Chapitre 59: 3-5

Of course, that was nowhere near enough to make the ladies give up on the idea. They kept pestering Yu Qingyu about it with their sweet-talking, until he could stand it no more, and promised that he'd try his best to arrange it. Only then he was able to get away.

As soon as he got out of the summer house, Yu Qingyu let out a long, tired sigh. Who would have thought that dealing with three young women could be so exhausting? Shouldn't noble ladies be more reserved and shy? Especially in front of a prince?

"Your Highness doesn't seem to like Lady Elowen very much?" Liu Wei asked all of a sudden, not even trying to hide the amusement in his voice. He's been observing Yu Qingyu carefully all this time, so he was able to easily pick up on the man's discomfort.

"Emm…" Yu Qingyu rubbed his neck, looking away. "It's not that I don't like her… It's just that I'm not interested."

"Hmm… Is that so?"

The silence fell between them. After a moment, Yu Qingyu secretly stole a glance at Liu Wei, to find, much to his surprise, the man staring into the distance, with a somewhat pensive look on his face.

"…Do you find that weird?" Yu Qingyu asked before he managed to bite his tongue.

"Huh? Find what weird?" Liu Wei raised his brows, surprised by the question. "That you're not interested in her at all?"

"Mn," Yu Qingyu nodded, biting his lip. Well, his question was actually about more than just Lady Elowen, but…

Liu Wei just shrugged his shoulders in response. "Not really. I don't think she's all that special either."

Just as Yu Qingyu thought that their short exchange was over, Liu Wei dropped another, much more difficult question on him. "What sort of person would Your Highness be interested in, then?"

"T-that…"

What was he supposed to say? 'Someone like you?'

Even just thinking about it made his whole face turn red!

"That is personal," he finally muttered. He didn't dare ask the question back, no matter how curious he was about how Liu Wei would respond.

Liu Wei didn't press any further. He just looked at Yu Qingyu scrutinizingly, before shrugging his shoulders and dropping the topic. He was just a guard, after all, he couldn't overstep his boundaries. Especially when he wasn't aware that his identity had been already discovered.

Yu Qingyu, on the other hand, pushed the thought to the back of his head. There were more important things he had to consider.

Having given up on befriending Lady Elowen, Yu Qingyu needed a new plan of action. As approaching the Duke seemed too intimidating, and the envoys a bit risky, he was left with the members of the royal family.

'Whom do you think I should speak to to find out more about the negotiations?' he asked 520, as he slowly strolled back through the gardens, in the direction of the castle.

[The Crown Prince would be the best choice. Prince Allen was close with all of his siblings, but his sisters don't participate in the negotiations, so their knowledge might be lacking, and their husbands are not that familiar with the prince, so they might be harder to converse with. The Crown Prince, on the other hand, is one of the leading figures during the negotiations. And he has always spoiled his little brother, so he is likely to answer all of your questions, unless it's strictly confidential.]

'Hmm… Then I'm going to try talking with him first. Where can I find him?'

[Most likely in his study.]

Yu Qingyu nodded his head and took a turn to the right. He already had the whole castle's layout transferred to him by the system, so he knew exactly where to go.

'By the way,' he addressed 520 again, as a new idea just came to his mind. 'Can I ask the Crown Prince to cancel the betrothal?'

[Technically you can, but Host, are you sure about it? It's the best, and so far only, way in which you can influence Duke Sethor.]

'Well, I'm most definitely not going to use Lady Elowen that way. Or any other way.' Yu Qingyu frowned, slightly annoyed by 520. 'Besides, I'm just going to ask him for now. It's not like we can just cancel a royal engagement in one day, now can we? I'm just trying to use it as a cover-up for Liu Wei, so that he doesn't figure out what my mission really is about.'

[That is not a bad idea.]

Hearing the system agree with him, Yu Qingyu smiled with satisfaction. 'By the way, why are you so intent on using Lady Elowen in the first place?'

[Because according to my calculations, that is the most optimal way to complete the mission. However, if Host is adamant about ignoring her, I can reanalyze the situation and come up with new suggestions.]

'Oh.' Yu Qingyu was slightly taken aback. He completely forgot about it, but 520 did indeed mention something about its ideas being based on analyzing the world's data. Back in Liu Wei's world, the actions he took, when he used He Miling's recommendation to enter the military base, that was all according to 520's suggestions. And back then, following the path recommended by the system, he received a perfect score…

Still, he decided not to do anything he was so uncomfortable with ever again. Not when it could hurt other people. So, he just sighed, and ruffled his hair. 'Yeah. If you can come up with different ideas, then please do.'

Even if other options were to be more time-consuming or difficult, or result in a lower score, so what. It would still be better than leading someone on.

With that in mind, he walked over to the Crown Prince's study.

The guard standing by the door bowed to him as he saw him coming close. "Your Highness."

Yu Qingyu acknowledged him with a small nod, and asked, "Is the Crown Prince busy?"

"He should be alone right now."

"Thank you," Yu Qingyu offered the guard a smile, and knocked on the door.

The guard was slightly taken aback. Since when did the royals thank him for doing his job? But he didn't say anything. If the Second Prince wanted to thank him, then who was he to stop him?

His reaction didn't escape Yu Qingyu's eyes. He gasped lightly, realizing his mistake, but soon fixed his expression. Small mistakes like that were unavoidable. Although he did receive the information about the etiquette, he was still unfamiliar with royal mannerisms… 'I hope that Liu Wei didn't notice anything,' he thought to himself, unaware that his identity had already been discovered a while ago.

He wanted to sneak a glance to check Liu Wei's reaction, but before he was able to do that, the voice came from behind the door.

"Enter."