NOVEL WEB Chapter 105 - Mission
Lieutenant Chen considered the news of Little Lucy having a boyfriend to be just gossip, and he thought Prince Arthur’s reaction would be similar to his own. After all, Arthur had been quite the ladies’ man from his first to third year at university, only changing his ways in his fourth year.
So, Lieutenant Chen was taken aback by Arthur’s intense reaction. Not only did his expression turn serious, but the look in his eyes made Lieutenant Chen feel uneasy, causing him to tense up.
Prince Arthur didn’t ask Lieutenant Chen any further questions but immediately accessed his wrist communicator. Lieutenant Chen realized that Arthur was instructing someone to investigate the matter.
At this point, Arthur seemed to have calmed down. Besides the slightly heavy aura surrounding him, Lieutenant Chen couldn’t discern anything unusual from his face.
Arthur’s eyes appeared focused on the holographic screen, but Lieutenant Chen sensed that he was deep in thought. As a result, Lieutenant Chen refrained from speaking, fearing that he might interrupt Arthur’s contemplation.
Prince Arthur’s subordinates were highly efficient in gathering intelligence. In less than five minutes, Arthur received the relevant investigation report.
Arthur reviewed the report carefully while Lieutenant Chen restrained himself from speaking, waiting quietly.
It wasn’t long before Arthur looked up from the report. The content must have been brief, as he quickly addressed Chen.
“Zhuang Huiya is her cousin,” Arthur said lightly.
Zhuang Huiya?
This was an unfamiliar name to Lieutenant Chen. Since Little Lucy entered school, he had not kept up with her affairs, only knowing that she was very diligent and made full use of her talents.
Lieutenant Chen soon understood that since Little Lucy’s mother’s surname was Zhuang, Zhuang Huiya must be her cousin from her mother’s side, and Little Lucy’s rumored boyfriend was this cousin.
Lieutenant Chen felt a sense of relief; at least it wasn’t a boyfriend.
Even if Prince Arthur’s tone remained neutral and his expression as indifferent as before, Lieutenant Chen no longer thought that Arthur’s interest in Little Lucy was solely due to Atom’s favor.
Since returning to the Imperial Capital Star and after Little Lucy started school, Arthur had ceased to have Lieutenant Chen monitor Little Lucy, which led Lieutenant Chen to believe that Arthur felt his care for Little Lucy was adequate compensation for Atom’s life-saving grace. As long as Little Lucy was safe, there was no need to pay further attention.
He didn’t expect that he was very wrong. Prince Arthur had clearly assigned someone else to keep an eye on Little Lucy; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been possible to get such quick information about her at school.
But what was going on? Since the start of Little Lucy’s live broadcasts on Water Blue Star, Prince Arthur had never shown any unusual emotion.
During the return journey from Water Blue Star to Imperial Capital Star, Little Lucy had lived next to Prince Arthur on his command ship, but there was no private meeting between them.
When they finally met at the military space station on Imperial Capital Star, Arthur’s attitude towards Little Lucy was the standard superior-subordinate demeanor, with no hint of intimacy. So it was truly not his fault for being unaware.
Lieutenant Chen then recalled that their people had taken Zhao Fanni to a doctor, where she was subjected to hypnotic interrogation and provided quite a bit of fantastical information. Zhao Fanni had described a premonitory dream, or rather, it seemed like she had relived a past event.
They had obtained a lot of information from Zhao Fanni about the crises facing the Dagura Star System in the coming years. If this information proved to be largely accurate, she would have done a good deed.
However, regardless of whether Zhao Fanni’s premonitory dreams were true or not, the evidence of her involvement in the deaths of Little Lucy’s parents was already conclusive. If… it was unclear how Prince Arthur would deal with Zhao Fanni.
“Your Highness, you shouldn’t have any major issues with Little Lucy’s identity, right?” Lieutenant Chen couldn’t help but probe further.
Prince Arthur’s reaction to hearing that Little Lucy had a boyfriend earlier was quite surprising and could not be ignored. Lieutenant Chen’s aunt was very concerned about Prince Arthur’s romantic matters, so he wanted to confirm.
Before this, Lieutenant Chen had not found any woman who seemed truly compatible with Prince Arthur. By “compatible,” he didn’t mean issues of status, appearance, or temperament, but rather a sense of connection.
Whether it was women who were close to Prince Arthur, those considered well-matched noble ladies, or even potential marriage partners chosen by King Guga, Lieutenant Chen always felt that Prince Arthur and these women seemed to inhabit different worlds.
As for Little Lucy… Lieutenant Chen recalled their brief encounter at the military space station on Imperial Capital Star.
At that time, when Little Lucy and Prince Arthur’s gazes met for two seconds, he was standing nearby and observed this moment. He didn’t feel anything unusual then.
But now, looking back, he suddenly had a sense that when these two looked at each other, there was an intangible connection, as if they were from the same world.
The more Lieutenant Chen thought about it, the more he felt that Little Lucy and Prince Arthur were very well-matched.
Although Little Lucy’s background might be lacking, Mr. Atom had once done a great favor for Prince Arthur, and she could not be regarded as just any illegitimate child. Moreover, Mr. Atom had now gained the recognition of the Xi family and was no longer considered an illegitimate child.
Little Lucy’s cultivation potential and talent were enough to offset her background deficiencies. Her character was excellent, and her intelligence and emotional quotient were both high.
King Guga also valued capability over family background, so if His Highness was genuinely interested in Little Lucy, he could certainly settle down with her, especially since Little Lucy was now an adult.
In the outside world, even if the current rumor about Little Lucy were false, it didn’t mean she wouldn’t develop feelings for another man.
Prince Arthur did not avoid Lieutenant Chen’s question. His expression grew heavy again, and he seemed to be caught in a rather troubling emotion before finally saying, “Considering all the information now, we can basically confirm what situation we are likely to face in a few years. What she should focus on now is cultivating and studying, improving her cultivation speed as quickly as possible.”
“And I have my own mission,” Prince Arthur’s voice was somewhat hoarse.
Talking about the challenges they would face, Lieutenant Chen felt a heavy, wordless burden.
All of them would have to rely on their own abilities to navigate life and death crises. Apart from desperately working on their cultivation to increase their survival capabilities, there was no other way.
Since returning from Water Blue Star, Prince Arthur had turned into a workaholic and cultivation fanatic, with rest time reduced to half of what it used to be—there was simply no time for romance or leisure.
“At the very least, let her know your feelings,” Lieutenant Chen said in conclusion.
Anyway, no one has time for romance right now, so it’s better to secure the person first.
It’s not that he overestimates his cousin; with Prince Arthur’s current status, position, and character, who in the entire Blue-Black Empire could surpass him? As long as Little Lucy knows Prince Arthur’s feelings, it’s only a matter of time before she likes him. This way, there’s no need to worry about her falling for someone else.
“She’s not likely to be interested in those young boys,” Prince Arthur said, very certain.