Chapter 92 Royal City Banquet A cold gaze fell upon him...
"Having the princess's ownership at the banquet tonight" means that the princess will stay by Lucius's side throughout the entire banquet until it ends.
Shi Yu was still not used to this kind of long skirt, and in addition, he was shorter in this instance, and the skirt was too long and could easily be stepped on, so he had to lift the skirt when he walked.
As he lifted his skirt and walked toward Lucius, he felt a cold gaze fall upon him.
He knew who was watching him.
But he didn't dare to look up.
Fortunately, the action of "lifting his skirt" allowed him to naturally lower his head, avoiding direct confrontation with that gaze.
He didn't know why he didn't dare to look up.
At first, Shi Yu's live stream was full of question marks, but gradually everyone started to figure something out—
Do you think it's possible that Yu Yu's wife has already guessed that Lucius's identity is not simple, and that's why she's deliberately getting close to him?
【!! I think so too! Not just now, the fact that Yu Yu asked Lucius to pick her up for breakfast tomorrow morning before getting off the carriage shows that she had already noticed something was wrong with Lucius!】
[Yes! And Yu Yu went on a spending spree to boost Lucius's favorability at tonight's banquet; Yu Yu wouldn't do something for no reason.]
Amidst a serious discussion, a weak voice emerged—
Why do I seem to sense a hint of guilt in Yu Yu's gait?
[Hey girl, be bold, remove the "seems like" part!]
Yes, he was indeed feeling guilty, but why was he feeling guilty?
[Ugh, aren't you ashamed to date other men in front of your husband?]
[Tsk tsk, a wild man, tsk tsk, a date, tsk tsk, exciting!]
...
After the competition ended, the king announced the official start of the night's revelry. Lucis invited the princess to dance, and this time Shi Yu had no reason to refuse. Fortunately, he had crammed on the female steps the night before, so the dance went smoothly, though his body was a little stiff.
Are you nervous?
After dancing for a short while, Lucius paused his dance, his concerned gaze falling on Shi Yu's face, which was covered by a veil, before slowly settling on her dark eyes as he politely asked a question.
It's not nervousness.
It's because this is the second time he's danced the women's steps.
But Shi Yu cannot say that.
Her face was obscured by the veil, but the pink diamond on her forehead accentuated her flower-like skin. Her dark, clear eyes swept around before finally settling on Lucius.
"His Highness Lucius is incredibly charming. It's natural for me to be nervous with so many girls staring at me."
The tone of his voice was completely devoid of emotion, and the eyes that looked at him were calm and still, yet it inexplicably gave the impression that the owner was scolding him.
Lucius's throat tightened slightly, and after a few seconds he managed to stammer, "Don't be nervous."
That's simply ineffective consolation.
However, Shi Yu later discovered that the NPCs were indeed no longer watching this area.
Only one gaze remained, coldly fixed on him.
Shi Yu still didn't dare to look up.
After the two finished dancing, they found a place to sit down and chat. That cold gaze still seemed to be on Shi Yu's face, but Shi Yu ignored it.
After a while, it was Lucius who couldn't sit still any longer and spoke first: "Prince Suye has been watching you. Shall we invite him over?"
Shi Yu: "..."
Good to know.
Why ask?
This made Shi Yu very embarrassed.
"No, you're not invited." Shi Yu answered decisively, then his dark, clear eyes curved into a crescent moon. He gazed intently into Lu Xisi's eyes, his voice soft and sweet, "This entire banquet tonight belongs to you, doesn't it?"
Lucius paused for a moment before saying, "Alright, we won't call him."
Shi Yu took a sip of red wine and said with some regret, "The red wine in the palace is good, but I actually prefer the white wine from Château Limanteau. I was lucky enough to taste it once when I was a child, but unfortunately it is now discontinued."
Lucius didn't say a word, but simply beckoned someone over, whispered a few words, and soon the discontinued white wine was brought to them.
