Chapter 19

Chapter 19: The Coin Toss Game

Blood flowed steadily from the body of the executed prisoner, gradually soaking into the grass.

The scarlet and emerald colors were remarkably distinct at this moment.

Ivyst couldn’t help but recall the horrific scene when she arrived at the northern village of Orlen City that night, where the entire village had been sacrificed by the Creationist sect.

Religion is the biggest scam in this world.

Watching the prisoners’ desperate faces only made her mood brighten.

Every time she saw those wicked scum display helplessness and panic before a powerful, evil existence, she would feel a sense of comfort.

Ivyst didn’t quite know whether this meant she was psychologically twisted or something else.

It was probably a rather niche preference.

However, her experiences since childhood had taught her not to seek anyone’s understanding of this preference, nor did she care about their gazes.

The remaining five cult members, witnessing yet another companion tragically perish, trembled like leaves in a storm.

But at this point, they had no other choice but to obey that female demon’s commands and continue this despair-filled coin toss game.

One wrong guess, and they would end up as nutrients for that thorny rose.

All the prisoners present bowed their heads, playing quail, unwilling to be the first to break the terrifying silence.

Suddenly, a series of rapid and vigorous claps rang out, startling the prisoners.

“Clap clap clap clap!”

Ivyst frowned slightly and turned to look.

There was Lynn, half-kneeling beside her, suddenly straightening up and clapping solemnly.

The rhythm was so fast that his palms had turned red from the clapping.

“What’s going on?”

Her voice remained cold, with a hint of annoyance.

“Your Highness, you are truly remarkable.” Lynn stopped clapping, devoid of fear and filled with admiration. “It’s embarrassing to admit, as a noble, I once thought murder was an extremely crude and bloody act, a disrespect to life.”

“But today, Your Highness has shown me that murder and execution can actually be an art form.”

“That spine-tingling horror of lingering between life and death, the intoxicating thrill that quickens the heartbeat, the pure and bloody primal beauty—my heavens, you are simply the greatest artist in this world!”

At this moment, Lynn was like Ivyst’s little fanboy, eager to leap into fire for her.

Hearing this long monologue, Ivyst couldn’t help but facepalm, as though once again her comprehension had been reset by this guy’s lack of boundaries.

After a long pause, she slowly turned her head. “Shut up.”

Lynn instantly fell silent.

However, gazing at Ivyst’s delicately swaying ankles, he thought this flattery seemed to have had some effect.

Truthfully, after witnessing such a bloody scene, Lynn also felt a bit queasy.

After all, he wasn’t some kind of psychopath.

But on the surface, he still put on a façade of understanding.

Everything was merely to dispel Ivyst’s wariness of him, making her think he was genuinely loyal.

After all, Lynn had already undergone hypnosis experiments and had deceived everyone.

From Ivyst’s perspective, she could hypnotize this down-and-out Bartleyon scion at will, issue any commands, and he would have no chance of escaping her grasp.

Yet all along, Lynn’s thoughts remained unchanged.

He wanted to save himself, to survive.

To avoid getting entangled with this villainous princess, ensuring he wouldn’t be tagged as a villain’s henchman by the protagonist’s group and suffer the repercussions later, Lynn was going to great lengths.

He had to run, and he had to run far away, never to appear before her again.

Perhaps only then could he survive until the end.

What? You say an S-level plot character? Please, there are plenty of beautiful grasses under the sky. Do you really expect all the main characters to die and then hang themselves on this one tree? And not far away, the coin toss continued.

“Next.”

Ivyst’s cold voice was like death’s beckoning.

“Heads!”

“Thud——!!” “Next.”

“Tails?”

“Thud——!!”

It seemed Ivyst accelerated the pace of executions with Lynn’s arrival.

As that ancient coin spun, the remaining few cult members were despairingly walking to their doom.

Perhaps when they recklessly sacrificed the common people of the Saint Roland Empire, they should have anticipated that one day, such a scene would unfold.

As more and more thorns gathered, the blood-red rose in the center bloomed ever more brilliantly, dripping with vitality.

