“Just send me here.” Annan followed Eugene to the south entrance and stopped. He nodded politely to the ordinary-looking but inexplicably credible young man, “I’ll stroll around. The Paper Princess should be able to find me.”
“Would that be fine? You’re still holding our payment. It may not be safe for you to be here by yourself. After all, the Paper Princess won’t find you right away.”
Eugene Geraint looked at Annan with some worry, “If I’m not mistaken, you haven’t been to the capital, right? There are many secrets and taboos here. Not to mention Austerian, even the overseas Noah people wouldn’t know about them when they come back.
“For example, our Geraint mansion is so big and so luxuriously decorated because our home is directly connected to the palace.”
“Directly connected?” Annan exclaimed.
“Yes.” The ordinary-looking young man replied.
“Do you remember that fountain?”
“The one with a lot of statues?”
“Yes,” Eugene nodded, “You should have noticed that there are many people who are not from the Geraint family because this is not the back garden of the Geraint family.
“If you go around the fountain and continue to the north, it will be the palace’s back garden.”
Eugene replied, “Did you notice the guards?
“Those are not the guards of the count’s house. They’re the defense units composed of the Noah’s guards and secret troops.”
No wonder. Annan suddenly realized.
He was a little baffled at first. Why were there so many people in a mere count’s mansion? The wall was at the caliber of a city wall, with many patrols on the stairs. At the same time, there were watchtowers and patrols on rooftops.
Even the king’s palace was incomparable to that.
Annan was a little hesitant at the time.
After seeing the mirror gallery inside the count’s mansion, he even had the feeling that “Sir, are you going to rebel against the king?”
It seemed it was not the Old Crow’s work.
The gorgeous gallery of mirrors, massive fountain, and those stone corridors of Noah’s great heroes…
It seemed the count’s mansion was originally part of the royal palace.
From this point of view, the political status of the Crow family might be different from what Annan thought at the beginning.
They didn’t seem to need Kafni as a bargaining chip to increase their influence.
Annan glanced at Eugene.
His appearance was not outstanding at all and ordinary by the standards of aristocrats, and he would blend in immediately once he joined the crowd. However, he was pretty smart.
Annan didn’t say anything, and Eugene immediately realized what Annan was wary of — they made a deal. He didn’t want the Crow family to use his identity to increase their influence and also increase their prestige in front of the king.
So Eugene brought Annan for a stroll, hinting that the Geraint family’s political status was unique. They did not need Annan’s influence.
He was indeed the most trusted son of Old Crow.
It was highly possible for the Geraint family to pass on the secret intelligence agency “One-Eyed Crow” to him in the future.
Thus, Annan immediately changed the subject and did not continue talking about the previous incident.
“The back garden of the palace? Is it the one blessed by the Silver Sire’s pope?”
“Yes. Oh, have you heard of that?” Eugene was a little surprised.
Annan smiled and replied ambiguously, “I have some memory of it.”
In actual fact, I have forgotten everything.
“But I don’t know if I remember correctly. The flower is of the rose family. The petals are almost transparent and pure white like jade, and the branches and leaves are the color of violets. They’re so real and beautiful.”
“Ah, you are talking about the Sacred Silver Flower Field. The blessing comes from this generation of pope.” Eugene answered quickly.
“This generation?” Annan noticed his usage of words.
Eugene nodded, “Actually, every generation of the pope will bless something in the palace. This is also a tradition. In fact, almost all flower fields have been blessed by the popes. However, since there are different popes, the effects are different. Many flower fields are not ornamental, but used as magical materials.”
“The Sacred Silver Flower Field is not the closest to us but closest to the palace. The closest flower field to here is the Crystal Lake Flower Field. I can take you to see it next time.”
“Next time then.” Annan smiled.
The so-called “next time” was a polite way of saying, “if you don’t tell me, I won’t take you there”.
Eugene asked again, “If you are worried, why don’t I take you out of this place in disguise?
“It’s rare for you to come to the capital. I have many places I want to bring you over to. I’m afraid you won’t be able to come again when you return home.”
Annan noticed that Eugene was asking him whether he would take the throne as soon as he returned home.
So he smiled and said, “Not necessarily.
“But even if I wanted to come, my sister probably wouldn’t let me. She is quite annoyed to have my presence here.”
He was reminding Eugene — I like the Noah Kingdom, but my sister, Maria, knows I’m here.
Eugene also sensed Annan’s hidden meaning behind his words.
He smiled and said nothing more.
It’s comfortable talking to smart people.
“There’s no need for disguise.” Annan joked, “You’re not conspicuous already, but you might become conspicuous by putting on a disguise.
“Unfortunately, I’m still a child. Please don’t take me to places that will make my sister angry.”
“Oh, Her Royal Highness Kafni will be angry too?” Eugene smiled, “Before the Paper Princess arrives, let me show you around.”
He kept walking, and Annan followed behind him.
He just brushed off Annan’s comment not to follow him, and Annan didn’t say anything about it too.
They would not tear off others’ faces like that. It was a tacit understanding between intelligent people.
Eugene’s existence did save Annan a lot of trouble.
Eugene did not restrain his presence. As long as he followed Annan, no one dared to approach them. There might not be thieves or beggars in the palace, but there would be troublesome people around.
Annan’s perception was sharp.
At this distance, Annan could distinguish the danger and hostility of the other party at the moment when he was being targeted.
But those guys who had ulterior motives on Annan had their eyes overflowed with unavoidable fear and awe when they saw Eugene.
This also made Annan realize this young man, who was extraordinarily warm and friendly to him, did not seem to be a kind soul.
“Speaking of which, are you satisfied with the payment?” Eugene walked ahead and asked.
Annan shrugged and was about to answer.
His vision was overwhelmed with white light. The brilliance had seemingly submerged and destroyed his whole world. There was nothing else but a white glare.
He immediately realized it was an illusion.
But before Annan could do anything. he felt his left shoulder lightly tapped from behind.
Annan was surprised.
At this distance, his perception should have detected the person behind him.
But even though he was tapped, he still didn’t detect anyone behind him.
“Excuse me for a moment, okay?” It was a surprisingly gentle and slow voice.
Annan turned around, attempting to observe the identity of the incoming person with his naked eye.
The man appeared 27 years old, much younger than Annan had expected. He was wearing a brown jacket with many pockets and a small pocket watch about 4 centimeters around his neck. The pocket watch was placed in the chest pocket.
With a gentle and lonely expression on his face, he wore white silk gloves on both hands, and a complex five-color magic circle was drawn on the back of his hands. The black part seemed to resemble a magic circle. However, the combination of the red and blue lines appeared to be another magic circle. On the other hand, the red and purple lines constructed another magic circle too.
“Before you asked that, you have disturbed me, sir.” Annan responded politely.
“It’s fine.” The young man had neither malicious nor good intentions. He smiled indifferently like a deity, spread his hands, and a white silk-like light lingered between his fingers, “I’m not asking for your consent either.
“Please come with me, will you?”
“—I don’t think so.” Again, a cold female voice sounded in the white world.