Dekan Was Past the Age of Playing Pranks on People

"The reasons behind the Empire's ceasefire are not for you to presume to know. However, I do not wish to conceal my purpose. As the Grand Duke of the Empire, I can no longer turn a blind eye to this chaotic world. My purpose in visiting the Southern States is to rebuild the Kingdom Association —to rebuild a new federation that can coexist amicably with the Empire and reach the right consensus at crucial moments."

Dekan paced back and forth in the reception room, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Of course, it wouldn't be right for me, as an imperial citizen, to lead this idealized new federation, and it probably wouldn't be very convincing. What do you think?"

Dekan, as if seeking a brilliant plan from his ministers, looked at the assembled nobles in the reception room and asked a question.

The nobles, especially the three dukes at the pinnacle of power in the Vihart Kingdom, are now sweating profusely.

The Elector Duke's wolfish ambitions were not hidden at all.

They even said it so openly and honestly.

However, this was something they had anticipated.

The turmoil in the capital of the Salon Empire did not affect the Salon Empire's military strength. This ceasefire was definitely not a sudden decision by the empire to switch to a peace strategy.

They just need some time to consolidate their internal affairs!

If we want to fight, we can fight again anytime!

It was confirmed by the Elector Duke that the great nobles were able to predict the future world situation very quickly.

Ultimately, everything still belongs to the Salon Empire.

If one wants to gain more benefits when the Vihart Kingdom becomes part of the empire, then currying favor with the current Elector Duke is undoubtedly the best shortcut!

"Your Elector Duke is undoubtedly a true master of power and wisdom, and it is only right that you should rule over everything."

"You are the one who can truly bring peace to the world!"

"We are willing to contribute our modest efforts to your great ideal!"

The obsequious words from the nobles made Dekan nod with apparent satisfaction.

"As the saying goes, a wise man submits to circumstances. If all the people of the kingdoms were as easy to talk to as you, I think the war between the empire and the kingdoms could have been avoided."

As he spoke, he walked amiably among the group of nobles, looked at them, and said:

"However, I don't really want to talk about serious topics today. I have always been very interested in the strange and wonderful things in this world, and I also like to collect treasures. I admit that my visit to the Vihart Kingdom was partly to watch the excitement."

The nobles nodded repeatedly, indicating that no matter how the Elector Duke wished to participate in the ceremony, they would do their utmost to help Elector Duke have a wonderful time in the Vihart Kingdom.

Any treasure he desires will be offered to him.

Seeing their confidence, Dekan nodded in satisfaction and continued:

"I heard long ago that the Vihart Kingdom has a princess of unparalleled beauty. She possesses an unforgettable, peerless face. Her eyes are mysterious and proud, and whether she is happy or sad, with a hint of joy or regret, they can stir one's heart. Perhaps it is the gentle melody of summer, perhaps the rustling mountain wind of autumn, perhaps the ever-changing starry sky; once you have seen her, you will forget all other beauty, and only her image will remain in your mind. Even the legendary great hero of the Kingdom Association was captivated by her, and now everyone in the Salon Empire knows of her charm."

Dekan, his face filled with rapt attention, recounted what he had heard and imagined about Princess Cornelia.

The nobles standing nearby were drenched in cold sweat in that short moment.

They never expected that this crazy Elector Duke would say such a thing.

The young princess is indeed stunningly beautiful.

But.

You're exaggerating when you say you didn't Elector Duke!

How did the version change like this after it was sent to the Empire by the bard?

"Your Elector Duke, Princess Cornelia... may not be as you imagine..."

A nobleman mustered his courage and stammered, but dared not continue, for he saw the Elector Duke's eyes turn cold.

Are you questioning my lack of imagination?

"No, I wouldn't dare!"

"That's right, the only one in this country who catches my eye is Princess Cornelia!"

Dekan, looking completely confident, no longer concealed his true purpose for coming to the Vihart Kingdom!

"Absolutely not, Your Elector Duke!!"

Several nobles were terrified by Dekan's remarks, and upon realizing the gravity of the situation, they nearly burst into tears.

They really dare not help with this!

Even if it pleases the Elector Duke, this kind of behavior of instantly maximizing the hatred towards Dekan is too terrifying.

If Dekan ever really returns, he will definitely fight them to the death!!

The previous power struggles with the King were merely domestic affairs and did not warrant a complete breakdown in relations with Dekan! There was still room for maneuver!

"Huh? I thought you guys who dared to go against Dekan were pretty tough, but I guess I misjudged you."

Dekan's expression changed instantly, like turning the pages of a book. He squinted his left eye, looking at everyone with disdain, as if they were trash.

There was then a tendency to send the guests away.

Now, some of the nobles, who had become anxious, began to shout:

"No! No! My lord, we are willing to serve you like dogs and horses!"

