Inside the magnificent and resplendent hall, numerous nobles were engaged in casual conversation, their faces adorned with carefully crafted smiles. The tables beside them were laden with a variety of precious and exquisite foods, while pretty maids stood ready to cater to their every whim.
"As expected of a noblewoman renowned throughout the royal capital, she is truly wealthy!"
In a corner of the hall, several nobles with somewhat constrained expressions were gathered, their eyes constantly scanning the hall's luxurious and noble items. One could even see them occasionally glancing at the table beside them, laden with precious food.
Everything here was once unattainable for these nobles, whose families had fallen on hard times.
"By the way, I heard that a truly important figure will be attending tonight. Do you know who it is?"
At that moment, a baron in his thirties raised his head and asked the others beside him with curiosity. However, when he looked up, he noticed the others were giving him strange looks, staring at the corner of his mouth. He quickly pulled out a handkerchief and wiped away the food residue.
Afterward, he pretended that nothing had happened and looked at the people in front of him. The other nobles on the side gave him knowing looks, after all, the only reason they gathered together was that they nominally had noble status, but in reality, they lived only slightly better than ordinary commoners.
"I think I heard it's Lady Lana, the golden princess who possesses the most beautiful face in the kingdom, is incredibly intelligent, and is known as the kingdom's jewel."
At this time, the oldest of the group leaned in stealthily, a hint of smugness on his face as he spoke to the others. He had paid a considerable price to get this information from the offspring of a marquis.
"It's actually Lady Lana!"
"The kingdom's jewel is actually attending this banquet."
Upon hearing that Lana, the golden princess known as the kingdom's jewel, would be attending the banquet, the expressions of the others became excited. After all, the legends about the golden princess were known throughout the kingdom.
Symbolized by her long golden hair, she possessed beauty and wisdom renowned both domestically and internationally. She was not only praised as the 'Golden Princess' but also proposed many era-defining policies. Although most were blocked by the nobles, she still facilitated the abolition of slavery in the kingdom.
Even Princess Lana's intelligence was acknowledged by the emperor of the empire, and the policies she proposed were secretly used as references by the empire.
Moreover, Princess Lana also enjoyed high prestige among the common people, often visiting orphanages to deliver supplies and care for the orphans.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Suddenly, the crisp sound of footsteps interrupted their conversation, and the entire hall fell silent. Everyone turned their heads to look in the direction of the footsteps, where a seductive and alluring figure was descending the stairs step by step.
Her golden hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her delicate face was adorned with subtle makeup. The purple eyeshadow at the corners of her eyes added a hint of allure to her face. Her perfect figure was clad in a magnificent evening gown, and her fair and tender skin shone like the finest jade in the lamplight.
The person who came was none other than Hilma, the hostess of the banquet, a noblewoman renowned throughout the royal capital.
"Distinguished nobles, welcome to tonight's banquet, especially Princess Lana. Your arrival makes this place shine with glory."
As she spoke, Hilma looked at Lana, who was surrounded by many nobles in the center. At this moment, Lana's delicate face also wore a faint smile as she looked at Hilma, coupled with the purity and unique girlish temperament, she resembled an angel from legends.
"No, I should thank Mrs. Hilma for inviting me to this banquet."
Her voice was like that of a lark, and Lana slightly lifted her gorgeous long skirt and walked towards Hilma in small steps. For a time, everyone's attention was drawn to her, and even many elaborately dressed female nobles lowered their heads, after all, compared to the two in the center of the hall, they were as inconspicuous as dust.
"Your Highness!"
At this moment, a similarly elaborately dressed girl walked up to Princess Lana, her eyes staring at Hilma with a hint of vigilance. She was Rakius Elberin, the captain of the adamantite-ranked adventurer team Wild Rose, and also a descendant of the Thirteen Heroes of the kingdom. She herself was a warrior who had stepped into the 'hero' domain.
This time, she was following Princess Lana to attend the banquet hosted by Hilma entirely because of what happened in the pleasure district of the royal capital some time ago. On that day, they were originally entrusted by Princess Lana to investigate 'Eight Fingers'.
Just as they found 'Eight Fingers' hidden underground brothel under the royal capital's pleasure district through special intelligence channels, Yusa's sudden appearance interrupted their plan. Then, to the surprise of Wild Rose members Tina and Tia, the twin sisters.
