Augusta Manor, the drawing room.
With the sudden declaration from Princess Ivyst, the entire room fell into a brief silence.
It seemed that everyone was stunned by her words, unsure of how to react.
In their original impression, Princess Ivyst had indeed stumbled along her journey, but she had never given up her ideal to become the new ruler of the Saint Laurent Empire.
Although they didn't know where this obsession came from, it was frighteningly tenacious.
Had anyone else endured a life like hers, they would likely have suffered a mental breakdown and become a walking corpse long ago.
It was for this reason that, despite their fear of Ivyst, many still harbored a sense of admiration for her.
Outsiders may not know, but as subordinates, they were well aware of how difficult things were for the princess.
Thus, along the way, everyone had braced themselves to struggle for her ideals for a lifetime.
But now, it seemed the situation had taken a turn.
The princess who was never felled by any setback, was now, in front of the Holy Oak Envoy, declaring her intent to withdraw from the King's election?
What on earth had happened?!
Not just Morris and Glaya, but even Duke Tierus's complexion changed.
"Princess, choose your words carefully!"
He looked seriously at Ivyst.
But after locking eyes with those silent and indifferent crimson orbs for a second, he suddenly felt a sense of alarm.
What... exactly did she plan to do?!
On the other hand, with Duke Tierus taking the lead in admonition, the surrounding vassals also began to plead earnestly.
"Have you forgotten your own ideals?"
"Yes, Your Highness, the King's election has only just started with the first stage. Even if the other princes have scores accumulated from the previous years, you still have hope of catching up."
"It's just… just over five hundred points, let's figure out a way together to help you gather them!"
The crowd voiced out one after another.
However, they all knew very well in their hearts.
Without Lynn, with their level of ability, it was almost impossible to achieve the feat of raking in over five hundred points within less than two weeks.
Yet no one wanted to give up just like that.
Alas, Ivyst seemed not to heed these words.
After uttering that statement, she reverted back to her usual state of calm indifference.
It was as if she could no longer be interested in anything at all.
Just then, the brown-haired young man from the Holy Oak Organization slowly gave a bow: "I'm sorry, Princess Ivyst."
"You should be aware that the Holy Oak Organization is only responsible for maintaining the normal operation of the King's election, as well as tallying the sequence rankings and scores. But regarding your wish to withdraw from the King's election, it is not within the scope of our authority."
"Unless you are eliminated by the rules, or you die, we have no right to deprive you of your qualification for the King's election."
"Moreover, the decision for this matter does not lie with you." The voice of the Holy Oak Envoy was very calm, "Participating in the King's election is a duty that every prince must fulfill and not a child's play subject to whims and moods."
"Therefore, please make some achievements as soon as possible in the remaining time and get your scores out of the negative."
"If you still haven't achieved the goal after two weeks, you won't need to withdraw voluntarily, I will come personally to announce your elimination."
The brown-haired youth explained methodically.
Clearly, he had rejected Ivyst's request.
But it seemed to make little difference.
Princess Ivyst herself had already completely lost the desire to participate in the King's election and was solely focused on leaving.
In such a situation, no matter how the vassals advised, they couldn't stop her from her single-minded determination.
Ivyst remained silent, and the atmosphere around her gradually turned cold.
Seeing this, Aphia, with tears welling up in her eyes, nodded to the complex-faced crowd and then pushed the princess out of the drawing room.
It was indeed these people.
Feeling the cold blade on his neck, Lynn's expression remained calm.
There might be other powers operating in the shadows, but the Mosgla family and the Heavenly Principle Church were at the forefront.
The Mosgla family went without saying; he had personally killed their heir, Dalion, at the banquet, not to mention a long-standing vendetta, leaving no room for reconciliation.
And it was even more so with the Heavenly Principle Church.
He had personally destroyed their faith in Orn City, later using the Creation Demon to instantly kill over a hundred Transcendents.
This was definitely not a weak force.
A normal First Rank Transcendent, especially one who believed in the "Heavenly Principle," often possessed Extraordinary Abilities of substantial destructive power, mostly related to gravity, air currents, and magnetic fields.
Even when confronted with dozens of well-trained soldiers, they could prevail.
In these border cities at least, the role of over a hundred low-rank Transcendents was definitely comparable to an army nearing ten thousand men.
Yet Lynn had obliterated this force to near extinction.
This had as good as completely offended the Heavenly Principle Church to death.
That's why they were so eager to have someone search for him in the Soron Mountain Range.
Of course, it was to confirm his death.
"You don't seem to be afraid at all?"
Noticing Lynn's undisturbed calmness, the burly mercenary leading the group showed a hint of surprise on his face.
His body radiated a pale blue glow of the Divine-given factor, but his specific faith remained enigmatic.
One Second Rank, two First Ranks.