Your Majesty's money, why don't you engrave my name on it?

"Grandpa Dean! I saw Brandon Fry on the banquet list. Is he coming? Where is he?"

Brandon Frye? Never heard of him.

Leslaufer thought for a moment, then lowered his head again after realizing he didn't know the person. But before he could pick up his cutlery again, the light in front of him was blocked by a large figure, followed by the sound of a chair being pulled out.

“Friend, is this seat empty?” Raslaufer looked up. She was a strong woman with short hair. Although she spoke to Raslaufer, she didn’t seem to be asking for his opinion. After sitting down, she didn’t rush to prepare cutlery. Instead, she grabbed the bottle of light wine that Raslaufer had opened and took a big gulp.

"Ha—" the woman said with satisfaction. She put down the bottle of wine, which was now only half empty, and pushed it to Dubul's side. "I say, the food here is really good, much better than where I live!"

She had a loud voice, and the bodyguards at the corner tables all looked over.

Raslaufer didn't intend to pay attention, but the other party didn't let him off the hook. Seeing that Raslaufer didn't respond, she immediately raised half her body and moved closer to Dobler: "I said, are you mute? No wonder they all ostracize you."

“You’re absolutely right.” Leslaufer rolled his eyes.

“But I can tell that’s not the case,” the woman said nonchalantly, continuing to move closer to Leslaufer across the table, unconcerned that her clothes were covered in food. “You’re strong, so strong that they’re all afraid of you! But I’m not afraid! Because I’m the strongest gladiator in all of Eastern Inathas! Even half-ogres cry out for mercy beneath me!”

Leslaufer finally looked at her properly, but his hand reached to the side and casually opened another bottle of wine:

"Not bad, then what about 'the whole thing'?"

Chapter 430 Annoying Guest

"I've never played before, but I'm confident I can still win!"

The woman was taken aback, but to Raslaufer's surprise, she immediately regained her confidence, though her arrogance was slightly less than before.

"What, you fought it?"

“Sawed down to be shorter than a dwarf,” a snicker suddenly broke out from the other side of the table. “Ha, classic dwarf joke.”

Since Vondar Bancho is not here, Reslaufer has absolutely no need to worry about being held a grudge for centuries.

The strong woman in front of her seemed half-believing, but she obediently sat down again and did not continue to provoke her. However, seeing that Raslaw completely ignored her, she became restless again just a few minutes later.

"Hey, tell me, how did you do that? I just can't imagine it—"

Leslaufer's throat trembled slightly, and he was about to speak when he heard the sound of guests arriving outside. This time, however, it was not a spoiled young lady from some noble family, but a handsome young man who was not wearing banquet attire, but rather the robes of a priest for formal occasions.

Behind him stood a ramrod straight officer with a military knife at his waist. Although they looked nothing alike, in the eyes of some, they were equally young, confident, and talented, and attracted attention.

When the priest entered, the officer paused, seemingly considering whether he should follow, but ultimately abandoned the idea. After glancing around the perimeter, he went straight to sit between Raslaufer and the woman, subtly implying that he was the master of the house.

This made Leslaufer very unhappy.

Has he not killed enough people in Eastern Inasas over the years? How come one or two of them dare to provoke him today? Dople was a man who was very good at self-reflection; when such a problem arose, he first looked for the cause within himself.

He pushed aside the plate in front of him, sighed, and pointed to the table of food and wine next to him that was still intact: "Go, switch that table over."

“I didn’t touch them,” the young officer said, hands on his knees, staring intently at Raslaufer. “A Doppler, right? Sorry, I won’t take your orders.”

Reslaufer roughly understood that the person in front of him was not a mercenary, but a member of the "regular army" trained by the nobles.

Since mercenaries are often seen as having no connection to credibility by the lords, yet they are still indispensable, there have been many attempts to formalize conscripts and replace mercenary warbands. However, the results of these attempts have been largely the same.

Raslaufer and his fellow mercenaries have not lost their jobs because of this. After all, such "private armies" that are completely subservient to a particular group or individual noble are quite expensive, and death on the battlefield does not simply go to the other side just because it is more expensive.

