This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 290 - 268 This Secret Can Last a Lifetime

Chapter 290: Chapter 268 This Secret Can Last a Lifetime

The young Elven King’s emotions calmed down quickly. By the time Katherine reappeared, he had regained his smiling demeanor, showing no sign of the recent urge to kill Amberser.

Katherine asked in surprise, "Your Majesty, what on earth happened just now?"

Aldalian calmly replied, "Nothing much, I mistook someone for an old acquaintance. The misunderstanding is cleared up now."

Katherine, still puzzled, said, "Master Sagras? But, wasn’t his name Diga Ultraman?"

Aldalian’s expression stiffened for a moment—the Lich, even the name was a lie.

"Hehe, that’s why I said I got it wrong."

Aldalian was actually quite a good actor, but the blows the day had dealt him made his current performance somewhat awkward.

Fortunately, Katherine was quite easy to deceive, and Aldalian quickly managed to steer the conversation away.

Amberser urged, "Now then, let’s get down to business. What’s the attitude of that old fellow James Watson?"

This question could only be answered by Aldalian; he was the one who had talked with James Watson the whole day before.

"If it can be confirmed that the Heroic Spirit you possess is real, the Laine Empire will stop at nothing to obtain it," Aldalian replied.

Amberser chuckled, then said, "Stop at nothing? Seems like that old fellow James Watson is quite bold with his claims. But does what he says represent Laine, or just himself?"

Katherine, confused, said, "But he is the Supreme Decree of Laine; doesn’t that mean he represents Laine in the negotiations?"

Aldalian shook his head and said, "Sister Katherine, if the Supreme Decree were representing Laine, he wouldn’t have come alone; he would have formally submitted a letter of visit and would come with the ceremonial guard of Laine. Laine’s protocols are no fewer than those of the Silvermoon Tribunal, yet James Watson’s visit was quite unannounced."

Amberser nodded in agreement, "Exactly, Laine and the Silvermoon Tribunal are allies; there’s no need for James Watson to sneak around like this. There can only be two explanations: either James Watson hasn’t informed anyone about the Heroic Spirit, or the Emperor of Laine is not willing to welcome the return of the Heroic Spirit."

Katherine still didn’t understand and hastily asked, "How can that be? Arthur Laine is the Holy King of Laine, and his Heroic Spirit is of utmost importance."

Amberser retorted, "If you were the Elf Queen, and the Old Elf King was constantly second-guessing you, could you stand it?"

Katherine asked in bewilderment, "Why wouldn’t I be able to stand that?"

Amberser: ...

Aldalian couldn’t help but laugh out loud; seeing the Lich thwarted was his greatest pleasure. After enjoying his laugh, he sniped, "The nobility of the Elf Tribe is something your sordid, cunning sort can scarcely imagine."

Amberser admitted defeat; the example he used was inappropriate indeed—the Elf Tribe was indeed formidable.

Especially someone like Katherine, a pure-hearted individual who likely harbored no jealousy or lust for power, naturally wouldn’t find the guidance of a figurehead problematic.

"I concede, I am a despicable, cunning Lich, hardly versed in the ways of Elves. But the Emperor of Laine is a human, not an Elf, hence he is also burdened with human flaws. No human emperor would want to be constantly second-guessed, and should the Heroic Spirit of Arthur Laine return to Laine, the current emperor might well be deposed."

In fact, Amberser guessed mostly correctly.

James Watson had come to the Silvermoon Tribunal on his own because he was worried the Emperor would hear about the Heroic Spirit. The old man had thoroughly lost faith in the Imperial Family and doubted they would welcome the return of the Holy King.

Aldalian also said with satisfaction, "James Watson is representing himself; he didn’t even dare to make it public. So, how much can he offer to procure the Heroic Spirit? It is said that the Supreme Decree is very incorruptible, and his family might find it difficult to produce even one million Gold Coins."

This Lich, he’s definitely going to suffer a loss this time!

Amberser glanced at Aldalian and then said to Katherine, "Yeah, Katherine, we’re going to suffer a huge loss this time."

Katherine, looking utterly baffled, said, "We? How does this concern me?"

"Of course, it concerns us. The Heroic Spirit of Arthur Laine is what we found together on an adventure. No matter how much we sell it for, you’ll certainly have a share. I didn’t expect the spoils from your first adventure to be sold so cheap. It seems like it’s not just me who will suffer a loss, but also the Elf Tribe."

Upon hearing this, Katherine suddenly felt it made perfect sense and blurted out, "That won’t do at all. That’s the spoils from my first adventure; we can’t sell it off cheaply! Your Majesty, we need to think of a solution."

Aldalian, keeping his composure on the surface, was inwardly roaring with rage. That despicable Lich! He had managed to manipulate pure Katherine. Truly shameless and cunning, just like he was four hundred years ago!

