarthy was the very interloper who had wreaked havoc at the end in the northern snowy plains!
Although Luoqi McCarthy's actions still appeared neutral on the surface without overt hostility, and Morotian currently had no proof that Luoqi McCarthy was the Holy Son of Domination,
there was no longer any need for proof.
Just as Luoqi McCarthy now knew he was the black-robed apostle.
Neither held evidence, yet both knew the truth in their hearts.
Duke Morotian suppressed the urge to annihilate Luoqi by force; on this stage, he had no choice but to spar with him politically.
The truly troublesome thing about Luoqi McCarthy was not his combat prowess, but his knack for manipulating the hearts of people.
This recording without substantive proof was entirely useless in identifying the black-robed figure from the earlier projection.
Yet it did precisely what was needed to unsettle everyone, egging them on to suspect, distance themselves from, and fear Morotian!
In the hall, Luoqi McCarthy's revelation and Morotian Bernhardt's swift response plunged the situation into another deadlock.
Even though the contents of the footage were staggering, Duke Bernhardt's explanation was plausible enough; without further evidence, the duke still had solid ground to stand on.
Everyone scrambled to analyze where things were heading, desperate to glean the truth.
"Mr. Luoqi, what is your purpose in releasing this footage at such a moment? What are your intentions?"
Morotian finally turned toward Lanqi and demanded, "Could it be that you and Bishop of Domination Sigrid have long colluded to drag me down, working hand in glove—one in the light, one in the dark—to seize control of the entire Protos Empire? Have you finally decided to stop acting?"
His expression of aggrieved relief carried a tinge of lament, as if asking every person in the hall:
*Am I the final obstacle to their conquest of the Empire?*
*Will you help them get rid of me too?*
*And after me, will you be the next one they eliminate?*
Facing the duke, hesitation crept back into the eyes of many nobles, who then looked toward Luoqi McCarthy in confusion.
"Haha."
Hearing this, Lanqi actually laughed.
"If my ears do not deceive me, Duke Bernhardt's rhetoric sounds like a certain 'ism' that has recently become popular across the Northern Continent over the past few months?"
"And what if it is? Do you not feel guilty," Morotian refused to yield an inch, asking coldly, "Holy Son of Domination, Luoqi McCarthy?"
"!"
Duke Morotian's public accusation labeling Luoqi McCarthy as the Holy Son of Domination sent shockwaves through the aristocrats, who exchanged stunned glances.
They all knew this was called "Wilfortism."
Duke Morotian could even acknowledge it openly. For it was a malignant, overt scheme, unconcerned whether the opponent saw through it.
The innocent would remain clear, but anyone with unspeakable secrets would be plunged into a trap!
"Duke Morotian, you claim I am Luoqi McCarthy, and you claim I am the Holy Son of Domination... but who knows who the 'Wilfort' in Wilfortism really is?"
Lanqi tilted his head back with a chuckle and leaned against the backrest, posing a question that no one understood why he asked, nor could anyone answer.
"Do not answer my question with a question, Luoqi. It only makes you look like you are desperately covering your guilt."
Morotian's voice remained calm. For some reason, he felt that Luoqi McCarthy's casual demeanor seemed to mock him, ridiculing him as an amateur.
"You claimed over and over to support the Bishop of Extinction, but I am certain that from the very beginning, you intended to have everyone cast their votes for the Bishop of Domination. You and this woman have been of one mind all along. Every citizen of the Empire has been deceived by you, because you belong to the Domination branch to begin with."
The people present looked around at one another.
Though they felt Duke Morotian's words sounded more and more like throwing mud—how could Luoqi McCarthy possibly be the Holy Son of Domination?—Luoqi McCarthy had fallen silent at this moment, failing to refute Duke Morotian immediately.
"Do you dare admit it? Luoqi McCarthy,"
Morotian pressed further, his gaze sharp enough to pierce Luoqi McCarthy's mask.
Bishop of Domination Sigrid also glared furiously at Duke Morotian.
She could not stand the duke's despicable tricks for another second.
Duke Morotian had seized the initiative and turned the tables with venomous cunning, instantly putting them on the defensive.
Because this was indeed a fact that could neither be admitted nor easily denied!
Sigrid knew better than anyone that her Holy Son disliked lying.
If Luoqi McCarthy admitted it, his career in the Empire would be practically finished; the Protos Empire would never allow him and the Bishop of Domination to hold unchecked power together!
Even if he denied it, the imperial populace would still remain wary of both of them because of Duke Morotian's words today.
Regardless, Duke Morotian's plot to sabotage the Domination branch had succeeded; it was merely a matter of degree.
Several seconds passed.
The accused Luoqi McCarthy still offered no defense for himself, deepening the confusion throughout the hall.
Until.
They saw Luoqi McCarthy finally react.
To their astonishment, instead of denying it or attempting to distance himself, he turned openly toward Sigrid and even offered her a smile.
"And so what if I am? Do you think I wouldn't dare admit it? Duke Morotian, I don't know what consequences admitting it will bring. All I know is that denying it right now would disappoint her."
Lanqi spoke with absolute candor.
Sigrid, caught completely off guard, jerked her head away in flustered embarrassment.
*What... what is he playing at...?*
She bowed her head, pressing her lips together and grumbling inwardly.
They had clearly agreed to pretend they didn't know each other on stage!
Looking at her like that out of nowhere, how was she supposed to play along?!
In an instant, a flurry of hushed, hurried whispers erupted across the parliamentary hall. No one could make heads or tails of the relationship between Luoqi and Sigrid!
Either way, it didn't look much like a Holy Son and a Bishop!
Chapter 479