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Chapter 20: The Underwear Is Secured, but There’s a Slight Mishap

At noon, clouds covered the sun.

The sky was overcast as if a torrential downpour was about to begin.

Rein left the Mage Tower and walked through the academy as several attractive junior and senior female students occasionally approached him to deliver love letters.

Rein slipped the heart-shaped letter into his Magic Ring and checked the time.

It had already been two days.

He still did not know whether Damon had managed to steal Sophia’s underwear.

If the underwear did not arrive today, Damon would have a hard time explaining it to the God of War.

At best, all his Battle Qi would dissipate; at worst, his life would be in danger.

Just as he reached the academy gate, Rein sensed that something was wrong.

It was too deserted.

Although people still came and went, the usual bustle was completely absent.

Not even the Ward family’s carriage was in sight.

Even assuming all other descendants of the Ward family were absent, had Sophia, that cultivation fanatic, also taken leave?

The scene at the academy gate left Rein very puzzled.

Although he had come out later than usual today, it still shouldn’t have been this quiet.

Drake, anxiously peering into the academy from the gate, finally spotted the Rein he had been desperately waiting for.

He hurried to Rein’s side.

“Young Master, you finally came out. I heard that Harlin, the one who ran away with Miss Adele, has appeared in the central plaza of the royal city.”

Upon hearing Drake’s explanation, Rein immediately knew what those noble offspring had been up to.

They had all gone to the central plaza to watch the spectacle.

Without another word, Rein nimbly climbed into the carriage.

Drake immediately drove the carriage toward the royal city’s central plaza.

……

It was the central plaza.

Harlin was standing under the statue at the very center of the plaza.

He faced House Gray and House Hill, who had arrived first at the central plaza and stared at him with predatory gazes.

And other nobles continued to arrive to watch the spectacle.

Being watched by the crowd gave Harlin an inexplicable sense of accomplishment that made him believe he could control the entire situation.

Thinking about what he was about to do, Harlin felt tremendous excitement.

Watching more and more people gather in the central plaza, Harlin decided he could begin.

Harlin performed a standard warrior’s salute toward Charlie.

“Viscount Hill, are you well?”

Charlie said nothing and immediately charged toward Harlin, intent on seizing him.

As long as he captured Harlin, he could extract his daughter’s location, and after years in the army, he was confident in this.

Seeing Charlie charge, Harlin swiftly withdrew a stone from his Aetheric Device.

Harlin’s Aetheric Device immediately elicited gasps from the crowd.

The Aetheric Device was extremely expensive and rare; who would have expected a mercenary like Harlin to possess one?

“Stop! Viscount Hill, do you really want your daughter Adele’s nude image displayed in front of all these people?”

At Harlin’s words, Charlie halted in his tracks and glowered at the stone in Harlin’s hand.

A recording stone?

“Impossible. Adele wears three anti-theft relics. With your pathetic strength, you could never have recorded any images.”

“Oh really? So, Viscount Hill, do you want to bet that this recording stone is empty?”

Although Harlin’s expression remained calm as if he were certain of victory, he was extremely nervous inside.

After all, he knew better than anyone what was inside the recording stone.

Charlie stared fixedly at the recording stone in Harlin’s hand.

Indeed, he could not stake his daughter’s reputation on a gamble.

“By the way, don’t even think about sending a high-rank assassin to capture me; this recording stone is very special, and it’s bound to me.”

“Even if I die or am captured, I can still control it and play its contents.”

Charlie, looking at the composed Harlin, fell silent for a moment before slowly retreating to Fude’s side.

Fude stared at Harlin, waved his hand to indicate that Jonas, who was about to take action, should wait, and then spoke.

“Since you’ve shown up here with this so-called recording stone, are you here to negotiate terms? Speak.”

“Marquis Gray, your insight is remarkable. I am indeed here to negotiate terms.”

Fude did not answer him.

He gazed at the central plaza, which was surrounded by nobles and many commoners, and pondered.

This calm composure of Harlin meant he must have arranged an escape route.

However, relying solely on the recording stone in his hand would not be enough to keep threatening them and escape the pursuit of the two families.

There was only one way for him to get away unscathed.

Space magic.

Fude lowered his head and quietly instructed Jonas at his side.

“Jonas, fetch the family’s artifact that can seal off space and use it to block the area around the central plaza.”

Jonas immediately understood, turned into a shadow, and vanished.

At that moment, Drake also drove the carriage to the central plaza.

Seeing the dense crowd around the central plaza, Drake quickly cried out to clear the way.

“Make way or I won’t be responsible for any collisions.”

When people saw it was House Gray’s carriage, they parted to create a path to the innermost area.

Drake soon brought Rein to the side of Fude, the head of the family.

Rein stepped down from the carriage and asked.

“Father, what’s the situation now? How did things reach a stalemate?”

Fude then explained to Rein what had just happened.

After understanding the situation, Rein stood to the side and watched the commotion as if it had nothing to do with him.

After a while, Fude looked at Harlin and slowly spoke.

“What do you want?”

“An advanced breathing technique and ten third-rank Battle Qi-class artifacts,” Harlin stated his demands.

“Hahaha, kid, House Gray is so wealthy and you only want that little? You really lack experience,” mocked Brent, the Mick family head, who always disagreed with Fude.

Harlin said nothing in response.

If he asked for too much, more than Adele’s worth, House Hill would just give up, so why stage this at all?

He just wanted to grab more artifacts and escape.

Fude merely glanced at Brent before withdrawing his gaze.

Fude heard that Harlin had not set conditions like providing a carriage or banning any pursuit afterward.

Fude became more convinced that Harlin held a rare teleportation scroll, although he didn’t know its exact rank.

“Very well, but you must first tell me Adele’s location.”

“Marquis Gray, please do not rush. Once the goods arrive, I will naturally reveal Adele’s location to everyone.”

Brent sneered once more after seeing that neither man paid him any attention and lost interest.

Fude stared at Harlin for a moment before gradually withdrawing his gaze.

“Just wait.”

Time passed bit by bit, and the clouds in the sky grew thicker.

It felt as though a massive storm was about to break.

Before long, Jonas returned to Fude’s side.

“Master, the space around the central plaza has been sealed.”

Upon hearing this, Fude immediately nodded and gestured to Charlie that the item could be brought out.

Charlie nodded and gave a signal to the nearby guards.

After a short while, two House Hill guards brought a box and walked slowly into the central plaza.

As Rein watched with interest, a stranger suddenly appeared before him.

“Young Master Rein, the arrangement you made with Young Master Damon has been carried out. Here is what you requested.”

The man handed Rein an exquisitely crafted box.

Rein immediately examined the box, convinced that Sophia’s underwear must be inside.

Seeing that the timing was right, Fude said, “The goods are here. Now you must tell us Adele’s location.”

Harlin gave a slight smile and said, “Of course, but I want one more thing. It will not, of course, trouble you too much, Marquis Gray.”

Harlin’s sudden additional demand immediately caused Fude to frown. “Speak.”

“I want the box that Young Master Rein is holding right now.”

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