“Then you go.” Raslaufer didn’t insist any further. He turned to look at the woman. She had been somewhat intimidated by Dopler and instinctively tried to get up, but at that moment, the officer suddenly raised his hand and placed it on the woman’s shoulder.

“I don’t need to go, and neither do you, Thunderclap,” he called out the woman’s name naturally. “You are the most powerful gladiator in all of Eastern Inathas, and you don’t need to flatter him.”

Raslaufer was somewhat annoyed that he hadn't brought a weapon today to save face for Anne and Paul; killing him with his bare hands might be too much of a commotion—he couldn't assume that the woman known as Thunderclap would stand by and do nothing, nor could he have similar expectations of the bodyguards over there.

This was, after all, Serac Church territory, and if possible, Raslaufer didn't intend to make things too ugly.

"What exactly are you here for?" Dople tapped the edge of the table with his knuckles. "If you're just here to annoy me, then congratulations, you've achieved your goal."

“Me?” The officer smugly straightened his clothes, deliberately showing Raslaw his spotless white leather gloves and wrists. “Just for tonight, I’m here at the invitation of Father Brandon to protect him, but in the long run…”

“I am determined to change the current situation where mercenaries are bullying and dominating, and the first ones who need to be eliminated are people like you, Duple.”

The young man was not intimidated by Raslaufer's increasingly dangerous gaze and spoke eloquently: "The mercenary culture originated in Corazond and spread to Inassus, where it quickly developed in our east. It had its value in the context of that time. However, I think times have changed now. Looking at the internal strife in the distant Empire, mercenary warbands have had a completely negative effect and are of no use in maintaining stability."

"The September Mercenary Group, known for its formidable strength, fled into the mountains; the Horseshoe Mercenary Group, renowned for its loyalty, betrayed them. These examples all demonstrate the fragility and instability of the mercenary system. When such a backward and corrupt system reaches its end, it often gives birth to all sorts of extreme madmen, monsters, and deformed individuals."

The officer stared intently at Raslaufer: "And in this case, it's time for me, Albert of the Wood family, to accelerate it—what do you think, sir?"

Raslaw's eyes drifted to the handsome priest, and he nodded perfunctorily: "So he is Brandon Frye."

"you!"

Leslaufer ignored the other person and turned his attention to the other side, where he discovered something interesting.

“Brandon! I was just wondering why your dean didn’t bring you along today,” the dean of the Arcane Academy said enthusiastically to Paul and Angelita. “This is Brandon Fry, a disciple of Master Heinrich. I didn’t see you when you brothers Paul came last time, so I must introduce you to him this time!”

"Don't let his young age fool you, he's an unparalleled genius. He excels in every subject, even the arcane courses he minors in here," it was rare for the dean of the two competing academies to praise a student from the other side so highly, yet no student or teacher from the arcane academy showed any sign of dissatisfaction. "Brandon, this is Master Bohr, who has come all the way from the Empire. He has studied the School of Prophecy for many years, and he will soon be joining our academy as a visiting professor."

Upon hearing this, Paul quickly exchanged a few polite words, while Brandon took the opportunity to express his desire to listen to Paul's future lectures. Normally, this would have been the end of the small talk. However, Paul never expected that this young man, who exuded a reassuring aura from the inside out, would turn his gaze to Angelita the next second.

“I heard from the teacher that a new sister will be joining the academy along with Mr. Paul. I suppose this must be Miss Anne? I’ve long heard that Miss Anne is quite accomplished in theoretical magic, even comparable to many senior scholars. Perhaps we can make progress together in the future.” Brandon flattered the girl he had never met before.

"Speaking of which, I felt a special sense of closeness as soon as I met Miss Anne, as if I had seen her somewhere before."

Snapped.

Not far away, a candle on the banquet table was crushed into eighty pieces by someone's hand.

Chapter 431 The Fire of Jealousy

Brandon's methods weren't particularly sophisticated, or perhaps it was because he wasn't actually an expert, but his actions did catch the eyes of a few old guys. However, after seeing Angelita's reaction, the onlookers had to suppress their interest.

