Lin Gui did not know exactly how Elvia had "interrogated" the Eldest Princess last night.
He only knew that just as dawn was breaking, Her Highness the Princess had arrived at his door, swearing up and down that she had done her part, and demanding that he immediately lift the "Demon's Poisonous Kiss" from her.
Her reasoning was that she had pried the exact location of Avalon out of the Eldest Princess, Diana.
However, the very moment Elvia opened her mouth, Lin Gui knew she was lying.
“I've figured out the route to Avalon!”
Elvia did her best to make her expression look sincere.
“First, you need to take a ship across the Silent Sea. After restocking in Shield City, head northeast all the way, bypassing the outskirts of the Elven Forest...”
She babbled on, describing a route that seemed detailed but actually bypassed every key location entirely.
Lin Gui did not say a word. He merely stared at her in silence, his calm gaze enough to make anyone squirm.
Elvia's voice gradually trailed off, and fine beads of cold sweat began to form on her forehead.
Under his steady gaze, she felt as if all her disguises had been stripped away.
“Ahem,” she coughed dryly, forcing herself to stay composed as she defended herself.
“The... the route I got from the interrogation really doesn't go through the Wall of Sighs. See? Could you have gotten the wrong information from somewhere before?”
Lin Gui stared speechlessly at this woman who lied as easily as she breathed, asking the system in his mind.
System, can the route she described actually lead to Avalon?
【No.】
【Based on the known geographical information recorded by this system, this route will ultimately lead to the eastern edge of the Elven Forest.】
【It deviates significantly from Avalon's actual location, and the distance is extremely far.】
It turned out this woman was trying to use this method to buy time and lead him in the completely wrong direction.
Lin Gui simply crossed his arms, quietly watching Elvia's performance.
Beside him, Theia blinked.
She followed his lead, crossing her arms, stiffening her face, and staring unblinkingly at Elvia just like Lin Gui.
Elvia felt incredibly uncomfortable under their joint scrutiny.
Yet, she forced herself to hold her ground, keeping a look of "utter fearlessness" on her face.
That was, until Lin Gui bluffed.
“I forgot to tell you, I know a High Rank Light magic spell called the Word of Truth.”
Elvia's face instantly changed.
“Oh, my!”
She immediately adopted a playful, coquettish expression, as if her previous nervousness had never existed.
“I was just joking with you, darling!”
As she spoke, she leaned in with natural ease, taking Lin Gui's arm and guiding him to sit in a nearby chair.
She sat right next to him, pressing so close she was practically clinging to his side.
“Darling, listen to me,”
Her voice was soft and sweet, carrying a seductive, persuasive undertone.
“Why must you go looking for that elusive Avalon? Wouldn't it be better to stay in Carter and help me?”
“If you help me take the throne, I promise you that I will become a benevolent ruler dedicated to eliminating social classes and poverty!”
Her golden eyes shimmered with a blend of ambition and sincerity.
“I will also immediately issue a decree declaring that half-demons enjoy the same rights as other races. I won't ever let little sister Theia face discrimination again!”
She even leaned in close to Lin Gui's ear, whispering in a breathy tone that only the two of them could hear.
“When the time comes... I can even make Theia one of your concubines, you know? The two of us can keep you company together...”
“Pfft—!” Theia, who was drinking water nearby, spat it all out upon hearing this.
Her face instantly turned as red as a ripe apple. She pointed a finger at Elvia, stammering “Y-you, you, you...” for a long time.
She was utterly unable to form a coherent sentence.
With a blank expression, Lin Gui reached out and pressed his hand against Elvia's smooth forehead, pushing her overly close face away.
“For Theia's sake, we must go to Avalon.” His tone was unwavering.
Elvia was puzzled.
“Why? With the mask's disguise, Theia's wanted face is hidden, and she's getting better and better at controlling her demon energy.”
“In the Royal Capital, under my protection, she can come and go as she pleases. She won't have to face the discrimination and persecution she experienced in other city-states!”
Lin Gui calmly countered, “A disguise is just a disguise in the end. She cannot live her entire life behind a mask.”
He turned his head to look at Theia, whose cheeks were still flushed crimson.
“I promised Theia that I would take her to a place where she can show her red eyes without fear, a place that will truly accept her for who she is.”
Theia trembled slightly, a faint shimmer of tears appearing in her emerald eyes.
She bit her lip hard and looked down, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her shirt, but her heart was filled with a massive wave of warmth.
