Grand Duke Joseph

“Um... Mr. Starlight, is there something else bothering you? Does your head still hurt?”

Moen’s soft voice interrupted his thoughts. His mental conversation with Noah had left him pensive, causing him to unconsciously frown.

Thinking he hadn’t fully recovered, Moen leaned in with concern and gently placed her small hand on his forehead, looking ready to perform an examination.

This action startled the absent-minded Starlight. He bounced up from the bed in a reflexive jerk and replied in a slightly flustered tone:

“No... I’m fine. I was just lost in thought... Thank you for your concern!”

Moen watched Starlight’s slightly panicked expression with a hint of curiosity. Ultimately, she said nothing more and quietly withdrew her gaze.

Meanwhile, Starlight instinctively covered his right wrist with his left hand before silently sliding it deep into his pocket. He was afraid Moen might see the unusual elemental mark.

Fortunately, Moen was only a bit puzzled by his odd behavior. Po Kong was still in a heated conversation with Xia Duo, and none of the three noticed the subtle movement of his hand.

Just as a hint of awkwardness began to fill the air, Xia Duo suddenly turned her head, her gaze fixed on the door, a flash of surprise crossing her brow.

“Someone is coming—and it’s someone important.”

Before her words even landed, a knock sounded at the door, echoing through the room.

With a click, the lock turned, and a gaunt, lethargic-looking man entered followed by a white-bearded elder.

The gaunt man nodded politely to the four people in the room as soon as he entered and began a brief introduction.

“Ahem... Mr. Starlight-White, you’re finally awake. Since the two elven ladies are also present, I’ll keep this brief. I am Strange, the President of the Adventurers Guild, and beside me is the ruler of the Violet City-State, Grand Duke Joseph.”

Under Strange’s introduction, Grand Duke Joseph swept his somewhat clouded eyes over each of them in turn, offering a slight nod as a greeting.

Under the Grand Duke’s gaze, Starlight felt an invisible pressure—an aura that made him feel instinctively threatened.

If he wasn’t mistaken, the two men before him were the Saint Rank experts stationed in the Violet City-State.

“After a thorough investigation over the past few days, we did indeed find a massive magic formation beneath the ancient tomb in District One. From its structure, it is undoubtedly a form of harmful magic, which matches your report.”

“However, despite our best efforts, we have failed to find any trace of the Ancient God of Darkness you mentioned. Furthermore, it is distressing to report that over eighty brave adventurers went missing during this operation. Regarding this, do the four of you have any additional information to add, or are there any important details you might have missed?”

“No,” the four replied in unison.

The three who had woken up earlier had clearly been asked similar questions already and had nothing left to say. Starlight, wanting to hide the mark on his hand, also silently shook his head.

Seeing that none of them had anything new to offer, Strange seemed to have expected this. He gave a soft sigh and continued.

“In that case, Mr. Starlight and Mr. Po Kong, the two of you are free to go.”

“The two of us? What about Moen and Xia Duo? What will happen to them?” Starlight asked, his brow furrowed as he stared at Strange.

“The two of them have not yet been cleared of suspicion. Given the current situation, we cannot simply let them leave—not unless the elves can provide us with a reasonable explanation and a guarantee.”

At this point, the previously silent Grand Duke Joseph spoke up, announcing a decision that made all four of them uneasy.

“But... if not for their help, District One might have been blown to bits! Haven’t you already confirmed the existence of the formation? Isn’t that enough to clear them of suspicion?”

Starlight turned to Grand Duke Joseph, his voice raised in protest and questioning.

“Sigh, that is exactly the reason, young Starlight! The investigation team we sent has never seen those strange ancient scripts before. It is clearly not a product of the modern era. And it is well known that elves, as a long-lived race, possess many forms of magic unknown to humans. Therefore...”

Strange sensed a spark of confrontation in the conversation and quickly stepped in to smooth things over with an explanation.

He understood, of course, that the two elven girls were unlikely to be the ones who created that formation; the evil aura within it was completely at odds with their identities.

But for the ruler of the Violet City-State, such a massive oversight occurring right under his nose was no small matter.

It wasn’t just the dozens of adventurers whose bodies were never found; there were also the hundreds of people who had disappeared in previous missing person commissions. The public outcry from the families of the missing was quietly brewing and spreading.

Over the past few days, both he and Grand Duke Joseph had been under considerable pressure.

If it were just an internal matter for the Adventurers Guild, it would be easy to handle. But as the helmsman of this massive city-state, Grand Duke Joseph had to take action.

While it was unfair to the two girls, who could blame them for lacking a proper legal status? While waiting for a response from the elves, this would give them a chance to let the matter slowly settle down.

“No! Even so, you can’t just arrest people randomly. What kind of nonsense reason is that?”

Starlight didn’t think as far ahead as they did; he only knew that this outcome was extremely unfair to Moen and Xia Duo.

“This is my decision. Do you have a problem with that, boy?”

Grand Duke Joseph gave a cold snort. A touch of anger appeared on his aged face, and a tangible murderous aura suddenly erupted from his body, locking onto Starlight just as he was about to speak again.

A surge of momentum, as powerful as a crashing wave or a wild beast, instantly swept through the room. The sudden pressure caused the furniture to groan under the strain, sounding as if it might shatter at any moment.

Being at the center of this vortex of pressure, Starlight was forced back several steps before he managed to steady himself.

However, he was not crushed by Grand Duke Joseph’s intimidation. He continued to stare firmly at the Duke’s weathered face, his gaze showing not a hint of retreat.

Everyone present was shocked. They never expected that Grand Duke Joseph would disregard his status and suddenly unleash such powerful pressure on a junior.

Coming to their senses, Po Kong, Moen, and Xia Duo immediately moved closer to Starlight, prepared to help him withstand the heavy pressure.

Seeing that the four of them still stubbornly refused to yield, Grand Duke Joseph’s expression shifted slightly.

He had originally intended to pressure Starlight alone, but now, that aura rapidly expanded to cover the other three as well.