Chapter 112: Lances Innocent Act is Too Strong

Chapter 112: Lance's Innocent Act is Too Strong

Prince Ainor and Lance stood side by side near a massive glass wall. The transparent floor-to-ceiling windows offered a view of the plaza below. Both wore relaxed smiles, clearly enjoying their conversation.

"Actually, Your Highness, it's not difficult to tell. Based on the Demon Kingdom's art styles the professor demonstrated, the second painting, while appearing abstract, contained several obvious technical flaws. These weren't intentional choices; they were purely the result of mistakes..."

As he listened to Lance recount his experiences in the Demon Kingdom art class, Ainor's eyes filled with appreciation, and he nodded repeatedly. He felt that if he were to look at those paintings again, he could now truly distinguish between works done by the instructors and the ones done by the students after hearing the key points Lance had highlighted.

The prince was also amazed that Lance had been able to analyze everything so thoroughly in such a short amount of time. After all, even mastery of modern and classical art was usually a feat limited to a person's own civilization.

Yet Lance had grasped the artistic concepts of ancient demons the moment he arrived in the Demon Kingdom. This was a feat that seemed incredible, almost beyond the capacity of the human mind.

A few minutes passed. Reluctantly setting aside the topic of art, Ainor quickly turned to ask, "By the way, Lance, what kind of cards were you and Hyperion planning to buy today? Sophia is a Silver Certified card maker. If she buys them for you, you can get significant internal discounts from the Association."

Ainor had finally realized that Hyperion hadn't been able to get a word in while they conversed pleasantly and had simply been waiting there while the two of them chatted.

"Sophia..." Lance repeated the name Ainor had mentioned, looking slightly puzzled.

Ainor clapped his hands, feeling a bit scatterbrained. He finally turned to look at the purple-haired young woman who had been waiting on the sofa, watching him all the while. The prince had nearly forgotten that Sophia was here too.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce her. You're the only one here who doesn't know her. She is Lady Sophia Fostock. The three of us are all old acquaintances."

Hearing this, Lance looked toward the purple-haired Lady Sophia and gave a slight, polite nod of acknowledgment. Although the young lady had been secretly keeping an eye on the situation from afar, she showed no intention of responding to Lance, Instead, she haughtily turned her gaze away, pretending not to notice him.

She was very focused on card making, so Lance's impressive performance in the Shadow Realm meant very little to her. She was also a stickler for school rules and avoided any dealings with the Student Management Council.

Sophia had already felt a flare of irritation when Ainor engaged in a friendly conversation with Lance, completely ignoring her in the process. The prince had never paid her that kind of attention, yet in such a short span of time, he had completely forgotten her existence—all because of a man!

Ainor, seemingly accustomed to Sophia's temperament, apologized to Lance without a hint of princely arrogance, "Don't mind her, Lance. Sophia actually has a kind heart."

Lance shook his head. "Of course I wouldn't take it personally."

Since she was a friend of Hyperion's, she had to be a good person—just someone with a somewhat prickly personality. He then answered Ainor's earlier question, "I'm here to take the registered card maker exam, and Hyperion wanted to come along to watch me make cards."

Ainor's expression grew even more intrigued. "So it's true! You know how to make cards too?"

His tone was full of pleasant surprise, as if he had long suspected that Lance possessed this skill.

Lance admitted, "Mm, I've been practicing hard in my spare time."

"If I may be so bold, the last time I saw someone this immensely talented was Duke Michael." There was an indefinable note of admiration in Ainor's voice, and it was directed as much at the duke as at Lance.

"Duke Michael?"

"Yes. Duke Michael is a Crystal Certified card maker, which is above Platinum, and one of the finest in the Southern Continent."

To Ainor, Michael was both mentor and friend. He had idolized the duke and practically clung to his side ever since he was a child. Seeing a reflection of the young Michael in Lance was one of the reasons Ainor held him in such high regard. Of course, the duke was kind-hearted, whereas Lance was a bit of a rascal.

Ainor laughed heartily as he recounted tales from the royal palace, "But I'm certain there's one difference between you two. You wouldn't secretly harbor a high-ranking demon like he did and then marry her and shock His Majesty the King. Hahaha! Do you have any idea what my father's face looked like back then?"

Lance was taken aback momentarily. Then, in an attempt to steer the conversation in a different direction, he asked as if he had suddenly recalled something, "By the way, Your Highness, have you kept your companion waiting too long?"