Angelita had received a very good education in etiquette, and when Brandon and the others all looked at her, she immediately expressed her clear resistance—in a way that did not hurt Paul's or her own pride.

Even the barbarians of Eastern Inassus could understand the meaning behind it.

However, Brandon seemed unwilling to give up and continued to try to get closer to Angelita. However, out of sight of others, the young priest's expression kept changing.

The aura of evil appeared for a fleeting moment, but then vanished just as quickly... Was it just an illusion?

He could clearly see that Angrita had been offended, but he had to complete the mission assigned by his teacher. Brandon could only put on a brave face and try again to find the source of that demonic aura.

The secret method the teacher developed was always effective, and he could even distinguish the types of demons. For example, he had just smelled a strong sulfurous odor. The demon was probably a devil rather than a demon, but why did it only appear for a moment?

It can't be that a devil just happened to be strolling by outside the banquet hall! This is the material world, not Bartholomew's Hell!

The pity and regretful looks from the teachers and classmates around him made Brandon feel even more pressured. He began to examine himself and realized that he shouldn't have used such an indecent plan. But when he glanced at the expression of Ursula, a female classmate with wavy hair, not far away, Brandon felt that the idea might be acceptable.

While it's impossible to draw a conclusion now, there might really be a demon here. If things get chaotic later, it will inevitably be caught up in it. Whether it exposes itself and tries to escape in the chaos, or simply stays here to watch the show, either scenario is acceptable.

Seeing that the time was almost right, the priest sighed with great regret, left Angelita dejectedly, and turned to his seat, seemingly having lost all interest in the socializing that preceded the banquet.

Ursula sat right next to him. Seeing her beloved so forlorn, the girl forced a smile and went to greet him.

“Brandon, senior…”

“Good evening, Miss Ursula.” Brandon’s words made Ursula’s heart tremble. She couldn’t utter a single word of comfort. She could only watch helplessly as Brandon sat in his seat, staring intently at the waiter replacing the candlestick in front of him that was missing a candle.

He said nothing, yet he said everything.

Those damned Imperials!

She glared at Angelita, only to see her "Grandpa Dean" apologizing to the other party, saying that Brandon had just finished his research and was distracted—utter nonsense!

Her senior, Brandon, was always absolutely wise and right! How could he possibly be wrong? He even knew her name!

The flames of jealousy burned fiercely, but fermented in her chest and abdomen into a purer resentment. Ursula walked straight toward Angelita with a gloomy face.

“Ah, Ursula, you’ve come at the perfect time.” The Dean of the Arcane Academy had no time to notice the mood of each student. Seeing Ursula arrive, he was eager to take this opportunity to change the subject and cover up the embarrassment that Brandon had just caused. “Miss Anne, this is Ursula. She is a top student in our academy’s Evocation school and is also very talented in spellcasting and alchemy courses, especially in fire magic.”

"Nice to meet you." Unlike the Dean, Angelita had already noticed the unfriendly expression on Ursula's face. Although she extended her hand, she was secretly on guard. Sure enough, Ursula raised her hand, but not to shake hands. If Angelita hadn't pulled her hand back in time, Ursula might have slapped her away, and no one would have been able to save face.

"Ursula! Watch your words and actions!" The Arcane Dean and Bolton were immediately shocked, not understanding why this girl suddenly harbored such malice towards Angrita. Bolton shielded Angrita behind him, while the Arcane Dean rebuked Ursula, "What are you doing?"

"What are you doing? Grandpa Dean, you've all been deceived by her!" Ursula was even more furious at the teacher's stance, and she protested loudly, "Haven't you realized yet? This woman is nothing but a demon, a witch! First she confused you, and just now she seduced Senior Brandon!"

"If it weren't for the senior's extremely strong willpower, which allowed him to forcibly break free from her control, Serak's holy emblem would have been tarnished!"

"Nonsense!" Such accusations might be insignificant elsewhere, but in Ironforge they are far from trivial. "What evidence do you have? Don't spout nonsense! Miss Ursula, get your facts straight. You are an arcane researcher; you need to provide evidence before you speak!"

