When Kate started acting timidly in front of Lei Zhen, the black mage started to make vomiting sounds on purpose.
"So cringe and disgusting. No wonder why Yors Castle is doomed to fall." The black mage sneered coldly.
"Not as cringe as being a sore loser and being an unwanted person." Lei Zhen quickly fired back, defending Kate's honor.
"Tsk, what a simp!" The black mage clicked her tongue and turned around.
She was immobilized and unable to muster any of her mana because of the handcuff.
Hence, to see and listen to their conversation was a pain to her, but she could not stop it.
"Anyway, I'm guessing you have a plan now that you know about the corrupted nobles and George being a suspect," Kate asked, ignoring the jab that the black mage took on her.
As a princess, hearing some criticism was natural, so the black mage's words had no effect on her.
pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ She only lost her cool because Lei Zhen almost met with danger because of traitors and corrupted nobles which were unacceptable in her book.
To her, Lei Zhen was the savior and the person that averted the crisis of Yors Castle.
"Naturally, I'm going to use this black mage as bait." Lei Zhen found a seat for himself on the couch and said.
And he continued, "Now that everyone in Yors Castle knew my expedition was a success, those who are guilty would be worried to death at the moment. They will try everything to silence the black mage to prevent us from getting any hard evidence."
"How are you going to use her as bait?"
"Simple, throw her to a prison cell and watch how many soldiers are willing to poison or assassinate her."
"But wouldn't that be too obvious?" Kate was skeptical about this plan. It was too simple and not the type of action he would do.
Not to mention, the corrupted nobles aren't stupid to not know it was a trap, especially when their previous betrayal to try to release the black mage failed miserably.
"Of course, it's going to be obvious. This will be a purge after all. One dumb mistake from a corrupted noble, and everyone that is suspected will be annihilated, with or without evidence." Lei Zhen's tone suddenly turned cold as he began to explain the purge.
In this time of peril, it was better to mistakenly kill one or two innocent nobles in exchange for all the rotten ones.
Only by doing that could Yors Castle truly revitalize itself and not be worried about internal conflict.
And sure, he might be called ruthless, but for the greater good and the bigger picture, a sacrifice must be necessary. He could only say they are unlucky to be chosen for the purge.
"But if we really follow through, then your reputation would take a hit," Kate said in a worried tone. She was more anxious about Lei Zhen risking his current reputation and bearing the title of a sinner to some citizens.
"Reputation is for show anyway. Good or bad, that's not something one could really decide on." Lei Zhen calmly said.
Truth be told, he could care less about the good rapport he earned in Yors Castle.
Despite the glamorous setting and environment of Yors Castle, it was still considered a beginner region in terms of the entirety of Magnolia.
Sooner or later, he'll have to step foot outside of Yors Castle and truly explore the world of Magnolia.
"Then what about George? He's the head of the defense ministry and it's hard to believe he would collude with those corrupted nobles." Kate asked. She had known George for a long time and understood he was a dedicated man.
She just can't imagine the fact that he would stain himself with those rotten people.
"Maybe his integrity is really clear, but he might have something that the rotten nobles got a hold of." Lei Zhen said.
"You mean he is blackmailed?" Kate gasped.
"Could be blackmail, but I wouldn't word it like that since I don't have a conclusive idea yet. All I know is that we should thank this lovely black mage for being such a terrible liar."
"The black mage told you?"
"Nah, she tried to lie but failed to lie properly. Kind of a shame for someone that practiced dark magic and committed so many heinous crimes."
"Bastard, send me to prison if you are just going to talk crap to me." The black mage hissed coldly when she repeatedly heard Lei Zhen bad talking about her.
Kate was also confused why Lei Zhen would bring the black mage over here to discuss such a topic.
Shouldn't it be a conversation for the two of them only to prevent the news from leaking?
Meanwhile, Lei Zhen chuckled softly as he stood up and was about to flick Kate's forehead.
"W-Wait a minute," Kate hurriedly retreated and covered her forehead.
"I didn't do anything wrong." She defended.
"If you didn't do anything wrong, then what was the previous look of confusion about?" Lei Zhen questioned, his tone turning stern.
'Ah, not that stern tone again.' Kate cried inwardly.
She knew what Lei Zhen would do when he decided to use such a tone. It was the lecturer to a student kind of tone, and he was never merciful at this phase.
Unwilling to have her forehead become a victim again, Kate began to walk around in a circle, seemingly trying to figure out her mistake.
Time slowly passed by, and Kate's expression turned dreadful by the minutes, almost as if she was aging rapidly.
"C-Can I have some hint?" She nervously hid behind her desk and asked.
Lei Zhen sighed softly when he realized Kate still had a lot more to learn about human tactics, especially their evil schemes.
"What do you think those corrupted nobles have in mind if they realized we were in a private room with the black mage for a long time?" Lei Zhen asked, giving her a hint.
"They would probably think the black mage was revealing evidence and working with us…" Kate replied and paused herself when she understood why Lei Zhen dragged the black mage over.
It was to create a facade that the black mage had betrayed them.
