Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 820 - 150: Fraud Syndicate_2

In the eyes of the nobility, places heavily populated by commoners are no different from dens of poison.

In recent years, many nobles have proposed to amend the law; they cannot tolerate breathing the same air as commoners. They need the empire's artisans to come up with a headgear air filtration device, and some have pointed out that commoners should be swept out of the Imperial Capital.

The first proposal is being actively prepared, while the second is shelved until they find labor to replace the commoners.

Ethan learned this during conversations with the empire's Chancellor.

Perhaps due to Balmon not being born into a prestigious imperial noble family, he showed no personal bias when discussing commoner issues, or perhaps this is just his way of viewing issues—unaffected by emotions, objectively observing everything happening in the Silver Radiance Empire.

Balmon also refrained from making any sharp comments on these proposals.

Other than lacking a cowlick, his demeanor showed quite a bit of the Margaret Clan's style, making him seem somewhat out of place among the Empire's nobility.

On such an important festival, the empire's Chancellor naturally attended, standing by Henry VI's side.

This Henry VI looked about seventy to eighty percent like the portrait hanging in the palace, no longer burdened by the severe injuries of later years. In the Silver Radiance Empire, Henry VI appeared spirited, and for Transcendents, the age of fifty was the peak period.

As for the nobles outside the palace...

Ethan pinched his own thigh hard to keep himself from laughing out loud on the city wall.

The vast crowd only brought to his mind the phrase "a gathering of distinguished guests," with each person appearing unique at first glance. Some wore fireproof cloaks and carried enchanted longswords as if they were dragon-slaying eyes; beside them were those in down jackets, wrapped up tightly like competitors heading to a northern skiing contest; another displayed muscular curves, which stood out among the generally hefty nobility.

Ethan even saw someone in the crowd with an oxygen tank and a diving suit—a clearly seasonally inappropriate outfit.

He found it hard to imagine what Little Dark had told them to make the capital's nobles appear in such bizarre attire.

They were obviously shocked by the outfits around them, yet, admirably, each remained confident, believing they alone had the real information, with others being mere clowns.

Regrettably, half an hour later, when the herald announced the event details, the nobles' airs vanished—they blushed, reddened their noses, or did both, staring incredulously at the black cat on the city wall, or more precisely, at the black cat perched on Ethan's shoulder.

The resentment lingered in their hearts unreleased, not just because they had been defrauded, but more irksome was their belief in the black cat's words, making them appear clownish before all. Even Henry VI attended, the King standing on the wall, witnessing their disgrace.

More than the monetary loss, losing face was intolerable for them.

What would come, would come.

As the ceremony's agenda was completed, the blushed and nosed nobles surged forward, blocking Ethan's path, angrily surrounding him and the cat, demanding answers with vehement rhetoric.

Ethan knew he had a guilty conscience, unsuitable to adopt an overly aggressive stance. As he hesitated between making Little Dark apologize or staunchly denying everything, a commanding voice silenced the angry shouts, drawing the nobles' gaze to the Third Princess gracefully approaching.

People instinctively parted, clearing a path for the Third Princess to reach Ethan unimpeded.

"A black cat sneaked into your mansion at night, correct?" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

She picked up the black cat from Ethan's shoulder, gently lifting it by the paws, suspending its body in mid-air.

"That's right, it's her!"

"She dared deceive us!"

"Utterly deserving of death!"

...

Facing the outraged nobles, the Third Princess asked just one question, "What did she deceive you about?"

Of course, about the ceremony's items, so they could prepare... Yet at the words' brink, the nobles suddenly fell silent.

This was a tacitly understood, yet not publicly mentionable, tactic, especially after the herald had emphasized the "fair and just" principle earlier, which was rare. Voluntarily admitting now might result in disqualification, branded as cheating by the Royal Family.

Seeing the nobles mumbling with no coherent words, the Third Princess asked again, "Are you sure you saw this black cat?"

"Of course, how could it be wrong?"

The Third Princess coldly eyed the respondent, then shifted her gaze to Lindong, who, under everyone's watchful eyes, brought forth a photo showing a black cat sneaking into a noble's mansion.

Yet, comparing the black cat to the photo, any clear-eyed person could see the difference.

The black cat in the photo had a few white spots on its back fur, with its belly entirely white. They rarely interacted with felines, their minds only associating the fraudster as a black cat.

But on a closer look, this was hardly a cat.

A silence fell over the scene.

"With poor discernment and an attempt to cheat, your qualification is revoked,"

the Third Princess announced sternly, "The Harvest Festival is a celebration born to bless the empire; your actions contradict and severely tarnish the event's significance!"

The scene at the palace was captured by Henry VI, who hadn't left, watching as his daughter reprimanded the speechless nobles with satisfaction.

However, he wasn't entirely pleased with everything about the festival.

Ultimately, the event stemmed from his daughter's whimsy; he initially dismissed it as child's play until Balmon surprisingly supported the idea, providing numerous convincing reasons.

Recently, the news of the Great Summoner Haitia's death in Gear City had spread through the empire's cities, worsening with the formal soldier and longsword master Lance became a fugitive for treason, causing unrest across the Imperial Capital and beyond, necessitating such a festival to stabilize morale.

This was what pleased Henry VI most about Balmon.

This Chancellor could always turn seemingly frivolous matters into beneficial promotions for the empire and his reign.

However, upon hearing the festival's detailed content, Henry felt somewhat puzzled.

"The festival projects you've assigned seem far too ordinary,"

Henry VI noted, favoring the oddly dressed nobles who had gathered outside earlier, "I expected dragon hunting or sea conquest, projects of meaning."

Yet, all the previously announced content was too mundane.

Mundane enough that every commoner in the empire could participate since most reflected parts of their daily life.

Farming, cooking, tailoring, forging...

"Your Majesty, the empire indeed needs heroes in dragon hunting, navigation fields, akin to tales of heroes and demon kings,"

Balmon stated, "But they aren't the entirety of the empire; many unnoticed people collectively build this nation."

Noticing Henry VI's slightly furrowed brows and meaningful gaze, Balmon immediately added, "And all this benefits your political propaganda."

Upon hearing this, Henry VI's brows finally relaxed.

He only slightly nodded, heading towards the palace without looking back.