While Ebner was deep in thought, Tracy sat quietly to the side.
Earlier, when she had just regained some of her strength, she had considered using her Beyonder powers to turn the tables and reclaim Helene.
But she quickly realized that besides "Instigation," her core abilities as a Demoness—such as "Spider Silk," "Disease," "Black Flame," and "Cold"—were all unusable in this room. When she tried to leave, she was "imprisoned" by a mysterious force, unable to move even an inch.
And "Instigation" was completely useless against the man in front of her...
In fact, every time she tried to "Instigate" him, she would be "Charmed" in return, forcing her to do incredibly embarrassing things that would be recorded and shown to Helene.
In Tracy's eyes, Ebner had become the personification of a "Demon." She had also come to the profound realization that even if she weren't injured, she was still no match for the "Hero Detective."
"How can there be a Sequence 5 of this caliber?" As Tracy was feeling utterly miserable, she heard Ebner say in a rather satisfied tone, "You've recovered very well. You'll be fully healed by the weekend at the latest, and then you can go back to being your 'Vice Admiral of Ailment.'"
Tracy's heart skipped a beat, and she asked in surprise, "You're willing to let me go?"
"You're of no use to me if I keep you, so why wouldn't I?" Ebner countered with a smile.
Tracy suddenly let out a low laugh and said, "Aren't you afraid that after I leave, I'll rally my people and capture Helene again?"
"First, Helene will soon become a Sequence 6 'Conspirer.' As long as she has a powerful Sealed Artifact, you might not have the advantage fighting her in Trier.
"Second, you probably don't know this yet, but someone used your identity to infiltrate the Bayam Governor's Manor and sabotaged the 'Celestial Sect's' plan, which was also a slap in the face to the Loen government...
"And you were already wanted by the Loen royal family for assassinating the prince, and then you betrayed your organization and are being hunted by your mother's people..."
"In short, the Loen military, the Church of the Storms, the Rose School of Thought, and the Demoness Sect are all looking for you now... You'd better take advantage of your current safety and think about how to deal with all these problems!"
With every sentence Ebner spoke, Tracy's mouth opened a little wider. After a long moment, she let out a self-deprecating chuckle. "So that's it. More things have been pinned on me, huh? I've gotten used to it over the past six months... Ever since that pirate gathering, almost nothing good has happened...
"Heh, as Emperor Roselle would say, 'When you have too many debts, you don't need to worry anymore,' after all, there's not a single faction I can handle right now..."
After saying this, she couldn't help but curse, "I wonder what bastard keeps pinning all the crimes on me!"
The one using you as a scapegoat is either Mr. Fool himself or his Blessed ones... You're practically Klein's dedicated scapegoat, no wonder he couldn't bear to hunt you...
In comparison, my role as a professional "credit-taker" is much easier to accept.
Ebner's expression was odd as he finished Tracy's physical examination. He was about to leave the room, but Tracy called out to him again. She requested a little awkwardly, "Can you find a high-ranking member of the 'Demoness Sect' and inform them that my mother might be controlled?"
She seemed reluctant to ask Ebner for a favor, but she had no other choice.
Ebner paused, turned back, and shook his head slightly. "In fact, Helene mentioned this to me, and I've already had someone inform the 'Red Saintess' about the situation... But unfortunately, your sect hasn't found anything wrong with the 'White Saintess.'"
He had given the information to the former Pope, who was now inhabiting Seyrow Delien's destiny, as soon as he learned that the "Red Saintess" was also the leader of the "Men in Black."
This wasn't too out of place, since the envoy Owen was also a member of the Delien family.
"How can that be?" Tracy was stunned by the news, feeling a sense of helplessness for the first time.
She had always thought she didn't need to rely on her mother anymore, and had even gone against her on small things... But now, she profoundly felt how difficult things were without her mother's support.
Ebner didn't continue to pay attention to her. He opened the door and left the bedroom, entering the living room where Closfia was already waiting.
"Your 'Solar High Priest' Beyonder characteristic has been sold... Just as you expected, Johanson of the Frey family lost face while bidding against members of the Delien family's 'Church faction,' and now he resents them...
"And because of the two families' irrational bidding, the final price for your characteristic was as high as 5,400 Fels!"
5,400 Fels? That's 3,600 pounds. For a Sequence 7 Beyonder characteristic, that was indeed a very high price! Normally, it would be between 1,800 and 2,000 pounds.
After a few mutters to himself, Ebner nodded. "Tomorrow, I'll arrange for a member of the Delien family to snatch up the Suhit Bank shares that Johanson was supposed to buy... From there, you can 'instigate' him to say some things against the Delien family in public."
"'Instigate'?" Closfia asked with a smile. "Aren't you afraid the 'Eternal Blazing Sun' Church will find traces of Beyonder powers at play?"
"He's just expressing some opinions, not taking any specific action. No one will suspect his behavior; after all, he did get a raw deal from the Delien family, and it's normal for a young man to complain a bit," Ebner said, full of confidence. Then he added meaningfully, "And even if they do find something, it's a problem of 'Sloth,' so the 'Psychological Alchemists' will take the blame."
"Those two families are really unlucky to have crossed you..." Closfia sighed. This method of slowly building up conflict from small incidents, then suddenly detonating it when it reaches a certain point, was the most terrifying. It often made people overlook the possible "conspiracy" behind it, especially when the "Hero Detective" himself had powerful anti-divination and anti-tracking abilities, making it even harder to detect.
These are just insignificant little tricks... The truly powerful one is the person who stands on the cusp of historical change! Ebner internally lamented before he and Closfia discussed the details of some future plans.
After arranging Closfia's work and listening to Helene's report on the progress of the film company after she returned, he finally took a carriage to the Surrey family's manor to attend the ball hosted by Fanny's father.
It wasn't until Ebner had rejected invitations from several socialites who sought out the new "tycoon" and took a walk in the garden with Fanny that he finally got some peace.
"There's been so much going on lately!" Ebner couldn't help but sigh. The days of spending entire days reading and sipping tea were gone for good!
"Isn't that because you're the one who keeps taking on so much?" Fanny teased, holding his arm.
"I'm doing this for the sake of 'Acting' and the subsequent potion ingredients!" Ebner sighed, helpless.
Fanny was silent for a few seconds before she advised him, "You're already advancing so fast, there's no need to rush... You're only nineteen, you have plenty of time..."
I can wait, but some things and some people can't... I must become a Demigod as soon as possible to know the truth and take the initiative... He finished the thought in his heart but didn't voice it, instead changing the subject.
"By the way, how's the start of your political career going? With the 'Briber' ability, it should be easy to fit in, right?"
At that, Fanny gave him a look and scoffed, "You're talking about business at a place like this?"
Despite her words, Fanny did briefly talk about her week-long experience in politics. She felt that if she had entered this profession earlier, the "Barbarian" potion would have probably been digested by now... because members of Parliament would often get into fistfights when they couldn't convince each other on certain bills!
Ebner listened, and his mood brightened a lot. He suddenly felt thirsty and wanted to take Fanny back to the ball for a drink.
But he was stopped by Fanny.
"If you go back now, your reputation will get really bad... So we should wait a bit!" Fanny said, her eyes darting around.
"Why?" Ebner asked, puzzled.
"Because... it's too soon... People will suspect you... It's just not right!" Fanny answered, blushing and stammering.
"..."