Chapter 210: Viktor’s Secret

"That’s right! I’ve been saying that this whole time!"

"This is the first I’ve heard of it."

"You were too busy eating to listen to anything anyone was saying!"

"Food is the single most important thing in life!"

"I don’t care about your ridiculous philosophy!"

This was getting completely out of hand. Could they really start eating in the middle of all this?

"All right, all right. Don’t get so worked up. Come eat with us. Might as well bring that prince over there too."

At Igor’s words, the female knight called Arana suddenly glared sharply at him.

"How do you know that!?"

"Huh? Know what?"

"That he is... a prince!"

Arana lowered her voice when she said the word "prince," but did she really think that was enough to keep it a secret? The prince’s dazzling presence was impossible to hide.

More importantly, Igor had only thrown out the word as a joke. He could have simply ignored her reaction, but by latching onto it so obviously, he had only made himself look suspicious.

"Ah... I guess that was just a figure of speech, right? Huh? Wait, is he actually a prince? No way, right?"

Igor tried to bluff his way out of it with an almost completely monotone delivery.

Qiu Nuoya hoped Arana would simply read the room and say something like, "As if he were a prince!"

Instead, Arana drew her sword with a smooth motion.

"Now that you know their identities, I cannot allow you to leave."

"Hey! What are you doing in a place like this!?"

"It is my duty to protect the two of them. Now that you have discovered their identities..."

"Wait, wait, wait! Everyone, calm down for a second! If we start fighting here, we’ll cause trouble for the restaurant. Besides, this doesn’t seem like the kind of conversation we should be having in a place like this. Let’s go somewhere else, okay? That would be better!"

Qiu Nuoya quickly put the dishes that had been brought to them into his Magic Bag. Since they had caused a disturbance, he paid a little extra before leaving the restaurant.

Although Qiu Nuoya had suggested changing locations, they had only arrived in the city that day, and they had come here specifically because they intended to find a new inn. They had not decided where to stay yet.

Besides, there were quite a lot of them now, so even if they wanted to have a leisurely conversation, walking down the street together attracted far too much attention.

The most conspicuous among them was, naturally, the prince.

There was something different about him. The moment he appeared, he seemed to radiate a dazzling aura that made him stand out from everyone else.

In terms of appearance alone, Viktor was just as handsome and dazzling, but somehow, the two of them gave off completely different impressions. ℯℯ𝑙.

Perhaps it was because even though the prince’s clothes were deliberately plain, it was painfully obvious that everything he wore was extremely expensive.

I guess princes really do have a presence that’s completely different from ordinary people.

"Hey, Taotao. Did you get shorter? It’s hilarious how you haven’t changed at all in the past three years! Are you actually growing? And you’re still wearing that school uniform? How many years are you planning to keep wearing that thing? It looks so lame!"

Shangguan Wan’er had been pestering Xiao Tao ever since they left the restaurant.

Xiao Tao kept trying to interrupt her with things like "Um..." and "Well...", clearly wanting to say something, but there was no sign of Shangguan Wan’er’s barrage of chatter stopping anytime soon.

The two did not seem to have a bad relationship, but the difference in their positions was obvious at a glance. Qiu Nuoya could easily imagine that Xiao Tao had been getting dragged around by his childhood friend like this all along.

"Have you decided where you will be staying tonight? Standing around talking here seems rather inconvenient. If you would like, why don’t you come stay at our inn?" The dazzling prince spoke to them in a friendly manner.

In stark contrast, the female knight Arana, who had introduced herself as Shangguan Wan’er’s bodyguard, immediately stepped in front of the prince. She continued glaring at them, her guard seemingly raised to the absolute maximum.

"Your highness, please stop trying to casually invite such suspicious people into your presence!"

"Hmm... But I do not think they are complete strangers to me either. Isn’t that right, Uncle Viktor?"

"...Eh?"

At the prince’s words, Qiu Nuoya instinctively turned toward Viktor.

Viktor wore an expression as though he had just bitten into something extremely bitter. With a heavy sigh, he said, "You noticed?"

"I have a good memory, you see. I never forget the face or name of someone I have met before."

"Quite an impressive memory. If I recall correctly, the last time I met you in person was when you were still a small child."

"Hahaha. You have become quite famous as a Rank A adventurer, Uncle, haven’t you? I noticed that you also participated in the dragon subjugation quest three years ago. I was there too."

"I know. At the time, you were so absorbed in that young lady over there that you did not pay any attention to me."

"Back then, you pretended not to notice me and never spoke to me. I simply missed my chance to approach you as well."

Viktor continued conversing calmly with the prince.

Qiu Nuoya could hardly believe that the two of them knew each other.

What kind of relationship do these two have?

"What? Lucien, you know that handsome man?"

"Rather than simply knowing each other, we are related. Wanwa , you have met Cassian, our Minister of General Affairs before, haven’t you? He is the minister’s son."

!?

The prince’s words shocked not only Shangguan Wan’er, but Qiu Nuoya and the others as well. Everyone turned toward Viktor in disbelief.

Wait, what!? Nobody told me! Nobody told me that Viktor was the son of a minister!