Hate me, Miss Witch!

After showing off her Sacred Relic, she quickly stored Rhongomyniad away and returned her focus to the unfinished dessert in front of her, the little tiramisu cake.

With a small silver spoon in hand, she kept putting the sweet into her mouth, occasionally passing some to Shiayar beside her... as if, in Enola's eyes, sharing the dessert with Shiayar was more important than the news from the Second Princess that could cause an uproar on the Western Continent.

Shiayar's eyes lit up. "Princess, you've gained the recognition of the Sacred Sword too, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"In that case, there must be plenty of extraordinary resources in the Empire's Royal Family for reviving ancient Sacred Relics... Since they're just sitting idle, why not give some to Ennie."

"Ennie is mine, and I am the Swordbearer of the Empire."

"You could say it's cultivating strength for the Empire."

The Second Princess looked at Enola and then at Shiayar.

After a while, she finally shook her head slightly, dismissing the recruitment idea that had arisen in her mind.

Normally, with the resurrection of the former Emperor's Sacred Spear, as a member of the Empire's Royal Family, she would never have given up the chance to recruit the Spear's Contractor into her fold. But after witnessing the entire banquet at the Hall of Oaths from a room above... Isadella had finally begun to understand the relationship between the blonde girl and Shiayar. It was far beyond what she had previously imagined—not an attendant, friend, or maid, not even a lover... This was a bond that outsiders could not shake, nor could they hope to intervene, a bond that transcended life and death.

"That's true."

"Speaking of which, although the Swordbearer and the Royal Family are collaborators," Isadella smiled and shook her head, "after this banquet, I actually owe you quite a lot."

She had indeed prepared a substantial amount of high-order extraordinary material suitable for reviving ancient species and Sacred Relics. But now that the Sacred Sword was nearly fully revived, lacking only the final push, those materials became surplus.

Of course, calling them surplus didn't mean that these high-order evolutionary materials lacked buyers.

But what Shiayar had done for her far outweighed that.

If it weren't for Shiayar's rejection of the Borgia family's marriage proposal, the prestige of the Royal Family would have plummeted yesterday. Moreover, if it weren't for Shiayar, Silvia, the White Tower Master, wouldn't have made a move to severely injure Guderian.

The intervention of a Throne Level Beastmaster wasn't something that could be bought with money.

One could say that it was solely with Shiayar's power that the outcome of the banquet – likely to determine the fate of the Fresta Empire – was overturned.

"I will have the excess materials from the Royal Treasury delivered to you. Though it won't make up for my previous debt, it is a gesture of my sincerity," she said, her tone softening slightly. "No matter the motive, your refusal of the marriage proposal during the banquet did me a great favor."

"It was nothing."

Shiayar waved his hand with great righteousness. "The Empire is my home, built with the help of all. Compared to those old nobles who are always looking to cause trouble and bear a grudge against me, I, of course, support you, Princess, a bit more."

He had to maintain appearances. After all, she was his major patron. In theory, he was already by Silvia's side, a super-rich woman with a whole White Tower as her dowry. Shiayar was, in fact, a standard utilitarian, not at all averse to depending on a rich woman's generosity. However, the key was that Shiayar's capabilities were quite unique. With the system in place, especially the new Sands of Time Mall, Shiayar rarely needed extraordinary resources and materials from reality, aside from a few exceptions. What he truly needed were the Sands of Time, which could only be obtained by completing tasks. The real resource drain was actually Ennie. Shiayar had already decided in his heart that he would never let Ennie suffer; he would ensure she received no less than what other powers would offer. But with Sacred Relics, if one wanted to accelerate their recovery... apart from leaving it to fate, one had to spend money regardless of the cost. Especially now that he was aware of the origin of Ennie's 1st Soul Pact, the Sacred Spear, the estimated resource investment was even more terrifying. It had Throne Level potential. If it reached that stage, even selling all his properties in the Black Lily District would barely make a dent. Even if Shiayar was willing to be maintained by the super-rich Silvia... using the money of a woman who loved him to support another woman... If he really did that, Shiayar worried he might face the same machete-wielding fate as Brother Cheng.

"Brother Shiayar, I actually don't mind you using the White Tower's funds to nurture Ennie," a pleasant voice arose within the depths of his soul as Shiayar's thoughts wandered. "As long as... you give me a little compensation."

Shiayar stiffly looked up, only to see the silver-haired witch resting her pale wrist under her chin, smiling mischievously at him.

Mind-reading? No, this wasn't the Spirit Realm. Even a Legendary couldn't traverse the barrier of cognition and directly perceive another's thoughts... This was just Silvia, with her Throne Level Beastmaster's formidable analytical abilities, guessing his current thoughts from their recent conversation and many subtle expressions. Damn it, can Throne Level Beastmasters really do whatever they want? It seems they truly can do as they please, so never mind then.

Shiayar strengthened his control over his expressions a notch, heaving a long sigh inwardly. As for Silvia's proposition, he paid it no mind.

Setting aside whether his pride as a man could stand it, just that "little compensation" alone gave Shiayar a touch of PTSD. The current Silvia was no longer the naive little girl of the past; her offensive drive was alarmingly strong. If she were to recreate that infamous love-triangle scene right in front of Ennie, heaven knew how many days he would have to spend kneeling on the washboard.

...

"Well, it's getting late..." Isadella stood up from the wooden chair, slipping back into her black and red Black Vulture military uniform. "Though simple, it was indeed a cozy meal; thank you for the hospitality."

She pushed open the heavy doors. Outside, a carriage emblazoned with the Black Vulture's golden crest had been waiting for some time.

"By the way, Augutina asked me to convey a message to you." The Second Princess glanced back at Shiayar.

Augutina? Shiayar recalled the Queen of the Night, whom he had briefly encountered in the Dark Shadow Council. During that previous meeting, he had a vague feeling that something was off about her. Moreover, this time, Augutina had blatantly gone against the Dark Shadow Council's long-standing neutral stance and directly killed Guderian. Regardless, at least from her current actions, the Queen of the Night seemed to still hold goodwill towards his side.

"What did she say?"

"I know you suspect the Sacred Court, but it's not the Sacred Court—at least, not all of it."

"Also, be careful of 'Golden Dawn'."

Isadella repeated verbatim, "That's all she told me to pass on to you."

"I have, in fact, been keeping track of the matter in Ceylon. The letter was indeed Guderian's intention. It was delivered personally by Riel, the Borgia family's chief steward, who completed the trade with the fugitive Warwick. Only these three were privy to the entire deal. But there is still a doubt in all this... and the biggest doubt lies in Guderian's motive."

"Wanting to seize the Winter Flower's Chess Piece of Oaths, as well as the power of one of the 8 Great Oath-Sworn Families, could indeed be one of Guderian's motives. But for such a benefit, was it really worth cooperating with a fugitive? The Winter Flower's influence was indeed declining and limited to Ceylon, posing no real threat to the Borgia family. Furthermore, cooperating with a fugitive from the theocratic kingdom would have serious repercussions if exposed. It could even halt the previously favorable cooperation between the Borgia family and the Sacred Court."

The Second Princess's crimson eyes shimmered with a cool light.

"I had originally speculated that this might be a play staged by the theocratic kingdom's Sacred Court and the Borgia family. In this scenario, Guderian and Warwick would act as dual fronts, using the turmoil that destroyed Ceylon to destabilize the Empire. But now it seems it might not be that simple."