Chapter 118

Chapter 118: Turning the Tables! Raking in 600 Points!!! (4k)

Though it’s been less than two weeks, in reality, it was only ten days.

Time flew by as Augusta Manor was immersed in anxiety and busyness.

Before I knew it, it was the day of the final deadline.

Staring at the pile of documents on my desk, Greya slowly set down his pen, his dark circles screaming of sleepless nights.

During these ten days, he had exhausted himself to assist Her Highness the Princess in gathering the necessary 576 points for the royal selection, hardly sleeping a wink.

Meanwhile, Greya finally understood just how absurd Lin’s antics had been.

In less than a month.

With barely half a month to play with, Lin had somehow scored a whopping three thousand points from that Oak Tree organization!

Throughout the history of the Saint Roland Empire, very few have accomplished what he did.

In comparison, Greya couldn’t help but feel small next to Lin.

The biggest problem he faced was that the point scoring mechanism of the Oak Tree organization had never been disclosed to the outside world.

No one knew what actions could earn points or deduct them, nor the weight of each action.

Therefore, each prince and princess had to rely on intelligence organizations to figure out the scoring mechanisms, stumbling around in the dark to find some rules.

However, that information was a closely guarded secret, not to be shared with the outside world.

Ivyst had no such network of information.

After all, not long ago, her score was still a negative three thousand; if she knew the ins and outs, it wouldn’t be this ridiculous.

Now, the only thing Augusta Manor could do was to achieve some political feats or projects in Ivyst’s name.

Though it was uncertain how many points they could earn, doing nothing would mean completely dropping out of the royal selection.

As Her Highness still refused to acknowledge anyone, they could only muster all their effort to do what they could.

For instance, during these ten days, Greya had his family bleed cash extensively.

Due to the previous Level 0 Sealed Item incident, most of Orlen City lay in ruins, with countless casualties, still in the disaster recovery phase.

But to rebuild, money was unavoidable.

The rich and noble didn’t need to worry; they had the protection of sealed items and the Church, so most emerged from the disaster unscathed, with few casualties.

But for the poor, it was utterly catastrophic.

Currently, there were about two hundred thousand homeless disaster victims roaming the city for various reasons.

Not to mention other issues, just the food problem was a major headache.

When a person gets hungry enough, dark and filthy thoughts and desires tend to inflate.

In just these ten days, according to information from the City Council, incidents of robbery and murder had skyrocketed by hundreds of times compared to the past!

The whole city, aside from the affluent areas where nobles and the wealthy lived, had gradually turned into a chaotic lawless land.

Even the police force was overwhelmed; when they encountered cases, they often chose to play dead.

In such a desperate and oppressive environment, the nobles looked down from their high pedestals, enjoying the ‘show’ of the common folk’s misery.

Behind the scenes, they hoarded the city’s resources, dramatically raising food and essential prices, cashing in the dirtiest of profits.

But surprisingly, Augusta Manor chose to be generous in this situation instead of profiting handsomely.

They spent a fortune buying grain from merchants and nobles, then returned it to the market at ridiculously low prices, even distributing relief grains for free to the homeless disaster victims under the name of the third princess.

This was the only solution Greya could think of.

The order in the entire city had vanished.

He could only do what was within his power.

But no matter how he looked at it, Greya knew very well.

Compared to the astonishing actions Lin had taken before, these were utterly trivial.

For that gaping hole of 576 points, they were not worth mentioning.

With that thought, the unbearable anxiety resurfaced.

Since you left, nothing has gone smoothly.

Greya pressed his forehead and sighed softly.

At that moment, the door creaked open.

Morris hurried in, looking equally exhausted; it appeared he had also been busy with Princess affairs these past few days.

“Have you seen the duke recently?”

Seeing Morris, Greya asked with a hint of hope.

Clearly, Duke Tilius was their only hope for turning the tables.

Morris paused, a look of helplessness flickering in his eyes: “No.”

“Since he left here ten days ago, he hasn’t come to visit the princess again; it’s like he vanished from the face of the earth.”

“But there are occasional negative rumors floating around, saying that he played a significant role in promoting the ‘New Grain Act’ and has profited greatly, preparing to run.”

“What does Duke Tilius want?” Greya rubbed his temples, “Does he plan to sever the alliance with Her Highness?”

After saying this, the room fell into silence.

In truth, both of them knew very well.

If anyone were to face Her Highness’s complete loss of will and the true demise of his angel investor, ‘Lynn Bartleon’, they would likely have fled long ago.

That was a noble elector; they could not, nor had the right, to expect anything from him.

After a long silence, Morris finally spoke: “The Oak Tree Messenger is about to arrive; we should head to the reception room early.”

Greya slowly stepped down from the carriage, looking at Augusta Manor before him.

He didn’t expect to return here again in just a month.

Last time it was for ‘Lynn Bartleon’, and this time it was for Ivyst.

It’s a shame that interesting little guy had perished in this disaster.

Even before his death, he didn’t forget to pull one over on him.

As for what happened that day, Felix didn’t harbor too much anger; rather, he felt more regret.

He regretted not being firmer when asking Ivyst for Lynn and not offering a better bargain.

Such an interesting person, one hardly comes across in a lifetime.

Thinking this, Felix slowly followed the trembling maid into the manor.

Today, he wasn’t the main character; he was to play a novel role.

Since Orlen City’s location was rather remote and Felix was one of the only two royal members still stuck here, the Oak Tree organization entrusted him to act as today’s notarizer.

To notarize the first princess eliminated from the royal selection, Ivyst Roland Alexini.

Only by doing this did the ceremony gain its divine and legal efficacy.

As the door gently pushed open, he saw the white-haired woman sitting by the bed.

It had only been a month, but this half-sister had started to feel somewhat strange to him.

