The Devil Does Not Need to Be Defeated

Chapter 588: Mara’s Two Secrets

Shien Buztout naturally didn’t know much about Mara.

This couldn’t be helped.

Strictly speaking, Shien hadn’t even seen the Imperial Consort Mara, nor did he know what she looked like. He only knew of her existence from the information Harvis provided, and nothing else.

This was also one of the reasons Shien wanted to cooperate with Harvis.

It was this prince who had actually interacted with Mara, not him. Therefore, if he wanted to deal with such a mysterious woman, he naturally needed someone to tell him about her.

Harvis thought he was of little value to Shien, but Shien had already obtained what he wanted from him bit by bit.

In any case, Shien would definitely meet this Imperial Consort Mara.

Therefore, Shien looked at Harvis.

“So, Your Highness, what are your thoughts?”

Shien asked Harvis for advice.

To deal with Mara, or rather, to lure her out, he had to go through Harvis.

Harvis had been dealing with Mara for over ten years, so he must have some plans.

This was also why Rockto asked Shien to find Harvis.

In the Imperial Capital, if one wanted to know who understood Mara the most, who wanted to deal with her the most, and who had interacted with her the most, Harvis was definitely the top choice.

And it was true.

“I’ve observed Mara for a long time. Although I haven’t figured out her origins or identity, I do know two of her secrets.”

Harvis said.

“Secrets?”

Shien raised an eyebrow.

“Yes.” Harvis said seriously, “One of these secrets I discovered by chance, and the other I found while secretly investigating her.”

Saying that, Harvis came to a painting in his room.

“Open.”

Whispering softly, Harvis chanted a short magic spell.

“Click!”

With a soft click, the painting in front of Harvis suddenly slid open like a small safe.

From Shien’s perspective, he could see a small cabinet behind the painting.

The cabinet contained many small objects, including a crystal tool for recording images, a small knife inlaid with gems, a potion of unknown effect, and some letters, documents, and parchment scrolls.

Harvis pulled out a scroll from the pile and took out a crystal tool for recording images.

“First, please take a look at this.”

Harvis handed the scroll to Shien.

Shien didn’t hesitate, taking the scroll and opening it.

Upon opening it, Shien found a map drawn on the scroll.

It was clearly a hand-drawn map, seemingly sketched by Harvis himself based on various information and memories. There were many rough lines and revisions marks on it, showing the drawer’s meticulousness.

“What is this?”

Shien frowned, puzzled.

Harvis didn’t keep him in suspense.

“This is a map I drew after observing Mara’s movements for ten years, filtering through various true and false information and deductions.” Harvis said seriously, “If my efforts over the past ten years haven’t been in vain, then this map points to a secret location closely related to Mara.”

“Secret location?” Shien’s spirits lifted, “So, Mara frequently appears there?”

If that were the case, Shien wouldn’t mind waiting for Mara to walk into his trap.

Unfortunately…

“Not necessarily.” Harvis poured cold water on his hopes, “I can only confirm that this place is closely related to Mara, but she doesn’t appear there often.”

“Is that so?” Shien was somewhat disappointed, but he didn’t lose interest. Looking at the map in his hand, he pondered, “Since this place is closely related to Mara, haven’t you been there?”

“I haven’t personally.” Harvis sighed, “However, I once sent people there to investigate, and the result…”

Harvis didn’t finish his sentence, but Shien could guess.

They probably all disappeared without a trace, or simply died heroically, right?

“But this also indicates that there’s something wrong with that place, right?”

Shien said.

“That’s right.” Harvis nodded, “I originally wanted to continue investigating that place, but I was worried that sending people there too frequently would attract the attention of that venomous Consort and expose my actions, so I didn’t dare to act rashly.”

“I see.” Shien understood, looking at the map in his hand again, “So, you want me to go there?”

“At least, I believe you can gain something there.” Harvis didn’t deny it, simply saying, “There must be some secrets hidden there. Otherwise, that suspicious woman wouldn’t maintain contact with that place. I think it’s worth checking out.”

With Shien’s abilities, even if it was a dragon’s lair or a tiger’s den, he had the ability to venture in.

Therefore, Harvis provided this information that he had treasured for many years.

This was what Harvis discovered while secretly investigating Mara.

And there was another discovery…

“Please take a look at the image recorded in this crystal.”

Harvis handed the crystal to Shien.

