Lynn looked toward Duke Tierus, who walked in afterward, and cast an inquisitive glance.
"This is the Second Prince, His Highness Felit," Duke Tierus introduced in a low voice.
"Just call me Felit," the silver-haired young man said with a hint of a smile, "Lynn Bartleion, we finally meet."
Before he could finish, the other person interrupted him.
"Shh, you're too loud."
Lynn frowned slightly and then looked toward the white-haired woman leaning against his chest.
Her gentle breathing on his chest made his heart itch for some unknown reason.
It was supposed to be their first meeting, but somehow, the relationship between the two had become inexplicably close.
Lynn thought silently.
Hearing his words, Felit stood frozen in place.
It was the first time anyone had spoken to him with such an impatient tone.
Looking at Ivyst in Lynn's embrace, Felit suddenly had a ridiculous thought.
The ugly girl who had been bullied by them since childhood, the strange child who always played the Evil Witch in their make-believe games, the Imperial Princess that everyone detested to the extreme—was being held carefully in someone's arms?
Watching the harmonious scene between the two, Felit found himself somewhat at a loss for words.
The word came to mind in an instant.
Cursed by the gods, Ivyst was destined not to be loved by any creature in the world, an outcast akin to a monster.
Only someone of her kind would feel no disgust or rejection toward her.
Felit suddenly realized why this fellow could achieve what normal people couldn't.
Because like Ivyst, who was born with destructive power, he too was a monster.
If that were the case, it seemed understandable that he survived the riot caused by the level 0 Sealed Object.
Felit knew very well that as an outsider, he couldn't possibly explain all the details to him.
So even though he was filled with curiosity at the moment, he still chose to suppress the confusion in his heart.
"Answer me one question, and I'll leave," Felit tried to appear as calm as usual, but his fists clenched tightly behind his back.
He wanted to offer a price to recruit Lynn under his command.
But seeing the look on his face right now, he immediately quelled that desire.
Because he knew very well that the young man before him was deeply bound to Ivyst and couldn't be swayed by mere interests.
But... why would anyone be so interested in an ugly girl like Ivyst?
Felit really couldn't understand.
Upon hearing this, Lynn slowly raised his head: "What's the question?"
"The Holy Oak, as well as these people outside... how did you do it?"
Felit asked without hesitation.
Clearly, even now, he was still engulfed in the shock of the moment, somewhat unable to recover.
Hearing this, Lynn, while cradling Ivyst, smiled: "Nothing more than robbing the rich to aid the poor, the old plunder and pillage routine."
"The nobles' gluttony was too unsightly, and even I couldn't bear to watch, so I just took matters into my own hands."
"Impossible," Felit shook his head, "Duke Tierus has not provided you with a single soldier, and there's no way you could contend with the local nobles who have their own private armies."
"Furthermore, to my knowledge, the supply of food those nobles have is not plentiful, even if taken by force, it would not be nearly enough to feed the two hundred thousand disaster victims in the city."
This was what perplexed Felit the most.
The only method had been sentenced to death.
After all, to rebuild order, it was essential to fill the mouths of the disaster victims with food to stop further unrest, and satiate their hunger for them to work effectively.
But when the overall quantity was far from sufficient, could he possibly conjure it out of thin air?
The posturing always felt so satisfying... Lynn was about to say something when he suddenly saw Ivyst in his arms frown.
She seemed disturbed by the noise, muttering something indecipherable.
The slender fingers clutching his chest tightened a bit more.
Seeing this, Lynn paused for a few seconds, then let out a soft sigh.
"The specific details, let the Duke explain them," he said, glancing at Duke Tierus, "I'll take my leave first, then go back to the room to settle things with Her Highness."
Watching Lynn's retreating figure walking away at a leisurely pace, everyone stood still, dumbfounded.
Is he... just leaving?
He really has a way with exits... As expected of his style.
Thinking this, Glaya and Morris exchanged glances with each other.
It was as if they had completely breathed a sigh of relief.
Not only were they happy for Lynn's return, they felt as if they suddenly had a backbone and were full of confidence, no longer like headless flies bumping around everywhere.
That was the peculiar charm of that guy.
At the same time, the same confusion that Felit had surfaced in their minds.
Although that guy spoke of it lightly, they absolutely didn't believe that earning six hundred points in ten days was such an easy task.
