Chapter 7

“Chapter 7, let’s make it mine.”

After hearing the woman’s narrative, Lynn, with his head bowed low, couldn’t help but smirk coldly.

What a total pitiful wretch he used to be.

According to his memories, the actual events of that war were worlds apart from what was reported.

Originally someone who could have been hailed as a battle hero, he ended up being slandered as a coward who abandoned his teammates and ran away, with all his merits completely erased.

Lynn straightened up, adjusting himself into a less painful position against the chair.

He was well aware of the Ship of Theseus theory.

Throughout life, every single cell in the body is replaced countless times.

So, strictly speaking, from birth to death, you’re actually two completely different people.

So what defines the essence of a person? In Lynn’s view, it’s memory.

Memory shapes one’s character and qualities, influencing choices at the countless crossroads in life.

So why should there be such a clear distinction between his past self and the Lynn from Blue Star?

In this moment, inheriting the memories of his predecessor, he was indeed that little son of the Bartleon family.

Thus, he didn’t accept the report in the other person’s hands.

With that in mind, Lynn lifted his gaze.

By the dim light, he caught sight of Rhine, with his drooping eyelids, and the woman seated in the chair.

Judging by her figure and aura, she had to be unreasonably beautiful, yet also terrifying in an extraordinary way.

Like a rose with thorns.

Strangely, she seemed unwilling to reveal her face, instead wearing a bizarrely patterned black mask that obscured her fair features.

All he could see were her chillingly beautiful eyes.

A dangerous character.

Lynn had silently concluded that the moment he laid eyes on her.

She seemed to be the “lady” Morris had mentioned.

Lynn made his assessment and then chuckled helplessly, raising his tightly shackled wrists: “By the way, these handcuffs are really tight. Can you get them off me?”

He complained to Rhine.

“You can save the jokes for after you’re dead.”

Rhine replied with a deadpan expression.

Hearing this, Lynn sighed, “Looks like we really don’t get along. In that case, I have one more request.”

The cold woman in the mask raised her hand to stop Rhine from bursting out: “Speak.”

“Let him go.” Lynn pointed to Rhine, “You must want to ask me something, right? I’m too scared with him around, scared enough that I can’t remember anything.”

“Alright.”

The masked woman nodded slightly, agreeing to Lynn’s suggestion.

“But…”

Rhine still hesitated.

Just then, Lynn suddenly broke into a violent coughing fit, bowing his head deeply.

In the light, Rhine saw him cough out a pool of blood.

It seemed he had been injured internally when the guards had exercised some private punishment earlier.

If that was the case, this guy should have lost his threat.

After all, stripped of the divine factor, Lynn Bartleon had long become an ordinary person. Even with some wits, could he still stir up trouble in the heavily-guarded “cellar”? Rhine’s last shred of doubt was dissipated.

But before leaving, he still felt the need to give a warning or two.

So, after nodding toward Her Highness the Princess, he walked around the table to Lynn’s side, grabbed his hair, and whispered in his ear: “Be good.”

“…”

Lynn opened his mouth, flashing a brilliant smile at him.

“Hmph.” Seeing this, Rhine released his grip on Lynn’s hair and turned to leave.

In an instant, the small prison was left with only Lynn and the masked woman.

“I’ve met your request; now it’s time to answer my question.”

“Do you have anything to say about the contents of this report?”

The masked woman’s voice was cold, yet hauntingly beautiful.

“Anything to say?” Lynn seemed to be conversing with her, yet also engaging in self-talk, “My lady, being able to retrieve this file indicates you hold a high position in the empire’s administrative system.”

“If that’s the case, you should also be aware of how those incompetent pigs in power can hide the truth just to cling to their petty interests.”

“What happened back then was a trap set by that woman, a complete smear campaign.”

“So, I don’t recognize a single word of it.”

The atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

Through the mask, the woman’s gaze pierced through him, as if she were trying to see right into his soul.

Moments later, she flipped to the next page of the report: “The woman you refer to must be your former fiancée, Miss Irina Mosglar from the Snow Eagle family?”

Lynn glanced at her.

“In your testimony back then, you mentioned that it was she who provided you with false military orders and intelligence, using you and your squad as bait, leading to the imprisonment of you all, resulting in the death of all 132 members of your team.”

“And she climbed her way to power on the corpses of your comrades, completely annihilating tens of thousands of demon clan members in the battle at the Soren Mountain Range, becoming the youngest ‘Valkyrie’ in the empire’s history.”

“You even accused her of colluding with the demon clan, committing treason.”

“Unfortunately, the empire ultimately dismissed these baseless charges.”

Upon hearing this, Lynn took a deep breath: “You brought me to this place, shouldn’t it just be to rub salt in my wounds?”

The masked woman nodded: “Then let’s talk about some intel you don’t know.”

She pulled another stack of papers from the report.

Under Lynn’s watchful gaze, her cold voice echoed in his ears once more.

“In the year and a half since your exile to Orlen City, there’s been quite a stir over in the imperial capital.”

“The first thing is, after leaving the battlefield, your fiancée Irina participated in an experiment at the Saint Roland Institute.”

“With the help of researchers, she successfully implanted the divine factor taken from you, advancing to the Fifth Stage, becoming the only Transcendent of her age to reach the ‘Legendary’ tier.”

“This further solidified the title of the ‘Empire’s Valkyrie.’”

“Subsequently, Irina and the Snow Eagle family, along with a group of nobles, began to suppress your Bartleon family.”

“The first target was your father, Marquess Bartleon.”

“Due to the mistakes you made back then, he, as the Military and Political Minister, was forced to resign in disgrace, and upon returning home, fell gravely ill, remaining in a coma ever since.”

“Your brother also lost his life in a military operation, and after investigation, the military classified it as an accident.”

“As for you, after being exiled to Orlen City, you must have noticed, right?” She looked up at Lynn, “Those subservient servants turning against you, and the forces secretly hunting you down.”

Lynn could only stay silent.

Unexpectedly, after leaving the imperial capital, such terrifying changes had occurred.

The Bartleon family was now utterly collapsed.

But speaking of which, Lynn found himself quite curious about this masked woman before him.

“My lady, what exactly is your purpose in summoning me?”

Hearing this, the masked woman nodded: “Next, I’ll speak plainly.”

“After enduring so much injustice, I believe you must feel sufficiently enraged now.” The masked woman leaned forward, her hands interlaced, “If that’s the case, I hope you can channel this anger into power.”

“Lynn Bartleon, I want you to be on my side.”

“In return, those who have slandered you will lose their tongues; those who stand above will be brought down; those who bullied you will be made to face their doom.”