CH320 Bringing Home the Princess

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Alex returned to his accommodation to find an unfamiliar woman standing by his door.

The woman was tan-skinned, dressed in a fitted business suit, and carried an enticing yet mature air — one accentuated by the small mole at the corner of her lip.

Alex frowned and was about to ask who she was when his eyes were drawn downwards... to a rather familiar pair of distinctive mounds.

Realisation dawned.

He nodded at the woman, unlocked the door, and gestured invitingly.

"Please, come in."

"Is this how you open your doors to any woman you meet?" she asked, raising a brow over the rim of her glasses.

"But you are not any woman, are you?" Alex smiled knowingly. "Isn't that right, Lady Eleanor?"

A flicker of surprise crossed the woman's eyes before she composed herself and stepped inside.

Alex closed the door behind them and headed to the kitchen to fetch drinks, while the woman drifted toward the table where several documents were laid out.

Though she knew better, she couldn't resist glancing at the top page when she caught the heading

'Finance Institution Development Plan.'

She found herself so engrossed that she didn't notice Alex's return until his voice cut through her thoughts.

"Do you like what you read?"

"Ah!" She jumped, stepping back from the table. "I'm sorry!" she said quickly, flustered.

"No problem. If I wanted to keep it hidden, I wouldn't have left it out in the open."

Alex smiled and offered her one of the cups — herbal tea for her, milk with honey for himself.

"So," he asked, settling opposite her, "who will I be speaking with today? Lady Eleanor Ludevicus... or will you be maintaining your guise as Ms Navia?"

She sighed softly, then pressed the bracelet on her right wrist.

In an instant, her appearance changed — skin turning fair, features softening, brunette hair fading to blonde, and brown eyes brightening into imperial blue.

Lady Eleanor Ludevicus.

The brown-skinned brunette from before had been none other than the Imperial Princess's alter ego within the DragonHold Enclave — Navia Almion.

"How did you know it was me?" Eleanor asked, her tone a mix of curiosity and faint irritation.

Alex's lips twitched.

Although the disguise artefact did an excellent job of altering her face and complexion, there was one thing it couldn't quite conceal.

Her bust.

Cough. Rather… her physique.

It merely altered her appearance — her physique, however, remained the same.

Though Eleanor had taken further precautions to veil it, not everything could be hidden.

Certainly not from Alex's Truth-Seeker eyes, which instantly caught the large truth her best efforts couldn't conceal.

Of course, he couldn't exactly tell her that.

A quick thought crossed his mind.

"Let's just say," Alex said casually, "I can always recognise important people I meet — especially someone like you, who left quite a... big impression."

The woman blinked, slightly confused, but accepted his words with a small nod.

"Did you write this?" she asked, steering the conversation back to more pressing matters.

"Hmm." Alex nodded.

"How did you come up with it?"

"I was having a discussion with Master Pinchcoin," Alex began, "about how much profit his department expects from the Golden Palace's auction — and whether it's worth hosting more of them. He quoted a ridiculous figure, and I couldn't quite fathom how such massive funds could even be move here.

"After he explained the cumbersome methods they would be used, I thought there had to be a simpler way. The plan you're holding is my preliminary idea."

"The Bank written here?" Eleanor asked, holding up the paper.

"It's essentially an improvement of an existing service provided by large merchant companies," Alex replied. "As you know, they accept deposits from major clients, allowing those clients to access their funds at any branch across the Empire. It's a convenient way to trade, but there's one glaring issue—"

"The deposit can only be used within that particular merchant company," Eleanor interrupted smoothly. "Merchants won't allow the service to be used just for their customers to spend the money elsewhere. It would be bad business."

"Exactly." Alex smiled, pleased by her quick understanding. "That's where my bank comes in. It's a standalone institution — independent of any merchant house — that accepts, holds, and transfers coin or any other legal tender or item of value.

"It can be used by anyone, not just within the Empire, but across the entire continent of Arun.

"And once the system matures," he continued, eyes glinting with quiet excitement, "it won't even need to deal in physical currency. Transactions could be made simply by transferring value between accounts — seamlessly, safely, without the burden of carrying money on one's person, whether large or small."

"Fascinating." Eleanor's eyes gleamed with interest. "How would you guarantee that funds deposited in one branch — let's say the Capital — would be available in another, like the Enclave? How would you prevent fraud or falsified transactions? And wouldn't the banks themselves become targets for theft...?"

She fired off a series of sharp questions that struck right at the core of the concept.

Unfortunately for her, Alex simply smiled — saying nothing.

Realisation dawned on her almost immediately. She had overstepped. Alex had no obligation to explain his idea in detail. The fact that he had shared even this much was already more than courtesy.

"I apologise. I let my curiosity get the better of me," she said quickly.

"Not a problem. It happens to the best of us." Alex smiled lightly and gestured toward the chairs. "Please, have a seat. So—what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? I was under the impression that my offer had already been rejected."

Eleanor hesitated, her gaze flickering toward the stack of documents Alex had neatly moved aside. Despite herself, curiosity still lingered in her eyes.

Eventually, she turned back to him and shook her head.

"That wasn't the case. I was... investigating you," she admitted. "I hadn't taken the time to look into you personally before. You were simply a means to an end back then. But with how things have changed, I needed to understand who I'm dealing with—especially if we're to become partners, as you proposed."

"And?" Alex asked calmly, taking a measured sip from his cup.

"You're an enigma," she said with a wry smile. "Not much is known about you—aside from what you choose to make public. You're too much of a recluse."

"I won't deny that," Alex replied. "Most of my time is consumed by research, so I'm rarely in the public eye. But it's not as though I hide entirely. What makes you so sure the version of me that people see during the times I am out and about isn't the real me?"

"Because I've seen it too many times," Eleanor said, leaning back slightly. "Members of the nobility—especially those in power—are often not who they appear to be. Their public persona is just a mask, a means to win hearts and advance their ambitions.

"And from what I've gathered about you," she continued, her voice steady but probing, "you seem to fit that same mould. You maintain a good reputation so you can use people when it suits you."

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