Yusa alone completely cleared out Eight Fingers' underground arena, even finding and capturing all of Eight Fingers' leaders, then taking them to a certain manor in the royal capital.
At the time, Tina and Tia, the two sisters who were secretly following the investigation, felt an instinctive fear after witnessing Yusa taking the Eight Fingers leaders into the manor. Out of belief in their own instincts.
Tina and Tia chose to temporarily retreat, then reported everything they saw to their captain Rakius and their employer Princess Lana.
At the time, upon hearing that the Eight Fingers leaders were all captured by a person dressed as a maid, both Rakius and Princess Lana found it a bit unbelievable. Originally, they thought it was some kind of conspiracy by Eight Fingers.
However, in the following days of investigation, they discovered that Eight Fingers' power in the underworld began to shrink rapidly, and even many bases that were extremely important to Eight Fingers were completely abandoned, and the members of the entire Eight Fingers force began to shrink.
And the reason that Princess Lana and Rakius were certain that something had really happened to the Eight Fingers leaders was that Eight Fingers' most important du-pin production base not far from the royal capital was completely abandoned. The Wild Rose members who went to investigate at the time discovered.
Compared to when they came before, with ubiquitous guards and members, this time the du-pin survival base was empty.
Subsequently, after burning down that du-pin production base, the Wild Rose members and Princess Lana who returned to the royal capital suddenly heard that Hilma was inviting the nobles in the royal capital to attend a banquet. The Wild Rose members and Princess Lana, who had long been at odds with Eight Fingers, were of course very clear about Hilma's identity.
Therefore, in order to find out the current situation of Eight Fingers, Princess Lana and Rakius got a banquet invitation and directly came to attend this banquet. Even for the sake of insurance, all the members of the entire Wild Rose, except for Captain Rakius, are currently guarding not far outside the manor.
As long as there is a slight abnormality, they can rush in to protect Princess Lana, and incidentally kill or take away Hilma, who is one of the Eight Fingers leaders.
"Alright, Rakius, don't worry."
Just as Rakius stood in front of Princess Lana with a vigilant face, Princess Lana behind her raised her hand and patted her shoulder with a smile, indicating that everything was fine. Then, she walked past Rakius and looked at Hilma.
"Mrs. Hilma, can I have a private conversation with you after the banquet?"
"A private conversation, Princess... Of course, that's possible. I just wonder what the Princess wants to talk to me about?"
Upon hearing Princess Lana's request for a private conversation, Hilma instinctively wanted to refuse. After all, after the banquet, all the nobles present would be eroded and corrupted. They would all become beings seeking forbidden knowledge. In Hilma's view, there was nothing to discuss with Princess Lana, who was about to become one of them.
After all, Hilma remembered all too well the losses Princess Lana had brought to 'Eight Fingers' over the years. However, just as Hilma was about to refuse, Lu Minghao's voice echoed in her mind. Therefore, Hilma quickly changed her words and inquired about what Princess Lana wanted to discuss.
"I simply want to inquire about some information from Ms. Hilma. Of course, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
Faced with Hilma's sudden change of heart, Princess Lana, though unsure of what had happened, smiled gently and gave her answer. She glanced at Lachesis beside her, and upon seeing her slight nod, the smile on her face became even sweeter.
Nearby, the other nobles, upon hearing the conversation between Princess Lana and Hilma, were curious about what they would say. However, both individuals standing there were people they couldn't afford to offend. Therefore, they all pretended not to hear anything.
Of course, there were also some brain-dead nobles who considered themselves noble and looked down on Hilma's status. If it had been someone else talking to Hilma, they would have said a few words. However, now it was Lana, the kingdom's jewel, known as the Golden Princess.
They instinctively chose to remain silent. After all, they only thought they were noble and superior, but they weren't brain-dead.
"In that case, I look forward to our conversation later, Your Highness."
With that, Hilma bowed slightly to Princess Lana and then walked towards the many nobles in the hall, greeting each one with ease. She even exchanged a few words with the down-and-out nobles in the corners with a smile on her face.
In an instant, the entire banquet hall became lively. As a renowned social butterfly of the royal capital, Hilma chatted with every noble present with ease and grace, without making anyone feel neglected.
