Lin Gui's figure slowly emerged from the shadows in the corner as the effects of the 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】 faded.
He grabbed Theia, who was still trying to look out the window.
“Don't chase after them. They're already gone.”
He wanted to ask Theia why she was here,
but before he could speak, his sharp senses picked up something in the air...
A faint, lingering trace of a strange, sweet scent seemed to drift in the room.
As the scent entered his nose, a strange, inexplicable heat began to stir in his lower abdomen.
He reflexively took another sniff, and his expression instantly turned bizarre.
“Aphrodisiac powder?”
Theia's face instantly flushed red all the way to her ears.
Her eyes darted around in a panic.
Beside her, Elvia's heart hammered wildly, but her reactions were lightning-fast.
She quietly stepped forward and nudged the blowpipe on the floor deep under the bed with her toe.
Putting on a helpless yet slightly indignant expression, she began to lie through her teeth:
“It must have been some blind noble playboy. He probably drank too much and got the wrong room.”
“He probably wanted to use these underhanded tricks on his companion but ended up at the wrong door!”
She spoke with absolute certainty, as if she had witnessed it herself.
Lin Gui narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Elvia's forced composure and Theia's crimson, guilty face.
The timing, the location, and this bizarre "coincidence" of their appearance...
everything about it felt extremely fishy.
Theia's scalp tingled under his gaze, and she felt like she was about to explode on the spot.
Seeing this, Elvia knew she had to change the subject immediately.
“Forget about this mix-up for now! You offended the Eldest Princess at the auction earlier.”
“I just went to talk to her with the Mermaid's Tear, but she said she would never tell anyone who showed her such contempt!”
Sure enough, the moment crucial information regarding Avalon was mentioned,
Lin Gui's attention was instantly drawn.
Upon hearing that it was because he had talked back to the Eldest Princess at the auction,
which made her flat-out refuse to cooperate even with the Mermaid's Tear in hand,
Lin Gui stared at Elvia, speechless.
“Didn't you tell me to act arrogant to prove my identity as a noble heir from the Central City-States?”
“Uh...”
Elvia looked slightly embarrassed.
“Well... I didn't expect my royal sister to be so... petty.”
Lin Gui looked out the window at the still-dark night sky and estimated the time.
Then, he turned to Theia, who was trying her best to shrink into the background, and asked,
“Theia, how is your control over the demon energy in your body?”
Theia nodded quickly, like a chicken pecking at grain.
“As long as I don't actively channel it, not a single trace will leak out normally.”
“Alright.” Lin Gui nodded and walked decisively toward the door. “Let's go.”
Elvia was taken aback and instinctively asked, “Where are you going?”
Lin Gui glanced back at her, his tone as casual as if he were going for a stroll.
“To kidnap the Eldest Princess, of course. Since Theia has mastered her demon energy, we don't have to worry about exposing her.”
Elvia's mouth fell open in shock, nearly choking on this simple and crude plan.
She quickly stopped Lin Gui, who was already raring to go.
“Wait!”
“Hmm?” Lin Gui stopped and looked at her.
He assumed she was trying to stop him out of sisterly affection.
However, the light of calculation gleaming in Elvia's eyes was even more intense than his.
“If we're going to kidnap her, we have to do it differently!”
“I know Charles has an organization under him that specializes in dirty work, and their methods are very distinctive.”
“We can disguise ourselves and pin the blame on him!”
She grew more and more excited as she spoke.
“Wait for me. I'll go fetch some of the gear and clothing that organization commonly uses!”
“I guarantee that when Diana wakes up, her dear third brother will be the first person she suspects!”
Lin Gui and Theia exchanged a glance, both seeing a trace of speechlessness in each other's eyes.
This woman seemed exceptionally enthusiastic and skilled when it came to sabotaging her own siblings.
...
The subsequent operation went exceptionally smoothly.
Elvia quickly procured several sets of black nightwear.
The three of them first returned to one of Elvia's hidden small villas to change.
Afterward, they sneaked back into the palace grounds where the wedding banquet was being held.
By now, the banquet was drawing to a close.
Having lost its two main attractions, Elvia and Lin Gui,
the venue had completely turned into a playground for the Third Prince, Charles, and his supporters to revel.
The three of them waited patiently.
Eventually, the Eldest Princess, Diana, left the banquet hall looking slightly exhausted, escorted by a crowd of guards and male companions.
They shadowed Diana's entourage from above like ghosts.
The 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】 perfectly concealed all their presences.
However, what they witnessed next almost made the three of them tumble off the staff.
The Eldest Princess did not head straight back to her manor. Instead, she first went to a secluded private club.
A masquerade ball was currently underway inside.
All the women wore masks,
while the servers were exclusively handsome, well-built young men.
It was practically a high-end host club.
Even more jaw-dropping was that the Eldest Princess's actual nightlife only truly began after she returned to her manor.
Several scantily clad handsome men of various styles had already been waiting inside.
The moment they saw her return, they swarmed her like pets vying for affection...
The scene was far too scandalous.
So much so that the three of them riding on the oak staff simultaneously raised their hands to cover their eyes.
“...” Lin Gui.
“...” Theia.
“...” Elvia.
It wasn't until late into the night that the exhausted Eldest Princess finally dismissed all her male companions and drifted into a deep sleep alone.
The time had come.
Lin Gui maneuvered the staff to slip silently into the bedroom.
A brick was brought down, striking the Eldest Princess squarely on the back of her neck.
With a dull thud, Diana lost consciousness without so much as a whimper.
Lin Gui slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
Elvia quickly stepped forward and deliberately tore off a piece of the Eldest Princess's nightgown.
She also messed up the bed, fabricating signs of a struggle,
and cleverly left a fragment of an emblem 'borrowed' from the Third Prince's subordinates on the edge of the carpet.
The entire kidnapping and framing process was so simple that even Elvia found herself getting a little excited.
Upon returning to their temporary villa hideout, Elvia eagerly volunteered:
“Leave the interrogation to me! I know her well enough to know how to crack her open!”
Lin Gui glanced at her, choosing not to call out Elvia's obvious attempt to push her own agenda.
“Alright, go ahead. Just make sure you get clear answers about Roger and Avalon.”
Rate on N.U.
