Stop Hypnotizing Me, Villainous Princess!

Chapter 116: What Kind of Person is Her Highness?

As Lynn stood by the roadside, lost in thought, a sudden screech of brakes broke the silence around him.

Startled, he turned his head to see a luxurious four-wheeled carriage come to a halt nearby.

The carriage bore an elegant banner embroidered in gold with a regal gryphon emblem—the crest of the Tyrius Family.

Lynn’s eyes widened slightly.

As a servant opened the carriage door, a burly middle-aged man stepped down.

With his hands clasped behind his back, his hair streaked with gray and slicked neatly back, he exuded an aura of authority and command. His face, however, carried a trace of weariness, as if troubled by pressing matters. Perhaps he had come here to take a walk and clear his mind.

Given Lynn’s current disheveled appearance, resembling that of a beggar on the street, the man did not notice him immediately.

It wasn’t until he turned back from his musings that he sensed someone’s gaze lingering on him.

In that moment, both the middle-aged man and the "beggar" froze in place, staring at each other as if they’d seen a ghost.

Then, almost simultaneously, they exclaimed, “Wha-what the f***?!”

Wait, what am I even reacting to? Lynn silently grumbled to himself.

The next moment, before he could process what was happening, Duke Tyrius—boasting the strength of a Fifth-Rank Legendary—seemed to teleport. In an instant, he was in front of Lynn, gripping his shoulders like a steel vice, almost causing Lynn’s body to collapse under the force.

“You… you’re Lynn?!”

It was clear the Duke hadn’t expected such a dramatic turn of events to unfold before his eyes.

Looking at the travel-worn young man dressed in ill-fitting clothes, Tyrius inspected him thoroughly with an almost obsessive fervor, as if checking to ensure he was in one piece.

His tiger-like eyes gleamed with faint traces of excitement.

He simply couldn’t believe it.

What had started as a casual, spur-of-the-moment visit to the young man’s former home had led to this fateful encounter.

Could this be divine intervention?

Had he not been so familiar with Lynn’s face and mannerisms, he might’ve suspected an impostor.

“Of course I’m Lynn,” Lynn said, shuddering at the Duke’s overly tactile inspection, which felt uncomfortably intimate. He quickly shoved the man off.

“You’re not dead?!”

The Duke stood frozen in place, still overwhelmed by the joy of this unexpected reunion, muttering to himself in disbelief.

“That’s right, I’m not dead,” Lynn replied, his expression cautious. “By the way, Duke, you’re not about to pull off some melodramatic scene of two men crying in each other’s arms, are you? That would be disgustingly over the top.”

Hearing this, the Duke, whose eyes had just begun to glisten, immediately darkened his expression.

Fine. That confirmed it—this really was the same brat.

Even though he’d been momentarily stunned by Lynn’s retort, Tyrius continued to study him, his gaze akin to examining a rare specimen.

“Something’s off. Why aren’t you dead?”

He paced back and forth, his eyes never leaving Lynn, muttering as he went.

Although he had never wanted Lynn to die, he, like everyone else, had already accepted the harsh reality of the situation.

Dual parasitism by two demons. Even as a Fifth-Rank Legendary, he doubted he could have survived such a fate.

How on earth had this kid pulled it off?

After the initial wave of excitement, countless questions began to swirl in the Duke’s mind.

By now, their commotion had drawn curious stares from nearby passersby. Noticing this, Tyrius grabbed Lynn by the wrist and pulled him toward the carriage.

“Let’s talk inside. You and I have a lot to catch up on!”

“Oh, and if Her Highness finds out you’re alive, she’ll be over the moon!”

Inside the carriage, Lynn, now dressed in a clean military uniform, leaned against the wall, gazing out the window.

The carriage sped through the streets, heading for the Tyrius Estate.

Orne City bore all the signs of a city recently ravaged by disaster. The streets were filled with crumbling buildings and scorch marks left by flames.

Homeless wanderers lined the streets, their faces gaunt and lifeless, staring blankly at the speeding carriage.

For a fleeting moment, Lynn locked eyes with some of them and caught a glimpse of the despair they could no longer conceal.

