"I'll go with you," Evelyn said.

  Ryan suddenly sat upright on the bed, staring at her in disbelief."Are you sure?"

  He had assumed Evelyn would stay in the room and wait for him. He never expected her to actually accompany him in person.

  "Sure." Evelyn's answer was clear and concise, without any unnecessary words, her eyes showing no trace of hesitation.

  The reason she changed her mind was that she worried Ryan might cause a big mess if he acted alone. She wanted to see for herself exactly what he intended to do tonight.

  "Then I have a condition!" Ryan immediately assumed a negotiating stance.

  "You cannot interfere with my plan, and you absolutely cannot make a move on me. You must follow all my arrangements. Can you do that?"

  He was secretly calculating: if Evelyn agreed, he could not only sneak into the royal treasury successfully, he might even find a chance to make some small gestures under the pretense of the mission.

  After all, this was a rare opportunity in eight lifetimes to be in close proximity.

  If Evelyn refused, he planned to release all the suppressed Journeyman Mage magic on the spot, break the binding Rope, and make a run for it.

  Evelyn's cold gaze swept over him, laced with suspicion."What tricks are you trying to pull this time?"

  She knew Ryan's nature too well. That man was full of schemes and certainly had no good intentions.

  "Just tell me if you can do it! If not, untie me and I'll go alone!" Ryan pressed, his tone firm.

  "You..." Evelyn was about to retort, but then she thought that as long as she kept an eye on him and prevented him from causing too much trouble, following his plan would be fine.

  She shifted her tone and interrupted him."Fine. But your plan cannot include any moves on me."

  Ryan's mouth twitched. He had been seen through. He had actually planned to use the operation as cover to secretly touch Evelyn's hand or brush against her shoulder.

  After all, this woman always kept her promises. Once she agreed, she would never go back on them unless extremely angry. This was a truth he had learned over eight lifetimes.

  "Great! No problem!" Ryan suppressed his slight disappointment and agreed in one breath, his face still brimming with excitement.

  Even if he could not make any physical moves, being able to explore at night with this great glacier of a woman was enough to thrill him.

  He muttered to himself: tonight, I get to go on a stealth mission with Evelyn. Just thinking about it is exciting.

  Evelyn looked at his inexplicably excited expression, and a few unusual glints flashed in her eyes. He agreed so readily; could he be up to some crooked scheme again?

  But at this point, she did not ask further. She simply nodded, marking the agreement reached.

  For the next while, Ryan did not seem in a hurry. He and Evelyn, still bound by the binding Rope, sat a short distance apart on the soft bed, both closing their eyes to meditate.

  Time passed slowly. Night deepened. Outside, only the chorus of insects could be heard, and the palace patrol knights changed shifts repeatedly.

  Ryan was the first to wake from meditation. He opened his eyes and took out the Sword Intention Crystal to examine it.

  A faint glow flowed within the crystal, and a sharp sword shadow could be seen moving inside.

  "Grimoire, how many Origin Points can this useless stone exchange for?" Ryan murmured in his mind.

  【Detected Sword Intention Crystal, contains pure sword magic energy, can be exchanged for 30,000 Magic Origin Points.】

  "Not bad." Ryan nodded with satisfaction.

  The Sword Intention Crystal left behind by the Sanctum of the Sacred Sword could be exchanged for 30,000 Origin Points, which was indeed a considerable gain.

  He returned the Sword Intention Crystal to his storage space and calculated: once he borrowed enough treasures from the royal treasury this time, he could convert all the miscellaneous items stored in his inventory into Origin Points at once.

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  The feeling of emptying everything in one go would be extremely satisfying.

  Ryan instinctively looked at Evelyn, and the moment their eyes met, he froze in place.

  Evelyn had no idea how long she had been staring at him. Her eyes were cold and deep, as if she could see through all of his thoughts.

  Meeting that gaze, Ryan felt his arms tremble involuntarily.

  "Evelyn, what are you looking at? Do I have something on my face?" Ryan raised his hand to touch his cheek, his tone carrying a hint of tentative curiosity.

  "No," Evelyn silently averted her gaze, then shifted slightly closer to Ryan.

  The sudden proximity startled Ryan, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind: What is she doing? Is she trying to take advantage of the binding to get back at me? Or…

  The next moment, he saw Evelyn reach for the shoes by the side of the bed.

  Only then did Ryan realize what had happened. She had taken off her shoes earlier. No wonder her movements on the bed had felt so light.

  He composed himself and got off the bed to put on his own shoes, then retrieved two sets of black clothing from his storage space, handing one to her."Wear this."

  These two shadow stealth suits had cost him 1,200 Magic Origin Points. He had Grimoire secretly add them to the market.

  The fabric was woven from Void Spider silk. It absorbed surrounding light and blocked thirty percent of magical aura. While not high-tier equipment, it was more than enough for sneaking around the palace.

