"Whether Amber Lead ore is poisonous or not isn't something you get to decide yourself," Rosse said with a smile, looking around at the assembled kings, "Since Perth brought this up, I will send my chief physician to Flevance. She will inspect the local illnesses and test the Amber Lead ore."
He didn't know his own ancestor had been responsible for the earlier incident, but the other Five Elders who wanted to stir trouble behind the scenes had only a few typical methods.
On the surface they'd damage his reputation, while secretly they'd get the Revolutionary Army and the NEO Marine to build up their forces.
Whatever the method, first set the stage, then watch those people perform.
"If the Amber Lead ore contains toxins and also carries an infectious virus, how will the World Government handle it?", King Kane VII of the North Sea's Kane Kingdom asked in a low voice. As Flevance's neighbor, this matter directly concerned him.
If the Amber Lead ore carried an infectious virus, that would not be good news for the Kane Kingdom.
"If there's an infectious virus, the World Government will quarantine Flevance. We will assess the virus. By the way, compared to a century ago, have the Flevance people changed in any way?"
Rosse asked casually. His impression of the Amber Lead disease was vague, he only remembered that Law had come from Flevance.
Law himself held no value to Rosse; the valuable thing was Law's Surgery Fruit, a so-called god-level fruit that could perform immortality surgeries.
If Rosse obtained the Surgery Fruit, Law himself would be worthless.
Of course, fruits choose people, and Law would likely be very suitable for that fruit.
But whether Law had the qualification to eat the fruit was the least of Rosse's concerns.
Loyalty mattered far more than suitability.
If the fruit didn't fit, he could force it to develop.
"Compared to before...", Kane VII thought for a moment before answering, "I once heard my father say that the Flevance people weren't as pale as they are now. Their skin is now as white as snow."
"Then it seems this disease can change skin color, and it's been going on for some time. Does King Perth know about this?"
Rosse smiled at Perth. He didn't care whether Perth was coerced or blinded by profit.
But by standing with the other Five Elders, Perth had effectively prepared himself to confront Rosse.
Rosse might not smash the man's head in with one slap, but making his life worse than death wouldn't be hard.
"I... I haven't paid attention to it. Skin whitening is actually a good thing for us, we always thought it was a benefit brought by Amber Lead, so our people wear Amber Lead jewelry," Perth said awkwardly, bowing his head.
'Don't ask more!'
If they asked more, he truly couldn't cover it up.
Even now he could clearly feel the others looking at him with suspicion and ridicule.
Selling his people's lives for profit, among allied nations, that wasn't considered a huge scandal.
But if this were exposed, the World Government might pin the blame on his family to cover the truth.
The Flevance royal family could be sacrificed, but not entirely wiped out...
"Oh? Amber Lead can whiten skin? Then where are King Perth's Amber Lead accessories? May I have the honor of seeing them?", Rosse kept smiling and scanned Perth's round body with his eyes.
There were many accessories on that spherical body, but none looked like Amber Lead jewelry.
"Uh...", Perth was already drenched in sweat.
Where would he get Amber Lead jewelry? That stuff was highly toxic, how could he possibly wear it?
But if he didn't have any, wouldn't that prove he'd been bluffing?
"Oh, it seems King Perth doesn't need whitening."
Hearing Rosse's words, Perth breathed a sigh of relief, thinking the matter was over. But Rosse's next sentence chilled him to the bone, "But the queen and princesses should want it, right? I remember King Perth brought his queen and children to the Holy Land this time."
Every year at the World Summit, allied kings liked to bring family members to the Holy Land.
Partly to let their families feel the atmosphere, partly for betrothal opportunities.
Whether to be noticed by the Celestial Dragons or to find marriage alliances among other allied nations, both were desirable outcomes.
Being chosen by a Celestial Dragon could end badly, but the Celestial Dragons did give money, and having allied status meant things usually wouldn't go too far.
Even if it ended horribly and someone was given away as a "gift," at least it wouldn't be exposed.
Well, as long as it stayed secret, it was like they vanished.
As for what happened to the princess themselves... not many people cared.
"Saint Rosse... when the meeting ends I'll ask them. They should have Amber Lead jewelry," Perth forced a smile and promised through tears.
He and his family definitely didn't have any, but with Saint Garling supporting him behind the scenes, he figured that if he could survive this moment, he could probably obtain some later.
"Why wait until the meeting ends? They're all in the Holy Land, calling them over won't take long. This is a matter of life and death. If they do have Amber Lead, I can have my people test it right away," Rosse said calmly.
As he spoke, he gestured to Zephyr standing by the door.
Before he could finish, Saint Garling interjected, "Let this matter be delayed for now. Although it concerns an allied nation's fate, there's no need to rush; don't give other allied nations less time to present their issues."
"Since Saint Garling says so, let's put this matter aside for the moment. Zephyr, bring King Perth's queen and princesses to the Jaygarcia family. Have them produce their Amber Lead jewelry and let the family test it in their presence, so King Perth can be reassured."
Rosse said lightly, waving to Zephyr, never once glancing at Saint Garling.
'Why so eager to step up, afraid I wouldn't know who's behind this?'
'And you say there's no rush? I'm very rushed right now.'.
"Yes!"
Zephyr didn't hesitate and began to walk toward the door.
"Stop! Saint Rosse, please don't!"
Seeing Zephyr open the conference room door, Perth went completely frantic, his eyes turning crimson as he jumped up and cried out.
Who didn't know Rosse's ill repute these days?
If the queen and princesses were taken into the Jaygarcia family, he couldn't bear to imagine what would happen.
Especially if Rosse couldn't get any Amber Lead jewelry from his queen, then he'd truly be finished.
Although, to be honest, he was already close to ruin.