Their city—their home, where generations of their families had lived—had been reduced to ruins by a senseless calamity.

Their meager savings and homes had been consumed by fire, and their loved ones likely perished in the chaos.

With no hope left for the future, these people wandered aimlessly, awaiting the day hunger would finally claim them.

Perhaps it was the lingering presence of the black sludge that had once engulfed this city, but all traces of life seemed to have been drained from it. Orne City now lay in a state of gray desolation.

Even the skies above were shrouded in heavy leaden clouds, as though sunlight could never again pierce through the shadows that clung to this place.

Perhaps, like other cities ravaged by demons, Orne City was destined to follow a grim path.

There had been precedents.

Cities reclaimed from demonic invasions often descended into chaos and lawlessness, becoming gray zones of the empire where order never fully returned.

Staring at the bleak scene before him, Lynn fell into deep thought.

But for now, neither he nor Duke Tyrius had the luxury of worrying about such matters.

“You’re saying… after you teleported us out of the Soren Mountains, a god intervened to save you?”

“Exactly.”

Lynn’s expression turned serious, his tone solemn.

“In my hazy state, I found myself in a boundless void filled with stars. There, I encountered the great and supreme Master of a Billion Stars.”

“It was He who cleansed the corruption from my body and pulled me back from the brink of death.”

"Praise be to my Lord," Lynn declared, his expression solemn and devout.

Duke Tyrius opened his mouth to say something, only to close it again, unsure how to respond.

Praise be to my Lord? Seriously?

Wasn’t this the same guy who had been excommunicated from the church ages ago?

Even if you wanted to make something up, at least go with the Goddess of the Moon or the Mother of Abundance—something remotely believable.

And let’s not forget, this same Lynn had recently torched an entire branch of the Divine Order Church, toppled a bishop, and crushed over a hundred Extraordinary individuals, practically scattering their ashes to the wind.

The Master of a Billion Stars saved you? Who would buy that?

Tyrius felt a twinge of frustration.

It was clear that Lynn had no intention of telling the truth, and honestly, Tyrius couldn’t blame him.

After all, during the Level 0 Sealed Artifact incident, Lynn had revealed far too many extraordinary cards up his sleeve, suggesting he harbored secrets he had no intention of sharing.

Since Lynn didn’t want to talk, Tyrius decided not to press him.

As the initial shock and excitement of their reunion faded, the Duke regained his usual composure, his mind now free to wander to other matters.

Lynn wasn’t dead.

This news would send shockwaves through many circles.

And among those who would most want to hear it were the residents of the Augusta Estate—especially the wheelchair-bound Princess.

“Good thing you’re alive. Who knows what would’ve become of Her Highness otherwise?”

The image of Yveste sitting in her wheelchair, her eyes teetering on the brink of madness, sent a chill down Tyrius’s spine.

This whole mess was Saint Roland VI’s fault.

From the beginning, Yveste had been treated like a disposable pawn, her feelings entirely disregarded.

The only person who seemed to care about her—Lynn—had been “killed.”

Even though this turned out to be a misunderstanding, Yveste didn’t know that.

Lynn caught the subtle shift in Tyrius’s tone, his eyes reflecting a flicker of something unreadable.

“Why so quiet?” Tyrius chuckled, watching Lynn’s downcast expression. “Don’t tell me you’re already scheming about how to put on a show for Her Highness when you get back.”

“Let me tell you, this time you might not—”

“Duke,” Lynn suddenly interrupted, a puzzled look crossing his face. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask.”

“From the way you all talk, it sounds like I should have some connection to the Third Princess?”

Tyrius let out a laugh, shaking his head. “Stop joking, kid. If you two aren’t connected, then no one in the world is connected to anyone.”

Thinking back to Yveste’s desolation and hollow gaze following Lynn’s supposed death, the Duke felt a pang of discomfort.

It was the first time he had seen such raw emotion from that arrogant and cruel girl—just for one man.

There was no way there wasn’t something between them. He’d stake his life on it.

But Lynn, seemingly oblivious, merely frowned in response to Tyrius’s insinuations.

“I genuinely don’t remember anything like that.”

Seeing his genuine confusion, Tyrius’s expression grew serious. He straightened in his seat.

