Not long afterward, a minor incident occurred in the Imperial Capital: a gas pipeline exploded unexpectedly. Fortunately, thanks to the timely rescue efforts by the Imperial Capital Fire Department and the Shadow Knights, there were no serious casualties. The only misfortune was that the ancestral residence of House South, situated right atop the pipeline, was blasted sky-high.
Her Majesty the Empress publicly expressed deep sorrow over this incident. After a brief silence, the other noble families promptly chimed in, praising Her Majesty's boundless compassion, urging her not to grieve excessively, and wishing her health and strength (literal), leaving the entire Zijinghua Empire bathed in harmonious goodwill.
In this festival-like atmosphere, one evening after completing his Arcana examination and while enjoying his dinner, Linen received an Arcana communication request from Quinn, who'd been out of contact for days.
Miss Teresia, already accustomed to such occurrences, shot Linen a fiercely venomous glare, scooped up her petite cake, and skillfully slipped under the dining table.
"Yes, we wiped out the entire South family."
Soon, Quinn's voice—fatigue unable to mask her delight—filled the bedroom.
If this news leaked outside, it would undoubtedly be a bombshell-level revelation. The South family wasn't merely one of the old-money noble representatives; together with seven other prominent families, they formed what was known as the "Eight Pillars of Zijinghua." After Quinn's admission, however, they might as well rename themselves the Seven Stars of Zijinghua…
But hearing all this, Linen only calmly nodded, slicing a small piece of steak—delivered fresh from the cafeteria—and placing it into his mouth.
The beef came from the elite cattle raised in the Empire's northern ranches, animals selectively bred through generations, infused with a hint of Mana Beast lineage to enhance tenderness. Even their pasture grass was meticulously cultivated. Rumor had it that a single ranch's output could feed several nearby towns.
As the creamy beef exploded with juicy richness on Linen's tongue, he didn't feel the slightest discomfort about indirectly becoming the South family's executioner.
If that family had been left unchecked to pursue their inflated ambitions, countless households within the Empire would vanish without a trace, including that very ranch and the towns it sustained.
Or rather, if one were to meticulously scrutinize them, among the Seven Stars remaining, only a scant few truly qualified to remain. Of course, compared to the crimes the South family had been plotting, the others were merely little brothers waiting their turn.
"Colluding with external enemies is one thing, but inciting the Northern Legions to abandon their fortresses and let foreign cavalry rampage freely across our territory… Those insects deserve to die ten thousand times over!"
Quinn's voice carried a trace of icy coldness.
For a true lover of chaos, meaningless suffering among ordinary people held no comedic value. Quinn could only genuinely smile when stirring up storms in a country that was sufficiently stable and thriving.
While the "gas explosion" cover story might fool ordinary citizens, the real elite of the Imperial Capital weren't deceived. Several of the Eight Pillars, adopting attitudes ranging from "mourning a fellow rabbit's death" to opportunistic profiteering, approached Her Majesty, demanding an explanation for abruptly wiping out House South.
But Quinn merely leaked a corner of the iceberg known as the "Northern Plan," and the previously aggressive family heads instantly turned pale, hastily declaring, "Serves them right!" and "I had nothing to do with this—don't splatter their blood on me!"
After gleefully recounting how those ordinarily arrogant patriarchs scrambled to absolve themselves, Quinn's eyes twinkled as she gazed at Linen through the crystal ball.
"Hehe, but really, all this is thanks to you, my dear little Linen. The secrecy of the South family's Northern Plan was airtight—not just the Shadow Knights or other nobles, but even most members within their own family were unaware. Old South died without even realizing you were the one who brought him down."
"Hey," Quinn leaned closer to the crystal ball, winking at Linen mischievously. "Won't you secretly tell your dear sister your source? Big sis will reward you handsomely~"
Linen, still leisurely slicing his steak, elegantly dabbed his mouth:
"Hehe, care to guess?"
Quinn rolled her eyes, clearly disappointed.
In truth, the South family's "Northern Plan" was supposed to be a very late-game scenario with minimal odds of success—but if successful, it would have delivered a near-devastating blow to the entire Empire.
After all, who could've expected the old-money House South to suddenly betray the nation and with such grand ambition? Old South was affectionately nicknamed "Wu Sangui" by readers in the original story. Linen had no intention of betting on which particular timeline he'd landed in.
He'd carefully considered his timing before exposing the plot.
Firstly, it was preventive—to extinguish this ridiculous Northern Plan before it escalated further.
Secondly, it was a demonstration of his worth to his dear Imperial Sister once again.
Not as her brother—but as a prince of the Zijinghua Empire.
This would encourage her to further tilt toward him in his competition against the hidden-protagonist the Empress.
It wasn't that Linen distrusted Novie, whom he'd dispatched to Mother Empress's side, but Novie was simply too pure-hearted; the Shadow Knights' line of work clearly wasn't suited for her.
