CHAPTER 72: PERFORMING

"Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. I’m Liam Monfort. As many of you know, last week, at another press conference, I said that it wasn’t me who cleared the dungeon in Arvion Beachwalk.

That statement was not entirely true. And for that, I apologize."

Liam bows deeply, almost a full ninety degrees. Cameras flash like strobe lights, capturing every angle.

Miranda watches her son bowing deeply on the screen. She turns up the volume and calls out, "Linus, do you know about this?"

Linus appears, carrying a tray. His eyes are glued to the screen.

"Hmm. Looks like they’re starting," he says with a smirk.

"Starting what?" Miranda frowns, puzzled.

Linus sets the tray on the table and takes a seat on the sofa. "You’ll see."

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After about two minutes, Liam straightens up again.

"Because of my partially false statement, the heartstones in the dungeon cannot be extracted, and it has caused many losses to the city, especially financial ones."

He pauses, wearing his best apologetic expression to gain public sympathy. Arthur had advised him to act remorseful but charming, and even though Liam doesn’t fully understand why, he does just that.

"It was difficult for me to tell the truth because, as a Sentinel, I am ashamed to admit that my ego got the better of me. In reality, there were three people who cleared that dungeon together. I, of course, was one of them. This time, I’m telling the truth."

He winks at the camera.

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"Oh my holy god!" Claudia shouts at the TV. "Mom! What is Liam doing?" She points at the screen.

Miranda is speechless. She’s lost the ability to speak. She’s never seen her son act so... flamboyant before. Liam was always down-to-earth and never deliberately spread his charm. He’d rather stay behind the scenes and let his parents handle the media.

Linus bursts into laughter. He can’t hold it anymore.

The camera zooms in on Liam’s flawless face, lingering in a medium shot that shows off his near-perfect features in all their glory.

At the conference, Theo is having a hard time looking at him. This is not him! What in the world?

He turns to Arthur at the other end of the table. Arthur is still holding that cold and distant CEO persona, but his eyes betray amusement.

Arthur is thoroughly entertained by Liam’s performance. He senses Theo’s gaze and turns to meet it, then winks.

Theo’s jaw almost drops. What are these two men doing?! They’re performing? Do they expect me to do the same? What role am I playing? Why didn’t Arthur say anything before?

He turns again to listen to Liam’s next words.

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"A few days after my conference, a survivor, Ms. Megan Lambert, bravely came forward to support my statement. For that, I would like to officially thank Ms. Lambert. And I am here to say that she was telling the truth about Aldriana."

Liam’s expression turns serious — but not too serious. His flamboyant persona still lingers beneath the surface.

"Aldriana is the second person in our trio who cleared the dungeon. The three of us played equal parts in killing the Haelion King. If any one of us hadn’t been there, it would have been impossible for the others to slay it."

He pauses, giving the media time to process his words.

"It has taken us this long to come forward and share this with the public because we know it’s a very delicate matter. Never before has a dungeon been cleared by three people. That means, for the first time, the right to claim a dungeon belongs to three individuals."

The media erupts in chaos. Reporters shout over one another:

"Who is the third person?"

"Where is this Aldriana?"

"Why are Arthur and Theodora Montrose here?"

"Please, my friends, please," Liam raises a hand with his usual charm. "Calm down. I’m not finished. Please, settle down."

When the noise finally dies down to a low rumble, Liam continues.

"I met with Aldriana a couple of days ago. She has no intention of coming forward, nor does she want to claim the extraction rights. She has given her full share of the rights to the third person..."

Liam gestures behind him.

"Ms. Theodora Montrose."

The media erupts once again, even louder than before. Reporters shout over one another, their voices blending into an incomprehensible roar.

Theo can’t hear any of them clearly, but he can read their faces. Every expression says the same thing: bullshit.

All the cameras and all the eyes are turning toward him.

He sits behind the long table, looking every bit the part of innocence, shy, composed, and fragile.

The uproar continues for several minutes before Arthur finally stands.

