My dear witch, please turn evil according to the script!

Chapter 255 Please help us, we'll do anything.

Time flies.

Amid the busy preparations, the first floor of the original First Army Corps headquarters building was temporarily cleared out and used as a dedicated floor for the talks.

It shouldn't have been this complicated.

But now that we know the other side's leader is in the delegation, we naturally have to be as courteous as possible.

Although the temporary venue was just so-so, it was barely usable.

Roland was dressed in "formal attire" early on and was sitting in the conference room waiting.

Under the Grand Duke's strong and unyielding demand, the original formal attire, which required special assistance to put on, was abandoned.

Instead, he was dressed in a standard Western suit—although the Empire did not yet have a name for this type of clothing, so as the Grand Duke of the Empire, Roland immediately gave it a name.

In short, after spending the whole morning getting ready, Roland stood in front of the full-length mirror in the room and examined himself.

He wore a black striped wool suit with white vertical stripes.

She wore a burgundy suit jacket underneath, and a pure black vest.

She also wore a pair of black striped trousers.

how to say……

This was the first time Roland had ever worn clothes that were custom-made to fit his body perfectly.

I took his measurements after the meeting yesterday and let Roland choose his favorite fabric.

It's thanks to the quick hands and feet of these tailors from the palace that the complete garment was made early this morning.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Roland understood for the first time what it meant to be judged by one's appearance.

This outfit does give him a certain "aristocratic" aura.

However... although the clothes were comfortable and looked good, he was still a little unaccustomed to them.

Just as Roland was standing in front of the mirror examining himself, the door was pushed open, and the leader said somewhat flusteredly, "Your Excellency, the delegation has arrived! It's earlier than expected!"

"And... their situation seems rather dire."

Roland turned around: "Oh? What happened?"

"You should go and see for yourself. Everyone's in the camp now."

Roland nodded, put on the Moon Spirit Essence Gloves, and then followed the leader out.

Three minutes later, Roland was stunned when he saw the legendary "Kingdom Mission".

The people in front of them looked more like refugees than a mission.

Let's not even mention that almost everyone was injured.

None of them had a decent piece of clothing to keep warm.

If it weren't for the fact that this group of people were all at the fifth ring level, and that there were three eighth ring experts accompanying them, Roland would have really thought they were refugees from somewhere.

However, after a brief moment of hesitation, Roland quickly issued an order—find a place for the guests to take a hot bath, and also find them some decent new clothes.

The order was quickly carried out, and after waiting in the conference room for two hours, Roland finally met with the delegation's representatives.

It wasn't the princess herself who came, but an old man who looked extremely frail.

"Greetings, Your Excellency..."

"Let's skip the formalities. What happened to you?"

Roland interrupted the old man, who looked like a classic government official, and cut straight to the point.

Regardless of what the mission was actually there to discuss.

But judging from the disheveled appearance of this group, something may have happened in the Kingdom of Platia that was beyond the Empire's expectations.

Before the old man could speak, Amy, who was also somewhat disheveled and injured, walked into the conference room carrying a longbow that had been broken in two.

"I'll say it for him."

Upon seeing Amya in this state, Roland was so shocked that he stood up abruptly.

"Ms. Amy, what's wrong?"

Amya spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the ground, then said somewhat irritably, "Tch, got ambushed."

"Fortunately, I planned to investigate the mission's situation and personnel composition at that time."

"Otherwise, these people probably wouldn't have had a chance to enter Isfar alive."

"After I finished delivering the message, the Blood Demon Lord of the Demon Clan appeared and immediately attempted to intercept and kill the delegation."

"Even though I don't know what happened, since I saw it, I should at least try to help, shouldn't I?"

"It was a lot of trouble, but at least I managed to buy those guys a chance to evacuate."

"After getting close to Isfar, the Blood Demon Lord also chose to stop and not continue the pursuit."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to come back."

After Amy finished speaking, she looked at Roland and, without any regard for the fact that the delegation's representatives were still present, said directly, "These guys have obviously gotten themselves into some big trouble."

"Or perhaps they possess something."

"To be personally pursued and killed by a royal court ruler is, in a sense, an honor."

"Alright, that's all I have to say. I need to go and recover from my injury."

Ms. Amya left, leaving only the somewhat uneasy delegation representatives.

After Amy left, Roland also stood up from his seat and looked at the representative: "Please go and rest for a while."

"Let's talk in detail after the banquet tonight."

"I hope that you will be able to treat me with sincerity at that time."

……

"Blood Demon Lord? Ah... that kid Danso, I suppose." The Demon King floated beside Roland and then asked, "So what are you planning to do next?"

Roland: "This is not something I should be considering. Especially since we haven't even figured out their intentions yet."

"However, one thing is certain: they must have come to ask for help."

