Although, if he had not intervened, Mr. Owen, "Lust," would likely have invited the other two Psychology Alchemists council members on his side. His own Black Knight, Selo, would not have betrayed him either, and Katarina, the White Saintess, would have obeyed his orders completely...
That would have given Owen's side at least five Demigods!
But since "Pride" stood with Princess Vera, this ambush would have been difficult to carry out. Even if George III had been bought off, Vera could simply have sought help from the Church.
Logically, she had no need to make such a huge sacrifice just to obtain my assistance... Most importantly, this was assistance I had offered of my own accord, not something she had asked for...
Could she have had another plan, one that she did not want to resolve by relying on the Church?
Was she trying to play along, pretending to become an obedient puppet so that George III would grant her greater authority?
But even if everything succeeded, the one controlling Vera would still be "Lust"... Did George III trust "Lust" that much?
Did they have some special relationship?
As his thoughts raced, Abner asked Vera this question. He instinctively felt that she should know the answer.
At the same time, he was continuing to probe her sincerity and intentions.
Vera smiled and answered without concealing anything:
"They have two layers of connection... First, my brother and Owen are both members of an organization even more secretive than the Psychology Alchemists... Hmm, 'Pride' is as well... They should have signed a Contract under the gaze of some existence, so there is a foundation of trust between them."
"Second, within the Delien Family, any descendant of that family's Demigod ancestor will unconditionally obey the first three tasks issued to them by His