CHAPTER 479: CHAPTER 08: HIGH COURT (4)_2

Only Adelle and Belle remained in the parlor.

Belle looked at the bank notes on the table and sighed, seemingly a bit disappointed.

Turning her face, she suddenly noticed Adelle’s gaze constantly shifting between her and the bank notes.

"Why don’t we split it between us?"

"No, this is mine!" Saying that, Belle grabbed the bank notes from the table and walked away.

Adelle helplessly spread his hands and rolled his eyes.

...

The last twenty-four hours before the hearing, the castle was still surrounded by spies from each family, and no one stepped forward. *It felt like a group of fierce beasts confronting each other, each extremely calm and composed.*

Almost no lord appeared before Jones anymore, but Jones still couldn’t leave. After all, wherever he went, a large group of people would follow him. *It was not a pleasant feeling.*

Everyone who came into contact with him at this time would be watched by countless eyes.

Not just Jones, anyone leaving the castle would be watched, even if a pigeon flew out, it would be watched. *The workload of such surveillance was indeed immense, but the sheer number of the opposing side made it possible.*

Meanwhile, various families in the High Court were quietly passing information.

A letter was hurriedly delivered to Prince Louis.

Opening the envelope, with just one glance, Prince Louis’ expression froze.

...

"So, we only need to wait for the dance party now, right?"

"Yes. There are so many people we need to meet, you can’t meet them all one by one. So, we just need to host a dance party and invite them all over. Say some polite words, tell them that supporting you will bring them rewards."

"That’s all?"

"Yes, that’s all. In fact, the seven princes of the Sambo family, including my father, are in the High Court. They have already done enough groundwork for you."

"If they are all there, why don’t we meet them first?"

"There’s no need. We don’t need to persuade them. Isn’t the money in our pocket convincing enough? Hahaha." Adelle laughed.

Jones stood upright, while a Blood Clan tailor beside him was measuring his size.

They needed to make two sets of clothes for Jones, one for the upcoming dance party and the other for the hearing.

Not only Jones, but Dora, Goya, Erin, William, Babuti, and Aqua all needed two sets of clothes. Especially the four Liches, they symbolized Jones’ power and had to attend both the dance party and the hearing.

In fact, they were also very willing. The only flaw might be that Aqua chose a blue women’s evening dress when selecting the style.

*Hmm... Do you think a Lich in a blue gown would look good?*

*Alright, let’s ignore this minor detail. After all, Liches don’t have many people who care about their looks. It’s just a grand dance party with four skeletons. I wonder if the lords coming to attend are used to it.*

Soon, the sizes were all measured, and the tailors in the castle began to rush the work in the dedicated tailoring room.

Bored, Jones stood by the window gazing into the distance, while Adelle continued to stroll around him with a glass of wine, and Belle remained watching him from a distance.

Of course, Dora was also there. Goya had run off somewhere, not knowing what she was doing.

Just as Jones was staring blankly at the rolling clouds in the sky, a carriage suddenly entered their castle. A person jumped off the carriage, hurriedly running towards the front door.

Jones looked on in confusion.

Shortly after, there was a knock on the parlor door. The Blood Clan member in a formal suit who had just gotten off the carriage appeared at the door.

From afar, he smiled and nodded at Jones and Belle, then coughed dryly twice.

Adelle was stunned: "It’s my cousin."

Saying that, he walked over.

The two walked outside and whispered a few words, then Adelle’s cousin hurriedly left. Adelle returned to the room with a puzzled look.

"Did something happen?" Jones asked.

"Um..." Adelle hesitated: "My original plan was that after arriving, we would host a dance party, with our Sambo family taking the lead, inviting all the small and medium families in the High Court that we could win over."

"Yes. So what now?"

"The dance party was canceled."

"Why?"

"I don’t know. Anyway, the message I just got is that there’s no need to host the dance party. *There are more people watching you than we imagined. Hosting a dance party would expose all our power in front of them, which might be a bit disadvantageous for us.*" Saying this, Adelle’s expression was even more hesitant than Jones’s.

The people in the parlor, including Jones, Belle, and Adelle himself, were all bewildered.

"So... I don’t need to do anything, not even prepare for the dance party, and just attend the hearing tomorrow, is that the idea?"

"I think... yes."

"This sounds a bit outrageous." Belle interjected: "I believe that even if Jones doesn’t show up, the princes can win over quite a few people, but the dance party is not just about meeting people; it’s a kind of etiquette. Don’t we need even this step? And the reason not to expose our strength is a bit odd. *If those standing with us fear letting the opposing side know, they wouldn’t stand with us in the first place.* Also, if they’re afraid of being known, how would Jones reciprocate their support?"

"I don’t know either." Adelle smiled awkwardly: "Maybe it’s not fear of being known? Maybe it’s fear of the opposing side preparing?"

"Do the opposing side not anticipate how many people we can win over? And if we aren’t prepared, wouldn’t the opposing side also strive to win over everyone they can?"

Adelle couldn’t respond to this, so he just stood there, rubbing his chin.

After a long silence, Jones lightly asked: "Can I see the princes? Or maybe see your father?"

"They told us to stay in the castle and not go anywhere." Adelle sighed helplessly, then added: "Don’t worry. Please trust the strength of our Sambo family. Although we can’t reverse the situation, we can at least ensure the verdict will be fair to you. *Those against you can’t cover the sky with one hand.* Um... at least that’s what my father told me."

Jones slowly glanced to the side and said nothing.

...

Time passed by bit by bit.

The clouds in the sky continued to roll, with lightning occasionally flashing, illuminating the entire High Court.

Amid the thundering, besides the spies outside remaining, nothing else seemed to happen.

These spies stayed by the roadside in groups of three and two. Standing in the castle and looking out, they were very obvious.

Whenever their gaze met Jones’s, they would pretend to look away, acting as if they were just standing by the roadside.

However, walking away a bit, it was empty with not a single figure, only around the castle in clusters... Saying these were not spies, no one would believe it.

*These twenty-four hours might have been the longest twenty-four hours Jones had ever experienced. His intuition told him that the High Court’s attitude towards him was undergoing some subtle changes, yet he couldn’t even take a step out.* Or... it didn’t matter.

*Because everyone was watching him.*

Adelle, Belle, and Dora all waited silently with Jones.

Finally, the clock on the wall chimed.

Everyone simultaneously looked towards the clock.

The small door on the clock opened, and out came a spring-loaded little bat, chirping twice before retracting back inside.

A carriage entered the castle, the same one as before, and out came Adelle’s cousin once again.

...

"Father said we can prepare to leave, straight to the hilltop." After conversing with his cousin outside, Adelle returned and said to Jones.

"Alright." Jones replied softly.