Chapter 97: A Genius is Good? They’re Easy to Destroy Too!
Shelley’s killing intent was real. At least, that’s how it appeared to most people.
If the Avengers were the feared heretics among paladins… then the Paladins of the Crown, known as Guardians, were the outliers among them. Compared to the oaths sworn by others, they were more dedicated to protecting the beliefs in their own hearts. It wasn’t that their beliefs were bad, it was just that sometimes… outsiders didn’t know what they held dear, and it was easy to step on their landmines. One wrong move, and a life-or-death battle could break out. One side would be furious, the other utterly bewildered.
Rather than face such an awkward situation, most people would choose to avoid these dangerous individuals.
If I can’t afford to provoke them, I can afford to hide.
At the same time, Shelley’s mindset had changed.
“What they need now is not a harmless consort.”
“They need an opportunity to unite against a common enemy.”
Hehehehe… I, unworthy as I am, will be that common enemy. The chaotic consort has appeared. First, the emotionally unstable persona.
Having made up his mind, Shelley maintained his serious attitude and questioned the Darcy at his feet.
“Lord Darcy, I hope you can retract what you just said.”
“That disrespect toward me. Can you?”
Darcy came to his senses and was about to get up and curse him, but Shelley stomped on him hard, forcing him back down.
“Gah!”
Their strength was about the same; Shelley’s might even have been less than Darcy’s. But their positions, their current postures… there was no way Shelley would let him get away.
Polly, who had been the most interested, now had a complex expression. She looked at Shelley’s back seriously and said softly, “Lord Shelley…”
Looking back at Polly, he shook his head slightly and said apologetically, “I’m sorry, Lady Polly. In this situation, I cannot forgive him.”
“Not just for myself, but for Nadia.”
The moment he brought up the Queen’s name, some of the people who had wanted to step forward and persuade him, or even take sides, sheepishly retreated.
How ruthless. He’s already using the Queen’s name. This guy is no pushover.
“This is not a threat.”
“Nor is it coercion.”
“I just hope you can face the insult you have directed at me.”
A serious, calm voice, a placid expression, a faint killing intent. The combination of these three made the entire scene tense and ready to explode.
“Cough, cough!”
“You!”
Darcy’s confidence was wavering, because he found that the tip of the sword was getting closer and closer to his throat.
“Shelley.”
“Stop!”
Just then, a faint voice came from the edge of the hall. The voice had a calm, confident feel to it. Upon careful analysis, one could also hear a deeply hidden arrogance.
Stepping out from the crowd, a blond half-elf with a monocle walked out. His features were outstanding even among half-elves. With a superior confidence, he came to Shelley’s side and said lightly, “Let him go. This is extremely disrespectful to Marquis Kevin.”
“Thurvis! What are you saying!?”
“Lady Polly, please do not interfere in this matter.”
Pushing up his monocle, Thurvis nodded at the angry Polly and said, “It is true that Darcy was in the wrong, but this gentleman’s actions are not to be commended.”
“He chose the most conflict-provoking method! This is not good for the stability of our kingdom.”
Thurvis’s aura was like that of a scholar who had just walked out of a library. If he were holding a book, he would look even more the part.
A faint arrogance? A scholar? A spellcaster!
An easy deduction. The disdain spellcasters had for ordinary people and other Professionals was a tale thousands of years old.
Arrogance is good. It’s easy to destroy.
Before Polly could speak, Shelley asked softly, “And you are?”
Thurvis didn’t speak, but Darcy, lying on the ground, quickly introduced him, “Thurvis is a true genius! He’s a genius mage who has even been praised by Her Majesty!”
Smiling and nodding at the suddenly appeared Thurvis, he repeated, “A genius…”
Just as everyone thought Shelley would take this opportunity to let Darcy go… the sharp tip of the sword plunged into Darcy’s throat.
“Ah! Cough…”
“Heh… hah!”
Aaaah!
“You!”
The shocked Thurvis’s eyes widened. He was about to rush forward and save Darcy.
“Don’t move.”
“You move, he dies.”
Ignoring Thurvis, who had run to his side, Shelley looked around, secretly nodding at the panicked reactions of the crowd.
Panic, shock, fear, confusion… these are all normal reactions.
He paid special attention to a few people who looked shocked on the surface, but had a hidden joy in their eyes. Shelley continued to analyze.
“Interesting. This is really too interesting.”
The number of nobles who were potential traitors was far less than Shelley had thought.
“Put away your fireball. You’ll destroy this place.”
Withdrawing his gaze, Shelley looked at this little genius mage, who was probably cultivated by some minor family, and raised an eyebrow.
“I have a question for you now.”
“If I had chosen the most conflict-provoking method before…”
“Then now, am I playing a game with him?”
Thurvis’s expression became extremely ugly, his fists trembling.
“…”
“Not talking?”
The tip of the sword was slowly withdrawn from Darcy’s throat, and blood flowed with it.
“Aaaah!”
Thurvis looked at Darcy with heartache and shouted, “No! You didn’t choose the most conflict-provoking method before…”
“…I was wrong!”
Shelley looked at his clenched fists and flushed face, and asked with a smile, “What did you call me before?”
Looking at Shelley with hatred, Thurvis’s face twitched. He wanted to turn and leave, but seeing the bleeding Darcy, he gritted his teeth and said, “I was wrong! Lord Shelley!”
Nodding with satisfaction, he quickly pulled the sword from Darcy’s throat. Before he could scream, he cast Lay on Hands and a healing spell on him. Wiping the tip of the sword on Darcy’s clothes, Shelley crouched down, placed Darcy’s sword in his arms, and asked softly, “Now, can you please retract that statement?”
Shelley’s bared-teeth, tragic smile, in Darcy’s eyes, was like a demon’s. Fighting back his terror, Darcy’s face trembled as he nodded.
“…I retract it.”
“Very good.”
Patting his trembling shoulder, Shelley stood up with satisfaction, bowed to the crowd, and was about to walk out. As he passed Thurvis, Shelley paused. As they passed each other, he chuckled in a low voice, “Isn’t this… better?”
You!
Thurvis was about to punch Shelley in the face, but the moment he raised his arm, he felt a bone-chilling cold. A ferocious killing intent assaulted his mind.
“You… don’t push your luck.”
“My patience is limited.”
Walking to the door, Shelley took a glass of fruit wine from the tray of a stunned maid, raised it slightly, and said with a brilliant smile, “Excuse me, I’ll be leaving first.”
“We’ll talk again later.”
“To Nadia, the great Queen of the Half-Elves!”
Downing the wine in one gulp, he placed the glass back on the tray. Shelley slowly walked out of the hall, leaving behind the nobles with various expressions.
Winnie’s expression had not changed. She thought to herself, “An interesting man.”
On the way back to the bedchamber, Shelley smiled brilliantly at everyone he met. Recalling the cannon fodder genius duo from earlier, Shelley remarked, “A genius? Arrogant? How wonderful.”
“People like that are easy to destroy.”
“And much more fun.”