Ultimately, all eight prisoners present perished in the ocean of thorns.

They knelt on the ground until the very last moment of their lives, seemingly repenting before the innocent.

After all this, Ivyst’s expression remained unchanged as she calmly picked up her porcelain teacup and took another sip.

“Next.”

“?”

Lynn looked around, only to find there were no more live prisoners left.

For a moment, a bad feeling surfaced in his heart.

He glanced at the silent Elderly Female Steward.

When he saw her again bring out the ancient coin, his face turned green.

No kidding, there were only three people left; who else could it be? Damn it, his flattery was wasted! Seeing his expression, Ivyst couldn’t help but reveal a slight smile. “As expected, I enjoy seeing you scared; how cute.”

“…”

Lynn secretly cursed this vicious woman thousands of times.

This only solidified his desire to escape.

“But I am a bit curious.” Her eyes narrowed. “If you were one of those prisoners, facing the same situation as earlier, what choice would you make?”

“Uh, I’d just pick a side at random and let fate decide?”

Seeing him being so evasive, Ivyst shook her head. “Actually, I know you’re still calculating ways to escape.”

“Your Highness, I—”

Lynn was about to explain but was interrupted.

“After all, I’ve been forcing you from the beginning, never considering your will.” Ivyst suddenly began self-reflecting, “Thinking about it, that’s pretty wrong.”

“How about this: since you dislike me so much, I’ll give you a chance.”

“If you can win against me in the coin toss, I’ll allow you to leave Augusta Manor and will not stop you.”

Lynn instinctively raised his head.

The Liars’ Devourer had granted him the ability to discern lies.

So at this moment, he could tell that Ivyst was speaking the truth.

But why was this person suddenly being so kind? Suspicion filled Lynn’s eyes.

Seeing this, Ivyst said lightly, “Don’t look at me like that; even I wouldn’t allow a treacherous subordinate to linger in the team; that’s essentially a ticking time bomb, and you should understand.”

At her words, Lynn awkwardly smiled.

In the next second, he saw Ivyst flip her palm, revealing a delicately crafted collar with mysterious runes resting in her hand.

“Since this is a game, there should be rewards and punishments to make it interesting.” She revealed a meaning-laden smile. “The collar is the punishment for losing.”

“If you fail to guess the right side within three tries, you’ll have to wear it from now on.”

Of course!

This was this twisted woman’s real intention!

Lynn’s expression became serious.

“So, how about it? Want to play?”

“I bet.”

Chapter 20: The First Hypnosis

“Good.” Hearing Lynn’s response, Ivyst nodded, “Let’s get started then.”

The Elderly Female Steward stepped forward quickly and handed the ancient coin to her.

Weighing the coin in her hand, a glimmer of anticipation sparkled in Ivyst’s eyes.

She was eager to see if this guy could bring her any surprises after observing the death patterns of those prisoners.

Indeed, this wasn’t an ordinary coin, but an object imbued with transcendent power.

[Item Name: Coin of the Art of Deception]

[Catalog Number: 0719]

[Rank: 6]

[Origin: Once an ordinary copper coin, it gradually acquired traits corresponding to the belief in “deception” after prolonged contact with a high-ranking Transcendent who followed this faith, though it does not possess self-awareness.]

[Effect: Causes the results to be unguessable.]

[Containment Suggestion: Can be stored as an ordinary coin in a wallet.]

Clearly, this was the reason all those cult members failed.

The coin changes its result according to the guesses made by people.

Although it does not have self-awareness, and its rank is only 6, categorized as safe and harmless, it can still somewhat comprehend and read human thoughts.

For instance, those cult members.

When they chose “heads,” the coin would automatically switch to the opposite side.

And vice versa.

This mirrors the nature of those who follow the belief in “deception,” mixing unpredictability with a hint of mocking fate.

So no matter what, the person guessing the coin would never win this game.

Unfortunately, Lynn was entirely unaware of this, as it hadn’t appeared in the original text.

However, having observed for some time earlier, he had gained some insights.

“Actually, most of those prisoners approached this game from a gambler’s perspective.” Lynn suddenly spoke up, “If viewed from a different angle, you’d find things aren’t what they think.”

