Two old ladies sat on the throne above the stairs. A person was currently held in the middle of hall, with mana sealing chains restraining her body.
This girl was Synthia.
She had been caught a little while ago, and was brought here for judgement.
'Is these two old ladies the ones in charge?' Synthia looked at the two women, and thought inwardly. She didn't know how strong these women were as she couldn't sense anything from them. If she had met them at any other time, she would have thought them to be just two middle aged aunties.
But, that obviously wasn't the case. She wasn't a fool, and looking at how the person who had caught her stood behind her obediently, she could guess these two old ladies were not some ordinary people.
'Is this real? This man is already strong enough as the other Lords of the Ancient families, in that case, how strong are these two grannies?' Synthia couldn't help but doubt herself. She didn't think that the two grannies were as strong as the Progenitors of her house. After all, if that was the case, there was no need for them to hide as they would be strong enough to threaten the other families in such a situation.
"I think that should be enough of your evaluation of us.." The matriarch finally spoke as she looked at Synthia accurately grasping her inner thoughts. Her words made Synthia's face twitch, but she tried to maintain her calm.
"Well then, what were you doing here girl?"
The questioning finally began.
"I just lost my way.." Synthia lied with a calm look on her face.
"Not bad, you have got a good demeanor.." The second matriarch couldn't help but praise.
"But, that will only be making things difficult for her.." The matriarch shook her head, before looking at Synthia with a serious look in her eyes. "I am asking you one more time, what were you here for?"
There was no pressure on Synthia, the Old lady had just asked her a simple question. But, for some reason, Synthia could feel a strange feeling, her instincts were yelling at her not to lie. It would be a big mistake if she did it.
Synthia gritted her teeth, and calmed herself. She knew that it wasn't time to be afraid, and let herself get lost in the old ladies act of intimidation.
But, on the surface, Synthia still acted as if she was getting intimidated. She kept her silence for a few seconds, before hesitating, and then speaking up with a little scared and humiliated look on her face.
"I..I..saw Erina and… followed after her.." She clenched her fist as her body shook. To observers, it seemed that the girl was in an intense struggle with herself. She didn't want to speak, but at the same time was helpless, and afraid of the situation as well.
The Matriarch looked at Synthia with a gaze full of interest. For some reason, she still didn't believe that the girl was telling the truth. And, if she was lying, then her courage was something worth complimenting.
"W-What are you going to do with me?" Synthia didn't want to let these people dwell on the same topic, and allow them to see through her facade. Hence, she immediately decided to change the topic.
Her question was something that everyone else was curious about as well.
"Unfortunately, we don't have the option to let you go. Since you already are aware that this place is hidden, then the secret must remain a secret." The Matriarch shook her head with a smile. Her meaning was obvious.
The guards in the hall immediately came up to take Synthia. She was probably going to be kept under tight security. As for stuff like questioning her, the Matriarch had no interest. She knew what she needed to do. In these years, she had managed to get a few people into the Ancient Families. But, she still was never able to find their true enemy.
"Umn..what will you do if someone comes looking after me?" Synthia, who was about to leave, suddenly asked.
"Don't worry, you were lucky to get inside. The other person wouldn't find their way here." The Matriarch shook her head.
"It's good if that's the case, but that guy is a little different…" Synthia spoke in a low voice.
"Oh.." The Matriarch's interest was picked. This girl had already seen what her family was capable of and yet she didn't seem to be worried about the person who she was talking about, but instead them.
"Are the Old geezers of your family here, girl?" She couldn't help but ask Synthia, wondering if the person who would coming looking for her would be those old corpses.
"No, it's not them. It's just my team leader. He can be scary at times, and with events recently, I don't think he would sit back if I went missing.." Synthia let out a little depressing laugh and before slowly making her way out.
As everyone left, the Matriarch couldn't help but laugh looking at her little sister.
"Look, she warned me about your great grandson.." She obviously knew whom Synthia was talking about. She had kept eyes on Max after all.
The Second Matriarch shook her head, "Warning aside, she was on the point though. One of the girls has already been missing, if another goes missing, people will question his capability.."
It was true.
It was one thing if there was casualty at lower level, but if the higher ups were going missing one after another Max would surely lose trust. Rihanna was already gone, and now he definitely couldn't afford another similar case.
"You can pity him all you want, but I am not going to release the girl because of that.." The Matriarch shook her head.
"I know, don't take me for a fool.." The Second Matriarch shook her head. She knew that this was more important. Besides, even though it would affect Max, it wasn't to the point that she had to move.
…
On the backside mountain..
"Finally, its my turn.." Max stretched his arms as he received a message from Synthia to go ahead.