237: EVERYONE'S THOUGHTS DURING LUNCH

EVERYONE'S THOUGHTS DURING LUNCH

SCRUMPTUOUS dishes were laid down on the table of the small dining room. Argent sliced a piece of veal and ate it. Honestly speaking, she couldn't really taste what she's eating right now. She was simply going through the motions and making sure that she was acting like a proper lady.1

Her mind was working at a fast speed, thinking of what they should do next because of this unexpected turn of events. The crown prince they were expecting was not the one who arrived to meet them. Instead, it was most likely the 'snake' Janea was talking about.

She glanced at the teenager from the corner of her eye. The other didn't have any distinctive feature resembling the Orlov royal family. His hair was blue-black instead of gray. And his eyes, even though it was light blue, it was still not as pale as the emperor or even that Sergey. But he must be still an Orlov, considering as he now held the title of 'crown prince'.

Another question came to mind, how did he end up with that title? They would probably know the answer if they tried to investigate. The problem was, all of Jaxon's men staying at Kievan were currently guarding the real Conde and the others. So, they didn't have any trustworthy people with them to do the information gathering. 

Maybe they should have at least left two or three men to support them in case something like this happened. But because they were racing against time, none of them had thought more comprehensively. Even the plan they came up with was pretty rough around the edges. One wrong move and it would be over.

Argent only understood now how thin the rope they were walking on. If they took one misstep, they could slip or worse, the rope would snap and they would fall into a never-ending abyss. 

She reached for the glass of water in front of her and took a drink from it. She needed to calm down and think. 

What was their advantage right now? Her technology. 

Because Kievan was pretty isolated from the rest of the world – thanks to their emperor, of course – people here weren't exposed to sPhones. Which meant that any technology she made would be foreign to the people here. Not only that, they would also not have any defense against it. 

As evidence of how they easily entered this palace without any of the guards realizing that they had cameras with them. Heck, they probably didn't even know what a camera was. 

Argent could easily take advantage of that lack of knowledge. And she already thought of a way to do that. 

With her thoughts finally clear, the food in front of her was no longer tasteless. 

As Argent was having these thoughts, Zhang Lei Feng was secretly observing her. The other had a serene smile on her face, but Lei Feng could still tell that there was something bothering her. One needn't be a genius to know that it was the sudden appearance of this crown prince – Ilya Orlov.

Currently, in their situation, it would be hard to get the information they needed. If this country was not so closed off, and that's already saying a lot coming from someone born in Xing, Argent's sPhones could be bought by the citizens here. Then, with her skills, she could easily get information from those scattered sPhones all over the country. But since that's not the case, he needed to help her solve that problem.

This meant that he should do something to gather information from this guy. 

"Your Highness, forgive me for being impertinent, but may I ask what transgression did Prince Sergey did?" he asked in the most natural way he could.

Argent, hearing that, paused her action of slicing the veal. Then, she smiled secretly. She really appreciated that Lei Feng had been taking initiative since the start of this mission. It's like she didn't need to say anything and the other already knew what to do.

She only had this kind of tacit understanding with Aurum. Knowing that there's another person who could understand her to this extent was honestly a bit jarring for her. But it didn't mean she hated it. It's a novel feeling. And yes, a part of her was happy about it.

"Oh, you must be terribly curious, Conde. I would be too if I said something so vague. Don't worry, I'm not offended by your question," Ilya said with good temper. "I can't really expound too much. Let's just say that my brother coveted the emperor's most beloved treasure. And that led to his execution."

Just because he coveted a treasure, it led to his death? Argent felt disbelief hearing that. It's almost like this guy was not talking about a pair of father and son. But then again, the way the other said that so nonchalantly showed just how much he didn't care for his so-called brother. Maybe he even felt the same way for his brother.

Jaxon, who was standing a few distance behind Lei Feng, clenched his fists. The nails digging into his palms. The way this kid talked about that bastard emperor's 'beloved treasure' left a really bad taste in his mouth. Because he couldn't help but think of the worst possible scenario. 

That this treasure was none other than Ylannea.

He took a deep breath, trying his best not to show any emotions on his face. But it's just so damn hard. He felt like he would go crazy because of this overwhelming anger boiling inside him.

He looked down, making sure that his expression wouldn't be seen by anyone. It's fine. They would save Ylannea. He would do anything to accomplish that. 

"Ah, I probably shouldn't have said that in front of a lady," Ilya turned to Argent and smiled. "My apologies for committing such a juvenile mistake, my lady."

Argent also smiled back. "It's alright, your highness. I'm not so squeamish as to find what you said scandalous."

"That's good." The other then turned to Lei Feng. "It seems that the Conde's fiancée is not only beautiful but very thoughtful as well. You're very lucky to have her."

Lei Feng looked at Argent. Unbeknownst to him, his expression quickly turned soft, even the corners of his lips involuntarily turned up. "Yes. Indeed I am."

Ilya Orlov raised one of his brows when he saw this. Interest flashed in his eyes. Nobody knew what he was thinking.

After lunch, the prince invited them to a tour around the imperial palace. But since he was too busy, one of the high-ranking palace attendants guided them instead. 

This was just perfect in Argent's opinion. At least, they wouldn't have to mind their every action. It was also advantageous to what she was planning to do next. 

The tour that the palace attendant did was not very thorough, only introducing them to basic parts of the palace. But that's fine. The only thing important was for them to pass the points in the castle that Janea told them about.

Argent had to be alert to make sure that he wouldn't miss these important points. Because as she did, she left something that would help them tremendously.

Nano cameras.

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