Blackstone Code-Chapter 595: Self-Sacrifice

To emphasize feminine beauty, the upper-middle class in Gephra still uses corsets. These garments are mainly meant to cinch the waist and accentuate the bust.
Wearing them for extended periods can cause intense discomfort. Many consider them inhumane—even within Gephra—but when the nobles are required to wear them, they still do.
“You’re not going to peek, are you?” Jania turned her face slightly, half of it hidden behind her messy hair. The other side—her temple and ear—was fully exposed to Lynch. Through her eyes, Lynch could see his own reflection.
Lynch didn’t answer right away. He gently placed his hand on Jania’s back. “You have really nice skin…”
“Can you help me untie the laces?”
With a crisp click, the lighter flicked open, signaling that something had come to an end. Sparks flew from the flint, igniting a small flame.
Jania walked out of the bathroom draped in a towel. She sat beside Lynch without the slightest reservation and let the towel fall.
A damp towel made her uncomfortable, and the moisture was bad for her skin. She took the cigarette from Lynch, took a drag, and slowly exhaled.
Some films use a cigarette to highlight the heroine’s sorrow, restlessness, confusion, or anxiety…
Jania had learned how to smoke from such films. As she exhaled, the warm flush of her skin reached its peak, giving her an unusual kind of beauty.
“Incredible,” Jania said in amazement. It was unclear if she was referring to Lynch, what had just happened, or something else entirely.
Thankfully, she didn’t hold onto the mystery for long. She gave her own answer. “I always thought…,” she lay back beside Lynch, “…that events like this—serious diplomatic missions—would only involve old men or middle-aged folks. I didn’t expect you to be one of them.”
Lynch took the cigarette back from her and nodded. “I didn’t expect it either.”
As Lynch smoked, a small spark popped from the tip of the cigarette. It’s a common thing—sometimes a stubborn stem survives the slicing process and pops when burned.
At any other moment it would’ve just been a spark, but here, it made Jania gasp softly.
Lynch touched the spot that had been singed and gently blew on it.
A while later, their conversation resumed.
“What exactly do you do?” Jania asked, lying on the bed in a languid, exhausted manner. Her slightly hoarse voice carried a unique allure. “Or are you just here for fun?”
Lynch was helping her relax her muscles. He’d picked up some massage techniques from his assistant, and they were quite effective. “All my work has always been about solving problems for people—and charging for it.”
“Mmm, solving problems. That must be interesting work.”
“Absolutely. I like the feeling of conquest.”
“A mountain—towering and grand—I love seeing it gradually crushed beneath my feet.”
“A river—wild and raging—I dive in at its most violent, then feel it calm under my touch.”
“Problems are the same. I love watching problems torment the masses, and then solving them with ease. I live for that feeling.”
He looked down at Jania beside him. She seemed to sense his gaze, opened her eyes, and met his.
For a moment, her mind went blank. She saw, in Lynch’s eyes, the cold, rational stare of her imperial brother—the emperor. No emotion. Just a chilling, calculated intellect.
But as she looked again, it all seemed like an illusion. Lynch’s eyes now felt like verses of a gentle poem, flowing straight into her soul.
Maybe it had been a trick of her mind, or maybe something else entirely. She pushed Lynch down, straddled him, bit her lip, and asked with a sultry glint in her eyes, “Can you still keep up?”
“Of course.”
The next morning, Lynch’s legs trembled slightly as he got into the car. Fortunately, he was already seated before anyone could see and make fun of him. He had to admit—she was a fascinating, captivating woman. And the Gephrans had clearly pulled out all the stops.
He didn’t know what the others had experienced, but it was probably something similar. Their goal was to push these people to their limits, to extract as much valuable information as possible.
Back at the hotel, Lynch undressed and sank into the hot bath. The scalding water made him let out a long sigh of relief.
His assistant tried to hide her amusement as she picked up his clothes. “You must’ve had a wild night.”