Shien also had a similar crystal.

It was the crystal containing a photo of him and Lucy, which he had used to provoke a foolish young noble.

This crystal could record images. By injecting magic power, the recorded images could be projected.

So, Shien injected magic power into the crystal, making its surface glow with fluorescence.

In the next second, a person’s face appeared on the crystal.

It was a young girl with a shy smile, looking somewhat naive.

The girl had a unique appearance, with a small face, big eyes, and somewhat dark skin, exuding a sense of liveliness and healthy beauty. She seemed to be a sunny and cheerful girl.

Shien couldn’t help but take a few glances, muttering “not as cute as my Airi and Lilith” before looking at Harvis.

“Why are you showing me a little girl?” Shien blurted out, “Don’t tell me she’s your illegitimate daughter?”

“…You’re quite the joker.” Harvis almost choked.

To be fair, he hadn’t even married or had children yet, okay?

Although as a member of the Imperial Family, and a direct descendant at that, he definitely had one or two fiancées, but he had exhausted all his efforts dealing with Mara. Where would he find the energy to think about marriage?

Moreover, his father, the Emperor, was now completely infatuated with that Imperial Consort Mara, and most of the nobles in the Imperial Palace had sided with that venomous woman. Most people were thinking about how to deal with him, so who would urge him to get married?

After he was suspected of treason, the families of those fiancées even expressed their intention to break off the engagement. If he couldn’t ascend to the throne in the future, everyone would want to stay far away from him.

At that time, forget about having an illegitimate daughter, it would be good if he didn’t end up without any descendants.

If Shien knew what Harvis was thinking, he would definitely sigh: What a tragic man.

As for now, he was curious.

“Since she’s not your illegitimate daughter, then who is she?” Shien teased playfully, “Could she be Mara’s illegitimate daughter?”

Shien naturally said this jokingly.

Unexpectedly, Harvis said,

“It’s not impossible.”

These shocking words came from Harvis’s mouth.

“Cough…!” Shien coughed violently, his eyes widening as he looked at Harvis in astonishment, “You… are you serious?”

“I’m not sure.” Harvis shrugged, “However, it’s very likely that this girl is related to Mara.”

“How so?” Shien asked, “Is this your accidental discovery?”

“That’s right.” Harvis put away his smile, looked directly at Shien, and said, “I once accidentally discovered that Mara seems to be paying attention to this girl, even sending assassins from the Raifurut family to approach her several times.”

When he first discovered this, Harvis thought that the girl had learned some secret about Mara, causing her to send assassins to silence her.

Until later, Harvis was shocked to discover that those sent weren’t there to harm the girl, but to protect her.

“Protect…?”

Shien blinked.

“That’s right.” Harvis said with certainty, “The Raifurut assassins protected that girl several times, saving her from danger.”

If that were the case, then it was no wonder Harvis said that this girl was very likely Mara’s illegitimate daughter.

Otherwise, why would that venomous Consort, who always hid behind the scenes and did shady things, send people to protect such a little girl?

“I investigated that girl and found that her origins are also very mysterious. She appeared in the Empire, in the Imperial Capital, almost at the same time as Mara, and was then adopted by a minor noble family. She’s had a decent life these past few years.”

Harvis’s words made Shien admit that it was indeed very likely that this girl was related to Mara.

If he wanted to deal with Mara, he might be able to start with this girl.

After thinking for a moment, Shien asked Harvis,

“What’s her name?”

As he asked, Shien looked at the girl on the crystal.

Harvis’s voice echoed in his ears.

“Her name is Leni Bafein, the adopted daughter of the head of the Bafein family, a Viscount family of the Empire.”

Hearing this, Shien muttered,

“Leni Bafein…”

He remembered this name.

Chapter 589: “I Won’t Believe It.”

About ten minutes later, Shien emerged from Harvis’s bedchamber.

He didn’t rescue Harvis.

Because there was no need.

“If I disappear, the Imperial Consort’s faction in the Imperial Palace will definitely accuse me of fleeing because of my guilt. At that time, I really won’t be able to clear my name of treason.”

This prince had the same thoughts as Shien.

Therefore, Harvis definitely wouldn’t leave, or rather, couldn’t leave, and couldn’t give Mara’s faction any opportunity to solidify his guilt.

And since he couldn’t leave the Imperial Palace, or even his bedchamber, everything could only be done by Shien alone.

