Chapter 212 - Rally (3)

Chapter 212 - Rally (3)

No one lost their temper.

No one at the table would be careless enough to cause a scene, especially given the situation they were in. Perhaps that was why the atmosphere became even more solemn and serious.

The first person to break the silence was none other than the Iron and Blood Empress, Hela.

“Snitch... That’s not a very pleasant word.”

As tension filled the room, Hongwol tugged on the shirts of his left and right ministers while being weary of the adults.

At this, the left minister sighed and said, “Archmage, would you be so kind as to allow me to say something on behalf of Taejae?”

“Of course, left minister.”

"Thank you.”

As all the eyes were then set on him, the left minister proceeded to speak.

“Everyone, I believe this is something deeply concerning that needs to be addressed immediately. Given the situation, such a grave accusation with no solid evidence could be an unforgettable insult to the suspected individual.”

“I fully agree with the left minister,” replied Henry.

Everyone else agreed as well. The left minister continued, “Then allow me to proceed with my first question. Your Majesty Herarion, may I ask on what grounds you claim that there is a snitch among us?”

“I don’t have any hard evidence or basis. However, one of my abilities is to tell what others really have on their mind. In other words, I can tell how others truly feel, and that’s why Sir Henry suggested doing the oath.”

“The ability to tell how others truly feel... Then I suppose you’re able to prove your ability to everyone here right now?”

The left minister seemed to be questioning the power of La, and some people might’ve considered this disrespectful. However, Herarion was a wise leader. He wasn’t a conceited man who would get angry over such doubts. After hearing the question, Herarion turned his head and smiled at Henry.

“Sir Henry?”

“Haha, excuse me for a moment.”

With that, Henry walked up to Herarion, and the two whispered to each other. Herarion told Henry what he had seen, to which Henry smiled slightly.

"Got it. Thank you for your help."

Once Herarion was done talking, Henry thanked him again. He then faced the others and said, “It’s not that difficult to prove my abilities, but... I think it’d be best for Sir Henry to address this issue instead of me.”

Henry was the commander-in-chief of the Allied Powers, which meant that Herarion's ability was simply a tool in helping and assisting him. Just because Herarion had the ability to tell what others truly felt didn’t mean that he had the authority to call the shots.

So, rather than answering the left minister’s question himself, he decided to pass it to Henry so that the tension within the room would abate.

Henry proceeded to speak on Herarion’s behalf.

“Left Minister...”

“Yes, Archmage.”

“As a reply to your question, it is indeed more than possible to prove the ability that His Majesty Herarion possesses. And if you want proof of his ability, I believe he should give you proof. However, don’t you think we ought to decide on what we should do with the traitor first?”

“The order doesn’t really matter, but if doing things that way is more comfortable, I don’t see why it would be a problem. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to decide on the punishment first, wouldn’t you agree, Right Minister?”

As Henry and the left minister seemed to come to an agreement, the left minister asked his partner, the right minister, for his approval. Then, the right minister, who had been listening quietly, responded in a startled tone, “Ah, hmm, yes! Of course! I agree.”

‘Hmm.’

At his reaction, Henry narrowed his eyes. The right minister was acting like a chicken, scared and intimidated by the whole situation. Henry found his disposition strange because it was in stark contrast to the bold, adamant impression he had felt when he had first seen him.

Initially, Henry didn't believe Herarion either, or rather, he was just very surprised at the identity of the snitch. Out of everyone here in the room, he never would’ve thought that one of the most clever leaders of the Sore Empire was an informant.

However, thinking from their perspective, it made quite a bit of sense. In fact, given how smart and wise they were, they were the most likely to turn into snitches. In the end, one of the principles of surviving in this world was for the weak to latch onto the strong.

However, despite all his wisdom, his judgment had been flawed. In fact, he was way past the point of forgiveness.

‘Was I really that untrustworthy?’

Henry had told him that he was the sole disciple of Henry Morris, and after forming the Allied Powers, he had even shown him the former Ten Swords. However, despite all that, the right minister had chosen Arthus over him. That hurt Henry’s pride to the point where he questioned himself whether he could’ve prevented this from happening.

