Chapter 83

“Ahhh! This feels amazing!”

Lin, feeling the gaze of everyone upon him, thought he might just float away into the clouds.

But on the outside, he masked his excitement, standing solemnly by the chest of coins as if he had merely accomplished a trivial task.

After what felt like ages, the crowd finally began to recover from the shock of the two hundred million fortune.

They still wore expressions of disbelief.

Meanwhile, Afia’s cheeks were flushed for no apparent reason, and her cat ears twitched intermittently.

This was simply too astonishing.

Noticing Ivyst’s gaze fixated on him, Lin cleared his throat. “Your Highness?”

This prompted her to snap back to reality, taking a deep breath, her ample chest heaving beneath her military coat before calming down.

“How did you do it?”

Ivyst tried to keep her tone steady.

But regardless of her attempts at composure, Lin caught the hint of something unusual in her voice.

From the brightness in Ivyst’s eyes, it was clear she was overjoyed, even exceeding her usual demeanor.

No kidding.

Anyone with a subordinate who could rake in two hundred million in ten days would probably be over the moon.

Ivyst had always thought of herself as not particularly money-minded.

But now, staring at that massive chest filled with glittering coins, she realized how wrong she had been.

As she asked her question, the surrounding subordinates cast complicated glances at Lin.

Everyone seemed curious about what he had done.

Lin shrugged casually, “Oh, nothing much. Just made a few of the churches pay up for protection.”

“?”

“I also set fire to one of them and took out a bishop.”

“??”

“Oh, and by the way, I raided the Church of Heavenly Justice.”

“??? “

Before anyone could recover from the bombshells of his first two statements, Lin’s light addition left everyone speechless.

Seriously, dude? Your past ten days were this exciting?

And wait, what? You raided the Church of Heavenly Justice???

Many felt faint at that moment, as quite a few of them were transcendent beings devoted to the Lord of a Billion Stars.

Ivyst frowned at Duke Tilius, “Uh, in a certain sense, he’s not wrong.”

The Duke smirked, replying candidly.

Now, Ivyst was truly unsettled.

She had only been away for a few days, and you’re shaking things up this much in Orlen City? Impressive!

In the blink of an eye, Ivyst flashed before Lin, grabbed his collar, and pulled him toward her study.

“Duke Tilius, you come too.”

Ten minutes later.

Lin sighed.

“So, that’s pretty much the whole story.”

After a brief summary, he relayed the recent events to Ivyst.

Ivyst leaned by the window, gazing outside, lost in an unprecedented silence.

After a moment, sensing the awkward atmosphere and feeling the gaze of Duke Tilius, she shook herself back to the present.

“Good job,” Ivyst turned to Lin, then as an afterthought added, “Very good.”

“I’ll definitely reward you for this.”

“As long as I have Your Highness’s approval, it’s all worth it.”

Lin forced a smile.

Sure, who needs your approval?

Meanwhile, Duke Tilius suddenly turned to a corner, as if something had caught his attention.

But he quickly snapped back.

“How did the task from Saint Roland VI go?” Duke Tilius remembered the king’s instructions, “Did you retrieve that item?”

“. No.”

Ivyst sighed softly.

Upon hearing this, Duke Tilius’s expression turned serious.

If even she couldn’t handle it, that item must be in a delicate state—very troublesome. But with Lin around, he decided not to pursue it further.

If worst comes to worst, it would have to be handed over to the church specialists.

Sensing Ivyst’s earlier upbeat demeanor dipping, Duke Tilius reassured her, “Don’t worry, Your Highness.”

“Even if that item isn’t retrieved, with all the trouble this guy has stirred, you should score points at the Sacred Oak.”

Sacred Oak? Hearing that name made Lin think.

In the original story, this institution was set up specifically for royal selection. With a long history, it had been passed down through a family dedicated to serving the royal family.

Members of that family would give scores based on the daily behavior of princes and princesses, the achievements during the selection period, and their public reputation, among other factors.

Everyone starts with a basic score, and what follows relies on their own actions.

After the royal selection concludes, the Sacred Oak would refer to each prince’s score to propose the next emperor of the Saint Roland Empire.

What an interesting setup.

It made Lin wonder how much support from an elector and helping the empire reclaim taxes would add to Ivyst’s score.

He mused silently.

Upon hearing this, Ivyst nodded. “I know, but…”

She turned her attention back to Lin, “But I still have my doubts.” Ivyst furrowed her brow, “This just doesn’t seem like something you would do.”

If one had to describe Lin’s way of handling things, it would be decisively and swiftly.

Like shooting the Mozgra family’s heir at the banquet.

While that appeared outrageously reckless, there was a deeply logical method behind it.

In contrast, Lin’s actions over the past ten days, aside from the donation activity being brilliant, seemed to stray from his usual behavior.

Duke Tilius needed five hundred thousand gold coins.

According to plan, after raiding eleven churches, he should have already well surpassed the target.

Yet he not only didn’t stop but risked everything, cornering Mozell.

If it were about the potential income of over a million gold coins, Ivyst found it hard to believe.

Was he really going to expose everything and confront the Church of Heavenly Justice at such a risk of assassination, discarding the strategy of keeping a low profile? Although it ended up beautifully, it would undoubtedly attract hatred from the imperial capital.

Moreover, he didn’t seem the type to curry favor with Duke Tilius either.

So there was a flaw in the logic here.

Lin must have had some hidden motive for going after the Church of Heavenly Justice to such an extent.

A woman’s sixth sense is terrifyingly accurate.

Especially since this involved another woman.

Though in strict terms, they were actually the same person.

Realizing this, the twisted side of Ivyst’s personality flared up again.

As a master, even if her adorable little pup had a secret from her, it made her feel profoundly sad.

So sad that she would want to choke him and cuddle him close.

“Now, tell me your real reason for going after the Church of Heavenly Justice.”

Ivyst’s expression seemed calm, but hidden was a sense of danger.

It was, of course, for Witch Miss.

But he knew if he answered that honestly, he would probably find himself in deep trouble.

Feeling the pressure, a bead of cold sweat trickled down Lin’s forehead.

Yet he maintained his composure, “Of course, it’s out of hatred. After being stripped of my divine genes, I couldn’t sleep at night, and the culprit behind it all is the crux bishop of the Church of Heavenly Justice.”

This reason was a bit forced, but it held up well enough.

With Duke Tilius present, Ivyst, though suspicious, decided to cut him some slack for now.

But just then, Duke Tilius, having frequently eyed the corner, finally voiced his curiosity.

“Why is there a ring in the corner, and where’s that red light coming from?”

No sooner had he spoken than the atmosphere turned as frigid as ice.

Duke Tilius immediately realized he’d probably misspoken.

He quickly stood from the sofa, ignoring Lin’s murderous glare, and chuckled awkwardly.

“Uh, you two continue chatting. I’m going to head out.”

Ivyst flashed a sweet and polite smile. “Goodbye, Duke Tilius. Please remember to close the door on your way out.”

“Bang!”

With the door slamming shut, the spacious study was left with just the two of them.

Gazing at Lin’s serious expression, Ivyst regained her composure.

As she slipped off her military coat, revealing her alluring figure, she sauntered to the desk, allowing her curvy backside to press enticingly against the edge.

Then, crossing her legs, she gently elevated her long, boot-clad legs.

“After a few days apart, it seems our dear Lin has been a bit naughty, hasn’t he?”

For some reason, her breathing had quickened.

Just another day, my brothers, am I right??? Please throw your monthly votes my way!!!