Chapter 10: Chapter 10 How Beautiful
Perhaps it was because Rhein's actions had caught everyone by surprise.
So when Lynn followed the masked woman out, all those present somehow failed to notice him.
Because it was simply too crazy.
The majority of the guards watching the Underground Prison were from the Augusta Family.
They were well aware that the expressionless eldest young master, who was actually proud at heart, always looked at everyone with disdain.
Such a person despised acts that would tarnish a noble's dignity through pandering to the masses.
Yet now, the haughty eldest young master was running around completely naked, shouting, "I'm gay," which was absolutely mind-boggling.
Could it be that he had been repressed for too long and finally revealed his true nature?
Quite a few of the armored guards shivered subconsciously.
Feeling the various gazes from around him, Rhein felt extremely indignant at this moment.
I am not gay!
He wanted to shout it out, but he had to obey the Princess's orders.
Even after the incident was over, even if he cleared up the misunderstanding and even forbade people from mentioning it within his estate, it would all be in vain.
For those high-society nobles, gossiping was an endlessly delightful affair.
He had no doubt that after tonight, rumors of his homosexuality would spread quickly throughout the upper echelons of Orn City.
For someone as proud as him, this was worse than death itself.
With this thought, Rhein tried to signal one of his guards with his eyes, reminding him to hurry up and dismiss the surrounding people.
However, after making eye contact, the guard seemed evasive.
Even stepping back unconsciously.
Seeing this, Rhein's last bit of hope died.
At that moment, he felt a surge of despondency, vomited a mouthful of fresh blood, then blacked out and collapsed to the ground.
...
The escape route from the Underground Prison was infuriatingly smooth.
So smooth that even Lynn found it hard to imagine.
He had expected to be discovered and would have to take the masked woman hostage and delay for a while, but nothing happened.
As he stepped over the last step leading to the outside world, a breeze brushed his face.
Lynn let out a sigh of relief.
Next, he just had to find a carriage, take her to the train station, and then board the earliest train to the Imperial Capital tomorrow.
"Lady, order a carriage," Lynn said softly. "Don't worry, you'll return after this is over."
The masked woman glanced at him and, without a word, walked straight ahead.
Soon, an elderly female housekeeper came up to meet them.
"Do you need a carriage?"
Her aged voice sounded very familiar to Lynn, seemingly the one who helped him off the carriage earlier.
Knowing that she had seen his face, Lynn was about to bow his head, but suddenly noticed that the elderly housekeeper didn't even glance at him.
"Hmm."
"It's ready and parked up ahead," the housekeeper bowed and said.
Upon hearing this, the masked woman no longer spoke and slowly walked ahead.
Lynn tensed up, not wanting to be discovered by her at the last moment.
But oddly enough, the old woman did not cast a single glance at him from beginning to end, as if she didn't care at all.
With a hint of confusion, Lynn followed the woman to the carriage.
The carriage was luxurious, with intricate thorn patterns carved on it.
The woman, stepping in her elegant boots, was the first to sit inside the carriage and then rested her chin on her hand, silently looking out of the window.
Just as Lynn was about to follow her into the carriage, the voice of the elderly housekeeper came from behind him.
"Your Highness, the kitchen has prepared red velvet cake for dessert and freshly brewed hot red tea. You can enjoy it upon your return."
She bowed meticulously and then turned to leave.
But upon hearing these words, Lynn's step, hanging in midair, suddenly froze.
Your Highness?!
The title struck him like lightning, leaving him stunned.
"You..."
He looked up like a puppet, his expression rigid as he turned to the elegant woman sitting by the window.
He had mentally prepared himself thoroughly,
Yet, in the end, he still underestimated her.
Who would have thought that the mastermind behind his abduction, the shadowy figure wanting to use him as a puppet, would be one of those few with the highest status and purest blood in the Empire!
Why would he encounter such a prominent figure in a remote city like Orn City?!
Lynn's back was soaked with cold sweat, his heart pounding.
At this moment, he felt the gun in his hand burning hot.
Although he didn't know which Imperial Princess the masked woman was, the early phases of the original story revolved around the King's election ceremony, mainly depicting the overt conflicts and secret struggles between the Princes and Princesses.
It's no exaggeration to say that any one of them could be considered a ruthless person among the ruthless.
Later on, one of the Princesses even turned to the dark side, becoming the ultimate villain, the strongest in the entire novel!
A force capable of tearing apart gods, almost destroying the world!
Faced with such a person, where was his chance of survival?
At this moment, all Lynn could do was pray internally, hoping his luck wasn't that terrible.
It had been half a month since he had transmigrated into this world.
