Stop Hypnotizing Me, Antagonist Princess!

Faith in Orn City was incredibly diverse, with the doctrines of many deities being propagated far and wide.

Even though their teachings would often result in a variety of conflicts, and friction between the churches was incessant,

there was one point on which they were not all the same.

No matter which deity it was, when compiling their scriptures, they would guide their followers to become kind and generous individuals.

This was a positive direction for human nature.

Only thus could order continue to function normally, and the Power of Faith they received would become even purer due to this.

Watching the last banner being hung up by the guards of the Augusta Family, everyone fell silent.

Although up to now they still hadn't understood why these people chose to fundraise in such a manner before the public eye, there were many amongst the onlookers who belonged to these churches, and a surge of impulse welled up in their hearts.

After a long while, a frail old man slowly approached.

He pulled out a small handful of copper coins from his pocket, attempting to drop this money into the glass box belonging to the Heavenly Principle Church.

"May the Lord bless you,"

he prayed shakily, looking up at the banner.

But just as the old man was about to tiptoe to deposit his savings into the box, a guard approached from the side.

"Sorry, sir," the guard's voice was very polite, "we do not accept donations from ordinary believers here."

The old man was taken aback for a few seconds: "Why, why not?"

"Because Master Lynn said he does not take poor people's money,"

the guard explained briefly.

After escorting the old man away, as if fearing that the onlookers from afar wouldn't understand, the guard once again explained loudly,

"If anyone wishes to donate, then they must at least bring a proof of ownership for three properties within Orn City, or financial documentation showing an annual income exceeding five thousand Gold Coins!"

This explanation astonished everyone.

The fundraising events they had previously experienced always sought ways to coax money from their pockets.

But this situation was reversed.

Not only did they refuse their donations, but they also required proof of wealth?

How strange indeed.

A peculiar sentiment arose unanimously in the hearts of the people.

However, after looking around at the still-watching crowd, the herd mentality ultimately took over.

After figuring out what was going on at City Square, they satisfied their curiosity.

The brief hubbub then ended.

Although today was a day of rest, for the sake of bread and milk for their wives and children, many still had to bustle about for a living.

Before long, the crowd that had gathered on City Square had dispersed.

Only a few remained, loitering about in twos and threes.

Before long, half a day had swiftly passed by.

During this process, the devout followers of the churches, upon seeing the banners, would occasionally come forward wishing to donate.

Most of them, though, were poor people from humble backgrounds.

So they were all turned away at the door.

Not until evening came did the twelve glass boxes on City Square stand silently in their original place, utterly empty.

It was as if they hadn't caused the slightest ripple in this city.

But in reality, what happened today spread like a virus.

Just a single night's spread was enough to be known by the whole city.

Almost every citizen was aware that the Augusta Family and Duke Tierus had joined forces, attempting to raise a security fund for disabled soldiers through donations from local nobles and churches.

...

"You're saying they've put on another fundraising event, and in front of a large public audience?"

Inside the Heavenly Principle Church, Bishop Moselle was stunned upon hearing his subordinate's report.

"That's right, and not only that, they even hung up several banners,"

the subordinate repeated the contents of the banners.

Moselle gradually stood up unconsciously, pacing back and forth in the room while pondering.

After a long time, he suddenly revealed a cold smirk: "To think I was concerned about such a grand show they put on, it turns out I was overthinking it."

"Heh, Tierus, you and your people wouldn't naively think that with just this petty trick, you could snatch the money right out of our pockets, right?"

"Fools!"

"Inform the surrounding churches that if they still want to share in the money, now is the time to set aside prejudices and conflicts."

"This is an offensive from Duke Tierus, and only by perfectly repelling it, or even hurting him, can we grasp more benefits in the future."

"Tell them, this is my request... no, it is a demand."

"Any church or noble who dares to donate to this damn event from now on is an enemy of our Heavenly Principle Church!"

...

Days passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, four days had gone by.

In these four days, the fundraising event in the City Square hadn't cooled down as time progressed.

On the contrary.

It had even been explosively brought up again and again in the daily conversations of the citizens throughout the city.

Every day, a large number of people would pass by the City Square, stopping to watch for a long time.

This was merely to check the situation inside those donation boxes.

Because... it was just too strange.

Even after four days, not a single gold coin had entered those glass donation boxes marked with the churches' names.

It was as if all the churches had chosen silence by some unspoken agreement.

For a small part of the laypeople without faith, this seemed hardly surprising, even feeling like Duke Tierus was shooting himself in the foot.

But in the eyes of most believers, this act seemed to imply something else.

"Let's see which religion is the kindest and most generous."

But ironically, the donation boxes below were empty.

This stark contrast was impressive.

Every time the believers from the major churches saw the words on the banner, they would fall into an agitated mood.

Afterward, they'd hurriedly leave the place as if fleeing.

And when they went to their respective churches to pray and confess, inadvertently asking about this matter, those clerics would reveal an expression of profound secrecy.

Unknowingly, an undercurrent had begun to stir in Orn City.

However, at this moment, the perpetrator of this series of events was leisurely sitting in the garden, enjoying afternoon tea.

Lynn sipped his hot black tea while comfortably basking in the sun.

He had indeed been relaxed these past few days,

thanks to that woman Ivyst.

She didn't seem to possess any exceptional leadership qualities, but one thing commendable about her was her willingness to delegate.

At least, to fulfill her agreement with Duke Tierus, Ivyst had generously opened up all the permissions of the manor to him.

But she herself had been conspicuously absent lately.

After that night's late conversation in Duke Tierus's study, Ivyst had become busy with some news she had received.

Not only was she often not seen around the manor, but the few times she returned to rest, she always looked haggard and covered with dust, her face showing exhaustion.

Even once, Lynn saw fresh blood on her face that she hadn't wiped off!

God knows which unfortunate souls had suffered.

It wasn't only Aphia and Morris; their faces were frequently missing as well.

It was only the likes of Glaya, the scoundrel, who could still hang around him and alleviate his boredom.

"Next, I'm going to do a magic trick that confuses men."

"What kind of trick?"

"A successful performance."

Looking at the embittered Glaya, Lynn burst into hearty laughter.

Just then, the butler Kasha suddenly approached him from behind and whispered, "Master Lynn, Duke Tierus is here for a visit."

"Tell him I'm not available right now."

"Bullshit!"

Before he could react, the roar of Duke Tierus came from behind him.

The stocky middle-aged man strode directly towards him, his expression dark, seemingly in a bad mood.

Oh no.

The slacking off had been discovered.

Lynn quickly put down the bone china teacup in his hand: "Good afternoon, Your Grace."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Good afternoon? Good my ass!" Duke Tierus started cursing right away, "Come on, tell me, what the hell have you been up to these past two days?!"