"What...What did you say?!"
Ivyst's voice, full of surprise, came through.
Upon hearing this, Lynn repeated his previous statement calmly.
At the same time, a familiar system notification sounded in his ears.
[Ivyst Laurent Alexini, an S-class plot character, has an increased deviation of 0.53%.]
40 system points were credited?
He hadn't expected that a bit of wool sheared from Ivyst could match a whole afternoon of hard labor.
At the same time, Lynn's accumulated points had reached a total of 83.
For him at the moment, this was undoubtedly a windfall.
He could even upgrade the Lie Swallowing and the Thorny Crown again, though, upon further reflection, it seemed rather pointless.
His guess had been correct, however.
His action had indeed altered Ivyst's future destiny to a certain extent.
While Lynn's thoughts were flowing, he suddenly felt a refreshing rose fragrance wafting toward him.
Then, something lightened in his hand.
Lynn looked up and saw that Ivyst had approached him at some point.
At that moment, she took over the stack of Extraordinary Contracts, quickly flipped through them with a serious expression, and read the articles carefully.
Different names were signed at each section, and fingerprints pressed down.
Seeing this, Lynn scrutinized Ivyst with a muted gaze.
The Princess's style of dress seemed to have changed again.
Today, her black hair was pinned up behind her head, adorned with extremely luxurious jewels of various colors, giving her a bright and grand appearance.
Furthermore, she was wearing a bohemian-style wavy long dress akin to those from a previous era, predominantly crimson with scattered flowers and diamonds adorning the hem.
The dress fell just below the knees, revealing slender calves enveloped in black stockings, with dainty high-heeled boots on her feet.
Compared to her previous demeanor in a black dress, which was stern and commanding, Ivyst now seemed somewhat softer and much more mature.
Though still very young, she possessed an elegance reminiscent of a noblewoman.
To use a phrase from his previous life, she had an exceedingly "perfect wife" appeal.
Regrettably, such beauty could only be appreciated by Lynn.
Others would feel disgust and fear at the sight of her, even unable to meet her gaze.
Time ticked away by the second.
As Ivyst continued to flip through the contracts, the shock on her face became increasingly uncontrollable.
She was acutely aware of the faint power contained within the Extraordinary Contracts.
This made it even clearer that these items were not forged.
After all, verifying this matter was simple, requiring only sending someone outside the city.
If the situation hadn't been handled flawlessly, those nobles and officials would definitely not permit the refugees into the city so easily.
Rather, in collusion with the Heavenly Principle Church, they would rather see her troubled by this matter.
But no one had expected that such an unknown youth could so effortlessly resolve such danger and crisis.
Ivyst's breathing started to quicken.
She had thought finding Lynn, this talented individual, was a fortunate surprise.
But up until now, the capabilities and wisdom he had shown time and again had stunned her.
The perfect resolution of this matter had undoubtedly solved her pressing emergency.
Not only did it severely undermine the arrogance of those scoundrels, but it also subtly enhanced her reputation.
And, with the safety of the refugees no longer a threat, at this moment, Ivyst felt a heavy stone falling from her heart.
She rarely took a deep breath of relief.
Then, somewhat confused, she wondered,
How long had it been since she'd felt such unprecedented relief?
It was... incredibly satisfying.
All she needed to do was sit in her chair and give orders, and soon someone would come with good news to please her.
Could this be how her siblings felt with their top-level think tanks at their disposal?
Ivyst's heartbeat began to quicken.
She suddenly appreciated the elegance of handling matters without relying on violence.
Unfortunately, before this, none of Ivyst's subordinates could compare to Lynn.
This made her realize more than ever that no one but herself should possess this treasure.
With this thought, a flicker of excitement appeared in Ivyst's eyes as she looked at Lynn, "Tell me, how did you manage to accomplish this in just one afternoon?"
Lynn was energized upon this topic.
He rolled up his sleeves and said, "Your Highness, I must say I've been quite aggrieved. You must stand up for me—those Security Bureau goons are really unbearable, not only acting all weird around us but repeatedly obstructing our work. And those refugees aren't any better. The moment I arrived, they surrounded me, threatening to kill me with a single hammer strike. But who am I? I am your subordinate, representing you and the Empire. Naturally, I couldn't just submit because of threats to my life. So I stood up right there and told them..."
While Lynn rambled on, a flicker of red light passed over the ring on Ivyst's fingertip.
She looked down and frowned slightly.
The ring was an ancient curse, capable of discerning the truth or falsity of someone's words in a short time.
She had worn it during her meeting with the clergy from the Heavenly Principle Church but had forgotten to take it off.
Now, to her surprise, she found Lynn was lying.
Ivyst was suddenly a bit taken aback.
Had she been too kind just now, letting this guy take advantage and overstep?
The atmosphere suddenly became a bit colder.
Seeing this, Lynn gave an awkward smile and stopped beating around the bush.
He scratched his head, "Actually, it was just the same old tactics—dividing a group, allying with another, using threats or inducements, and then killing the leader of those causing the trouble. The rest of the disorganized group would collapse at the slightest touch."
But as simple as it sounds, it was extremely difficult in practice.
People have their own thoughts, and each person's situation and perspective on issues are entirely different; they can't be expected to change their beliefs because of a few words.
Lynn's ability to handle those guys owed a lot to the Lie Swallowing.
Ivyst looked at the young man with black hair and blue eyes before her, and for a moment, she was silent.
He was only 17 years old.
If he grew up for a few more years, what would he become?
Perhaps, the foolish nobles of the Imperial Capital should regret having provoked someone so formidable.
Ivyst even vaguely felt that even without her help, Lynn might one day succeed in his revenge.
Fortunately, the current relationship based on hypnosis connected the two, preventing him from running away.
However, she didn't quite like the methods of coercion and intimidation.
Ivyst hoped that one day, he would choose to stay by her side of his own accord.
Thinking this way, she uncharacteristically showed a slight smile.
"You've done very well with this," Ivyst placed the contract on the desk, leaning against the windowsill, "So, I want to reward you."
"Lynn, if you have any wishes you want fulfilled, you can tell me now. I will satisfy whatever it is."
With her arms crossed and bathed in moonlight, she looked unspeakably pure and beautiful.
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