At the time Shane felt moved, Cappelen was also watching him, her expression complex.
At first, she indeed opposed Harvis seeking help from the Kingdom, letting people from the Kingdom come to save their own country.
Although the Kingdom was strong, it was still an opponent of the Empire. Exposing the internal affairs of their own country to this rival nation and then seeking their aid, who knew if it would mean letting the wolf into the house, resulting in an invasion by the Kingdom?
Moreover, as an Imperial person, she inherently harbored some enmity towards the Kingdom.
Therefore, this matter, albeit a plea for help in kinder terms, could harshly be deemed as collusion and treason. One wrong move could likely result in resistance from the entire Empire.
The situation Harvis found himself in now was also tied crucially to his trip to the Kingdom.
This highlighted how absurd it was, for someone from the Empire to seek help from the Kingdom.
But it seemed Harvis saw the value in the absurdity.
"Ultimately, that Poisonous Consort would never anticipate we would make such a move."
Harvis valued this element of surprise, aiming to catch Moro off guard.
But Cappelen still did not agree.
There was no other reason.
It was simply because she did not want to seek help from the country where that woman came from.
How could Cappelen, with her stubbornness and pride, agree to ask for help from a lifelong rival?
Thus, Cappelen had never been able to reach a consensus with Harvis, her elder brother, on this matter.
As a result, during the time she was imprisoned, her brother had already found a cooperative partner and successfully arranged for them to come to support the Empire. To make it even more complex, they had arrived here, appearing before her.
Under these circumstances, Cappelen almost subconsciously asked in an urgent tone,
"Has Lusti Mitra come as well?"
This was what Cappelen was most concerned about.
If even that woman had come, then her disgrace would truly be witnessed by the person she least wanted to see it.
In such a state, Cappelen might not even want to leave this place, preferring to continue being tormented by Moro.
Shane seemed to see through the indecisiveness on Cappelen's face.
"You're overthinking it. Luoqi won't come to the Empire." Shane bluntly said, "Who knows if she'll fall into some trap if she comes here?"
The implication was that, even if the Kingdom would act on the request for help, they definitely would not fully trust it.
How could they know if this was not a ploy to lure Luoqi into the Empire to kill her?
Thus, not to mention Luoqi being unaware of this, even if she knew, she wouldn't come easily.
In fact, Shane had invited Luoqi to come to the Empire, but she had refused.
That Princess knew well how sensitive her identity was in the Empire; her appearance would inevitably cause a huge uproar.
When that happened, the real chaos would begin.
For that reason, both sentimentally and logically, Luoqi would not come.
Cappelen couldn't help but sigh in relief, but for some reason, she felt somewhat regretful.
"Can you decide whether you want her to come or not?"
Shane was speechless.
Indeed, a woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea; one may think it's just hard to retrieve, but in reality, she has no intention of surfacing at all.
What if that needle is Jingu Bang, capable of controlling the sea?
Then, you can only go under the sea to understand women.
Otherwise, why would so many men wish to become the Sea King?
"Let's get back to the point," Shane continued, "You suddenly mentioned that treasure of the Imperial lands. Are you suggesting that these people are here to find it?"
Shane remembered the workers and slaves who were constantly digging something here.
Cappelen thought of the same thing.
"You just mentioned that they seem to be digging something, right?" Cappelen said, "That's the only legend I can think of."
It was an utterly baseless conjecture.
But Shane always felt baseless conjecture might not be entirely useless.
Ultimately, why would Moro appear in the Empire and create turmoil within it?
Did she hate the Hero, hating all matters related to the Hero, thus wanting to plunge the Hero-founded country into chaos?
Then why didn't she go to the Kingdom instead of coming to the Empire?
The Kingdom was also founded by the Hero, and the Royal Family was the legitimate descendants of the Hero. Moreover, there was also Luoqi, known as the successor of Mitra; logically, if Moro just hated the Hero, she would likely prefer to disrupt the Kingdom rather than the Empire.
Yet, she chose to come to the Empire, taking control of the Empire's political power while merely setting traps for the Kingdom in secret, such as the large-scale assassination in the Royal Capital ten years ago, all orchestrated by this Poisonous Consort.
What did this indicate?