“Evidence?” Ursula pointed at Brandon, who looked rather listless. “Grandpa Dean, brothers and sisters! I ask you, when have you ever seen Senior Brandon looking this weak and listless? This is clearly the witch’s magic!”

"Think about it carefully, isn't her appearance suspicious? The Empire is so far from Eastern Inathas, and there are wars going on everywhere, yet she managed to come all the way to Ironforge! There's only one truth: she sold her soul to a demon!"

“Ursula, don’t say that,” Brandon stood up and quickly said, “As Master Heinrich’s disciple, I cannot…”

As he spoke, he gave the dean of the seminary a meaningful look, who knew his plan and would assist him at this time.

As for him? He's in the prime of his youth, so pursuing girls isn't exactly normal behavior, and being hurt by love is perfectly reasonable. All the disputes have nothing to do with him.

“Ursula, don’t go too far,” the dean of the seminary immediately understood and smoothed things over. “Look, Brandon himself has said so. Don’t you trust him?”

“This isn’t a matter of trust! And Senior Brandon just doesn’t have any evidence,” Ursula trembled with rage. Suddenly, she glared at Angreta. “Fine, since none of you believe me, then let me expose this witch! You call yourself Annie, right? Do you dare to duel me now!”

"Whether you are a true citizen of the Empire, or a devil, demon, or witch lurking beneath your skin, I will make you reveal your true colors! Come on, since you claim to be the daughter of an earl, do you dare to stake your family's honor on a fight with me!"

Chapter 432 Challenges and Responses

“If I were to agree to your unreasonable request, that would be abandoning the family honor,” Angelita replied coldly, “Miss Ursula, if you have even a shred of shame, you should go back to your seat.”

"See that? She's too scared! She's afraid of revealing her true identity!" Ursula, clearly no longer afraid, shouted to those around her, "She's a demon!"

"Alright, Ursula, you're about to exceed my limit of patience!" No matter how much he usually thought highly of this girl, the Arcane Dean couldn't stand by her side at this moment. "I don't even remember you ever studying demonology."

Even disregarding Heinrich and Brandon's expertise in this field, with both deans of the academy present, how could they not see whether Angelita was a disguised demon?

Although they didn't know why, there seemed to be some wild beast spirits roaming around this girl, but perhaps it was because she had untapped shamanic potential, which was actually a good thing. In any case, she had absolutely nothing to do with evil. Besides, they weren't blind; they had seen Ursula's affection for Brandon over the years.

However, Ursula, relying on her usual favored status, also ranked among the top students in the academy. Her unyielding attitude was truly a headache. Although it could be categorized as "out-of-control romantic feelings" for now, if left unchecked, it would be the teachers and mentors who would embarrass themselves.

“This… Brother Boer,” the dean of the seminary rubbed his hands, looking at the old mage with embarrassment, “this is truly… awkward, you’ve made a fool of yourself for no reason.”

“We are both under the guidance of Serak’s candlelight, Dean,” Pol said, though his expression remained very unpleasant—or rather, Angrita’s patience had far exceeded his expectations, so Pol himself couldn’t afford to lash out. “But I’m afraid we have to solve this problem.”

"Take her away first," the Arcane Dean said, rubbing his temples with a headache. "It's unacceptable to let her continue making such a scene."

To his surprise, the dean of the seminary leaned close to his ear and whispered, "I think that's probably not a good idea, old friend. Think about it, you can't keep her locked up for life. Think about her father, the gladiator owner has close ties with the newspaper. If things get out of hand, it'll be hard to handle."

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

“It’s better to guide than to block. Since she’s clamoring for a duel, let’s give her a stage. But we need to change the title, or it will look too ugly. Think about tomorrow’s headline—'The Jealous Female Follower of Serak'.”

"It could also be 'Shocking! Serak has been newly appointed as the god of love.' Although I might be punished by the gods for saying this, those guys at the newspaper don't care about that. They believe in the god of change, Evandra."

