Future Beast World: Becoming A Pampered Beauty-Chapter 323 - 262: Public Declaration

Minos sat upon the supreme throne, no longer in a simple white robe, but in a set of ornate, magnificent golden ceremonial robes. The long hem cascaded down the stone steps like a golden wave, flowing across the pristine white marble floor.

He rested his chin on one hand, his gaze lowered to the crowd below. It was the same impossibly young and handsome face, its noble, languid air tinged with a contemptuous indifference for all things.

Sang Luo found it impossible to take another step.

’It’s not that I hadn’t considered this possibility, but to have his identity laid bare like this... it’s still hard to believe.’ A heavy feeling settled in her chest.

’Was he... deliberately toying with me before?’

Little did she know, from the moment she stepped into the Holy Hall, Minos’s gaze had been fixed upon her. A hint of warmth entered his cold, narrow blue eyes.

Seeing her lower her head, sullen and unhappy, his fingertips twitched.

"What are you standing there gawking for? Is the Saint Heir someone you can just stare at? Get over here now! Hmph. An outlander female from the backwoods. Truly no breeding," Vanessa sneered.

Ilodi couldn’t stand it any longer and was about to speak, but the Archbishop at the front beat her to it. "Selma, and who might this be?"

"This is a noble female from the Leonard Family."

Selma was the Holy Envoy who had been dispatched with the summons.

He recounted everything that had happened, leaving out no detail.

The Archbishop’s expression soured, and he shot Selma a stern glare.

He lowered his head in shame. ’Such a trivial matter should never have been brought before the Holy Hall,’ he thought, ’but the noble female insisted on coming here for a confrontation. I had no choice.’

The Archbishop considered this. ’If the outlander female truly is a thief with a corrupt character, then she is naturally unworthy of the Saint Heir’s notice, let alone qualified to become the future Female Master of the Holy Hall.’

"Your Highness, perhaps we should postpone the decree for a few days. Allow me to take some men and investigate this matter thoroughly," the Archbishop said respectfully, turning to Minos.

Minos retracted his gaze, a flicker of dark annoyance in his eyes.

’Bringing such a trivial matter before me is a complete waste of time. On any other day, I would have thrown them out by now.’ The only reason he’d quietly listened to the entire farce was his curiosity about the other silent party. ’This wasn’t her doing, so why hasn’t she said a single word in her own defense?’

’Could it be...’

’That she wants to take the blame, just so she has a legitimate reason to be driven from the Holy Hall?’

’Why wouldn’t she want to stay in the Holy Hall? To stay by my side?’

’Females are naturally drawn to powerful and beautiful males. I should fit her criteria for a mate.’

Minos was perplexed, yet he had no desire to pry into her thoughts. Perhaps it was because... he didn’t want to hear an answer he wouldn’t like.

When the Saint Heir remained silent, the Archbishop asked again in a low voice, "If Your Highness has no other instructions, I will have them taken away for now."

"The family crest is on her. What is there to investigate?" Minos’s voice was exceptionally deep and detached. With a wave of his hand, a golden light shot out from Vanessa’s body and hovered in his palm.

Everyone saw it. Enveloped in the golden light was the very family crest she had reported missing.

Vanessa thought she was seeing things. ’How is this possible! The family crest... I clearly had someone take it out of the Holy Palace long ago! How could it possibly be on my person?!’

Minos said placidly, "Since the noble female, Leonard Vanessa, cannot properly safeguard her precious family crest, then I shall hold it in my stead." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The family crest represents the family’s peerage.

The implication was that the Saint Heir had stripped her of her title!

"No! Your Highness! It’s not like that..." Vanessa was completely dumbfounded. ’This isn’t how I imagined it would go!’

Before she could think, she lunged to get the crest back. Just as she nearly touched the golden hem of his robes, her body was abruptly sent flying out of the hall doors by an immense force. There was a loud CRASH. *Tsk.* Sang Luo winced just hearing it, a pang of secondhand pain striking her.

Minos’s brow furrowed slightly. He clenched his fist, and the crest instantly disintegrated into dust.

The Archbishop and the others were shocked. ’To think someone would dare lie to the Saint Heir’s face!’ If she weren’t a female, her head would have rolled long ago.

The Archbishop hurriedly commanded, "Guards! Remove this person. She is forbidden from ever entering the Holy Palace again."

Two tall, sturdy Beastmen flanked Vanessa, seized her by the arms, and began dragging her out of the palace. Vanessa’s face was deathly pale. "You can’t do this to me! I was wrong, I shouldn’t have deceived His Highness! I’m willing to atone for my crime! This outlander female is not a good person! I only wanted to drive her out for the sake of the Holy Palace!"

Vanessa shouted, "I know who blew up the church a few days ago! It was this outlander female!"

"Wait. Let her go. Let her continue," the Archbishop said. He had been leading the search for the Destroyer for days with no leads. He looked at Vanessa grimly. "Are you telling the truth?"

Sprawled on the floor, Vanessa nodded repeatedly, her face flushed with excitement. "Yes! I swear, she’s the one who blew up the church!"

She pointed a finger at Sang Luo, and all eyes in the hall turned to her.

Vanessa continued, "When I was packing my luggage, I found stolen clothes and a Token in her room—they’re identical to the ones described in the notice about the Destroyer! Plus, she wasn’t in the palace when the church was blown up... I-I have more proof! Please, Archbishop, investigate this!"

"Your Highness, I will take men to investigate at once," the Archbishop said.

"There is no need to investigate," Minos stated. "The one who destroyed the church was her."

Sang Luo’s heart sank. She looked at Minos. ’I can’t believe he sold me out so quickly.’ Then again, he had no reason to protect her.

"Yes, I confess," Sang Luo said. "I’m willing to pay to have the church rebuilt. Now that all of you see the kind of person I am, please, let me leave the Holy Palace."

The Archbishop roared in fury, "The church enshrines the statues of the past Angel Saint Monarchs! Rebuilding it will take enormous manpower and resources! Do you think an outlander female like you can afford to pay for that? Destroying the church is a capital offense, for male and female alike!"

Ilodi and Habier looked at Sang Luo worriedly. They never expected she was the one who had destroyed the church. In years past, forget blowing up the church—any Beastman who so much as vandalized it was executed, nine times out of ten.

The two wanted to help her, but their hands were tied.

The other Holy Envoys were also enraged!

Destroying the church, once convicted, meant an inescapable death sentence.

The hall fell deathly silent. Minos rose and slowly descended the steps, the hem of his robes flowing like divine light. "I will give you two choices. A path to death, and a path to life. Which will you choose?"

Without a second thought, Sang Luo replied, "The path to life."

"Heh. Good." Minos’s voice was gentle. "I absolve her of all crimes."

The smile on Vanessa’s face froze before it could even fade. "She’s just an outlander female!" she shrieked hysterically. "By what right?"

Everyone below the dais was stunned.

The Archbishop, especially, thought he must have misheard.

Minos walked up to Sang Luo and took her hand.

His voice carried clearly to the ears of everyone present.

"She is the partner I have chosen, the Holy Queen I intend to marry. In the future, the Holy Queen and I will propagate the line of Angels. And no one has the right to condemn the Holy Queen."

Sang Luo’s eyes flew wide as she stared at him. ’!?!’