Chapter 185: Arriving for the Banquet
“Anna and Ella will work at home today, and so will Phils.”
After breakfast, Kailun laid out the day’s plans, imposing some restrictions for safety.
He had received Chrissy’s invitation last night but didn’t rush to reply, delaying it until morning.
After Carol finished wiping his mouth, Kailun took out his communication device and replied to Chrissy, “No problem, but I’m quite busy today. I can only come over after 6:00 PM.”
Chrissy: “I will prepare a candlelight dinner. I hope you can grace me with your presence.”
Her reply was much faster than Kailun expected, almost instantaneous. Judging from her handwriting, she seemed very excited.
Kailun calmly replied and then looked at Afra, who was sitting opposite him. “Sister Afra, don’t be angry. Today’s plan is very important. If something goes wrong, the Xiya Kingdom will cease to exist.”
“Clang!”
As soon as Kailun finished speaking, the spoon in First Princess Hilna’s hand fell into her bowl with a clatter.
Thanks to Kailun’s tolerance, Hilna could now eat at the same table as them.
Seeing Hilna’s worried expression, he smiled. “It seems that our Princess is still concerned about the country. In that case, you should practice your dancing more seriously. My promise remains unchanged. This is your only chance.”
“I know.”
Hilna raised her voice, her tone like a bird’s chirp.
“So you’re still going to take the risk?” Afra looked at Kailun with concern in her eyes.
Kailun: “It’s not really a risk. The advantage is mine.”
The odds of winning were at least 80/20 in his favor. If he played his cards right, it might even be close to 90/10.
The kind-hearted Pope had decreased his goodwill by 10 points last night, causing Kailun’s attributes to increase by another ten percent.
Afra’s attributes were close to those of six ordinary ninth-rank mages, while the Pope only had the equivalent of 3.5. How could they possibly lose?
It would be very difficult.
Despite his high attributes, Kailun wasn’t arrogant. He knew that his foundation was still weak, and he couldn’t face the entire Temple of the Celestial God head-on.
“Store grain widely, build walls high, and bide your time to become king.” This was a truth proven by history.
The Pope and the Empress were wary of his “fireworks” and his mysterious power, but as the conflict intensified, this wariness wouldn’t last long.
For example, the Pope had infiltrated the Xiya Kingdom because of Chrissy.
“I think you’re deliberately trying to anger me. I’m going to train Eve. Remember to call me when it’s time to leave this afternoon.”
Afra sighed and left the table.
She wouldn’t interfere with Kailun’s decisions. She knew he wasn’t reckless.
Besides worrying, all she could do was try her best to protect this foolish brother of hers.
Afra gripped the sword at her waist. The cold hilt gave her a sense of security.
“Still not honest enough.”
Kailun smiled, watching Afra’s retreating figure. He leaned back in his chair and pondered for a moment. It seemed that there was nothing important to do today except for tonight’s “Hongmen Banquet*.”
*The Hongmen Banquet is often associated with treachery and hidden agendas. If a character mentions the banquet or finds themselves in a similar situation, it may indicate that they are being deceived or that someone is plotting against them.(Betrayal and deception)*
He had read almost all the books he needed to read. His magic talent had reached an extremely high level.
Only two extremely difficult parchment scrolls remained unread. He planned to allocate all his attributes in a few days to quickly conquer them.
Based on the timeline, the war between the Abyss and the Temple of the Celestial God would begin in two days.
Fortunately, the Pope wasn’t personally participating in the battle. Otherwise, the final outcome would be difficult to predict. It seemed that the bait plan had been very successful.
The entire Temple of the Celestial God wasn’t a monolithic entity. As long as Kailun could seize this opportunity to take down the Pope, he could create a huge crack in their organization.
Perhaps the Empress behind the scenes would even thank him. After all, the Pope and the Empress were essentially competitors.
“Wait!”
Kailun suddenly stopped, his aura becoming sharp.
He wondered if he could use this opportunity to become the “Pope.”
After all, in the public’s perception, the Empress was female, so the Pope must be male.
The reason the current Pope concealed her true identity was that her existence wasn’t accepted by most members of the Temple of the Celestial God.
Although the Empress and the Pope ostensibly had the same status and power, the Empress’s legitimacy was higher.
In just a few seconds, Kailun’s mind was filled with ideas of “swapping the prince with a civet cat.”
