"Is everything alright?" When Margaret returned to Shining and the others, Shining had already finished the treatment. With her skill, Grey Tail's injuries were not serious. Grey Tail's breathing was now stable. Although she certainly couldn't participate directly in combat, as long as she rested well for the next few days, returning to her original state would not be a problem.
"Thank you, brave warrior, for saving us. Grey Tail and I are deeply grateful." As the Knight Commander, Flame Tail naturally couldn't neglect this life-saving benefactor. If it weren't for this brave warrior's intervention, she would probably have become another casualty of the Shieldless League's arrows. Not only did she save them, but she also helped treat them. This great kindness was beyond words of thanks. At this moment, Margaret shook her head and spoke.
"It was merely a convenience; you needn't thank me. It's simply helping when I see injustice." Margaret said, "Besides, I also have some grievances with the Shieldless League. Don't take it to heart."
"May I ask the brave warrior's name?" Sona asked excitedly, "So I can repay you later."
"—Rhodes Island… ah, no, for now, just call me Margaret. Margaret Lin-guang." She would not change her name or surname. Now that she was far from Rhodes Island, she naturally couldn't introduce herself as an operator. Nearl simply gave her original name, but she underestimated the significance of her name in Kazimierz. Upon hearing Margaret's name, Sona could hardly believe her eyes.
The person before her was the youngest champion of the Knight Tournament, the Knight among Knights, who, even after being expelled, still had a large following—Shining Knight, Nearl.
She's back?
Sona found it hard to believe that the name she heard had truly returned to this land, this land overgrown with poisonous weeds and dead branches, finally welcoming back a Knight.
The Knight's Homecoming—this was practically a prelude to the climax of too many Knight novels. Sona, suppressing her inner excitement, spoke, "Miss Margaret! I'm your fan! Please give me an autograph!"
"Sona…" Grey Tail felt a little embarrassed, but it was normal. Among the Knight Tournament competitors in Kazimierz, how many hadn't been drawn to Margaret's glory? It could be said that there were only two kinds of people in Kazimierz: fans of Shining Knight, and twisted fans of Shining Knight. She represented the nobility of the classical Knight families; her radiance always attracted the attention of many, and her appearance saved Sona and Grey Tail from despair.
If Sona could still suppress her inner admiration for Margaret at this moment, then she wouldn't be Sona.
"Sorry, I don't have that leisure right now." Margaret smiled and shook her head, "I need to rush to my… friend's side."
"Friend?" Sona asked curiously, "Who is Shining Knight's friend?"
"Noah Guillerette. Have you heard her name?" Margaret's lips curved into a smile as she spoke the name, showing how much she truly valued that person. But upon hearing the name, Sona's expression changed.
"…This… Miss Shining Knight… this Miss Noah Guillerette you mentioned… she suddenly fell ill a few days ago and has reportedly declined visitors." Sona had been following news of the Knight Tournament. The news of the new Commercial Federation spokesperson's sudden severe illness was not a secret. She had originally thought it was just an ordinary illness, but after this news, her station was immediately attacked.
It's hard to believe these two events are unrelated. If this isn't a coincidence… perhaps it means Noah Guillerette is no longer able to follow the Knight Tournament schedule, nor can she suppress the Commercial Federation's pressure on the Infected Knight regiments.
The Red Pine Knights were just a microcosm; in fact, besides the Red Pine Knights, there were many spontaneously formed Infected Knight regiments, and it's estimated that some of them had already been purged that night.
Sona carefully relayed her suspicions to Margaret, but Margaret's expression suddenly became as heavy as water…
Before setting off, Margaret had received a text message from Kal'tsit, detailing Noah Guillerette's physical condition and specifically informing her that Noah Guillerette's condition was very unstable, and any major reaction could potentially be life-threatening. This time, when Margaret returned home, Kal'tsit also instructed Margaret to inquire about Nuo Ya's recent health status.
Margaret was familiar with Noah's personality; as long as she was present, she would never allow the Shieldless League to act so brazenly. If the other party was so unbridled… then she was very likely in a very bad situation.
If it was truly as Kal'tsit said… then Noah.
Margaret didn't want to finally return home… only to see her dearest friend for the last time…
The heaviness in Margaret's heart made the atmosphere heavy as well. Sona thought she had overstated things and quickly waved her hand. "It might not be like that. Maybe she's just genuinely unwell and resting for a while. To be honest, I'm just guessing…"
"Thank you." Although Margaret's heart was heavy, she didn't want to vent these emotions on others, so she forced a smile. "I will get to her side in time. She will be fine."
"…Good luck to you." Sona nodded, "Also, ever since Miss Noah Guillerette took office… her various preferential treatments for the Infected, though not widely publicized, the clear decrease in the death and injury rates of Infected Knights recently is something we've all seen… Miss Noah is a good person, and good people are blessed by heaven."
Rather, ever since Noah took office, the things she had done were not just simply protecting the Infected Knights, but rather she had been trying to find new ways to make Kazimierz less economically dependent on the Knight Tournament from other directions, but this was clearly not something that could be achieved overnight.
However, most people didn't notice this, especially those in the Commercial Federation who didn't care about these things. They only felt that Noah was trying to amass wealth—abusing her power in that position.
If it weren't for Noah's very existence annoying those Zhengzhan Knight, Noah would have been impeached long ago.
However, the most important reason Noah was able to secure this position… was that there was someone who had always supported her.
This person—was the second spokesperson for the Commercial Federation, Mackey.
Or rather, someone behind Mackey…
However, Sona's investigation stopped there. When she continued to investigate the person behind Mackey, all clues were cleanly cut off.
Knowing she might have crossed a line, Sona could only halt her investigation... but it made her suspicious of Mackey.
Was Mr. Mackey, the seemingly ordinary spokesperson, truly just as he appeared on the surface?
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