" Bloodfall clan…. Quite an interesting choice I must say lord Ravan " Lucius said as he took a sip of some exquisite elvish blood obtained from the black market.
" Well it's what my to be lady prefers so… " Max said, diverting all credit to Asiva who smiled politely.
Asiva's demeanour had started to show signs of change ever since Max had won her the Paratus capital and completed the revenge of her dead father.
She was no longer erratic like before with only bloodlust on her mind, as although she was still a fearsome warrior, she let her more rational side shine outside the battlefield.
Today, she was accompanying Max and Lucius to dinner with complete etiquette and politeness which was unlike her nature, as she started to view herself more and more like a lady with Max agreeing to marry her.
Politely smiling towards Lucius, Asiva said " You should have looked at the other choices, Prince Lucius, the people incharge of thinking the names were quite the characters "
Lucius chuckled loudly, since he was still a teenager he did not have the best restraint over his actions like the older vampires did.
The dinner atmosphere was pleasant despite Max being very vigilant of Lucius as he felt that the young prince was definitely up to something.
Half-way through their dinner, noticing the perfect opportunity Lucius said " My lord, I'm wondering if you are willing to go on a ruins exploration with me… it's estimated to be worth big money "
Asiva's eyes widened as she lightly stepped on Max's toe under the table, gesturing him to be careful.
Under his mask, Max chuckled, he had long assumed the prince was up to something, it seemed like now he was finally ready to show his true intentions.
" Oh- I'm curious " Max said as he signalled for Lucius to give him more details.
" We can split the loot 50-50, I'll even give you the priority for the first pick at the end. The operation needs to be a complete secret and the origins of the loot can never be disclosed.
I genuinely hope that except you and me, nobody else is informed about this adventure " Lucius said as he conveyed his feelings about how he did not want even his father to get wind of this little adventure, which meant that the young prince had some nefarious uses for the money he would earn from this exploration.
Max tilted his head to look at Asiva's eyes, as Asiva lightly shook her head saying 'No'.
" What is the risk in this exploration? " Max asked as he looked back towards Lucius who was frowning slightly after seeing Asiva's subtle ' no ' .
" Unknown, but the scope is wide so we need at least 100 people to explore. It should take us about 5 days if there is nothing serious. If we find hidden rooms or places we can't access within those 5 days, then it's full access would be given to you, since your ceremony is set after 7 days, I think it's the perfect activity for you to fill up the time" Lucius said as he tried to convince Max
" Just out of curiosity, how many men will you be bringing out of these 100? " Max asked, as he knew the precise answer in his heart.
" 4…" Lucius eventually said lightly as he grit his teeth, understanding that Max had picked up his sore spot.
" Hmmm, don't you think the loot distribution is a bit skewed my lord considering that my side takes more risk " Max said amusedly as he bullied the little prince.
" What do you suggest? " Lucius asked with a visible frown on his face as the teenager wore his feelings like a badge.
" 60-40 in my favour, plus 2 priority item picks, I'm being generous here prince, my time right now is actually very valuable, I have a million things to do for my territory and ruins exploration is not one of them" Max said as he expressed his goodwill towards Lucius and ensured that the other party understood that there was no room for negotiation.
Asiva stepped strongly on Max's foot at this moment, she strongly disagreed with Max's decision to make a deal with an Aurelius!
If he found something illegal there and did not report it to the king there would be trouble for him.
If somehow Lucius died there, it would mean trouble for them.
If everything went well and Max helped Lucius obtain considerable artefacts and funds it would be seen as him favouring Lucius in his succession race.
Regardless of the outcome of the exploration, it was sure to bring problems to the Bloodfall clan and Asiva wanted to avoid them.
Unfortunately for her, Max did not seem like he wanted to heed her advice.
" Fine, I accept " Lucius eventually said after sighing deeply as although he felt like he had made a loss on the deal, he did not think he had any other options but to agree with Max's conditions for now.
Raising his glass Max said " Cheers " as Lucius clunk it with a half smile before both men drank their glasses of blood.
" So- where are these ruins, I'm assuming somewhere in my territory that I don't know about " Max said as he looked into the teenagers eyes which fluttered with shock.
Lucius thought hard about where he could have given up the clues that the ruins were on Geonmi planet but could think about anything he said that could have indicated such.
The way he looked at Max changed once again as he realised that Max's deduction skills were top-notch and worthy of respect.
" Geonmi planet, there's a lost civilization entrance there. I'll tell you all the details but let's sign a system contract first " Lucius eventually said as he began drafting a system contract mentioning the exact terms of their cooperation.
Max closed his eyes and smiled when Lucius said Geonmi planet, he had decided to take over that red iron planet on a whim, and now it seemed like it held secrets that even the Kingsman clan were unaware of.
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/// A/N - Chapter 2/20 let's go! ///