Chapter 160: The Unexpected Quest(4)

"When I think back on it, that day was incredible. His highness was a total maniac!"

Luke was stunned and frozen as he looked at Marcel's nostalgic expression. What Marcel just told him was not in the novel, and now that he knows, he has to agree with Marcel that Lance was a total maniac as a child. Luke then posed a question to Marcel.

"How come your scar is still there if his highness gave you a healing potion?"

Marcel came to a halt and smiled broadly.

"I didn't drink the potion."

Luke's brow furrowed.

"Why?"

"Because scars are cooler than paper contracts, and I also want to keep this scar as a reminder and show it off to the kids on the streets."

Luke blinked as he stared at Marcel. He was completely taken aback by his response; he had no idea Marcel's scar, his distinguishing feature in the novel, was caused by such a trivial reason.

When Luke heard Lance sigh beside him, he flinched.

"I got punished because this idiot showed up with a bloodied eye, and those kids immediately snitched on me that I was the one who caused it."

Luke slowly turned his head towards Lance, who was drinking his wine calmly beside him. This dude next to him was a total monster when he was eight years old; imagine what he can do now that he's 24... Luke doesn't even want to think about it.

Lance eventually noticed Luke's stare and grinned, causing Luke to flinch.

"Are you finally afraid of me?"

Luke's spine tingled, and he scooted away from Lance instinctively. Lance noticed this and decided to tease him a little by moving closer to him, causing Luke to move even further away from him until he reached the edge of the couch. Luke frowned as he watched Lance get closer and closer to him. Luke frowned and moved his gaze away from Lance's approaching face.

"Y-your highness, you are too close; could you please move away a little?"

"Why? Aren't we brothers? We're supposed to be the best of friends. Don't be afraid."

Luke's brow furrowed.

'How could I not when you're so close?'

While Luke was in an awkward position, he didn't notice Marcel staring at them with a blank stare. Marcel simply stared at the two in front of him, his eyes twitching with annoyance.

"Can't you two wait until I get out?"

Luke and Lance came to a halt and stared blankly at Marcel. Marcel then looked at them, perplexed.

"What's the deal with you two staring at me like that?"

Lance's eyes narrowed and he spoke coldly to Marcel.

"Shut up."

Marcel just shrugged his shoulders. He then spoke once more.

"Anyway, now that I recall. Luke, you are the first person to ever corner His Highness."

Luke's head cocked to the side.

"What exactly do you mean by that? Nobody had ever done it before?"

Marcel shook his head at him.

"If anyone did that, their heads would be rolling in an instant. But you managed to stay alive after you just threatened and bargained with his highness. I was there, and let me tell you that when you left that room on Noah's wedding day, his highness's face was so dark that he could murder anyone on sight. You irritated him but still managed to survive! What a miracle!"

After hearing what Marcel had just said, Luke's lip twitched. He then wants to express his gratitude to the novel for providing all of the cheats and information he needed to survive Lance's murderous intent. Even if he had ten lives that day, Lance would kill him over and over until he was dead.

When Luke noticed Lance staring at him, he gulped and turned his head away. Following that, he heard Marcel speak again. Marcel sure is talkative.

"After you entered his highness's life, I noticed his highness slowly changing. I'm not sure if it's for the better or for the worse because he appeared softer than usual-"

"Marcel."

"...However, I believe he has changed for the better. That's right, hmm hmm! Also, I noticed him blushing earlier at the banquet; would you mind telling me what happened?"

Luke fixed his gaze on Marcel's enquiring expression in front of him. By the way he speaks, Marcel resembles the gossip girls on the streets. His appearance and personality are a far cry from his portrayal in the novel as the King of the Underworld. Luke then spoke slowly.

"It's because Nash and Snow referred to him as 'papa.'"

Marcel became unusually quiet and blinked several times. Marcel then directed his finger at Luke.

"Don't those kids already call you 'Dad?'"

"Yes."

"Then why... Oh, wait, is this..."

Lance then stepped in.

"I'm their Godfather."

"Oh, I see..."

Marcel then nodded briefly before smiling slyly. Lance frowned, while Luke was perplexed by Marcel's sudden sly smile. Marcel saw Luke's perplexity and waved his hands at him.

"It's nothing. By the way, speaking of the banquet, I saw what you did earlier, young master."

