Chapter 202: Undercover

Aria stood in front of Eren, her brow furrowed in a scowl that could have terrified her entire servants. Her fingers were aggressively snapping the silver buttons of his tailored coat into place, tugging each lapel with enough force to threaten the seams.

"Look at you," Aria muttered under her breath, her golden eyes blazing with fury. "Not even a shred of hesitation. The moment someone suggested walking into a den of prostitutes, you looked like a child handed a golden ticket. Have you no shame, Volsver?"

Eren stood completely still, his hands resting easily in his pockets, offering her an amused smile. "It’s called an operation, my darling. A true operative makes whatever sacrifice the mission demands—."

"A sacrifice?"

Aria’s fingers snapped around both sides of his crisp collar, tugging him down until his face was a mere two inches from hers. Her sweet breath fanned hot across his lips, her gaze narrowing into slits.

"Listen to me carefully, Eren," she purred in a dangerous, chilling whisper. "If you so much as let one of those harlots breathe on your collar, Baron Kiliyan won’t be the only one strapped to a chair in Seraphina’s dungeon tonight. Do I make myself abundantly clear?"

Eren chuckled, raising both palms in mock surrender. "Crystal clear, my future Duchess."

Before she could yank him again, Eren’s right hand slid smoothly out of his pocket, pulling out an exquisite silver hairpin tipped with a teardrop sapphire—one of the items he’d brought from the system.

With gentleness, he reached up, gathering a stray lock of her blue hair and sliding the pin snugly above her ear.

"Keep that on," Eren murmured, his tone dropping into affection. "No matter what happens out there tonight, don’t take it out."

Aria blinked, momentarily caught off guard by the stunning piece and the sudden, unvarnished intensity in his dark blue eyes. Her cheeks flushed a delicate, lovely shade of pink.

"If the two of you have finished your romantic talk," Seraphina’s dry, unimpressed voice echoed across the room, "we actually have an imperial abduction to do."

The moment shattered. Aria realized that Emily, Cinon, Seraphina, and Norelia had all been watching the display in dead silence. Her face flared crimson, and she shoved Eren back with a flustered, haughty huff, crossing her arms and turning away to inspect the corner wall.

Before Eren could tease her, a small tug on his coat caught his attention.

Standing beside him, Norelia looked up through her round spectacles, gesturing curtly with her chin. "Bend down, idiot. You’re too tall."

Eren obediently leaned forward, bringing his face level with the petite genius. Norelia reached out with two slender fingers, sliding a tiny, translucent silver clip onto the cartilage of his right ear.

"Don’t fiddle with it," Norelia instructed in an urgent whisper, her fingers lingering against his earlobe. "Mama developed the base matrix, but I modified it. It layers an optical and perceptual distortion field over your facial features. Anyone looking at you will see a wealthy, generic nobleman—even someone with high sensory mana won’t pierce through the disguise unless they physically touch your skin."

She pressed the clip firmly. A soft, microscopic chime rang in his ear, followed by a faint ripple of mana washing over his cheekbones like a breeze.

"And if you tap it twice," Norelia added, looking directly into his blue eyes, her cheeks puffing out with that familiar, adorable pout of pure concern, "it activates a synchronized five-way link. Emily, Cinon, Aria, the Princess, and I will be able to hear every breath you take. So don’t you dare try anything reckless in there."

Eren tilted his head, his lips curling into a soft, fond smirk as he looked at the tiny professor fretting over him.

"Perceptual camouflage and a direct audio lifeline," Eren murmured, his hand coming up to gently brush the side of her messy chestnut hair. "You really are an absolute miracle worker, Professor. What would I ever do without my genius?"

Norelia’s fiery red eyes went wide behind her lenses. A furious blush instantly consumed her pale cheeks, her breath hitching as she swatted his hand away with an embarrassed squeak.

"S-Stop babbling nonsense and get moving!" she huffed, desperately trying to sound intimidating. "Just... come back in one piece, you moron."

****

The luxury carriage rolled smoothly over the damp road of Zone B. It had a noble house crest that no one knew existed.

Inside, Eren sat comfortably across from Emily and Norelia, his posture relaxed despite the upcoming chaos.

Emily leaned forward, adjusting the silver earpiece nestled in her right ear.

"Baron Kiliyan won’t arrive for another thirty minutes," Emily instructed in a low, professional murmur. "Our scouts confirmed his eccentricities. Whenever he frequents the Velvet Rose, he reserves Suite 4 on the second floor and explicitly demands one specific courtesan. You must secure Suite 3 or Suite 5 immediately. No excuses, Lord Volsver."

"Suite 3 shares a contiguous outer balcony," Norelia chimed in, her tiny legs dangling off the plush bench as she tapped her own earpiece. "Princess Seraphina, Lady Aria, and Cinon are already positioning an unmarked extraction wagon in the blind alley directly beneath Suite 4’s window. Once you neutralize him, you throw him out into the cart. Quietly. Without shattering the masonry."

"Understood," Eren murmured, checking the cuffs of his coat. "What’s his security footprint look like?"

"Two personal retainers stick to his hip like shadows," Emily warned. "As for the brothel itself, it employs private muscle from the dockside syndicates. Try to avoid lethal force, Eren. Dead bodies in Zone B invite imperial inquisitors, and that is a bureaucratic headache none of us can afford."

A thoroughly unhinged smirk formed on Eren’s lips.

"Relax, Miss Emily," Eren said, resting his hand on the brass carriage latch. He met her gaze with eyes full of wicked innocence. "You know me. I’m peaceful at heart. I have never killed a single soul in my entire, virtuous life."

Emily stared back with a deadpan expression.

Eren pushed the carriage door open and stepped down into the cool, pungent evening mist of Zone B. The sun was already orange across the skyline, saying it was time for night. Ahead of him, glowing behind stained-glass windows and draped in lavish scarlet velvet, stood the Velvet Rose.

A faint static pulse echoed through his earpiece, followed by Seraphina’s voice.

"Cinon and I are in position at the rear alley," the Princess murmured directly into his ear. "Aria has the perimeter sealed. Move cleanly, Eren. Leave nothing behind that can trace back to us."

Eren raised two fingers, tapping the silver clip twice against his cartilage. "Loud and clear, Your Highness. Infiltrating the den of temptation now."

"Keep your hands in your pockets, Volsver," Aria’s icy, possessive whisper hissed through the channel, making him chuckle under his breath.

Eren adjusted his velvet lapels, threw his shoulders back, and adopted the haughty, languid gait of a spoiled young lord with too much inheritance and too few brain cells.