“Yveste Roland Alexini. That name doesn’t ring a bell?”

“I’ve heard of her,” Lynn replied without hesitation.

Having read the original story, he was well-acquainted with the infamous villainess Princess.

After all, the Witch of the End he revered was none other than Yveste herself—ten thousand years in the future.

His return to Orne City had been on the Witch’s orders, to stop Yveste from falling into madness and prevent the empire’s destruction.

Hearing this, Tyrius felt a brief sense of relief.

But the next moment, Lynn’s hesitant voice cut through the air.

“But… what kind of person is she, exactly?”

While he knew the basics from the story, his impression of Yveste was vague at best.

She was described as unattractive and terrifying, a cruel and toxic villainess in the early chapters.

Only later did she grow into a formidable antagonist with a commanding presence.

Unaware of Lynn’s internal musings, Tyrius stared at him in disbelief.

Lynn’s frank gaze, coupled with the memory of Yveste’s despair, made Tyrius feel as if his brain had just short-circuited.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Oh no.

Inside the Tyrius Estate, the Duke puffed on his pipe, pacing back and forth in his study, his face etched with worry.

“So, you’re saying that after the battle, the disturbance caused by the two demons in your Sea of Consciousness led to some kind of mental backlash, making you lose part of your memory?”

“That’s correct,” Lynn replied, seated on the sofa.

“You remember me, Greya, and Rhine, even Afia and Milanie… but you’ve completely forgotten Her Highness?”

“I know you say I forgot, but I genuinely don’t recall anything about her.”

Feeling the Duke’s penetrating gaze, Lynn scratched his head awkwardly.

“This is bad,” Tyrius muttered gravely.

His tone carried the weight of looming disaster.

Seeing Duke Tyrius’s reluctance to speak openly about the woman in question, Lynn couldn’t help but frown.

“Honestly, Duke,” he said, spreading his hands, “I’m completely in the dark about all this. Could you stop speaking in riddles and just tell me what’s going on?”

The Duke sighed heavily. “You remember everyone else, yet you’ve forgotten everything related to Her Highness.”

“With her temperament, even if she learns you’re alive, she might… well, lose control.”

“In her current state, I doubt she’ll want to continue with the Succession Ceremony. She’s already prepared to withdraw.”

“But… time is running out.” Tyrius took a long drag from his pipe, letting the smoke obscure his face. “There’s less than two weeks left. Strictly speaking, about ten days.”

“If Her Highness doesn’t pull herself together in those ten days and earn at least 576 points from the Saint Oak Institution, it’ll be too late. There’ll be no way to reverse the outcome.”

Though Tyrius’s words were somewhat disjointed, Lynn quickly pieced things together using his knowledge of the original story.

“You’re saying that if she doesn’t overcome her current slump and survive the elimination phase, she’ll completely lose her chance at the throne?”

“Exactly,” Tyrius confirmed with a nod.

Lynn’s expression grew solemn.

After all, wasn’t this exactly what the Witch had tasked him to do? To guide Her Highness away from her destructive intentions, ensure she continued participating in the Succession Ceremony, and prevent the tragic downfall of the empire?

He fell into deep thought.

This was no small undertaking.

Sensing Lynn’s momentary unease, Tyrius softened his tone, not wanting to add to the young man’s burden.

“Don’t worry about it too much,” he said, patting Lynn’s shoulder reassuringly. “You’ve just returned. Take some time to rest and think about how to approach Her Highness. Leave the matter of the Succession Ceremony points to me.”

Lynn, however, shook his head.

“Oh, you misunderstood,” he replied. “I was just thinking about how to get Her Highness to snap out of it.”

After all, this was the trial assigned to him by the Witch. As her… devotee, he couldn’t afford to let her down.

“As for the 576 points…” Lynn suddenly looked at Tyrius with an almost incredulous expression. “Isn’t that a trivial matter?”

“...?”

Tyrius froze in place, staring at Lynn as if he’d just declared he could pluck stars from the sky.

What Lynn didn’t realize was just how much his casual remark had shaken the older man’s soul.

In that instant, it was as if a spark of inspiration ignited in Tyrius’s mind.

I’ve got it!