Work Prophet
Chapter 520 - 138: The Little Ears of Justice

Chapter 520: Chapter 138: The Little Ears of Justice

Edward II looked at the person emerging from the crowd.

He was not tall, had small triangular ears, and very noticeable dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept in days; yet, paradoxically, he seemed quite spirited, his small eyes constantly darting about alertly.

"Who are you?"

"I am... Baron, from the Pipeaux family. Everyone at Lion Heart Castle calls me ’Little Ears,’" the man replied, bowing respectfully as he spoke.

"The Pipeaux family, whose vassal are they?"

"No, we serve no family, for we are no longer nobles."

Little Ears said, "Your ancestor defeated mine, took over our land, and awarded it to his vassals, but we descendants do not hold any grudge against you and your family.

"Your ancestor had won fair and square, and besides, that was over nine hundred years ago. We’ve also found new ways to make a living. Nowadays, I make my living by collecting and selling other people’s secrets in Lion Heart Castle."

"Oh, so you are an odious information trafficker."

"You could say that," Little Ears smiled. "But I have always taken pride in my craft. I might be the best information trafficker in the entire Lion Heart Castle. My clients are all very satisfied with me."

"And now you are accusing Sir Ireya and Lord Brian of having monetary transactions before the duel. What, did Ireya pay Brian to lose to her?"

"On the contrary, it was Lord Brian who paid the money for Sir Ireya to defeat him."

Little Ears’ statement stunned everyone present, and after a moment, cries of outrage arose, for Little Ears’ claim seemed utterly preposterous.

Crow also stopped pretending to be unconscious and joined in the cursing, "You’re lying, do you take me for a fool, paying to lose?!"

Yet Little Ears was not the slightest bit panicked, still wearing a smile.

"You are certainly no fool, but you are also aware that Sir Ireya has extraordinary martial arts skills; you could never defeat her and feared ending up dead like her other opponents, or crippled.

"But, respecting your family’s honor and unable to concede defeat outright, you thought of this scheme, paying Sir Ireya to show mercy during your duel."

After finishing, Little Ears turned to the audience behind, "You all saw, in the previous four matches, Sir Ireya always used that small pipe, but she didn’t use it in this duel. Isn’t that odd?"

With this reminder, the onlookers also began to waver, the cries of protest diminishing significantly, and more and more people started casting suspicious glances at the Lady.

But Miss Rabbit didn’t argue; she merely stood with her arms crossed, coldly watching Little Ears.

Instead, Crow grew increasingly anxious. He had guessed that the thin man’s willingness to spend money for his safety might be part of a plot, but he thought it only targeted Ireya.

He felt secure with his family backing him; he didn’t expect the person behind the thin man to be so ruthless. Was he ready to destroy him as well?

All Crow felt now was regret for listening to the thin man and sending money to Ireya.

Edward II snorted coldly, "Interesting, you make a living selling information, but I haven’t spent money to buy any from you. Why did you reveal this secret?"

"I won’t speak of Ireya since she’s not from the Royal Capital, but aren’t you afraid of the family behind Brian causing you trouble?"

"Even as an informant, I possess a sense of justice," Miss Rabbit stated righteously, "I don’t want the Champion to end up in the hands of someone dishonest, and besides, this is Lion Heart Castle, your city."

"I believe that once I expose the disgusting conflicts among the Nobles, you will protect me."

Her words were highly calculated, flattering Edward II while securing a powerful protector for herself, ensuring she could relax in the Royal Capital from now on.

Based on Miss Rabbit’s understanding of Edward II, even if he didn’t quite fancy her, he would still protect her to uphold royal dignity and wouldn’t let any harm come to her.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing her words, Edward II merely looked at her with interest, "Where did you get your information?"

Miss Rabbit was taken aback, not expecting the Emperor to first question the source of her information rather than the secret dealings between Ireya and Crow.

A moment later, she continued, "In our line of work, the most important thing is to maintain credibility and follow rules, and according to the rules, I can’t tell you where the information came from."

Miss Rabbit added, "But I can assure you of the message’s authenticity. If you doubt it, you could search the baggage of Sir Ireya and her entourage. I believe you will find the money. I can even tell you how much it is..."

"It is four thousand Gold Lions," Edward II finished her sentence for her.

"You’ve already... known about it?" Miss Rabbit felt a sense of foreboding, as things were clearly not going as she had envisioned.

Instead of answering her question, the Emperor countered, "Do you know what happens to commoners who slander Nobles?"

Miss Rabbit’s sense of foreboding grew stronger, and she forced a smile, "If I remember correctly, it involves whipping."

"Correct, one hundred lashes, to be administered by the slandered party or an appointee," stated the Guard Commander Duren emotionlessly.

"Bring it out," Edward II then commanded.

Thus, Duren had someone bring out a small box, which upon opening, contained ten bags of gold coins and an IOU.

"Sir Ireya had informed me of this before the duel began," the Emperor said blandly.

"My Imperial Guard Captain and the Priest of Cornelia can testify to this. Ireya also mentioned that someone was trying to frame her. I instructed her to use this opportunity to see who was planning to do so, and here you are, delivering yourself to us."

Stunned by what he heard, Miss Rabbit then heard Ireya turning around to ask, "Who’s going to help me with this?"

"I will," Thomas volunteered eagerly, "Just forty lashes and I could take his life."

"Then you’re not up to it, you need more practice," Grey Mane shook his head, "I can do it in less than thirty."

"Twenty lashes," Orwell the Wandering Knight joined in the competition, "As for executing, no place in the Empire compares to the Falling Star Islands. I have traveled there and learned from the best Executioners on the island. Twenty lashes would be enough."

Miss Rabbit’s face turned utterly pale with fear. She hastily said, "Your Majesty, perhaps Sir Ireya really did confess to you beforehand, but her acting together with Lord Brian during the duel is a fact as well, and that violates the duel’s principle of fairness."

"You are mistaken," the Lady said with a faint smile, "There was acting indeed, but only by Brian himself. I was not part of it. I fought as usual, just without using the Hand of Judgment because the opponent was too weak."

"Hmm?" Miss Rabbit was startled again. She recalled the recent battle and realized Ireya hadn’t pretended to fight alongside Crow at all. She simply stood in place, watching Crow as he maneu;vered and tested his approach.

Once the opponent came close enough, she immediately summoned Thunder to strike Crow down, repeating the action several times until Crow was completely incapacitated by the electric shocks.