Even now, they were still immersed in the excitement and shock of the recent turnaround and had not yet regained their composure.
For a time, everyone's gaze in the room turned to Duke Tierus in the center of the crowd.
"Duke Sir, please solve my confusion."
Felit bowed slightly.
Duke Tierus nodded with a hint of emotion in his eyes, "Actually, what he did was really simple, so simple that I found it somewhat incredible, until the results were announced just now and the heavy stone in my heart finally fell."
"Felit Your Highness, your confusion boils down to two points."
"Regarding 'people', it actually has a close connection to the latter."
"As you've seen, the tens of thousands of freezing and hungry commoners outside the manor are the 'people' who are capable of contending with the local nobles' armed forces."
Felit looked surprised, "How can you command these starving refugees without them biting back at you?"
"Very simple, just give them 'food', or establish a goal, telling them where there is 'food'."
Duke Tierus answered indifferently.
"The problem goes back to the start." Felit frowned deeply, "Where did he miraculously conjure up such a heap of food from?"
That was an amount in the tens of millions of pounds!
"This is where I admire him." As he said this, Duke Tierus's voice suddenly became strange, "He... in these ten days, did two things."
"The first thing, was pressuring the city council in my name, enacting a temporary law that forcibly drove up the market price of food several times over."
At the moment of hearing that statement, including Felit, everyone's eyes flashed with intense shock.
Under the manipulation of those nobles, the already uncontrollable food prices continued to soar, with refugees begging in the streets, creating a scene of despair everywhere.
It was even on the verge of turning into a terrifying spectacle of cannibalism.
But Lynn, that guy, seemed to have gone mad, not only not forcefully controlling the price of food but rather, like pulling up seedlings to help them grow, in cahoots with those damned nobles!
If this continued, instead of re-establishing order in Orn City, it would definitely become even more chaotic!
Looking at the astonished expressions of the crowd, Duke Tierus smiled, "I originally had the same thought as you, wondering if that kid had gone mad."
"However, it turns out that the ones who were mad were actually us."
Only Felit wore a solemn expression, as if to confirm his own speculation, he asked, "So, what was the second thing he did?"
"The second thing he did... was to have someone spread the news that the 'Tierus family made a fortune from the disaster' throughout Orn City and into the ears of the nobility and merchant guilds in the nearby major cities."
Or to say, I have seen her somewhere before.
Not as Miss Witch, but Ivyst herself.
Gazing at the peaceful sleeping face of the woman on the bed, Lynn thought silently.
After bringing Ivyst back to the room and settling her on the bed, taking advantage of the moment when no one was around, he took a chair and sat beside the bed, beginning to contemplate the events that had just transpired.
It was confusing and foggy to the mind.
Under some inexplicable impulse, he had done something that did not fit his past persona.
Moreover, the woman's behavior, along with the reactions of those around them, were constantly hinting at him that the two had once had deep ties.
No wonder Duke Tierus had such an expression when he found out about his memory loss.
Miss Witch must know some insider information, but she told me nothing.
Reflecting on the incident in the Pantheon, Miss Witch's actions in forcibly distinguishing the two of them apart, although very puzzled, Lynn felt as if he understood something.
Perhaps, she despised who he used to be, which was why she was reluctant to tell him about his amnesia.
However... Ivyst seemed to be more humane than Miss Witch.
In simple terms, it felt like she did not maintain such a distant aura and seemed to vividly exist right before one's eyes.
Not only that, but she also seemed to have a certain fondness for him.
Truly a good woman, beautiful with an exceptional figure, her strength might be diminished, but there would always be a day of recovery in the future.
In addition, her personality seemed quite good too.
Warm as fire, not the cold and world-weary disposition of Miss Witch.
Even excluding the factors where the lower head wants to control the upper head, he would probably fall in love with her soon enough?
Would he be assisting such a woman in the future?
Always staying by her side?
That seemed... not bad.
Lynn thought somewhat absentmindedly.
However, lost in thought, he did not notice that at one point, the woman lying beside him began to wake slowly from her sleep, casting a burning gaze his way.
With the sudden sensation of cold touch, shackles connected with a chain suddenly appeared around his neck.
(ps: Sorry, I've been feeling unwell these past two days, I'll return to the regular update quantity from tomorrow.)