Imperial capital, upper city.
In a sunny courtyard in a mansion that is so spacious that it looks more like a palace than a building.
Verdant plants stood gracefully in the courtyard, with colorful flowers blooming and emitting bursts of rich fragrance. The air was filled with a mixture of magic and vitality that seemed to be condensed into substance.
If there was a beastmaster who specialized in plant-type pets, he would definitely be astonished here.
Because the plants in this courtyard are almost all rare pet species above the king level.
Plant-type pets are already scarce and difficult to cultivate. Any king-level plant pet requires dozens or even hundreds of years to nurture, and harvesting just one king-level pet is enough to give birth to a powerful master-level plant-type beastmaster.
But at this moment in the courtyard, these plant kings, which are extremely precious in the eyes of outsiders, are merely placed like ornamental potted plants.
The old man with a peaceful expression was holding a pair of gardening shears, trimming the branches of the plants in the courtyard bit by bit. There was no aura around him, as if he was just an ordinary gardener.
"The thorn of sin has been destroyed."
...
...
"Viscount Lori lost the bet, his spiritual demon lost control, and he chose to commit suicide."
"The observer sent by the family there is also dead. If nothing unexpected happens, the things below have been completely exposed."
Suddenly, a very respectful voice sounded in the shadow of the outer wall of the courtyard.
The old man continued his actions until he cut off an extra branch.
He threw the cut branches and leaves into the wooden barrel beside him: "Clean it up."
"It's already in progress. The connection between the Thorn of Sin and the family has been completely severed. There won't be any more unnecessary consequences left."
The extremely respectful voice responded.
"Also, according to the information at the scene, the leader of the group that destroyed the Evil Thorns displayed a shield emblem."
"If the witness's retelling is correct... then the emblem of the World Tree and the Silver Sword should be the spear emblem of the Sword Wielder."
The old man, like a gardener, stretched out his hand and brushed the trimmed branches and leaves, and then put the gardening shears in his hand into the tool box.
After a moment, he turned around.
The simple gardener-like temperament from before disappeared, replaced by a simple and majestic look: "Is Isadella active again?"
“Do you feel that you have learned enough lessons from your last failure… and accumulated enough strength in these four years?”
"Who did she choose as the sword bearer this time? The little girl from the White Tower named Fiorren?"
The respectful voice in the shadows paused for a moment before speaking again: "It is not His Majesty Fioren, the Southern Supervisor."
"According to the family's intelligence, the leader seems to be less than the fourth ring..."
"Based on the recorded physical features and voice, it is very likely that he is the third-year student at Saint Laurent College who broke the Ash Cult's plan in the imperial capital, Char Eggot."
The old man paused for a moment: "Him?"
"Yes, Char Eggot and the Second Princess must have met during the attack by the Ash Cult."
"In addition, there is evidence that he was born in Ceylon, and "Shaya Egut" is probably just his alias."
"Considering that the oath chess piece of "Winter Flower" has never been found, perhaps..."
The respectful voice in the shadow paused: "This time he is on the same side as the Second Princess."
"Should we unite with other families and directly attack the leader of the Sword Wielder, just like we did with the previous Sword Wielder..."
"Need not."
The proposal from the shadows was interrupted by the old man as soon as it was made.
The old man sat down on a chair in the courtyard. It was obviously just an ordinary wooden chair, but the moment he sat down, he exuded solemn dignity.
"The royal family is the royal family after all. Even though their rule over the empire has been weakening over the years, their remaining influence cannot be underestimated."
"Isadela's talent and character are indeed outstanding. Over the years, her excellence has made many people regain their confidence in the royal family."
"As long as she exists, the Sword Wielder will be there. Under such circumstances, the previous acts of forceful suppression will only backfire and arouse their resistance."
The old man paused for a moment and said, "If that's the case, why not change your thinking?"
"The rose and the rapier are the family emblem."
"The Borgia way of life is to combine beautiful body with swift tactics."
"I understand."
The figure in the shadows quietly left.
The old man sat upright on the wooden chair. After a moment, a light blue magic crystal curtain quietly emerged.
"Histalia, his information should have been delivered."
"What do you think of the previous proposal?"
The sound of papers being flipped was heard from the magic crystal screen.
"A quasi-fourth ring at the age of seventeen, his talent is pretty good."
After a long time, a clear, pleasant, yet unusually cold voice was heard.
The pleasant female voice paused for a moment, as if she was checking the image on the crystal stone, and spoke again after a moment.
"As for his appearance, he is indeed much better than those so-called descendants of the Holy Temple in the Theocracy. He is quite pleasing to the eye."
"If it's for the family, then I have no problem with it."
…
In a dark basement.
Char reached out his hand and touched a small area of time distortion deep in a secret room to be excavated.
This area is difficult for ordinary people, even high-level warriors of the fifth or sixth rings, to detect.
However, in the eyes of Char, who had absorbed dozens of sands of time and had an alarmingly high affinity with time, it was particularly conspicuous.
The next moment, the distorted ball of time merged into Char's palm and disappeared, while lines of information appeared in Char's mind.
[Mission Phase 1: Triggering the Echoes of History - "Esgania" (Completed)]
[The current historical remnants have been archived. For the second stage of the mission, please enter the historical remnants to view them.]
[The first phase of the mission reward has been released: "Sand of Time" * 5"
In an instant, Xia Ya felt that in his spiritual world, the originally dim starlight in the sky became brighter, and five tiny stars appeared.
His mental power was also raised a lot, and he felt a little bit of blockage and stagnation, as if he had reached a bottleneck and pass, and he was only one step away from breaking through the illusory and hazy barrier. Xia had a hunch that as long as he took some secret medicine to improve his mental power or break through the barrier, he would be able to completely break through the barriers of the third and fourth levels, officially promoted to the fourth ring, and become a true master beastmaster.
