The villainous prince who bullied Feng Aotian was actually myself.

Page 28

This……

why!

The plot is jumping around so fast!

Upon hearing the name, Leon felt a sudden jolt in his heart, and a chill ran down his spine.

He certainly knew who Bancroft was; he was his mentor, the Empire's most learned scholar, as well as its most enigmatic mage and high-ranking alchemist.

Currently, he serves as a professor at Guberland University, president of the Imperial Alchemists' Association, one of the twelve cardinals of the Church of the God of Justice, and the Imperial Grand Tutor.

He obeyed only the emperor's orders. He lived for over two hundred years and participated in the revolution alongside the founding emperor Hoyle I when the Fchester Empire was just rising. He had countless honors throughout his life and was even higher in rank than Julius Caesar.

In the original anime, this seemingly knowledgeable and kind old man is actually a fanatical follower of an evil god.

As for the being he worships... well, with Leon's current level of understanding, he is not qualified to comprehend that realm, much less discuss or mention it.

Because some beings are so powerful and terrifying that even if a living being thinks of them but doesn't say it aloud, they will still die instantly.

"He was a good friend of Earl Wilson. When the Earl came to the West End to attend the council meeting, he brought him along. At that time, he was already mentally unstable."

Hawkeye continued, "As his mental state deteriorated, he started wandering aimlessly around the West End, talking nonsense. He was then captured by the knights patrolling Jack's team, but he wasn't detained for long before he completely lost his mind and turned into a monster. Your Highness happened to be nearby at the time."

"Okay, I got it. So where was Bancroft at the time?"

"Leon asked."

"He is at Guberland University, holding a seminar with other professors."

Hawkeye replied.

"I see. So where is Bancroft today?"

Leon paused for a moment before answering.

"The senior is on duty at the Holy Light Cathedral, and today it's his turn to oversee the church."

Hawkeye thought for a moment before answering.

Cardinals hold a clerical position second only to the pope, equivalent to a prime minister in feudal times, second only to the emperor.

The Church of the God of Justice has a total of twelve cardinals, who take turns presiding over the Cathedral of Holy Light every day. They are all unparalleled powerhouses.

Having reached the unparalleled level, this is no longer human; people call them "angels walking among men."

Yes, Leon's teacher Bancroft is an angel, a complete mythical creature that humans normally evolve into under non-mutated circumstances. He is not human, or perhaps he was once human.

"The Cathedral of Holy Light..."

Leon took a deep breath. "Your Excellency, would you please come with me to the church this afternoon?"

"Well, okay."

Hawkeye hesitated for a moment, but he did not refuse.

Knowing that this matter involved Bancroft, an angel on earth and a top-tier figure on the surface, Leon still dared to investigate, a courage that Hawkeye found somewhat admirable.

Leon knew he was no match for these big shots, but he had to do his best to strike back at them.

After all, the underground secret cult movements carried out by Bancroft could cause enormous disasters to humanity, and might even lead to widespread death and destruction.

We need to give him some deterrence so he knows his limits and doesn't go too far.

With the power of the Imperial Family, dealing with a peerless angel would require a considerable price, but it would be more than enough.

If the empire lacked that foundation, then the Church of Justice, with its twelve cardinals and one pope—such a top-tier lineup—would have long ago been able to completely control the royal family, making papal power greater than imperial power, and turning the emperor into a puppet serving the church.

Other countries may not know, but within the Empire.

Imperial power was greater than religious power, and the church was subordinate to imperial power.

You mere angel, I usually tolerate and indulge you, but when it's time to kneel, you have to kneel too!

P.S.: The data on Twitter... seems a bit low, that's heartbreaking. Please bookmark this.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Aftermath Handling

"Your Highness Leon, there is one more thing."

Hawkeye hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"whats the matter?"

Leon was puzzled.

"Rumor has it that on the night you were attacked by the monster, Duke Hibbert threatened to make sure you never saw the sun rise the next day."

Hawkeye replied.

Uh, this...

Leon had watched the original anime. Like Raymond, Hibbert and his son were both incredibly talented. One was a master of disciplining married women, and the other was a nightclub playboy. They were both masters of sexually explicit content.

At the same time, the father and son share a common trait: they love to talk big and are true "kings of trash talk".

So Hibbert could indeed say something like "I don't want to see the sun rise tomorrow."

But he was just talking big; Leon bet he wouldn't actually do it.

So this rumor was probably spread by Hibbate's two rivals.

Hearing Hawkeye's words, Leon gently lifted his hand from the desk, rubbed his forehead, and then said with a smile, "Since you say it's just a rumor, then there's no need to pay attention to it."

Given the Empire's current situation, it is most reasonable for the three dukes to check and balance each other. Leon would not be foolish enough to fall for Lev and Bazel's trick and disrupt this balance.

hiss,

Such an easily predictable plot point! Lev and Bazel are both over fifty years old, how can they still act so childishly!