He would pull off a switcheroo and then strike at the root of the problem. If the plan succeeded, he could not only control the current Pope but also have Chrissy vouch for him and acknowledge his identity.
It wouldn’t matter if the Empress didn’t believe it. As long as most people did, it would be enough.
“Contact Edlin and ask her to set aside two thousand miners in a safe area. I’ll pay her 200,000 gold coins directly for this.”
After making a preliminary plan, Kailun instructed Carol.
She nodded without hesitation and quickly contacted Edlin as instructed.
However, Edlin was on the road most of the time, so she couldn’t reply immediately.
“Do you have another dangerous plan?”
Carol leaned closer and poked Kailun’s cheek with her finger.
Kailun grabbed her finger. “It’s not a dangerous plan, but an interesting attempt. If I can pull it off, I can infiltrate the Temple of the Celestial God. However, there are still many details that need to be optimized. It’s just a preliminary idea for now.”
“So you’re leaving again?” Carol poked Kailun’s cheek with her other finger.
Kailun glanced at the others at the table and lowered his voice. “I can’t hide anything from you. Remember not to tell Afra and the others.”
“Take me with you!”
Carol looked at Kailun with determination.
Not only her, but Bella, who was sitting closer, also wrapped her tail around his foot. “Me too.”
Fox, sitting further away, didn’t hear their conversation, but she was looking at them with a serious expression.
Vivian and Illusion exchanged glances, the two little girls remaining silent.
Kailun clicked his tongue. He wasn’t free anymore.
“I’ll think about it. Whether it works or not depends on whether the Pope is willing to cooperate. By the way, Carol, your birthday is in three days, right?”
He skillfully changed the subject, pressing down on Carol’s other finger.
“Yes, I’ll be seventh-rank by then.” Carol bumped her forehead against Kailun’s.
“I’ll remember that. Just wait for my surprise.”
Kailun released Carol’s finger and stroked her hair.
“What about me?!”
Bella, feeling ignored, let her tail crawl up Kailun’s leg. She had a mischievous idea in mind.
Kailun reached under the table and grabbed Bella’s tail. “Of course, Bella is the gift giver. Well, the dragon teeth giver.”
“Let’s go. Let’s go pull out your teeth. Actually, I’ve always wanted to pull out a few dragon teeth and sell them.”
Kailun pulled Bella’s tail and walked out of the dining hall. Bella could only follow, protesting, “Those who pull out teeth are heretics! My teeth are worthless!”
Carol hesitated for a moment and chose not to follow.
She looked at the elf sisters standing by the table. “You two clean up the table. I’ll go help Master tidy up his room.”
Fox’s hands itched at the mention of pulling teeth, but she didn’t intend to follow.
As a smart person, she could tell that this was just an excuse for Kailun to get some privacy.
There was an invisible pressure weighing on his shoulders, and she wanted to help but couldn’t.
Her specialty was Fate Magic, but her former talent had abandoned her.
So Fox looked at Isabella and, after a moment’s thought, asked, “Miss Isabella, can we talk privately? About fate.”
Isabella wiped the remaining cream from her lips with a napkin. “With pleasure.”
“Are you really going to pull out my teeth?”
Bella was dragged by Kailun to a secluded corner outside the dining hall. She covered her mouth with both hands and looked at him pitifully. “How about I give you my dragon scales? They’re also very valuable.”
Kailun released Bella’s tail and was taken aback. “Dragon scales? What dragon scales?”
“They’re… they’re dragon scales that can be used to make weapons and increase defense. They have many other uses too. They’re very tough because they’ve never been pulled out.”
As she spoke, Bella blushed, her eyes darting around.
“Interesting. I’ve never seen them before.” Kailun nodded thoughtfully.
Dragon teeth and dragon bones were the most popular treasures. He had rarely heard of dragon scales.
“Actually… dragon scales look like this.”
To fulfill the arduous task of continuing her lineage, Bella slowly lifted her skirt in front of Kailun.
First, her thighs, above the “absolute territory,” came into view, followed by her white underwear, which looked strangely cute, and finally, the shimmering dragon scales covering her lower abdomen.
Compared to ordinary humans, it looked a bit strange, but not repulsive. They reflected the sunlight, possessing a unique beauty.