"Hmph!"
At the edge of the hall, Rose Captain Lachesis coldly snorted as she watched Hilma, who was chatting and laughing with the many nobles in the center of the hall. As an adventurer and noble who had always targeted Eight Fingers, she knew all the things Eight Fingers had done.
It could be said that Eight Fingers, which controlled the underground forces of the entire kingdom, was the biggest tumor in the kingdom. Of course, some nobles in the kingdom were no better than Eight Fingers.
"Ms. Hilma, I heard that you are going to display an artifact from a distant era tonight. Is this true?"
At this moment, a noble with a gentlemanly demeanor suddenly walked up to Hilma in the center of the hall. He gently raised the wine glass in his hand and gestured towards Hilma before asking with curiosity. Most of the nobles who came tonight were here because of this.
After all, only the royal family and the descendants of the Thirteen Heroes who stopped them possessed artifacts in the entire kingdom. The nobles were extremely curious about this new artifact in Hilma's possession. Many nobles had even secretly decided that if it was really an artifact, they would find a way to get it.
"Of course, it's true."
As she spoke, Hilma turned her head to look at the maid who had been following her. The maid, noticing Hilma's gaze, turned and walked towards a room on the side of the hall. After a while, she came out carrying a box inlaid with jewels, which looked extremely precious.
Then, Hilma took the box from the maid and turned to look at all the nobles in the hall who were looking at her. With a slight smile, she opened the box in front of everyone.
Instantly, all the nobles stretched their necks or raised their heads to look at the box. Inside the gray box lay a red book. The surface of the book, like skin, was covered with closed pupils. The slightly trembling pupils gave people the feeling that they would open their eyes in the next second.
"This is?"
At this moment, a noble closest to Hilma endured the greed in his heart and looked up at Hilma and asked. He didn't know why, but the first time he saw this book, a strange murmur appeared in his heart, instinctively driving him to take the book away and completely possess it.
"This is the artifact from a distant era that I mentioned, called the Book of Forbidden Knowledge. It contains all kinds of powerful forbidden knowledge."
Looking at the pairs of greedy eyes around her, as well as the gradually heavy breathing, Hilma took out the Book of Forbidden Knowledge from the box with a smile on her face. In an instant, all the nobles' eyes were fixed on Hilma's hand holding the Book of Forbidden Knowledge.
"That... that... Ms. Hilma, can we see what knowledge is recorded inside?"
In the silent hall, suddenly a pot-bellied noble stepped forward, his bloodshot eyes staring at the Book of Forbidden Knowledge as he asked. But in reality, before Hilma could answer, he had already reached out his hand to grab the Book of Forbidden Knowledge.
Pa!
To everyone's surprise, Hilma, who they thought should have dodged, actually released her hand and handed the Book of Forbidden Knowledge to the pot-bellied noble after his palm grabbed it.
Instantly, the eyes of the nobles present began to become strange. They turned their heads to stare at the pot-bellied noble, the bloodshot in their eyes constantly appearing, and their breathing began to become heavier. The atmosphere of the entire hall began to become strange.
"Princess, something seems wrong!"
At this moment, Lachesis, who was hiding at the edge of the hall, stepped forward and pulled Princess Lana over, looking at the nobles not far away with a solemn expression as their faces began to become ferocious. Princess Lana, who was somewhat dazed, woke up after hearing Lachesis's words.
"Huh? Princess, what's wrong with you?"
The next second, Lachesis, not hearing Princess Lana's reply, lowered her head to look at Princess Lana beside her. She didn't know if it was her imagination, but she had just seen an exaggerated and evil smile on Lana's originally beautiful and innocent face. Just seeing that smile made her feel uneasy.
"I'm fine."
Princess Lana looked at Lachesis, who was looking at her, and said with a gentle smile on her face. For a moment, Lachesis subconsciously regarded what she had just seen as an illusion.
"Your Highness, so you're here. Do you have time now?"
Just then, Hilma, who had been in the center of the crowd, walked up to Princess Lana at some point, looking at Princess Lana with a smile on her enchanting face, completely ignoring Lachesis, who was looking wary beside her.
"Of course, Ms. Hilma."