After that, Luke was deafeningly quiet. He understands what Marcel is saying; he's referring to the time he saved the maid from a fall. Then Luke sighed.

"It's purely coincidental-"

Shing!

Luke paused his speech and quickly moved his hands to grab the dagger that was approaching his face at breakneck speed. Luke managed to keep the dagger inches away from his face, preventing it from piercing his skull.

'Wait, what happened?'

Luke slowly lowers the dagger and stares at Marcel with wide eyes. Then he noticed Marcel smiling at him.

"As expected, that scenario earlier was no coincidence unlike you said, young master. You've honed your reflexes."

Luke cast a quiet glance at Marcel. The silence was deafening until Marcel spoke again.

"Don't worry, your highness, I was just testing him, so could you lay down your sword?"

Lance glared at Marcel, pointing the tip of his sword at his neck. When Marcel threw the dagger, Lance quickly drew his sword and pointed it at Marcel's throat. Because he knew Marcel would pull such nefarious stunts, he kept a sword beside the couch he was sitting on.

"I believe I already warned you about this before allowing you to appear, Marcel."

Marcel then raises his hands and looks at Lance.

"Relax your highness, I told you I was just testing him."

"What nonsense, you were attempting to murder him."

"Because he has honed skills and is of unknown origins, we cannot risk him being a spy. His knowledge of forbidden information is also a source of concern."

Luke stared silently at the two men in front of him, both of whom were looking at each other with threatening expressions. Luke then sighed and raised his hand to reach towards Lance's ear and begins to pull it which caught Lance's attention.

"Put down the sword."

Lance looked at him silently for a few seconds before lowering his sword. Marcel let out a relieved sigh, and Luke let go of Lance's ear. Luke then sat up straight and looked Marcel in the eyes.

"So you thought I was a spy?"

"Correct."

"And for what kingdom?"

"That's what I'm attempting to figure out."

"Don't bother, it's pointless."

Marcel's eyes narrowed as he looked at Luke.

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's because I am a wandering no-name."

After Luke said that, Marcel fell silent.

A wandering no-name, the people who are born from the outside or was abandoned since birth without even receiving a name. They are society's worthless individuals. They have no home, no name, nothing. They are born wandering in different places where their feet take them, so the mercenaries don't bother gathering information about them, nor do they intend to. So that explained his origins, but something still bothered him.

"What about the data you had?"

Luke paused for a few seconds before speaking.

"I used to wander around everywhere back then, going from places where the sun shines the brightest to the coldest parts of the world where no light from the sun shines through. As a result, I constantly overhear a lot of gossip and secret information from people in the market, to spies gathering to exchange information."

Marcel fell silent and began to gently shake his wine glass. Luke locked his gaze on him before speaking again.

"I hit my shot at becoming a maid under the Viscellete's after I named myself and after I saved up enough money to return to society. As for my reflexes, I believe you already know how I honed them."

Marcel sighed as he looked down at the floor. He then raised his arms in the air once more to demonstrate his defeat.

"All right, you got me. I'm sorry for hurling a dagger at you. You had a rough time, didn't you?"

Luke sighed in relief internally and nodded at Marcel. It was only because of the information he gleaned from the novel and his slick tongue that he was able to escape this predicament. He was even proud of himself for being able to concoct such lies on the spot.

But the thing is, some parts of those weren't lies at all.

'My tongue can be frightening even to me at times.'

Luke shook his head and sighed lightly. He flinched again when he noticed Marcel staring at him intently. While looking at him, Luke cocked his head to the side. Marcel then grinned.

"Hey, young master. I heard you're planning a trip to the eastern continent soon."

"Yes."

Marcel then clapped his hands, while Luke looks at him puzzled.

"Great, would you mind accepting a mission while you're at it?"

Lance frowned deeply.

"What bullshit are you making up again?"

Marcel waved his index finger at Lance as if to tell Lance he was wrong.

"No, no, your royal highness, this mission comes from the empress of the Eastern Continent."

While looking at Marcel, Luke and Lance became quiet. Before speaking, Luke blinked a few times.

"Wait, what exactly do you mean by empress?"

"That's exactly what I said. This comes directly from the empress."

"...And you want me to be in charge of that mission?"

'Are you mad?'