As the two highest-ranking individuals present, once they had made their decision, the course of the matter was largely set. The dean of the Mathematical Olympiad Academy coughed lightly and looked apologetically at Paul: "Brother Paul, although we didn't want things to develop to this point, you see, sometimes we have no choice..."

“Since Ursula insists on sparring with Miss Anne, why don’t we take this opportunity to make it part of our exchange? Of course, it’s not a duel, just an academic exchange between Magpares and the Ironforge parish.”

“I cannot accept this!” Paul’s face darkened. “This concerns Anne’s reputation, this kind of thing…”

The dean's voice suddenly entered Paul's ears through magic: "Brother, reputation is important, but objective conditions can't be ignored. Didn't you want Annie to enter the academy before? Although you later said it wasn't necessary, having this link in the chain makes any changes later much easier."

“But your student…” Paul responded with the same spell, a telepathic spell similar to the Misty Step. Its advantage was that it could be cast immediately without needing incantation or other materials, and it wouldn’t be easily detected. Although it was useless in combat, it was still necessary in this situation.

"Don't worry, we're all here. What could possibly go wrong?" The dean gave him a reassuring look. "We don't need to win, just survive a few moves."

Pol didn't mention to them that Angelita had actually learned to cast spells, so the others didn't have much hope for Angelita's victory—besides, even if she could, how could she possibly defeat Ursula, who had received systematic training?

"...I need to ask Anne's opinion."

“I’ll take care of you on Anne’s behalf,” Mary, who had long disliked the spellcaster on the other side, immediately stepped forward after Paul explained the situation. She raised her hand, and a waiter brought her her weapon. “Ursula, is it? Let me see what you’re made of!”

"And what are you?" Ursula sneered. "A follower? A maid? What right do you have to fight me?"

"I am Qingzuncheng—"

“Ha! The City of Broken Vessels!” Ursula burst into laughter before Mary could finish speaking. “Did you hear that? She said the City of Broken Vessels! Wake up, the City of Broken Vessels has been collapsed for more than half a year!”

"I thought you were at least an Imperial citizen, Qingzun City? You stinking Westerner, coming to our Chentiebao to beg for food!"

"Besides, this is an arcane academy. What are you doing poking around with that iron skewer? Is that your staff?"

Mary's face immediately turned purplish-blue, but since even Angelita hadn't reacted, how could she possibly show her face? Fortunately, at that moment, the sound of a matte zither came to her rescue.

“Since we’re talking about magic, then I suppose there’s no problem?” Daisy, holding her mattress, casually sat on the edge of a nearby table. Though impolite, beauties always have privileges, not to mention the melody she had just played was enough for every spellcaster present to feel her power. “Ursula, is it? I won’t make things difficult for you. I’ll call your name once, and if you dare to answer, I’ll consider you the winner, how about it?”

As she spoke, a flash of surging magic appeared between Daisy's brows, within which a psionic spear, which even the witch Nightingale could hardly withstand, was faintly visible: "Come on? I've read Mr. Heinrich's manual. I am a real witch and demon. Come and expose me in front of everyone! Or are you just a gossipy woman who likes to fabricate accusations against others?"

“Since you’ve jumped out yourself, I— um, um!” Ursula had an unusually bad temper. Even though she knew she might be no match for him, she didn’t want to lose in words. Although she didn’t know her place, the two deans could see through her and quickly covered her mouth, smiling apologetically at the poet.

"Children are ignorant, miss, it's not worth it, not worth it—" Just kidding. Although the Mind Spear spell was unknown to them because it didn't belong to this world, they still understood the key points. Combined with what this bard named Daisy had just said, Ursula would probably be pierced through the air if she responded!

In fact, they underestimated the power of this spell, which came from the hand of a dragon. If Daisy were not Daisy but Raslaufer, the moment she called out Ursula's name, this somewhat talented mage would have reached the pinnacle of her arcane skills—her mind would have been instantly shattered by the Mind Spear, and the only way to recover would have been to hope that the Dean of the Theological Seminary had prepared a resurrection spell or a resurrection of the dead.