The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 1057: The End of the Banquet

The four nobles then stood up. The headache that they had felt earlier had already subsided, and they tried moving every part of their limbs.

After a few movements, they felt that there was no problem with their bodies.

The four nobles then turned to look at Aldrian and bowed toward him.

"Thank you for saving me. I will not forget Your Excellency’s help. In the future, if Your Excellency needs any of my help, I, Duke Vareden, will do anything to assist you."

"Thank you for saving me, Your Excellency. Please come to me, Duke Beriklas, if you need anything in the future."

"Thank you for saving me. Although I do not have as much as Duke Vareden or Duke Beriklas, I, Marchioness Iveline, will surely do anything if Your Excellency needs something from me."

"Thank you for saving me, Your Excellency, and I am sorry that I tried to plan harm against you when I was possessed by the devil. I truly feel ashamed, and if Your Excellency is willing, I will redeem myself by compensating you with the treasures of my family."

From their memories, they knew that Aldrian was someone who had gained respect from many people and had recently become a hot topic. He was the man who became the game changer in their war against the devils.

Aldrian slightly smiled and nodded.

"No problem. You do not have to think about compensation or anything like that. I am doing this because I want to. Like His Majesty said, you just need to fix the problems caused by the devil that possessed you."

The four nobles nodded with smiles. King Darius also smiled and then opened his lips.

"Alright. Here is the thing. Before you meet with the others, if they ask about your condition, then you need to explain it to them like this..."

The king then explained what he had in mind to the three nobles. As for Duke Vareden, he would follow Aldrian because he was the only one here who had come to this room by teleportation. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

If he were to come out from the same place as the other three nobles, it would raise some questions among those who saw them. It was better to avoid complicating the explanation they needed to give to those people.

Aldrian then teleported to the restroom not far from the banquet hall with Duke Vareden. They entered the hall at slightly different intervals as if nothing had happened, in order to lessen suspicion.

Those who looked at them did not show much reaction. The only thing that became a question for some of them was since when Duke Vareden had gone to the restroom?

Upon seeing his daughter, Duke Vareden could not help but feel an ache in his heart. His daughter did not know that her father had already become someone else when the devil possessed him.

His character had changed toward her, as he did not interact with her as actively as he had in the past. Because of that, there was a distance between them that had not existed before.

He approached his daughter with a warm smile that made Vanesa stunned. She could not help but feel that something had changed in her father.

She did not know what it was, but the smile he showed at this moment reminded her of the past.

The past when her father would show that sincere smile full of warmth that he always showed to her. It was something she had not seen from him for years. For years, she had felt that his smile looked fake.

She did not know why, but she felt that way, and it made her unsettled and sad.

Why did he suddenly change?

But at this moment, he seemed to have come back again. The father she knew in the past.

Duke Vareden gave a bow to Princess Xena, as she was standing near his daughter.

"Your Highness," he greeted, which was responded to with a nod from the princess.

"Duke Vareden, ah, His Excellency Aldrian has already returned. Then excuse me, Duke Vareden, Vanesa. I hope that we can converse more in the future," Princess Xena said.

"Of course, Your Highness. I will be truly glad if we can converse again," Vanesa replied with a respectful gesture.

Xena nodded with a smile before walking toward Aldrian. Vanesa then looked at her father, who was standing beside her, with narrowed eyes and asked him,

"Father, did something happen? You seem different."

Duke Vareden kept his smile and looked at his daughter. "Is that so? Well, maybe I changed. Who knows?"

The reply made Vanesa confused, and it was clear from her expression.

"Dear, would you like to visit the restaurant that we used to go to when you were little after the banquet? I think it would be good to visit that place again after not going there for so long," Duke Vareden said, which made Vanesa slightly widen her eyes.

Her father had not offered something like this since she had grown older.

Why was he suddenly offering this?

But she could not help but smile. This truly felt like her father, or rather her father from the past. The one who was always warm toward her and showed his sincere expression.

She smiled and nodded. "Hm."

While Duke Vareden had already taken a step to fix the problems caused by the devil, Princess Xena was already standing beside Aldrian with a smile.

"How is it, Your Excellency? Did it succeed?" she asked through voice transmission.

"It succeeded, Your Highness. All of the devils’ influence has already been removed from them," Aldrian replied, which made Xena release a sigh of relief.

"Thank heavens, it succeeded." She then glanced at Aldrian with a smile. "Thank you, Your Excellency, for helping us again. Now my family will not have to worry about devils hiding among the nobles anymore."

Aldrian just smiled and looked at the other nobles. Just like what King Darius had said, the nobles were still talking about the three nobles who had suddenly fainted. They knew that for three nobles with great influence to faint at the same time was not normal.

Something had happened that they did not know.

The story developed into the devils’ tricks as the possible cause, and most of the nobles there agreed with it.

However, a moment later, they were stunned when they saw Duke Beriklas, Marquess Beruin, and Marchioness Iveline entering the hall. They seemed perfectly fine, as if nothing had happened to them.

"Are you alright, Duke Beriklas? What happened to you?"

"Marchioness Iveline, are you alright? Why did you suddenly faint?"

"Marquess Beruin, did you feel anything before you suddenly fainted?"

Many started questioning them, and they smiled while also putting on apologetic expressions.

"Aih, it is our fault. It seems it was because of the effect of the pills we took before we departed for the banquet. Marquess Beruin actually gave us miraculous pills that could rejuvenate our bodies so we could feel more fit and stronger," Duke Beriklas said.

"Those pills might have caused a side effect, as I felt a sudden chaotic flow of energy in my head and heart, which made me lose consciousness," he added.

Marchioness Iveline and Marquess Beruin also nodded in agreement, but Marquess Beruin spoke as well.

"Ah, to think that those pills had such a side effect. I think I have to complain to the alchemist who concocted them after this."

Those who heard this looked confused. Their explanation only made more questions arise in their minds.

What kind of pills were those? Why did Marquess Beruin give them only to Duke Beriklas and Marchioness Iveline? Why did he give them in the first place? And many other questions surfaced, making the others even more confused.

Many were still suspicious, but seeing that they looked fine, they decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. If the king himself had personally watched over them, then there should be no problem, right?

Before they could question them further, King Darius returned to the hall once again.

The banquet continued, but the three nobles were still questioned by some others. They answered the questions as best as they could according to what they had already agreed upon inside the training room.

Although some people were still doubtful, they could not do anything about it. They did not have any proof that this had happened because of the devils.

After more than two hours, the banquet finally reached its end, and the nobles started to leave the palace.

Under the princess’s company, she escorted Aldrian to the outside of the hall.

"Thank you for your company, Your Highness," Aldrian said.

"It is alright, Your Excellency. I am glad that I could accompany you." Her expression showed that she was truly happy.

Aldrian also smiled, and before he left, he looked into her eyes. "Then, I will take my leave, Your Highness."

Under her watch, his body disappeared as he teleported.

Her expression was still smiling as she looked at the empty space for a moment before turning her gaze to the night sky. She touched her chest and could feel her heartbeat still pounding. She thought that this feeling was not so bad.

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In the place where Alicia the succubus stayed, she was inside the hall where she usually received reports from her underlings. As usual, she lay on her chaise lounge, and at this moment, her eyes were closed.

While she seemed to be enjoying her serene time, suddenly a succubus entered the hall with hurried steps before taking one knee.

"My Lady, I bring an urgent report."