As for this secret-police organization meticulously crafted by Mother Empress, Linen highly valued it. After all, who wouldn't want a loyal white-glove force at their beck and call?
What? That's Her Majesty's?
Her Majesty is my mom. Isn't Mom's stuff naturally mine too?
Instead of painstakingly building a white-glove force himself, Linen preferred directly corrupting the Shadow Knights.
And at this juncture, Quinn's stance—as a leader-to-be of the Shadow Knights—became critically important.
But before proceeding, there was one thing he needed to confirm.
Linen's eyes shifted thoughtfully, and he suddenly spoke up:
"Sister Quinn, I can't reveal my source for now, but I'm perfectly willing to let you and the Shadow Knights claim credit for this achievement."
"Oh? Really?"
Quinn's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"This credit for crushing national traitors would significantly boost your reputation as the Empire's newly-prominent prince, improving your evaluation with Her Majesty as well. And you're willing to give that up?"
"Of course," Linen nodded calmly. "After all, the swift response and execution of your Shadow Knights genuinely exceeded my expectations. I merely provided a little intelligence."
"But," he added, "I do have one condition. You haven't told Mother about our conversation, right?"
"Hehe, of course not!" Quinn's tone remained unchanged, but her gaze subtly flicked upwards.
Upon the throne, Her Majesty the Empress, who had been resting her head on one hand and closing her eyes, suddenly opened them. Lifting her gaze slightly, she regarded the scene with infinite majesty through golden eyes, nodding ever so subtly.
"How could I possibly reveal the private conversation I had with my beloved little brother to anyone else?" Quinn answered through gritted teeth.
"Hehe, I thought so." Linen nodded agreeably, silently reaching his conclusion:
She absolutely told!
"My dear sister, since you were the first to shamelessly betray our sacred alliance, don't blame your little brother for playing dirty."
Chances to raise your Affection Level are endless, but opportunities to farm Negative Affection from Empress Mom get fewer with every use.
Thinking this, Linen smiled cheerfully, and, in the blind spot of the crystal ball's vision, stealthily reached toward the bookshelf. He carefully drew out a book hidden behind a row of Advanced Arcana Theory volumes—a slender, suspicious tome titled The Beautiful, Lonely Mother's Secret.
"In that case, let's talk about our other pact."
"Wh-what pact? Whatever could you be talking about, my sweet little brother? Your dear Imperial Sister has no idea."
Tonight, Quinn wore an elegant yet seductive silver evening gown. The daringly deep V-cut at the front provided a tantalizing glimpse of her proud assets, while the extensive cut-out at the back revealed skin smoother and fairer than fresh cream, looking particularly breezy.
Yet even dressed so lightly, Quinn couldn't help breaking into a cold sweat.
Every instinct in her body screamed at her to immediately end the call—better yet, shatter this damned crystal ball and toss its pieces into the fourth dimension, sealing it forever!
But on the throne, Her Majesty the Empress had completely awakened from her rest. She even raised a finger, signaling Quinn not to interrupt Linen. Her normally impassive golden eyes now held a rare, dangerous curiosity.
Yet, the more interested the Empress grew, the deeper Quinn sank into despair.
Though the Silver Dragon Princess delighted daily in making fun of others, she herself didn't mind occasionally becoming the subject of ridicule.
But with Linen on the other side, Quinn's senses were shrieking danger alarms nonstop!
No choice left. All I can do now is hope I can bluff my way through, and Linen doesn't say anything too outrageous.
Regrettably, reality proved harshly disappointing to Quinn.
Linen's next words plunged her straight into despair:
"I'm obviously referring to the story of how you and I secretly allied to overthrow that arrogant, indifferent, heartless, red old dragon hag."
"Hey, hey—we never added so many descriptive terms! As I recall, you still respected our dear mother very much!"
Doing her utmost to ignore the suffocating glare from the throne, Quinn laughed nervously, attempting damage control.
"Those trivialities hardly matter now." Linen had already flipped open the book to several pages marked by him earlier. "I recently found some new ideas on what we can do after overthrowing that fat red dragon hag. Want to hear them?"
Who wants to hear that stuff?! Who even talked about something like that?!
In this moment, the soon-to-be leader of the Shadow Knights, a Six-Ring Illusion Arcana Master, the blessed daughter of the Silver Dragon who wielded enough power from birth to toy with fate itself, was experiencing the most despairing instant of her entire life.
Especially after spotting the Empress on her throne nodding grimly, practically dripping murderous intent, Quinn uttered perhaps the most regrettable word of her lifetime:
"Yes!"
"Hehe, I knew you'd want to hear it."
Linen cleared his throat dramatically.
"The youthful Linen's grades were rather unsatisfactory..."
...
