Chapter 254 High Treason

The people in that hall looked momentarily at Annaliese after she said those words.

Some knew of her recent advancement to level 8, but others did not. Certain information was best to keep secret, even from allies, so her family had not spread the information for all to know.

And as much as any cultivator could check her level from a simple spiritual probe, it was unusual for people to do this unconsciously, that is, without reason.

But while some were surprised by Annaliese's rapid advancement, others still did not think her improvement was enough to solve the problem.

Chris and Frank were stronger than Annaliese, one at level 9, the other close to his advancement to that level.

Thus, someone there said. "The advancement of the Second Miss is great news for our family, but not enough. At most, this can cover the lack of Frank. But we still have the absence of Chris..."

"Yes, the Second Miss means well, but it will be difficult for her to take on the responsibilities of those two individuals..." The woman from earlier commented in a sighing tone. "Then all we can do is assign those responsibilities to Lothur and consider that we will just lose those points."

The Province Conference had strict rules. Because of this, the participants from each family were registered in advance, and no changes could be made on the day the event started!

Because of this, Viktoria's family had no alternative but to use the registered members to share such responsibilities.

Since Lothur was the only one not 'overburdened,' only he was left to fulfill this role!

Mabel clenched her hands in frustration as she realized she had no choice but to use this useless son-in-law.

'Damn it. We will have even more defeats than I had imagined!' She wailed, feeling that the next few days would be difficult.

Aiken was also frustrated by all this, but he could not do anything about something already out of his control.

But then he heard from Viktoria. "Don't worry, father, Lothur will do his best. And who knows, maybe he will get one victory or another..."

Some people there wanted to laugh at this comment by Viktoria, feeling that she could only be making a joke.

But neither they nor those who thought Viktoria was consoling her own family showed their thoughts. There were no alternatives there, so they could only accept this last alternative to cover the faults of those two young people.

"Sigh..."

"Lothur, we're counting on you." He said as he looked thoughtfully at his son-in-law, feeling a mixture of conflicting feelings in his heart.

Lothur laughed and said. "Don't worry, patriarch. With me, Viktoria and Annaliese, there's no way we can lose, even if the other team members drop out."

'Bastard!

'That good for nothing talk big! He has nothing to back him up, but he acts like a big man!'

"Tsk!" Tobias turned his back to Lothur, angry at this arrogant fellow as he imagined an ideal future. 'Just you wait, you bastard. You will disgrace the family, while I will be the one to bring glory to this house!'

On the other hand, Tobias' father could not help but smile at Lothur's words. "The young master is truly excited... But it is good that you are willing to help the family. As the husband of the First Miss, you must take on certain responsibilities."

"Indeed. That is my duty..." Lothur's eyes narrowed as he looked at that man.

Upon hearing this, Simon felt a bad feeling growing in his heart. But he did not understand why, so he just considered this the natural reaction considering the whole context he was in.

With that, that group of dozens of people soon finished their morning meeting, already preparing for the events that would begin today.

In this way, it was not long before they left the entrance hall of the patriarch's residence, leaving behind the core of Viktoria's family.

After they went upstairs and entered an office, Aiken soon asked Lothur. "Well? Have you noticed anything?"

Lothur saw the apprehension on his father-in-law's face and then looked at Viktoria. "Yes, the traitor I heard making plans against the Frost family was in that hall earlier."

Mabel, who had her back to Lothur, clenched her fists upon hearing this as she looked out the office window.

Annaliese then asked. "Who is this person?"

"I have two suspects, who are people who have very similar voices. One is the one called Jonathan from the Butterfly Alley. And the other is your uncle Simon, patriarch." Lothur said as he looked into Aiken's eyes.

Hearing that, each of those four people opened their eyes wider, hardly believing that one of Lothur's suspects was precisely someone from the family's core.

"Impossible!"

"Uncle Simon almost died for this family several times in the past! How would he be able to act against our interests precisely in these difficult times?" Aiken asked while looking at Lothur and also at Mabel.

Mabel was also in disbelief, but she was more skeptical of the members of this family since she did not originally belong to this organization. In other words, her ties were less significant for her to be deceived by favorable feelings.

But Lothur, who had almost no emotional connection to that organization and only interests, could clearly see the situation.

"Patriarch, sometimes when we are very close to something, we can't see the full picture or situation of what we are observing. That is particularly true when it involves people we think we can trust..." He commented, speaking in a calm tone as if that was his specialty.

"But the truth is, if you think about it, it even makes sense that your uncle Simon is guilty. After all, who but him could easily allow enemies into the family?"

"But there's no way for you to know that. There are plenty of others with the potential for that!"

Lothur laughed. "Yes, that is true. But his voice and that of the other man were the only ones that assimilated to the person I heard. So, it will be easier for you to investigate such a matter from them than from all the other members of this organization."

He then said with hues of cruelty in his voice. "Anyway, think carefully about who would benefit most from your downfall. The enemy within definitely has interests relative to your position. But is he just a nobody? I guess only someone of high rank can have the possibility of usurping thoughts..."

Aiken felt Lothur's words left him with no room to continue defending the integrity of his uncle's character.

But since he promised to investigate the suspects and not simply punish an innocent, he decided to go through with it.

"Very well. We'll start investigating these two... With luck, uncle Simon will be proven innocent."

Lothur looked at that fellow but said nothing. He just thought about how Aiken did not have what it takes to be a leader. 'That fellow trusts his own family too much... Sigh, he is a good person, but as a patriarch, he is a risk to the organization itself.'