Hardy felt that Claire was different than usual, her speaking style was completely different, and her maturity and stability in her speech was faintly like king GeorgeâŚ
No, it was nowhere as relaxed and easy-going as king George, it was more professional, precise, and watertight so that no one could find any faults with it.
How did such a straightforward tomboy turn into such a crafty politician? There was no doubt that brat Lin Xiao was involved!
From the beginning Hardy noticed that every time Claire was having trouble, she would look towards Lin Xiao and he would always give her some strange hints, then Claire would confidently and easily defuse their pressure.
Earlier, he reminded Claire and allowed her to find the issues in the plans⌠in other words, if it wasnât for this meddling kid, they would have already succeeded!
Hardy underestimated him in the beginning and thought he was useless, but after that, Hardy raised his evaluation to a rock that trips people and he started to think of ways to deal with him!
But was Lin Xiao just a rock?
Hardy didnât realize, even if Lin Xiao was a rock, he was far larger and stronger than he could imagine⌠nothing good will come out of trying to compete with this rock! But some people will never learn until they experience the pain themselves. Right now he finally thought of a way to make a fool out of Lin Xiao, so he put it into action right away!
âRight princess, speaking of grand marshall Barrett⌠you should know him, right?â
âIâve heard of him often from father and I met him a couple of times when I was younger, but I donât remember it much anymoreâŚâ
Barrett wasnât just the Grand Marhsall, he was also a childhood friend of the king so they had a good relationship, heâs even carried Claire before, but she herself doesnât remember it too much.
âI imagine he must have changed a lot?â
âYeah, you might not even recognize him.â
Hardy laughed then lowered his voice and spoke seriously to Claire.
âPrincess, thereâs one thing I must remind you, Barrett is a peak seventh-level warrior and is extremely strong!â
âWhat are you trying to say? Are you afraid heâllâŚâ
âPrincess Claire, you might not know but heâs constantly fighting and all that killing has given him a fearful aura!â
âAura?â
âThatâs right. Every time he becomes anxious, or uneasy, or when his emotions fluctuate, he would emit a terrifying aura! Anyone who becomes enveloped by the aura would feel an oppressive fear.â
âOppressive feeling? Uh⌠so what?â
âDifferent people have different willpower and will have different reactions. People with strong willpower might just feel anxious and perturbed, but people with weak willpower would be gasping for breath! In the worst case, some might even pass out!â
âIs it that strongâŚâ
âYes, now that heâs late half an hour, heâs probably pretty anxious and wonât be able to control his aura well, so princess you should be prepared for when he comes in.â
âOkay, I willâŚâ
Claire nodded, but she didnât sound that confident. She already hasnât met Barrett for a while and based on everyoneâs description of him, she felt like she was a terrifying person.
But even if he were a monster, Claire had to make him listen and couldnât be scared! When she thought about it, Claire slapped her own cheeks and got ready!
âHehe, but princess Claire, you donât have to worry. Since youâre a princess, whether itâs your willpower or temperament, it canât compare to normal people, so you definitely wouldnât be suppressed.â
âI-is that so?â
âOf course! But, itâs hard to say the same for other peopleâŚâ
Hardy finally got to the point as he set his gaze on Lin Xiao.
âPrincess, your advisor Lin Xiao is still young, it might be hard to endure the grand marshallâs aura, so I recommend him to leave temporarily or go take a break in the gallery, what do you think?â
âAh? Get him to leave?â
Claire paused and realized Hardy was trying to use this opportunity to chase Lin Xiao away!
âLin Xiao, what do you think?â
Claire turned to ask him but felt a bit uneasy. It was like Hardy said, Lin Xiao was still young, although he was strong and smart, he might not be able to endure it, so it was best for him to lie low.
âMe? Itâs fine.â Lin Xiao yawned, âIf I left, whoâs going to help you?â
âButâŚâ
âDonât worry about me, worry more about yourself, I⌠yawn⌠Iâm fine.â
âOkay, I trust you.â
Claire could only accept it, then silently pray that nothing happens.
âYoung man, I know that you have some skill, but showing off is not a good habit!â
When Hardy heard Lin Xiao responding lightly, Hardy snorted disdainfully.
âI recommend you hide for a while, otherwise, when you pass out and start frothing at the mouth, you arenât just humiliating yourself, but youâre smearing the princess as well!â
âHehe, I appreciate your concern general Hardy, but itâs unnecessary, even if you start frothing at the mouth, Iâll still be fine.â
â⌠Donât blame me for not warning you, letâs wait and see.â
Hardy didnât bother arguing and just crossed his arms and waited to watch the show! At that time, there were familiar footsteps from outside the door, along with the rattling of metal, it sounded like there were a lot of people!
They were coming!
âPrincess Claire, my apologies, Iâm late!!!â
âIs it uncle Barrett?â
âHaha, princess, I canât believe youâre still willing to call me uncle, itâs my honor!â
A middle-aged man with a sturdy body and stubble appeared at the door followed by several fully armed generals.
After his greetings, Barrett didnât forget his etiquette and called for the attendants and took off his armor and weapons with everyone else before entering.
âSorry princess, our horses died before making it to the city so we were delayed! ⌠What, no one was talking bad about me during that time, right? Hahaha!â
Barrett was hailing his subordinates to disarm themselves while he was laughing and apologizing.
His laugh was fine, but it was hard for the people inside the room!
Because the grand marshall felt guilty for arriving late, he couldnât control his aura well and it was released into the room. Everyone inside was enveloped in an instant and they couldnât breathe!
The one who bore the brunt of it was of course Taike, as a finance official, he was just a normal person. Being unable to breathe he could only clutch his chest and was leaning over the table with his mouth agape like a dead fish. Claire wasnât much better, she may be a princess, but also found it hard to breathe and she had to dig her fingers into her palms to stay awake.
The only one who remained unmoved at the table was Hardy!
He was fully concentrated and sat upright and still, his breathing was still normal but he just flexed his muscles and the veins in his arms were bulging along with some sweat dripping from his forehead, but compared to everyone else, he was already doing well!
Hmph, how about it? Only I can endure Barrettâs aura, you people arenât even worth mentioning!
Hardy clenched his teeth and was immeasurably self-satisfied at his own performance, then he suddenly remembered that black-haired youth and suddenly felt schadenfreude.
That kidâs legs must have already gone limp from fear and heâs probably already collapsed, right?
Hardy turned to look with that in mind and tried to enjoy Lin Xiaoâs humiliating appearance, but what he saw shocked him!
âYawn⌠hm? General Hardy, why are you glaring at me with those dead fish eyes and sweating so much? ⌠Strange, are you feeling unwell?â
Lin Xiao covered his mouth and yawned again while looking blankly at Hardy like he didnât understand what he was playing at.
When Hardy heard those words that were filled with mockery, he instantly exploded in anger! He who was using his own aura to suppress the atmosphere around them suddenly went into disorder and some aura that couldnât be controlled rushed to his lungs and messed up his internal organs. He could only look down and spit out a large mouthful of blood.