"How interesting! A change in status brings a change in mentality — and it happens so quickly?"
Looking at the two sisters who had already begun to despise him and his companions, Leilin felt an intriguing sensation stir within him.
Just one layer of change in social standing, and these two sisters had become almost unrecognizable to him.
On the road, when they needed his martial protection, they had spoken to him pleasantly enough. But the moment they arrived at the royal capital and had someone to rely on, they instantly drew the line of status and class?
With a devil's memories, Leilin instantly analyzed most of their mentality.
"Very good. These interesting souls are excellent material for falling into devilhood… the heart of vanity…"
Just as Leilin was considering whether or not to tempt them into corruption, the man himself, Viscount Daniel, finally spoke up: "Hmm, if that's the case, then forget it. Give them some money and make them leave quickly. What would it look like if others saw this?"
"As you wish, young master!" The butler standing behind Viscount Daniel tossed out a small pouch of coins. "Take the money and get lost, you greedy vultures!"
"You…"
Lefinia suddenly felt as though she no longer knew her close friends, and a wave of deflation washed over her.
"Let's go…"
She patted her mount's head, and Nick immediately let out a cheerful cry. Leilin rubbed his nose and followed behind them with Old Bam, who had picked up the coin pouch.
Faintly, Viscount Daniel's voice continued to drift over: "Why bother with those country bumpkins… Hera, Arani, let me take you to…"
…
"Damn it! Damn it! Why did Sister Hera and little Arani turn out like that? Were they hit by some mind-flayer's spell?"
After they had walked some distance, the young knight finally cried out.
"Oh, come on. All nobles are like that — Old Bam has seen plenty. Only gold crowns are truly reliable…"
Old Bam tossed the coin pouch in his hand.
Lefinia was completely speechless at his greed. Hearing this, she could only roll her eyes. It was Leilin who asked with some interest: "Why didn't you just swear yourself as his follower? After all, he is a noble!"
"If I did that, the elders would kill me. Besides, do you think a dwarf could receive a title in a human kingdom?" Old Bam blinked, revealing his crafty true nature. "Rather than slaving away for nobles and ending up with nothing, Old Bam would rather drown himself in rum…"
"Haha… you're a clever dwarf, aren't you…"
Lefinia was, after all, still a young woman, and she was immediately amused by his humorous tone.
"If there's nothing else, how about we part ways here?"
Upon reaching a crossroads, Leilin was the first to suggest they go their separate ways.
"Part ways? Aren't we going to the mercenary guild together to turn in the mission?" Lefinia was quite surprised. For some reason, she felt a twinge of reluctance.
"I still have other things to do!" Leilin politely declined, and even Lefinia could read the meaning behind his words — he wanted to be alone.
Understanding this, Lefinia felt an impulse to cry.
"Then where are you going?" the young knight asked stubbornly.
"I plan to stay in the royal capital for a while, then set out on another journey. No set destination yet — perhaps I'll visit Silver Moon City in the north… Goodbye…"
Leilin waved farewell with a seemingly carefree air and departed.
But neither Lefinia nor Bam noticed that a strand of dark luminescence, fine as a hair, had already coiled around Lefinia and vanished in an instant.
"The devil's mark! I very much look forward to the moment your soul falls…"
A devil's whisper echoed in Leilin's mind.
There were two reasons he had been traveling with Lefinia and the others. On one hand, doing the occasional good deed helped shore up his alignment. On the other, he had been observing their souls and attempting to lure them toward corruption.
Otherwise, Leilin was no masochist — why would he wait outside the viscount's manor? As if he needed that bit of money.
Only by being there in person could he grasp the subtlest fluctuations of the soul and guide them!
"It seems the Hera sisters have hearts of vanity — one more push and succumbing to a devil's temptation would be perfectly natural. But Lefinia's soul is the purest of all. Once it falls, it will possess a power that even devils would covet…"
A soul like Lefinia's, once corrupted, would be an extreme temptation for any powerful devil.
However, Leilin was already half a devil grand duke, so he naturally didn't need to resort to such distasteful methods. The reason he was personally experimenting on ordinary souls was out of caution.
