Re: The Villainess Does It With Class

"I believe that this is not just a normal case of human trafficking."

The entire room was then filled with gasps, aghast by this notion. The vassals then looked at His Majesty with questions as they were intrigued why he believed so.

The emperor saw the queries in their faces. "I don't want to assume the worst of things but, this case must be related to the conquisitors."

If it's not them, then who else would it be? That group is notorious for a lot of things, and it is mainly for slaughtering and kidnapping certain people. It has been so long since their last conquest that rocked the world and had just now resurfaced again to target Nadia. 

Thinking that for all these years that they had been silent was because they are lying dormant would be foolish. People like them do not rest, not until their goals are achieved.

Who knows what kind of horrors they had been up to under the public's eyes? These missing cases could only be them.

If his assumption is wrong and it is unrelated, then that is not much worse. They do not know the culprits and have nothing that links with them. And knowing that there are other enemies out there… 

The emperor could only hope he'll be proven wrong.

"The conquisitors!" Were their exclamations.

"Who?" One clueless vassal questioned.

Duke Vinea scoffed at his ignorance. "You must be going senile to forget about the nightmare that happened during the reign of the first monarchy."

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The person who posed the question shut his mouth and tried to recall what he meant, and horribly failed at it. Who can blame him? He wasn't born when that incident happened and although he has heard some stories about the past, it wouldn't stick to him that much. More so when he had been living in a peaceful era of the monarchy.

"Your fathers and grandfathers are vassals of the late emperors, thus, you might have heard the story from them," Mikhail surveyed the people around the table with a somber expression, "I will not hide this truth from you. The conquisitors had returned just recently and their goal is to spread terror. We should not let this go on."

There was another buzz among the participants of the meeting, heavily discussing the current predicament. Trepidation can be seen on each of their faces and is reflected in their eyes. To them, these conquisitors are like the scythe of death inching to their throats. 

"But your majesty… They have managed to kill a lot of powerful people, how do we fare against them?" One fearful vassal dwelled.

The others immediately agreed.

"If it's really the conquisitors, then normal people will be rendered useless to fight against them," Duke Reichen followed.

"Then we should ask the Arcane Tower!" Another said forth.

"Lord Janus!" The rest exclaimed excitedly.

If it's the magician and the current lord of the tower, then he might succeed in repressing them. Everyone knows how powerful the people in the tower are, although they have no idea how strong the current lord is, for they have not seen him in battle. But since he could inherit the title as a king of magic, he must not be weak.

As this suggestion came up, several people chatted like drones. Just then, someone had to break this enthusiasm.

"But the lord does not like affiliating himself with us," one murmured.

The excited chatter ceased, replaced by dejection.

That's right. How could they forget one critical part? From the start, the tower had made it clear to everyone and distanced themselves from any matters involving the empire.

In the end, Lord Janus might not help them.

"The Arcane Tower is responsible for the magic, don't they? They were the ones who sealed it so they should be responsible for it," one person suddenly voiced his thoughts. It was Count Jay.

Several eyes then landed on him, some are appalled while the rest are sharp, giving signals to shut his mouth.

Leon, who had the graces of the tower, especially Lord Janus, frowned.

"Watch your tongue," he warned.

This did not make Count Jay stop at all and had further continued with his argument.

"I'm only telling the truth. If they did not seal everyone's powers then we might have a way to protect ourselves." He then swept his eyes among the group and raised his chin to make a point.

A couple of men directly pondered his words and couldn't help but acknowledge them. He's not wrong. If they are still able to wield magic like before, those notorious people might not have done those terrible things. 

While those sensible ones still have mocking expressions. They look down at him and his opinion. One of them was the haughty Duke Vinea who gazed at him with so much disgust.

"Fool! Are you not afraid of being implicated by the tower? Did you forget what happened to the last person who mocked the tower?" He interjected.

This remark brought a shiver down their spine. Everyone could feel the chill in the room as they nervously shifted in their seats. 

Who would dare to forget about it? The last time someone scorned the tower had his entire bloodline cut off and was cursed. It was a constant reminder to not ever speak ill of the Arcane Tower.

Count Jay must have remembered it too, that's why he immediately paled.

"And the magic was sealed because of constant wars that involved innocent lives. Educate yourself, Count," Leon lectured.

This then sparked another argument, chiding Count Jay's behavior. They all mocked and ridiculed him for his stupid shortcomings and even dragged several people who seemed to support his statement right before he got slammed.

As the noise grew, the faces of the emperor, the prince, and the dukes, turned gloomier.

"Silence!" Emperor Mikhail bellowed, instantly shutting them up. "I hope this will be the last time that I will warn you about your mouths. The arcane tower is not to be trifled with, remember that," he scolded.

At that juncture, someone came knocking at the door and a royal attendant came in.

"Your majesty, the people from the holy church had come to deliver important news."