Chapter 130 Brother, I Miss You So Much - Stop Hypnotizing Me, Villainous Princess!

Three days had passed since Lynn regained his freedom from Evester. During these days, he roamed about the mansion freely, as if nothing had happened. On the other hand, Her Highness the Princess did not further restrict his freedom, but that's all there was to it. According to Afiya, since that night, Her Highness had been acting as though in seclusion, locking herself in the study all day. It was hard to tell whether this change was for better or worse. With the aftermath of the disaster in Orlon City yet to be fully dealt with, coupled with Duke Tyrus being swamped with official duties—rumor had it that the demon tribes frequently invaded the borders—Lynn found himself having a rare moment of leisure. Apart from him, the entire manor was bustling with activity, tying up loose ends in the city's reconstruction efforts. As a result, the Augusta family saw their standing in the city council soar to unprecedented heights. It might not be long before they could rise above their current baronial status. Hence, everyone in the family felt deeply grateful to Lynn for his benevolent deeds. At present, his status in the estate, aside from the princess Evester, even surpassed that of Baron Augusta himself. Everyone regarded him with admiration and deference. However, Lynn had no desire to lead this group. Though seemingly idle, he was internally restless, awaiting Evester’s response. Whether the halted destiny could begin anew depended on her choice. Despite his desire to return directly to the imperial capital, Lynn understood that Her Highness's condition was the priority for now. So today, as on other days, he stayed in the Augusta mansion's library, listlessly flipping through books. Sitting across from him was a blond boy immersed in thick volumes of alchemical theory: Greya Augusta. "Wonderful knowledge, makes me spin my head, abba abba abba," he mumbled nonsense while staring vacantly at the book. Observing this, Lynn gave a thumbs-up, "I really envy you, being able to make the most of your youth by striving for your education and knowledge. Keep it up, young man." Greya's face darkened. "You want to switch? Try taking that damn Royal Academy's extraordinary entrance exam?" "No, thanks," Lynn dismissed, putting his boots up on the table, reclining comfortably. "I got kicked out of the academy. Returning now is as hard as climbing to heaven." "Are the things you're studying that difficult?" "Of course!" Greya felt a pang of frustration. "Take the paper assessment, for instance. They demand you write no less than a thousand words on a topic within an hour and a half! I'd rather be sharked!" "Are people in the Imperial Capital all this terrifying?" Lynn scratched his head, recalling past events: "I remember getting stuck at that hurdle myself back then. I eventually got in through a special admittance status." "How many points did you get on your paper?" Lynn glanced at him. "Zero." "What?!" Greya was astounded. "What did you write about?!" Lynn mused, "I vaguely remember my essay topic was ‘How to Eliminate Racial Discrimination,’ and I misread it." "What did you read it as?" "I didn't see the word ‘Discrimination.’" Greya broke into a cold sweat. He dared not imagine what kind of content Lynn wrote to reach a thousand words and how strong the backing of the Battleon family must've been to let this potentially antisocial guy get accepted. Attempting awkwardly to change the subject, he said, "By the way, the private tutor my father hired recently is awful, always teaching useless stuff." "Don't talk about yourself like that." Lynn gave him a worried glance. "You damn—" Greya took a deep breath. Before he could retort, Lynn suddenly seemed to remember something and opened up a system interface. [Character Name: Greya Augusta] [Plot Level: F] [Plot Deviation: 0.00%] "I take back what I said earlier." Upon seeing his plot level, Lynn took a sharp breath. "You truly are useless." "Spare me." After a playful exchange, Lynn had successfully caused Greya to forget the alchemical knowledge he had just managed to memorize. This realization was followed by wails of dismay. "I should never have studied at the same table as you!" Greya angrily grabbed his book and stood to leave. “Enough. Don’t contact me again.” "Wait a second." Suddenly, Lynn called out to him, "Did you find those letters I asked you to look for?" "I did, but it seems your servants opened and read them." Hearing this, Greya sobered and pulled a thick stack of envelopes from his arms, placing them in front of Lynn. "Okay, you can leave now." "For crying out loud, you’re done with me now, huh?” After Greya left, Lynn focused on the already opened letters. Those lowly servants had all been tortured to death earlier by an enraged Princess Evester. Unfortunately, Lynn hadn't been there then to extract any information about the family from them. Given the limited capabilities of Evester’s foolish subordinates left in the capital, they likely didn’t uncover any deeply hidden information either. He sorted the letters by date and opened the earliest one. As he scanned the neat handwriting, he fell silent. Eleanor Battleon. Besides his father and his now-missing sister-in-law, she was the only living relative from his family tied to Lynn by blood. His younger sister. As he gently unfolded the letter and read its contents, Lynn’s expression froze. In the capital city of Glostine, at the Royal Academy of the Extraordinary. The alchemy classrooms were empty, remarkably quiet. The students were still resting in their dorms. Before assistant professors and the like arrived, no one would come to the classrooms this early to prepare. Yet, at this very moment, a student-like girl was hurriedly handling various flasks and beakers on the podium, preparing for the upcoming introductory alchemy class. Her figure was slender and graceful, with budding curves hinted at on her chest. Her long black hair was styled in twin ponytails draping over her shoulders. The girl seemed to have striking sea-blue eyes, just like someone else, and her fair face appeared delicate and lovely. Regrettably, those eyes seemed dim, as if they harbored some deep-seated sorrow. Eleanor Battleon. As the last remaining bloodline of the Battleon family in the capital, her two older brothers had been treacherously taken down one after the other—one perished on the battlefield, while the other had his powers stripped, becoming a crippled outcast sent to the border city, likely never to be seen again. Apart from the comatose Marquess Battleon still lying in bed, she was now the only one left of the once-grand family. Ah yes, now it should be Count