Made Mo Li “male” again because this part makes more sense. For the time being just think of Mo Li as both genders ( literal male/female although she lacks the organs I think) haha…
“Mr. Mo Li, I’m quite interested in the secrets you hold.
Would you be willing to satisfy my curiosity?”
“Princess, would you be willing to satisfy my curiosity and tell me your secrets?”
“Mr. Mo Li, it seems you haven’t figured out your situation.” Emilia narrowed her eyes.
“Between the two of us, who do you think is in control right now?”
“If you’re going to make a move, Princess, just do it.
I can’t stand people who dawdle.” Mo Li snorted and closed his eyes.
“Oh my, how heartless.
Does my exposure mean so little to you? Not even worth one of your secrets?” Emilia feigned sadness.
“…” Mo Li remained silent.
He was never one to owe others, and setting aside this incident, he was indeed at fault.
“Forget it.
Seeing how difficult it is for you to speak, I won’t force you.” Emilia gathered her hair, which had been dried by the heat, and pointed to the window.
“If you don’t want to chat with me through the night, Mr. Mo Li, please leave.
I won’t see you off.”
“???” Mo Li thought he misheard.
Was she really letting him go? Could this be possible? Mo Li hesitated.
“Mr. Mo Li, are you still standing there because you want me to send a knight to escort you?”
“…” With skepticism, Mo Li slowly got up from the ground, watching Emilia’s actions as he walked.
When he reached the window, he stopped again.
He turned back, still full of doubt.
“Are you really just going to let me go like this?”
“Please, Mr. Mo Li, I am a princess of the Papal State.
Once I say something, I won’t go back on my word.
It’s the basic moral principle of the Arelinde family.
Or do you not want to leave and plan to stay with me overnight?”
Mo Li couldn’t understand what this princess was thinking.
In his past life, he never understood her either.
But it made sense; if she really wanted to kill him, she wouldn’t need to go through so much trouble.
She could just do it directly.
Without further hesitation, he climbed out the window and left.
Meanwhile, there was a knock on the door outside.
“Come in.”
“Princess, are you really going to let that little thief go?” A group of knights, who had been on high alert, entered.
These royal guards had been quietly observing the situation from the shadows.
If Emilia hadn’t signaled them to hold back, Mo Li would have been executed by these elite knights of the Papal State long ago.
“I said I would let him go.
Are you suggesting I go back on my word, Captain?” Emilia said leisurely.
“That’s not what I meant.
It’s just that the boy was so audacious, he even desecrated you… I don’t understand why you let him go.” The captain gripped his sword tightly, as if he wished he could cut that boy into pieces.
Unlike the mercenaries in Count Trika’s territory, who wore the guise of knights but were undisciplined, they were true knights who had sworn an oath before the Pope.
They had followed the current Pope into battle and were seasoned warriors.
Each of them had once been the leader of an elite knight order, and now they voluntarily gave up their positions and power to serve as the princess’s personal bodyguard knights, all for the oath they had made: to protect the bloodline of the Arelinde family with their lives, honor, and everything they had.
Their devout faith regarded the Phoenix Clan as divine beings.
Now, under their watchful eyes, an unknown thief dared to commit such an outrageous act.
If not for Emilia’s repeated orders, they would have chased after that boy and shown him the consequences of desecrating the Arelinde bloodline.
“Desecrate? He doesn’t have the ability.
As for why I let him go, maybe I just found him suddenly pleasing to the eye.
Alright, you can leave now.
I want to rest.” Emilia downed the wine in her glass in one gulp.
She was about to pour more wine but realized the bottle was empty.
She instinctively reached for another, only to find a bottle missing from the table.
“Understood.”
Since the princess didn’t pursue the matter, the knights had nothing more to say.
But that boy better be careful not to run into them alone outside, or else…
The knights withdrew, and the large carriage returned to silence.
Emilia sighed, setting down the empty glass, and looked at the pendant in her hand with a sense of loss.
Was the reason for letting Mo Li go simply because she found something interesting about him? Not really…
Recalling the moment when the pendant fell near Mo Li and shone brightly, Emilia gazed at the pendant, gradually losing focus.
Was the pendant malfunctioning because it hadn’t been used for too long? Or…
—
“Huff… huff!” Mo Li panted heavily, having run several miles until he was completely exhausted.
Confirming there were no pursuers behind him, he collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.
He had escaped.
He really escaped!
He actually managed to escape from that sadistic demon princess.
If it weren’t for the fact staring him in the face, he wouldn’t have believed it.
Though he didn’t know why she let him go, it didn’t matter.
Mo Li was already grateful to have his life spared.
This life-and-death journey was truly thrilling.
He had seen the Papal State’s princess bathing and even exchanged several rounds of banter with her, and he managed to escape unscathed.
This was something he could boast about for a lifetime.
“Hey, hey… I almost lost my life for this stupid trial of yours, where’s my reward?? You promised an epic weapon, pay up, you bastard!” Mo Li cursed, grateful to have survived, as he recalled the root cause of all this trouble.
Under the moonlight, the plain ring emitted a faint purple glow.
There was no indication of anything happening.
Was he really supposed to go in and claim the prize himself? “I’m warning you, if you try to pull a fast one on me or if the prize isn’t up to my standards, I’ll toss you into aqua regia, got it??” Mo Li snorted coldly, and with a thought, his vision was immediately filled with the gray walls of the tower.
He found himself back by the well and the sword rack, looking around.
“Where’s the reward??” Having narrowly escaped death, Mo Li was now extremely irritable, feeling like a complete fool for believing the ring was a treasure.
Just then, some text appeared above.
‘Throw the spoils into the well to receive the sponsorship item.’ “Spoils, meaning this?” Mo Li took out the colorless potion crafted by cultists from his space cloak and tossed it into the well.
Then, the text disappeared, and five seconds passed… “??? Are you trying to scam me?” Mo Li was about to lose his temper when suddenly something fell and hit him on the head.
“Ouch! What the hell?…” Mo Li reached out to grab it, feeling a cold chill in his hand.
“This is…” Mo Li looked closely; it was a snow-white scimitar with an ice-blue hilt guard, shaped like a snowflake.

