Although without his intervention, Mr. Owen, the "Lust," would likely have invited two other members of the Psychological Alchemy Council to join his side, while his own "Black Knight," Selo, would not have betrayed him, and the "Saintess of White" Katarina would have obeyed his orders completely…
In that case, Owen's side would have had at least five demigod-level combatants!
But since "Pride" was standing on Princess Vera's side, this ambush would actually be hard to pull off. Even if George III had been bought off, Vera could simply seek the church's help.
Logically speaking, she had no need to sacrifice so much to secure my assistance… especially since this was help I offered on my own, not something she asked for.
Could it be that she had another plan in mind, one that avoided relying on the church to solve the problem?
Was she intending to turn the situation to her advantage, pretending to become an obedient puppet so that George III would grant her greater authority?
But even if everything succeeded, she would still be controlled by "Lust"… Did George III trust "Lust" that much?
Was there some special relationship between them?
As his thoughts spun, Ebner asked Vera this question directly, instinctively feeling that she should know.
At the same time, this was also a way to continue testing her sincerity and intentions.
Vera smiled faintly and answered without the slightest concealment:
"They have two connections… First, my brother and Owen are both members of an organization even more secretive than the Psychological Alchemy Council… Yes, 'Pride' is also one of them. They should have signed a 'contract' under the gaze of a certain existence, which is why there's a foundation of trust between them.
"Second, in the Delien family, any descendant of their demigod ancestor must unconditionally obey the first three orders issued by His Highness the 'Protector.' This is one of the 'rules' He set, a manifestation of authority, imprinted in the bloodline—similar to how an evil god's will binds His followers. Even gods can only temporarily suppress it; they cannot completely remove it.
"Because of this, my brother actually trusts Owen, an 'outsider,' more than his own subjects, or even his children."
She actually answered—and with such a deep secret of the Augustus family. If it weren't for the fact that she still didn't have the slightest malice, I would've thought she was about to kill me after giving a "villain's reveal" like in some drama from my previous life…
As for "Lust," "Pride," and George III being members of the Twilight Hermit Order—that wasn't surprising at all. After all, the original work had "hinted" at it, and even that foreign-pathway Grade 1 Sealed Artifact in "Pride's" hands was sealed with Adam's help…
The "Protector" she mentioned should be the founder and protector of Loen, its first king—William Augustus I, the man whose face was printed on the ten-pound note.
He was also the Augustus family's archangel, the Sequence 1 "Hand of Order."
Even so, the fact that he could set a rule directly into the "bloodline" meant that the Delien family's ancestor must be one of his blood descendants…
If my previous speculation was correct, then the Delien family's current demigod "ancestor" should be Lady Julia, the one who married from Loen into Intis…
And Roselle had suspected she was a member of MI9! Was she a collateral branch of the Augustus family?
Clearly, her marriage into the Delien family was part of a mission. And to maintain control over her, the "Protector" William personally used a method on her.
However, Lady Julia's later choice to seek Roselle's help and become a Beyonder of the Hunter pathway was puzzling…
Just as Ebner reached this thought, Vera seemed to guess what was on his mind and added with a smile, "However, that Delien ancestor clearly didn't want herself and her descendants to be restricted by the 'Protector's' 'Order' forever. So, she chose to drink the Hunter pathway potion. After becoming an 'Iron-Blooded Knight,' she used the pathway's unique properties to alter her own 'bloodline,' making it so that the power of 'Order' could no longer appear in herself or her descendants.
"Now, the so-called 'Patriarch' faction in the Delien family is actually descended from that ancestor and her husband's younger sister. This branch has truly broken free from the 'Order's' power."
So that's how it is… In that case, after the fall of the Gustav Dynasty, the Delien family's rapid rise was not only thanks to the support of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun—Loen likely had a hand in it as well!
And the reason the Delien family was so internally divided—its factions as numerous as a cultist convention—was probably that the members unwilling to be "chained" by Loen were seeking a way out, trying to counteract the "Order" in their bloodline through the worship of gods and hidden existences.
That's why some devoutly worshiped the righteous god, the Eternal Sun, while others joined organizations created by evil gods or hidden existences such as the Mother Tree of Desire, the True Creator, and Adam…
But obviously, this couldn't remove the "Order" from their blood. After all, they were merely joining these groups, not becoming true followers. Even followers couldn't expect the kind of on-demand aid that Tarot Club members could receive from Mr. Fool.
Of course, the fact that these organizations were willing to take them in was probably related to the Delien family secret that Lilith wanted me to investigate…
And what exactly was that secret?
Ebner tentatively asked Vera this question, but she shook her head. "I've never heard of any hidden secret in the Delien family… But their ancestor is indeed very mysterious. She's always hidden away in the family's ancestral home, guarding the family's sealed artifact treasury.
"If there really is a secret, it must be inside that treasury."
In other words, to learn that secret, one would either have to find a way to get it out of the ancestor directly, or lure her away and infiltrate the treasury…
Hmm, breaking in by force would be an option too… but a treasury guarded by a demigod wielding a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact… even an angel might find it difficult to enter. If possible, Lilith wouldn't have sent me to do this task.
He sighed. Though he felt he had gotten closer to the truth, Ebner also realized that Lilith's task was truly difficult…
The price of the eight-legged demon wolf messenger was no joke!
After that, Ebner and Vera discussed the details of the weekend's operation. At last, they turned to the most troublesome and unavoidable factor in killing "Lust"—the angel Owen had invited!
Although Ebner didn't think an angel would really fight for "Lust," at most concealing fluctuations in his abilities or rescuing him in a crisis…
Even so, that would be a huge threat to their plan. After all, with the angel present, Ebner's scheme to make it seem like "Lust" had won would be impossible.
For this, Ebner had planned to shamelessly pray at both the Church of the Earth Mother and the Church of the Evernight over the next few days… If that didn't work, he was even prepared to risk meeting the "Pillar" of the Monastic Order of Moses that Klein had mentioned—Lady Yaloran. After all, she was also an angel.
And when it came to "hidden stories" to pay her price, Ebner had plenty to spare.
However, upon hearing Ebner's concern, Vera dismissed it casually. "Don't worry about that angel… On Sunday, He will indeed descend, but His real purpose will be to keep my brother from seeing what's happening on our side."
Ebner was momentarily stunned. It took him a while to process this before he asked in surprise:
"So… the angel that 'Lust' spent so much to invite is actually on your side?"
Thinking about it that way… that poor guy. All the helpers he painstakingly invited were actually "actors" and double agents!
"They're on our side," Vera corrected with a smile, pointing first at Ebner, then at herself.