A round fan shielded half of her face, as if draped in a veil of mystery. She wore a long dress reminiscent of a qipao, imbuing the wearer with an exotic charm. Her right leg was crossed over her left, and her red high heels, worn over black silk stockings, swayed back and forth, appearing strikingly vivid under the distant lights.
The alluring eyes behind the round fan drifted over Lynch in the distance. Her fair hand made a grasping motion into the void toward him, then she withdrew her hand and hid it back in the darkness. She cast a playful, mocking gaze at Walker, saying nothing, only letting out a soft laugh.
Over at the venue, something seemed to have gone wrong. Lynch had already walked up to Princess Chloe. Just as he reached into his pocket to retrieve something, his movements suddenly froze, and his face turned stiff.
Did she really succeed?
Walker looked at the woman in the darkness with pleasant surprise, his eyes lighting up. However, seeing her meaningful, teasing gaze, recalling the true nature of her followers, and thinking back on the demands she had made, Walker's facial muscles twisted into a mask of despair and misery.
He looked toward his companion Kelvin for help, only to find him looking on with a sympathetic expression and a pat on the shoulder. Walker felt even more desperate; he truly wished the world would just end right there.
But after careful thought, he gritted his teeth, bowed down before the round fan, and knelt on one knee. He lightly touched the tip of her swaying high heel, his voice trembling with a hint of a sob: "My Queen, please forgive our offense from the day before yesterday. We should not have tested you. I beg you to pardon our stupidity and ignorance."
"Buzz, buzz, buzz." A commotion erupted from the venue behind them. Without even turning around, he knew that the delivery of the gem must have hit a snag, sparking heated discussion among the guests.
"Oh ho ho ho, a very fine performance. You have successfully pleased me. Here is the item."
Amidst a standard queenly laugh, the woman raised her hand with great satisfaction and tossed the crimson gem to Walker.
The moment the gem hit his hand, Walker's anxious heart settled. It was warm and smooth; one touch was enough to know it was the real thing.
However, the instant he realized the item was in his possession, Walker sprang up like he had stepped on a spring. He released the high heel he had been holding with lightning speed and scrambled aside. He cast a panicked glance at her, and seeing her expression of amusement, he felt that this group of monsters was truly terrifying.
Yet, the disheveled Walker did not hear the voice inside her mind.
'Ugh, so disgusting. It's just that this fits the persona of the Swelling Daughter better. I'm really not a pervert, believe me, neighbor.'
【Do not worry, Lynch.】
'That's great, you still believe in me.'
【No, I mean you can rest assured; my church never discriminated against perverts in the past.】
'Ahhhhh~~'
Yes, this was the real Lynch.
Facing the conspiracy of Prince William and the Rangers, he and Miss Valente suffered from a lack of evidence. Even if they reported it to the Church of the Black Night and the Governor's Mansion, it would be useless. They could only passively wait for them to use various conspiracies to seize the gem and advance their plan time and again. Meanwhile, the parties involved had no standing to strike back, and it was difficult even for the Watchers to assist openly.
The only solution was to use the real gem as bait, leading them to execute the ritual to summon the Gate of Falsehood and Reality. That way, with concrete evidence, it was hard to say if Prince William would be affected, but at the very least, Mayor Howard and Walker would certainly face sanctions.
He had originally planned to find a way to give the real gem directly to Walker, but on one hand, it was too easy to get the item back, and these suspicious people would easily grow wary. If they found a way to verify if the gem was a replica, all efforts would be in vain.
On the other hand, the capricious nature of the evil god, the Swelling Daughter, made Lynch fear the more he thought about it. Once he handed over the gem, he would lose the initiative and find it hard to intervene again. If this evil god were to cause trouble and stir up a major incident, he would feel guilty and never sleep soundly again.
It was better to participate throughout the whole process. Although dangerous, he could at least monitor it from start to finish, so he would not have to regret it if something truly went wrong.