She had almost forgotten about that promise.
Lin Gui withdrew his gaze, looked back at Elvia, and continued.
“Besides, the City-State Alliance meeting at the end of the year will pass that 《Half-Demon Disposal Resolution》.”
“When that time comes, the Ruling Inspectors will bring their teams to every city-state.”
“They possess magic and tools that excel at perception and piercing through disguises.”
“The Legendary Rank disguise mask Theia is wearing might not be enough to fool them.”
“When that happens... what will you do? Will you dare to openly oppose the City-State Alliance's inspectors for her sake?”
Elvia opened her mouth but found herself utterly speechless.
The Ruling Inspectors... their power within the City-State Alliance was immense.
It was so great that even her father, the nominal supreme ruler of Carter, had to bow his proud head before them.
She knew that even if she truly became the Queen of Carter,
she would absolutely lack the power to openly harbor a half-demon
who had been designated as "evil" by the Alliance's resolution, right under the noses of the Ruling Inspectors.
Lin Gui sighed and added,
“Even the Castellan of Shield City, that dwarf powerhouse who holds an Epic Rank title, couldn't do anything about the deterrence of the Ruling Inspectors.”
“Let alone you.”
Elvia fell completely silent.
She understood the boundaries of power better than anyone.
Looking at the speechless Elvia, Lin Gui asked directly,
“So, what is the actual news about Avalon that you got from the Eldest Princess?”
Like a deflated balloon, Elvia listlessly confessed.
“It's... it's the truth about Roger's defection back then.”
She gathered her thoughts and began to narrate.
“It's the 'Roger Defection Incident' that shocked the entire upper class.”
“For the sake of a half-demon slave whose demon energy had awakened, he killed the First Prince, who had been strongly advocating for the elimination of half-demons.”
“Roger possessed High-tier Transcendent strength at the time, which was very powerful.”
“But at that time, Knight John and another Legendary Rank powerhouse were right there in the Royal Capital, pursuing him.”
“Logically speaking, it should have been impossible for him to escape.”
“Yet in the end, they still successfully escaped the Royal Capital,” Elvia said, her voice dropping lower, tinged with a hint of disbelief.
“According to my royal sister, it was because they encountered... a white-haired, blood-eyed Demon King on their escape route.”
“A Demon King?” Lin Gui's brow furrowed.
“Yes,” Elvia nodded, a trace of lingering fear showing on her face.
“Every Demon King possesses at least terrifying Epic Rank combat power.”
“After that Demon King appeared, he easily forced back the combined pursuit of Knight John and the other Legendary Rank expert.”
“He then took Roger and that half-demon slave, vanishing on the spot.”
Lin Gui interrupted her, keenly catching another key point.
“What about the other slaves Roger freed back then?”
“They were taken away as well,” Elvia confirmed.
“My royal sister said that the Demon King arrived riding an incredibly massive Roc-Eagle and carried away all the slaves who were willing to follow.”
“To prevent panic among the upper class and avoid drawing too much attention from the Central City-States, Father ordered a complete gag order on the news.”
“And what about the news of Avalon?” Lin Gui pressed.
Elvia hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“My royal sister said that the information about Avalon was told to Roger by that half-demon slave.”
“It was also her who invited Roger to go to that so-called Avalon.”
“As for the exact route, my sister doesn't know either.”
“She only knows that the half-demon slave seemed to... come from Avalon herself.”
“She was merely captured by sky pirates while passing through the Silent Sea, which was how she ended up in Carter as a slave.”
Lin Gui asked a few more detailed questions. After confirming that Elvia wasn't lying this time, a barely perceptible flicker of disappointment flashed in his eyes.
The lead had gone cold.
Seeing this, Theia gently walked to his side and comforted him in a low voice.
“It's alright, Lin Gui. At least we now know that Avalon might truly exist, and... that there are people who actually came from there.”
Elvia, on the other hand, stared at Lin Gui expectantly, asking cautiously,
“Um... is the information I provided... enough to trade for the antidote?”
Lin Gui glanced at her, his tone devoid of any emotion. “Help me find the Tomb of Catriona.”
Elvia's face instantly collapsed. Looking completely defeated, she wailed with a hint of tears in her voice,
“How many times do I have to tell you! Absolutely no one in the entire Royal Capital knows where Catriona's tomb is! Where on earth do you expect me to find it?!”
Rate on N.U.
