83 - Stop Hypnotizing Me, Villainous Princess!

### Chapter 83: Behave Not possible, buddy? Watching Duke Tirwus dusting off his rear and leaving, Lin En was dumbfounded. Right now, only he and Iveste were left in the room, and the silence was almost unsettling. Iveste perched on the edge of the desk, looking down at Lin En. Her beautiful foot, clad in a long boot, lightly pressed against his chest, moving in small circles. It seemed like an act of flirting, yet Lin En couldn't bring himself to react. "Your Highness, I—" "Don't speak." Iveste's boot tip suddenly hovered over his heart, as if sensing something. "Your heart seems to be racing; are you afraid?" A slight smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Seeing Lin En drenched in sweat, Iveste felt a surge of delight. The gloom from possibly being reprimanded by Saint Roland the Sixth had vanished completely. However, Lin En's heart was weighed down, his tears swallowed before they could surface. Was he supposed to tell the truth? Your Highness, I destroyed the Order of Providence for another woman, but don't worry, because that woman is your future self. Technically, you are the same person. I hope we can coexist harmoniously and love each other in the future. Explaining such a convoluted truth seemed impossible. From what he knew of Iveste, there's an eighty percent—no, a one hundred percent chance—she would be jealous of her future self! Not that she was that fond of him. It was merely her pathological possessiveness. With her personality, could she possibly get along with the being known as the Witch of Armageddon? The thought alone was laughable. For a moment, Lin En found himself caught in a dilemma. Noticing his internal struggle, Iveste wasn't angered but instead smiled slightly. "Go, pick up that ring." The ring Lin En once used to threaten her with suicide, angrily thrown into a corner and forgotten thereafter. Initially, she had suspected the thing was faulty, hence she never used it again. Later, she forgot what she had said about it. Perhaps it was because the ring had both good and bad qualities. When the answer displeased her, it was bad; when used on Lin En, it was good. Lin En was contemplating how to bluff his way past, but upon hearing Iveste's command, his hope shattered. After a silent moment, he sluggishly walked to the corner, picked up the ring, and in a flash, desperately shoved it into his mouth. He intended to swallow it, thinking it might save him from the immediate trouble. But in the next second, Lin En felt as if he had fallen into a swamp, unable to move an inch. Iveste sauntered over, seemingly having anticipated Lin En's move. As the scent of roses filled his nostrils, Lin En tried to speak, only to have his cheeks pinched between Iveste's fingers. "Open up. Be good." Her voice was soft, but her actions were not. Under Lin En's gaze, Iveste reached into his mouth with a porcelain-like finger, disregarding the saliva, and deftly retrieved the ring. Feeling the fleeting sensation on his tongue, Lin En's heart skipped a beat. Simultaneously, the swamp-like sluggishness around his body faded. Having done all this, Iveste casually tossed the ring into Lin En's hand. "Not a next time." She appeared in good spirits, not inclined to punish Lin En over such trivial matters. "Besides, don't you know me?" Iveste said as she gracefully returned to her desk. "The more you try to hide something from me, the more I'll go to any lengths to uncover the truth." "Come over then." At her words, Lin En sighed. Holding the ring, he slowly approached Iveste. "Tell me," Iveste said coolly, "You went against the Church of Providence, but it wasn't for yourself. Who was it really for?" Lin En was reluctant to answer, falling into silence with his head lowered. Seeing this, Iveste did not hurry him but treated it as a game unique to them. Without using hypnosis, for that would diminish much of the fun. "Was it a woman?" Her eyes narrowed slightly, asking the most pressing question. "...Yes." After a pause, Lin En chose to answer. The ring did not light up, indicating he spoke the truth. At this, Iveste's expression turned cold. "The master leaves for just a few days, and you've already been taken by another wretched woman? I don't recall raising such a disobedient dog." As she spoke, her boot pressed lightly on Lin En's shoulder. Yet she seemed mindful of hurting him, merely pressing softly. "Tell me her name." Iveste's voice was icy. Upon hearing this, Lin En took a deep breath. "It's you." This moment was his chance to turn the tables. Success or failure rested on this. The ring remained dim. Proving he was honest. Upon realizing this, the tension in Iveste's eyes dissipated. "It was for me?" Her previous discontent vanished in an instant. However, a trace of doubt surfaced in her mind. "Indeed." Lin En seized the opportunity. "The reason I drove the Church of Providence to such lengths was for you, from beginning to end." The ring still did not react. He sighed in relief. It seemed such phrasing could deceive the ring's lie detection. "Why?" Iveste instinctively inquired. "Because... those people harmed you." Lin En replied with ambiguous words. It wasn't false. After all, in the War of the Gods, a group of deities had conspired against the Witch of Armageddon. But to Iveste, these words carried a different implication. Those people? She recalled the events from that banquet. Bishop Mozel had revealed her identity, drawing fearful gazes from all around. Later, when using hypnosis on him in the carriage, Iveste had asked him why. His reply then was, "I thought, if only I could kill everyone at that banquet who was disrespectful to Your Highness." "But I couldn’t do that, and I couldn't bear to see Your Highness isolated, so I helped in my own way." Iveste thought he meant deflecting Duke Tirwus's questions on her behalf. But now it seemed there was more. An absurd thought crept into her mind. Had he truly caused such chaos in the Church of Providence, attacking them like a mad dog and even killing a bishop, merely because Mozel had offended her a little? Had it all really been for her? Suddenly, indescribable emotions welled up within Iveste. Her already slightly heated breath grew even more rapid.