Early the next morning, just as Lin Gui appeared at the entrance of the post office, he was caught red-handed by Elvia, who had been waiting there for a long time.
Without a word, she dragged him straight to the Cathedral of Light in the Royal Capital.
Under the witness of a few sleepy-eyed nobles who had been “invited” to attend, the two of them speed-ran the entire wedding process.
In front of the priest, Lin Gui wore an expression of undisguised disgust as he quickly muttered, “I do.”
From that moment on, he officially became Elvia Rolan's “legal husband” for a week.
As agreed, in a few days when Lin Gui was ready to leave the Royal Capital, he would write a letter of divorce without hesitation.
By then, Elvia, who had been divorced right after marriage, would undoubtedly become a laughingstock and a major scandal in the high society of the Carter Royal Capital.
Yet, this was exactly what Elvia herself had strongly requested.
According to the rules of the Carter royal family, a princess who married down would lose her right of succession.
However, if a married princess was divorced, her succession rights could be restored.
It was not explicitly written in the regulations, but Elvia's great-grandmother, the reigning Queen of Carter, had done exactly that.
Elvia hoped to use this to buy time and rebuild her faction, which had been severely damaged during her absence.
With the wedding farce settled, Elvia immediately got down to business.
She began to fulfill the “cooperation agreement” she had made with Lin Gui.
As long as she accomplished either of the two tasks he assigned before he left the Royal Capital—finding the Tomb of Queen Catriona or uncovering the truth behind Roger's departure for Avalon—Lin Gui would cure her of the Demon's Poisonous Kiss.
Unsurprisingly, Elvia chose the latter.
After all, as someone who had once memorized the entire official history of the Carter royal family backward and forward just to please her father, she knew very well that the “Queen's Tomb” did not exist at all in Carter's official history.
To be precise, there was never any record of such a queen in the history of Carter.
Nor was there any mention of the corresponding Hero, or the world-ending war they faced—which was distinct from the descent of the Demon God.
Carter had indeed experienced an apocalypse, which was the descent of the Demon God forty years ago.
But the Carter Royal Capital had not relocated because of it.
Perhaps the old relics of the Royal Elder Council knew some secrets?
But knowing them as Elvia did, that bunch of stubborn old men—who treated ancestral rules and royal dignity as their highest principles but actually used them for personal gain—would never acknowledge a piece of history that had been deliberately erased and could potentially shake the legitimacy of their rule.
She did not know why Lin Gui was so obsessed with finding a mythical Queen's Tomb.
This guy's behavior had always been eccentric, and the logic driving his actions always carried a bizarre undertone.
But Elvia did not care. She only wanted to defuse the ticking time bomb inside her as soon as possible.
Originally, Lin Gui's plan was to split up.
He would continue to search for clues about the Queen's Tomb on his own, while Elvia would be responsible for extracting information about Roger from her eldest sister, Diana Carter.
But this proposal was flatly rejected by Elvia.
The reason was simple.
Approaching the Eldest Princess Diana was easy; holding a tea party under the guise of sisters catching up would do.
This was standard routine among princesses.
However, getting her eldest sister—who had been deeply betrayed and heartbroken by Roger—to willingly reveal secrets about her “brother-killing, treasonous ex-boyfriend” was absolutely impossible without some genuine “sincerity.”
Therefore, she needed to prepare a gift that Diana could not refuse.
That was one of the grand finales at the Royal Auction in two days:
the Mermaid's Tear orb.
Merfolks were world-renowned for their ethereal, peerless beauty, and the “Mermaid Pearls” formed by the condensation of their wept tears were rumored to contain a mysterious power that preserved youth and enhanced physical charm.
It held a fatal attraction for all women, especially those in high positions of power.
As one of the three grand finales of this auction, its price would undoubtedly be astronomical.
With Elvia's current financial resources, it was completely out of her reach.
Therefore, she needed to borrow Lin Gui's ability to get rich overnight.
Lin Gui did not refuse.
He glanced at the auction catalog provided by Elvia.
Aside from the “Mermaid's Tear,” there was another item on it that he needed:
a legendary magic mask crafted by a top alchemist, capable of perfectly concealing one's face and aura.
It was perfect for Theia, who desperately needed to hide her appearance and demon energy right now.
Although highly effective, such masks were not unique treasures.
They were relatively common magic items at auctions, with one or two appearing almost every time.
Lin Gui was not surprised to see it listed.
With clear objectives, the operation began.
Elvia was in charge of guidance.
Using her knowledge of the Royal Capital's noble and wealthy circles, she carefully selected “soft persimmons”—targets who were wealthy but cowardly, whom she could easily suppress using her status and methods even if they discovered their vaults had been plundered.
Meanwhile, Lin Gui was responsible for the actual “labor.”
He used the 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】 to infiltrate, acquired the keys by various means, and cracked open the vaults.
Then, as if moving things out of his own house, he used 【Levitation】 to transport the wealth away.
When necessary, he used a brick to precisely knock out any obstructive guards or stewards.
