"You... You... You demoness...!!" The Baron splurted these words as he was filled with Anger, Pain, Fear, and Shame. He stumbled from his and fell on the ground. It was an unsightly thing to see a middle-aged man on the ground shivering in front of a 16-year old girl.

Nicholas was fully seated on the Sofa, stunned by the sight. It was one thing to berate the other party, but to assault him, that too, a Baron? It is a major crime, even for a daughter of a Marquis. He was really wishing he hadn't gotten out of bed today. How was he going to explain these things to the Marquis?

While all of this was going on, Selena was calm. She knew what she was doing and was in full control of the situation. She leaned towards the Baron and spoke to him who immediately scuttled back a few feet.

"You may leave now..."

"Leave...!?" The Baron was frozen in place. What is going on? According to Grant, Selena seldom stood up for herself. That is why Grant said she was meek and mild-mannered. Not to mention, she was not highly regarded in her own home by her own people, so she dared not do anything dangerous. Is this the same woman before him that Grant mentioned? Mild-mannered? A Tigress is more mild-mannered compared to this demoness. If this is a meek person then we might as well be all meek. He just wanted Selena to make a fool of herself so he could use it as proof. Who knew the girl was a full head-on psycho.

However, to the Baron, this was also a blessing in disguise. He recorded everything that Selena did, even the cup throwing. By making this incident public, they would immediately be able to turn the tables on Marquis Booker manor and declare that they have raised a monster. Even the Royal family will choose to stay out of it once it is known.

The Baron got up, his face red with anger and embarrassment, not to mention from the wounds too. He gritted his teeth and said, "I will take my leave then." He swiftly walked out of the room before he lost control and slapped the woman to death.

After the Baron left, Nicholas finally reacted as panic and fear set in.

"You...!! What did you do? How are you going to explain this to our Father?"

But contrary to what he expected, Selena calmly looked at the broken cup pieces, clapped once to summon the Head butler and said,

"Clean this up. This is the Marquis's manor. How dare the Baron smash this cup in anger when I rejected his offer to take all the blame for the incident."

The Head Butler's eyes shot up. 'The Baron tried threatening the young lady to take all the blame? I must inform the Marquis as soon as he returned.'

Nicholas almost fell over. 'Who smashed the cup? How could she lie so blatantly? Does this also mean that the Baron scratched his own face? Was everything I saw today was just a dream? Because, honestly, that would explain a lot and I would like to wake up now please.'

"Don't worry..." Selena spoke to Nicholas.

"Eh?"

"By the end of the day, Baron Turner would be bowing before our Father begging for forgiveness." Selena proclaimed as she walked out of the room.

Nicholas was stunned by those words. During the entire conversation, it did not look like the Baron was meek or kind. How is it possible that he will bow to Father after going as far as to make a deal with Selena and he also had the support of Marquis Johnson?

He put those thoughts to the back of the head and rushed out to find his Father. He knew the seriousness of the situation and he must report to his Father as soon as possible.

*****

A couple of hours later, on the streets of the Kingdom of Evergreen, a majestic looking carriage could be seen making its way to somewhere.

Seated inside were three middle-aged men. One of them had a prideful demeanor, the second had a prideful demeanor too but was respectful to the first person, while the third had his head bowed in respect to the other two. It is worth mentioning that the third party also had been bandaged a few places on his face.

The people seated inside were Baron Turner, Marquis Johnson, and Duke Rant. Marquis Johnson and Baron Turner had made a one-sided deal with the Duke in order to borrow the Record Crystal and take their side in the incident where Selena almost killed herself due to the engagement been broken by Grant.

"Baron Turner, give me the Record Crystal." The Duke demanded from the Baron.

"Of Course Sir..." The Baron quickly complied and handed over the Record Crystal which had 'recorded' Selena's misbehavior.

Looking at the Crystal the Duke continued, "I hope you recorded something concrete. I am putting my neck out on the line for you two. The public opinion lies heavily with Miss Selena Booker. A small mishap is more than enough to drag us all three through the mud."

"O-Of Course, Duke...!!" The Baron replied hastily.

