In the very instant Moselle caught sight of the scene outside the window, he felt as though his soul had been sucked dry in a flash, leaving his spirit and vigor completely depleted.
At the same time, when he heard the second sentence from Lynn's mouth, his muddled brain suddenly flashed with a stroke of understanding.
Yes, the Samuel ritual wasn't supposed to be seven days later, but why had he firmly believed...
Thinking this, he looked dispiritedly toward the instigator of it all.
Noticing his gaze, Lynn smiled and said, "You're a pig."
"Yes, I am... No, that's not right!"
Moselle once again sensed something off and shook his head vigorously.
Mind control? Hypnotic suggestion?
No, if it were something like that, the Sealed Object he had to prevent soul attacks would certainly have worked.
This must be some kind of more mysterious and powerful ability!
Meanwhile, the believers and citizens below seemed to have finally recovered from the initial shock, and angry glares converged on Moselle, fists raised and waving, with curses spewing from their mouths.
But strangely, even though he was only a few floors up, Moselle couldn't hear any sound coming from outside.
It was as if... everything around him had been muted.
"What exactly did you do?"
He asked, bewildered.
In response, Lynn took out a Magic Stone the size of a palm from his pocket, engraved with colorful, flowing Magic Matrix patterns.
As he spoke, Lynn tapped a certain node on the Magic Stone.
The next second, as the invisible barrier inside the room slowly dissipated, the furious and indignant shouting and cursing sounds rushed in non-stop from the window like a tide.
Moselle's face turned even paler.
"And... amplification magic."
Lynn tapped another node on the matrix.
The next second, his voice suddenly magnified several times, echoing from the high bell tower throughout the surroundings.
This gadget was something he had asked Lady Milani to create; the principle was very simple, and it had been camouflaged.
Without the help of a search-type Sealed Object, it would be impossible to detect with the naked eye.
Seeing this, a sense of absurdity arose in Moselle's heart: "My subordinates and I have been watching here from yesterday until now, you couldn't possibly have had the time to set these things up without them noticing!"
"You really are naive," Lynn sighed, "It certainly wasn't yesterday, but from the very beginning."
Moselle clenched his fists subconsciously.
"Yes, from the very start of everything," Lynn stepped forward and patted his shoulder, "Further back than you would think."
"From the night I decided to form an alliance with Duke Tierus, I had already begun making arrangements."
"How is that possible?" Moselle clenched his teeth, not believing a word he said, "Do you think you have the power to foresee the future?"
In a sense, having read the original work, I really do.
Lynn retorted in his heart, but his outward appearance remained calm: "Let me teach you."
"The process of creating a perfect plan first requires a clear understanding of what you want to achieve." He manipulated the Magic Stone to disable the amplification magic and put the matrix back into his pocket, "Do you think that to gain the Duke's friendship, my goal is to rob you of your money?"
Moselle revealed a bitter smile.
"Big——mis——take——indeed!" Lynn drawled lazily, "Moselle, you've misunderstood me. I've never cared about the little sum you have, because making money is really easy for me."
"My goal has always been just one thing."
"And that is... to utterly annihilate you and the Heavenly Principle Church behind you."
He wasn't here to make money at all.
Or rather, making money was merely incidental.
The primary goal was always to complete the trial set by the Doomsday Witch.
Hearing this, Moselle seemed to fall into an unprecedented confusion.
He couldn't understand what grudge he and this man could have, why he would go to such lengths to utterly annihilate them.
Could a father's murder even be more so?
Could it be because of some slight at the dinner that night, towards the Third Imperial Princess?
A bolt of lightning suddenly exploded in Moselle's mind.
Just because of that minor incident?!
Moselle felt a ridiculous urge to laugh, but he couldn't muster a smile at the moment.
He felt like a clown.
Seeing him fall into confused contemplation, Lynn didn't care and continued: "If the plan is made with that purpose in mind, then everything becomes clear."
"To cleanse you and your church from the faith of the people, I must first break their blind belief."
"And to destroy that belief, I need to stir up their anger, shatter their worldview, and make them feel deceived like never before."
"To achieve this, I must expose the ugly thoughts hidden deep in your heart to the public eye."
"So from the day the banquet ended, including using a series of methods to force you into negotiations with me, this moment of you revealing your true thoughts has been part of the plan."
Lynn's voice remained very calm.
Moselle, however, felt an absurdity unlike any before.
The negotiations were ultimately initiated by his side, he even personally chose the location.
Could this kid mean that he had also calculated in advance that the negotiations would take place at the Samuel Bell Tower?!