How can you become stronger if you don't build up bonds?

How to deal with the assassin is indeed a somewhat troublesome problem.

Fortunately, Lin Wei had already come up with a general idea while waiting.

After temporarily dismissing the two guards at the entrance, he explained his proposed solution.

Zoreni frowned as she listened.

There's no problem with treating prisoners well, but dealing with them at the church afterwards requires a series of arrangements and plans.

is it necessary?

Zoreni glanced at Yare beside her out of the corner of her eye, wondering if he had understood.

"Go and get it done quickly, Zoreni. If you encounter any difficulties, just tell me," Are urged Zoreni as usual.

Have you really thought about this, my knight?

Aray glanced at her, as if to say: Hurry up and state your opinion, His Highness is never wrong.

You shouldn't have watched his.

Zoreni shook her head inwardly.

In her eyes, Yare was almost perfect, except for one thing she considered a flaw: he never gave Prince Lin Wei any advice.

He is clearly intelligent, brave and resourceful in battle, and definitely not the kind of person who is mindless.

Absolute loyalty is certainly a great virtue, but as a subordinate, having the ability to offer constructive criticism is also quite important.

"Your Highness, there are a few things I don't quite understand." Zoreni followed her heart and boldly asked her questions.

Ale's eyes widened, clearly displeased with Zoreni's question.

Lin Wei ignored Yare's reaction and gestured to Zoreni that it was alright.

"Has Your Highness had any dealings with this assassin before? You seem to know her personality and temperament quite well."

Also, do you have any way of predicting her future actions? If it's just speculation, my opinion differs from yours.

Uh... it would be great if Zoreni and Ale could merge together.

One is convenient to use but not easy to use, while the other is easy to use but not convenient to use.

He could explain Zoreni's problem, but he couldn't explain it in a way she could understand.

You can't exactly call yourself a master of analyzing psychological journeys and an expert on assassination plots, can you?

"I sense something."

Okay, I've finished explaining.

"Um……?"

"Alright, come here right now—"

Suddenly, Ale grabbed Zoreni's neck and forcibly pulled her aside. During this process, Zoreni appeared both distressed and pleased, but ultimately she did not resist and let Ale carry her away.

Lin Wei turned around and caught a glimpse of Luya's silly smile.

There's also someone who loves watching small theater performances.

The moment Luya met Lin Wei's gaze, she covered the lower half of her face with her hand, then lowered her eyes and returned to her "reflective" state.

So cute.

Luya reflected on her actions, and Lin Wei was dissatisfied, but both of them understood that their previous intervention was the inevitable outcome.

Lin Wei couldn't accept that his favorite maid had taken a bullet for him, and Luya couldn't accept that her most important master had died in front of her.

There is only one solution: unlock the rival bond as soon as possible to gain self-protection.

……

A few minutes later, Yare returned to Lin Wei, his expression much more serious than before:

"Your Highness, there are too many suspicious points surrounding today's assassination attempt."

As he spoke, he glanced outside the cell, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

It seems that Zoreni gave him a special reminder.

"I will make my own decision on this matter."

Lin Wei has no immediate plans to investigate how the information was leaked.

After a while, Lin Wei summoned all the prison guards to his presence and had Yare issue an order to strictly block all news from the day.

At the same time, Lin Wei highly praised the guards' heroic performance today. Even without any substantial reward, the guards present were all in high spirits.

They spontaneously knelt on one knee, pressed their palms to their chests, and moved in perfect unison.

"Thank you for your grace, Your Highness!"

……

After Lin Wei and his group left with the female assassin.

"Zeppelli, I'll trade you three large gold coins for your shoulder armor. Deal?" A middle-aged guard with a large beard approached the curly-haired young guard named Zeppelli and asked.

"What a joke! His Highness just touched my shoulder armor; it definitely retains some protective power. You think you can trade it for three large gold coins? Do you think I'm a fool?!"

Zeppeli took a step back to protect his shoulder armor, afraid that the bearded man would reach out and touch it.

"Isn't three large gold coins enough to show our sincerity? Our monthly salary is only eight coins, and we don't even know if they have any protective power. I just want to take them back to show my lazy son and urge him to train harder."

"Come on, if I say I have it, then I don't. In short, I'm absolutely not selling it!"

