The Curtain Falls

By the time Mrs. Nightingale rushed over to render aid, she found that she was already too late.

Because Lynch's wound had already begun to heal, she only arrived in time to wrap up the treatment Miss Valente had administered.

The elderly woman's heart had nearly stopped from fright moments ago. Lynch was an essential tool for cultivating the human-faced fruit and could not be lost under any circumstances; only after seeing that he was unharmed did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.

She simply thought this young man was utterly out of his mind.

Lynch was certainly not crazy. In truth, the entire affair had been his suggestion—this was precisely what he had been whispering about yesterday with Viscount Moliere and Baron Boivar.

There was no defending against thieves day in and day out; the only real solution was to catch them.

Since someone was clearly determined to make a move against Her Highness the Princess, an attack was inevitable sooner or later. It was far better to deliberately create an opening and draw the assassins out.

With those burly men stationed in advance, the culprits shouldn't have been able to cause major chaos. But when it came to protecting the Princess, one could never rely on "should." Thus, Lynch had put in his two cents: if they were truly worried, why not just find her a body double? If the real Princess never exposed herself, who could possibly harm her?

At the time, he had merely offered a casual suggestion to lure the snake out of its hole. He hadn't expected them to actually adopt it—and so thoroughly at that. As soon as Miss Valente mentioned today that something felt off about Her Highness and the maid, Fia, he had instantly realized what was going on.

An identity swap.

That was why he had kept a close watch on Fia the whole time. And indeed, the situation that followed had gotten slightly out of hand.

No one had expected the enemy to play for such high stakes, directly triggering a gas pipeline explosion beneath Crown Square. The crowd swarming the cathedral had surely been guided by them as well, throwing Baron Boivar's plans into disarray and catching everyone off guard.

Moreover, the conspirators clearly included someone who knew the Princess intimately—at least far better than Miss Valente did. That was why the assassins could deduce the truth so swiftly from Fia and the Princess's unusual behavior, laying traps step-by-step to lure away the unsuspecting guards and strike directly at the real Princess disguised as Fia.

It was precisely because he realized this that Lynch had instinctively lunged forward.

The entire scheme had been arranged based on his suggestion, particularly the idea of using a double. If something had truly happened to Her Highness, whether he could still maintain a foothold in Lande would be the least of his concerns; he knew he would be plagued by guilt for a very long time.

So he had charged in without hesitation to take the blade for the Princess—he just hadn't expected to be quite so unlucky.

The Princess was already tall, and wearing the maid's high heels made her only slightly shorter than Lynch. Combined with Lynch standing right in front of her, the awkward angle caused the blade to pierce clean through his heart.

But he didn't panic in the slightest. Trading a life for a life, he seized the opening to impale his assailant to death while immediately setting his own rescue plan into motion.

Relying on the ability Death Veto to avoid sudden death on the spot, he bought enough time for Blood's Temptation to repair his injuries.

The moment the dagger was pulled free, he crushed the blood orb absorbed by Blood's Temptation and began mending his body. Because the healing mechanism of Blood's Temptation prioritized the most fatal wounds first, the lethal damage to his heart and lungs had almost completely healed before Death Veto's one-minute duration expired.

All that remained were superficial wounds on his chest. Though they looked gruesome, they were no longer fatal in the least. Under the effects of Miss Valente's ability, the bleeding quickly stopped and the flesh began to close. Fortunately, Mrs. Nightingale arrived just in time; any later, and there wouldn't have even been anything left for her to wrap up.

In reality, both women had long known that Lynch possessed the Death Veto ability and wouldn't die instantly. Yet the sight of his heart being impaled had made their minds go completely blank, depriving them of all reason. Only after seeing that Lynch, invigorated by the absorbed blood, was even more spirited than before he was injured, did they realize how flustered they had made themselves look.

Still, recalling their subconscious reactions, the two women exchanged a glance and promptly snapped their heads away. As for what was going through their minds, only they themselves knew.

As for Judy?

Having personally witnessed how Lynch used Death Veto to turn the tables and kill Dr. Jenna, how could she possibly be fooled? The girl was still standing in place daydreaming, as if none of this had anything to do with her.

The situation in the hall was now entirely under control.

Although the exploding corpse had been terrifying, fortunately no casualties were caused, and everyone eventually settled down and grew quiet.

The true assassins were likely only those two. One was a Soul Severer under the Authority of Death who used a corpse explosion ability, successfully triggering it before being executed to buy time for his partner with his life.

The other was a Soul Severer under the Authority of Light who employed true invisibility. Unlike Lynch's presence-masking lurking, this involved genuinely bending light to deceive the eyes. Mingling within the chaotic crowd, he had managed to fool a group of mid-tier powerhouses and almost succeeded—only to ultimately die at Lynch's hands.

It was uncertain whether there were other accomplices, but after what had just transpired, even if there were, they clearly wouldn't dare make a move. Moreover, the Princess and the maid had safely reached the second floor, truly secure under the protection of two Soul Severer escorts and a large detail of men in black.

At that moment, the two ladies from Norin leaned against the second-floor balustrade and looked down, seemingly concerned for the civilians. Yet, some felt that the real Princess Sophia's gaze lingered steadily on a single spot, though whether that was mere imagination remained unclear.

Once calm returned to the ground floor hall, the journalists regained their vigor. Setting up their overturned cameras again, they began snapping photos frantically across the entire scene.

A monumental scoop.

“Confronted by Gas Pipeline Explosion, Her Highness the Princess Remains Calm in Crisis, Standing Resolutely Alongside the People.”

“To Comfort Affected Citizens, Her Highness Disregards Personal Safety, Risking Assassination to Stand Shoulder to Shoulder with the Public.”

“Inhuman Assassins Target Princess During Public Visit; Courageous Citizens Step Forward to Shield Royalty, Thwarting the Heinous Plot in Its Tracks.”

This time, every newspaper shared an astonishingly unified perspective, banding together to lavish unprecedented praise upon Princess Sophia.

Their logic was quite simple: you can attempt an assassination all you want, but you almost dragged us into the crossfire, so don't blame us for exalting your target.

Soon, a knock sounded on the main entrance from the outside. The chaos on the square had finally subsided, the heavy doors were reopened, and the treated citizens were escorted out in batches.

The heavily armed Governor's Guard entered the church, forming a cordon between the crowd and the royal entourage to escort Princess Sophia out of the Church of Suffering. Amidst enthusiastic applause that felt like a welcoming parade from the lined citizens, Princess Sophia successfully concluded her fraught visit.

At the church entrance, the Princess and the maid turned to bid a final farewell to the passionate crowd. Before departing, the maid standing beside the Princess cast a deep, meaningful glance at Lynch before turning to leave.

Pat, pat.

Before leaving, Duke Vane patted Lynch firmly on the shoulder. The old duke said nothing, offering only an appreciative smile.

Only after watching all the key figures depart did Lynch turn to the two ladies beside him, a puzzled expression on his face.

“Even though today turned out well, why do I feel like something is strange? It almost went a bit too smoothly—aside from me getting stabbed at the end.”

“There's nothing strange about it,” Miss Valente replied with a knowing smile. “The world of mystery isn't the only place devoid of coincidences; there are just as few in the mortal world. Especially when nobles are involved, gold doesn't fall from the sky, and good fortune doesn't appear out of thin air. Sometimes, simply looking at who ultimately benefits reveals the truth of what really happened.”

Lynch understood. It seemed Her Highness had quite an appetite—she hadn't just wanted to lure the snake out of its hole, but to maximize her political gains at every turn.

Noble affairs really are far too complicated.

Lynch sighed, then smiled as he looked at the two women by his side.