"I hope so... The only way to check the recording is to put it on a pedestal that it comes with. Unfortunately, the pedestal can't be moved, which I why I can't check the recording and there is no time to go back to my manor as the party we are meeting will be leaving for a couple of days in a few hours. The situation may already be out of our hands by the time he returns from his destination." The Duke explained the reason as to why they were hurrying up.

"Rest assured I recorded everything, that girl is a complete psycho. She was the one who did this to my face." The Baron quickly explained as he showed his wounded face.

The Marquis, who had been listening to him speak frowned a little, "I still don't believe that Miss Selena is really such an aggressive person. I thought Grant was exaggerating to defend his actions. But now, it seems that the young lady is definitely not normal."

"He He... Who are you trying to fool, Marquis Johnson? Any woman would be scorned like that if you break off an engagement. In fact, you were counting on it which is why you sent Baron Turner to the Marquis Booker's mansion to make an unfair deal with Lady Selena so as to record her get angry." Duke Rant replied snickering.

"Cough... Cough... I---" Before the Marquis could explain, the Duke raised his hand and said, "It's fine. My lips are sealed since I am also on your side. But I do hope you would keep your hypocrisy to a minimum near me."

The Marquis and the Baron shut their mouths. They knew what they were doing is shameless. But the situation had gotten way out of hand. Thanks to their children's grave mistakes, even the Royal family was involved. If they didn't find a way to remedy the situation, they would very well be shunned by the Society and their enemies would take this chance to steal their businesses. This was a kill or be killed situation. This wasn't about honor anymore, it was about Survival.

"Hmm... We are here." The Duke spoke as the Carriage came to a stop.

As they got out, they saw a majestic pure white building in front of them.

"This is... the Church?!" Baron Turner exclaimed in surprise.

"Hmm... I know the Bishop personally. I have already let him know of the matter. He is someone who has the ability to directly speak with the King. So if we give him the proof, he will plead your case to the King personally." The Duke explained proudly.

"Really?!" The Duo asked in excitement. Who was the Bishop? The highest authority of the Cathedral of Light in the Kingdom of Evergreen. Even the King speaks respectfully to him. Having such a huge person speak for them is a huge bonus. Suddenly, the unfair deal made by the Duke did not feel unfair anymore. Having the Bishop watch your back was like having a solid wall of defense. No one would mess with them anymore.

"Yes, but when we are inside, don't speak unless spoken to. The Bishop is a bit... weird." The Duke explained. But before the Duo could ask, a voice came from the door of the Church.

"Duke Rant? What a pleasant surprise." The voice belonged to a completely bald old man. He was in his fifties and had wrinkles on his face.

It was Priest Frank, who 16 years ago, told the Bishop about the child of the elements being born. The Duke bowed respectfully.

"Priest Frank, it is good to see you too. I was hoping to meet his holiness, the Bishop, regarding the matter we discussed previously."

"Oh?" Priest Frank frowned, "I hope you have solid evidence to back up this claim. As I have said before, we are still somewhat apologetic towards Marquis Booker Manor for the faulty rune incident that has crippled her magic."

"Rest assured, this Record Crystal has recorded the horrendous behavior of the First young Lady Selena." Duke Rant said as he presented the Crystal. He also explained everything that happened during the Baron's visit to Selena. Of course, he left out the parts where the Baron was the one who infuriated her.

"Threw her cup at him?" The Priest was astonished, "This I must see..." He proclaimed as his expression turned grim.

"Follow me, Gentlemen..." He beckoned the trio as they made their way to the Bishop's study.

Crreeaakkk...!!

As the door opened, they saw the Bishop with his back towards them. He had his head down as he was thinking of something very deeply. The atmosphere around him was filled with holiness as he seemed to be one with the light.

"Your Holiness..." Priest Frank called out to the Bishop, who turned towards them then.

But as soon as the Bishop turned, the four who entered immediately froze in place. The trio honestly didn't know how to react and the Priest was red with embarrassment.

The reason why the Bishop had his head down was because... he was picking his nose. How embarrassing.

But somehow, the Bishop seemed unaffected of being caught and simply pulled his finger down and stood upright as if the previous nose-picking action didn't exist.

"Bishop Brian, we talked about this. You cannot pick your nose in public." The Priest whispered to the Bishop with a hint of anger.

