George slowly walked toward a couch to find a seat after being instructed by Kate.
And despite Kate's magnanimous tone, there was an uncomfortable feeling itching him.
'Did they figure out my deed?' George wondered silently, feeling completely lost by the situation.
Ever since he heard the news that Lei Zhen had successfully captured the black mage, he knew this moment would come.
It was just that he didn't expect the black mage to truly be captured when she managed to escape every time in the past. His moment of confidence led to this current crisis.
"What is it that you asked for me, Princess Kate?" George tried to play it cool and asked nicely.
"I still have a lot of work to do for the defense of Yors Castle and don't have much time." He added.
'As expected of Lei Zhen, even the excuses that George uses are what he predicted.' Kate thought to herself.
Previously, Lei Zhen had told her that George would try to use his work as an excuse to not stay much longer in her office. After all, the longer he stayed in the office, the more dangerous it would be for him.
Seeing that George was doing the same as Lei Zhen stated, Kate proceeded with the next words, almost as if she was reading through a script for a movie or play.
"Of course, I have something important to say to you here, George. Our Chancellor had captured the black mage successfully and we'll need to rework the defenses of Yors Castle now." Kate smiled gently.
"The defenses?" George held a confused expression. "Do I have to revise the defense deployment of Yors Castle?"
"Indeed, the first revision would be having the head of the defense ministry choose which faction he's helping with." Lei Zhen suddenly interjected.
"W-What do you mean by that, Chancellor?" George asked awkwardly.
"Oh, I thought you knew what I meant the moment you noticed the black mage at the corner." Lei Zhen chuckled softly.
He then stood up and walked toward the black mage, ignoring her resentful glare.
"You tried your best to help her escape, but failed miserably. So how could you not know what I'm talking about?" He said, stepping on the black mage's shoulder.
To assert dominance and ruthlessness, Lei Zhen doesn't mind playing the bad guy here.
If needed, he wouldn't mind smacking the black mage as well if George continued to play dumb.
He was no simp and so what if the black mage was a woman. She's a criminal and is now their prisoner.
Beads of sweat started dripping down from George's forehead when he witnessed a different version of Lei Zhen.
Normally, Lei Zhen was amicable and always polite to others.
However, the current Lei Zhen was no different than those cruel nobles that were willing to do whatever was necessary to achieve their goal. In other words, it was frightening and George began to panic further.
Seeing how George remained silent, Lei Zhen nodded his head. He raised his leg and kicked the black mage closer to George.
"There, the prey that you wanted to help escape or should I say eliminate now. There's your chance now." Lei Zhen calmly said.
At this point in time, George knew his identity was long exposed and could no longer put up an act.
George quickly went on his knee, but not toward Lei Zhen. Instead, he was kneeling toward Kate as he pleaded for mercy.
"I'm sorry, Princess Kate. I was forced to comply with them to act upon thee." George confessed.
When George finally confessed, Lei Zhen gave a hand signal to Kate before dragging the black mage back to the corner, almost treating her like dirt.
"George… I've known your personality and you're not the type to collude with them. So just why?" Kate asked. Even now, she couldn't understand or comprehend why George would do such a thing.
He had a high position and influence already. There was no need to risk it all for profit that is trivial and nonexistent since once exposed, he would end up with nothing.
Worse, he could even cause his entire family to be executed when caught.
"I didn't have a choice, Princess Kate," George said in a low but subtle tone.
"My daughter committed a huge offense when she was assigned to the office to work for the government. I tried to cover it up for her, but was discovered by the Marquess who uses this as leverage to force me to oblige to their orders."
"So then you have no choice but to sell your soul to cover up for the daughter continuously and so on and on, right? Another cliche story which is idiotic in my opinion." Lei Zhen snickered coldly.
He didn't bother to let George continue his story since it would be a waste of time.
To summarize his betrayal in one sentence: his love for his daughter caused such a disastrous outcome for Yors Castle.
pαndα`noνɐ1--сoМ In other words, it was a selfish decision in which George did not want her daughter to be charged with the offense.
"If you didn't cover up for your daughter in the first place, then all of these problems wouldn't have occurred." Lei Zhen added, scolding George ruthlessly without holding his punches.
Being scolded harshly, George could only keep his head down, unable to lift it up as he was ashamed of his conduct as well.
"I think that should be enough, Chancellor. As long as George is willing to change now, we should learn to be lenient." Kate suddenly said, speaking up in defense of George.
Meanwhile, Lei Zhen sighed softly as he walked around in a circle.
"Since you have said it, then if I continued, it would be going against you." He said with much difficulty before sitting down.
After Lei Zhen sat down, Kate turned her attention to George and revealed a stern expression.
"George, are you willing to give up the list of the corrupted nobles, including the Marquess that forced you in the beginning?" She asked solemnly.
George nodded his head. "I shall oblige your words, Princess Kate."
