"Let him in!"
After much deliberation, Dim finally gave the order.
With almost a sense of tragic resolve, he met Raylin. The other man's youthful face left him momentarily stunned.
"First time meeting in person, Viscount Dim! But we've already crossed paths many times before. I'm Raylin! Raylin Farolan — a pleasure to finally meet you!"
The visitor was indeed Raylin. He wore a warm, enthusiastic smile on his face, yet to Dim it was as though he were staring at the devil himself.
"All of you, get out!" Dim roughly shooed his servants away, slamming the doors and windows shut. Raylin considerately added a layer of magical barrier on top.
"I've already done as you demanded — what more could you possibly want?"
Dim spoke furiously, but Raylin could see the fear and weakness lurking beneath his defiant exterior.
"There's no need to get so upset, Viscount Dim. After all, our last collaboration went rather smoothly, wouldn't you say?" Raylin said with a thin smile.
"You damned robber, you brute…"
The veins on Dim's face bulged. "Aren't you afraid I'll report you to the king and the temple?"
"What would I have to be afraid of?"
Raylin burst into exaggerated laughter, then leaned in and whispered in Dim's ear: "After all, the one who killed the old marquis wasn't me!"
The moment those words left Raylin's lips, Dim seemed to have the very bones ripped from his body. He curled up in his seat and wept bitterly: "It was you! You forced me into this…"
"No one forced you… If you had simply confessed to the old marquis, the two of you could have fled long before the pirates arrived…"
A cold smirk played across Raylin's face. "And there's no need to put on the pathetic act with me — you really ought to find yourself a new acting coach…"
The cold glint in Raylin's eyes made it painfully clear. Dim knew that the other had seen right through him.
"If that's the case, then why did you come to see me?"
Dim pulled out a napkin and wiped the tears from his face. His expression suddenly turned calm, even somber — a dark undercurrent settling over his features.
"Haha… Good! Now *this* is the kind of negotiating partner I want!"
Raylin clapped his hands. "Of course, same arrangement as last time. A trade!!!"
"A trade? Out with it!" The faintest trace of Dim's earlier timidity had vanished without a lie.
"I'll support you in obtaining a title and lands, and you clear my name!" Raylin laid it out bluntly — Dim was the single most critical piece in his plan to clear his name.
After all, if the victim himself vouched for his innocence, what else was there for anyone to say?
"Clear your name? Tsk, tsk… Looks like that investigation team from the God of Justice has been giving you trouble!" Dim crossed his arms over his chest.
"A little! But don't even think about haggling. I have plenty of other options besides you — they'd just make things a bit more complicated. But when it comes to someone who can support your claim to a title, in the royal capital, I'm the only one!"
Raylin looked every bit the enigma.
"I need to see what you're capable of first!" Dim didn't agree right away. After all, House Farolan was merely a baron! As long as Raylin only had strength on the open sea, he still had his doubts.
"You will."
Raylin offered a faint smile, rose, and took his leave.
Now it was time to put those devil networks to use.
Raylin wandered through the royal capital as though taking a leisurely stroll, turning left and right, until he finally arrived in front of an entertainment club.
"Young sir, we're not open for business yet…" The doorman's expression was somewhat apologetic.
Raylin glanced around. This was clearly one of the royal capital's entertainment districts — the surrounding buildings were all of the same style, though the street itself was still fairly deserted. After all, not every noble had the leisure to come out for fun during the day.
"I know…"
Raylin opened his right hand toward the doorman. In the center of his palm, a strange magical pattern materialized — a rose made of thorns, its petals shifting through a cascade of colors with the passage of time.
The moment the doorman saw that mark, his expression changed dramatically.
"Come in with me!" His entire bearing shifted. The languidness in his eyes was gone, replaced by a sharp glint. After warily scanning the area around Raylin, he opened the gate and let him through.
Inside the gate, pink gauze curtains hung everywhere. The air was thick with the scent of perfume, and discarded wine bottles and silk handkerchiefs littered the floor in disarray. Occasionally, a smooth arm or a bare thigh would peek through a gap in a doorway, lending the whole place a strange, intoxicating atmosphere.
The doorman led Raylin directly to the deepest part of the establishment, into a concealed secret chamber.
"Have your person in charge come see me!" Raylin made no further effort to conceal himself. His eyes had turned blood-red, and a trace of demonic aura leaked from his body.
"At once, my lord!" The doorman performed a ritual exclusive to the cultists of the devil and respectfully backed out of the room, his whole body trembling slightly.
He had genuinely sensed the aura of a great devil emanating from Raylin.
