Time rewound to ten minutes prior.
Lynn stood atop the giant dragon, looking down at the vast Orn City from high above.
The lingering sternness in her eyes made her appear imposing and formidable.
Moreover, the dozen or so subordinates behind her also seemed rather silent.
The mission had failed.
Although there were no casualties among her crew, Lynn had not succeeded in retrieving the Sealed Object hidden in the underground relics by the Creationist School.
As Duke Tierus had mentioned earlier, the state of that Sealed Object was very strange.
Even when Lynn herself had exerted most of her power, she could not take it away.
It was at least a Level 2 Sealed Object.
Lynn had made the judgment then.
Such high-level items often possess a strong self-awareness and could construct variously Laws based on their inherent traits.
Even Lynn was reluctant to act rashly without understanding its characteristics.
Moreover, a so-called Level 2 Sealed Object was just a conservative estimate.
She had a hunch that the true rank of the object might be even higher.
Thus, for the safety of herself and her subordinates, Lynn, after much hesitation, decided to withdraw first.
After all, she was not a professional containment personnel; it would be better to leave such matters to the church.
Nevertheless, this was a secret mission assigned by Saint Laurent VI—failure would undoubtedly lead to punishment, despite having endured many similar punishments throughout her life.
Thinking this, Lynn's mood was somewhat soured.
As the rate of the dragon's wing flapping slowed, they rapidly descended.
Before long, they saw the lush green lawns of Augusta Manor.
Lynn glanced indifferently, but her attention was soon drawn to a figure standing in the center of the lawn.
She frowned slightly.
Aphia, who had transformed into a human form and was wearing tight leather clothes, came closer with wide eyes, "Princess, it's that guy! Wasn't he helping the Duke? How does he find the time to come here to meet us?"
For some reason, upon seeing him, Lynn's dwindled spirits lifted slightly.
As if she had encountered a beloved toy.
Hearing this, Morris peeked his head out from the shadows on the dragon's back, "From what I know of him, he's probably already solved the Duke's current problem, which is why he is so leisurely."
"Ha, what a joke, that's five hundred thousand Gold Coins!"
A discordant voice suddenly interjected.
Rhein, standing among the crowd, spoke coldly.
Morris shrugged, "Although I too cannot imagine how anyone could extract five hundred thousand Gold Coins from those stingy church people in just ten days, remember, that's Lynn we're talking about."
Rhein's expression stiffened, as the others looked his way, he gritted his teeth and lowered his head.
He was dreading someone bringing up the incident that happened in the cellar that day.
Ever since Lynn had tricked him twice, Baron Augusta's gaze upon him held less pride and he showed more concern towards his brother, Glaya.
This was quite uncomfortable for Rhein.
"Princess, princess, why don't we guess?" Aphia suddenly leaned closer to Lynn, "Let's guess how much Gold Coins he managed to gather for the Duke."
Lynn did not respond.
Seeing this, Aphia, undeterred, spoke first, "I guess... six hundred thousand!"
She vividly remembered how Lynn had handled the Creationist School followers a few weeks ago, and thus had no doubt about his capabilities.
Morris seemed interested too, "I guess five hundred thousand."
He was still more conservative.
"Do you all trust him that much?"
One of the subordinates asked, curious.
Although he had heard of Lynn's name before, he had never seen him in action and hence did not have a good impression.
All he knew was that the Princess seemed to value that guy a lot, instructing them to address him as 'Young Master.'
Aphia and Morris said in unison.
"One million." Just then, Ivyst suddenly spoke up, "If it's him, he definitely won't accept less than this number."
This statement rendered everyone silent, exchanging glances in bewilderment.
One million? What concept was that?
For many medium and small cities, that was about the total annual tax revenue.
And what the Princess implied was that Lynn had managed to secure an entire city's annual tax revenue from the hands of the church in just ten short days?
That was a bit far-fetched!
Unless Duke Tierus wanted to go to war with the church and the great nobles, to outright plunder their homes with the army, that might be possible!
For a moment, strong doubts arose in many people's hearts.
But due to Ivyst's authority, they dared not voice their concerns.
Next to them, Aphia was looking at her with an extremely complex gaze.
Unexpectedly, it was their own Princess who trusted that man the most.
But... where did such trust come from?
With these thoughts, the Black Dragon landed smoothly amid the violent airstreams and hurricanes it stirred.
A hint of curiosity emerged in everyone's hearts, even dispersing some of the gloom brought by the previous mission's failure.
They all wanted to know to what extent Lynn had succeeded.
Before they could even inquire, the moment the giant dragon landed and stabilized, Lynn jumped down from a huge box.
Then, including Ivyst, everyone watched as he flung open the lid of the box.
Instantly, a dazzling golden light shone under the sunlight, somewhat blinding.
Everyone squinted unconsciously.
At the same time, their hearts skipped a beat.
What... what was this?!
Staring at the box full of Gold Coins, even Aphia was completely dumbfounded, not to mention those who harbored doubts about Lynn.
Ivyst silently watched Lynn, her eyes slightly stunned.
"Your Highness! I have exceeded my task!" Just then, Lynn suddenly spoke up in a tone loud enough he wished the entire manor could hear, "In this incident, the expected target was five hundred thousand Gold Coins, but the actual amount obtained was two million Gold Coins. All earnings are gathered here, and I have honored the mission!"
Hearing that amount, everyone was so shocked they were practically charred on the outside but tender on the inside, standing frozen on the spot.
They had heard correctly.
It wasn't Morris's guess of five hundred thousand, nor Aphia's guess of six hundred thousand, nor even Ivyst's guess of one million.
It was an amount that surpassed their highest expectations by several multiples!
Did that mean, in just ten days, this guy had managed to pull off the total annual tax revenue of two or three small cities?!
Among the crowd, Rhein's eyes went dark, and he nearly fainted on the spot.
Unfortunately, no one cared about his thoughts at that moment.
They stared blankly at the box of Gold Coins, speechless.
Seeing this, Lynn, standing beside the box, thought these folks weren't satisfied enough, so he nudged Duke Tierus with his elbow, as if signaling him to do something.
Duke Tierus's face darkened.
He shot Lynn a look, as if to say, I can't afford to lose face !
Lynn rolled his eyes in response, "You promised me before."
After a moment of silence, Duke Tierus sighed and then suddenly straightened his back, looking solemnly at Ivyst, "Your Highness, starting today, the Tierus family will form an official alliance with you. Aiming to support your ascent to the throne, we will provide all possible assistance."
His voice was not loud, but enough for everyone present to hear clearly.
For some reason, at that moment, Ivyst suddenly felt her heartbeat slightly quicken.
A wave of joy enveloped her, making her feel as if she were floating on clouds, feeling somewhat light.
She subconsciously looked at Lynn not far away, an uncontrollable thought arising in her heart.
This subordinate of hers... seemed a bit too outstanding, didn't he?