“Please take this letter to Lord Rockto for me.”

Harvis had said this.

“With my instructions, Lord Rockto should fully support you and help you deal with Mara.”

Although the Bigusler family was also in a difficult situation, Rockto was still a Legendary-level expert, even a top-tier one among Legendary-level experts. His assistance was still quite significant.

Of course, for Shien, Rockto’s combat power was dispensable.

He wasn’t lacking in Legendary-level combat power.

Even though Airi wasn’t by his side anymore, Lilith alone could rival countless Legendary-level experts, so one more or one less didn’t make much difference.

Harvis clearly thought of this as well, so in the end, in order to cooperate with Shien, he made a deal with him.

Recalling that deal, Shien found it somewhat amusing.

“He’s even willing to use this as a bargaining chip. This prince is really willing to go all out.”

In order to seize the throne, the prince was clearly prepared to risk everything.

According to him, as long as he didn’t seize the throne, the Empire would remain under the control of that venomous Consort Mara.

That was very dangerous.

Harvis was certain that if the Empire couldn’t escape that woman’s control, it would be doomed sooner or later.

Coupled with the fact that his father, the Emperor, had become so foolish, and Shien was so special, Harvis finally decided to cooperate with Shien at all costs.

To be honest, Shien wasn’t very interested in the bargaining chip he offered.

However, he would be dealing with Mara anyway, and after dealing with her, he didn’t want to clean up the mess in the Empire. It would eventually fall into Harvis’s hands, letting him take advantage of the situation and ascend to the throne he desired.

Since that was the case, it wouldn’t hurt to accept the bargaining chip Harvis offered, right?

So, Shien readily agreed.

“Now the real show begins.”

Shien touched the scroll and crystal in his arms, chuckled, and vanished in a flash.

He was leaving the Imperial Palace.

Therefore, he had to find a certain young lady wandering around inside.

…

“Is this area clear?”

“Clear.”

“What about you?”

“My area is clear too.”

“Good.”

In a corner of the Imperial Palace, a group of patrolling knights were exchanging information about their patrol.

They were talking in the courtyard, completely unaware that in a nearby shadow, a female knight sat huddled, hugging her knees, looking dejected.

“They can’t see me… they can’t see me… they can’t see me…”

The female knight seemed to be comforting herself, her face buried in her knees, on the verge of tears.

There was no helping it.

“Isn’t the patrol in the Imperial Palace a bit too frequent tonight…!?”

Tilly was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

She had been brought into the Imperial Palace by Shien, which was considered illegal entry.

Under such circumstances, Tilly naturally had to hide and avoid being discovered.

But after the incident with Diere, the security in the Imperial Palace had become much tighter. Coupled with the major event that happened in the noble district today, the Imperial Palace was on high alert. Any disturbance could attract the attention of the patrolling knights.

To avoid the knights, Tilly hid everywhere, but she always seemed to encounter them, making her feel miserable.

Especially thanks to Shien, Tilly’s chest was exposed, and the cold armor rubbed against her skin with every movement, causing her so much pain that she almost cried.

Having to hide and play hide-and-seek with the patrolling knights, one could imagine how frustrated Tilly was.

“Wuwuwu…”

Lost in thought, Tilly couldn’t help but cry.

She didn’t dare to cry out loud and attract the attention of the knights, so she could only whimper silently, feeling both embarrassed and miserable.

Then…

“Can’t take it anymore?”

A voice reached Tilly’s ears.

“It seems your mental fortitude isn’t very strong.”

Hearing this, Tilly froze, abruptly raising her head and looking to the side.

There, the cloaked Shien had appeared at some point, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, looking down at her with a smug expression.

“You… wuwuwu…!”

Seeing this, Tilly’s emotions erupted, and she wanted to curse loudly, but Shien quickly covered her mouth.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed? You dare to shout here?”

Shien raised an eyebrow and smiled at Tilly.

Tilly could see the playful curve of Shien’s lips under his hood, and the anger in her eyes almost erupted.

In a fit of pique, Tilly opened her mouth and bit down hard on Shien’s hand.

To her dismay, she couldn’t bite through it.

“Heh.” Shien sneered, “Do you think you’re some kind of unscientific princess who can ignore resistance skills?”

With the protection of [Inner Manifestation of Heaven’s Decree], except for a certain unscientific princess, no one else, no matter how hard they bit Shien, or even stabbed at his eyes, could break his defenses.

