The mask secured

That's right, that's the suggestion from Kronos. Even if the Church of Steam and Machinery eventually Consciousness it's been tricked and the contract is signed, they won't be able to renege on their promise.

When making this suggestion, Kronos was actually thinking of Turani von Helmosuin.

He was later the greatest Scientists, mathematician, mechanician, father of the second-generation difference engine, and the embodiment of "Orange Light" Hilarion. His manuscripts later led to the infamous Five-Pound Ambassador-Killing Incident.

Kronos believed that the manuscript's appeal to Portland was unimaginable, and perhaps they could obtain it for Portland through the Church of Steam and Machinery.

However, Kronos couldn't claim to have predicted the future, so the best approach was to make the Church of Steam and Machinery owe him a favor, which would then make it seem natural for them to intervene.

Seeing that Portland already had this plan, Kronos no longer needed to persuade him.

"What's the Royal Family family's reaction?" Kronos asked.

Since Kronos hadn't contacted the other two since the last meeting, he naturally needed to find out what was going on.

"The day after the last meeting, Church of Steam and Machinery Member approached Kask and delivered that generous gift. That very evening, Kask went to see his brother, Earl Wolf."

"After explaining all the stakes to Earl Wolf, he went to the Royal Palace early the next morning to report to His Earl Wolf George III. His Majesty did not give any clear answer, so we dared not take any further action."

"But this morning, Kask's appointment came through. Next month, Kask will officially assume the position of Secretary-General of the Higher Education Committee. Immediately afterwards, Kask was summoned by the Speaker of the House of Commons for tomorrow evening."

Kronos understood what Portland meant; George III already knew everything about the plan, so Kask's promotion and entry into Parliament had become George III's preordained goal.

This also proves that George III had this plan in mind, which is why Kask notified us of the meeting today.

This meeting was both a response to the Church of Steam and Machinery and a response to His Majesty the King.

Seeing Kronos nod slightly, Portland knew he understood and there was no need to explain it again.

"Then let's proceed as usual, shall we?"

Portland nodded, a smile on his face.

Voting is over!

The second day's meeting started with some unimportant trivial matters, and then, led by Kask, a secret ballot was launched to discuss the Church of Steam and Machinery's move into the Research Center.

In fact, the first meeting didn't even have a voting process; it was just a discussion. The so-called support rate was just an estimated figure.

This meeting is a real vote, and if the three of them fail to control the votes, then today will be a complete disaster.

Fortunately, Kask and Portland essentially controlled over 90% of the votes in the entire group.

Therefore, the final result was that the proposal had a support rate of 62%, which was less than two-thirds, and the proposal could not be passed.

The moment the result was revealed, the three masterminds behind the scenes revealed a chilling, sinister smile.

Since the vote did not yield a "satisfactory" result, Kask— "the most loyal partner of the Church of Steam and Machinery"—was naturally unable to accept it, so another round of frantic debate began.

This time, Kronos was completely marginalized and invisible; it was simply a battle between the "political faction" led by Kask and the "academic faction" led by Portland.

You know what, seeing this group of professional arguers fight each other, Kronos finally understood what true professionalism was.

He felt that no matter which side he stood on, he would be completely torn apart.

Since it was no longer related to him, Kronos focused on practicing his eyesight.

From Portland, Kronos already knew that some of these "Warrior" already knew the truth and were just stirring things up in the crowd, while others were completely unaware.

Kronos wanted to know if he could distinguish the "Actor" in the crowd.

"Hmm, this is a bit over the top. Arguing about educational issues and they're all getting hysterical. It's a bit much, isn't it?"

"This is utterly amateurish; you can't even hide the amusement in your eyes. You're just here to laugh at us, aren't you?"

"That one clearly knows absolutely nothing; his emotions and demeanor are perfect. If we're wrong, he's an absolute Oscar winner."

Kronos did a long analysis here, and even Record down his judgment so he could check the answers with Portland later.

As usual, the argument lasted until the end of the workday.

