Chapter 20: The Lost Leon and the Mysterious Enormous Hall
"Huh? This is..." Liliana muttered as she narrowed her eyes, oped the letter, and began to read.
While perusing the letter's contts, her countance shifted to one of sullness.
"This woman wants to visit here in a month? What does she mean, and what is her purpose?" Liliana closed the letter, asking herself inwardly with annoyance as she pondered its implications.
A hint of hatred and anger crept onto her face, emotions she made no effort to conceal after finishing reading the contts of the letter.
However, her anger was only momtary. She quickly regained her composure, rubbing her temples together and closing her eyes for a momt.
After a minute, she reoped her eyes, and her cold and indiffert expression reappeared on her face.
"Huh! No matter what, I'll discern this woman's purpose later. I hope she won't stir trouble upon tering the territory of my Demon race," she muttered, her tone laced with cold disdain, before finally rising to her feet from her chair.
She slowly walked over to the window and looked at the clear sky outside with a calm demeanor.
"Heidel!" Liliana called out in an indiffert tone.
Suddly, from seemingly nowhere, a middle-aged man in butler's attire appeared behind her, respectfully bowing his head towards her.
"Is there anything I can assist you with, Your Majesty?" The middle-aged man, Heidel, asked respectfully.
"Heidel, are there any signs of activity from the Holy Orthodox troops at the border?" Liliana inquired indiffertly, turning her back on him.
"Report to Your Majesty! There is no sign of an attack from the Holy Orthodox side, and our intelligce at the border reported that the Holy Orthodox troops are being pulled back," Heildel replied calmly before proceeding to explain the currt situation at the border in detail.
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During his explanation, shock and astonishmt dawned on Liliana's face.
Turning her body to face him, she gazed at him with confusion and asked, "Are you certain about the Holy Orthodox withdrawing their troops?"
She remained skeptical of the news, finding it hard to believe.
Having already considered several battle scarios involving the Holy Orthodox, of which materialized, she felt that her vigilance had be somewhat futile.
"That's correct, Your Majesty. This news is highly accurate and aligns with the intelligce we received," Heidel replied firmly, finally convincing Liliana.
Nodding in acknowledgmt, Liliana's face showed a slight sse of relief as she could finally relax a little.
"Very well, you may return," Liliana said, dismissing Heidel after hearing the news and no longer holding him back.
"In that case, I respectfully request permission to take a leave first, Your Majesty, the Demon Emperor," Heidel said, bowing his head once more before preparing to depart.
However, all of a sudd, a slight frown appeared on his face, signaling to Liliana that something had crossed his mind.
"Do you have something to say?" Liliana asked calmly, observing him closely.
"That's right, Your Majesty. I have a question regarding the man you brought..." Heidel began, but before he could finish, Liliana raised her right hand, cutting him off abruptly.
"You need not worry about that. I have my own conditions and methods," Liliana replied firmly, causing Heidel to fall silt and nod in understanding.
"If Your Majesty insists, I won't inquire further," Heidel responded before vanishing from his position like a shadow, leaving Liliana alone in her workspace.
As she watched him depart, Liliana sighed and turned to gaze at the blue sky outside the window, her expression tinged with complexity.
"I hope I made the right choice..."
...
Meanwhile, inside a vast hall with towering pillars that seemed to stretch toward the sky, Leon stood with a composed expression on his face.
"Well, am I truly lost now?" He muttered in surprise, casting a glance at his completely unfamiliar surings.
He hadn't anticipated getting lost while searching for the gard where Fiona awaited him!
"I've be wandering a for t minutes, and I've managed to get lost in this ormous hall," Leon murmured with a slight shake of his head, feeling helpless.
The palace was indeed vast, with its numerous branching hallways leaving Leon disorited.
Instead of finding his way to the gard, he found himself lost in this grand hall.
Of course, another reason was that he had lost his hero power at the momt, rdering him unable to use his magic or teleportation abilities.
As a result, he found himself walking and searching like a fool in this big palace.
"Tsk! Is a palace this big lacking any servants or guards to ask for directions?" Leon clucked his tongue, grumbling inwardly as he walked slowly.
Having become lost, he decided it was best to focus on finding an exit first.
While walking, he scanned his surings curiously.
The vastness of the hall made Leon feel minuscule in comparison.
Just as he was observing his surings, his steps suddly halted as his gaze landed on a massive painting adorning the right wall.
"A painting?" Leon blinked in surprise and slowly approached the artwork.
With each step closer, his expression grew increasingly astonished.
The painting depicted an extraordinarily beautiful and chanting woman with bloodshot eyes— other than Liliana!
"The woman in this painting... Liliana!?" Leon exclaimed, unable to contain his surprise as he scrutinized the artwork closely.
In the painting, Liliana's expression remained indiffert and cold, yet there was a faint but strong aura emanating from her, almost as if the painting itself were alive.
"How can there be a painting of Liliana in this hall? Is this some sort of cult hall?" Leon wondered aloud, rubbing his chin in curiosity.
As his gaze shifted to the side of Liliana's painting, he noticed another artwork, depicting a handsome man exuding a cold aura.
Upon seeing the face of the man in the painting, Leon nearly jumped out of his place.
"Damn! Isn't this man Gerald Crimson, the Demon Emperor from a hundred years ago!?" Leon couldn't help but wid his eyes, feeling his heart race with astonishmt.
As the hero of this geration, Leon had already immersed himself in countless history books detailing the previous Demon Emperors and the three heroes of humanity.
Consequtly, he was familiar with the faces of the past Demon Emperors to some extt!
"Liliana Crimson, the currt Demon Emperor, and Gerald Crimson, the previous Demon Emperor..." Leon whispered in a hushed voice, pointing at each painting as if he were piecing together a puzzle.
Until suddly, a thought crossed his mind, causing his breath to catch.
"This hall... isn't it..." Leon frowned, taking a few steps back, his gaze still fixed on the two paintings.
Soon, as he retreated a little further, something in his vision changed.
He discovered another large painting lined up beside Gerald Crimson's, extding to the d of the hall.
Upon this realization, Leon's surprised expression transformed into a small smile, as if his suspicions had be confirmed.
"This hall... could it be the famous Hall of Glory?"