"These messages will soon be relayed to Salah III."

"The negotiating team will also make a choice based on this."

"Of course, considering that I have to go to Pratia later, there are some things that need to be clarified."

"For example, how much power does this princess still have, and what exactly has happened within the kingdom?"

The Demon King chuckled softly, then retorted, "Is this your excuse for lying in bed?"

"The time hasn't come yet, and I have a feeling that the princess will ask to meet with me alone first, barring any unforeseen circumstances."

"In the end, I am still the Emperor's special envoy and the supreme commander of the Northern Border Legion."

"Many things are not up to the negotiating team; it is up to me."

"Talking to me directly is much more useful than arguing at the negotiating table."

Roland sat up in bed and said, "That's why I was required to participate in the negotiations, isn't it?"

"If it's just a business collaboration, then the negotiating team can handle the details."

"But if it involves any in-depth cooperation... the fewer people who know about it, the better."

No sooner had he finished speaking than there was a knock on the door.

The voice of the negotiating team leader rang out from outside the door.

"Your Excellency, the princess requests an audience with you. What do you think?"

"Let her come over. I'm free right now."

"understood."

The team leader acknowledged and left. After the footsteps faded away, Roland laughed: "What did I tell you?"

The Demon King didn't comment on this, but obediently flew to the side and began to act as an accessory, while also turning on his eavesdropping mode.

The princess arrived quickly.

He attended the meeting in person without any entourage.

To Roland's surprise, the princess was unexpectedly young.

Roland had originally thought that the person who came in would be an aunt or grandmother.

After all, she's the king's sister.

But to my surprise, the other person looked to be in their early twenties at most.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Excellency. Although I had heard a lot about your deeds before coming here, seeing you in your youth in person still shocked and surprised me."

"Nice to meet you. It seems that the representative didn't tell you that I don't like those formalities."

Roland smiled and got up from the edge of the bed, then walked to the table by the window, pulled out a chair and sat down, gesturing for the prince to come and sit down as well.

"In the end, it's only been less than two days since I became a Grand Duke?"

"I don't know, nor do I want to know, the etiquette and manners of the nobility."

"You've come to see me, so you must have something to discuss. Please speak frankly. The Empire's intelligence network is perhaps far more advanced than you think."

"Don't try to hide anything, lie, or only tell half the truth. Sincerity is the foundation of cooperation."

"Haha, sorry, sorry, what I'm saying is probably more like a joke to you."

"but……"

Roland looked at the princess who had also pulled out a chair and sat down in front of him, and slowly said, "His Majesty has asked me to participate in this negotiation, and even went so far as to hold an emergency investiture ceremony for it."

"This shows that he gave me some of the right to make decisions on my own."

"I hope you can tell me the truth, what happened to you and in the Kingdom of Platia, and why the Blood Demon Lord intercepted the delegation."

"Otherwise, tonight's negotiations can be cancelled. However, you may still attend the banquet, and the Empire will allow you to rest and recuperate within Isfar, but that is all."

After Roland finished speaking, the princess opposite him hesitated briefly before frowning and saying, "Your Excellency, it's not that I don't want to tell the truth... but I lack evidence."

"Furthermore, my influence within the kingdom remains secure. This ambush was only because someone in my group leaked the information, which led to the Blood Demon Lord's pursuit."

"As for what happened... I can tell you if you'd like to believe me."

Roland nodded: "Don't worry, I can tell the lies myself."

"...In fact, I suspect that my brother, and even most of the officials, the army, and the people who are on his side, have been subjected to widespread mind control."

"Moreover, the mastermind behind this is very likely a demon."

After listening, Roland looked at the princess with a serious expression and asked, "Let me guess, you don't have any evidence for this, do you?"

"Or perhaps, all that's happening is this Blood Demon Lord's ambush targeting you?"

The princess nodded somewhat awkwardly: "The actual situation is much more complicated; I'm just giving a brief overview."

Roland didn't say anything, but turned to look at the Demon King who was pretending to be dead on the shelf to the side: "What do you think? Do demons have such methods?"

The princess was stunned by Roland's reaction.

Are there any other people in this room?

Who is Roland talking to?
Is this place being monitored?

The next moment, the gauntlet flew up and made a sound in the horrified gaze of the princess: "Well... such large-scale mind control is indeed impossible if we follow common sense. Even if the rulers of the royal court worked together, they could not achieve such a wide-ranging influence."

"However, the royal court does indeed have the potential to achieve this."

With that, the Demon King stopped and instead used telepathy to say to Roland, "Primordial Runestone. There is indeed a runestone with this function left in the royal court."

"It is an heirloom of the Demon King's Court of Heart-Beating. However, until my death, no demon had figured out how to unleash its full power."

“But you know the power of runes better than I do; they do indeed have that potential.”

(End of this chapter)