As he spoke, he glanced at the purple-haired Lady Sophia, who was seated on a sofa some distance away. She was still stealing glances in their direction.

Prince Ainor realized his oversight. "My apologies. Let's head over to the meeting area. Sophia might be able to offer you some practical advice regarding the card maker exam."

Prompted by Lance, Ainor finally remembered that he had left Lady Sophia sitting all alone for quite some time. He immediately offered an apologetic nod in the young lady’s direction and led Lance and Hyperion toward her.

Naturally, neither Lance nor Hyperion declined Ainor's kind offer. There was still plenty of time before the exam began. As they walked, Hyperion couldn't help but glance at Sophia and then shoot a look at Lance. Her eyes were filled with puzzlement as she tried to figure something out.

Hyperion was deeply grateful to Lance for drawing the heat away from her, yet she also worried that, thanks to Sophia's unprovoked scrutiny, Lance was already cooking up some scheme!

***

The third floor's atrium hall, featuring soaring ceilings and structural pillars, had a breathtaking sense of openness, blending dark wood with richly textured stone. In the conversation area to one side of the atrium was a set of luxurious sofas and low coffee tables crafted from premium materials. They complemented the surrounding decor, and nearby floor lamps added an air of quiet elegance.

Seeing that Prince Ainor had finally returned, Sophia stopped blatantly staring at them. Instead, she turned away and sat quietly on the sofa, her arms crossed over her chest.

As the trio's footsteps drew closer along the corridor, Lance smiled calmly and, catching Ainor off guard, posed a question, "Your Highness, have you noticed? There's always a girl quietly accompanying you, the gentlest one you could ever hope to find."

At that instant, Sophia visibly stirred on the sofa. She clenched her fists tightly, feeling the heat rise in her ears. She wanted to turn around and glare at Lance for asking such an ambiguous question, yet she dared not look at Ainor's face. Her heart pounded wildly as she awaited his reply.

Prince Ainor answered with a look of puzzlement, "No, I haven't."

His voice was clear and decisive, without a hint of hesitation. Frustrated, Sophia stomped her feet angrily against the floor.

Lance, too, was at a loss. The three of them arrived at the sofa, preparing to sit down. He then decided to make one more attempt to help, offering a subtle hint, "Well then, Your Highness, I think that while you devote yourself to the creation and appreciation of art, you should also pay more attention to the people around you and not keep her waiting too long."

Sophia, who had initially intended to shoot Lance a death glare and warn him against speaking out of turn, felt her expression soften slightly. She realized that Lance was truly a good person, doing his absolute best to help her. It was just a shame that Ainor was such a dense blockhead.

Hyperion settled down beside Sophia, feeling at ease as Ainor and Lance naturally took their seats on the opposite sofa, much like brothers. Yet, to the utter astonishment of both Sophia and Hyperion, Prince Ainor's expression suddenly cleared, as if a sudden realization had dawned upon him.

He gripped Lance's shoulders tightly and said earnestly, "I understand now, Lance. You are the irreplaceable treasure of our kingdom. What you mean is that I should have taken the initiative to seek you out sooner!"

Lance was truly left speechless. He could only offer a helpless smile to Sophia and Hyperion, who were sitting across from him. That smile held seven parts regret and three parts apology.

It was as if he had genuinely wanted to help her but ultimately failed, simply because Prince Ainor remained completely oblivious to her presence. In contrast, Lance commanded Ainor's undivided attention without even trying.

The atmosphere in the atrium seemed to shift subtly in that instant. Beneath the silence, a wordless chill began to creep in. It was the kind of tension that was the calm before a storm: oppressive and nerve-wracking.

Hyperion's eyelids began to twitch uncontrollably. Lance looked completely innocent and well-intentioned.

However, given the situation, and considering his words and actions, if Lance had been a girl, everything could be taken in a completely different light. Hyperion was completely unable to tell whether Lance genuinely wanted to help Sophia, or whether he was perfectly disguising his manipulative nature!

Extreme cluelessness and innocence was like manipulation, while extreme manipulation could also manifest as flawless cluelessness and innocence. Hyperion once again saw flashes of this terrible duality in Lance.