Immediately afterwards, a group of nobles also expressed their determination to die to Dekan.

There's no need to think about who the real powerful backer is in this world. No matter what, a Dekan whose fate is unknown can't compare to the Elector Duke right in front of us!

Moreover, they were already hesitant and timid because of their fear of Dekan, but now that they have pledged allegiance to the Elector Duke, they can truly act without restraint!

We'll be mortal enemies from now on!

"It seems that there are still some principled people among the nobles of the Vihart Kingdom. Very good. The Salon Empire has always appreciated talents like you."

In the end, Dekan returned to his initial amiable self, giving off a feeling of "the Duke of Zhou spitting out his food to welcome guests and winning the hearts of the people," and chatted amiably with the nobles.

After several tens of minutes, Dekan said he was tired and politely saw the group of visitors off.

After seeing the group of nobles off, Clay, who was standing behind the sofa, surveyed the area and confirmed that there were no nobles or their men around the mansion. So he stopped pretending and flipped over to lie down on the sofa in a cool manner.

"So, what are you planning to do to them this time?"

Clay turned his head to look at Dekan beside him and asked.

"No, I'm not planning to mess with them this time."

Dekan covered his teacup, took a sip, and said with a smile.

Just like the performance we just saw, it was all improvised.

"Then why did you fool them like that?"

Watching Dekan's performance, Clay even suspected that Dekan had already written four kilograms of script for the rest of the show.

Logically, after Dekan reassured the three major families and their factions of nobles, these nobles would gradually revert to their previous arrogant and domineering attitude towards royal authority, or even become more so.

Dekan could seize the opportunity to continue digging pits, breaking the morale of all the nobles at a crucial moment, using both threats and inducements to make them completely lose their dignity and become slaves of the devil.

Dekan smiled helplessly at Clay's disdainful expression.

"I really don't have that many bad intentions. Whatever conflicts or disputes the Vihart Kingdom may have with these nobles in the future, I will not get involved."

Clay was silent for a moment after hearing this, as if he understood something. He sat up and pointed at Dekan:

"You..."

Dekan simply continued sipping his tea.

Clay lay back down before he could finish speaking; he already knew what Dekan was planning.

Dekan simply wanted to wait for these nobles to go wild for a while.

When they discover Dekan's true identity, their worldview collapses, and in their terror, they begin to frantically try to understand the intentions behind Dekan's previous moves and how many traps he has already set for them.

But then Dekan did absolutely nothing to them!

They always maintain a state of "purges are imminent, the big ones are coming soon."

Is it Terror? Is it frightening? Will I be able to sleep after this?

Clay felt that even if the old king and the First Prince of the Vihart Kingdom didn't have to do anything, they could still easily control these nobles.

"You've always been good at torturing humans."

"Clay exclaimed."

I'm not afraid of being retaliated against by a jerk, I'm afraid of having a jerk who's always thinking about me.

"I've really been kind, okay? These nobles have paranoia; they scared themselves into developing mental illnesses. It's unreasonable to blame me for it."

Dr. Dekan, the former the Dean physician of the Department of Psychiatry, said this.

One week later.

The day of the Card Creation Ceremony in the Vihart Kingdom.

The Royal Capital looked exceptionally bustling this morning, with crowds already thronging the streets early in the morning.

The aroma of snacks from various shops wafted through the streets, accompanied by bursts of cheerful laughter, adding a touch of warmth to the not-so-cold winter in the Southern Kingdom.

Today, the Vihart Kingdom is celebrating as if it were holding a festival.

A grand event is being prepared in the square not far from the royal palace.

This is the largest square in the Royal Capital, backed by the royal palace and facing the entire city. The streets on both sides are extremely wide, all paved with solid, flat white stone slabs, large enough to accommodate a square formation of a knight legion.

His Majesty the King will soon be on the high platform in the square to preside over the opening ceremony of the Card Creation Ceremony.

On the high platforms that had already been erected on both sides were the positions of some of the country's nobles and powerful figures, and high-ranking members of organizations such as the Sun God Church and the Card Maker Association would also be invited to participate.

The closer you get to the square, the more likely you are to spot the fully armed guards.

A large number of citizens had already gathered near the square, and the streets on both sides were packed with people. Large numbers of citizens continued to flock to the long streets on both sides of the square, and the long queues seemed to stretch for over a kilometer.

Before long, the palace gates finally opened slowly.

His Majesty Styles, the current ruler of the kingdom, came into view.

The king, who is in his fifties, wore a crown and heavy robes, and his expression seemed to have a hint of kindness in addition to his majesty.

King Styles ascended his personal platform. Apart from his bodyguards, only members of the royal family were allowed to get close to him, while even the kingdom's three dukes were kept at a distance.

