Chapter 47 - Confrontation

"You must be joking! Reed is just a newborn angel who has never even been to the outside world. How could she possibly do anything detrimental to Edenmere?"

Elara remained calm and composed as she rebutted, looking as though she had already anticipated Yvonne's attitude. 

"Besides, I know about these experiments. They are related to a derivative application of the Angel Descent Formation, just with some issues in the scope. I've already ordered Reed to correct it, so there's no need to worry at all. The light elements will be back to normal in a couple of days." 

Elara's explanation was watertight, with barely any holes to pick at. But Yvonne merely paused briefly before refusing to back down, instead accusing further:

"Isn't this inappropriate? As the leader of the angelic clan and the Queen of Edenmere, you revealed detailed information about the Angel Descent Formation to a newborn angel with old memories. This is a blatant violation of the rules!"

Upon hearing this, even the angels behind her began murmuring amongst themselves.

"Rules can be flexible. Besides, you acknowledged that I'm the Queen of Edenmere, so naturally, I have the power to modify some outdated rules," Elara frowned, not expecting her opponent to be so stubborn. She could only try to reason with her.

"Surely you know we haven't made any progress with this formation in a long time. Now that we finally have a lead, how can we let this opportunity slip by? Reed didn't even look at any of the information, she was able to achieve this much just by looking at an overview diagram of the formation. Can you find another angel of equal or greater skill to replace her?"

"You..." 

Yvonne was finally left speechless, stubbornly trying to confirm:

"Are you certain you didn't give Reed the information about the Angel Descent Formation?"

"Lady Yvonne! I can testify!" Mona suddenly spoke up, raising her hand.

"The request Reed made to me for the materials on the Angel Descent Formation was indeed rejected. You can verify with the Records Department if you don't believe me."

"Of course, I will verify!" 

Yvonne nodded. Realizing she no longer had any grounds to make trouble, she could only use this as an excuse to leave with her group of angels.

"...Finally gone!"

Once I confirmed they were out of sight, I quietly let out a sigh of relief. The atmosphere just now was so tense, it was on the verge of erupting. If we hadn't been careful enough and she managed to find something to use against us, Reed would have been in big trouble.

It seems that even with Elara's protection, it's not absolute safety. The internal conflicts among these angels are far more intense than I imagined.

"You're the Queen and leader of the angels, yet you're so afraid of Yvonne?" 

To Nicola, Elara's performance seemed too weak, which she really couldn't comprehend.

"If it were me, I would've long ago issued an order to throw her into prison, convicted of...mental illness! Oh no, that's not a crime. Then it would be slandering the leader!"

"It's not as simple as you think!"

Upon hearing this, Elara immediately shook her head. 

"Although Yvonne and I are both ten-winged angels, she is much older than me. During the reign of Elara the Second, she had already obtained a councillor position by battling monsters. By the time I took over as Elara the Third, this veteran from the previous era was already well-established with many followers. So she is unmovable."

"That background sure is tough to deal with!"

I took a deep breath. Although I had guessed Yvonne's influence must be substantial, I didn't expect it to be this great.

"There are also many restrictions around convicting a councillor. It's not something I can decide alone. First, it has to pass a vote in the council, but in reality, nearly half the councillors are Yvonne's allies, not to mention she has the additional status of an elder. Unless there is definite evidence for severe crime, there's no chance to take her down."

"How about the crime of treason then?" I pondered and asked. 

"That should be severe enough right? You said the conservatives were suspected of betrayal. She just happens to be a conservative, what if she was the traitor?"

"Highly unlikely!" 

However, she shook her head and gave a negative reply.

"As the leader of the conservatives, Yvonne hasn't left Edenmere in hundreds of years. That eliminates her as a suspect."

"What if she instructed her subordinates or confidants to commit treason?" 

Nicola stubbornly provided another possibility.

"That's hard to say..."

Elara sighed as she analyzed:

"Unless we find the traitor and get definite evidence from them. But even if Yvonne was the mastermind, she definitely wouldn't send someone who would betray her. So there's no chance of that route working out."