Aldalian hadn’t expected Amberser to turn Katherine’s stance so easily with just a few words; he couldn’t allow Katherine to side with Amberser. He quickly interjected, "Sister Katherine, it’s not so simple. Our Elf Tribe has never been short on money. I’m sure even Master Ultraman knows that what our Elf Tribe lacks is merely time to recover our strength."

Katherine, puzzled, inquired, "What does that have to do with Arthur Laine’s Heroic Spirit?"

"Laine is both our strongest ally and our greatest threat. Stabilizing Laine means stabilizing the situation across the entire continent, so that should be our goal. The return of Arthur Laine’s Heroic Spirit would definitely lead to chaos in Laine, and then nobody can predict what might happen."

"Ah, but that’s not what you said before."

Katherine still remembered that Aldalian had used a different set of arguments to refute the Old Elven King.

Amberser didn’t speak, quietly watching the young Elven King, to see how he would fabricate his story.

Aldalian indeed had quick wits. Hearing Katherine’s retort, he immediately said, "Sister Katherine, it’s actually the same thing. The Heroic Spirit of Arthur Laine is like a bomb that could destabilize Laine, but there’s no need to throw it out now. Sister, if Laine continues to leave us in peace, we’ll keep this bomb. If Laine attempts to do something to Silvermoon Tribunal, we’ll then throw this bomb, and whatever the effect, it could at least plunge Laine into chaos. A trump card should be revealed at a critical moment, don’t you agree?"

Katherine felt that this made sense—after all, it was indeed an ace.

If the Imperial Family of Laine truly had a conflict with this Holy King, then the fallout of the revelation could be unimaginable, potentially splitting Laine apart.

Aldalian turned his head to look at Amberser, a hint of smugness in his eyes, as if to say, "Thinking of using my Sister Katherine? That’s simply impossible!"

Clap, clap, clap!

Amberser just clapped his hands, impressed. The young man could spout quite the convincing nonsense.

It must be said, this young Elven King was very sharp-witted; his lies were well-crafted, without easy flaws to exploit.

Aldalian was expressing his opinion from the grand perspective of the Elf Tribe. Though Katherine might be a bit naive, her heart sided with the Elf Tribe, and Aldalian’s move had completely pulled her to his side.

But did this youngster really think that would be enough? How naive.

After clapping his hands, Amberser directly expressed his agreement.

"Katherine, the Elven King is correct; this is a very important ace, to be used at the right time. However, keeping this item with me, does that count as a card for the Elves? Wouldn’t it be more appropriate for the Elf Tribe to hold it in their own hands?"

Katherine nodded and said, "You also make a good point. For something so important, should we be the ones to have it?"

Aldalian’s face uncontrollably darkened.

This Lich was too difficult to deal with; how could he play like this? So if Laine doesn’t pay, he’s forcing the Elf Tribe to cough up the money, huh?

But now Aldalian had no way to refute him. Amberser had continued along with his own argument, and there seemed to be no reason to object now.

How infuriating. Could four hundred years of growth truly not outmatch this Lich?!

Aldalian’s silence made Katherine feel puzzled, while Amberser displayed a look of someone enjoying the show.

Katherine frowned in thought, then said, "You two, don’t tell me you’re speaking sarcastically? When you were hiding inside earlier, you didn’t happen to have a fight, did you?"

Aldalian hurriedly explained, "Sister, you misunderstand. As I said before, I just mistook him for someone else. This is Master Ultraman, not the Sagras I knew."

Amberser sighed and said, "Since Katherine has already figured it out, let’s be honest. Your Majesty Aldalian, four hundred years ago in Red River Town..."

"No, shut up!"

Aldalian became agitated. How could he let Katherine discover he had been thoroughly duped by Amberser? This shameful history was meant to be taken to the grave, not to be known by anyone!

Especially not by his dear Sister Katherine; she must never find out!

Amberser, however, didn’t shut up but continued, "Back then, I had just started as an Adventurer and was in quite a dire state. I met His Majesty Aldalian in Red River Town and borrowed thirty Gold Coins due to my destitution.

"Only, I was truly unable to repay it at the time, so I ran away. I didn’t expect His Majesty to recognize me, which led to some friction between us. His Majesty doesn’t hold it against me, so he preferred not to mention this."

A look of surprise flashed across Aldalian’s face, unclear why the Lich would help cover for him, but he was relieved it wasn’t exposed. Aldalian quickly said, "Indeed, it’s just a trivial matter over thirty Gold Coins."

Katherine looked at Aldalian strangely and said, "Thirty Gold Coins, and you still remember that after over four hundred years?"

Aldalian: ...

Amberser kept a straight face, but inside he was clearly laughing uproariously.

It seemed this secret of the Elven King could be a source of leverage for a lifetime.