"That kid Zeppelin, he seems straightforward most of the time, but when it really matters, he's more cunning than anyone else. He actually succeeded in getting His Highness's attention by cleaning up the lich's corpse!" Other guards teased from the side.

"Can my loyalty to my duty be interpreted as scheming? It was my turn to be on duty in that cell today!" Zeppelin argued, his neck red.

"That's why I say you're lucky—"

……

Seeing that Zeppeli refused to switch, the bearded man turned to another guard on duty in the lich's quarters and asked:

"Simon, did His Highness pat you on the shoulder earlier?"

The guard called Simon shuddered. He looked about the same age as the bearded man, with a square face, gray hair, and many wrinkles on his forehead.

"I...no, I didn't..." Simon stammered, instinctively trying to avoid the discussion.

"Uncle Simon doesn't seem to be feeling well today; he's having trouble working," Zeppeli interjected.

"Then you should find some time to go to a pharmacist and get some medicine." The bearded man was clearly a kind-hearted person.

"I think with His Highness's blessing and protection, I should just go home and get some sleep." Zeppelin always showed his devotion to that prince.

But upon hearing this, Simon's pupils dilated sharply, as if he had heard something extremely frightening:

"I... I'm going to ask the warden for leave, and then I'll go home first."

After saying that, he left in a disheveled manner.

"What's wrong with Uncle Simon?"

"I don't know. Logically speaking, his life is much more comfortable than mine. His son is sensible and promising, and he might even have a chance to join the Justice Guard in the future." The bearded man rubbed his beard, looking puzzled.

"Such a thing happens? That's the Justice Guard!"

"How could it be fake? His son is in the same grade as my son, and is the most outstanding prodigy of the swordsmanship academy..."

…………

The assassination attempt on Lin Wei in the demon prison was kept very secret; even the people in the Duke's mansion were unaware of it.

Of course, this was also related to the fact that Duke Eugene, who was the most well-informed person in the Duke's mansion, was away training troops.

Two days later, Zoreni visited and told Lin Wei that the female assassin had woken up.

But Lin Wei already knew, because of the change in hatred value.

Currently, the aggro value is only slightly over 300.

"Your Highness, I have prepared all the arrangements you requested."

How did she react after waking up?

"My first reaction was to confirm whether I had been defiled, and then came the usual panic, confusion, and fear."

These words made Lin Wei's imagination run wild, and at the same time, they confirmed some of his points in detail.

The unconscious female assassin was placed in the church's solitary confinement room, which had been prepared according to Lin Wei's requirements during her coma.

The so-called arrangement was to have Zoreni use magic to create a perfectly soundproof, one-way transparent partition, dividing the confinement room in two.

Then, the sound is transmitted using the magical item, the sound transmission stone.

The interrogation was conducted by Zoreni alone, while Lin Wei and Luya watched the entire process from the other half of the room.

Through the one-way partition, Lin Wei could see the female assassin huddled in a corner with her knees drawn up to her chest.

Lin Wei did not remove her mask, so her expression was still not visible.

But her current demeanor doesn't resemble that of a captured assassin at all; rather, she looks more like a helpless girl in distress.

Her hair had changed since the last time I saw it; it had turned from a grayish-white that was good for concealment to a bright silver-white, presumably because the magic applied to it had worn off.

"Your Highness, is there anything else you wish to instruct me to do?" Zoreni was already preparing to go next door.

"Prepare some water and food for her."

"As leverage in interrogation?"

"No, go in and give it to her directly, and make it clear to her that it was prepared for her."

Upon hearing this, Zoreni's eyes showed confusion again.

Keeping prisoners in a state of hunger and thirst can improve interrogation efficiency—this is common criminal knowledge. Yet Your Highness insists on doing the opposite. Why is that?

Even if this assassin is a bit strange in many ways, she has actually tried to kill His Highness. How could she be moved by food and water alone?

This is so hard to understand...

"Go ahead," Lin Wei said, offering no further explanation.

"Yes."

Zoreni had a large serving of fine white bread and a large glass of sparkling water, which is now very popular in Fengdu.

Holding a staff in her left hand and a tray in her right, she walked into the other half of the room where the assassin woman was.

From Lin Wei's perspective, the sound of the door opening alone startled the female assassin.

She tried frantically to stand up, but because of hunger, her limbs were too weak to support her weight, and she fell back to the spot.

