The morning sunlight shone through the tavern window onto Lin Ling's face.
But this time, Lin Ling wasn't sleeping in as she usually did.
Sitting up abruptly from the bed, she saw that Ivelia, who had been by her side, was already gone.
“Click—”
As the door opened, Ichikawa and Ivelia were already conversing outside her room.
Seeing Lin Ling come out, both of them turned their gazes toward her.
“Did things really happen just as we discussed last night?”
“Of course. Brandon must have anticipated that things would unfold this way.”
Ichikawa pulled a hastily written letter from his coat. It was obvious that the sender had been in an extreme rush.
However, the seal of the Enridel family stamped on the letter clearly gave away the writer's identity.
“So, has Lillian already slipped out of her room?”
Lin Ling looked at Ivelia. She had absolute trust in the Demon King's perception.
Seeing Lin Ling's questioning gaze, Ivelia nodded in confirmation.
“Then are we still proceeding with last night's plan?”
Lin Ling began trying to gather mana in her hands.
“Since we don't know if a conflict will break out in the end, Lin Ling, we'll need your Holy Light Stasis.”
Ichikawa looked at Lin Ling with a serious expression.
A Sword Saint whom even the Demon King knew nothing about, yet she alone could exert such immense pressure on this place.
There could only be two possibilities. First, she possessed staggering political power, able to destroy a duke with a mere word.
But that was unrealistic. For the Enridel family to become dukes and establish such a firm footing, it couldn't have been achieved through the efforts of just a single generation.
They had a massive estate and immense influence; even if Keith himself wanted to strip the title of the Duke of Enridel, he would have to think twice.
That left only the second possibility: this person called the Sword Saint could not be a fraud.
Moreover, she possessed the strength to back up that title.
Yet Brandon hadn't shared any information regarding the Sword Saint. Who knew what he was actually planning?
Therefore, they needed Lin Ling now.
With Lin Ling and the Demon King together, it was impossible for them to be unable to resist a so-called Sword Saint.
What Ichikawa needed to do was seize this opportunity to take the Duke's family away.
The speed at which the demons were taking over Camillaya had actually exceeded their expectations.
Even Ivelia herself was somewhat shocked.
Although some nobles in various territories were highly dissatisfied with Keith's rule, when the demons entered the towns under Kainster's name, it was said that many nobles who had originally belonged to the neutral faction chose to join Kainster's side directly.
Furthermore, under the information manipulation by Aliviel and Cecil, Keith and the nobles in the capital still believed that all of Camillaya remained calm and peaceful.
It was as if Keith had been completely blinded by the throne. According to the intelligence sent back by Aliviel, that guy seemed to be living a life of indulgence and oblivion every single day. The entire Holy See in the capital was also under the control of the woman named Nadia. However, appearing directly in front of Keith's subordinates now was equivalent to declaring Kainster's return right to Keith's face.
“Roger that!”
Lin Ling looked at her fully restored mana on her stats screen. Against this so-called Sword Saint, she should still have a fighting chance, right?
“As if!”
Just what on earth was this blindfolded person in front of her?
After the group split up, the moment Lin Ling landed in Enridel, an aura entirely different from mana instantly locked onto her.
In the next instant, this blindfolded woman cradling a sword appeared right in front of her.
“You do not seem to have come with good intentions, Your Excellency.”
Even though the woman hadn't spoken, a female voice echoed directly inside Lin Ling's mind.
Yet, Lin Ling couldn't sense any fluctuations of magical energy from her.
Ivelia took a step forward, completely releasing her aura.
“For what purpose have you two come with malice, Your Excellencies?”
“Otherwise, I cannot allow you to approach this negotiation.”
As if to warn them, the blindfolded woman waved her hand.
A sword scar instantly carved into the ground, cutting off the entire Enridel manor.
“Please wait outside this line until the meeting is concluded.”
“But this meeting is clearly just a frame-up by the royal family against the Enridel family, isn't it?”
Against this person whose background was completely unknown, it was best to try communicating first.
However, the woman merely shook her head.
“I am not aware of the matters you speak of.”
“I am the sword of the Camillaya royal family. I only need to accept commands from the royal family.”
Lin Ling looked at the expressionless woman. Was she completely impossible to reason with?
She quietly began to channel her mana.
If possible, maybe she should try to knock this person out first?
However, just as the mana inside the magic sphere in her hand finally accumulated to the amount she had used against Furni, Ivelia gently held Lin Ling's hand, stopping the flow of mana.
“If you are loyal to the royal family, then Kainster should also be one of those you owe your allegiance to, correct?”
Ivelia suddenly spoke up.
“Are you referring to the missing Second Prince?”
Hearing Kainster's name, the woman in front of them finally showed a reaction.
“Yes.”
“This is a letter regarding Kainster's return.”
Ivelia threw a letter toward the woman.
But the woman just let the letter hit her.
“Apologies, I cannot see.”
The letter fell to the ground, and the woman's aloof, cool demeanor completely collapsed at that instant.
Disregarding her image entirely, she lowered her head and began groping around on the ground for the fallen letter.
“Um...”
“Here you go.”
“Thank you very much...?”
The woman took the letter from Lin Ling's magic arms, and her figure vanished instantly.
An afterimage was left where she had just stood.
“Don't misunderstand, I didn't cross that line.”
Seeing the blush of embarrassment appearing on the woman's face, Lin Ling quickly waved her hands.
“I just used my magic—my magic arms to hand the letter to you.”
At least this one hadn't attacked right off the bat.
As long as it was just handing over a letter, it should be fine.
Lin Ling glanced in Ichikawa's direction. Fortunately, she had cast a separate teleportation spell for him.
So now, they only needed to stall this person.
The woman fumbled to open the letter in her hands.
Her hands kept groping across the paper.
Although her eyes were blindfolded, Lin Ling could still sense that she seemed to be in a predicament.
“U-Um, how about I read it to you?”
Recalling how she had been groping on the ground just now, combined with a letter meant for reading, to a blind person, holding it was no different from holding a piece of scrap paper.
The moment Lin Ling's words fell, the woman stepped across the line she had previously drawn.
“P-Please, read it to me.”
The woman tremblingly handed the letter to Lin Ling. Even though she couldn't see inanimate objects, she could precisely locate where Lin Ling was standing.
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