Chapter 195: Herald Executioner Kelsey, you are under arrest!

Kaelen sat cross-legged on his bed, pretending to be cultivating when he received a message notification from Lysandra.

He was about to check it when three figures appeared midair in the dark room illuminated by the soft glow of the twin blood moons.

Kaelen didn’t need to look to know who they were.

"Can someone tell me what’s going on here?" His Herald asked in confusion as they stared at the other two, and that question confirmed something for Kaelen.

Earlier, he couldn’t tell for sure if invading other lobbies triggered an alarm for the Herald in charge, and his allegation against the Herald of spying on Lysandra was just a strategic question to study her reaction and learn if she had indeed been watching when Kaelen appeared or if she had been tipped off by an alarm.

The fact that she didn’t deny the allegation meant she had only caught him because she was watching, and the fact that his own Herald was asking what was happening could only mean she wasn’t aware of Kaelen’s disappearance.

That could only mean the Heralds didn’t have an omniscient authority over the lobby that alarmed them when something out of the ordinary happened, and this confirmed his speculation that as long as he remained unseen, he could sneak across all lobbies undetected.

"I should be asking you that, because explain to me how I caught a candidate under your wing inside my lobby." Lysandra’s Herald replied in a feisty tone.

"What? What nonsense are you spouting? Is that even possible? Are you trying to nerf my candidate for taking the spotlight?" Kaelen’s Herald shot back.

Lysandra’s Herald scoffed coldly. "Why don’t you ask him for yourself where he was in the past minute?" As she said that, they all turned to face Kaelen, who was staring at her with a raised brow.

"What’s the fuss all about? Are you here to compensate me for the malfunction or what?"

Lysandra’s Herald was about to reprimand him when Kelsey finally spoke up after staring at him strangely for a moment. "Candidate Kaelen Cross, you’re being accused by a foreign Herald of invading their lobby and running away from disciplinary actions. I’m only going to ask this once, and there’ll be consequences for lying to me. Are you guilty?" She asked with a piercing gaze.

Kaelen was silent for a moment as he stared at the three Heralds. "Guilty of what?"

"Did you not hear what she said?! Did you or did you not invade my lobby and run away after making Lysandra alter her memory to lie on your behalf?!" Lysandra’s Herald roared while grabbing a handful of her long blonde hair that reached the backs of her tiny legs.

Kaelen’s mind went blank. "What? Did you just say Lysandra altered her memory to lie for me? Who told you she can do that, and what’s your proof?" He asked, genuinely surprised and curious if Lysandra could actually do that.

"Don’t try to lie to us, kid. We know Transcendant Dragons have the ability to alter memories. You made her do it, didn’t you?" Lysandra’s Herald spoke up again.

Kaelen stared at her for a moment before he shifted his attention to Kelsey with an amused smile. "What the hell is going on here? I don’t know what you’re talking about, and if Lysandra said I didn’t do it as well, then the small one is clearly lying." Kaelen said, referring to Lysandra’s Herald, who was about to explode. But Kaelen wasn’t done yet. "Even if Transcendant Dragons had the ability to alter memories, of which I’m just learning from y’all, how exactly do you expect Lysandra to use that ability? Or are we forgetting all candidates are allowed only one ability, and last time I checked, that wasn’t the ability that was randomly selected for her?" Kaelen said sharply, capitalizing on the flaw in their allegations, which made the Herald pause to consider his point.

"Then again, if you’re accusing me of doing something as impossible as crossing lobbies without any evidence except one unreliable witness, have you asked yourself the meaning of the allegation and the possible clause where it was mentioned in the Tower rules that visitation to a foreign lobby is forbidden? If recruitment is possible, that simply means there’s an established path for a candidate to enter a lobby that wasn’t originally assigned to them. If that is the case, can you list the number of rules that would be broken if a candidate were to visit a foreign lobby without nefarious intentions or plans to cause harm or trouble?" Kaelen deduced and calmly asked, making the Heralds pause once more to think.

Lysandra’s Herald had been rendered speechless now after failing to come up with any points to prove her accusation, while Kaelen’s Herald simply stared at Kaelen suspiciously. She knew for a fact that each time he played defensive, he was, in fact, guilty.

Kelsey suddenly let out an amused laugh as a dangerous glint flashed across her eyes. "You sure have a big mouth, Candidate Kaelen Cross. You’re right about one thing: there’s no established rule against entering foreign lobbies, and it is, in fact, allowed on the ninth floor... but entering without the knowledge or permission of the Herald in charge is trespassing. We also can’t know for sure if you went without nefarious intentions when even your Herald can’t vouch for you. You acted against the will of your Herald, and that alone is a punishable offense." Kelsey said with a wicked smile.

"You’re right. Every single thing you said was on point, except, what makes you think I did it if even my Herald can’t vouch that I wasn’t here all day? Do you have any proof?" Kaelen asked calmly.

Kelsey’s smile didn’t falter for a moment. It widened instead. "I, in fact, do have evidence of everything that happened. Everything that you’ve done from the very moment you stepped out of the First Floor. From the very moment you equipped my Eye of Truth."

Kaelen’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief, and Kelsey’s smile grew wider. Lysandra’s Herald had a victorious smile on her lips, and for a moment, the two parties entered a deadlock in a battle of wits that seemed to be over for Kaelen.

That was when the only person who had been silent and observing from the beginning finally spoke up once more.

"Herald Executioner Kelsey, according to Clause 819 of the Tower rules, only the Herald in charge of a lobby has the absolute authority to privately watch their candidates, and any other person besides that goes against the Tower rules and should be reprimanded by the Council of Tower Masters. You broke that rule when you went out of your way to plant a spying item on a candidate as a reward for a bet won squarely. With that being said, with the power bestowed upon me by the Tower, as the case may be, you are under arrest."

"..."

Huh?