“According to a gambler’s psychology, if the previous two guesses were wrong on heads, the third person would probably still hope to guess heads.”

“‘It’s already been tails twice; it should be heads this time, right?’ That would be their thought process.”

Seeing this, Ivyst slightly pursed her lips: “So as the ninth guesser, with their failures as a lesson, would you choose tails?”

Lynn shook his head: “No, I’d think the coin is faulty.”

“Statistically, the probability of guessing wrong eight times in a row is one in two hundred fifty-six.”

“On a macro level, this is an extremely low probability event, almost impossible to occur.”

Ivyst narrowed her slender eyes: “You think I’m cheating?”

“Not at all.” Lynn sighed. “As the house, that’s your prerogative.”

“Then stop wasting time; just guess.”

Ivyst twirled the exquisite collar, imagining how it would look around Lynn’s neck.

However, Lynn ignored the psychological pressure she was deliberately creating.

Meanwhile, his brain raced.

Though Ivyst was a bit twisted, she wouldn’t let him play a game he was destined to lose.

Upon reflection, the dead prisoners had all made choices, be it heads or tails, yet the outcomes were invariably the same.

So, what did those failures have in common?

A light bulb moment struck Lynn.

Could it be that—

“Alright, don’t stall.” Ivyst’s slight frown indicated her impatience as she urged, “You have three tries.”

Lynn snapped back to attention.

Seeing Ivyst pressuring him, he nodded: “I understand. But if this is a game with stakes for winning and losing, then as the initiator, I believe Your Highness should also participate.”

At his words, the Elderly Female Steward suddenly opened her eyes.

Ivyst also showed a hint of surprise.

As expected, he had discovered some patterns.

But what of it? As the third princess of the Saint Roland Empire, she had no valid reason to refuse the invitation from a subordinate.

“Sure.”

At her response, Lynn exhaled in relief.

Seeing him relaxed, Ivyst couldn’t help but smirk sarcastically.

Lynn gradually lifted his head.

To win this game, he couldn’t repeat the mistakes made by those cult members.

What was their failure? As the first to speak, they all articulated their guesses.

Lynn had once heard a saying: when you eliminate all possibilities, whatever remains, no matter how absurd, is the truth.

So, all he needed to do was avoid these two points.

The tasks were quite simple.

“Which side do you choose?”

Ivyst urged again.

Feeling the gazes from both her and the Elderly Female Steward, Lynn cleared his mind, striving not to dwell on either “heads” or “tails.”

“I choose the opposite side of Your Highness.”

Did it actually work?!

Standing outside Augusta Manor, Lynn gazed at the bustling street, suddenly feeling as if he had crossed into another world.

Even now, he could hardly believe that after winning the bet, Ivyst had truly allowed him to leave.

Not only that, but she also handed him a pouch of gold coins for traveling to the imperial capital.

It truly was it—Lynn cautiously scanned his surroundings, finding no one lurking in the shadows, and his racing heart finally began to calm.

So, he called for a carriage and set off towards the train station.

As for whether to return to the imperial capital or venture into other countries—these were insignificant details.

After all, he didn’t want to stay in this border city for even a moment longer.

Recalling how Ivyst had nonchalantly released him, Lynn’s mind remained tangled.

However, now that this opportunity had been given, he should seize it well.

Last time, even in that heavily guarded underground prison, he had managed to find an escape route, so the chances were even greater now.

“Is Your Highness really letting him go?”

Under the shade of a parasol, the Elderly Female Steward poured Ivyst some hot tea and whispered. As someone who had grown up accompanying her, their bond was exceptional, with a trust that defied logic.

“Aunt Kesha, what do you think of him?”

Ivyst did not answer her question but instead squinted her eyes with a satisfied expression.

“Very smart.”

The Elderly Female Steward named Kesha responded calmly.

After all, he had discerned the effects of the deceptive coin in such a short time and identified a countermeasure—something not many could do.

Clearly, through observing the prisoners, Lynn realized the common points in their failures.

First, they acted first.

Second, they all expressed their guesses.