Lynch hadn’t come back all night. He reeked of women’s perfume, and his body bore the unmistakable signs of what he’d been through. She knew exactly what had happened.
But she wasn’t jealous. Their relationship hadn’t reached the level of being life partners.
To be fair, the feminist movement in the Federation had been great. It helped women distinguish between physical partners, emotional partners, life partners, and social partners.
For her, the bond between her and Lynch leaned more toward repayment. He had saved her family and her life.
At her most desperate, she had seriously considered becoming a high-end escort—there simply wasn’t another fast way to earn enough money to save her family. So what she was doing now felt like a form of gratitude.
And Lynch was attractive enough. She didn’t feel she was losing out—if anything, she thought she’d gotten a good deal.
Besides, if a “dominant CEO” didn’t have a messy love life, could he even be called a CEO?
Lynch winced and grinned. “If I were you, I’d be massaging my boss’s head right now. I’m feeling dizzy…”
Elsewhere, Jania returned to the palace, glowing. Since she’d made a name for herself in the entertainment industry, she rarely came back. The palace brought back memories—dark, suffocating, and insane ones.
But this time, she had no choice. It was the emperor himself who ordered her to approach Lynch. She was told to do it for the sake of the royal family.
Things inside the empire had become tense. Whether for her own future, for the nation, or just to avoid getting dragged into the deadly throne struggle again—Jania took the assignment.
She thought it would be disgusting.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t.
She actually kind of liked it.
She entered the palace without encountering any obstacles and met her imperial brother.
“You look great!” the Emperor of Gephra said sincerely. He was significantly older than his sister, and their relationship had grown somewhat distant, but that didn’t stop him from putting on a show of familial warmth. All it took was a bit of verbal finesse.
“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty.”
“Call me brother,” the Emperor emphasized. “When there are no outsiders present, you can call me brother.”
Jania felt a twinge of emotion. Those siblings who had been killed by the man before her would never have imagined he’d one day show such kindness.
Only siblings who posed no threat were considered good siblings. Otherwise, they were enemies.
“I understand, brother.”
“The task you assigned me is complete. Lynch acts as a sort of advisor within the delegation. He provides sound commercial input to the group.”
“I’ve heard he’s one of the major shareholders of the Nagaryll Joint Development Company, with a net worth in the tens or even hundreds of millions—measured in Gael.”
“He also has a close relationship with Truman, which is why he was appointed to the delegation.”
The Emperor nodded repeatedly, his expression thoughtful, as if he were truly considering the information carefully.
In fact, most of this wasn’t news to him. What he hadn’t known was how much importance the delegation placed on Lynch. That detail was new—and useful.
It made him realize that increasing his influence over Lynch could provide them with leverage in the upcoming negotiations.
“I’m sorry for making you do this. I’m very pleased with your performance. As your brother, perhaps I’ve overlooked the feelings of my family. I’m not sure what I should offer you—do you want anything?”
Rather than urging her to go back and dig deeper with Lynch, the Emperor shifted the conversation to rewards—an implicit signal that her task had been only partially completed, and this was just a phase.
“To serve the Empire is my honor, brother. Besides, I didn’t find it particularly… burdensome.”
“Lynch is young, handsome, witty, and has impressive stamina…” Anyone could hear the implications buried in those words.
Seeing the Emperor’s expression shift slightly, Jania chose that moment to end the topic. She hadn’t meant to provoke him fully—just to make a point.
She wanted to assert her position. She had her own boundaries. She needed to make it clear that she wasn’t someone he could casually use over and over.
She didn’t want to become a royal courtesan.
“By the way, just before we were about to rest last night, Lynch said he might have a solution to the Amellia problem.”
“I think he’s bluffing. If you and the entire imperial nobility couldn’t solve it, how could a foreigner possibly succeed?”
“I’m just passing on what I know. How you interpret it, how you act on it—that’s up to you…”