“Finally, the world was quiet.”
He leaned against the cold partition, feeling as if he had just escaped the jaws of death.
He pulled out the [Danger Perception System] to take a look.
[Danger Perception System]
Alicia Blackening Value: 99%
Vivian Blackening Value: 99%
Su Xiaoxiao Blackening Value: 5%
The values hadn’t changed, but Lynn knew this was merely the calm before the storm.
He had to think of a way — a way to solve this once and for all.
Just as he was racking his brain, several sets of footsteps stopped at the entrance of the restroom.
Lynn’s heart leaped into his throat.
“Student Lynn, are you in there?”
It was the voice of the Supporters’ Club President. Coming through the door panel, it sounded somewhat sinister.
“You have an upset stomach? That’s perfect. I have some Holy Water personally prepared by the Lady Saintess here. It cures all ailments.”
A folded handkerchief, emitting a faint fragrance, was slid through the crack under the stall door.
The handkerchief was damp with a shimmering liquid.
Lynn stared at the handkerchief, his hair standing on end.
‘Is this meant to be Holy Water? This is definitely spiked!’
“Lynn, open the door!” the voice of the Royal Guard Captain rang out as well.
“Restrooms are dark and damp places, the most likely spot for danger to lurk! We will stay at the door and stand guard for you!”
*click*
Lynn heard a faint sound of something prying at the stall’s door lock.
He looked down and saw a glinting piece of wire through the gap in the door.
“Damn it!”
Lynn curled up in the stall, his back against the wall, feeling like a rat driven into a corner.
Outside the door were the proxies of two lunatics. The lock was being picked.
On the floor lay a “Holy Water” handkerchief that had been spiked with God-knows-what.
“Was this a restroom? This was hell!”
“Student Lynn, if you don’t open the door, we’ll be forced to assume you’ve been eroded by filth and require an emergency ‘Purification.'”
“Lynn, don’t force us to use forceful methods to ‘protect’ you!”
The two voices spoke in unison, like two hammers pounding against his fragile nerves.
Lynn looked around the cramped space, feeling truly helpless and desperate for the first time.
He was dead.
—
The South Gate of the Royal Capital.
Wheels rolled, and voices buzzed.
Guards in polished armor held halberds, performing routine checks on everyone entering the city.
Merchants called out their wares, and children chased each other through the crowd.
Everything was orderly, filled with the prosperity and clamor one would expect from the capital.
A figure wearing a black travel cloak stood quietly at the edge of the flow of people.
She wasn’t tall and appeared somewhat thin. Her hood was pulled low, concealing most of her face and only revealing a pale, delicate chin.
She didn’t line up, nor did she look around; she simply stood there, motionless.
Strangely, despite her standing by the roadside, the passing crowd subconsciously veered around her as if an invisible force field existed there.
Two guards on patrol noticed the anomaly. They exchanged a look, gripped their halberds tighter, and approached from both sides.
“Halt! Who are you? Why are you lingering here?” the lead guard shouted with the authority characteristic of the Royal Capital Garrison.
The black cloak moved slightly.
The figure looked up, her hood sliding back to reveal a face that was almost excessively pretty.
She looked young, perhaps 15 or 16 years old. Her long black hair fell smoothly over her shoulders, and her skin was white to the point of being translucent.
Her ink-colored eyes were strikingly large but hollow, devoid of any emotion.
When the guard saw her face, the reprimand he had prepared died in his throat.
This girl was so beautiful she didn’t look real; she looked more like a doll.
“I am… waiting for someone,” the girl said. Her voice was very light and soft, like a feather brushing against an ear.
“Waiting for someone? For whom? Where are your identification papers?”
The other guard, whose vigilance wasn’t so easily lowered, asked sternly.
“Oh, I have them.”
The girl unhurriedly pulled a document from her cloak and handed it over.
The guard took it and opened it.
Everything on it was impeccable.
Name: Lilith. Age: 16.
Place oforigin: A small town on the eastern border of the Empire.
Purpose of visit: To see her older brother studying at the Royal Academy.
The magic seal on the document was authentic, and the paper was official government stock. There were no signs of forgery.
“What is your brother’s name?” the lead guard asked as a matter of routine while verifying the details.
“Lynn.”
When the girl spoke the name, a small glimmer of light appeared in her hollow eyes for the first time.
The guard froze for a moment.
“Lynn?”
That name hadn’t been unfamiliar in the Royal Capital recently, especially among the upper circles of the garrison.
He was the lucky kid who had caught the eye of both the Saintess and the Knight Commander.
“You’re his sister?” the guard’s tone softened subconsciously.
“Yes.”
The girl nodded gently, then pulled something else from her robe.
“This is my brother.”
It was a small photograph.
In an era where magic was widespread, photographs weren’t rare.
However, this photograph was special. The edges were frayed from being rubbed repeatedly, and the back even showed countless fine nail scratches.
The person in the photo was indeed Lynn. He was facing the camera with a bright smile.
The background seemed to be a festival, with streamers flying behind him.
It was a moment Lynn himself had nearly forgotten.
The girl extended a slender finger, gently stroking Lynn’s smiling face in the photo.
Her movements were tender, carrying a type of preciousness that bordered on pathological.
“My brother, he loves to smile,” she whispered, as if talking to herself.
The two guards watched her, suddenly feeling an inexplicable chill.
A smile slowly spread across the girl’s face.
It was a sweet smile, her lips curving like a crescent moon.
But there wasn’t a hint of mirth in her eyes. Deep within those ink-colored pupils, a type of emotion they couldn’t understand was churning.
It was fanaticism, obsession, and a possessiveness that reached into the very marrow of her bones.
That smile made her doll-like, exquisite face look instantly eerie.
“My brother… he seems to be having a lot of fun playing outside.”
Her voice remained soft, but the cloyingly sweet tone made cold sweat break out on the backs of the two battle-hardened veterans.
“So much fun… that he forgot he still has a sister waiting for him at home.”
She withdrew her hand from the photo, her fingertip tracing lightly over Lynn’s neck in the image.
“It’s okay.”
“Disobedient children always need someone to bring them home.”
“The ‘toys’ playing with him outside… should be cleaned up too.”
She looked up toward the heart of the Royal Capital, in the direction of the Royal Academy.
Her gaze seemed to pierce through the layers of buildings, locking accurately onto a certain target.
“Mr. Guard, thank you.”
She tucked the photo and documents away and gave the two frozen guards that same sweet yet hair-raising smile.
“May I enter now? I’m a little… impatient to give my brother a surprise.”
“Ah… oh, yes, please go ahead,” the lead guard said, subconsciously stepping aside.
The girl lifted her skirt, performed an impeccable lady’s bow, and then walked through the gates of the Royal Capital with light steps.