At any rate, there was no point in being angry about his wounded pride. The truth was that the right minister had already leaked information to Arthus. He had already crossed the point of no return.

“I think that’s a good idea. Since they need to be punished anyway, it doesn't seem like a bad idea to make them atone for their sin by being our double agent. I propose we do this. If the snitch turns themselves in right here, right now, we shall not punish them like we normally should. Instead, just as elder Doyle has said, they’ll just have to act as a double agent. What does everyone think about this?”

Just like that, Henry briefly summarized what they had discussed the past few minutes. Since they had to punish the traitor anyway, it was better to punish them later on after they served their purpose.

Silence lingered in the room, but after a while, everyone nodded one after another to express their assent to Henry’s suggestion.

“A double agent... That’s not a bad idea.”

“The fact that there’s a traitor among us infuriates me greatly, but... it would be to our advantage if they end up bringing more to the Allied Powers as a whole.”

“I agree too!”

The majority agreed with Henry, but of course, some argued that they should punish the traitor right away to set an example for others rather than trying to spare them for future usage.

However, since all Allied Powers had come to this meeting as equals, they ended up voting on the matter.

“It seems like we’ve reached a consensus. Now, the traitor may reveal themselves,” declared Henry, frowning and looking at the right minister with the corner of his eye.

However, the right minister stayed quiet for a good minute.

“What the... Even after giving this bastard a chance, they still won’t turn themselves in? Stop wasting everyone’s time and just reveal yourself!” demanded McDowell with a tone of irritation.

Thud!

McDowell slammed the table, and right after...

“I-it’s me!”

Everyone looked in one direction. They were all facing the right minister, who was so frightened that his face was as purple as a grape. Herarion and Henry smirked at this.

“Right Minister?”

Everyone was shocked to see him step forward, but the left minister was naturally the most shocked one in the room. He couldn’t believe that the snitch who deserved to be killed and torn to pieces was the right minister, someone who was basically part of him.

Just like the left minister, Hongwol, their leader, was white as a sheet.

“Ri-right Minister...? W-why...?”

Hongwol looked like she was one step away from bursting into tears. Even though she was the Taejae, she was still a young girl who hadn’t even turned twenty yet.

As to not let the situation devolve into chaos, Henry intervened, “Now, let’s deal with all the disappointment later... Since we have the snitch now, shall we first hear his excuse?”

With that, everyone looked at the right minister again with cold eyes that were full of contempt, disgust even. They wouldn’t even look at dogs or pigs like that.

However, the right minister had to endure it. As a traitor, he had to bear the contempt of everyone present.

“Right Minister...?”

Henry gave the right minister a chance to confess his wrongdoings while maintaining his smile. In fact, he had an even gentler smile before. The right minister sagged his head at the unbearable pressure and began to confess his wrongdoings.

“I-I’m s-sorry! I wanted to live! Y-yes, I-I did it to survive...!” cried the right minister with a quavering voice. His whole body was trembling as he confessed his sins.

His confession was exactly what Henry had expected.

'I knew it.’

He had turned to Arthus to somehow find a way to survive because he didn’t think that the Allied Powers had any chance of winning. Henry felt deeply insulted by the right minister’s lack of faith in him, but on one hand, he also partly understood where he was coming from.

‘This is what happens when a decently smart individual thinks they’re a genius.’

Even though all the members present had promised to forgive the traitor if he confessed, the right minister proceeded to tell them things they hadn’t asked for, as if trying to butter them up.

After he was done with his rant-like confession, Henry casually said, “Right Minister, apart from this... How did you know there were wizards in Salgaera? That’s something I haven’t told anyone here.”

“Yes...? Sal-Salgaera? I’m not sure what you mean...?”

“Excuse me?”

Something wasn’t right.

Henry looked at Herarion.

“Sir Henry, Right Minister is telling the truth.”

“...?”

Henry sensed that something was terribly wrong.