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A Holy Priest was going to attend the Knight Tournament as a guest. That was what Gabriel had heard from Yuan. However, there was still time for the Knight Tournament. He didn't expect the person to be here so soon. Moreover, that person just had to be the biggest headache among the Holy Priests.
"Saint Knight!" All the Royal Knights greeted the middle-aged man with great respect. None of them knew that the person next to him was worthy of more respect. That woman could destroy this entire Empire within a few hours if she wanted. Even the Saint Knight couldn't afford to offend that person.
The woman didn't even bring any Head Priest with her when she came. It was clear that she was quite confident in her abilities.
The Saint Knight could see that all the people here were giving him respect except one. It was a young man who was standing bare-handed.
Not too far from them, the Saint King saw a Knight lying on the ground. He walked closer to the Knight and checked if he was fine.
"He's unconscious, not dead," Avilia told the middle-aged man right as the Saint Knight confirmed the same.
Despite knowing the person's identity, the Saint Knight was still slightly surprised that she could check that without even getting close to the unconscious Knight.
Amongst everyone here, Avilia was only looking at one person with great interest. She was looking at Gabriel.
Gabriel also knew that she was looking at him and that he couldn't act suspiciously. For now, he had to avoid a confrontation if possible. If he avoided her gaze so much, he was sure even if she didn't know that he was a Mage with the peculiar element, she would still know that something was wrong.
As she was hiding her aura, making it unable for an ordinary person to see it, there should've been no way for him to see if he was normal. For him, that girl should be an ordinary person until she intentionally revealed her aura. If he let her know that he knew who she was, then it was game over.
He also glanced back at the woman in the back.
The gazes of two Holy Priests met. It seemed that both of them were observing the other person.
"Who hurt him?" The Saint Knight's thundering voice echoed as he asked in anger.
Usually, he didn't leave the Castle at a time like this, but he was just informed that the Holy Priestess of Summoning was coming over at around this time. He personally came out to escort her and bring her back to the Royal Castle. Even he hadn't expected that on his way back, he was going to see a sight like this.
Someone really dared to attack the Royal Knight? Moreover, these Royal Knights weren't ordinary Royal Knights either. They were special guards of the Eldest Princess!
Fortunately, the Saint Knight could see that Princess Azia was still inside the hotel and she was safe.
"Who dares to attack a Knight in our city!" The Saint Knight asked.
"I did." Before the Royal Knights could take the lead and tell their side of the story, Gabriel took the initiative.
Even though the situation was completely against his expectations, he knew that he had to do something about this. After coming this far, he couldn't avoid the confrontation with the Emperor. He had to keep the plan moving!
If he stepped back now, he was certainly going to be published for hitting a Knight. If it came to that, it was only a matter of time before his real identity was going to be exposed.
Fortunately, thanks to Avilia's reaction to him, he could feel that she didn't know who he truly was. That meant that she wasn't going to fight him. With that in mind, he could finally take some action, albeit with some slight modification in the plan.
Usually, he was sure that there would be a confrontation with the Knights if he declared his intentions for the throne as a valid heir, but with Avilia present, even the Knights couldn't outright take action against him. They had to justify their actions to save their face.
Now that Avilia didn't know who he was, he decided that her presence was maybe a blessing in disguise. Not only could he move forward with the plan, but he could also use Avilia's presence to his advantage.
"You attacked a Knight? Do you know the punishment for attacking a Knight?" The Saint Knight asked the young man.
On the other side of the glass door, Princess Azia was looking at Gabriel. She could see no fear in the man's eyes despite all that had happened. She knew that her people were also in the wrong, but she just couldn't get herself to speak.
Still, seeing the confidence in Gabriel's eyes, even in this situation, she could only feel jealous.
"I know the punishment all too well, but I'm sure my actions were justified. Your Knight attacked me first unjustly. I have every right to attack!" Gabriel exclaimed.
"The moment they decided to attack an unarmed person who had nothing to do with them, they lost all protection of being a Knight! From that moment on, that person wasn't a Knight anymore but an unjust tyrant disguised as a Knight!"
Before the Saint Knight, most of the people were usually so scared that they couldn't even speak properly, but this man... Not only was he speaking, but he was speaking with such clarity.
Even Azia was surprised and taken aback by the young man's tone. If she didn't know that the person that he was talking to was the Guardian of the Arecia Empire, also known as the Sword and Shield of the Empire, she could've easily misunderstood it as him talking with an ordinary person!
The more she observed this person, the more she felt a strange feeling in her heart. She was timid ever since she was born, never having courage. Something about Gabriel's courage was very attractive to him.
To her, he looked like a person who could always be relied on... A person who was never going to abandon anyone just to save his life... Looking at him, she could actually see it— a true Knight!
She didn't even know how it happened, but the more she saw him, the more her heartbeat fastened.
"Lord Saint, he's lying! We didn't attack him! He's making stuff up! He was blocking the path of the Princess, and we just pushed him aside lightly since he looked to be in a daze. It was just a light push! If we had used all our strength to attack him, would he really be standing?!" One of the Royal Knights stated!
"Even after we were so considerate not to hurt him, he used a sneak attack to hurt one of us! This vile man is now making up stories to save his skin!" another knight chimed in.
