"Your Highness, we have arrived."
When the carriage gradually came to a stop at the roadside, within the compartment, the female housekeeper Kasha softly spoke to Ivyst.
The Imperial Princess seemed to be in a daze, and it took several seconds before she came back to her senses, "Hmm, I know."
She seemed to be pondering something, appearing distracted.
It wasn't until she looked at the window and saw the emblem of a hand clutching thunder that she realized their party had already arrived at the headquarters of the substitute punishers.
With this thought, she slowly stood up, looked at the others sitting in the compartment, and revealed a faint smile, "We are about to meet him, why all the long faces?"
In the carriage, Glaya and Morris hesitated to speak.
However, Eleanor was dressed in a pretty sundress today, happy about her brother's imminent release from prison.
Beside her, Aphia licked her fur worriedly, glanced at her mistress, and ultimately just let out a "meow," saying nothing as well.
Soon, the group descended from the carriage and walked up the stairs to the front door of the Tower of Punisher.
After being checked for identification, Ivyst led several people slowly into the headquarters of the punishers.
Today was the second day of Lynn's imprisonment.
For two days, everyone had been running around outside the prison for him.
Sadly, their opponent this time was the Imperial Council, or in other words, they were struggling against the entire Empire and the ancient nobles who had long entrenched themselves in this great tree.
The resistance was unimaginably great.
Even for Ivyst, it felt suffocating to have nowhere to apply her strength.
Lynn had been discovered at the scene of the crime, and no matter which law they followed, the treatment he received was in line with the procedures, leaving no room for fault.
And the continuous troubles of these days were the same.
This made Ivyst, who normally solved problems with strength, extremely frazzled.
Fortunately, all would be ending soon.
Thinking this, Ivyst's gaze became cold, and she took a deep breath.
She then saw another group waiting for them deep in the corridor.
Under the escort of numerous Transcendents, the leader was a middle-aged man dressed impeccably, wearing a monocle, quietly discussing something with Fourth Prince Joshua beside him.
Not only Fourth Prince Joshua, but also the Great Imperial Princess Hillena's party was also present.
They all awaited the decision regarding Lynn Bartleion.
Upon seeing Ivyst's arrival, the middle-aged man with the monocle immediately showed a polite yet calm demeanor, "Third Prince, you have arrived."
However, his eyes revealed no respect, and even mixed with a hint of alienation and disgust.
After all, in Glostit, there wasn't a noble or commoner who bore goodwill towards the Princess before them.
Moreover, it seemed there were some age-old grudges between the two powers.
Seeing this, Ivyst coldly glanced at him and did not respond to his words.
As the eighth councilman of the Imperial Council, his and his family's actions towards Lynn had already shown many issues.
Even in the whole of the Saint Laurent Empire, the Cortes family held vast economic lifelines, owning countless assets investing across several industries such as coal, healthcare, railways, and education.
Upon reflection, Lynn had stirred up trouble twice during his time on the border.
One time, he extorted two million Gold Coins from the local Church and nobility for Duke Tierus' military expenses.
Another time, he stirred up surrounding commerce and nobility's greed with public opinion and rumors before he left, leading them to Orn City to seek disaster profits, which in turn sparked an entire city uprising, causing everyone involved substantial losses.
Perhaps, it was then that they provoked the wrath of the Cortes family.
Councilman Blake and his family probably had intricate connections with those small and large merchants and nobility on the border, and behind the embezzled taxes was likely a part of their share.
Otherwise, the local Church and nobility would not have been so bold.
Lynn's actions undoubtedly caused them substantial losses.
Thus, their retaliation came swiftly.
Seeing that Ivyst did not answer, Councilman Blake was not angry but merely said calmly, "Now that everyone is here, please accompany me to Lynn Bartleion's prison."
"The substitute punishers, please lead the way."
"Tiya, what are you thinking about?"
In the dark and damp Underground Prison, seeing that Tiya somehow fell behind everyone, Xiya slowed his pace and asked softly beside her.
Clearly, he noticed his girlfriend's anxiousness.
Not just today, but from the night before yesterday when she had shut him out, for some reason, the two hadn't had much opportunity to be alone.
It was as if… she was deliberately avoiding him.
Hearing Xiya's words, Tiya snapped back to reality, trembled slightly, then averted her gaze and subconsciously clutched the fabric edge of her Magic Robe.
If Lynn, who was well-versed in psychology, were here, he could easily deduce that this was a woman's display of guilt.
"Ah, Xiya, I didn't..."
"No, you did," Xiya frowned as he stared at her, "Since that night, you have been acting very strange."
"Is there something on your mind?"
He intended to ask if it was because of Lynn, but feared hearing an answer that would scare him.
Of course, there was.
Tiya answered in her mind.