A master of the fourth ring is not considered a weakling even in the entire Western Continent. He can easily obtain a title in any country and become a wealthy noble.
What's more, Char is only seventeen years old now, which is a far cry from those master beastmasters who have relied on years and long periods of accumulation to break through the fourth ring.
But after thinking about it, Char finally gave up the idea of exchanging items from the Sands of Time Mall and reaching the fourth ring in one go.
His recent upgrade speed was a bit too fast. Although the Sand of Time could directly stabilize the spiritual world and enhance the potential of the soul, there would not be the problem of taking drugs and becoming a medicine jar with a weak foundation like in the novels about cultivating immortals. On the contrary, it could actually stabilize the foundation.
However, breaking through the four rings by force is not as natural and complete as self-improvement that comes naturally.
He felt that there was still some discomfort in his spirit and emotions, and perhaps he needed some opportunity to fully complete the transformation and sublimation of his spiritual power.
"My mission is accomplished."
Char turned around and looked at the swordsman's subordinates behind him.
This was different from the previous meeting in the military lounge, where the respect was merely superficial.
At this moment, Char could feel that the gazes of Dark Crow and Nightingale looking at him were getting hotter.
It was obvious that they had already recognized Char's identity as the leader of the Sword Wielders from the bottom of their hearts, and they were not just following his orders because of the instructions of Her Royal Highness the Princess.
"The rest of the aftermath is left to you, comforting the victims, distributing compensation and so on."
"Including how to collect and record evidence from the basement of the city that never sleeps, the source of this evil..."
"And how to use the newspapers controlled by the royal family and the government to hype up public opinion in the imperial capital, so as to put pressure on the nobles and gain more prestige and greater benefits for us..."
"I think, since these are the elite troops selected by the Second Princess, you should be able to handle these."
"Of course, we are professionals in this area."
Dark Crow answered in a hoarse voice, and quickly stepped forward to command the military soldiers who were entering the city that never sleeps and blocking off the entire city.
But for some reason, Xia Ya clearly saw a hint of evasion in Dark Crow's eyes.
"Then I'll leave this to you."
"By the way, don't forget to give me dividends from the profits you make here."
Xia gave a reminder, then strode out of the secret passage.
"Elbow, Xiao Ai, let's go home."
…
The setting sun dyed the streets of Black Lily District red.
Xia Ya was walking on the way home. The girl beside him hugged his arm tightly. Her long light golden hair fell on Xia Ya's shoulders. The shampoo Xiao Ai used today was a new sandalwood-scented shampoo.
Based on Char's understanding of Airola, this girl is the classic tsundere type, cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Even if she occasionally gives Char some benefits and has some fun between an old couple, it would only be in the private bedroom.
In front of outsiders, Airola usually maintains the attitude of an icy beauty, but the reason why she took the initiative to get close to Char at this moment is so uncharacteristic -
That's of course because now Char and his crew are not a pair, but a trio.
Aurora glanced coldly at the back with her beautiful blue eyes: "We are almost home, why don't you go back to the military headquarters and follow us?"
"Because I'm not from the military, Aurora-san."
Diris blinked her innocent eyes.
She had been following the two of them obediently, neither getting too close nor too far away, just like a young girl in love who was watching her beloved one live together with someone else while she was just silently blessing them from a distance.
"I am also a student of the civilian faction like you, and I have been living in the dormitory of Saint Laurent College."
"But the accommodation area that was abandoned after the attack has not been repaired yet, so I also rented a house in the Black Lily District. It's just one street behind your house, so it's naturally convenient."
Deris's statement seemed quite reasonable and convincing.
For a moment, Airola was speechless and didn't know how to refute, so she could only move her body closer to Char as if to assert her sovereignty.
And Xia couldn't help but secretly cheer for Diris' assist in his heart.
As expected of a succubus royal family that is good at playing with people's hearts, Xiao Ai would not normally be so intimate with me in public.
At this moment, Xia noticed that Airola's soft body suddenly tensed.
He stopped and looked not far away.
Ahead, a carriage was parked on the street outside Char's mansion.
The entire carriage is matte black and has been carefully polished, revealing a low-key luxury. A lifelike scarlet rose is carved in the center, indicating its extraordinary and noble status.
The owner of the carriage was a middle-aged man wearing a coat and holding a redwood cane inlaid with silver.
His gray hair was neatly combed back meticulously, and his whole body exuded a noble and respectable temperament, which was out of tune with the trendy atmosphere of the entire Black Lily District.
He stood beside the carriage with an elegant posture, as if waiting for something.
"The Scarlet Rose - the chief steward of the Borgia family."
"Silver Fox" Lille, title level. "
Diris whispered in Xia's ear: "I didn't expect them to react so quickly. Do you want me to contact His Highness through secret channels?"
"No need." Char shook his head and gently pulled Airola's soft little hand to stop the blonde girl from arming herself.
"It's clear from the look on their faces that they don't want to fight."
"I want to see what the Borgia family is up to..."
Just as Char finished speaking, he saw the elegant and respectable old man looking in the direction of him and the others.
The next moment, a variety of complex expressions such as joy and relief emerged on the meticulous face of the butler.
Without waiting for Char to get closer, he quickly came in front of Char.
Then, he bowed slightly and saluted to Char.
This is a courtesy exclusive to the great aristocracy in the empire, and only servants would use it to show respect to their masters.
"Master Xia, it's an honor to see you again."
The voice was respectful and gentle, elegant and graceful, making the listener feel like being bathed in spring breeze, without even a trace of arrogance of a superior.
"This time, I, the old servant, came to visit you presumptuously because of Master Xia and our eldest daughter—"
"Here is Histalia Borgia's engagement."
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