"Then there's no choice but to tuck our tails between our legs and obediently play nice...angel?" 

Cyra seemed to take it very openly. After all, she had never been interested in power struggles.

As for Reed, she was squatting in a corner, constantly drawing on a piece of paper, completely oblivious to the situation here. 

"Reed, what do you think about my proposal? Have you decided yet?"

Seeing this, Elara brought up the earlier topic again about sending two angels to learn from Reed.

"I'm busy with other work right now and may not have time to research the Angel Descent Formation."

Reed lifted her head to reply, still seeming reluctant to agree.

"It's fine, we can talk again when you're free. After all, we've waited thousands of years already, a little more time makes no difference." 

Elara smiled and replied, not seeming worried at all that Reed might reject again.

"You see! I just helped you cover up a huge mess, isn't it a bit ungrateful to repay me like this? Besides, I'm the leader of the angelic clan, think about my face and reputation."

I see, so her help in resolving this matter did have ulterior motives. I knew it was odd that even the leader of the angels would be such a nice person. Turns out it wasn't purely out of eagerness for talents huh...

"Fine! I'll agree to it, but can we reduce it to just one angel? I don't have the energy to deal with too many."

Reed also saw that the so-called exchange was just an excuse for sending confidants to learn from her experiences. Even if the Angel Descent Formation was successfully researched in the future, she couldn't let this technology be monopolized by Reed. After all, there were many coveted technologies involved in this formation that were very important to the angels. 

"That's not a big problem..." 

After thinking about it for a while, Elara reluctantly agreed.

"So you're determined to break the rules and let Reed access information about the Angel Descent Formation?"

I couldn't help asking. Recalling how Yvonne had relentlessly pursued this issue earlier, I was surprised Elara would be willing to take this risk for Reed.

"I said that with my status, modifying some regulations is completely feasible. Based on Reed's accomplishments, just the arrays on the ground now should be enough for this proposal to easily pass the council. "

Elara explained confidently. 

"Even Yvonne's goal was only to find something to use against me. Researching the Angel Descent Formation can only benefit her and not harm her, so I believe she wouldn't oppose it either."

"If your purpose with these convoluted rules is only confidentiality, I feel there's no need at all. The information about the Angel Descent Formation has probably already leaked out long ago." 

Nicola suddenly spoke up with astonishing words, then turned to look at me and reminded:

"Feliciana, remember that fallen angel we met in the Dark Continent?"

"Ah? You mean that executive director of the Dark Council?"

I immediately realized who she meant. I still had quite the impression of that chuuni organization. And that executive director, Claudia, did mention that Michelle had summoned her based on the Angel Descent Formation.

Since we didn't know what the so-called Angel Descent Formation was at the time, we didn't pay it much attention. Thinking back now and combining the information we have, it's very possible the traitors already sold it to the monsters long ago.

"Why didn't you mention such an important information earlier!" 

Elara was greatly shocked upon hearing this. After listening to our experience with Claudia, her expression became even more volatile.

"You didn't ask us either, right?"

Nicola shrugged and replied, 

"Besides, we had no idea how important it was before..."

"I must hurry back and verify this matter, to prepare countermeasures for the future..."

Anxiously unfolding her five pairs of wings, she flew into the sky without another word. Looking back, she still didn't forget to instruct Reed:

"Clean up here! No more conducting experiments with this array in the city. Aside from this Edenmere city, there is a large uninhabited area outside that you can use. I'll have Mia come hep you find a suitable location tomorrow. As long as you don't affect other angels, feel free to mess around however you like."

Then she hurriedly flew off in the direction of Tivi Palace. 

"Let's start cleaning up then!" 

Cyra stared up at the sky for a good while before lowering her head and saying to us.

"But hearing you guys say the Angel Descent Formation has already fallen into the monsters' hands, and they've even modified it to summon fallen angels, will they start relying on those summoned fallen angels to fight in the future?"