  Evelyn took the stealth suit, her fingers brushing the cold, smooth material. A flicker of confusion appeared in her eyes."What are you going to get? Why wear something like this?"

  "That's none of your business," Ryan said with a mysterious smile, pushing the stealth suit closer into her hands."The thing I'm getting requires wearing this."

  Then he shamelessly started stripping his clothes, tossing his outer garments to the foot of the bed.

  "What are you doing!" Evelyn exclaimed, quickly turning away. Her ears flushed faintly pink, her normally cold voice tinged with a trace of panic.

  "Changing clothes," Ryan said without caring about her embarrassment, his hands moving quickly."I'm not afraid of you seeing me anyway. I have shorts underneath."

  His tone was self-assured enough to make Evelyn tense up, her back stiffening.

  The sound of clothing rubbing behind her was close enough to make her grip the stealth suit tightly.

  "Go change in the stall," Evelyn said, suppressing the strange feeling in her chest. Her voice was colder and slightly lower than usual.

  Ryan tugged at the binding Rope around his wrist, the other end tightly fastened to Evelyn's wrist. He smiled and shook the rope."Evelyn, do you think I can go in?"

  Before she could respond, he teased,"Or do you want to come in and change with me?"

  Evelyn felt the pull through the rope and suddenly remembered that they were still bound together. She remained silent for a moment, but ultimately said nothing.

  After all, even if they went into the stall together, what would be different from changing here?

  Ryan changed into the stealth suit. The black Void Spider silk fabric clung to his body, outlining the smooth lines of his muscles.

  "I'm ready. You go ahead and change," he said, turning to Evelyn, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

  Hearing his voice, Evelyn slowly turned around. When she saw Ryan dressed all in black, she almost could not hold back a laugh.

  This outfit made him look exactly like a little rogue who had just slipped out of the Shadow Thieves Guild.

  "Are you laughing?" Ryan keenly noticed the faint curve of her lips.

  "No," Evelyn quickly suppressed the smile and straightened her face, firmly denying it."There is no way I am laughing. Absolutely not!"

  "Then hurry up and put it on. It will be easier to move under the cover of night," Ryan said, staring directly at her, his expectation almost spilling over.

  Evelyn lifted her hands to undo the ties of her long dress, but when she caught Ryan's unabashed gaze, she froze.

  After a moment of hesitation, she suddenly raised her hand and waved. Frosty threads instantly formed, coiling around his arms and legs multiple times.

  "Ah!" A short cry echoed in the room. Before Ryan could react, the frost threads had him immobilized and pinned to the padded bed.

  "What are you doing?" Ryan struggled, realizing that the frost threads, though seemingly thin, were incredibly strong and exuded a biting cold that left him completely unable to move.

  Evelyn ignored his protests, picked up the stealth suit, and walked into the bathing area, casually closing the door behind her.

  Through the dim light, her figure removing the long dress was visible, faintly outlining elegant curves.

  Ryan, tied to the bed, could only watch the doorway, his throat rolling nervously.

  Soon, the door opened gently, and Evelyn stepped out. Ryan's gaze was immediately drawn to her, his eyes widening.

  The shadow stealth suit was form-fitting. The black Void Spider silk clung tightly to her body, perfectly tracing her curves.

  Her slender waist could barely be grasped, and her long legs were straight and elegant. The ethereal, cold aura she usually carried was now tinged with a lethal allure and danger.

  "Evelyn, your figure is amazing," Ryan said sincerely, unable to look away.

  A faint flush crept across Evelyn's cheeks. It was subtle, but Ryan noticed it immediately.

  She cleared her throat and scolded coldly,"Do not look."

  Ryan reluctantly turned his head, but his eyes, as if hooked, could not resist glancing sideways.

  Evelyn walked to the bed, first undoing the frost threads binding Ryan, then retied their wrists together with the binding Rope.

  This time, the rope was adjusted to three meters, long enough for movement but short enough to prevent him from running off. Once that was done, she removed the extra restraints from Ryan.

  Ryan stood, stretched his stiff arms and legs, twisted his hips, and adopted a commanding stance."During the mission, follow my instructions. Do not interfere or act on your own. Understand?"

  Evelyn glanced at him. Her purple eyes revealed no emotion, but she silently nodded. She was curious to see what this con man was so determined to get.

  "Put this on your face," Ryan said, pulling two pieces of black cloth from the storage space. The fabric was identical to the stealth suit, clearly cut and prepared by him as simple masks.

  Evelyn's gaze sharpened in suspicion. Stealth suit and mask.

  This setup was more thorough than a professional magical thief's. What exactly required all this secrecy?

  After a brief hesitation, she accepted the cloth and tied it over her face, leaving only her cold, clear eyes visible.

  Ryan quickly put on his own mask, covering most of his face, leaving just a pair of bright, mischievous eyes.