Chapter 114

“It’s been a month already.”

Greya glared at the bodyguards in front of him, his eyes filled with anger. “It’s been a whole month since that incident!”

“He was a perfectly healthy person, making such a commotion, there’s no way he just disappeared for no reason!”

“Then why the hell haven’t you lot found even a single clue?!”

“I-I’m so sorry, Young Master Greya,” one of the bodyguards stammered, drenched in sweat. “But we’ve searched the entire Soren Mountain Range and all surrounding areas. We really have no leads.”

“Even with a Sealed Item, it’s like Young Master Lynn… just vanished into thin air.”

“Keep looking! I said, living or dead, I want to see him!”

Greya roared.

Though he was the second son of the Augusta family, he usually kept a gentle and humble demeanor and had never shown such a violent side.

“Don’t be too angry,” Morris suddenly came over and gently patted his shoulder. “After all, we should’ve been prepared for something like this, shouldn’t we?”

Upon hearing those words, Greya’s expression turned a bit dejected.

He didn’t want it to be this way.

But Lynn was one of the few friends he had in this world.

What’s more, he had saved everyone.

Yet in the end, neither the imperial honor roll nor the military medals recognized him at all.

This last scion of the Bartleyon family seemed to have been erased from existence by the damn nobles’ invisible hands.

Looking at the bronze medal of honor hanging on his chest, Greya let out a soft sigh.

After the Wishing Jar incident, everyone who participated in the mission, himself included, received imperial awards.

It was so widespread that it reportedly caused quite an uproar as far away as the imperial capital, Glostin.

The nobles vehemently condemned it, claiming these people were being promoted too quickly, and had never even seen the battlefield against the demon race, which contradicted military principles.

Ultimately, it took Duke Tilius himself to write a fierce letter to the Sixth Saint Roland to settle the matter.

It’s rather laughable.

If the core figure of this incident had been any prince, even the imperial capital wouldn’t have reacted so strongly.

It was merely because they were loyal to the Third Princess Ivyst.

“How’s it going over there with Her Highness?”

Greya suddenly asked.

Morris shook his head gently. “She’s regained some consciousness, but the situation isn’t good.”

“It’s like she’s completely closed off her heart; she only talks to Afia occasionally, while no matter what anyone else says, she doesn’t respond at all.”

Physical wounds heal easily, but mental scars—well, those are a different story.

To be honest, as Ivyst’s subordinate, he had never imagined that the princess he served could one day become so despondent.

And all because of that one man.

It seemed that guy truly was different for her.

Both fell into a silent contemplation.

Clearly, after the Wishing Jar incident, they both had grown quite a bit.

Greya was no longer the aimless fellow who only wished to marry a baron’s daughter for a stable life.

He keenly realized his own frailty and, thus, followed his father and brother Rhine’s lead to join the Prosperity Church and become a Transcendent.

And his goals had changed; he no longer wanted to retire in some southern plantation.

Greya suddenly felt a strong urge to see the imperial capital.

To see those lofty nobles, to understand how their hearts could be so filthy.

Just as the two of them were lost in thought, a maid’s voice suddenly rang from behind.

“Y-Young Master Greya, Young Master Morris, there are two guests outside claiming to be members of the Holy Oak Agency, and they wish to meet with Her Highness!”

The Holy Oak Agency?!

At the mention of that name, a glint of surprise flashed in both Morris and Greya’s eyes.

They had been expecting them to come, but not this quickly.

“Let’s go see what’s going on together.”

Afia gently pushed the wheelchair forward along the corridor.

A bit of sunlight peeked through the window, casting a warm glow upon her.

As she looked at the woman sitting in the wheelchair, Afia felt a slight sting in her eyes.

Over the past month, she had secretly cried countless times.

Sometimes for Lynn, sometimes for the princess, and sometimes for herself.

The woman who sat in the wheelchair was stunningly beautiful.

Yet strangely, she now had hair as white as snow.

Ever since Ivyst awoke from her slumber, her once black hair had turned into a pure, shining white.

This hair color lent her a chilly sophistication.

The once knife-sharp aura of authority and the arrogance vanished without a trace.

Not a hint of her former edge remained.

In Afia’s eyes, in just a month, the princess had transformed into someone utterly unfamiliar.

It seemed she held no interest in anything.

The only thing she did daily was sit by the window, silently gazing towards the Soren Mountain Range.

When others spoke to her, she would respond with indifference.

Only in the evening would she suddenly ask if there were any news of Lynn.

But each time, she was met with disappointment.

Yet even now, the expression of disappointment was nearly invisible on Ivyst’s face.

This was an extremely scary situation.

Afia even wished that the princess would be angry, or hate someone, or even go on a killing spree, anything would be better than this.

But she could faintly understand the princess’s reaction.

Ivyst seemed like a girl who had lost everything—her father didn’t care for her, her siblings bullied her, and everyone around her looked down upon her.

This kind of life should have been dreary and dull.

Yet Lynn’s appearance had changed everything.

Whether it was his exceptional support or his personal charm, to that girl who had originally possessed nothing, he was like a precious treasure that illuminated her dim room.

Her siblings scoffed at this, as they possessed many toys not available to her, toys that seemed within easy grasp. Yet the girl cherished this treasure, polishing it time and again.

Her strong possessiveness wouldn’t allow anyone to take it away, but sometimes, she felt lost because of her excessive care.

This was the first treasure she’d ever had in her life.

