Although not much ti had passed since the attack of the Holy Church, the mansion now looked completely different.
The many piles of rubble, ruins, and corpses had been moved away by the servants, while the splattered blood had also been cleaned up.
As Liora followed Eleanor and wandered through the mansion, she noticed that many of the servants were either anxious or overco with sorrow—afraid for their future life and sad for their companions’ death.
Liora keenly noticed that Eleanor’s eyes flashed with a trace of pity as she looked at them, and from ti to ti, she would step forward to comfort them.
Liora didn’t stop her or say anything, her expression unreadable.
Though the mansion was quite vast, it didn’t take long for Liora and Eleanor to arrive at their destination.
It was a towering hall located near the mansion’s main building, with a pair of white pillars standing on either side of its entrance.
As Liora and Eleanor walked into the hall, it imdiately beca obvious that they were the last people to co.
Throughout the hall, many people had gathered already, from whom Liora felt a quite familiar aura.
"Knight Apprentices...", she thought secretly as her eyes scanned the room, examining each and every individual on their way.
In the end, she discovered that there were a total of twenty-seven Knight Apprentices in the room, with so among them being strong and others weak.
Liora didn’t hide her gaze. The people in the room easily noticed that she was sizing them up, most likely examining their strength.
However, they didn’t speak.
Instead, their eyes shrank, and the least daring among them cowered in fear as if they were facing a legendary beast.
This was not because they recognized her identity as a Devil, but because they had heard from Eleanor that this was the person who had dealt with the holy knight and the other mbers of the Holy Church.
In their opinion, Liora was at least a True Knight, a Knight whose identity and strength they both feared and respected.
Noticing the awkward atmosphere in the room, Eleanor coughed lightly, attracting the attention of everyone.
Fortunately, she had already thought of a reasonable excuse and didn’t find herself on the spot.
"Everyone, this is Lady Liora. She used to be a good friend of my father before his death, and just recently heard about his passing away. Fortunately, she arrived right in ti. Otherwise, our family would have been destroyed.", Eleanor explained, her voice soft yet spreading throughout the room.
It was unknown whether they really believed her words or if they were simply unwilling to say anything, but several family mbers of the Black Tulip family nodded their heads, as if Eleanor’s explanation had been impeccable.
Eleanor didn’t speak any further. Walking to the center of the room, she pulled her brother off the main seat and gestured for Liora with a wave of her hands.
"Your Excellency, please take your seat."
Her words caught the audience off guard, but just like before, they didn’t dare to utter a single word, afraid that they would offend the mysterious Knight.
As for Liora? She didn’t care about their opinions.
Hearing Eleanor’s words, she casually sat down on the main chair, not worried that soone would be dissatisfied.
Seeing that Liora sat down, Eleanor breathed a sigh of relief.
Holding her brother with her arm around his back, she led him to the seat next to Liora and sat him down.
Then, she took a step back and stood behind him, as if she were his subject or subordinate.
Staring at this scene, Liora had to admit that the two siblings were quite similar in appearance.
Both of them had blonde hair, blue eyes, and an overall short build, while the young Earl’s face was almost as feminine as Eleanor’s.
However, there was also a huge difference between them.
Although Eleanor appeared kind and pure, she still showed a sharp edge.
Thus, one would be impressed by her deanor rather than seeing it as a weakness and thinking of her as weak.
On the other hand, although her brother carried the exact sa kindness, he appeared to be far more timid and less decisive, like a child who was rely following his parents’ commands.
While Liora was observing the two siblings, ti didn’t stop.
The mont the young Earl sat in his seat had already signaled the beginning of the family eting.
"E—everyone. I’m tha—thankful that you ca—ca here.", the young Earl shyly raised his head and spoke, his gaze never landing on the eyes of any person in the room.
Especially when his eyes passed by Liora’s figure, they would instantly shy away, as if he was afraid that the re glance of his would cause her to go berserk.
Instantly, a few low chuckles echoed throughout the room.
A few of the younger and hot-blooded Knights cast disdainful expressions at the young Earl, while those who were older shook their head in disappointnt.
They understood that it would be difficult for such a cowardly person to lead their family to glory, especially at such a crucial period of ti.
What these people understood, Eleanor did as well.
However, her love for her younger brother made it impossible for her to scold him.
Seeing that he was struggling to speak as if he was just now learning how to talk, Eleanor reached out and gently patted him on the shoulder, interrupting what could barely be considered a speech.
Then, she raised her head and scanned the room before opening her mouth and speaking:
"The Earl is a bit exhausted from the previous events, so I will be taking charge of the eting for now.", she said, her solemn voice spreading throughout the room.
"First, I wish to talk about the casualties and the damages that the family suffered during the earlier attack. According to the investigation so far, one hundred and eight people have been found dead, of whom thirteen were Knight Apprentices."
"As for the damage to the property..."
When people saw Eleanor stop her brother and take it upon herself to lead the eting, so people couldn’t help but mock her for overestimating herself.
But when they actually heard the words coming out of her mouth, they couldn’t help but listen attentively, like a bunch of students listening carefully to their teacher’s lecture.
Eleanor’s voice seed to carry a strange power, making people not only pay attention to her but also believe her words more easily.
This was not a power related to her Knight rank, but a power that stemd from her own being.
Seated not far away, Liora imdiately noticed this happening.
With her current strength and her status as a Lesser Devil, Eleanor’s deanor and words would of course not affect her.
Yet, the changes of the people in the room let her know what had occurred.
Sensing the strange atmosphere and glancing at the family mbers whose initial disdain had turned into admiration, Liora’s eyes couldn’t help but flash with a hint of interest as her gaze shifted toward Eleanor.
She felt that she had to once again reevaluate this woman.
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