To this day, he had never encountered a character from the original story.
And yet, today, he managed to meet one.
With a nervous heart, he opened the system.
Since it was quite a useless thing and had let him down badly, even Lynn himself hadn't formed the habit of checking it all the time.
Moreover, all his energy had just been spent in a battle of wits with them, completely forgetting about it.
Now, he was finally tasting the bitter fruit.
Meanwhile, the masked woman beside him witnessed his change of expression from beginning to end, a light smile curling on her lips.
"So, you can show such an expression too, quite cute."
"Let me introduce myself," she said with crossed legs and straight back, her figure's curves fully revealed, and the dignity unique to someone with high status also made itself apparent. "My name is Ivyst Laurent Alexini, the Third Imperial Princess of the Saint Laurent Empire."
"Lynn, oh Lynn, should I say you're bold as brass, or should I say you're ignorant?"
[Character Name: Ivyst Laurent Alexini]
[Plot Level: S]
[Plot Deviation: 0.00%]
Lynn's suspended heart completely died.
The system had stopped issuing warnings about "negative behavior," not because it was kind-hearted.
But simply because Lynn was on the right path.
It turned out that the way to complete the preliminary mission was so simple, just by doing nothing at all.
He had overcomplicated everything.
But why did it have to be this woman?
Why did it have to be that antagonist princess who ended up torn limb from limb at the conclusion?
Because she committed heinous crimes that nearly destroyed the entire world, in the end, everyone associated with her was settled by the protagonist group, no matter if they fled to the ends of the earth.
Lynn clenched his teeth and cursed the system's lack of ethics in his heart.
And when he came back to his senses, he found himself bound by blood-red thorns.
The thorns, like pervasive poisonous snakes, used their blood-rimmed vines and sharp spikes to fix his legs and hands in place at an extremely precise angle.
Just a slight movement would bring numbness and stinging pain.
"Alright, the kidnapper game ends now," the woman named Ivyst restored her usual cold demeanor, "Have a good sleep."
"When you wake up, everything will be back on the right track."
Under the influence of the thorn's poison, Lynn began to feel drowsy.
Looking at her nonchalant appearance, an indescribable emotion surfaced in his heart.
Just like when Morris had captured him before, even though he had fought back with all his might, staking his courage and wisdom.
In the end, it was still all in vain.
He felt like a chess piece on a board, each move ultimately cornered, forced to accept the scrutinizing gaze of the chess player, never able to escape.
Lynn fell into deep despair.
Not only because he had to undergo a hypnosis experiment but also because he was on a doomed ship, seeing no glimmer of hope ahead.
He desperately wanted to resist.
But as the antagonist princess from the original story, she was definitely not someone he could contend with at the moment.
Even at this point in time, if the power she possessed were to fully erupt, it would be enough to easily destroy a city.
Killing him would be no different than crushing an ant.
But the more this was the case, the less willing Lynn was to resign himself to fate.
He gritted his teeth, fighting against the overwhelming dizziness.
Looking at the short distance between them and her cold, bright eyes, a sudden impulse surged in Lynn's heart.
At least... he had to complete the system's preliminary mission.
He didn't know what exactly to do to increase the plot deviation value.
So, he chose to follow the thoughts deep inside his heart at that moment.
The next second, Lynn lifted his hand.
He opened his fingers and, with lightning speed, pressed them onto her face.
Then, under her stunned gaze, he tore off the black mask!
Even Ivyst hadn't expected him to dare to do something so audacious.
"You... are courting death!!!"
The Princess's voice was cold and merciless, as if filled with endless resentment.
In an instant, an overwhelming murderous intent swept over him, as if it would tear him to pieces!
Lynn wanted to retort defiantly.
But as the mask came off, his heart skipped a beat involuntarily, and the insincere words he was about to utter could no longer be spoken.
At that moment, a face of extreme coldness yet striking beauty came into Lynn's view.
This was probably the most beautiful face he had seen in both his lives.
It's a pity that a weird dark mark, about the size of a palm, broke the overall perfection, growing like a Curse Mark on her flawless fair cheek.
To the people of this world, such a Curse Mark is a sin, a bad omen, a symbol of detestation by the gods.
But to Lynn, the Curse Mark didn't detract from her allure; on the contrary, it added an eerily enchanting charm that made his heart race.
"She's so beautiful..."
In the last moments before his consciousness faded, Lynn murmured.
For some reason, the blood-red thorns that were supposed to shred him to pieces suddenly stopped.
...
[The plot deviation of the S-level character "Ivyst Laurent Alexini" has risen to 0.01%.]
[Preliminary mission completed, system unlocked.]