The other party arrived quickly, and the distinct demonic fluctuation rolling off her figure drew a smile to the corner of Raylin's lips.
"Oh my! A handsome young master — was it you who came looking for me?"
A languid voice drifted in, and Raylin watched as a stunning beauty stepped into the secret chamber.
She was draped in a scarlet gown that bared half a snow-white shoulder, her eyes shimmering with a watery glow. She sauntered in with a flirtatious gait, and with a light tap of her right foot the chamber door swung slowly shut. The slit in her dress ran dangerously high, and as the door closed, it casually revealed a smooth, bare thigh, nails painted with daffodil extract, and a pair of delicate feet.
Beneath that lavish attire, she seemed to wear nothing at all, letting infinite ** spill free.
A ravishing creature! That was Raylin's first impression — she surpassed even Madam Tiren, the fox-woman he had encountered before, in sheer allure, a once-in-an-era temptress capable of driving any man to madness.
"That would be me!" Raylin's eyes roamed over her without the slightest restraint, especially lingering on those slender, bare feet pressing into the carpet, radiating a bewitching, almost hypnotic attraction.
"As expected of a high-level pleasure demon — one of those exalted devils ranked alongside desire demons and incubi, the ultimate ** bestowed upon men…"
But the next words out of Raylin's mouth wiped the color from her face.
"Pleasure demon? You must be joking, little mister?"
The beauty pressed her fingers lightly to her lips, a faint pallor creeping across her features — the natural reaction of anyone upon hearing the word "devil."
"There's no point keeping up the act. The fact that I know this place means I already know everything about you, including your true identity…"
Raylin flicked his fingers, and a magical barrier instantly spread outward. Then a thread of dark divine power erupted from his body.
"My lord's divinity!!!"
That counterfeit divine power drew a sharp gasp from the stunning woman. The illusion around her body shattered like a veil of mist pierced through, revealing her true form — still that same ravishing face, but her eyes had turned a strange wine-red, and curving horns, unmistakably demonic, poked up through her purple hair in an oddly playful way. Her feet had transformed into a pair of cloven hooves.
A series of strange purple runes surfaced across her body, resembling tattoos upon skin, yet radiating a peculiar and mesmerizing charm.
This form, though unmistakably demonic at first glance, was somehow even more captivating than before.
"So, you're the one who manifested divine power in Dark Forest Castle —
The pleasure devil across from him regarded Lin Lei's transformed figure with a trace of wariness. As the diocesan overseer for the entire Danbres Kingdom, she had naturally paid close attention to Lin Lei's initial appearance, and the devil worshippers over in Dark Forest Castle hadn't dared keep anything from her.
Through magical communications, one could maintain remarkably swift control over information across the entire kingdom — so long as one was willing to pay the price.
"That's right!" Lin Lei stood with his hands clasped behind his back, projecting an air of unfathomable mystery. The divine power emanating from his body pressed down upon the devil before him like an invisible weight.
"Are you here to recruit me? Hehe… Sorry, but without my master's orders, there's no way I'll submit to you…"
The pleasure devil's eyes brimmed with vigilance as she stared at Lin Lei. As a high-ranking devil, she had personally met
"That choice isn't yours to make, Madam Drye. Or rather, perhaps I should call you — Atyrius Dokoklo Bengafaker Ankonina…"
A string of complex, tongue-twisting syllables rolled off Lin Lei's lips. The moment the pleasure devil Madam Drye heard them, her expression changed violently.
"How… how do you know that?!"
Her face twisted with alarm as she waved her hand, and the entire secret chamber immediately surged with powerful magical energy. The force coalesced into the framework of a grand binding array.
Concentrated power gathered around her body, ready to detonate at any moment.
The reason Madam Drye had grown so tense was entirely because Lin Lei had just spoken her true name! A devil's true name — unique and singular!
For high-ranking devils, their true name was one-of-a-kind and their most closely guarded secret! It was something nearly as important as life itself!
Once leaked, even an ordinary mortal mage could easily bind, enslave, and command them!
As the
And Lin Lei, having stripped Beelzebub of everything, had obtained all the true names through which Beelzebub controlled his devils from the sovereign's own memories!
This was the trump card Lin Lei was counting on!
"What's wrong? Thinking of making a move?"
Lin Lei smiled calmly. The runes representing her true name had already settled into his palm, and the terrifying divine power coiled around them like a vicious dragon, ready to shatter the sigil at any moment.
"No! Don't!"
The Pleasure Demon shrieked, falling to its knees: "I am willing to obey you, my master!"
As a devil, life was indeed the most important thing, after all, and as for loyalty and integrity, those had long since been tossed away without a second thought.