It was common knowledge in this world that no two identical magic stones existed, much like how no two snowflakes were the same.
Yet now, from outward appearance alone, the stone Linen had revealed looked precisely the same as Silva's.
The Shadow Knights exchanged uncertain glances. Hysteria wore an expression as though her brain had short-circuited. Only Elena seemed to recall something—but frustratingly, she couldn't articulate it.
"You find this unbelievable? It's hardly surprising."
"The saying that no two magic stones are identical actually refers to the internal structure and mana capacity of naturally formed stones. The external appearance being identical is merely coincidental."
"Anyone without deeper knowledge could easily be misled by that saying—but for Captain Silva, as the leader of the Shadow Knights, not knowing this basic fact is rather inexcusable. Should I question your professional competence, or should I suspect that you all had ulterior motives from the start?"
In just three sentences, Linen completely flipped the situation.
Silva remained composed, but the other Shadow Knights, who had previously interrogated Linen, now wore deeply troubled expressions.
"Prince Linen, please watch your words. We are sworn shadows serving Her Majesty the Empress. Fame, wealth, and political biases mean nothing to us. We're merely performing our duties impartially."
One Shadow Knight protested somewhat emotionally.
"Your idea of impartiality is attempting to frame a prince without concrete evidence?"
Linen sneered coldly.
"Furthermore, I simply went to the dining hall for a midnight snack last night and returned straight to my dorm. Plenty of people saw me—how do you explain that?"
The Shadow Knights fell silent.
If there had been ironclad proof, interrogating Linen would've been impartial law enforcement. But now that the supposed evidence was debunked, the situation drastically changed.
At best, this was an unfortunate misunderstanding; at worst, it amounted to slandering a royal family member.
Turning the tables by throwing accusations—who couldn't do that?
When it came to aggressiveness, Linen, who aimed to be the eternal thorn in the protagonist's side, was naturally unmatched.
Besides, he had anticipated all of this from the beginning.
The moment Silva had produced the supposed evidence—his magic stone—Linen knew he'd already won.
A competent mastermind never left loose ends—unless deliberately.
Hysteria's impulsive burning of Ken's letter had eliminated all evidence linking Linen to Ken, leaving only verbal claims. Linen had purposefully allowed suspicions to build around him, bringing the accusations dangerously close—only to suddenly flip everything upside-down.
It was a perfect reversal.
How infuriating would it be for a protagonist to watch their nemesis narrowly escape justice without leaving a single trace?
Elena and Hysteria hadn't uttered a word for three full minutes, clearly exasperated by these impulsive Shadow Knights whose rashness had played right into Linen's hands.
But Linen had no intention of letting these hapless Shadow Knights—loyal hounds of his royal mother—escape lightly after falling perfectly into his trap. Opportunities to outwit them were rare, and Silva herself was an important figure in the future storyline. Making her owe him a favor now was simply too tempting.
What Linen didn't expect was that after delivering his carefully planned counterattack, rather than breaking the Shadow Knights, he had inadvertently shaken someone else even more profoundly.
Elena had begun sinking into deep self-doubt.
It was good that the Shadow Knights had no proof Linen had been at the teaching building, but she also lacked tangible evidence herself.
The person who brought them to the infirmary was the kind-hearted Millian.
The only reason she felt certain Linen had rescued them was because of a single sentence she'd vaguely heard before slipping into unconsciousness.
But now, she questioned herself: had it really been Linen's voice?
Perhaps it had merely been a hallucination caused by the poison.
I can't tell anymore…I really can't!
Her confusion prevented her from activating her ability. She felt utterly helpless, trapped within Silva's invisible restrictions, unable even to ask Linen directly.
Damn it, am I really still so weak, so powerless?
Anxiety surged within her, desperately pushing her forward—but she felt like something was still missing.
In the next moment, her eyes widened sharply.
...
While Elena grappled internally, Silva's soft laughter broke the silence:
"You truly live up to your reputation, Linen. Fine, I admit it—I was gambling a little here, and it seems you've won this round~"
"Hmph, such recklessness suits you perfectly," Linen replied dryly. "So, what's the price for your failure?"
Even Linen was slightly surprised that Silva openly admitted she'd tried to trick him.
Fortunately, he'd come prepared. Otherwise, with her confident façade, he might've fallen victim to her bluff.
"That's rather cold of you, Linen. Given our relationship, isn't talking about compensation a bit distant?"
Silva thoughtfully tapped her finger to her lips, adopting a contemplative pose.
"Stop playing around. If I truly had colluded with Ken, would you have shown me mercy?"
Linen remained completely unmoved.
"No, no, that's not what I meant. You won, so naturally I won't back out. But rather than a boring exchange of benefits, perhaps I could offer something more enticing."
Saying this, Silva beckoned Linen closer with a teasing curl of her finger, signaling him to lean toward her.
Linen didn't think much of it—given the number of witnesses present, Silva wouldn't dare do anything outrageous. Moreover, her position meant she undoubtedly had access to critical secrets that would greatly benefit him in the future.
Therefore, without much hesitation, Linen leaned in closer.
Immediately, he felt a cool breath tickle his ear, accompanied by a whisper as seductive as a devil's temptation:
"Then, as always when I lose to Linen, let's use this as compensation~"
A gentle, moist touch brushed Linen's cheek—soft, warm, and entirely unexpected.
At that exact moment, an explosive surge of mana burst forth from Elena, instantly shattering Silva's magical restraints.