Chapter 685 - Owen’s Objective
"Danger is coming from Intis?" Ebner frowned, suddenly recalling that Xio had once ntioned the collusion between Baron Larry and the embassy's military attaché, Bianca. A thought surfaced: could it be that the Intis side wanted Mr. Sarri to take the fall? And Fanny's danger was just collateral?
Thinking this, Ebner voiced his suspicion aloud.
But Mr. Sarri simply chuckled dismissively and said, "The Sarri family holds multiple seats in Parliant and has considerable influence... Even if soone wanted a scapegoat, they wouldn't co for us—the cost would be too high.
"After all, there's also a Saint of the Church of Steam who bears the Sarri na. Our family isn't weak in Intis."
After the ambassador was assassinated, even the once-angelic Solon family only took the opportunity to suppress Mr. Sarri's son's rise—they never intended to destroy the entire Sarri family. The political capital and economic concessions required would be too great, and it would likely backfire.
Given this context, Mr. Sarri simply assud that the danger Emma ntioned was just another underhanded trick by his political enemies.
Seeing how confident Mr. Sarri was in his family's standing, Ebner thought it over and found it reasonable. There were so many more convenient scapegoats available; Intis had no need to provoke a family that counted a Saint among its mbers.
So... was Fanny's danger really nothing more than the result of the dirty infighting of politics?
With that tentative conclusion, Ebner took the chance to bring up his real purpose for visiting—requesting the use of the "workshop."
To this, Mr. Sarri agreed generously. Not only did he allow Ebner to freely use the auxiliary materials stored in the workshop, he even left his granddaughter, Fanny, behind to act as Ebner's assistant.
This arrangent served two purposes: one, to give the young people more opportunities to connect—fulfilling his granddaughter's wishes; and two, the workshop was the safest area in the entire villa. Even if enemies really invaded, it wouldn't be breached quickly, so Fanny would be well protected there.
After winking at his granddaughter, Mr. Sarri carried the pitch-black chanical puppet back to his own workspace and resud his research.
As for Ebner's earlier suggestion? He had no intention of following it. After all, "Humanoid chs are every Savant's romantic ideal!" —Excerpt from The Quotations of Emperor Roselle, Volu VI, Chapter 1.
Inside the workshop, Fanny helped Ebner with his work, her bright eyes gleaming as she said, "Ebner, you ca right away when you heard I might be in danger... I'm really happy."
"We're friends, aren't we? If a friend is in danger and I have the ability to help, of course I wouldn't 'pull my hands into my sleeves and watch from the sidelines.'" Ebner responded casually as he unpacked his prepared materials and familiarized himself with the workshop's layout.
That was a famous saying from Emperor Roselle, but... just friends? Fanny bit her lip, feeling a hint of reluctance. Just then, she saw Ebner place a transparent woman's robe and a custom-made box onto the workbench.
She was curious and was about to ask when he suddenly spoke up first. "Excuse ... how is the power core here activated?"
What, am I supposed to boil water myself?
"Just activate those fla runes..." Fanny replied, her expression a bit odd.
Wasn't this the basic setup for a steam-powered workshop? Every workshop I've seen was configured like this...
Could it be that the heating system in Ebner's workshop back in Bayam is different?
...
West Borough, Intis Embassy, Special Envoy's Bedroom
The mont Special Envoy Owen stepped into the room, the "White Saintess" Katarina, under the influence of so force, couldn't help but gaze at him with fervent obsession, as if he were her everything.
Though her rational mind clearly recognized her emotional state as abnormal, she still couldn't control her actions.
His orders were absolute. His missions had to be carried out...
Even in her fifteen hundred years of life, the "White Saintess" had never encountered such a domineering and troubleso sealed artifact.
She had once seized the chance to pray to the Primordial, begging for divine grace to purge the influence—but, regrettably, received no response.
And after that, Owen had added more "commands," preventing her from even thinking about breaking free of his control.
