Another middle-aged man came from the back. Even though the man didn't let his presence become evident, Gabriel could still sense it. It was a Mage... A Mage of Darkness...
The Dark Mage also appeared to hide his Aura very well, probably using some treasure, but as a Holy Priest of Necromancy, Gabriel could sense it. The treasure that hid his aura was good, but it wasn't as good as his Gloves and his rings. It could possibly fool some Head Priests but not a Holy Priest.
Just as Gabriel expected, Avilia also sensed it. Just from the minute expression changes on her face at the same time, Gabriel was sure that she also sensed it. However, she didn't do anything and completely ignored that person.
'That idiot... He came right before a Holy Priestess? It looks like he really overestimated his treasure.' Gabriel didn't react either. Even if it was a Dark Mage, it didn't matter. For now, he had to focus on the task at hand.
"What happened after Lord Novius came across the Holy Priest of Darkness?" One of the Royal Knights asked. He was so intrigued that he didn't even wait for the Saint Knight to speak.
It was only after he had spoken that he realized he should've kept his mouth shut. He just lowered his head.
"The Holy Priest of Darkness was very powerful but also greedy. He wanted our Holy Sword. When Ancestor refused to give him the Sword, he attacked him. In the battle that lasted for three hours, both of them were injured. The Holy Priest of Darkness retreated, but the Ancestor was also hurt a lot."
In his mind, Gabriel only had two stories that he could use. One was the current one, and the other was that Novius was trapped in a secret realm. If he chose the latter, he believed the following questions were going to be a nightmare to answer, so he stuck with the first story.
For some reason, as soon as he finished talking about the battle, Avilia smiled. She was quite amused.
"Not bad," she muttered, but no one could hear her.
Gabriel didn't notice her smile. He didn't want to look at her repeatedly to make her suspicious. He kept his focus on the Saint Knight while talking. His voice was loud enough to make sure that everyone heard it.
"The battle with a Holy Priest took a heavy toll on our Ancestors. He didn't want to come back until he was strong enough. But this injury only left him weakened. That's why he didn't return before his death."
"He only trained his next generations so that the knowledge could pass on. He knew that, thanks to his injuries, it was hard for him to become strong. He could only train the future generation, waiting for someone to appear who he believed was worthy of this Sword!"
"It was his oath to not return to Arecia until someone worthy of this Sword came from his descendants. Unfortunately, his injury was too heavy. Five years after the battle, he died."
"I've trained all my life in isolation to become strong enough to make him proud, so I could return one day and fulfill his oath!"
Gabriel was only telling lies at this point, but with the intensity that he spoke, it was almost impossible to distinguish lies from truth.
"Ancestor Novius sacrificed so much for the betterment of the Arecia Clan and the Empire. I never expected that behind him, all this was going on. The people that he worked so hard for backstabbed his own family members and killed them all?"
Now that Gabriel had made up a story before anyone could ask any questions, he started using their emotions. He wasn't sure how much it was going to work, but he hoped that he could sway at least half the Knights here.
"Not only that, the excuse you all used was that our Family sold the Sword? Nonsense! We are the true descendants of the Saint Knight! Did you all really think the blood of Saint Knight could be so dirty that it could create descendants like that?!"
"Just because of some people's ambitions of getting the Royal Throne, they killed the righteous owners and made up stories to find a cause to kill people in broad daylight? And the citizens of the Empire supported them?!"
"When I found out about all that, I was so disappointed and disgusted that I just wanted to leave! I thought that the people of this Empire deserved evil rulers like that who could one day be the downfall of the once glorious Empire! I wanted to leave you all to your fate. Unfortunately, I can't abandon the Empire that all my Ancestors worked so hard to protect!"
"I don't want to be here after knowing that this Empire was bathed in the blood of my family members over some lies, but I just can't abandon it!" Gabriel declared.
He didn't know why, but even some tears appeared in his eyes as he spoke. Even though he was only making stories, it was true that he wanted to protect this Empire... The Empire that Novius was so passionate about. It was this City's illusion where Novius and him spent his last night in the Tower before his death.
The shine in his eyes, the expectations of his empire, the hope... Gabriel couldn't abandon it all. That's why, even in his lies, there was the truth. His words were lies, but his emotions were true! He was angry at the betrayal but also sad.
The words that Gabriel used were powerful, stabbing the hearts of everyone present there. Even the Royal Knights who just had a conflict with them couldn't control themselves. They could feel his emotions.
Moreover, seeing the tears in Gabriel's eyes, none of them could even think that he was lying.
Even Princess Azia, who was the Eldest Princess of the Empire, had tears in her eyes. Even she fell for his words, wondering if her father was truly so evil. Did he really kill innocent Arecia Clan Members because he was greedy for the throne?
Before today, she never would have believed something like that, but now... Now even her heart was wavering.
"In the past, so much injustice happened in this Empire... Most of our Family was wiped out, and we didn't even know about it. Men, women, and children were slaughtered, and the citizens of this Empire cheered! Was this the kind of Empire that Saint King dreamt of? Was this the kind of Empire you're proud to call your home?!" Gabriel roared at the top of his lungs.
