Lynn trembled all over.
He felt less like a human and more like an object — a rare treasure labeled “Under Guardianship” by the Imperial Family and stamped with a “Divine Gift” seal by the Church.
Now, the two biggest buyers were making their final bids for ownership of this treasure.
And he, the item up for auction, didn’t even have the right to shout, “I am not a thing!”
“Your owner?”
Vivian spoke as if she had just heard the world’s greatest joke.
“Alicia, have you stayed in the Church for so long that you’ve forgotten whose world this is? On this land, the Emperor’s Decree stands higher than your ethereal Divine Oracle.”
“The light of God shines upon every inch of the Empire, including the dome of the Imperial Palace,” Alicia replied, refusing to yield an inch.
“Imperial power is but an extension of divine power in the secular world. Your Highness, you have overstepped.”
“I’ve overstepped?”
Vivian laughed from extreme anger.
She retracted her greatsword, propped it on her shoulder, and looked at Alicia as if looking at a lunatic.
“I’m taking him away today and locking him in the palace dungeon. I’d like to see if your God will send down a bolt of lightning to strike me!”
“If you insist on dragging a Holy Artifact into the abyss,” Alicia’s tone turned sorrowful, “then I can only execute punishment on behalf of God and purify you, along with the impurity behind you.”
The tension between the two grew even thicker than before.
They had completely ignored Lynn’s lame excuse from earlier about “belonging to someone else.”
In their eyes, regardless of who Lynn belonged to before, he had to belong to one of them now.
That unknown “Witch” had already been automatically classified as an obstacle that needed to be “cleared.”
Lynn was caught in the middle, squeezed by the pressure of imperial authority on the left and the judgment of divine power on the right.
He felt like his very bones were creaking.
‘I have to run!’
‘Run right now!’
‘While they’re still arguing over ownership and their attention isn’t on me, this is my last chance!’
A specific item from the System Shop flashed through Lynn’s mind.
**[Presence Erase Spray]**!
He still had this final trump card!
He quietly reached into his pocket and concentrated his thoughts.
**[Extracting Item: Presence Erase Spray]**
A small metal spray bottle, cold to the touch, appeared silently in his palm.
Vivian and Alicia were still facing off.
“Once I bring him back to the palace, the first thing I’ll do is melt that worthless Cross you gave him.”
“God will protect his creation. Any attempt to isolate one from divine grace will invite divine punishment.”
‘Now!’
Lynn held his breath, raised the spray bottle in front of him, aimed it at his face and body, and slammed down on the nozzle.
“pfft” —
A faint sound of rushing air followed.
There was no familiar scent of mint; in fact, there was no scent at all.
Lynn froze for a moment.
He looked down at the spray bottle in his hand, then at the two women who were at each other’s throats.
‘They… don’t seem to have reacted?’
No, that wasn’t right.
Their eyes seemed to be drifting toward him.
Vivian frowned.
“What are you doing? Are you spraying yourself with spit?”
Alicia’s gaze also held a hint of inquiry.
“Lord Lynn, are you feeling unwell?”
‘It’s over.’
Lynn’s heart sank to the bottom of an abyss.
He quickly focused his mind and looked at his system panel.
In the corner of the Virtual Backpack, beneath the icon for the spray, a line of small text had appeared.
**[Item: Presence Erase Spray (Expired)]**
‘Expired?’
Lynn’s mind went blank.
‘The stuff bought from this broken system actually has an expiration date? And it didn’t even give me a warning?’
‘What kind of trap is this!’
He stood there holding an empty bottle, his body damp with some unknown liquid, looking like a fool in front of two girls whose Blackening Values were about to explode.
What was originally an awkward confrontation had now turned into a ridiculous public execution.
Vivian and Alicia stopped their arguing.
Their attention was now one hundred percent focused back on Lynn.
“Were you… trying to sneak away just now?”
Vivian’s voice was flat, making it impossible to read her mood, but the cold glint from the edge of the greatsword on her shoulder reflected onto Lynn’s face, making even his breathing feel painful.
Alicia’s smile remained holy.
She stepped forward, her slender fingers gently stroking Lynn’s cheek.
Her movements were as tender as if she were touching a rare piece of porcelain.
“Lord Lynn, it seems you still haven’t realized your situation. It’s alright. I will use the gentlest method to carve an indelible mark upon you — a Mark of the Saint that belongs only to me.”
Lynn had no doubt that her so-called “mark” would be some kind of brand carrying holy power, or perhaps a more direct physical contract.
On the left was the Imperial Princess who might break his legs at any moment, and on the right was the Saintess preparing to lock his soul away.
The expired spray bottle in his hand had become the most absurd piece of evidence of his guilt.
Among the students facing the wall in the corner, someone had already started sobbing quietly out of fear.
Lynn’s brain completely crashed, going white.
‘It’s over.’
‘It’s really over this time.’
His life was going to end right here in an utterly ridiculous manner.
Either he would be taken back to the Imperial Palace, locked in a dungeon, and become Vivian’s private collection.
Or he would be taken back to the Church, confined to a prayer room, and become a living sacrifice offered to God by Alicia.
There was no difference between the two options.
Both were hell.
Seeing that Vivian’s patience had run out and she was ready to physically carry him away, Lynn panicked.
Alicia’s fingers had also begun to glow with a faint Holy Light, preparing to implement her “marking” Ritual.
In the midst of despair, an incredibly crazy, incredibly stupid, practically suicidal thought struck Lynn’s chaotic mind like a bolt of black lightning.
‘Shift the conflict!’
‘That’s the only way out!’
Since he couldn’t calm their wrath, he would give them a common enemy — one more worth hating than each other!
“Stop it!”
Lynn used every ounce of his strength to roar those two words.
His voice was hoarse from fear, but it successfully made both women pause their movements for an instant.
“Stop fighting!”
Lynn closed his eyes.
Like a condemned prisoner heading to the execution ground, he used his last bit of courage to shout the words that could change everything — or destroy everything.
“Both of you, stop competing! Because… because I already have someone I like!”
The words fell.
The entire dressing room fell into a deathly silence.
The sobbing in the corner stopped.
The air seemed to solidify into a physical weight, pressing heavily against everyone’s chest.
The expressions on Vivian’s and Alicia’s faces froze.
One was malicious, the other was tender.
But at this moment, both expressions shattered, replaced by a startling, synchronized, and icy void.
Lynn didn’t even dare open his eyes to look at the system panel.
He could feel two waves of malice, as thick as physical substance, slowly rising from both sides of his body.
It wasn’t hostility directed at each other.
It was a unified, singular intent to kill, and all of it was focused on him.
“What… did you say?”