Since his true self had already seized everything from
And after all, souls in the World of the
During his time overseas, the people around his own family weren't suitable test subjects. As for those pirates, their souls were closer to chaotic demons!
Only Lefinia and her companions had given Leilin that spark of interest.
That was precisely why he had branded her with the devil's mark — for convenient future tracking and observation.
…
"All of this can wait. There are more important matters to attend to in the royal capital!"
Clearing himself of piracy suspicions! This was the problem Leilin had to solve first and foremost!
Otherwise, those priests and paladins of the God of Justice would forever be buzzing around behind him like flies, impossible to guard against.
Even if he eliminated one batch, others would simply pop up.
But when it came to twisting the truth and covering up sins, both Leilin and those nobles were thoroughly practiced.
"This matter is simple enough — all it takes is a single case-closing declaration from His Majesty the King! Once the culprit is identified, even the Church of the God of Justice cannot continue their investigation…"
Leilin was well aware that he wasn't even a suspect yet. At most, the priests and paladins of the God of Justice could only invite him to "assist with the investigation."
But actually going would be the end of him! Which noble didn't have at least one crime or entanglement in the grey areas?
Once one thing was dug up, more would follow, and he could forget about walking out of the temple alive.
The only way was to sever their reaching hands at the root!
"Once the Kingdom has reached a verdict on this matter, even the temples would find it difficult to overturn… After all, in this region they must respect royal authority. To accomplish this, my Faolan Family's network isn't enough…"
Leilin pondered: "I'd ideally need someone close to His Majesty to speak on my behalf, and I need to find the most critical person… In this regard, the network of followers Beelzebub left behind might prove useful…"
The more noble one was, the easier it was to fall and conspire with devils. The royal capital of Danbres was no exception — there was even a person Beelzebub had personally appointed before entering slumber. One had to admit, this was quite an irony for the gods.
"Let me see… The list of overall coordinators in the Danbres region. The one stationed in the royal capital is…"
Leilin browsed through the data recorded by his Chip, and gradually a peculiar smile spread across his face. "Interesting… a devil?"
In Beelzebub's memories, the royal capital of Danbres was clearly a major area of devil infestation. For the sake of easier control, Beelzebub had even dispatched a devil there personally.
Although the other party was suppressed by the main world, they should still possess the strength of a high-level professionist.
Moreover, they commanded certain specialized concealment techniques that had helped Beelzebub's followers successfully evade countless divine church investigations.
"A clever one!"
Leilin commented coolly. Subduing the other party through genuine strength was out of the question — unfortunately, there had never been anything fair about this matter from the very start.
In Beelzebub's memories, Leilin held trump cards that could instantly bring the other party to their end!
"But before going to subdue them, I should pay a visit to an old friend first!"
A peculiar smile flickered across Leilin's face.
…
"Damn it! Damn it! Those despicable nobles — all of them have their eyes on my territory, completely forgetting the bonds we once shared with the Goldthorn Family…"
Also in the royal capital, Leilin's old acquaintance, Viscount Dimu, slunk back from the palace with his tail between his legs.
During the previous upheaval, thanks to his role as an informant, he had luckily escaped the tide of pirates and returned to the mainland with a portion of his family's wealth.
Afterward, he had begun making connections throughout the royal capital, hoping to obtain the title of Goldthorn Marquis and the territory of the Bodie Islands. But reality had dealt him a harsh blow!
Ever since the old Marquis had died, all of his previous connections had been rendered void. The greedy nobles of the capital had even begun scheming to divide the Bodie Islands among themselves — the profits from maritime trade were enough to make these nobles green with envy.
After several audiences with the king, His Majesty seemed thoroughly unenthusiastic about his requests.
"Blood ties can't withstand the pull of profit after all. Unless someone with real power is willing to support me… The gold coins I brought are running low. Which one should I choose…"
Just as Viscount Dimu was deliberating, a servant came in to report: "My lord, another noble requests an audience. They've presented the Faolan Family's noble crest…"
Crash! An exquisite porcelain cup slipped from Viscount Dimu's hand and shattered on the floor.
"F-Faolan Family!"
Dimu clutched his forehead. "They still won't let me go?"
In his mind, they had become synonymous with demons and devils — which, in fact, they were.