Leon thought to himself that Lev and Bazel's behavior was an insult to his intelligence.

But that makes sense, since they don't know that this Leon is not the same Leon as before.

It's all the original owner's fault. Her character was set up too firmly, and her image as a good-for-nothing was deeply ingrained in everyone's eyes!

However, thinking about it the other way around, this would make those guys look down on me, giving me more time to develop my strength stealthily.

Therefore, Leon felt he shouldn't appear too clever; it would be better to pretend to be a little foolish.

"However, it seems we can't just leave them unconvinced. How about this, we'll make a public announcement and say that I would like to invite Lord Hibbert to the palace for tea."

After thinking for a moment, Leon added.

It was simply a matter of inviting Hibbert to the palace; what others might think was their business. Anyway, Leon had done his part.

"Okay, Your Highness."

Hawkeye didn't think much of it, because he was preoccupied with something else. "Your Highness, regarding Helena's escape..."

"Helena, oh my... I almost forgot about her."

You are really bringing up something that is not related to the topic!

Leon was somewhat displeased. He didn't want to get involved in this matter, but it was clear that it couldn't be ignored. Helena's escape had to be explained no matter what.

“Helena is a special case. If we issue an arrest warrant for her like we did for Jack, it will inevitably affect the reputation of the Empire. So it’s better to arrest her secretly. We can offer a bounty through intelligence and special agents.”

After thinking for a moment, Leon replied.

Leaving Helena unattended is unacceptable from the Empire's perspective, so they must take some action to capture her.

"How much should the reward be?"

"Hawkeye asked."

"How about... 10,000 floating coins?"

After a slight pause, Leon made his offer.

The "float ratio" in this world is actually the same as the "yuan" in modern Earth, only the unit of measurement has been changed, but the essence is the same.

In Guberland, the average worker's wage is between 1,500 and 3,000 fiat currency per month.

Ten thousand floats isn't a lot, but it's not a small amount either. At this price point, most powerful and influential people wouldn't even consider it.

This means that only a few low-level thugs will bother Helena, and these low-level thugs will undoubtedly end up giving away experience points.

I guess I'm helping Helena become stronger.

"Your Highness, are you sure? Isn't this price a bit too low?"

Hawkeye frowned.

He was well aware that at this price, it would be difficult to attract powerful individuals to capture Helena.

"Do you really think it's that hard to catch a mere priest?"

Leon scoffed.

"Then let's do as Your Highness wishes."

Hawkeye didn't want to clash with Leon. He was only going to do Leon's work for a few months. Once Caesar and Leon returned in triumph, he and Leon would be back to being strangers. At that point, even if Leon asked him to do something, he could find an excuse to refuse.

"Okay."

Hawkeye didn't dwell on the matter, which relieved Leon. "Sir, is there anything else?"

"Nothing."

Hawkeye gave a very decisive answer.

"Okay, go ahead then."

"Then I shall take my leave."

The study door opened and closed again, leaving Leon alone in the room once more.

It's so boring.

Bored, Leon started flipping through today's official documents.

He is currently acting as regent, and approving official documents is his daily task, much like how the ancient emperors of the Great Food Kingdom reviewed memorials every day.

Of course, some incompetent rulers don't need to approve this; they just need to enjoy themselves every day with the hard-earned money they collect from the people, and then the country will fall and the family will perish a few years later.

Cathedral of Holy Light.

An old man is feeding white doves in Prague's Grand Square in front of the church.

This is a kind old man. He is dressed in a smart suit and leans on a gold-plated cane inlaid with blue diamonds. His dark brown eyes are still bright in his slightly sunken eye sockets. His gray hair is combed very carefully and there is not a single mess.

Good afternoon, Mr. Bancroft.

Most of the passersby who passed by the church recognized the old man, and some of them greeted him with respect.

But suddenly a young man appeared in the group, looking very anxious. He was dressed in a suit, wearing a top hat, with blond hair and blue eyes, and carrying a black leather briefcase under his arm.

"Senior Bancroft."

The young man ran up to the old man, panting slightly, and said...

"Tom, what's wrong?"

The old man's deep brown eyes fell on the young man. Unlike the young man, he looked very calm, like an ancient well in an old alley.

"Marcelo is in trouble."

The young man named Tom spoke in a somber tone.

"What happened?"

Bancroft frowned, looking as if he knew nothing about the matter.

"He was corrupted by some unknown entity and turned into a monster. He was killed by the knights in the palace. The monster in the newspaper that assassinated Prince Leon is him."

Tom quickly said, "The palace will definitely investigate this matter."

"What's there to panic about? We're just conducting normal research on ancient magic."

Bancroft said nonchalantly, "Let them investigate. Just cooperate and tell them the truth."

"But this..."

Tom felt something was wrong.

There's nothing wrong with that.