His solution was also quite clever.

“I choose the opposite side of Your Highness.”

This response neither revealed his guess nor stated a specific choice, cleverly shifting the real decision-making power to Ivyst.

After all, the deceptive coin had a low rank and did not possess a living consciousness.

It couldn’t comprehend Lynn’s response nor extract his true intentions from his vacant mind.

So ultimately, Ivyst became the first to choose.

Once she verbalized her choice, the effects of the deceptive coin would cause it to flip to the opposite side.

Lynn emerged victorious.

Seemingly simple, yet exceedingly difficult.

At least Kesha self-proclaimed she couldn’t achieve what he did.

“I believe Your Highness should rely on hypnosis to keep him firmly under control.” At this moment, Kesha, usually silent, spoke unusually at length. “If he truly returns to the imperial capital and falls into the hands of the other princes, it would become quite a hassle for you.”

“No need to rush; even a small dog tied too tightly will bark a few times. How much more for a human?”

Ivyst calmly stated.

Just then, the distant sounds of ringing bells reached them.

Ivyst set her teacup down, gracefully lifted her skirt, stood up, and donned the nearby black mask again.

“Let’s check the time; it should be about right.”

“I’ll step out for a moment. I might be quite late when I return, so remember to prepare dessert—double portions.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Late at night, as the carriage gradually halted, Lynn, wrapped in a thick scarf, got out from the carriage.

Looking at the unfamiliar small town before him, the tension he previously felt eased slightly.

It seemed Ivyst’s group had kept their promise.

Or perhaps his clever ruse had begun to take effect.

Recently, Lynn had pretended to head to the train station and bought a ticket in plain sight of many witnesses. During that time, he had deliberately stirred up trouble and had an argument, all to leave a lasting impression and provide erroneous information for any potential pursuers.

In reality, he wasn’t heading to the imperial capital at all.

After all, a train journey would take about six or seven days, which was too lengthy and prone to unforeseen events.

So thereafter, he found a passerby, paid some money to buy his clothes, and swapped outfits with him in an alley to completely disguise himself as someone else.

Having completed all this, Lynn called for a carriage and raced toward Remi Town, the closest to Orlen City, under the sunset.

This area was famous for its apples and various wines made from the fruits.

Moreover, it was the nearest checkpoint for leaving the Saint Roland Empire.

He intended to flee completely!

As long as he remained within the borders of the Saint Roland Empire, Ivyst’s grasp could strike at any moment.

As thoughts of that beautiful yet terrifying woman crossed his mind, Lynn couldn’t help but shake his head.

He entered the brightly lit adventurer’s tavern, booked a room at the front desk, and then headed straight upstairs.

Throughout this journey, he continued contemplating Ivyst.

Upon careful consideration, she hadn’t caused him any substantial harm.

In fact, after knowing that Rhine had used underhanded tactics against him, she even condoned his retaliatory actions.

To be honest, if Ivyst weren’t the villainous princess from the original text, Lynn might have actually chosen to stay and assist her.

Although she was daunting, she seemed quite good to her subordinates.

Moreover, during the time they spent in the underground laboratory, Ivyst had honored her promise to save him.

Therefore, at the end of the day, Lynn’s impression of her wasn’t negative.

In his previous life, while reading novels, he had a deep impression of this character.

“What a woman who evokes both love and hate.”

Lynn pushed open the door to his guest room and sighed.

“Then, tell me, which do you feel, love or hate?”

The sudden, familiar voice left Lynn rooted to the spot, like a statue.

Inside the room sat a masked woman in a sleek black fringed gown, watching him with narrowed eyes, a delicate collar twirling on her fingertip.

Damn it, I knew it! Lynn turned and bolted.

As he ran, he yelled, “Help! Someone’s trying to rape me!!”

He aimed to attract the entire tavern’s attention.

But as soon as those words left his mouth, he felt a powerful pull from behind.

It was as if invisible hands gripped him, compelling him to tumble backward.

“Bang!”

As he flew into the room, the door slammed shut behind him.

Lynn gritted his teeth and looked up at the calmly smiling Ivyst.