The Identity of the Mastermind

Regardless of who ultimately succeeds in the Saint Orchid Family, for Lin Yu...

At least now, it's not the right time for him to interfere in the affairs of the Saint Orchid Family.

After all, he had his own things to do.

After silently updating his opinion of Saint Orchid Kui in his mind, Lin Yu steered the conversation back on track.

"Your ideas are very interesting, Your Excellency Saint Orchid Kui, but we can discuss these political views in more detail another time..."

Saint Orchid Kui realized what Lin Yu meant when she heard his words.

"Oh right, you called me because you have something important to say..."

His expression turned serious. "How much do you actually know about the case I took on?"

"C-77? Almost all of them," Lin Yu said calmly. "They're going to assassinate Arter Mercury at Huo Xing's birthday party at Nightless Sky Fire Apricot in two days, right?"

Although Saint Orchid Kui had anticipated that Lin Yu might know the contents of the commission, Saint Orchid Kui still couldn't help but change her expression slightly when Lin Yu actually revealed the contents.

"Where did this information leak from...? Are you here representing the Nightless Sky Huo Le?"

"No, no... Could it be that the Nightless Sky Family Head instructed you to come?"

Lin Yu did not answer Saint Orchid Kui's question directly, but simply watched and imagined it in his mind.

These Royal Nobles, having long been engaged in infighting, had developed a habitual way of thinking: any event that would have a certain impact was usually a deliberate act with a strong purpose, and an external manifestation of the will of a certain family or faction.

It seems that "spontaneity" doesn't exist only within this circle.

Based on this... Lin Yu lied to them, saying they only needed to get started, and these Noble would fill in the rest themselves.

"In any case, the fact that you chose to talk to me means... this matter is negotiable, right?"

Saint Orchid Kui asked, Lin Yu nodded slightly.

"I need to know what role you played in this case."

Seemingly wary of the possible presence of the Nightless Sky Family Head behind Lin Yu, Saint Orchid Kui immediately distanced herself from the situation.

"I did participate in this commission, after all... if Arter Mercury dies, it will be beneficial to the Saint Orchid Family."

"The alliance between the Mercury Family and the Nightless Sky Family has been weakened, and the Autumn Family and the Mercury Family have once again reached a balance of power. These are all things that our Saint Orchid Family is happy to see... Therefore, after learning about this, I chose to become the 'supervisor' and 'captain' of this commission."

"However, I did not initiate this commission—I can assure you of that—but if you ask me to withdraw from it, or even stop them, I can do so."

"However... since they issued this commission and selected me as the 'supervisor,' they must have taken precautions and contingency plans against me."

"Even if I, as the 'captain,' actively infiltrate to stop the team I lead, the other side must have their own backup plan."

As Saint Orchid Kui spoke earnestly, Lin Yu did not immediately express his attitude or make any demands of Saint Orchid Kui.

"I see..."

He nodded and looked at Saint Orchid Kui: "Anything else?"

Saint Orchid Kui sighed, "And another thing... this assassination mission was scheduled for Miss Fire Apricot's coming-of-age ceremony..."

"You want to minimize the impact of this assassination attempt through your efforts, so as not to ruin Nightless Sky Fire Apricot?"

Lin Yu asked curiously.

Saint Orchid Kui looked at Lin Yu, first showing a puzzled expression, then her face suddenly lit up with a joyful arrogance. "Ha, Sherlock, although you are very smart and have the support of the Nightless Sky Family Head... you really don't understand Miss Fire Apricot!"

"Given her personality, if Murder Case were to occur during her coming-of-age ceremony, Miss Fire Apricot would definitely not feel annoyed, unhappy, or have thoughts like 'My birthday celebration has been ruined'... Instead, she would feel extremely excited and joyful!"

Listening to Saint Orchid Kui's words, Lin Yu felt that the other party was not joking.

Lin Yu felt even more awe towards the "Nightless Sky Fire Apricot" regarding her mental state.

"So that's how it is. So, your decision to take on this mission also had an element of helping out Nightless Sky Fire Apricot?"

Saint Orchid Kui did not deny it. "A little bit... but ultimately, it's because this matter is in my best interest."

"Aren't you afraid of offending the Mercury Family if things get exposed?"

Saint Orchid Kui shook her head. "It's true that exposing myself before it's done will offend the Mercury Family, but what if they only find out I was involved after I'm already dead?"

"Besides, do you think there aren't many people within the Mercury Family who want him dead... Killing Royal Nobles is certainly taboo, but I didn't intend to do it myself—if things are exposed, I'll just say I infiltrated to gather intelligence and secretly stop things, and I didn't report it because I was afraid of alerting the mastermind... If I add some compensation and concessions, the Mercury Family will naturally have no way to pursue me any further."

"If it weren't for you, the renowned legendary 'Detective,' asking these questions, and if it weren't for the fact that you're backed by the Nightless Sky Family Head, I wouldn't be so frank... But since you've come directly to me, I feel it would be difficult to hide anything from you, so I'm laying it all out—if it were the Mercury Family asking, I would definitely insist that I had no intention of causing harm."

"Even if the other side does have some evidence... it would be enough to concede some benefits."

Saint Orchid Kui spoke, Lin Yu nodded.

This world is truly cruel...

Even the lives of Royal Nobles can be priced and presented as "trade" at the negotiating table.

It's just that the price is usually too high, so very few people buy or sell this kind of thing.

Now that things had come to this point, Lin Yu felt the time was almost ripe.

"So, do you now know who's behind this?"

Lin Yu asked, Saint Orchid Kui laughed.

"Ah, this one..."

"I really don't know!"

Lin Yu was surprised.

"You don't know yet? Weren't you directly designated as the team leader? I thought you had already made direct contact with them!"

"It's true we had contact, but we only communicated through Communicator, and it was after I accepted the mission that they contacted me through an intermediary in an Outer City," Saint Orchid Kui recalled, speaking helplessly. "That guy was strange; he was clearly a very individualistic person, but I don't remember having such a person among the Royal Nobles."

"I can only guess that the other party is probably not a member of our Saint Orchid Family —because he recognized my identity but did not reveal me to the family, nor did he take the initiative to show me goodwill—if the other party were a member of the Saint Orchid Family, this would be completely impossible."

"Because now, the Saint Orchid Family only has my enemies and friends, no members who stand neutrally!"