'Is she… at the Lord realm?'

Lucien couldn't help but squint his eyes in surprise, as that was the only reason he could think of.

"Yeah, Clara. Don't go after her weak look. That is just her disguise. In fact, she is quite stro-"

"Okay, Miss Helena, I think it is time we go outside. Those guys aren't going to stop for long. If we delay further, they might just leave."

Just when Sera saw Lucien's doubt and was about to clear it up, she was strongly interrupted by Clara with a look.

"Cough… yeah, y-you are right. It is time we go outside."

Sera saw Clara's gaze and coughed to ease her embarrassment. Then, she looked at Lucien before inviting him out.

"Don't worry, this place is owned by me. So, everything is already arranged. Just… be careful."

She warned Lucien, as all those people outside were the top assassins and mercenaries who were at the Bellenford capital at this time.

Just to invite them here, she used up all the wealth given by Lucien and even promised weapons and gear as Lucien suggested.

So, even with protection, things could get quite dangerous.

"Don't worry, I know."

Lucien nodded at Sera, appreciating her suggestion.

Then as if to repay her, he directly grabbed her willow waist in her surprise before ordering Clara.

"Okay, lead the way. Let's start the meeting."

He said before walking out with flushed Helena in his arm and annoyed Clara behind.

But his gaze was already outside, piercing through the tower.

Specially at those multiple marks in his mind map pointing at multiple debtors, among which was even someone he didn't expect.

'Both father and son are here? Hehe… perfect. Let this place be your grave.'

Lucien thought with a cold gaze directed at a certain point piercing the wall in front.

Surprisingly, in his vision, he could see countless tiny markers moving to and fro in a certain formation all circling around one figure far at the corner…

…Viscount Aldren Lionheart!

Lucien never expected that his system ability, Debt Marker, would even work on the pets owned by debtors.

Moreover, unlike people like Aldren, they didn't occupy a debt marker slot.

Otherwise, with the vast army of insects before him, he wouldn't be able to mark them all, even with future upgrades.

'How convenient!'

Lucien thought as he diverted his eyes away from the point he was looking at just after exiting the room.

Since he knew someone who wanted to kill him was here, he naturally wouldn't be merciful.

As for their army of beasts scattered around the entire venue with unknown methods at their disposal, Lucien already had countermeasures ready.

'Maybe this time I might even awaken my Beast Master class.'

Lucien was thinking like this when suddenly he heard a faint voice of a female inside his head, as if an alarm.

'Boy, you better be serious about Princess Sera. If you are just playing around… I'll make sure you don't get to see tomorrow.'

Surprisingly, it was from Clara, who was looking at him with cold eyes hidden behind her disguise.

Seeing Sera being so happy with Lucien, she already felt that this guy had a special place in her heart.

But precisely so, she was afraid that Sera would be disappointed if Lucien was just playing around.

Maybe she would even shatter beyond repair if things went south.

That possibility really made her afraid.

So, she exposed a tiny bit of her power, directly transmitting her voice inside Lucien's head forcefully.

She wanted him to take this seriously, as she didn't want her princess to suffer from pain again.

'Heh… why don't you join her too? That way, you can keep an eye on me all the time.'

However, Lucien wasn't someone who took threats lightly.

'But to do that… you must release your disguise first and let me see your true figure, otherwise I will not accept you.'

Rather than promising her, he instead smirked at Clara and hugged Sera tighter while directly inviting her into his harem shamelessly.

So what if Clara might be someone in the realm of the Lord?

Lucien was sure that it wouldn't take long for him to have the equivalent power.

Besides, he didn't like taking threats like this.

So, he directly gave her a viable suggestion that would work.

To be honest, Lucien was quite merciful to her, wasn't he?

Seeing Lucien's smug and disdainful look while glancing at her, Clara was so annoyed that her face went black as the bottom of a pot.

'You dare!'

She was so mad that she wanted to wipe that smugness right here, but she had to hold back as they were already close to the stage where the meeting was about to take place.

'You are lucky that Sera likes you, otherwise...'

She thought, calming her anger. As long as he was good to her princess, she could still endure. But if he really did something that hurt her, then…

As for being his harem, she wasn't as gullible as Sera.

***

'Did he just… look at my pet?'

In a relatively concealed corner of the chamber, Viscount Aldren Lionheart slowly opened his eyes, clear confusion flickering across them.

The pet he was talking about was obviously the army of ants he sneakily scattered inside the entire chamber as soon as he came here.

Today, his mission was to kill Lucien, and he didn't want to make any mistakes.

That was why, rather than relying on others, he came here himself and mobilized the power of his beast companion, Crimson BroodQueen.

Those swarms of Crimson Ants scattered by him were the offspring of the BroodQueen, scattered on her command.

And as a beast master of the queen, Viscount Aldren could share perception with each of those Crimson Ants independently at any time he wanted.

Not to mention, each of those ants was quite intelligent on their own; smart enough to scout the area and send news back.

That was how he tracked Lucien's figure as soon as he exited that small tower at the center, heading to the stage.

But just when he left that tower, he felt that Lucien was actually looking at him directly.

Or rather, he was looking at his pets that were hiding in the cracks of the walls.

Of course, it was so fleeting that he doubted his own judgment.

'I think... it is an accident. He is just an apprentice realm kid. How can he find my babies? I am just tripping over nothing.'

Although Viscount Aldren felt uneasy all of a sudden, he put aside those feelings forcefully, stood up from his seat, and ordered the burly guy in front.

"Let's go. The show is about to start. I want to know what this brat is planning."

Before killing Lucien, he also wanted to know what scheme this son of Malcolm was cooking up.

After all, he was only human and was curious by nature.

Not to mention, he also needed to know if it was only Velmara behind him or if Malcolm was nearby as well.

Today, although he was going to kill Lucien, he absolutely couldn't let it slip. At least, he shouldn't leave any proof.

And for that, he even brought his prized possession, a peak rare-rank cloak capable of hiding his identity from anyone below Lord rank.

He was fully prepared.

At least he thought so.

***

"Why is it taking so long?"

"Tch...I knew it was just a play. Shouldn't have come in the first place. Waste of time."

"Hehe... don't make me laugh. Aren't you here just to get the free stuff like the rest of us? Why are you acting so noble all of a sudden?"

"...Yeah, why not leave then?"

"..."

While Lucien was slowly coming up on stage with Helena in his arms and Clara following behind, in the circular area surrounding the stage, a large group of people were busy making noise.

From how loud they sounded, they seemed impatient for the grand auction to begin.

Except, this was no grand auction, nor were they the regular customers of the Deevale Auction House.

Rather, judging by the black robes they all wore, each holding concealed weapons and keeping sharp eyes while maintaining their distance, it was clear they were the mercenaries and assassins group invited by Lucien.

Although most of them were complaining due to the long wait, throwing sarcastic lines at each other, not one of them left the place.

After all, they already took the entry reward from the Goldveil family to appear here, not to mention the remaining one they would get just by attending this meeting to the end.

They weren't foolish enough to leave after coming this far.

"Haha… this is surprising. I never thought even Lord Kurma would come today. For someone who is burdened with carrying the weight of the sun, coming to such a shady place…

"...tch, tch… I didn't expect…"

"I really didn't… believe me..."

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