instead of Marquess. Due to a shocking scandal that led to their family being first and foremost to face repercussions, even her father's title was forcibly downgraded. Consequently, much of the slander and conspiracy once aimed at the family had fallen squarely on the girl’s shoulders. "Crash!" In a moment of carelessness, a glass vessel slipped and shattered on the floor. She instantly panicked. If the professor saw this as another excuse for punishment, even she might be expelled from the Royal Academy of the Extraordinary. Once she lost the path to gain power, the Battleon family would have no chance of resurgence. Tears welled up in Eleanor’s eyes. She knelt and hastily tried to clean up the broken fragments. But in her hurry, she cut her delicate finger. This incessant string of misfortunes brought Eleanor, already reaching the brink, crashing down as she knelt on the ground, large tears streaming down her face. She cried silently, seemingly crushed by the relentless blows, utterly breaking apart. In a daze, two figures appeared before the girl’s eyes. Her two brothers seemed to gently pat her head, comforting her like they used to, telling her not to be afraid. But alas, everything the Mosguera family had done destroyed her once peaceful and beautiful life, turning those memories into mere illusions. At that moment, a flurry of footsteps echoed from the corridor. She quickly raised her sleeve to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, unwilling to let others see such an unseemly display. However, her efforts were too late. Seeing Eleanor sitting on the ground, crying over shattered glass, the group of girls who suddenly burst into the classroom erupted into peals of mocking laughter. Their laughter was full of ridicule and disdain, as if scornful of the once lofty heiress of the Battleon family reduced to such a pitiful state. The girl leading the group had sharp cheekbones, giving her a harsh and mean appearance. "Dear Eleanor, why are you here crying alone?" she crouched down, meeting Eleanor's gaze. "Is it because your brother isn't here to hold you? Where is he anyway?" "Oh sorry, I almost forgot, your brother Lynn seems to have completely disappeared after the border disaster. Most likely, he's already dead." "How pitiful, Eleanor. Do you want me to comfort you a little?" As she spoke, the girl reached out to grab Eleanor’s hair. Her name was Eunice Mosguera, a direct relative of the Snowhawk family. Due to her family's terrifying reputation in the capital over the past two years, her status within the academy had also risen significantly. Victorious in the clash of the two families, she gazed with contempt at the offspring of the losing side. Upon hearing this, Eleanor’s expression turned cold, and she swatted away Eunice’s wrist. Though tears lingered in her eyes, she remained defiantly proud. Her vulnerability was for herself alone. Facing outsiders, especially enemies of her family, she would not back down. "My brother isn't dead." Eleanor coldly answered while continuing to clear the shattered glass from the floor, "Someday, he will return to teach you worthless bastards a lesson!" Despite saying that, as she lowered her head, a fleeting sadness crossed her blue eyes. Rationally, what the woman said wasn’t wrong. Deep down, Eleanor already feared that her brothers had indeed left this world. After all, with Sixteenth Saint Roland and certain nobles actively suppressing the truth, the young man’s presence had been entirely erased from the recent events of major significance in Orlon City; not even an acknowledgment on the credits was left. Thus, Eleanor had no way of knowing the terrifying deeds her brother had accomplished at the borders. Moreover, with Duke Tyrus intentionally keeping Lynn's return to the estate under wraps, the news that he was still alive never reached the capital. As for the Second Prince, who also knew the truth, being embarrassed was his own misfortune. If Lynn and others remained silent, there was no way he would boast about it. Thus, most of the church and nobles in the capital believed the young man had indeed perished in the category-0 sealed object's riot. Only a select few were privy to some inside information and could sense the looming storms ahead. Perhaps, the day that young man returned to the capital would mark the opening of a grand drama. Sensing the girl’s stubbornness, a sliver of cold malice flickered in Eunice's eyes, "Have you given any thought to what I mentioned before?" "Viscount Glad is quite wealthy, and although he’s a bit older, he doesn’t look too bad. Most importantly, he was enamored with you at the last ball and repeatedly mentioned your name to our father, hoping you’d become his third wife." "Your Battleon family can barely hold on right now, so why not seize this lifeline instead of refusing such a chance?" "What do you think?" She placed her hand on Eleanor’s slender shoulder, applying pressure, as if merely offering an insignificant suggestion. Yet, it felt more like an attempt to forcibly make her heed the arrangements of the Mosguera family. After all, her sister was the renowned "Imperial Valkyrie" Ilyana, and with the Battleon family already thoroughly infiltrated, they truly wielded the power to dictate Eleanor’s fate. "Shut up and get out!" Suddenly, Eleanor grabbed the shards from the ground, disregarding the cuts on her delicate palm, and hurled them fiercely toward Eunice. How dare an old and ugly widower harbor vile intentions toward the heiress of the Battleon family? Though her former glory and status were gone, the dignity of her family was not to be sullied! "Damn it!" Despite dodging most of the sharp shards, Eunice still bore a scratch on her cheek. Seeing Eleanor’s indomitable spirit, she nodded coldly, "Very well." "If you refuse the gracious offer from a friend, then we’ll discuss the transaction between us." "Remember the contract from before?" Eunice sneered nastily, "The Fourth Prince is quite interested in the blood of the Battleons, thus he proposed a deal—your blood in exchange for the family’s continued existence." "A vial of blood to keep the Battleon name alive in the capital for one more day." "But given your ungrateful attitude, this contract might need some revisions." "Starting today, the condition changes from one vial to ten." "Let's see how long that frail little body of yours can hold out." With a vindictive glance at her, Eunice sauntered away with her followers in tow. Leaving Eleanor alone with the scattered glass and her pained tears. After a moment, she gently raised her scarred hand and pressed it hard against her chest. In her hollow, apathetic eyes, a hint of sorrow flickered. "Brother, I miss you so much."