Chapter 53: The catch (1/2)
Following the prince's steps, Layn felt as if both of the handmaidens that served him before were intentionally breathing on his neck. Right now, it was already their kindness not to poke him with their hidden weapons at all times just to remind the intruder what was his position in presence of a royal descendant.
'Thank God… I don't think I would be able to handle the drawbacks of actually defending myself if they were to attack…' Looking at those pitiful girls with more of a pity than a hostility, Layn forced himself to drop their existence out of his mind.
Even if they were to make a move, his instincts would alert him about it either way. Tuned towards rapid movements rather than a specific aura, Layn was long past the point where he would have to be wary of such small fries. And with this solution, he didn't need to worry about those girls bothering his mind anymore.
”Yuck!” Barely managing to stop himself from uttering a slight moan of pain, Layn instantly moved his head to the side. With an innocent look on her face, Irea pretended as if she wasn't the one to send a painful nudge to his side for a moment, before whispering in a soft voice.
”What are you planning? Didn't you cause enough problems for me and my friends already?” Getting so close to the archmage that a random observer would already take them for a cuddling couple, Irea asked.
'I guess she's still worried about this situation… Well, can't blame her for that.' Layn was perfectly aware that if his actions were to be fully revealed to the public before the first effects of his plan would show, his life would turn miserable. Even if he could easily run away from this city, there was no telling just how far the influence of the local royalty reached, making it hard for him to even plan for a potential escape.
But rather than making the archmage falter, this tense situation he put himself in only served to reinforce his determination to pull the entire thing up without a fail.
”Okay, it will be hard for anyone to listen up on our conversation… But we need to remain on the move.” Not daring to stop his steps, the prince casually informed the duo following him before turning his head to the back and sending a wink to the archmage. ”Even being the third prince has its own drawbacks. Don't you dare to think it's all luxury and leisure.”
Turning his head back to face the direction he was going, the prince waited for a moment before turning his head again. ”You may speak openly now. I'm all ears.”
”Your highness…” While the entire schematic for the discussion was long finished deep in Layn's thoughts, it was still necessary for him to infuse some of his theatric talents into his words. ”Right now, in order to fully activate the treasure, I need a hundred grade one spirit stones. It would be even better to just use two or three grade two stones… But I dare not make such great demands.”
While attracting the prince's attention was the potentially worst part of the entire scheme, elaborating on the price of the projects was the moment with the highest risk of the plan falling apart. 'Well, there is no need for me to worry even if this spoiled kid refuses.' With his eyes glued to the prince's back, Layn could barely spark any amount of care for the matter. 'In the end, if not through the academy, I'm sure I could establish my business anywhere in the city… which could actually be an easier feat than what I'm trying to do now.'