Chapter 49: Talk With The Archbishop 2
The church members looked at Aldrian in astonishment. Did he really just do that? The weakest among them was at the Duke stage, yet they had been silenced by a young boy at the Viscount stage? They felt the pressure bearing down on them, a force that seemed intent on crushing them.
They quickly scanned their surroundings, searching for a high-stage cultivator who could have caused this, but found only three youngsters, none of whom could possibly have pulled off such a feat. With no other explanation, they had no choice but to give this boy the benefit of the doubt.
Aldrian sighed as he observed their astonished faces.
"At first, I thought we could have a civil conversation, and I might learn something from you, Your Excellency," he said, addressing the archbishop. "It seems that was just wishful thinking on my part. I have to say, you were all too quick to jump to conclusions." He swept his gaze over the others.
"Did you really think the Evergreen Imperial Family would just pick some random person off the street and have him stand before you? You all have quite the imagination. Why would the imperial family call you here just to humiliate you? They could have left you waiting in the outsider district indefinitely if they wanted to, but instead, they brought you here to express their goodwill. And what did you do? You lashed out as if you'd been scammed."
The archbishop looked at the young boy and realized they had seriously misjudged the situation. Only now did he recognize how inappropriate their behavior had been within the imperial palace, even to the point of accusing the imperial family of humiliating them. He sighed, then looked at the boy with newfound respect, and slightly bowed his head.
"I apologize for our inappropriate behavior. We were at fault this time, and I hope we can continue our meeting so that we may better understand one another," he said.
Aldrian studied the archbishop for a moment.
"Well, I'm not really offended by your behavior. I understand what you were thinking, but I don't like seeing anyone underestimated just because they don't match your expectations—especially when that person is me." He said. He spoke with such confidence that they thought he was quite cocky for someone at the Viscount stage to dare speak to an archbishop like that.
But when they remembered what had just happened, they had to reconsider the boy in front of them. The pressure they had felt was real, as if their bodies were on the verge of exploding. The archbishop himself had felt the space around them compress, making it feel as though they were inside a high-pressure chamber.
"I'll keep that in mind," the archbishop replied.