As Mishael declared this, Emperor Valentin remained calm with an unreadable expression and looked at the council, "What do you say, gentlemen?"
The council regained their composure and discussed amongst themselves. With all the blinding proof that was presented infront of them, they could not refute Eli's qualifications. Thus, it will deem Count Maller's party in the wrong.
"We have no words to say against the Lady's appointment either, Your Majesty." Marquis Astaze looked at his son Siegfried with a complicated look, then to Emperor Valentin. As the most influential nobleman in the council, he was the one who answered the Emperor's inquiry.
"Then, let's proceed with the inauguration. We have wasted so much time today." Emperor Valentin waved his staff to finally dismiss the farce and signaled for the ceremony to finally continue.
But that was before he eyed Count Maller and his men coldly, "As for you, after the investigations, I will ensure that all of you who caused such dismay in this assembly shall receive the appropriate sanctions!"
With that, the inauguration of the Anti-curse Committee was finally concluded, and the members' names immediately spread throughout the Empire.
The commotion caused by the new rising faction with Count Maller has made Eli's reputation soar to another peak!
"D*mn it!" The nobles from the new rising faction could not help but grit their teeth upon seeing the glorifying headlines featuring Eli's name. Not only did they cause a dent in her reputation, their plan even backfired and propelled Eli's status in society!
"Now we can't even move that much now because we are under surveillance!" A member of the faction frustratingly said as he eyed Count Maller with disdain.
"With the Emperor highly suspicious of nobles because of the Vesalas' we truly cannot make any more mistakes than this. Luckily, I asked the department of legislation and ensured that our offense would not lead to accusation of treason as long as we thread carefully."
"Well, that is the only thing we hope for! But the sanctions aren't that light either!"
"Speaking of which, why did Count Cross no longer join our assembly?" A noble noticed that the head of the Cross Family that has initially joined the new faction was no longer attending their rendezvous.
"We could not be bothered by the old man! He is almost at the end of this life! What's more, he was just a noble who was lucky to survive even after being under the Vesala faction for so long."
"But the young master Anderson…"
"That's what we need to keep paying attention with! As long as we rope in Anderson or at least, coax him to do as we want, we can still reign in this battle of influence!"
"Yes indeed!!"
The nobles all looked at each other and looked a little bit relieved.
"As for the young inventor, let her soar high as long as she could, when the time comes for us to strike, her fall would be much more painful!"
–
Days after the inauguration, Eli could finally take a breather.
Following the announcement of her membership with the Anti Curse Committee, the high-profile task to train the student representative of the tournament and the resource person for the research teams, Eli had been attending meetings from here and there to the point that she would collapse on the sofa as soon as she teleported home.
Seeing her like this for five straight days, Leon became increasingly worried and immediately arranged for his Father Emperor and Deputy Chairman Bramwell to not disturb Eli for the entire weekend.
Unfamiliar with Leon's plans for the family, Eli and Little Han silently sat on the back of Olivier's large griffin and soared to the skies with Leon.
The sky was like a canvass painted by faint strips of white clouds as the horizon was deeply divided into the large expanse of green land and the gentle rays of the morning sun.
"Whuaaaah!!!" Little Han looked around as he raised his two chubby hands as if enjoying the breeze blowing around them as they move in a certain direction. He was wearing a fluffy brown hoodie and cute khaki shorts, with a pair of outdoor kiddie boots meant for trekking outdoors.
"Leon, where are we going?" Eli turned towards Leon while her hands held Little Han securely yet comfortably. Before the sun rose, she was wakened up by the father and son wearing a matching outdoor outfit.
Without even coming around from waking up, the two urged her to prepare to go outside until she found herself sitting on top of Olivier's giant griffin.
Leon looked at her gently, tracing her face that was tinged in exhaustion, he caressed her cheek and answered him with a doting tone, "You'll know when we get there. All I can assure you is that it has nothing to do with any work you are involved in right now."
Eli found Leon's hands warm and comforting. She closed her eyes and nudged closer to his palms, replying with a sweet voice, "Alright then, I trust you…"
Even without Leon spelling out everything to her, she knew that Leon wanted her to take a break from everything, so she decided to just follow his lead and think only of how she will spend time with her man and son.
Far from their position, a group of alert young men was staring in their direction. One of them was holding a scope and finally spotted the griffin where Leon, Eli, and Little Han were riding.
"Quick! Master, Madame, and Little Master are fast approaching! Check everything within the vicinity!" He shouted.
"Yes, team leader!" The other young men moved from their posts and immediately counterchecked the perimeters, flashing like nimble shadows.
After some time, various notifications paper lit up and the team leader immediately saw the messages popping in his paper one by one.
"West group counterchecked, no issues!"
"East group, cleared!"
"South group ready!"
"North group all done!"
The team leader looked at their reports and looked at his surroundings. With a satisfied look on his face, he let out a smile and swiftly replied on the notification paper, "Disperse! Not one of us must be seen by the Madame and the Little Master!"
"Yes, team leader!"
"To the Master's success!"
"To the Master's success!!!"
Instantly the area in the forest where they initially stood became void of any trace of people.
From above, a few minutes later, Eli could feel the griffin gently slowing down and starting to lower his altitude.
Little Han and Eli craned their necks to see the view of the landscape below and they were in awe.
The griffin was heading towards a majestic-looking cliff with fine traces of falls flowing like white fine threads down to the luscious landscapes on the land below.
The massive rock and mountain formation forming the cliff was lined with healthy flora of moss and wild herbs, resiliently living even in the perfectly vertical cliff walls.
As the water cascaded down from the tall majestic cliff, the land seemed to have been parted so beautifully with the bright green meadows hugging the river trail.
"Waaaaah!!!!" Little Han could not help but exclaim excitedly.
Eli's obsidian eyes glowed in awe. She had been living in the Silver Dew forest and already had her fair share of the beauty of the woods, however, the sight she was now seeing was far beyond compare.
It was as if, the paradise people had been dying to find on earth had actually appeared before her eyes.
"Beautiful, is it?" Leon took the excited Little Han in his arm and held Eli's hand on another.
"Yes, it is indeed beautiful!" Eli replied, still in a trance of the place's beauty.
The griffin did not immediately land but stayed hovering on above ground, allowing the family of three to savor the nice view above.
"What is this place?" She asked as her eyes stayed on the sight that seemed to have captivated her senses.
"This is deemed to be the most beautiful place in the land. Most people even called it the Green Jade Cliff."