Though her appearance hadn’t changed one bit, she gave off an aura of being utterly drained.

Felix maintained his expression and walked slowly into the room.

“Dear sister, I’ve come to see you.”

He approached the bedside, standing next to Ivyst as they both gazed out the window.

Was it just his imagination?

It seemed he could faintly hear some chaos and noise from the rich district in the distance. But it didn’t draw Felix’s attention.

Seeing Ivyst remain silent, he mused aloud: “True, it would be hard for you to gather over five hundred points in just five days.”

“Even for me, it would take quite the effort.”

Yet Ivyst acted as though he didn’t exist, sitting like a statue in her wheelchair.

Seeing this, Felix let out a sigh.

“How rude.” The silver-haired youth said softly, “This is why both I and Cyrilina, as your elder brother and sister, despise you.”

“Though you may be the ugliest in the Alexini family, as a little girl, you should smile more; eventually, someone might care.”

“But you don’t like to smile; instead, you prefer to hide in the corner, silently crying while plotting silly and laughable little revenge schemes.”

“Who else can you bully if not yourself?”

“By the way, about that prank at your fifth birthday when Albert knocked your mask off in public—that was initiated by me, though he executed it.”

“Ivyst,” Felix suddenly crouched down, looking at the white-haired woman with an indifferent expression, “There’s a notion I’ve held onto from the very beginning.”

“A creature like you should have been suffocated in her cradle the moment she was born.”

“The lofty and grand ideals of the throne shouldn’t be desired, even in thought, by shadowy creatures lurking in dark corners.”

“What do you think?”

“Get out.”

Ivyst finally spoke.

Her voice was calm, yet it radiated an extreme coldness.

“Get out?” Felix chuckled, “But with you so diminished in power now, what right do you have to say such things to me?”

“By the way, it seems Cyrilina recently took on an underling named ‘Xia’, a rather interesting young man; it won’t be long before he achieves something, even causing me to feel a little urgency.”

“It’s a pity that these matters will be completely irrelevant to you from now on.”

“Come, my dear sister.”

“Let’s go and welcome the Oak Tree messenger’s arrival, waiting for the descent of your final destiny.”

“Perhaps this will be the first and last time I walk with you.”

As he spoke, Felix moved to the back of the wheelchair, gripping the handles as he slowly pushed it.

However, unseen by him, Ivyst’s hands tightly clenched into her own flesh.

Dropping out of the royal selection?

Perhaps that’s truly the only thing she wanted to do right now, waiting for the day when her power was restored, to seek revenge on this filthy and ugly empire for her beloved little dog.

Yet deep down, there remained a sliver of reluctance.

After all, it was a long-cherished wish from over a decade.

Especially hearing that the woman she despised the most was currently living such a harmonious life.

But what could she do with her reluctance?

Life is just like this.

Filled with pain and helplessness at every turn.

As Felix pushed Ivyst’s wheelchair slowly into the reception room, the crowd in Augusta Manor suddenly turned serious.

They looked simultaneously at the silver-haired youth, tension and oppression heavy in their hearts.

“Don’t be nervous.” Felix handed the wheelchair to the alert Afia with a indifferent tone, “I’m merely a notary here for a routine matter; pretend I don’t exist.”

He couldn’t even be bothered to engage in pleasantries with Ivyst’s subordinates.

Whenever Felix felt bored with people or events, this sort of expression would surface.

He sat cross-legged on the empty sofa, appearing calm.

Considering the time, the Oak Tree Messenger should be arriving soon.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, a sudden knock echoed at the door.

The crowd raised their eyes, only to see a brown-haired young man dressed in golden oak tree-patterned clothing slowly walk in.

His expression was serene, not giving away a hint of flaw.

Upon seeing everyone in the room, the Oak Tree messenger first bowed to Prince Felix, then repeated the courtesy towards Ivyst.

“Since the second prince is also present, I shall commence the reading of today’s royal selection scores.”

The brown-haired youth spoke slowly.

Hearing this, Felix nodded: “I will fulfill my duties and obligations as a notary, keeping everything that occurs today fully noted for later submission to Judge Nidero.”

Once again, the brown-haired youth bowed, then took out the familiar parchment from his pocket.

“Now, moving on to the next—”

But before he could finish, another hurried set of footsteps rang out at the door!

Everyone instinctively looked up, realizing that Duke Tilius, who hadn’t been seen for ten days, suddenly appeared at the entrance in a rush.

“Apologies, Your Highness, I’m late.”

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded towards the silent Ivyst in the wheelchair.

Seeing this, Morris and Greya’s eyes flickered with a hint of hope but quickly dimmed again.

That Duke Tilius was present indicated he hadn’t given up on their alliance agreement.

However, at this point, what could he do in such an irreversible situation?

Everything was already too late.

Greya sighed in despair.

Meanwhile, Felix slowly rose and took the initiative to bow to Duke Tilius.

After all, he was a noble elector, and any slight good impression could be beneficial.

However, whether it was his imagination or not, as Duke Tilius’s gaze passed over him, Felix felt something odd in the other’s expression.

Once the duke settled down, the brown-haired youth continued with his purpose for the day.

But when he shifted his gaze back to the parchment with the sealed item’s attributes, noticing a certain number change, his eyes widened slightly!

His excellent professional qualities managed to suppress the turmoil within.

“Next, I shall announce the royal selection score for Her Highness, Third Princess Ivyst Roland Alexini.”

“In the last round, your score was -576 points, placing you last among the nine royal children.”

“After this score update, your ranking remains unchanged…”

These clichéd statements dimmed the expressions of the surrounding subordinates.

“…But your score has changed.”

The Oak Tree Messenger’s voice continued.

“Your current royal selection score is 24 points.”

(ps: Stomach cramps)

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