"First of all, I am in my study. Second of all, you all barged in without knocking. How am I supposed to prepare myself." The Bishop replied indignantly. It seems he was still the annoying person he was 16 years ago, only a lot older.

The Priest almost fainted from that remark. 'What do you mean you didn't have enough time? You had your back turned on us. You could have pulled out the finger before turning around. Be honest, you do these things to make my life miserable, don't you? Arghh... Why won't headquarters transfer me to another church even after 16 years of requesting them to? If I don't leave this man's side soon, I might just end up killing myself even if it means I will get stuck in limbo.'

"Ahem... Duke Rant is here to discuss the matter of Lady Selena with you." Priest Frank suppressed his rage like always and talked about the incident. He explained everything to the Bishop.

"Hit his face with a teacup?! Ha Ha Ha...!! What are you waiting for? Put the Crystal on the Pedestal I have here. I must see it." The bishop replied excitedly.

The Baron almost spit blood. 'Why is it that you are looking at my tragic injury as a source of entertainment? What kind of a Bishop are you?'

Priest Frank immediately put the Record Crystal on the Pedestal and activated it.

...

...

..?

"What's going on? Why isn't it playing?" the Bishop frowned.

"I am not sure, maybe the pedestal is malfunctioning." Priest Frank scratched his head.

"Let me take a look." the Bishop said as he approached the pedestal and removed the Crystal and fished out another Crystal from his pocket. He put the other Crystal on the pedestal and activated it.

*Click*... Whrrr......!!

The Crystal started spinning in place and soon after, it bought forth a strong greenish-blue light that concentrated in one place and slowly formed into a person. It was a recording of Priest Frank... picking his nose.

"What?! Where did you get this?!" Priest Frank panicked as he hurriedly removed the Crystal and screamed at the Bishop, dropping all pretenses.

"It is something I recorded a few weeks ago. You are always complaining about me picking my nose, so I recorded you doing it too. Now, what do you have to say for yourself?" The Bishop proudly proclaimed as if he had cornered a serial killer.

"I never said you cannot pick your nose. I said you should not do that in public!" Priest Frank replied with tears in his eyes.

"Oh..." The Bishop was quiet for a second, "Well now, I just feel as if I have bullied you."

"What do you mean by 'as if'? You are bullying me." Priest Frank cried out.

"Ahem..." Someone cleared their throat.

The Duo turned around to see the red-faced Duke looking at them.

"Um... Is there a reason my Crystal isn't working?" The Duke said in a soft tone, not daring to speak loudly in front of Bishop.

"Hmm..?" The Bishop realized the situation at hand and looked at the Crystal in his hand belonging to the Duke.

After observing it for a second, the Bishop proclaimed as he threw the Crystal back.

"It's broken..."

"Broken?! What do you mean it's broken?!" The Duke replied in shock.

"What else do I mean? It's broken. There is no magic energy inside it that the Record Crystals usually have. Right now, it is nothing more than a useless ornament." the Bishop replied dejectedly as he sat down. He really wanted to see the teacup smashing into the Baron's face.

"H-How is that possible? Can it be fixed?" The Duke panicked. He had paid a huge fortune to acquire this Crystal. This was a devastating loss to him.

"Ahem... Duke Rant, these Crystals are not made, they are mined. It is a naturally occurring rock. There is no way to fix it. Would you be able to fix a tree that has been cut off from its trunk?" Priest Frank replied composing himself.

"As for why it broke... if one sends too much magic energy into it, the delicate magic within can't take it and dissipates. The one who used it must have accidentally sent a large dose of magic energy inside to do this kind of damage."

"Large Dose? This..." The Duke turned around with a fiery rage. How much did the Crystal cost? It will require Marquis Johnson to sell his entire estate to buy it. Baron Turner would have to sell his assets ten times over and he would still come up short to compensate for the Crystal. He was hell-bent on making the duo compensate for the Crystal.

But as soon as he turned around, he was met with empty air. Both the Marquis and the Baron had already ran off.

"YOU BUNCH OF ASSHOLES....!!!" The Duke's screams could be heard by the duo as they ran out of the Church.

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