"Thankfully, as long as I stay away from the sealed item and avoid seeing Owen, this fanaticism gradually fades..."
"But with the commands being absolute, I'll still return to him sooner or later..."
Katarina calmly pondered counterasures in her mind—but her body still obeyed Owen's "exploration," removing each article of clothing one by one...
After a bout of intense activity, Special Envoy Owen caressed the silky-smooth skin of the "White Saintess" with one hand, while with the other, he opened the tal box she had handed over as soon as she returned.
Inside the box lay a pair of eyes pieced together from various colored segnts. They were mysterious and profound, giving off the impression that they could see through everything.
Sure enough—it was the Eyes of Asmore! Owen was overjoyed at the sight, and his mind instinctively recalled the relevant information about this material:
Asmore were a species of astral beings, humanoid won with golden hair and extraordinary beauty. They were calm and benevolent, renowned for their ability to "perceive" the rules of all things. They often served as assistants or apostles to subordinate gods and angels in the divine kingdoms of true deities.
It was said that if a traveler accidentally entered the Astral World and gained an Asmore's favor by passing its trials, the being would gift its own eyes to help the traveler return to the real world.
"For the sake of this thing, you didn't hesitate to give up imnse benefits, rally all sides, and 'reasonably' destroy a family with centuries of history... You even had
kill a Saint of the Church of Steam... You're truly mad!" Katarina's expression remained fervent, and her body still responded to him, but her tone was dripping with scorn.
Owen sneered in reply:
"What do you know? The Eyes of Asmore are one of the main ingredients for the Sequence 3 'Cognizer' of the Reader pathway...
"If I didn't conceal my true objective and let word of this get out, I'd be sward by competitors!"
At this, he sighed and continued:
"Ugh, the 'Dreamweaver'—whether it's its trait or materials—has shown no progress for years. I had no choice but to risk jumping to an adjacent pathway...
"Now that I've found one of the key ingredients, the Eyes of Asmore, and the other major ingredient is also coming into view—
"With the ritual being the only real obstacle, all the conditions are nearly t. Tell —how could I possibly hold back?
"So, if you must bla soone, bla the old man of the previous Sarri generation for being favored by an Asmore!"
Katarina felt a chill in her heart upon hearing this. For Owen to divulge such classified information so casually... it wasn't trust—it was because he never intended to let her go.
She had never trusted him to keep his promises, but the stark reality still filled her with anger and bitterness.
Still, having lived over a thousand years as the "Unaging," she quickly composed herself and feigned ignorance, asking calmly, "I've already killed the Saint of the Church of Steam and retrieved that material for you. When will you actually release ?"
Owen smiled dismissively and said, "Didn't we agree in the contract that you'd only regain your freedom once you help
gather all the potion ingredients? This is just one piece."
As he spoke, he lightly pinched the soft flesh at her side as a veiled reminder.
"You... What's the other ingredient? Do you have a lead on it?" Katarina took a deep breath and asked.
"The other main ingredient is a complete brain of a Mist Fiend.
"I didn't originally know where to find one...
"But when Princess Vera of the Loen royal family clashed with 'Pride,' the fog she released closely resembled that of a Mist Fiend!
"I plan to wait a little longer—once the effects of the great smog dissipate, I'll propose a marriage alliance to Loen.
"If it works out, I'm confident I can take her down when she least expects it. Of course, I'll need your cooperation.
"If Loen refuses the alliance, I'll look for the right mont to join forces with 'Pride' and you, and together, we'll subdue that princess!"
Owen held nothing back from Katarina, revealing his entire plan.
After all, in his view, anyone controlled by that sealed artifact could never break free—the White Saintess would belong to him until death.
The only issue was the artifact's side effects—they were increasingly unbearable... Even with His help suppressing them, I won't last much longer...
I must advance to Sequence 3 as soon as possible!
(End of Chapter)
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