And it might very well be the only one.

But now, her only prized possession had been utterly destroyed.

The girl was once again left with nothing, back in that old and dim room.

But how would she change when she stepped out of that room next time?

Afia had no idea.

Fear gripped her heart, making her reluctant to imagine such a terrifying future.

Just as she pushed the cold and indifferent Ivyst, lost in thought, a maid suddenly approached from behind.

“!!。”

She whispered a few words, and Afia’s expression changed in an instant.

“Got it, I’ll take Her Highness there right now.”

After the maid left, Afia bit her lip and pondered for a moment before leaning closer to Ivyst’s ear.

“Your Highness, the Holy Oak Agency has sent someone to see you.”

Ivyst’s gaze remained unaffected.

She continued to stare peacefully and indifferently out the window.

Ten minutes later, Afia finally wheeled Ivyst into the reception room.

The room was already filled with people, including Greya, Morris, and many subordinates from Augusta Manor.

Even Duke Tilius was present.

Seeing the cold-faced Ivyst in the wheelchair, a flicker of pity crossed Tilius’s eyes.

He had hoped that with his and that boy’s assistance, she could achieve something great in the royal selection. Unfortunately, fate played tricks, and everything turned out to be a mirage.

Even so, he had never proposed to dissolve the alliance.

“Now that everyone is here, we can begin.”

The highest-ranking person in the room aside from Ivyst, Duke Tilius, cleared his throat and spoke.

At this moment, aside from those familiar faces, a young boy with brown hair stood in the middle of the room.

Wearing gold-rimmed glasses and neat, tailored noble clothing, with a golden oak tree insignia embroidered on the collar, he looked both sacred and solemn, almost like a secretary for some important figure.

This was the envoy sent by the Holy Oak Agency to Orlen City.

This agency was established specifically for the royal selection, boasting a long history and inherited through an ancient family, dedicated to serving the royal family.

They would score each prince and princess based on their daily behaviors, achievements during the selection, and their reputation in the public eye.

The ultimate victor would be the new emperor of the Saint Roland Empire.

The envoy’s purpose in visiting was to announce Ivyst’s recently updated selection scores.

Upon hearing Duke Tilius’s words, the boy from the Holy Oak Agency slightly bowed to Ivyst and Tilius.

Then, under everyone’s watchful eyes, he pulled out a parchment from his pocket.

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

“In the previous scoring round, Her Highness scored -3576 points, ranking last among the nine princes.”

“The first place is Prince Felix with 10725 points; second is Her Highness Princess Shirina with 8014 points; third, Prince Mikael with 7914 points; fourth…”

“With this update, your ranking remains unchanged, but your score has changed.”

“Successfully resolving the Level 0 Sealed Item incident earned you 1500 points.”

“Gaining the support of a prince-elect earned you an additional 1000 points.”

“Successfully recovering unpaid taxes for the Empire from Orlen City and combating the expansion of various churches granted you another 500 points.”

“Your current royal selection score is -576 points.”

As the Holy Oak envoy’s voice fell, a deep silence enveloped the room.

The corners of Tilius’s eyes twitched slightly.

Clearly, he had not expected Ivyst’s baseline to be this dismal.

Negative points? Is that even a possible score?

Feeling the strange gazes from those in Augusta Manor and Duke Tilius, Morris lowered his head in shame.

Overall, the scoring mechanism of the Holy Oak was quite fair.

Yet, Ivyst’s actions in the imperial capital were notorious.

Even though she had dealt with numerous uncontrollable Sealed Items and had fallen into slumber countless times, the score still couldn’t bridge that gap.

As the saying goes, people can be terribly envious.

The Second Prince had already scored over ten thousand points. Even the Second Princess Shirina had scored over eight thousand, yet Ivyst remained behind the starting line.

However, the Holy Oak envoy seemed oblivious to the awkward atmosphere.

Or perhaps, it was just outside his purview.

“Starting this month, the royal selection ceremony will enter a new phase.” The boy calmly addressed everyone, “That is, the beginning of the first elimination round is upon us.”

“By the end of this month, Her Highness must quickly escape the negative score status, or she will lose her eligibility to participate in the selection.”

These words sent shockwaves through everyone’s minds.

Greya and Morris exchanged worried glances, their expressions turning a bit anxious.

There were less than two weeks remaining until the end of the month.

That meant they had only two weeks to help the princess secure over 576 points in the selection score. Otherwise, she would be completely out!

This—how could that possibly be done?!

In an instant, the mood of the room became somewhat gloomy.

Just then, a voice unexpectedly cut through the air, cool and serene, emanating from the white-haired woman in the wheelchair.

Hope flashed in Afia’s eyes.

But after catching the words from Ivyst, she stood there in a daze, utterly at a loss.

“No need,” Ivyst said, her expression still calm and indifferent as if her heart was ashen. “Tell those people in the imperial capital that I withdraw from the selection.”

Soren Mountain Range.

As an invisible rift in space slowly opened, a figure wrapped in a blanket tumbled to the ground.

“Witch Miss! Can you please not land on such a rough spot next time?!”

The boy complained while getting back on his feet, holding his sore backside.

Then, slightly puzzled, he surveyed his surroundings, feeling the scene before him was completely unfamiliar.

By the way, where exactly am I?

(ps: How can I convince my buddies to give me some monthly tickets? Ugh…)

Daily quota for monthly tickets!!!!!