Under the precise navigation of Elvia, this walking encyclopedia of the nobility, the entire wealthy district of the Fourth Ring fell victim to a silent, stealthy, and massive plundering spree without anyone realizing it.
Elvia pointed at the map with practiced familiarity:
“This one primarily deals in ore trade. They don't get along with me. They have five Transcendent guards, but the captain loves to gamble and often sneaks out at night...”
“That one is in mining, and they are my Third Brother's purse. Their warehouse uses a triple magic lock, but their steward is an old flame of my former maid. I know his habit of hiding spare keys...”
Lin Gui, like a ghost in the dark night, slipped in silently.
Sometimes he followed a drunk, late-returning steward into the warehouse;
sometimes he directly knocked out a dozing guard captain with a brick and swiped the keys off him.
On one occasion, taking advantage of a noisy banquet hosted by the owner, he directly “fished” up boxes of gold coins stacked in the secret room below through a ventilation window in the banquet hall ceiling...
When the guards and stewards woke up to find the vaults completely empty, faced with a massive loss that could cost them their heads, their first reaction was often not to report it.
Instead, they desperately tried to cover it up, fabricating the scene and colluding on their stories, hoping to buy time or find a scapegoat.
Chests of gold coins and bags of gems were secretly transported to a remote warehouse that Elvia had purchased in advance.
Looking at the mountain of treasures before her, glittering with an alluring glow under the dim light, Elvia's face flushed with a crimson glow of pure excitement.
In just one day, she and Lin Gui had paid a visit to the warehouses of thirteen wealthy merchants.
The value of the plundered goods actually exceeded ten million gold coins when converted!
At this moment, she fully understood why Lin Gui had been so dismissive of the treasures left behind by the Defense Force back in the Whispering Forest.
With his combination of the 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】 and 【Levitation】, this guy was practically a walking, human vault opener!
If he focused on being a thief, he would undoubtedly become the top Legendary rogue on the entire continent!
“This should be enough, right?”
Lin Gui patted the non-existent dust off his hands, his tone flat.
“No, it's still not enough!” Elvia calmed down from her excitement and shook her head.
“Those expensive jewels, accessories, and magic gear are very difficult to liquidate, and they can easily expose us.”
“Besides, this small amount of money is nothing to the grand nobles who truly control the economic lifeblood of the Royal Capital.”
“To guarantee that we can secure the 'Mermaid's Tear' without a hitch, we need more liquid capital! To be safe, we have to pull off a few more jobs!”
Lin Gui was somewhat puzzled.
“Are the nobles of the Carter Royal Capital... really this rich? This money is almost enough to match the price of the materials I bought for the 'Demon's Poisonous Kiss' back then.”
Elvia smiled smugly.
“The Carter Royal Capital is indeed negligible in terms of military might, but economically... the fact that more than twenty top-tier transport teams transit and meet here is enough to prove its commercial prosperity.”
“The wealth of those grand nobles who hold monopolies over various trades is far beyond your imagination.”
Lin Gui reminded her.
“But the wealthy targets on your list who are easy to deal with and don't get along with you or your political rivals have basically been cleaned out. Only empty shells are left.”
“If we go any higher, the risk of the targets will skyrocket. Once discovered, it's highly likely to directly draw the attention of the Royal Capital Knights.”
“Furthermore, those guarding the treasures probably won't be ordinary Transcendents anymore, and the locks keeping them safe might not be simple magic doors either.”
A flash of determination crossed Elvia's face. “High risk, high reward!”
She paused and added righteously,
“For Theia to reach Avalon safely! To find the secrets behind Roger as quickly as possible! This bit of risk is worth taking!”
Lin Gui rolled his eyes at her speechlessness, exposing her without mercy:
“I think you're just taking this opportunity to abuse your public office for personal gain, suppress your political rivals, and line your own pockets, aren't you?”
The righteous air on Elvia's face instantly collapsed, replaced by a flattering smile as she waved her hands repeatedly.
“A misconception! That's entirely your misconception!!”
Under Elvia's solemn three-fold assurances of “absolutely no selfishness,” “entirely for the greater good,” and “I guarantee this on my royal honor”...
she led Lin Gui to the core of the noble district.
It was heavily guarded, and its grandeur was far beyond that of those wealthy merchants' manors.
This was the stronghold of one of the Third Prince's most steadfast and important pillars of support:
the manor of Duke Joseph.
Looking down at the brightly lit estate below, where patrol squads moved back and forth continuously, and sensing the subtle auras belonging to High-tier Transcendents that constantly emanated from within, Lin Gui silently turned his head to look at Elvia beside him.
Even the Seventh Princess, whose skin was as thick as a city wall, felt her cheeks burning slightly under his gaze, finding it hard to maintain her composure.
She cleared her throat twice and forced an explanation:
“Ahem... well, as my long-time rival, my understanding of that fellow Joseph is no less than his own self-knowledge!”
“His manor layout, the guard rotation schedules, and even the likely locations of his secret vault... I know them all like the back of my hand!”
“He is absolutely... absolutely a perfect target for us to strike!”
Lin Gui said nothing, merely staring at her with an even more pronounced look of disdain.
The meaning was crystal clear: Go on, keep making things up.
