I Can Copy Curses

Chapter 197: 197. Emperor Maximus

"Your Highness, the majesty."

Everyone in the area around the portal bowed down in respect, including all members of the seven magi families. Even the family heads bowed their heads.

The Emperor held the highest position in the Magus Kingdom and was respected by all. Beyond his status, he was the second strongest human in the domain, surpassed only by his eldest son.

"It's good that everyone is here," his voice echoed, loud and majestic, yet only audible to the members of the seven magi families.

"Shall we switch places?"

As these words escaped the Emperor's mouth, Orion suddenly found himself in a different location. He was astounded by the Emperor's ability to swiftly teleport them anywhere he wanted, leaving them powerless to resist.

Looking at his father's face, Orion saw no expression whatsoever, indicating they were already familiar with the Emperor's power.

They found themselves inside a vast circular hall with eight seating areas arranged in different directions. The hall was bathed in a bright purple hue, and at its center hovered a holographic display of small and large planets.

"Everyone, have a seat."

Emperor Maximus took a seat in one of the areas, and surprisingly, Kane and Erick were seated there as well. Erick had a serious expression, while Kane casually sipped his morning tea, glancing at everyone.

"Let's go," Barion said, leading his family to one of the seating areas, followed by the leaders of the other magi families.

Once everyone was seated, Emperor Maximus spoke:

"Aside from the Valen family, everyone else is here. Good."

Emperor Maximus then went straight to the topic and said:

"I have already made my decision, but since you all are here, let me know your thoughts on this matter. Maybe, I might change my mind because of them."

Barion's face darkened as he heard the Emperor. This was the situation he wanted to avoid the most, but he was somewhat relieved that the Emperor had already made his decision. Influencing him to change his mind wouldn't be easy. However, this could only be beneficial if the Emperor's decision favored them; otherwise, it could backfire.

With these thoughts, Barion stood up and asked the most important question.

"Your Highness, what have you decided?"

Emperor Maximus looked at Barion with a smile.

"That, my friend Barion, I can't tell," he said, shaking his head.

Barion frowned, wondering if the Emperor was toying with them, as he often did things in unconventional ways.

At this moment, Varen from the Grimwolf family stood up and pointed at Orion hatefully.

"Emperor, I believe it was this kid who was controlling the clones behind the scenes. I hope the Emperor takes strict action and punishes him for his crimes," he said angrily.

Emperor Maximus nodded as if he understood everything and looked at the others.

However, Barion immediately stood up, refuting what Varen had just said.

"Emperor, this is a lie fabricated to blame my son for crimes he didn't commit."

"Crimes he didn't commit?" The head of the Silverflame Family sneered at Barion. "All those lives that were lost in that place, whose fault was it? Your son's clone? We all know that in that place clones don't have spirituality and wouldn't even do anything to anyone, yet his clone could speak and control other clones to do his bidding.

That brat's clone ordered others' clones to kill the originals, and we all know about that. What we don't know is that his son ordered his clone to do all of that. His intentions were probably to kill all the members of the young generation."

Munro Silverflame, head of the Silverflame family, stated everything he wanted to say and sat down. He believed that the Emperor would consider his points, especially some of the points he made about the clones, which were definitely suspicious.

"Interesting," Emperor Maximus nodded, showing some interest before turning to look at the others. "What do the rest of you think?"

Estor stood up at that moment and looked at Orion.

"Emperor, from what I know from my daughter, it is true that Orion's clone ordered the other clones to attack the originals, but his clone also attacked Orion and tried to take over his body. From that, we can infer that Orion wasn't controlling the clones; someone else was. I believe that someone else was also the one who ordered Orion's clone to attack the others."

"That's also reasonable," Emperor Maximus nodded, then turned to Adam and Claose. "What about you two?"

Adam stood respectfully and stated, "I believe whatever we say won't change the Emperor's mind, so please forgive me for not giving any opinion about this matter."

Emperor Maximus found this intriguing. "Then why are you here?"

Adam briefly explained, "I came with the thought of asking for Orion's forgiveness if it were his fault, but since you have already decided, I believe nothing we say would change your decision. You have all the information we have, so you must have thought of something before coming to a decision. Perhaps our opinions are merely a means of enjoyment for you."

"Hahahahaha, good, very good. Only you truly understand me, Adam," Emperor Maximus laughed heartily.

Finally, Claose Stormrider stood up.

"Emperor, I believe it wasn't Orion's fault, but whatever you have decided, we will agree to it wholeheartedly."

The Emperor nodded and then turned to look at Orion, who had his eyes closed the whole time.

"What does the one in question have to say?"

Orion opened his eyes as he heard this, a smile appearing on his face.

"Emperor, I believe I did nothing wrong. That's all I can say since you know the whole story yourself," he said, confident that the Emperor wouldn't punish him.

There were various reasons supporting his assumption, with the foremost being the deal between the four races that was coming to an end in five years. If he wanted peace, he would have to go with the majority and the truth.

At the same time, he also believed the Emperor wouldn't want to upset the strongest genius of the Magus Kingdom over such a small situation, especially when he was clearly accused of crimes he didn't commit. Truthfully, everyone knew this, yet they still blamed him.

Emperor Maximus nodded and looked at everyone again.

"This is your last chance to speak. After I reveal my decision, I won't hear any more reasoning. Does anyone else have anything to say?"

At that moment, Emily stood up. She had been observing the entire situation quietly and hadn't spoken yet. But it seemed she had made up her mind to say some words.

"Emperor, you should know the truth considering your daughter and son were also in the same situation as my brother. Everyone in this hall knows the truth, so if your decision veers away from the truth and doesn't favor the majority, then I will be ashamed to have you as the emperor of the Magus Kingdom."

Everyone was shocked by her words. They were completely taken aback, especially Orion, who had a stupefied look on his face as he looked at his sister.

On the other hand, Barion shook his head with a wry smile. He had always known Emily was bold, but this level of boldness was new even for him.

"Hahahaha, I guess we will know if I have ashamed you all or not in a minute." The Emperor laughed. He liked bold kids and had already known about Emily's boldness, but every time he saw her, she still surprised him.

In the end, his face turned serious as he looked at everyone.

"My decision is..."