"Who are you, and what do you want to do to me?!" The assassin's voice was still the same as before, but her lack of confidence was exposed to the fullest extent.

Zoreni didn't reply immediately. She tapped her staff lightly and muttered an incantation, and the tray floated steadily in the air.

The assassin watched as Zoreni skillfully applied magic in her daily life, her wine-red eyes unable to conceal her astonishment.

Then, the aroma of white bread wafted towards her.

"Gurgle—"

A pathetic moan escaped from the assassin woman's flat, beautiful abdomen.

"Eat up." Zoreni manipulated the tray to float in front of her.

Even though her craving for food had reached its limit, the assassin woman still managed to tear her gaze away from the white bread:

"Where am I? Where is Linwei Kreddy?!"

The moment Lin Wei's name was mentioned, the assassin woman's hatred level immediately soared from less than 400 to over 500.

"This is the headquarters of the Holy Church of Fengdu," Zoreni replied emotionlessly.

"The Holy Church..."

Upon hearing those words, the assassin's body relaxed for a moment, but she immediately tensed up again.

"I've never seen a church member wear your clothes before, and this place doesn't look like a church at all—!"

Zoreni silently chanted the incantation again, and a mist of light appeared before her, simulating the image of a linen robe:

"This is the solitary confinement cell. The clothes you saw earlier were like this. My rank is higher than theirs."

Whenever Zoreni casts a spell, the assassin woman reacts instinctively with shock, and this time it is clear that she also takes into account Zoreni's age.

To possess such profound magical skills at such a young age, and to hold such a high position in the church—what a genius he is…

The assassin finally believed what Zoreni had said. The Holy Church was an organization that spread throughout the continent, dedicated to serving the gods and mostly engaged in teaching, spreading the word, and providing relief. Falling into their hands was a good end for her.

Why am I here...?

As the assassin asked the question again, she reached for the white bread.

"His Highness Linwei Kredy has entrusted us to purify the demonic energy within you, restoring your peace and freedom."

The assassin's hand, which was reaching for the bread, stopped and trembled.

"What did you say...?"

Current aggro level: 626

"There's a chance!" Lin Wei shouted excitedly from inside the cubicle.

Before even seeing the person, the hatred level was already approaching 600, while the peak value during the assassination was only 691.

This absurd approach certainly adds fuel to the fire.

"I don't understand any of this 'nightmare' stuff, and it doesn't exist. I'm going to kill him, kill him no matter what—!! Cough cough cough, cough cough cough—!"

The assassin's throat could not withstand the strain of not drinking water for so long.

She instinctively picked up the water glass in front of her, but when she saw the bubbles rising to the surface, her expression changed.

"Water...cough cough—is there a problem...?"

Zoreni frowned for the first time after entering the room.

How could someone with such a mind attempt to assassinate His Highness?

Wait a minute...

Does this mean she has never seen sparkling water before?

In such a state of extreme hunger and insufficient brain energy, it would be impossible for her to still be in a state of high-precision disguise.

This indicates that she didn't spend much time in Fengdu, and rarely even stayed in the towns and cities surrounding Fengdu.

So this is the information His Majesty wanted!

As expected of His Highness...

In an instant, Zoreni realized what was going on.

But in reality, Lin Wei was thinking about something completely different.

Although Lin Wei had long since adapted to this world, he still maintained the values ​​of the Chinese people on Blue Star.

He would never take the path of forcibly accumulating hatred through methods such as torture and persecution.

He wanted to use a relatively gentle approach to get the female assassin to reveal the details of the assassination, and then incite her hatred as much as possible.

Lin Wei's idea was that the more the female assassin wanted to kill him, the more he had to present himself as a "saint."

I forgot the beginning and the end, but anyway, if you want to kill me, it means you've been corrupted by something, and I'm going to save you.

Anyone with a modicum of pride would find this unbearable, and their hatred would naturally escalate.

"These foods were specially prepared for you by him. He wanted to have a better time to poison you. Finally, this is the Holy Church." Zoreni's voice was as calm as a lake without wind.

The Holy Church, a colossal entity that stands apart from the politics of the kingdoms, is deeply rooted in the core of each kingdom.

Without a doubt, they are the most authoritative governing bodies on this continent.

At that moment, the female assassin felt she had grasped a glimmer of hope.

"Please help me, Your Excellency..."