Kronos was completely listless. He was perfectly fine with studying his Scroll or scientific and technological things in the Laboratory, but listening to a group of middle-aged and elderly people arguing here was a real waste of his time.

But he had no choice; for the "salary" given by the Church of Steam and Machinery, Kronos had to persevere. Fortunately, there weren't many more chances; he just needed to hold on a few more times.

After today's meeting, the three masterminds held a separate meeting.

After leaving the Higher Education Committee, the three of them went to a private room in a restaurant.

"What should we do next?" After formulating the plan, Kronos was completely in awe of the two Old Man in front of him. They were definitely old hands, so he had already become an accessory on the big boss's lap.

Kask smiled and said, "If it's on your way later, you can just go to Saint Hilarion Church to let them know. You don't need to offer your own opinions. I'll handle the rest when they come to me."

Kronos nodded. "No problem, it's actually on my way. I'll go there in a bit."

Seeing that Kronos was alright, Kask turned his attention to Portland.

"Now it's your turn to shine, there shouldn't be any problems, right?" Kask was genuinely a little worried about Portland's acting skills.

Portland rolled his eyes. "I don't like socializing because I feel it's a waste of time, not because I don't know anything. Do you think I'm an idiot?"

Seeing Portland's attitude, Kask didn't say anything more.

Since there was nothing more to explain, Kask took out a box from behind him and handed it to Kronos.

Kronos immediately Consciousness the box upon seeing it, but he still had to pretend it was there, otherwise he'd be selling Portland off.

"Mr. Kask, what's wrong? What is this?"

Kask's gaze was fixed on Kronos, so he couldn't see him, but Kronos did. Portland's eyes were filled with contempt as he stared intently at Kronos.

Kronos blushed slightly; he still hadn't cultivated enough to be thick-skinned.

"We were able to get involved in this whole affair because of you, and I've gained so much, but you probably didn't gain much from the Church of Steam and Machinery."

"So after consulting with Portland, I picked out this gift for you. I hope you like it, and it's a small way of making up for it," Portland said.

Kronos quickly picked up the gift. "I didn't expect you to be so kind, Mr. Kask. Actually, without you and Professor Portland, I couldn't have done anything by myself."

Kask laughed. "You can fool Portland with that, but I'm of noble birth, I'm not completely ignorant."

"Although Marquis Argel is no longer in Backlund, your family's business and foundation remain intact. Furthermore, your recent good relations with Duke Negan, Earl Hall, and Earl Levett mean you shouldn't have much trouble enjoying all the benefits if you wish."

Is there any truth to what Kask said? Of course there is!

If Kronos had no scruples, he would be fully capable of using these connections to outmaneuver the Church of Steam and Machinery.

These nobles did not worship the God of Steam and Machinery, so they had no taboos.

The Royal Family would be even more pleased to see this happen.

Unfortunately, Kronos dared not do so, because his family still needed to rely on the Church of Steam and Machinery.

Kask was unaware of this hidden story, so he assumed that Kronos wanted to do him and Portland some favors, since family connections were not as valuable as personal connections.

Kronos clearly couldn't reveal the truth, so he simply smiled shyly and accepted Kask's gift, bearing his inner "guilt."

The three of them had a small meeting to prevent any unexpected events from happening, but since everything was proceeding according to plan, there wasn't much important stuff to talk about.

After chatting for a while, the three of them had dinner and then went home.

Kronos looked at the Mask inside the gift box, a smile on his face.

As Kronos expected, the gift Kask sent was this Mask belonging to a descendant of the Death God family.

The entire Mask was jet black, giving it a metallic sheen. A Feathered Serpent coiled around Mask edges, and the word "Eggers" was inscribed on the inside of the Mask.

"This thing looks unusual. How could Earl Wolf collect it as an ordinary artifact?" Kronos felt a chill and was somewhat surprised.

However, he forgot that Kronos himself was Mystery Pryer Pathway and was very sensitive to such extraordinary power, which was why he had some inexplicable feelings about it.

If it were an ordinary person, or someone Beyonder through other Pathway, they would basically not feel anything and would just think it's a very ordinary Mask.