The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'
Chapter 268 - The Courtesy Of Explaining Myself, The Upper Hand To Smile About It

Chapter 268: Chapter 268 - The Courtesy Of Explaining Myself, The Upper Hand To Smile About It

A dozen and a half mature men ranging from their late thirties to not far past a hundred formed a bit of a semi-circle around the married couple. The oldest - though not the strongest by Elua’s reckoning - stepped a little out from the group. Neither metric was great for being the face of an organization, but the insistence of the Yecine on seniority was clear.

"It seems we are being formally thanked by the Void Defense Society for apprehending the recent troublemakers."

The senior elder’s voice was taut, but his spirit carried just a touch of self-satisfaction that made the real Elua’s lips twitch. It seemed like her plan would go smoothly after this little hassle of posturing. Her ’sweet’ smile bloomed on the illusion as she curtsied before speaking.

"As you should be. I was also quite impressed by how quickly your people secured the area. Though I do hope none of the criminals caused too much trouble?"

"They were remarkably... docile when we arrived. Almost as if someone had taken the fight out of them already."

"Truly? How fortunate."

Mint eyes remained perfectly ’innocent’ as she set out to play their game. It would be simpler if they just accused her of something or asked for direct answers. Of course, she wasn’t the type to freely offer explanations to people she didn’t like or particularly respect.

’It’s only because of the person standing next to me that I bother with this- well, with much at all~’

"I do wonder why you felt it necessary to inform *us* of their location rather than alert the event’s authorities... or the Wing & Talon Enclave themselves."

Another young elder’s tone carried clear suspicion. It was clear that not a single one of them disagreed with the sentiment behind his probe, though they let the man take the heat. Qat was also a little curious, though knowing her wife better than them she could safely hazard a guess.

"The Yecine have always been known for handling matters of justice with appropriate dignity. I thought it best that such criminals face proper consequences."

The careful emphasis on ’proper’ made several elders exchange quick glances. They could hardly deny the political value of being seen as the ones who brought the thieves in this time, even if it was clear there was more to the story. But it didn’t really answer their question.

"El?"

"I of course hesitated to inform anyone related to the matter directly."

The ’cheerful’ tone and smile as the heiress twisted her face towards her spouse drew their attention. Anper’s eyes narrowed at how the girl’s fingers twisted ’nervously’ in her brown dress. His daughter nodded at the little witch and she turned while taking in and releasing a breath.

’Pretending to take direction and need her backing...’

"Considering the pattern, it was clear someone with inside knowledge assisted the theft. I feared alerting the wrong people might give them time to betray the teams sent after them."

Several of the stern faces grew even more severe at this implication.

"That’s a serious assertion."

"It is. I thought it best to trust the family of my ’husband’ because of it. Your uninvolvement with such a plot was without question."

"Yet you didn’t wait for us to arrive."

Anper’s cold voice cut through the mood she was setting, as if unable to leave her provocations be. Words like ’betray’, ’trust’, and ’plot’ were like stones thrown towards him. The small brunette’s shoulders drew in as if chastised.

"I prioritized preventing their escape and hiding the targeted treasures. I believed you would handle the rest effectively."

"And the birds? Why are they still with you?"

One of the men that had been on the scene in the plains decided to jab at this point.

"They have been purchased from the Wing & Talon Enclave. Their Guild master was quite understanding about the situation. I also explained about the potential compromised element in their organization."

The subtle brag of individual wealth made Anper and those of his faction tighten their faces. Even the less antagonistic of the Yecine could only see this as wasteful expenditures! Nonetheless, the girl had managed to turn a sudden theft into both a victory for the Yecine and a legitimate acquisition for herself.

All while giving multiple organizations reason to start investigating their own ranks.

"The next thing you’ll say is that you already have leads on why such groups were working together."

The smoldering accusation was meant to insinuate that she was somehow in on the whole affair, but the Goltbred heiress didn’t bother to worry about that intent. Her father-in-law was not going to be happy with her no matter what... so what did she care? The only thing that matter was-

"If I admitted as much, would that provide any tangible benefit from your family to my Qat?"

Her head tilted as she asked with all the expected ’sincerity’ she wanted to express. Her assumption was that they would not care so much to promise anything - or that their promises were as good as nothing in the first place.

’Sure, the arranged marriage happened as planned but there is still a potential complication over that... should my fortress ever decide to fly a female banner over the outer walls.’

While it did not matter to El if the deceit were ever revealed, it was better to bank on truth coming out and being *ready*. Not thinking as much about every scenario as possible is what would cause a scheming cultivator to end up clumsily taken by surprise. Like the elders who married their ’heir’ to someone far more *capable* than they planned.

"What do you mean by tangible? Can you give us an example?"

The oldest woman of the Yecine asked curiously from just inside the tint flap. Lirades had snuck inside after glaring at the guard until he averted his gaze. Though now she had a glint in her eye and a smirk on her face.

"Ah? Well, for instance... those thieves were taking focus away from my ’husband’. The crowd was probably thinking about the heist rumors all day. So I thought they might be better off taken care of quickly."

She simply truthfully recounted her purpose to the elders - and it made Qat hold her own face in her hand. El knew what she found ’tangible’ was a little different than others. But of course, the cute girl wasn’t satisfied with only that.

"The birds are a good strategic resources I can train for Qatrand to use... though I wish I had more time to devote to that. They should pick up a lot from the Skydancer I was already working with."

The animals in question had been circling and watching around the Yecine camp for a while, as Elua sent flight courses for her bird to follow. Four of them were a little worn out and mostly perched while watching the last dive and swoop along the illusory trail.

"Oh, and let’s not forget... myself. Everything I do is with a mind to help your ’heir’ foremost. So to trade information that I might have, abandoning a plan I already possibly believe has its own benefits, and receive nothing from it but potentially less outright glares from you people?"

The tone of ’naivety’ lacing her voice clearly didn’t match the calculating words being spoken. A large bright smile broke across her face that was all teeth after the questioning inflection. Her final words wouldn’t dim that expression at all.

"I refuse~"

Though the smile did seem a bit more like fangs in their hearts as she began to ignore them and hum contentedly toward’s Qat... and the hand moving towards her forehead with an iron grip.