Emperor Aether was silent on the throne.

On one hand, the nobles were requesting his dismissal, but on the other hand, he was indeed curious about the so-called strategies that Xu Feng had in mind.

But to choose either side would most definitely offend the other party.

Although he was the emperor who held many powers, one couldn’t possibly rule a large empire alone.

Moreover, he operated on a slightly gray moral code. As long as their crimes weren’t severe, he would turn a blind eye to them.

Their useful values, which could offset their trivial crimes, would naturally be ignored.

Who didn’t try to pocket a little bit for themselves when working?

Back when he was still one of the many princes who had to contend for the throne, he also did the same. It was only human nature to be a little bit greedy.

The greed didn’t necessarily refer to wealth, but it could be many other types.

Take Kong Ming, for example.

He wasn’t greedy for money or fame, but he sure as hell was greedy for the safety and lives of his citizens. That alone was also a type of greed because it was his desire to achieve the objective.

Just when Aether was wondering how to resolve the situation, Olivia finally sighed.

"I believe everyone here is fatigued from the court hearing." She stepped forward and said.

"I am also tired, so I want to leave. Or is there someone else who wants to disagree and have more things they wish to say?"

As soon as she finished her question, the other nobles didn’t dare to voice a complaint.

If Olivia said it like that, then it meant she wanted the hearing to be over.

But of course, rather than saying it was Olivia, it was actually the emperor’s intention.

They didn’t like to swallow this bitter pill, but what could they do?

This was probably the best outcome for both parties. Not to mention, making the emperor difficult was never a good thing.

The past incidents had long taught them when they could press on a matter and when they couldn’t press on the matter.

As every noble gave a random excuse to leave the court, Xu Feng patiently waited on the sidelines.

Naturally, he couldn’t avoid their hostile gazes when they brushed past him.

’How childish are they?’ Xu Feng could only laugh at them silently for their ridiculous behavior.

Time quickly went by, and the Royal Court only had four people remaining.

The emperor, the royal steward, Olivia, and, naturally, him.

"Royal steward." Aether suddenly called for him.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The Royal Steward nodded and quickly appeared behind Xu Feng.

"Eh?" Xu Feng was a bit startled by the action. Nevertheless, he stood still and waited to see the situation.

"Confession spell!" The Royal Steward screamed and cast it upon Xu Feng.

Ding!

[System Notification: You have been cast with a confession spell. Any lies that you speak of will illuminate the circle red, and any truth you speak will illuminate the circle green!]

’What confession spell. You might as well call this a lie detector.’ Xu Feng twitched his brows slightly.

Besides, lying was a very subjective thing.

If a person truly believed their words were the truth, then it wouldn’t be a lie even if everyone knew it was.

To them, that lie was the truth, and could their belief be wrong?

See how sticky the topic and debate would escalate fast as they continue the discussion?

Of course, some might disagree and claim that the person was just being stubborn.

But then again, if that was called stubborn, then what about the soldiers who risked their lives to defend what seemed to be impossible to stop?

Stubbornness?

Does anyone here dare to call their country’s soldiers stubborn and ridiculous?

"Viscount Lin Feng, did you request a deployment at Bardmon City because you knew a Demon Lord would descend?" Olivia’s voice suddenly resounded and snapped Xu Feng out of his daze.

"No, I do not." Xu Feng flatly responded. Had he known about a Demon Lord descending, then he wouldn’t have even gotten close to Bardmon City.

Naturally, that was also under the factor that he didn’t know Kong Ming was the City Magistrate of Bardmon City.

There was no such information about Kong Ming being the City Magistrate in the past timeline.

Moreover, players didn’t even have the time to investigate such things when there was a truckload of more important information surfacing.

A few seconds later, the circle beneath Xu Feng illuminated green.

Aether and Olivia had no reaction to the circle turning green.

A brief consensus had come between them that if someone like Xu Feng knew a Demon Lord was descending, he would have fled far away.

Or he would have probably found some extortion methods to scam money out of his pocket.

"Next question, were you sincere in deflecting the regular monster waves in the defense border at Bardmon City?" Olivia asked.

"Yes, I am." Xu Feng nodded. Although he was indeed sincere in repelling the colossuses’ army at the defense border, it wasn’t his entire objective.

But since Olivia didn’t ask any other questions on top of that, the circle simply illuminated green.

This time, both Aether and Olivia were slightly startled by the green circle.

They couldn’t believe he was seriously sincere in defending it.

"Let me add on to that question. Did you have any objective besides defending the border at Bardmon City?" Aether inquired.

"Well, that’s obvious!" Xu Feng answered with a snicker. "I might be concerned for the people at Bardmon City, but I am also human at the same time. If I don’t desire something, how can I have the motivation to achieve that? I’m not a robot."

"Valid." Aether understood his point.

"Huh?" Only Olivia didn’t, as she couldn’t comprehend the meaning.

Aether and Xu Feng glanced at each other for a brief moment. They then proceeded to sigh and shake their heads.

How could Olivia possibly understand the mindset of a leader?

To lead their people, they needed to understand their people’s desires and take advantage of that.