After being attended to during her bath, Lina returned to her room, breathing heavily.
As the door closed and she was about to scream out in frustration, she was startled to see Reinhold waiting for her.
“Morgan?”
Reinhold brought his nose close to her still-damp hair and whispered, “Your Highness looks as pure as ever, having just finished your bath.”
“Ugh...!”
“Am I being impudent for saying such things?”
Lina quickly shook her head, her face turning red. The audacious woman, who usually had no trouble controlling herself, beca flustered only in his presence.
Reinhold found this contrast irresistibly appealing.
“But you must have had a reason to wait for until this hour.”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
As the shield knight straightened his posture, the Crown Princess also stood tall. From this mont, they were no longer lovers but lord and servant.
“The reins on the Saintess and the Archer have loosened. Our failure to achieve our goal has made it difficult to delay fulfilling the contract any longer.”
“That was a reward for the contract. Because of their incompetence, we couldn't secure the Hero, and everything went awry. Do we really need to give them anything? Regardless of their complaints, the contract must be executed as stated in the docunts. They must give sothing to receive sothing.”
“Not everything proceeds by logic alone. Trust and suspicion fall within the realm of emotion. And emotion can suppress logic depending on the actions shown to the other party.”
“Can you give an example?”
Reinhold smiled leisurely. It was ti to teach the Crown Princess, this ti by showing her firsthand.
At dawn, Arsil arrived at the capital's walls, summoned by Lina. The sun had barely risen, casting a bluish hue over the walls, where she found Lina and Reinhold waiting for her.
“Alone again without any guards, I see.”
“If I'm with Morgan, I don't need any other protection.”
“Numbers alone can be a significant strength.”
“Hmph, Morgan is strength enough.”
She’s forgotten. The words Arsil spoke were the sa ones Lin had said to her. Not just on the day she was cornered while wandering alone, but countless tis since then, Lin had ingrained this in her. Lina must have heard it too, but she seed unaffected.
“The Saintess has a point. It's surprising to hear you, who always takes the lead, say such a thing.”
“Are you mocking ?”
“It's pure admiration.”
“Enough with the pretense. Why did you call here?”
Reinhold pointed below the wall. There were ten or so wagons down there. Arsil saw workers loading food and supplies onto them. The work was almost finished.
“We haven't paid enough attention to our partner, despite the ti we've spent together.”
“What do you an?”
“All those wagons are headed to your hotown, Filthy Alley.”
Arsil scoffed.
“Ha, you've only been talking big until now, but I know you’ll just have those wagons put back in the warehouse.”
Her tone was dismissive, but her gaze remained fixed on the wagons. With those supplies, they could live comfortably for at least half a year. The faces of her old friends, whom she had seen when she left, flashed in her mind—children, tough but all emaciated.
Arsil fidgeted with the hairpin in her pocket. Seeing this, Lina clapped her hands with a smirk. The workers looked up at the sound that echoed in the quiet dawn, and swiftly finished loading the goods. Ten drivers climbed onto the wagons.
“Depart!”
The strong horses at the front began to gallop. The gates opened, and Arsil watched the line of wagons leave the capital in a daze.
“Actions are what build trust.”
Although she disliked Lina’s smug deanor, Arsil couldn’t help but feel a lump in her throat.
“Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
“After the Grand Assembly, we will resu our journey as the Hero’s party. Your role in that will be crucial.”
So that's it. An additional condition to the contract. But the image of the wagons heading to her hotown still lingered in her mind.
As Arsil remained silent, Reinhold turned to face the outer edge of the wall, deliberately showing his back.
“When the journey ends, it will be our task to subdue the Hero. But there’s soone who has recently risen to prominence.”
Lin. Even without it being said, his image ca to Arsil’s mind.
“Not only did he suddenly save the Hero, but he also claid that even the Mage was a vessel for reviving the Demon King. Whether that’s true or not, we need to keep him close.”
“There’s no separating him from Lucy anyway.”
“No, simply keeping him close is not enough.”
Reinhold turned around at the perfect mont.