For the next half-hour, Quinn suffered through what felt like the longest thirty minutes of her entire life.
Because Linen spent the entirety of that half-hour reading from a vividly inappropriate novel—featuring none other than herself and the Empress as main characters!
If this truly had been a private conversation with Linen, knowing that the story's protagonist was herself, Quinn would've just laughed it off, even borrowing the book from Linen to read in her downtime.
After all, the children of the Norton family were born through rituals and the mother's dragon blood, with the offspring protected in an "egg." Though they were technically siblings, Quinn was a pure-blooded Silver Dragon descendant, while Linen was purely human, with zero dragon blood—basically strangers by blood.
But including the Empress was absolutely shocking enough to power a city with Quinn's embarrassment.
Just picturing the eternally dignified Empress displaying even a fraction of the behaviors depicted had Quinn fighting laughter that could roll her all around the room.
But the critical issue was—there were definitely more than just two people here!
Ignoring the Empress's silent threats, Quinn desperately signaled Linen with pleading eyes. Yet Linen appeared completely oblivious, passionately reciting the story aloud. Words like "jade feet," "mountain sparrows," and "little kitty" echoed shamelessly within the Zijinghua Empire's Imperial Palace—the empire's highest symbol of authority—until finally, after thirty endless minutes, he reluctantly finished.
And Quinn, for the first time, discovered that despite her lifetime of enjoying mischief, there were still things she cared deeply about.
As for the Empress's expression, Quinn no longer dared to look after Linen passionately read the first paragraph...
"Well, Quinn, my dear sister—are you satisfied?"
"Ha, ha… ha..."
Faced with Linen's cheerful invitation through the crystal ball, Quinn could only force a stiff smile.
At times like these, smiling is the only solution.
Linen wisely didn't push further.
Truthfully, reading for half an hour had been the accidental result of getting carried away. If he continued, even he worried the combined fury of the two women on the other side might come barreling through the magic lines toward him...
"If there's nothing else, let's end the call here."
Linen took the initiative.
Finally, is this nightmare over...?
Quinn nodded, deeply relieved. But Linen's next sentence made her heart jump straight back to her throat.
"Oh, right—there's one more thing!"
"What now?"
For the first time in her life, Quinn was slightly afraid of this younger brother she'd always considered her personal source of amusement.
"Don't be nervous. During the Spring Cup, I borrowed some Mana Stones from the Merchant Guild to maintain my mana supply. I just wanted to apply to the Imperial Palace for some funds to repay the debt."
Given Linen's current status, even if he didn't mention it, he'd still receive a monthly stipend from the palace. But under these circumstances…
"I'll relay your request to Her Majesty," Quinn could only reply stiffly.
"Great, I'll await your news."
As Linen's face vanished from the crystal ball, Quinn braced herself and slowly raised her head:
"Your Majesty, my brother wishes to—"
"Tell him to get lost!"
A roar of barely suppressed rage suddenly erupted, shaking the entire palace.
...
Meanwhile, inside his dorm room, Linen shut the book with immense satisfaction, enjoying the pleasant sound of system notifications:
[Ding! Congratulations, Host!]
[You've received a purely heaven-defying rejection!]
[Gained Dragonification Skill Points x2!]
[Ding! Rewarded half the total mana of a Second-Ring Arcana Mage]
[You can now attempt advancement to the Third Ring!]
As expected of the Empress! One rejection from her matches a whole month of Princess Hysteria's or a week from Miss Teresia.
A shame that such golden opportunities to fleece wool off the Empress are so rare.
Wait—Teresia!
Linen suddenly recalled she'd been hiding under his desk the entire time.
Doesn't that mean she heard every word of my conversation with Quinn just now?!
Linen hurriedly stood, stepping aside, then paused abruptly at the scene before him.
Under the desk, Teresia was curled up, left hand still holding her dinner tray, right hand gripping a fork impaling a small cake, utterly frozen as she stared dumbfounded at Linen.
Splat!
Having maintained this pose far too long, the melted cream from her tiny cake slid from her fork and splattered onto the floor.
Seeing the normally cold assassin girl's rare, deer-in-headlights expression, Linen realized for the first time—
Maybe occasionally, when farming rewards, I really should pick a better time and place...
---
T/N: noooo the cakeeee!!!
Hey everyone, thanks for reading. If you're enjoying the translation, dropping some Powerstones would really help out your hardworking translator (100 stones = 1 bonus chapter, 200 = 2 chapters, and so on—easy math, right?).
If you're feeling especially generous, or maybe just impatient, you can support the translator at patreon.com/wisetl. Totally optional, but hey, early access is always a nice bonus.
Oh, and don't forget—join the Discord at discord.gg/wisetl. Come chat, share theories, or complain directly to the translator—trust me, they love it.
Anyway, see you in the next chapter~
say thank you to hayasaka guyss