It indicated that there really was something in the Empire that attracted her.
"The Branch of Resurgence...?" Shane looked at Cappelen and asked, "Do you know what that artifact is?"
"I don't know." Cappelen frowned, thought for a moment, finally shook her head, and said, "All I know is that it seems to be a relic that even the Three Great Goddesses and the Six Great Demons have only heard of. It's very likely related to either the Supreme God or the Demon King."
Hearing this, Shane could almost confirm it.
That "Branch of Resurgence," even if it wasn't Moro's target, was still an extremely important and precious item.
Could an artifact related to either the Supreme God or the Demon King possibly be unimportant or unvalued?
No wonder even the Founding Brave of the Ragna Empire sought this artifact; it was definitely an extraordinary object.
"How does the poem go again?"
Shane asked Cappelen.
Cappelen turned her gaze toward Shane, then softly opened her vermilion lips.
"― 'When the sky is obscured by darkness, and the earth turns into the Red Prison, the Branch of Resurgence shall awaken from deep sleep, descending upon this universe' ―"
Cappelen sang these lines.
Shane silently took note of it.
"What do you plan to do next?"
Shane threw out the question.
Were it before, Cappelen would have immediately said that she wanted to leave this place.
But now, the thought of needing Shane's help to leave filled her with reluctance.
Yet, no matter how reluctant, in her current situation, it was nothing but unnecessary pretense.
"Take me out of here," Cappelen said as she took a deep breath and solemnly spoke, "Same as before, save me, and I can give you anything you want."
Cappelen had said those words before with great vigor and confidence.
She believed that, given her status, anyone normal would be moved by her words.
Yet Shane's presence shattered Cappelen's confidence.
Even if sluggish, Cappelen realized that Shane was utterly disdainful of her offer.
Even if the price was herself, Shane showed a look of disdain.
This made Cappelen both furious and deflated.
Looking at Shane, this time he was more forthcoming.
"Fine," Shane snapped his fingers and said, "For your brother's sake, I will take you out."
Saying so, Shane reached out, and before Cappelen could react, placed his hand on her shoulder.
In the next second, both of them vanished from the cell and appeared outside.
"Well..." Your support on * keeps this series going.
It seemed the Corpse Ghosts around sensed some activity and started to stir slightly.
Cappelen only felt a blur before her eyes, and when she reappeared, she was outside the cell.
Cappelen's expression subtly changed.
"Instant Movement..."
He... when did he acquire this ability?
No, back in Cosmos, he had indeed demonstrated something like Instant Movement.
But then, wasn't it only triggered when he was attacked?
Could it be that he had been holding back then?
This thought flashed through Cappelen's mind at once.
"Don't stray from my side," Shane warned Cappelen, saying, "My Skill allows me and anything I touch to enter a concealed state, even invisibility, undetected by the legions of the dead here. If you stray from where I touch, it will immediately trigger an attack by the dead."
"I understand..." Cappelen lowered her eyelids, seemingly helpless.
"Then let's go," Shane was about to leave with Cappelen.
At the last moment, Cappelen suddenly spoke up.
"Wait!" she called out to Shane while scanning the surroundings, looking at the naked Female Knights in the cell, hesitating for a moment before finally, unable to hold back, she said to Shane, "Save them too."
Shane raised his eyebrows.
"They are my subordinates and bodyguards, utterly loyal to me; I can't just abandon them."
Cappelen hurriedly explained.
Shane stared at Cappelen for a while until she felt uncomfortable, then smirked.
"This favor, you owe big time."
Leaving those words, Shane took Cappelen, who showed an expression of joy, and teleported into each cage, rescuing the Female Knights.
Initially, upon seeing Shane appear, the knights nearly cried out in panic, both scared and embarrassed, covering their bodies continuously until they saw Cappelen draped in a cloak appear, then they were both shocked and delighted, even crying tears of joy.
Shane teleported all the Female Knights out of the cages, having each one touch him, not to run around, lest they be discovered by the dead due to "Inner Destiny's" effect not covering them.
Initially, the Female Knights were hesitant, but eventually, having no other choice, one by one, they moved next to Shane with blushes on their faces.
Now, Shane was content.
"Alright, I've gained."