“Arsil, you need to find out exactly who the porter really is.”
“The Hero’s party was appointed by the Imperial Family. His identity should be listed in the appointnt docunts stored in the Imperial archives, which are well-guarded.”
This ti, Lina stepped in.
“The archive can only be accessed by His Majesty the Emperor or his direct representatives. As you know, Father’s health is not good. Lately, he hasn’t been fully conscious. Even when he is, it’s for only a few hours, barely enough to catch up on the backlog of state affairs.”
Moreover, whenever the Emperor ntioned the archive, he would lose his composure, which was either deliberate or unintentional. In the presence of the ministers, it was impossible to confront him about it.
“If you agree, I’ll send regular supplies to you.”
“Hmph, the Holy Nation also sends monthly support.”
Reinhold extended his hand.
“Arsil, it's no secret that the Holy Nation has been suffering from famine for years. It's clear that even with the support of devout benefactors, it’s barely enough to sustain the clergy.”
As a result, the support had already ceased over a year ago. According to Arsil's last information, Filthy Alley had been barely surviving on the remaining supplies.
Stung by the truth, Arsil clicked her tongue and shook hands with the shield knight.
“Don't forget. Neither the Holy Nation nor you. Our contract involves not just simple support, but also building an academy there and sending teachers.”
“I always keep that in mind.”
The sun was rising behind Reinhold. The glare made it impossible for Arsil to look directly at him.
“But that’s only if we achieve our goal.”
His face, hidden in the backlight, wore a smile mixed with superiority and arrogance.
The morning of the Grand Assembly dawned.
The Crown Princess and the shield knight invited Naidrion and the Elven Elders to breakfast. This ti, they paid special attention, presenting a table full of various vegetarian dishes, including salads. The Elves, pleased with the rare fresh fruits and vegetables, enjoyed their al.
“How do you find the food?”
“It is quite delicious.”
Delicious food has a way of making people lower their guard. This is a tiless truth that transcends races. Lina tapped her wine glass, drawing everyone's attention.
“Since the defeat of the Demon King, unfortunate events have followed one after another. We lost the Hero, and despite the Demon King's death, demonic forces continue to appear, culminating in the Mage's party.”
The Elders and Naidrion tensed up. From her opening remarks, it seed she was indirectly blaming them for their lack of assistance.
However, Reinhold soon produced a certificate, causing their excitent to surge.
“Although we’ve kept it hidden to prepare, I must express my gratitude to the Elves who have actively supported , Lina Sien Carlon.”
Reinhold opened the certificate and began reading it aloud with a strong, clear voice.
“The Carlon Empire recognizes the crisis facing the Elves, our partners in mutual cooperation, and in accordance with the mutual defense treaty, will take the following actions.”
Finally!
Naidrion’s eyes sparkled as she watched Reinhold’s lips.
“First, the Empire will cede the vast forest starting from the southern outskirts of the capital to the Elves for their preservation and prosperity.”
Small gasps of astonishnt were heard. Naidrion smiled broadly, looking around, but no one acknowledged her efforts.
Feeling awkward, she turned her head back in embarrassnt.
“Second, the Empire acknowledges the Elves' autonomy over the forest and grants them ownership of everything within it.”
The Elders nodded vigorously to each other. Although filled with joy at their success, there was still no praise for Naidrion.
“However, all this will be given as a reward only when the contract between the Empire and the Elves is successfully fulfilled.”
Suddenly, all the Elders turned to look at Naidrion. This wasn’t the attention she had wanted...?
The archer lowered her head timidly. When Lina signaled with her eyes, the servants filled everyone’s glasses with wine.
“Soon, the Hero’s party will embark on a new journey.”
Lina raised her glass high and continued.
“It will also be a new challenge to achieve our goal.”
“Isn't Naidrion already cooperating actively with this?” an Elder asked.
“Yes, everyone tried together, but unfortunately, even the heavens seed indifferent, and we failed.”
The firm tone silenced the Elders.
“So we decided to proceed step by step. We are preparing other thods besides brute force.”
