The Gemstone Conspiracy

It seems I have finally grasped the weakness of this malicious princess.

Lynch and Miss Valente exchanged a glance, both seeing the amusement in each other's eyes.

Although the exact reason remained unknown, it was clear she was truly afraid of this matter being exposed.

That makes things much easier.

Killing the person and then crushing their spirit? Appreciating art? Being a patron? Hehehehe.

Lynch let out a scoff. Ignoring her thanks, he picked up the empty teacup on the table and tossed it aside casually. "Is this the etiquette of a princess of Salter when expressing gratitude?"

In reality, the maid had already prepared black tea and snacks, but since Princess Chloe had arrived, the maid had been dismissed and had not yet had the chance to pour the water. Although Princess Chloe was so angry that her lips were trembling, she still obediently raised her hand to reach for the bell to summon the servant.

"Hmm?"

Before she could touch the bell, Lynch spoke up suddenly, startling her instinctively. She glared at Lynch with vigilance.

"Do the nobles of your Kingdom of Salter only know how to let servants do the work when expressing thanks? Is this the sincerity of your gratitude?"

"You..."

In the eyes of the princess, serving tea and water were tasks for maids. To have her, a noble foreign princess, do it was a tremendous humiliation. It wasn't that she couldn't do it—in the face of a superior, such as her father, the King of Salter, it wouldn't be a big deal—but facing Lynch, a mere commoner with a status far below her own, she felt such immense humiliation that her vision began to blur and she could not speak.

"Don't understand? Then it seems your gratitude lacks sincerity." Lynch tossed the teacup aside and said to Miss Valente, "In that case, there is no need for us to waste our time here."

"Indeed." Miss Valente covered half her face with her folding fan, smiling reservedly as she whispered, "After all, she is a princess; it is understandable. Let us return, then, and pretend we never came today."

With that, both of them made a show of standing up.

"Don't." Princess Chloe bit her lip until it almost bled, her face flushed red. Her hands trembled as she clumsily picked up the teapot, shakily pouring two cups of black tea for them. "I, I have sincerity. I, I thank you."

Before she could finish, her voice choked up. Her eyes turned red, and she looked up, fighting hard to keep the tears from falling on the spot.

Lynch picked up his teacup with a smirk, raising it in a toast to Miss Valente, who was giggling secretly. He didn't know the taste, but it felt quite satisfying to drink.

"Since you seem to have some sincerity, let us hear it. What exactly is going on?"

Princess Chloe let out a long breath, the anger in her body subsiding slightly. Just as she was about to sit down to explain, she saw Lynch's face turn stern again.

"Hmm? You're quite self-assured, aren't you? Did I tell you to sit?" Lynch glared at Princess Chloe, saying coldly, "Stand straight. Stand right there and tell me."

An absolute humiliation. Chloe felt as if smoke were rising from her head. Hot blood rushed to her face, her teeth chattered, and she glared at Lynch as if she wanted to eat him alive.

"I don't like that look in your eyes. If you aren't willing, then sit down. We won't make it difficult for you; we'll leave right now. What do you say?"

Her slender legs froze in place immediately. She dared not move a muscle, the tip of her nose turned red, and tears streamed down her beautiful face.

"Hmph, so you know what it feels like to be wronged?" Lynch tilted his head while holding the teacup, feeling a bit like a corrupt court eunuch from a period drama. He struck a pose and sneered, "When you were setting me up the night before last, why didn't you feel wronged? I hadn't provoked you, and I was even acting with good intentions, truly wanting to help you. How did you treat me? If you had succeeded, I might never have been able to recover in this life. Did you ever stop to think about whether I would be angry or wronged?"

Princess Chloe pressed her lips tightly together, raising her hand to wipe the tears from her face, and choked out, "I was just..."

"Did I tell you to speak?"

Lynch set the teacup down heavily. The 'clang' made the princess shiver all over. Although her legs didn't give out, her hand, which had been wiping away tears, dropped instinctively, and she stood straight and proper.

"Perhaps you have a thousand or ten thousand reasons, but first of all, I did not provoke any of you. I have no obligation to understand or accommodate your reasons. Being targeted for no reason, and with such malicious intent—do you think I would be very grateful? Perhaps in your eyes, I am a mere commoner, like an ant that you can crush at will. But even if I were truly an ant, I would bite back hard before being crushed. And you, my princess, did you prepare to be bitten before you tried to trap me?"

The fourteen-year-old girl, under Lynch's threat, had clearly fallen into his rhythm. She didn't even dare to wipe her tears, standing stiffly there, sobbing softly.

"Now you know fear? Look at you, crying with snot all over your face; you look nothing like a princess. Now I ask you, as a young lady of breeding, what should you say at this moment?"

"Th... thank you."

Lynch's eyes widened. Huh? Thank you? Girl, are you a masochist?

"No, I mean... I'm sorry." Chloe kept her head down and whispered, "I shouldn't have used those methods. I was wrong. It won't happen again."