And as he does, the noise dies down.

With steady steps, he approaches Theo and extends a hand toward him. A small, encouraging smile. A little nod.

Theo takes his hand and rises to his feet.

As the two of them slowly walk toward Liam at the center of the stage, the room falls completely silent.

Liam steps back slightly but doesn’t leave. Arthur does the same. From the media’s perspective, the two men now stand on either side of Theo, like guardian gods.

In a way, they are.

Theo clears his throat softly before speaking.

"Hi, ladies and gentlemen. I am Theodora Montrose. Nice to meet all of you."

He bows slightly.

His voice carries a different weight. It washes over the hall like cool silk, quieting even the restless air. The tension that had gripped the room moments ago softens, replaced by something calmer, steadier.

Theo doesn’t intend to exploit his innocent appearance, but he feels he shouldn’t waste Liam’s effort after that performance. So, he simply follows the "setup" Liam has created.

"Today, in this press conference, I’d like to say that I am the third person who cleared the dungeon."

The media doesn’t erupt this time. Instead, they blink and glance at one another, as if daring someone else to be the first to question him.

No one wants to be the bad guy, so no one speaks. They just stare, making sure their microphones are all turned in his direction.

Theo smiles sweetly.

"I know. Believe me, I know how ridiculous that sounds. Look at me, a weak young woman like me couldn’t possibly have cleared a dungeon. Well, you’re right. I never would’ve been able to do it if I were alone."

He exhales softly.

"I was walking in the Beachwalk, enjoying my day, when the gate appeared and pulled me in. I had to do everything in my power to survive. And I was very lucky, because I met Liam Monfort and Aldriana. They both saved me."

"As for clearing the dungeon, the other two obviously played a much bigger part than I did. However..."

His expression sharpens, a flicker of strength beneath the soft innocence, his gaze steady and full of quiet determination.

He looks straight at one of the cameras in front of him.

"It was me who delivered the final killing blow."

It’s not just the media in the hall that reacts, people watching from home, like Miranda, Linus, and Claudia, all cheer for Theo.

The hall erupts in applause and excitement, the energy so sudden and synchronized it almost feels staged.

"But..."

His expression shifts into sadness and remorse. The cheering in the hall comes to an abrupt stop.

"After I killed the Haelion King, I fell unconscious. And I stayed that way for three full days."

His eyes glisten as he lowers his head, unable to meet the cameras.

"I can’t believe I was unconscious while the world was fighting over the heartstone extraction rights. I didn’t even know that Liam and Aldriana hadn’t come forward. I suppose... they were waiting for me. But I was too sick to do anything."

He rambles softly, his voice trembling.

Theo pauses, taking a deep breath. His breathing is uneven, faintly audible through the microphone.

"Even a few hours ago, I’d just woken up from another high fever. And I told Arthur that I needed to come forward as soon as possible so there would be no more delay. That’s why this press conference was called on such short notice."

"And for that, I — Theodora Montrose — deeply apologize to everyone."

He bows deeply, as deep as Liam had before, and holds the position longer.

When he sways slightly, a collective gasp ripples through the hall.

Arthur moves quickly, catching him before he can fall.

If he didn’t know any better, he might take Theo’s fainting seriously. But he has to applaud the performance, it was better than he could ever hope for. Any media or articles that try to twist it negatively will only be playing into the other side’s hands.

And if Arthur knows this, Thornfield knows it too. That’s why Greg Thornfield looks like he’s about to have a heart attack: his face is flushed, his breaths are ragged, and his fists are clenched so tight his knuckles are white.

He nearly hurls an ashtray at the TV, but Ryan manages to stop him.

"What the fuck is Stille doing?! Why is he letting this circus continue?! Call him! Tell him that if he doesn’t do something, I’ll feed his ass to the haelions!"

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You really are a little minx — a dangerous one. I should be relieved you’re on my side. I’d hate to have you as an enemy, Little Minx.

Linus smiles as the press conference descends into mild chaos when its star collapsing on stage.