“What other thods?”
“The public’s support for the Hero is still strong. We must expose the Hero’s true nature and prove she is not righteous.”
Speaking at length made Lina’s throat dry. Instead of drinking wine, she took a deep breath.
“Everyone already knows the Hero is arrogant, but the public doesn't care much. So, we need to reveal that her close associates are also corrupt.”
“By close associates, do you an the porter?” Naidrion interjected, surprisingly on point.
“Exactly. That man would not save the Hero and stay by her side without any gain. We will uncover his sches and hold the Hero accountable for associating with such a person. Then, the public will surely turn against her.”
“In short, we just need to find flaws in the Hero or the porter?”
“Yes, Naidrion.”
“I’m confident. Leave it to !”
Everyone was shocked. They had never seen Naidrion so assertive and confident. She must know sothing already. Reinhold was convinced that Naidrion’s confidence was not unfounded. Lina also casually bantered.
“My arm is tired from holding this up for so long. And I’m thirsty.”
The Elves began to raise their glasses one by one. Although Naidrion’s glass was held particularly high, it didn’t matter.
‘No problem. I clearly saw the porter misappropriating the spoils from the Hero's party last ti.’
Blatant embezzlent. She only needed to catch him doing it again during the upcoming journey. However, Naidrion had no idea that the porter didn’t receive any support funds from the Hero's party.
“To the prosperity of the Empire and the Elves.”
“To prosperity!”
The eting was very successful. All of this had been accomplished from dawn to morning, on the day of the Grand Assembly.
“Such things happened.”
All these events were reported to Lin and Lucy through Ravin. Lucy instinctively observed Lin and Ravin’s reactions. After the story ended, the atmosphere between the two was unusual.
“Wagons? Ten of them?”
Lin spoke in a mocking tone.
“They reentered through the back gate, didn’t they?” Ravin chuckled.
Lucy could tell.
“The vast forest on the southern outskirts of the capital,” Lin murmured.
“Sohow, the forest seed endless. If you left the forest, it was all city.”
Both Lin and Ravin were incredibly angry.
“No one knew! They didn’t believe when I said there was a slum in the forest.”
“It was truly a forgotten place.”
Ravin was excited, while Lin was despondent. Sothing bad was brewing inside Lin's heart.
Crash!
The countless chains that had been holding sothing within him. One of them, pitch-black and corroded, fell to the ground.
Crash!
The chain shattered into countless pieces as it hit the floor, scattering everywhere. At the sa ti, uncontrollable anger engulfed Lin.
“Lina Sien…!”
His voice was like a growl, as if spitting out the na.
Even Ravin was uneasy as he approached Lin.
“To hand our alley over to the Elves…!”
When blood started flowing from his bitten lips, Lucy hurriedly pressed a handkerchief against them, startled.
“Calm down, Lin! This isn’t like you.”
Even Ravin joined in, but Lin could not easily quell his anger. It was an understandable reaction, but his deanor was unfamiliar.
However, this was the best news for the Demon King's followers, who were watching Lin's emotional state from afar through the Demon King’s dark energy.
“Finally!”
Loneliness trembled with joy.
“Ugh~. I hope Lin isn't suffering too much...”
Laziness was worried about him.
“Yes, this is just the beginning.”
Even Forced Lies couldn’t contain her excitent.
“Well done, Ravin.”
It was indeed the right decision to recruit her. Unfortunately, they couldn’t turn her into a demon, but if not, they would use her as she was.
“Go, Denaruah. It’s your turn.”
“What? The twin-sword wielder again? It’s been back-to-back!”
“I’m sorry, but Lin chose you.”
“Well, if he chose , I suppose I have no choice…”
The illusionist, Adora, smiled darkly, sensing his heart.
“Yes, that’s it. Don’t suffer alone. Show everything you've been holding back.”
However, nurous chains still bound his wildly fluctuating emotions, trying to calm him down.
“Show them, show your wounds and your anger.”
The day he could fully unleash his rage, Lin would finally join them.
The ti for the Grand Assembly was approaching.
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