That felt much better. Lynch gave Miss Valente a look. She secretly bared her teeth at Lynch, then whispered softly, "Alright, alright, Mr. Lynch. Princess Chloe just had a lapse in judgment and made a mistake. Since she already knows she was wrong, why don't we give her a chance to explain?"

"Hmph." Lynch pointed to the sofa on the other side. "Sit down and talk. I tell you, I have no interest in listening to stories again. You had better tell the whole truth. If there is even a hint of concealment, we will not deal with you any further."

The princess, like a child who had done wrong, sat obediently on the sofa, her hands on her lap, and said honestly:

"Two years ago, someone offered a high bounty for the replica in the hands of the Willwood tribe, which eventually led to the replica being stolen by pirates. Alice from the Willwood tribe came to me for help. We were, we were..."

"I have no interest in knowing that. Don't waste time."

"Thank you." Princess Chloe breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "Although I didn't know who the bounty hunter was at the time, I spent two years finding the replica, and then I found the real one as well."

Miss Valente pressed, "Can you distinguish the difference between them?"

"It's very difficult. Only by putting the two together can you feel the extremely subtle differences. It is impossible to tell them apart by holding only one."

Miss Valente looked deeply at Lynch. Lynch coughed and looked away. The noble lady wrinkled her nose and then said, "Continue."

"I used the replica as bait to help the Willwood tribe lure the killers out one by one. Everything was going smoothly, but a few months ago, Prince William, who had been cooperating with us, suddenly changed his attitude and wanted to call off the railway project."

Here came the point. Lynch and Miss Valente straightened up at the same time, listening more intently.

"As for what happened later... can you keep it confidential for me?"

"Do you think you are in a position to make demands?" Lynch snorted. "However, I swear to the fallen Lady Red Moon that I will keep it confidential for you."

"Thank you." Princess Chloe sniffled and whispered, "The demand from my family was to do everything in my power to facilitate the railway project, and they are the biggest supporters of the railway project. The preparations for the entire project were almost finished, and their sudden change of stance put me in a very passive position. I talked to their representative, Howard, many times. Finally, they made a request to me: to borrow the replica gemstone of the Willwood tribe and return it after Prince William's investiture ceremony on July 28th. This would allow the railway project to proceed smoothly and complete the task given to me by my family, so I did not refuse."

Lynch rubbed his chin and nodded. What the princess said was quite close to their guesses.

"But later, I suddenly realized that they knew from the very beginning that the replica came from the Willwood tribe. This was information I only made public later; it was a secret before that. Only the pirates who carried it out and the mastermind who posted the bounty knew. So I began to suspect that they were the ones who posted the bounty. They had been eyeing the gemstone since two years ago. And they knew very well that it was a replica, which shows that their goal from the start was the replica, not the real one."

"If it was two years ago, that seems to be exactly when the railway project plan started..."

Lynch swallowed the second half of his thought, because he realized that nearly two years ago was exactly the time when the preliminary preparations for the railway project began to have frequent incidents. There are no coincidences in the mysterious world; he wouldn't believe it if someone said the two were unrelated.

"Specifically targeting this replica, then what they are plotting can only be the Gate of Falsehood and Reality behind it. I was a bit worried, so I delved into it. Only then did I learn that they had done a lot of things in the preliminary preparations over the past two years. Although I don't know exactly what they did, the purpose should be related to that mystery relic. And they insisted on getting it before the investiture ceremony. I suspect he wants to use it around the time of the investiture ceremony or even during the ceremony."

Hiss. Lynch felt a chill down his spine. In an instant, no fewer than ten complex conspiracies had unfolded, all centered around royal power struggles or political infighting.

"A manifestation grade mystery relic is too dangerous. There are always people who think they can control them, but it always brings huge disasters and creates countless deaths. Without exception. And no matter what they want to do, they will surely create a huge political incident. By then, I and the Salter royal family will be involved. The royal family might be fine, but I definitely won't be able to escape. To protect lives and also to protect myself, I came up with this plan: to take the opportunity to replace the fake gemstone with the real one and then leak the news to Howard. But this matter must be kept secret. Once Howard and his group find out, they might angrily terminate the entire project, and since I secretly defied the royal family's orders, I certainly won't have a good ending."

"Phew, I understand."

Lynch sighed deeply. He realized why those photos had such great power, to the point that even a master-level mystery expert like Klin couldn't resist them.

In the entire preliminary preparation of the railway project, it is very likely that some content related to a manifestation grade mystery relic was hidden, such as time, location, and how to obtain it. And those who accidentally came into contact with it all died mysteriously, including Donnie and Klin, and almost including Officer Natalie.

"Perhaps Prince William and the others' goal really is the Gate of Falsehood and Reality. Such a dangerous thing... what on earth do they want to do? Hmm? What's wrong with you?"

Just as Lynch was lost in thought, he suddenly realized that Miss Valente's expression was a bit strange, as if she had been frightened.

"I have a guess." Miss Valente twisted her folding fan and whispered, "If it is to be used around the time of the crown prince's investiture ceremony, I suspect that Prince William's real goal in obtaining that mirror is likely his father, King of Lande, Rudolph II, and his sister, the eldest princess, Sophia."