The middle-aged woman's expression instantly turned cold.
The Third Princess also furrowed her brows.
A battle was just about to erupt.
But at the mont of maximum tension, the Third Princess suddenly chuckled. It was a laugh tinged with helplessness.
"Don't look at like that. Everything I said just now was out of anger. I'm just the Third Princess—of course I can't represent the entire kingdom. So…"
She lifted a single finger and pointed at herself. "If you're looking for revenge, take it out on . Any move beyond that will be considered a provocation against the kingdom."
Just then, the servant who had previously reported Isaac's arrival hurried up to the Third Princess and whispered anxiously, "Your Highness, please don't act rashly. Even if you're not worried for yourself, think of the people of Ironblood City. If anything happens to you, the kingdom loses one of its strongest defensive lines."
"At that point, Barton Kingdom will undoubtedly take action. They might even seize control of Ironblood City. It's not out of the question..."
The Third Princess gave the servant a sharp glare, signaling him to shut up.
Then she continued, "So? What do you think of my proposal? If you're not one of those brainless fools, you should know that soone of my status joining the Church would be a massive political win. The people would beco more loyal to the Church, and the Plantagenet Kingdom would loosen their supervision over your activities. It's a deal where you lose nothing and gain everything—don't you agree?"
The middle-aged woman's tense expression finally began to ease.
She extended her right hand to the Third Princess and said gently, "Then let congratulate us in advance on a successful cooperation, Your Highness."
With that, she reached out to take the princess's hand, preparing to leave swiftly.
But at that very mont, a figure stepped out from the palace hall.
"Wait."
Though Alan's voice wasn't loud, it was enough to catch everyone's attention.
The Third Princess's eyes widened in disbelief. She quickly yanked her hand away from the acolyte and rushed over to Alan with a frown.
"Don't ss this up! I already negotiated a deal. What can you possibly change by showing up now?!"
Alan calmly pulled the Third Princess behind him and said in a flat tone, "I don't agree with what you said earlier. Whoever did this should take responsibility. I won't let you carry the bla for ."
The Third Princess stomped her foot angrily, but there was nothing she could do now. She could only watch as Alan stepped directly in front of the Thirteenth Acolyte.
"Who are you?" the middle-aged woman asked, giving him a dismissive glance.
Alan didn't answer directly. Instead, he raised his hand.
Dangling from his fingers were several strands of brown hair—Isaac's.
The middle-aged woman's face changed instantly.
She opened her mouth to speak, but Alan interrupted coldly, "Bishop Isaac didn't play by the rules. I trust that you, as the Thirteenth Acolyte, are different?"
Then he frowned and added, "Our demand is simple: return the profit that's rightfully ours. Naly, the tier-diamond magic skill scroll. Since you've likely lost it, I'm willing to accept a cash settlent—no less than sixty million gold coins."
"And in addition—"
He glanced back at the Third Princess, then continued one word at a ti, "You must apologize for your earlier disrespect toward Her Highness."
"Nonsense!" the middle-aged woman snapped. Her lips trembled with indignation. "What do you an 'your profit'? Anything that enters the Church's hands becos Church property!"
"And who do you think you are, so nobody, daring to issue demands here?"
"A nobody… is that so?"
Alan gave a slight smirk, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a card.
The mont she saw it, the middle-aged woman froze in place.
"T-That's… a diamond card?!"
Shock rippled through her like a tidal wave.
The diamond card—a sacred token in the Church of Steam and Magic, second only to the Divine Grace Card. A symbol of imnse privilege.
Its rarity was such that not even she, the Thirteenth Acolyte, had one. Only the top five acolytes or a Grand Elder might qualify for such a card.
She stood there stunned, staring blankly at Alan.
"Who… who are you? Why do you possess such a rare card?"
Alan glanced at her with irritation. "Why should I tell you? You're just the Thirteenth Acolyte. You're not qualified to know."
That silenced everyone.
The middle-aged woman was shaken to her core, her pride taking a direct blow. Since becoming the Thirteenth Acolyte, no one had dared speak to her with such condescension.
Yet now, a complete stranger had humiliated her on the spot.
Still, no matter how unwilling she was, she couldn't do a thing. Holders of diamond cards were equivalent to Church elders—far above her in rank. She couldn't afford to cross him.
Seeing her speechless, Alan frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "If you don't have the authority to make decisions, then go get Daniel."
"Daniel?!" she gasped, stumbling back two steps.
So this young man wasn't bluffing—he really did know Elder Daniel.
And judging by his tone, their relationship was far from superficial.
If she involved Daniel, she'd find herself in a very awkward position.
After a mont of deliberation, the woman finally lowered her pride and spoke in a more gentle tone. "P-Perhaps there's no need to trouble Elder Daniel. After all, the situation hasn't escalated to that point…"
Before she could finish, Alan cut her off coldly. "Go get him. Now. Are you deaf?"
He stared straight into her eyes, his voice suddenly laced with threat.
"Listen carefully. I won't say it twice. No one else in the Church is qualified to speak to about this. I want to see Daniel—imdiately."
That broke her completely.
All the arrogance she had shown earlier vanished like smoke. Alan's tone alone was enough to make her realize—his relationship with Elder Daniel was absolutely real… and dangerous.
With a sigh of defeat, she took a rune stone from her pocket and sent a ssage to the Church's central headquarters.
At this point, she didn't dare act recklessly. Alan had completely shaken her confidence.
Only when the rune stone lit up and confird the ssage had been sent did Alan relax a little.
Though he had acted with imnse confidence just now, it was mostly for show.
In reality, his legs had been trembling the entire ti during that conversation.
But there was no other way.
If Daniel didn't co, what else could he use to intimidate these Church officials?
He couldn't exactly announce that his true backer was a King Magus, could he?
If he had actually said that, the Church would likely label him a madman possessed by a demon.
But Daniel had witnessed the black-robed woman in action with his own eyes. He would never take Alan's words lightly.
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