Luke refrained himself from saying the last words and just looked at Marcel giggling at him.

"The empress wants you to do this; all she wants is for me to relay the message to you."

"...What? Me?"

In disbelief, Luke pointed at himself. Lance just frowned at him, and Marcel just nodded repeatedly.

"Correct!"

"W-why not just ask you? You are the mercenary here, not me."

"Well, the mission doesn't really suit our abilities."

"What exactly do you mean?"

Marcel chuckled as he scratched his head.

"The goal of this mission is to persuade the empress's daughter to return to her."

------

After hearing the mission's full contents from Marcel, Luke rubbed his face and massaged his temples. While in the midst of a crisis, Marcel simply smiles at him, while Lance shakes his head and looks at Luke with pity.

"All right, let me get this straight..."

Luke groaned and explained the mission's summary.

"So, now that the empress has learned that I am no longer a commander and also free from kingdom duties, she took advantage of the opportunity and directed you to tell me to persuade her daughter to return to her..."

Marcel gave a nod.

"Yes, yes, yes."

"And her daughter is... Currently sailing the seas with... Pirates..."

"You are correct."

"So she wants me... to persuade her daughter, who is with the pirates, who are notorious for being bloodthirsty... to return."

"Yep, uh-huh."

Luke closed his eyes shut. He then sighed and spoke in a hushed tone.

"Am I allowed to say no?"

"No."

Luke scowled, frowning deeply at Marcel, who continued to smile at him.

"How come I can't say no?"

"Because I told the empress that you said yes."

"...What?"

Luke stood up and was about to stab Marcel with the dagger he had thrown at his face earlier, but Lance grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

"Hey, hey, relax."

Luke then cast a cold gaze over his shoulders at Lance.

"I am calm, your highness."

"No, you are not; now put down the dagger."

Luke's eye twitched in irritation as he looked at Lance, who was staring at him while holding his shoulders. When Lance saw that Luke had no intention of laying down the dagger, he reached for it and snatched it from Luke's grasp.

"Return to your seat."

Marcel looked at what is happening while being curled into a ball on his sofa. Earlier, Luke's face was so horrifying that Marcel thought he was looking at a deadly ghost, scaring him and causing him to curl up into a ball. Marcel sighed in relief as he saw Lance guiding Luke back to the sofa.

"Thank you for your assistance, your highness."

Lance then locked his gaze on Marcel.

"I almost let him stab you if I hadn't remembered you have your uses."

"How cruel..."

Marcel made an upset face, he felt like he is being picked on by two bullies at school. Marcel simply sighed and brushed his hair back.

"Look, I'll explain. When I heard you were going to the East, I assumed you'd say yes because you'd be able to complete the mission while traveling with Klein."

Luke then cast a cold glance at Marcel.

"Your reasoning is sound, but do I appear to be the type of guy who does persuasion and missions?"

Marcel pursed his lips and looked at Luke from head to toe.

"...Perhaps not."

"I'm going to murder you."

"Relax! Fine! I'll assist you in getting to her in some way!"

Luke's eye twitched as he continued to stare at Marcel. His rage towards this person had been building up for some time.

'Calm down... Think of the positive aspects of this mission... The positive aspects...'

Luke sighed deeply and turned to face Marcel.

"What are the rewards?"

Lance's tongue clicked while he whispered.

"I knew it..."

Luke ignored Lance's voice and concentrated on Marcel, who appeared stunned by what he had just said. Marcel finally snapped out of it and spoke after a few seconds.

"W-well, the empress says you can ask for whatever rewards you want."

"Really?"

Marcel gave a nod.

"Yes, the empress herself stated that she will grant you whatever you desire."

Luke leaned back on the couch and gazed up at the ceiling. He then sighed deeply. Since he's heading east anyway, it can't hurt to stop by for a bit on the way, right?

'I am sure Klein would understand.'

"All right, I'll do it."

"Great, now let me make arrangements for you to meet them-"

"No, I'll find a way on my own. Instead, give me their ship routes and crew member information."

Marcel came to a halt and stared in disbelief at Luke. Luke then cocked his brow at him.

'It seems that that is not enough huh...'

"Also, give me 20 billion to make up for the time you tried to kill me and accepted a damn mission without my consent."

"O-okay-"

"On second thought, let's go with 40."