As if afraid of being disliked by Kailun, Bella explained, “Because the Dragon Clan has been evolving towards a human form for thousands of years, these dragon scales don’t affect my body shape. As long as… I pull them all out, I’ll be exactly like a human girl.”
Having evolved to this point, the dragon scales were no different from hair to Bella. After removing them, her abdomen would be smooth and beautiful.
However, these dragon scales were too private, so she had never considered pulling them out and selling them.
Fox had mentioned it before, but she had firmly refused.
Bella had flipped through some of the old Dragon King’s books. The dragons in the illustrations had all shed their scales. She was considered a more “primitive” type.
She still remembered the name of that illustrated book: “Dragon Mating Positions and Postpartum Care.”
It was that book that had opened her eyes to a new world.
“Pervert!”
As Kailun was carefully observing, he heard a disgusted voice beside him.
He turned his head and saw Hilna, who had happened to pass by, looking at him with disdain. He seemed to have become a villain who was coercing an innocent girl.
Kailun didn’t bother to explain. He calmly greeted Hilna, “Take a look.”
Hilna: “…”
“I’m going to practice dancing. I don’t have time to waste. If you want to watch, follow me.”
Hilna ran away in front of Kailun. It was no big deal to show him privately, but asking her to lift her skirt in front of Bella was too embarrassing.
“Did Hilna misunderstand me?”
Bella’s face was so red that it was about to bleed, her hand trembling as she held her skirt.
“Don’t worry. Your dragon scales are beautiful. Hilna can’t compare.”
Kailun patted Bella’s head, comforting her. “Put your skirt down. We’ll talk about the dragon scales next time. Let’s go for a walk in the manor and chat. I need to think about what to do next.”
“Okay!”
Bella obediently lowered her skirt and wrapped her arm around Kailun’s, pressing it against her chest.
……
Meanwhile, Carol returned to Kailun’s bedroom. She first tidied up the sheets, cleaned the room, and then put the magic books on the bedside table back on the bookshelf.
She could have left these tasks to the new elf sisters, but she preferred to do them herself.
It took her half an hour to finish tidying up the room. Finally, Carol stopped in front of the wardrobe.
Master had said he had prepared a surprise. Carol had a guess about what it might be. She thought it might be some kind of clothing because Kailun had asked the maids to take her measurements before.
“I’ll just take a peek, just a peek…”
Unable to resist her curiosity, Carol secretly opened the wardrobe. As Kailun’s exclusive maid, she knew his habits well.
She stood on her tiptoes and opened the top drawer. Inside, there was a beautifully decorated gift box.
She hesitated for a long time, wanting to untie the ribbon and see what was inside, but her hands stopped at the last moment.
Carol was worried that the contents might not be what she had imagined.
She was unusually conflicted, her mind in turmoil.
……
“Lord Kailun, Saint Chrissy sent me to pick you up.”
At 5:30 PM, Helena arrived at the manor’s entrance and met with Kailun.
Before getting into the carriage, Kailun frowned and asked Helena, “What happened to your face?”
“Nothing. I just tripped and fell.” Helena lowered her head, covering her face with her hand, and took a step back.
Kailun stood there for a few seconds, saying nothing.
After a while, he grabbed Helena’s wrist and jumped into the carriage. “Let’s go. Let’s go to our date tonight. It’s only fair to let everyone participate in something so enjoyable, don’t you think, Helena?”
Hearing her name, Helena abruptly looked up. “You still remember my name…”
Before Helena could finish her sentence, Kailun pulled her to sit beside him. “Sister Coachman, let’s go. Chrissy and the others are waiting for us.”
“Hmph~”
The person addressed as “Sister Coachman” snorted softly.
Hearing Kailun’s words, Helena quickly looked towards the driver’s seat. She only saw a slender figure hidden under a black robe.
It seemed that Kailun had come prepared. He probably already knew about the Pope’s infiltration.
So did he really have a chance of defeating the incredibly powerful Pope?
For some reason, Helena imagined a scene where the Pope was pinned down and slapped by Kailun.
If she could, she also wanted to join in and slap the Pope in the face.
Lost in her fantasy, Helena didn’t notice the passage of time. By the time she came back to her senses, the carriage had already stopped in front of the mansion.
“We’re here. Get out of the carriage, Master Kailun.”
Afra, the coachman, dressed in a black robe, opened the back door and glared at Kailun.
Judging from her aura, Afra currently only had the strength of a sixth-rank mage.
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