From the high platform, the king's gaze swept across the entire audience, a smile appeared on his face as he nodded, and then he raised his hand to greet the people.

All the nobles on the high platform rose and stood at attention, bowing slightly towards the palace gates, while all the knights and troops performed a standard knightly salute.

One can notice the expressions on the faces of the three dukes.

There was some respect, but not much.

Instead of showing more respect to the king in front of the many guests from other kingdoms, they showed no respect for the king at this moment, and instead quickly focused their attention on the guests from the empire!

Only when they looked at the Elector Duke did many nobles, led by the three dukes, show genuine smiles of admiration, and the arc of their bows to the Elector Duke from afar was much larger than when they bowed to the King!

Meanwhile, the Elector Duke, seated in the VIP section on the other side of the stands, returned the smiles and waves to the three dukes.

The king was clearly a magnanimous man and did not take to heart the rude behavior of the nobles who had openly challenged the dignity of the royal family. He simply began to preside over the pre-race ceremony of the grand event in a calm tone.

"Alright, if everyone has no further questions, our ceremony will officially begin on time in half an hour."

After explaining the numerous details, the king addressed the crowd in the stands.

Besides the nobles of this country and their agents, there were also many guests from other countries at this competition, including a high-ranking and powerful card Card Crafter from the Card Maker Association!

Of course, the royal family also appointed acting Card Crafter, with the First Prince and Second Prince each sending their own.

However, what reassured everyone for the time being was that this time, the Elector Duke of the Empire seemed to only intend to be an observer and had no intention of personally getting involved.

After all, he hadn't submitted any prior application for the competition, and unless a competitor suddenly requested a change of agent, he didn't have the right to participate on short notice.

Even though few Card Crafter from other countries raised questions with the king at that moment, he patiently answered them one by one.

Just when it seemed no one would raise any more questions.

Elector Duke, who had been the focus of much attention, raised his hand and asked the King on the high platform:

"Your Majesty, as a potential beneficiary of this competition, Princess Cornelia should also have the right to appoint a designated representative, shouldn't she?"

His question immediately caused a stir!

People couldn't understand why he brought this up at this time.

Seeing that everyone was puzzled, Dekan kindly added:

"What I mean is, if Princess Cornelia needs an agent, I might be a good choice. Actually, I'm quite good at card making, you know?"

Dekan seemed unfazed by the prospect of things getting out of hand, even winking in the direction of Princess Cornelia.

His actions once again ignited the scene!

"Is this guy eyeing Princess Cornelia?!"

"The Imperials have been looking to cause trouble! They've finally revealed their true colors!"

"This is intolerable!!"

In an instant, apart from the three dukes and their faction's nobles, almost everyone in the kingdom expressed extreme anger towards the Elector Duke.

"Your Elector Duke! Are you insane?! Princess Cornelia would never allow you to act as her successor!"

Finally, even a high-ranking official disregarded Dekan's power and shouted angrily at him.

Even if the three dukes are just bullies relying on their masters' power, the Imperial Censor's absurd and frivolous attitude has already gone too far!

Dekan merely bowed slightly to the speaker, then smiled and extended his hand towards Cornelia in an inviting gesture, asking:

"Princess Cornelia, what do you say?"

Just as everyone's eyes were focused on Cornelia, waiting for her response to deliver a resounding slap to the Elector Duke's face.

All that could be heard was her voice:

"Your Elector Duke, the contestant must use their true form to participate."

Cornelia looked at Dekan, a smile blooming on her face, and responded as if she were acting opposite him in the Shadow World.

The two's inexplicable conversation drew puzzled responses from the audience.

Cornelia mean to refuse or accept?

And was the Elector Duke's appearance disguised?

Even if the Elector Duke was in disguise, how did Princess Cornelia see through it?

What's with this unusual harmony and tacit understanding between these two?!

As if he had heard these puzzled whispers, Dekan leaned back in his VIP seat and smiled slightly.

He stood up and used the [Shadow Cleansing] spell that Mie had given him to instantly wash away all his disguises and disguises, returning him to his gray hair and classic skin.

He bowed to Cornelia again.

But this time, it was not the imperial etiquette being performed, but the etiquette of the Norton Kingdom!

"Princess Cornelia, may I hire you? I guarantee I will create a Magic Card that will satisfy you!"

Dekan shouted confidently at Cornelia in his clear voice!

******

Author's Note:

This chapter might have some sentences and paragraphs that are a bit brief and need to be refined, but it's already past four o'clock, and I'm too sleepy... I'm going to sleep now and will revise it tomorrow... These past few days of recuperation have felt like playing two basketball games in PE class and then coming back to the classroom, feeling incredibly tired... If only I had another physics teacher, I could fall asleep on my desk the moment he started talking...