“It’s definitely out of print.” Lucius said as he placed ice cubes into the pale golden liquid, gently shaking it. The ice cubes made a crisp, pleasant sound as they hit the glass. “However, I happen to have collected a bottle of it.”
Shi Yu took a sip.
This wine is genuine.
Whether Lucius actually owned this bottle or for some other reason is unknown.
Throughout the entire dinner, Yu stayed by Lucius's side. Lucius was a gentleman, and the two simply chatted and sipped wine. Before they parted at the end of the dinner, Lucius asked him, "What would you like to eat tomorrow morning?"
"I'll prepare it," Shi Yu said with a smile. "Your Highness will come to see me tomorrow morning."
At the end of the second day's banquet, Shi Yu did not leave empty-handed. He confirmed from the talent show that Moses and Ron were Qin Ke and Mo Rugui, but he did not plan to make contact with them for the time being.
He has more important things to do now.
This is Lucis.
If he's a player, he's not simple.
If it's an NPC...
Then he might be more than just an NPC.
"High-level dungeons are the closest to the core of the game" can be understood as:
—The core gameplay elements are in the high-level dungeons.
So, could this "thing" actually not be an object at all?
Instead...
Where is that person?
.
The next morning.
Lucius arrived as promised, and Shi Yu had already prepared a sumptuous breakfast, but all the food was covered with silver lids.
"Your Highness, let's play a guessing game."
Shi Yu walked over with a smile, handed the menu to Lucis, and began explaining the rules of the game: "There are fifteen dishes in total, and all the names are written on the menu. You only have one chance per dish. If Your Highness guesses half correctly, I'll cover Your Highness's breakfast tomorrow morning. If Your Highness guesses two-thirds correctly, then I'll cover Your Highness's breakfast the day after tomorrow. If..."
Shi Yu paused here, and Lucius smiled slightly. He took a step closer to Shi Yu and finished her sentence: "What if I guessed everything correctly?"
"Your Highness is so confident?" Shi Yu smiled at Lucius with a smile, then turned serious. "If Your Highness guesses everything correctly, then I will do one thing for Your Highness unconditionally."
“Within my power…” Her eyes, more beautiful than jewels, gazed steadily at Lucius, and her sweet voice spoke slowly and clearly, “Anything.”
After a few seconds of silence, Shi Yu's live stream chat erupted—
[Oh my god! Yu Yu looks so tempting... no! It's the offer that's so tempting!]
[My heart stopped for a second. It's strange, I'm clearly heterosexual, but I was attracted to Yu Yu in women's clothing, so I guess I'm attracted to looks. But I'm indifferent to other beautiful women, so I think I must be attracted to Yu Yu!]
[Okay, thank you upstairs, I've also been officially diagnosed with homosexuality today.]
[So, is my wife testing me? Testing whether Lucius really has an omniscient perspective??]
[Is Yu Yu using himself as bait? Isn't he afraid that Lucius will make him do *something*?]
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
[Actually, I also suspect Lucius. This person isn't a player, but he's also different from other NPCs. It's possible he was sent by *.]
Be bold! I bet this Lucis is *'s clone!
"Can I smell it?" Lucis stood still and asked Shi Yu. Shi Yu shook her head and pushed him back. "No, and you have to stand at least a meter away."
Lucius looked down at his arm that was being held, obediently stepped back, and then his gaze fell on the silver lid. He thought seriously for a moment and said the name of the first dish.
Pan-fried cod.
The maid removed the silver lid, revealing that it indeed contained cod.
Shi Yu's heart sank.
"Rosemary Salt Baked Crab".
Salted salmon.
"Chanson Rose Mousse".
...
Then, for every dish Lucius named, a maid would remove a lid; he named all fifteen dishes correctly.
For a moment, the air seemed to freeze.
If Shi Yu weren't wearing a veil, you could see that his face was rather pale at that moment.
The same sentiment was shared in the live stream room.
[This...this was a self-destruction? So brave!]
So, is there really something wrong with this Lucius?
