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“You disgraceful creature!”

The Seventh Grand Duke, without uttering a word, approached and delivered a usual resounding slap to Yaeger’s face.

“As a member of the imperial family, your every action reflects upon the reputation of our lineage. Your foolish behavior in public is bringing disgrace to our family!”

“I… I…” Yaeger was dumbfounded. He was the victim here, yet he ended up being publicly humiliated.

“See for yourself!” The Seventh Grand Duke shoved a document in Yaeger’s face. Yaeger’s eyes quickly scanned its contents and nearly coughed up blood in shock.

DOG?!

One of the successfully registered participants on the list was named “Dog”!

It was clear to everyone who this participant named Dog really was. Yaeger’s vision blurred, and he felt like he could not make sense of the world anymore.

“T-T-This… is against the rules! How can a dog compete? At most, it should only be considered a contracted or summoned creature of the participant. It should not take up a slot!”

“But the rules never state that only humans can compete,” Skarst replied, shrugging his shoulders.

Yaeger stared at him blankly. Of course, there could not be a rule that only allowed humans to participate. The Holy Dragon Empire’s national policy was to embrace diversity and treat everyone equally. Every year, millions of inhumans visited this empire.

If they were to implement such a rule today, Yaeger was sure that there would be immediate outcries of “Beastmen matter,” “End human supremacy now,” “Down with the Eighth Prince-ism,” or the likes.

They could not simply make a rule to exclude dogs either. Where would that leave the dog-headed creatures, cynocephali? The cynocephali along with the ipotanes, reptoids, and elves had recently joined the Alliance of Minotaurs, a force to be reckoned with on the entire continent. If such a rule were to anger them, the consequences would be too much for even the Eighth Prince, who lacked real power, to bear.

“But I’m the victim!” Yaeger exclaimed, pointing at his miserable, bloodied a̲s̲s̲. “Even if that stupid dog is also a participant, it bit my a̲s̲s̲ for no reason. Shouldn’t it be the one at fault?”

“Indeed, biting someone’s a̲s̲s̲ is just too disgraceful,” Lilith replied, crossing her arms in front of her chest and nodding in agreement. It was a great dishonor for her ancient dragon clan that the dog she personally fed had bitten someone’s a̲s̲s̲ without a shred of dignity,

Looking at Yaeger whose face had just shown a hint of joy, Lilith tilted her head to the side and innocently asked, “Wasn’t it you who attacked it first?”

“Huh?” The smile on Yaeger’s face gradually faded…

She was right… He had indeed… attacked it first…

“No, there’s an anti-magic array here. My spells won’t work at all!”
“It still didn’t change the fact that you were trying to hit it with a magic spell first.”

Lilith smirked, playing with the spectrum stone in her hand. “You looked rather pathetic when you were bitten by it, but you looked really cool when you bravely rushed up to it while waving your wand in the air.”

“Yup, he looked very cool indeed.”

Everyone in the crowd nodded in agreement.

“That’s enough!” the silent Seventh Grand Duke finally interrupted Yaeger, his voice thundered like that of a furious lion.

“You have disappointed me greatly. Until the Great Celestial Rite begins, you will reflect on your misconduct today in the confinement room.”

In the confinement room…

Yaeger’s body went limp. What was the point of getting that participant list just to be locked in the confinement room?

“Wait a moment! I have something to say!”

While everyone was cautious not to further anger the Seventh Grand Duke, Lilith bravely raised her hand.

The Seventh Grand Duke merely furrowed his brow slightly, his tone becoming noticeably calmer. “What is it?”

Lilith pointed toward the dog and said, “Although Prince Yaeger started this fight, we cannot ignore the fact that Dog from our team displayed an excessive level of aggression either. It will be difficult to appease the public if we don’t punish it accordingly. Therefore, I propose that we confine him alongside Prince Yeager.”

“That…”

The Seventh Grand Duke was momentarily taken aback. Yaeger was stunned. Everyone was left speechless…

What an unexpected suggestion…

Lilith eagerly rubbed her hands together and continued with a mischievous grin, “As the old saying goes, the best way to mend the bond between two individuals is to make them spend time together. It’s a classic storybook trope, isn’t it? Two rivals, thrust together by unforeseen circumstances, only to discover an unbreakable friendship blossoming within days. Why don’t we try locking up Dog and Prince Yaeger in the same room? Who knows, they might just become the most unlikely best friends.”

“WHA-WHA-WHAT?!”

Yaeger paled as he looked at the dog, who was grinning and baring its sharp fangs at him. Despair filled him and his a̲s̲s̲ began to sting again.

“No, I object! Seventh Granduncle, for the sake of your grandnephew’s mother, you must not fall under the influence of this mysterious demonic girl!”

The corner of the Seventh Grand Duke’s mouth twitched slightly, finding the young girl’s suggestion to be quite cruel… If he ordered to lock these two up together, Yaeger would surely lose a few pounds of flesh, especially considering that the imperial confinement room was protected by an anti-magic array!

However… The Seventh Grand Duke swept his gaze over Skarst, who was silently smiling…

“Enough, there’s no need for further discussion. That will be the plan for now.”

The Seventh Grand Duke let out a long sigh. With a graceful wave of his sleeves, he left with Yaeger, who had a look of despair on his face, and the rather excited dog with him.

“Hey, Big Brother, was that your old friend?” Lilith scratched the back of her head. She did not expect her random suggestion to be taken seriously and wondered if the old man had some grudge against his grandnephew.

“Yes, he’s an old and trusted friend of mine,” Skarst replied with a hearty laugh. “You can remove your veil now, little sister. With his help, our prison break will become a minor issue.”

“What a relief,” Lilith said. She couldn’t imagine having to cover her beautiful face with a black veil all the time.

As soon as Lilith removed the black veil and revealed her absolutely lovely face to the crowd, everyone was momentarily stunned by her beauty. It felt as if the room dimmed for a few seconds.

It was only at this moment Lilith noticed the crowd of people gathering around her like packed sardines. She shifted her gaze to them and smiled at them. “Apologies, our dog has caused trouble for all of you.”

“Not at all.” Everyone in the crowd shook their heads in unison. No one would dare to say otherwise. After all, Lilith’s appearance alone hinted at her powerful background and the potential consequences of crossing her. What happened to Prince Yaeger was already a great example of that.

“To make up for it, we are willing to reserve several hundred tables at the finest restaurant in Jeorgetown City and treat all of you to a meal. Would you all be willing to join us?”

The crowd exchanged incredulous glances.

“Several hundred tables… How extravagant. There’s no need for that… This was just a trivial matter…”

“It’s not a problem for us. Problems that can be solved with money are no trouble at all. The real question is whether all of you are willing to enjoy this opportunity…”

Lilith took a step forward, causing spiderweb-like cracks to spread on the smooth marble floor beneath her foot.

The hall fell into a momentary silence, with only the sound of people swallowing nervously.

Wow… How terrifying…
No magic power or battle qi, just pure strength…?

“Haha… I’m going… Who would refuse a free meal?”
“That settles it then… count me in!”
“What is your name, miss? I’ll have to remember the name of a kind and generous person like yourself.”
“Just call me Lilith.”

Lilith turned around and opened the door, smiling warmly as if she were a gracious host receiving her guests.