Although he had relied on borrowing the tiger's might to establish his fake identity, he could not gain their trust immediately, and it was unlikely he would be able to participate in the mirror incident. Therefore, to hand over the gem and build up a wave of trust, Lynch had come up with today's performance.
It just so happened that on the morning he left the Valente mansion to return to his apartment, he had intentionally visited Madam Bessie's prop shop. This woman was unscrupulous in her business dealings and certainly would not mind helping out. Sure enough, a few hours later, Lynch had successfully acquired a counterfeit Flaming Red Lips that looked almost indistinguishable from the real one. He had originally intended it as a precaution, but this time it had served a great purpose.
Thus, as he had told the two young ladies, they attended together today.
Lynch had disguised himself early on as the Swelling Daughter calling herself Selene, mingling with Walker and his men, while it was actually Miss Diana and Officer Natalie who had arrived at the banquet by carriage.
Miss Diana used a mystery relic to disguise herself as Lynch, with Officer Natalie accompanying her as a companion. The two attended the grand event with the fake gem. Their mission was to play their roles well and do their utmost to protect the gem. To make it more realistic, Lynch had not even told Officer Natalie the truth, fearing she would not act well and reveal the secret.
The effect was quite good. Although they inevitably revealed some strange flaws, and the Lynch played by Natalie took the opportunity to indulge in the red wine of the count's mansion during the second half—drinking several glasses in a row—Lynch was left worried that the girl would get drunk and cause a scene. Ultimately, the effect was good; neither version of Lynch aroused any suspicion.
After both sides had sparred at the venue, Miss Diana transferred the mystery relic to Officer Natalie, allowing her to become the second Lynch impersonator, while Miss Diana returned to herself. She contacted Princess Chloe in another way with the fake gem to confuse Walker and Kelvin.
The fake gem had never belonged to Walker, and the real gem was not carried by the two ladies, so Walker's mystery relic could not steal anything from them. When Walker and his men had exhausted all their methods and were unable to turn the tide, Lynch finally waited for Walker's plea for help, ultimately sealing the deal.
It is hard to gain trust by offering help proactively, but helping after being begged for it—and making the other party pay a painful price—often wins their high level of trust. This was useless knowledge he had learned from watching shows, but using it now, he realized...
"Yes, it is the real thing."
In truth, Walker was also a bit disgusted, but he forced himself to endure it. He quickly determined the authenticity of the item and immediately smiled with delight:
"Now that the final item is finally in hand, the goal of that lord can soon be realized."
"There is already a commotion over there." Kelvin looked at the chaos at the venue with schadenfreude, revealing an incomparably joyful smile. "This is only the beginning, Lynch Levive. Just you wait; I will settle our score slowly in the future, if you even have a future."
Tsk, speaking the cruelest words to the wrong person. Lynch even felt a bit of sympathy in his heart.
"With the item in hand, we can withdraw, Mr. Kelvin." Walker looked at Lynch, who was sitting quietly on the bench, and asked after a moment's hesitation: "Ms. Selene, do you have any other plans for later? If not, why not return with us? We are preparing to begin the ritual tomorrow, and as an apostle of that sovereign, we hope you can represent that sovereign and attend."
Mission accomplished!
Lynch cheered in his heart, feeling incredibly excited, but he remained composed on the surface. His eyes behind the round fan flickered, and after a moment of thought, he nodded lightly: "Very well. Although my elder sister didn't say anything, watching the rest of this excitement is fine."
"Then we withdraw."
Walker nodded to Mr. Kelvin, who nodded back and casually snapped his fingers.
Lynch took a deep breath, letting his nervous heart calm down. He knew he was coming into contact with a massive darkness; once the teleportation began, there would only be one path forward.
There was no turning back.
Then let it come.
'Neighbor, let's go witness the beautiful scenery on the journey to immortality together.'
【Hmm, I am with you.】
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