But this reward is really tempting; it's Yuyu doing something for him unconditionally!
"How did Your Highness manage to do that?"
The princess's soft, weak voice rang out.
For the first time, Shi Yu was grateful to the system for giving him this identity, because this face easily gave people a sense of simplicity and sincerity, and the feeling was even stronger when the voice was slightly softer.
"Your Highness...did you cheat?" Shi Yu continued to ask with sincere eyes.
“You didn’t say that cheating was not allowed,” Lucius said.
Shi Yu's heart sank again, but then she heard Lu Xisi's next sentence.
"Just kidding."
Lucius smiled and continued, "Actually, I sent a few people to the kitchen this morning. They reported to me in detail about every dish and the serving process. But I didn't mean anything by it. I was just worried that your people would be too busy, so I asked them to help. If you're angry, I apologize."
Shi Yu looked into Lu Xisi's eyes.
He wasn't sure if Lucius was lying.
After a long while, Shi Yu let out a soft breath, her voice still gentle and sweet: "Alright, a bet's a bet. What does Your Highness want me to do?"
Lucius fell into deep thought.
Finally, Shi Yu eased the tension by saying, "It's alright. If you can't think of anything now, just tell me when Your Highness has."
It's best to think about it again seven days later.
Because he had already left the instance at that time.
.
Meanwhile, in an ordinary teahouse within the royal city.
The God of War, Su Ye, his lieutenant Ron, and Prince Moses of the Green family were having morning tea around a table. Su Ye had organized the gathering, but he didn't say anything, so Moses pulled Ron aside to talk. Although they were just saying meaningless nonsense, it did ease the atmosphere a bit.
The God of War suddenly stood up, and the two who were talking also temporarily stopped their conversation.
The God of War walked to the window, looked at the scenery outside, and said, "The wind is picking up."
The two followed the God of War's gaze and saw that the leaves of the tall ginkgo tree not far away had turned golden yellow and were hanging motionless on the branches.
There was no wind at all.
Then both men froze in shock.
When they came to their senses and looked at the God of War again, their expressions had completely changed.
Shi Yu recognized Qin Ke and Mo Rugui at the banquet, and Shen Su also recognized them. The purpose of inviting them out for morning tea today was for this reason.
The wind is picking up.
There was no wind outside.
This means that reality and appearance are opposites.
For example, Qin Ke, who looks like a pretty boy, is transformed into a strong and powerful man like Ron; Mo Rugui, who doesn't like to talk, is given the persona of a chatterbox; and Shen Su, who is full of witty remarks, is restricted by the cold and taciturn shell of the God of War.
Only the elm tree is somewhat special.
Even their gender has changed.
Shen Su only knew that Shi Yu was a princess, but he did not know what Shi Yu's main quest was.
On the surface, Shi Yu's character seems better than the others.
But whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is hard to say.
However, Shen Su believed in Shi Yu.
Therefore, he did not stop Shi Yu from approaching Lucius at the dinner party.
Shi Yu wouldn't do anything meaningless. He chose Lucius's carriage, gave Lucius hundreds of roses, danced, drank, and chatted with Lucius... There was naturally a reason why he got closer to Lucius.
I can understand Shen Su.
But this has nothing to do with his dislike of Lucius.
The three met up, and the first thing they did was to exchange their main quests. Qin Ke spoke first: "I came here to participate in the princess's selection of a husband. My family told me that I must win the heart of the beauty."
Mo Rugui paused for two seconds, then nodded: "Unfortunately, that's what my family thinks too."
This time, it was Qin Ke's turn to be stunned.
Shen Su seemed to have anticipated this, and said without any emotion on his face, "The same."
A long silence fell over the tea table.
For other missions, a similar main quest would be more conducive to teamwork, but their main quest is different.
Whether it's a low-level, mid-level, or high-level dungeon, failing to complete the main quest will result in certain death.
The main mission for all three of them is to compete for the princess.
The princess... will only choose one of them.
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