Seeing Lin Gui manipulate his staff as if preparing to turn around and leave, Elvia panicked.
She grabbed Lin Gui's sleeve and pulled out her trump card.
She quickly pulled a thick stack of dossiers from her skirt, stuffed them into Lin Gui's hands, and leaned in close to his ear, whispering in a low, hurried voice to slander her target:
“Look! These are all the terrible things that old bastard Joseph has done, which I spent a lot of effort collecting!”
“Three years ago, to seize a piece of land rich in magic crystals, he sent men disguised as demons to massacre a neighboring refugee village. One hundred and thirty-seven people—men, women, young, and old—were slaughtered, leaving no survivors!”
“Last year, when one of his caravans was plundered, he couldn't catch the real bandits, so he randomly grabbed dozens of refugees to take the blame and burned them alive in front of everyone!”
“He also privately enforces a 'blood tax' in his territory, requiring the villages below to hand over a certain number of young girls every quarter under the guise of 'serving the nobility.' In truth... many of them are tortured to death, and their bodies are casually dumped in mass graves!”
“The knights under his command rode their horses through the streets of the Royal Capital and trampled a civilian to death. Instead of offering compensation, they claimed the victim 'soiled the horse's hooves' and demanded the family pay damages!”
Elvia spoke incredibly fast, listing crime after crime, each shocking and backed by relatively solid evidence.
She didn't even need to exaggerate them, because they were all true.
As for how Elvia had managed to gather so much evidence, it was entirely thanks to the help of the commoners and adventurers she represented.
In terms of military, political, and economic power, Elvia was a nobody.
But when it came to intelligence, she was absolutely more formidable than the royal intelligence agency.
Because her people were spread across every single post and position.
Even a sweeping lady could be one of her agents.
This was also why she knew the hiding places of the various wealthy merchants' treasures so well.
Through Elvia's description,
the image of grand nobles who viewed human lives as mere weeds, greedy and cruel, building their power and pleasure upon the blood and tears of the lower class, vividly materialized.
Listening to Elvia's “accusations,” Lin Gui's brow gradually furrowed, and his gaze slowly grew cold.
He flipped through the records in his hand, which were stained with blood and tears.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly raised his head, looked at Elvia, and calmly proposed:
“Sounds like this guy's existence is just a waste of food and air.”
“Why don't we just solve this once and for all and go straight in to slaughter him?”
“Pfft!”
Elvia was so startled she almost tumbled off her levitating staff!
Horrified, she wondered if she had overdone it and actually triggered this guy's murderous intent.
She quickly grabbed Lin Gui's arm and pleaded in a low voice:
“Don't! Brother! Dear brother! My husband of just a few hours! You can't do that, absolutely not!”
“If Joseph falls, his death itself doesn't matter, but the massive interest group tightly bound behind him will instantly go wild!”
“The chain reaction this triggers might be even more severe than killing my father!”
Elvia explained rapidly:
The Joseph family and their allied forces monopolized nearly a quarter of the Royal Capital's food supply and one-third of its mineral mining.
They also controlled the primary trade routes leading southwest.
He himself was one of the largest holders of the Royal Capital's treasury bonds.
His interests were deeply tied to countless minor nobles, wealthy merchants, and even mid-level officers of the Defense Force.
This was the primary reason why, even after losing John's Holy Knights,
the Third Prince still had the confidence to challenge the other princes and princesses.
And this fellow Joseph knew very well how to keep himself alive.
He had deeply bound his industries with the livelihoods, economy, and even parts of the defense system of the Royal Capital.
Once he died suddenly,
nearly a quarter of the Royal Capital's industries could grind to a temporary halt.
Countless workers and small vendors relying on these industries would immediately lose their livelihoods.
The refugee district would completely lose those labor opportunities which, though meager, barely kept them fed...
When that time came, what it triggered would not be a simple riot, but a desperate uprising sweeping through the entire lower district!
Starving crowds would storm warehouses, block streets, and even attempt to breach the city walls...
And the nobles' response had already been proven by history.
They would not hesitate to deploy the knights to carry out a bloody suppression,
and drive tens of thousands of “excess” refugees who might cause instability
out of the city-state like clearing trash, leaving them to be devoured by demons in the wilderness...
Elvia's voice carried a faint, barely perceptible tremble:
“That might doom everyone in the Seventh Ring and the Sixth Ring...”
Lin Gui fell silent upon hearing this.
In truth, he knew all of this; in that destroyed city-state, he had witnessed such scenes with his own eyes.
Drawing a blade for the impoverished, the suffering, and those struggling to survive, only to ultimately drive the very people one meant to protect into a dead end.
He was still too weak.
Lin Gui reined in his thoughts, as if his fleeting murderous intent from a moment ago was merely an illusion.
Elvia stared at him blankly and let out a long sigh of relief.
The light of the 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】 surged silently, completely blending their figures into the night, vanishing without a trace like a drop of water dissolving into ink.
Only a tiny, imperceptible ripple of magic remained, stealthily advancing toward the heavily guarded manor of Duke Joseph.
Rate on N.U.