Sophia was caught in this delicate situation and was teetering on the brink of explosion. From her perspective, she also began to suspect whether Lance had manipulated all of this, feigning innocence to gain Ainor's complete trust, only to toy with her! If that were the case, then this cunning and wicked man might even exploit this trust to use the completely naive Ainor!

"Lance, I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of cards you'll make today, and I hope to have the opportunity to admire your artwork in the future." After witnessing Lance's discerning eye, Ainor was incredibly curious about just how good his own creations would be.

Sophia sat opposite on the sofa, her head bowed and hands clenched tightly.

Listening to the prince's increasingly effusive praise of Lance, as if he were infatuated with him, made her become increasingly agitated. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, she looked up at Lance and Ainor and said in a low voice, "Ainor, I am the most outstanding card maker and the most talented artist by your side. You don't need to look at this guy like that!"

Sophia's breathing became somewhat rapid. She was almost about to shout, "Look at me more!"

"Sophia..." Ainor looked bewildered as well, finally shifting his attention from Lance to Sophia. He was actually incredibly envious of the effortless, arrogant aura Lance had exuded in the Demon Kingdom Shadow Realm challenge, and wanted to learn how to be like him.

However, for some reason, Sophia's reaction was unusually intense, as if a demon were stirring her heartstrings, making her emotions incredibly strong. However, Ainor looked at Lance, who also wore an innocent and confused expression.

In the end, between a woman and his new best friend, Ainor once again firmly chose to stand by his best friend. He couldn't help but praise Lance as he said, "Sophia, look, you've scared Lance... What if it affects his card making exam today? He's definitely going to be a pillar of the Kingdom of Hutton."

He had completely failed to grasp her feelings at that moment and also had no clue that his own actions were fueling her jealousy by showing his favoritism towards Lance.

Meanwhile, Lance still wore that gentle, helpless smile. Sophia finally couldn't control the jealousy within her. She looked at Ainor, her voice filled with resentment as she snapped, "I'm seventeen, and I'm already a Silver Certified card maker."

Among all the students in the entire College of Magical Engineering who had just entered their second year, only a handful had reached Silver! Sophia's long-suppressed emotions finally erupted at this moment, and she spilled her true feelings to Ainor, "Why do you admire him so much, even though he hasn't yet obtained his registered card maker status, instead of paying more attention to me? I've clearly worked so hard!"

Ainor's expression froze. "Sophia, so that's what you really think... I've always valued you..."

The prince had never seen Sophia express her feelings in such a direct way towards him. He was stunned and didn't know how to comfort her; he couldn't even organize his thoughts. He could finally feel the oddity of the atmosphere.

Lance surreptitiously patted Ainor on the back, then gestured with his eyes that it was time for the prince to sit down next to Sophia and comfort her. He then quickly stood up to bid them farewell. "Your Highness, Lady Sophia, I must go. I need to hurry to the exam room on the fifth floor."

"Oh, right." Ainor nodded, seemingly understanding his intent.

Hyperion also hurried away alongside Lance. As she left, she stole a glance back and saw that Ainor had sat down beside Sophia and begun a quiet conversation. The atmosphere was gradually improving. For the prickly Sophia and the straightforward, clueless Ainor, only such a drastic measure could possibly nudge their romance forward.

She couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Lance, did you foresee that this was the only way to get them to open up and reveal their true feelings?"

Lance lowered his head slightly, let out a sigh, and smiled faintly. "No, I'm no love guru. Everything just happened naturally, falling into place on their own, that's all."

Having said that, he looked gently at Hyperion. "It wasn't exactly pleasant being stared down by Sophia, was it? You've had a rough time of it too, Hyperion."

Upon hearing this, Hyperion suddenly felt a sense of dread and began to wonder what exactly Lance's smile meant. Was it the innocent intent of a little angel, or the vengeful streak of a little devil? She really couldn't tell!

A thought suddenly crossed Hyperion's mind. If Lance happened to underperform in today's card maker exam, it wouldn't be a big deal.

But what if he actually got certified as a Silver card maker right then and there? Sophia would then recall her own outburst. "I'm seventeen, and I'm already a Silver Certified card maker... Why do you admire him so much, even though he hasn't yet obtained his registered card maker status, instead of paying more attention to me?"

She would be mortified in front of Ainor, the person she liked most, because Lance was only sixteen. And what if, just what if, Lance accidentally performed exceptionally well and secured Gold Certification, or even...

Hyperion didn't dare let her thoughts go any further!