What’s more, the fish is already in the cage; it can’t escape, so there’s no need to hurry.

"Alright, I’m done teasing you. After all, you’re half my wife now. How could I bully you? I really like your gift, and as a return gift, I’ll give you this, which should be useful."

Lynn casually put away the box in his hand. Facing this level-999 Light Divine Artifact, he didn’t even glance at it. Instead, he seriously searched through his collection.

After a while, he found a suitable return gift. Since Cleia’s ring was actually a gift from the royal family of the Light Empire, his return gift naturally wouldn’t stay with Cleia, so Lynn didn’t find a ring to give her but handed her a medal instead.

The medal’s style was somewhat similar to the Divine Awarded Medal of the Light God King, but its grade and level were far inferior. In fact, it was a piece of divine artifact-level equipment to be worn at level 700. Since it was a medal, its various stats weren’t significantly enhanced, but its divine artifact effect was impressive.

It increased Light Affinity by 300%.

Just this one effect, if given to a non-Light Element powerhouse, this 300% boost would be marginally better than +10 Strength. But for a Light Element person, this divine artifact was more useful than other divine artifact-level weapons of the same level because it could increase cultivation speed and enhance the Light Element talent.

And if it were given to a descendant of the Light God King, this item could even improve the purity of divine blood, giving the wearer a trace of the possibility of atavism.

Any Windsor who saw this thing wouldn’t be able to leave without it.

However, the reality of the world doesn’t put equipment properties directly on display like a data sheet. Therefore, after receiving Lynn’s return gift, Cleia only felt that touching it was refreshing, but she couldn’t discern more than that. She planned to take it back for her emperor brother to study.

"Does Lord Lynn have any other instructions? Do you need me to pay the reward in advance?"

Having completed the gift exchange, Cleia had achieved her purpose for this trip, and staying longer seemed unnecessary, unless he needed her for...

"There’s nothing else. If you have something to do, you can go back first. Be prepared for the expedition to the Divine Protection Continent; once my family arrives, we’ll depart in three to five days at most, or one to two days at the earliest."

As Lynn spoke, he waved his hand, letting Cleia go about her business. Though he appeared to have free time, he wasn’t idle enough to venture out.

"Well, all the princesses from various countries have already arrived and are now staying in the embassy district under the Holy Mountain. Since you have time, Lord Lynn, would you like to visit them?"

Cleia hesitated for a moment before speaking with some reluctance, as she actually didn’t want to say this. It felt too much like treating the princesses of various countries as goods and Lynn as the buyer, then inviting him to "inspect the goods."

But to tell the truth, that’s exactly the case, and Lynn understood it very well. The group of future sisters also knew it in their hearts.

Besides her, Cleia, the rest of them had not even seen Lynn yet. There were no feelings involved, just an unspoken transaction between the Seven Great Empires and Lynn.

However, this transaction was beneficial for the nation and the people, a deed that would benefit future generations. It’s about reclaiming the lost homeland of the Divine Protection Continent. Never mind just sacrificing seven princesses; even seventy or seven hundred could be offered, as long as Lynn asked for them. Even if they couldn’t gather enough at the moment, those emperors could produce a batch now and reserve another to fulfill his request.

"There’s no need for that. You don’t seriously think I’m reaching out because I’m tempted by a few princesses, do you? Although I’m someone who can’t resist a beauty trap, I wouldn’t force such matters as marriage."

"Once you go back, you can tell those princesses that if any of them doesn’t wish to marry me, they can bring it up in advance, and we can discuss it."

Lynn did have spare time, and the embassy district under the Holy Mountain wasn’t far, but he had no intention of visiting.

After all, given Lynn’s attitude of sparing no young beauty he intersects with and "regretting giving them away to someone else," he felt meeting the princesses of the Seven Kingdoms was premature now.

Because they were carefully selected by the Seven Great Empires with great confidence as enticing bait to provoke him. Lynn trusted the emperors of the Seven Great Empires’ taste, if not their character.

These "divinely selected" princesses of the Seven Kingdoms, if they were all up to Cleia’s standard, seeing them might make him obsessed, too easily distract him.

"Are you saying... if there’s a sister who doesn’t want to marry you, after negotiation, she can still avoid it?" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Cleia was obviously surprised. She never expected Lynn to be so accommodating, letting the prey slip away right before him?

"That’s not quite it. I meant we can negotiate to postpone the marriage. I can wait until she wants to."

Cleia: "..."

As expected of you, I guessed too much...

"Then I’ll take my leave. By the way, His Majesty the Emperor is still trying to secure another gift for you. It’s also a component of the Saint Emperor’s Armor. However, it’s the favorite collection of an old nobleman. Although he isn’t part of the Windsor family, he’s an Imperial Grand Duke with a legacy of over ten generations. My emperor brother just ascended the throne and lacks the prestige to make the old nobleman part with it easily."

"So... it might take some more time."

Before leaving, Cleia reported to Lynn about the Windsor clan’s respect for him. They not only parted with their family heirloom but were also striving to assemble a divine artifact set for him.

"No rush, and don’t resort to force. If necessary, ask him what he might want in exchange. I might be able to trade with him."

Upon hearing Cleia mention this, Lynn instructed her with a deliberately casual attitude. Whether he genuinely wanted it or needed it urgently was left to her guess.

"This is a gift for the Divine Envoy, so it must have a clean origin. We’ll find a way. If it proves impossible, the Divine Envoy may have to spend a little."

After these words, Cleia bowed to Lynn and obediently left. Her inactive, uneventful performance, however, couldn’t satisfy Xue’Er. So, the drama of the vulture pecking at the master occurred once more. Cleia was lightly tapped by Xue’Er’s wings as she went. Though it was just a gentle swipe with the wingtips, the attitude had to show!

The master of that fat cat already had the first taste, yet her useless master couldn’t even manage a fur strand. It was truly embarrassing for her before other cats,

After Cleia and Xue’Er left, Lynn instructed Natasha to fetch lunch from the Light Church Court’s canteen for the two of them. He then returned to his room, frowning as he took out the Saint Emperor’s Ring, presented to him by the royal family of the Light Empire.

This ring, along with his Saint Emperor’s Sword and Saint Emperor’s Armor, belonged to a set series of equipment, all at level 999, the highest divine artifact level.

In the past, receiving this top-tier divine artifact ring like a freebie would have delighted him for days on end.

But under the current circumstances, a divine artifact is just something to stare at. Could he dare to use it?

Lynn placed the box containing the Saint Emperor’s Ring on the table, glaring at it fiercely a few times, ultimately testing it skeptically.

"Hiss~~"

Without the box as a barrier, Lynn naturally got burned by the powerful Light Divine Power when trying to pick up the Saint Emperor’s Ring directly with his hand.

The intense burning sensation was more than just physical pain; otherwise, Lynn wouldn’t have been unable to bear it completely.

"Sigh, the Mage Demon Emperor Set I can’t fit into is already terrifyingly potent. If I could utilize this Divine Warrior’s Saint Emperor’s Armor, who knows how powerful it could be..."

As he lightly rubbed his injured right hand and looked at the purely ornamental Saint Emperor’s Ring, Lynn couldn’t help but lament.