“Wuwuwu…!”

Tilly seemed to refuse to believe it, biting relentlessly, her saliva getting all over Shien’s hand.

Shien was instantly disgusted.

“As a young lady, can you have some manners?” Shien said with a hint of pity, “Why act like a dog when you can be a proper human?”

Tilly almost fainted from anger.

You’re the dog!

Your whole family are dogs!

“Wuwuwuwu…! Wuwuwu…!”

Tilly could only wave her hands and struggle, her muffled cries becoming louder.

If this continued, it was only a matter of time before they were discovered.

So, Shien narrowed his eyes.

“If you keep shouting, I’ll use my teleportation.” Shien threatened, “And if I use my teleportation this time, you might really lose everything, including your armor.”

Tilly instantly froze.

Fear finally appeared in her angry eyes.

Clearly, Shien’s words had frightened her.

Shien curled his lip, releasing his hand from Tilly’s mouth, and before she could react, he squeezed her chest again.

“…!?”

Tilly let out a silent scream.

This time, she didn’t feel angry, only terrified.

Because she thought Shien was really going to teleport her armor away.

If that happened, she would be completely naked.

This made Tilly panic before she could feel angry.

But the feeling of her armor disappearing didn’t come. Instead, the chilly feeling beneath her armor vanished.

Tilly was stunned for a moment, then realized what had happened.

“You… you put it back on for me?”

Tilly blurted out these ambiguous words.

“Yeah, I put it back on for you.” Shien, whether he didn’t notice or didn’t care, said casually, “Only two people in this world have enjoyed this treatment, and the other one ran away before I woke up, so you’re the third. How about it? I’m good to you, right?”

Thank you very much!

Tilly almost drew her sword in anger.

If she weren’t afraid that Shien would really do anything, teleporting away her armor and everything, she would have definitely drawn her sword by now.

Even if she couldn’t defeat Shien, she would still draw her sword, she had to!

“Calm down… calm down…”

Tilly could only take deep breaths and try to control her emotions.

“Don’t mind it… don’t mind it… This is just a prank from an old man who’s much older than me… don’t mind it…”

Tilly comforted herself.

But Shien heard these words.

“Old man?” Shien glanced at Tilly and said casually, “Don’t slander people. I’m a young man in my early twenties. Which eye of yours sees an old man?”

Upon hearing this, Tilly was stunned.

A young man in his early twenties…?

“Impossible!”

Tilly blurted out almost reflexively.

“Why is it impossible?”

Shien asked back.

“You… you’re an expert who can repel even top-tier Legendary-level experts and annihilate the entire Raifurut family, how could you only be in your early twenties?”

Tilly denied this.

If Shien was only in his early twenties, wouldn’t he be younger than her?

She was twenty-four years old this year, and only level seventy-three. Someone younger than her could repel Legendary-level experts and annihilate the Raifurut family?

That was a joke!

Seeing Tilly’s disbelief, Shien just wanted to say,

“You know nothing about power, sister.” Shien still said with a smile, “If you don’t believe me, go ask your father.”

After saying that, Shien didn’t give Tilly a chance to speak further, reaching out and placing his hand on her shoulder.

“Swoosh!”

In the next second, they both disappeared.

Tilly only felt a blur before her eyes, and when her vision cleared, she was back in the plaza in front of the Imperial Palace.

In other words, they had left the Imperial Palace.

“Alright, go back.” Shien yawned, “I’m exhausted. Go back to sleep. There’s still a lot to do tomorrow.”

Leaving these words, Shien left directly.

Tilly finally reacted and hurriedly followed.

But looking at Shien’s back, Tilly’s heart was in turmoil.

“A Legendary-level expert in his early twenties…”

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

Such a monstrous person couldn’t possibly exist in this world.

Even the Valkyrie, whose talent rivaled that of the Kingdom’s Treasure, was only level seventy at seventeen years old. Even at twenty, she couldn’t possibly be above level ninety.

The Kingdom’s Treasure was the same, right?

So…

“I won’t believe it.”

Saying this, a seed was planted in Tilly’s heart.

A seed of curiosity about Shien’s appearance, his origins, and his true age.

Shien didn’t know about this yet.

Even if he did, he wouldn’t care.

The night in the Imperial Capital continued.

And this night would definitely not be peaceful.