Elvia left helplessly.
It wasn't that she hadn't searched for the Tomb of Catriona.
As early as when Lin Gui first mentioned it, she had secretly ordered her intelligence personnel to investigate.
Unsurprisingly, the results were nil.
Rather than wasting time on this elusive direction, Elvia felt it would be better to find another opportunity to drug Lin Gui.
She could just make the deed done and rely on a child to neutralize the poison.
Unfortunately, the failed "poisoning" operation last night had clearly made him wary.
She let out a faint sigh.
It was truly ironic when she thought about it. As a famously beautiful lady of the Royal Capital, the number of noble sons who had wanted to pursue her and yearned for her favor could once wrap around the Royal Capital's outer wall.
And now, even when she offered herself, she had to painstakingly calculate and plot. It was simply...
Elvia shook off these stray thoughts and walked away quickly.
Today was the day the mission from the Holy Church of Light would officially visit.
Although she had essentially lost her right to the throne, as a member of the royal family, she still had to make an appearance on such an occasion.
As for Lin Gui, the "Holy Saint" who had stood out so much at the wedding feast, she would naturally find a suitable excuse for his absence.
But before that, she had to find a secure place to "put back" her eldest sister, who was physically and mentally devastated.
The Eldest Princess had to live. Only if she lived would she and Third Prince Charles continue their dog-eat-dog struggle.
Only then could Elvia find her own opportunity within the cracks of that chaos.
On the other side, Lin Gui prepared to continue his thorough search.
This time, he intended to try his luck in the secret escape tunnels beneath the Wales family's Duke's Mansion.
However, just as he was about to set off, an unexpected message interrupted his plans.
Information arrived from the Adventurer's Guild.
An adventurer claimed to have found a clue related to Catriona.
Based on the information provided by the guild, Lin Gui met this adventurer named Simon at the agreed-upon tavern.
He belonged to "Monolith," a Platinum Rank adventure group that was quite famous in the Royal Capital.
Simon's first impression was that he was very talkative, perhaps even overly enthusiastic.
"You must be Mr. Lin Gui? I've heard so much about you! That commission you posted caused quite a stir in our entire circle!"
Simon greeted him with a smile. He had a lean and capable build, and his movements were efficient—clearly those of an experienced veteran.
Lin Gui had no interest in pleasantries and cut straight to the point: "Where is the information?"
Simon didn't answer directly. Instead, he gave a mysterious smile and took a piece of an ancient stone brick fragment out of the leather pouch he carried, handing it to Lin Gui.
"Look at this first."
Lin Gui took the stone brick, his gaze narrowing.
The characters carved on the stone brick—their structure and strokes—were of the same type as the characters he had seen on Reinhardt's tombstone before.
This was a script that had been passed down from the Primeval Era. Fragments of it still remained in some current magic grimoires and ruins' rubbings.
Many mages still used it today.
The reason Lin Gui could barely identify some of it was that he had encountered many magical documents and notes rubbed from primeval ruins while studying at the Magic City.
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he looked up at Simon without showing any emotion.
"Where did you find this?"
"Follow me."
Simon didn't explain directly, but instead signaled for Lin Gui to follow.
Lin Gui frowned slightly but followed anyway.
Led by Simon, they wove through the streets and alleys of the Royal Capital.
Along the way, Simon seemed to be testing Lin Gui, intentionally or unintentionally, regarding his reason for searching for the Tomb of Catriona.
"Mr. Lin Gui seems very interested in history? Queen Catriona... that's a name that is rarely mentioned."
Lin Gui's frown deepened.
This didn't match the consistent style of senior adventurers, who usually "just do the job without asking why."
Moreover... for some reason, looking at Simon's back as he walked ahead, Lin Gui felt an indescribable sense of familiarity, as if he had seen him somewhere before.
Before Lin Gui could figure it out, they had reached the main thoroughfare of the Royal Capital: King's Avenue.
This avenue was extremely wide, enough for a dozen carriages to drive side-by-side.
It was like an artery running through the entire Carter Royal Capital, serving as the most important passage connecting the seven rings.
However, at this moment, the entirety of King's Avenue had been completely cleared to welcome the mission of the Holy Church of Light.
A brand-new red carpet was laid across the road.
Golden flags symbolizing the God of Light and the insignia of the Carter royal family hung on both sides.
Fully armed soldiers formed a human wall, isolating the surging crowd on both sides of the road.
No pedestrians were allowed to pass.
The refugee shacks that had originally crowded near the gate of the Seventh Ring had long since been "cleaned up" in advance.
At the gate of the Seventh Ring, almost all members of the royal family and high nobles, led by the King of Carter, were present in full regalia.
They stood in line, waiting to welcome the arrival of the Holy Church of Light.
"Tsk, this is going to be difficult,"
Simon looked at the heavily guarded scene and spread his hands.
"Looks like we'll have to wait a long time. The road won't reopen until all the important figures from the Holy Church of Light have entered the city."
Lin Gui felt helpless.
If he were alone, it wouldn't be difficult to slip through using the Shroud of Wind.
But Simon was right beside him; he couldn't expose this ability.
With no other choice, he had to suppress his urgency and wait patiently among the crowd with Simon.
Before long, solemn hymns and the cheers of the people could be heard from a distance.
The procession of the Holy Church of Light finally appeared at the end of King's Avenue.
The procession was solemn and magnificent.
Temple Knights in white-gold armor led the way on majestic warhorses.
They were followed by priests and nuns in pure white ritual robes.
They chanted holy prayers in low voices, holding magic tools that symbolized the light.
At the very center of the procession, seated on a luxurious carriage protected by layers of guards, was a young girl.
Her eyes were closed, as if she were sleeping or perhaps meditating.
A head of pale golden hair, like autumn ginkgo leaves, flowed with a soft luster under the sun.
Her features were so exquisite they didn't seem mortal. Her skin was white to the point of being translucent, and her entire body emitted a peaceful and holy aura that was completely out of place with the noisy world around her.
"Is that the Holy Saintess of Light..."
"She really is like a goddess descended to the mortal realm, just like the legends say..."
"Why are her eyes closed?"
"I heard the Saintess possesses the ability to prophesy the future. Perhaps she's perceiving a divine oracle..."
Bursts of uncontrollable amazement and discussion broke out among the watching crowd.
Lin Gui's gaze also fell upon the Holy Saintess.
However, in that instant, he inexplicably felt a sensation.
That Holy Saintess with closed eyes seemed to... across the long distance and the surging crowd, clearly "look" at him once.
The feeling was gone in a flash, as if it were merely an illusion.
The Holy Saintess continued to sit quietly on the carriage, her expression peaceful, as if she were isolated from the entire world.
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