That was insulting.
So this was what happened when someone had nothing to lose: once Nepheli had revealed her true colors and declared she didn't care whether they let her go or not, her choice of words had become far more unrestrained.
She'd casually passed judgment on the three original members of the Dark Holy See—and not just a mild judgment, either. It was a scathing critique.
Professor Lisha was suspicious solely because she'd arrived first, while Liu Shuang's lack of suspicion was explained rather tactfully: her specialty didn't match.
As for Lady Number Seven, Nepheli hadn't been nearly so polite. "Not capable" made it sound as if she meant the woman wasn't very bright.
So while everyone weighed the credibility of those remarks, they all turned their eyes to the last woman in unison, curious to see how she'd react.
"Thank you... for recognizing that."
And it turned out that perhaps her brains weren't the best, but she did have some magnanimity.
After a breath of silence, there was surprisingly little gritted-teeth bitterness in Lady Number Seven's hoarse voice. Instead, she actually thanked Nepheli.
She'd set aside her personal pride in the face of a matter of principle.
Faced with such a display of personal growth, even Fu Qian couldn't help but silently admire her.
It might have sounded harsh, but rationally speaking, it really was a compliment.
Nepheli had cleared her of suspicion for free. Unless she, like Nepheli, didn't care about her freedom, her chances of being mobbed had just gone down considerably.
"Thank you for your answer."
And she wasn't the only one. After quietly watching the exchange between the two, Wen Li even thanked Nepheli with perfect seriousness.
"So, do you have an explanation?"
Then she turned to look at Lisha.
So they'd moved