Chapter 73: Prince Ba Lie Si

"What's wrong?" Seeing his subordinates hesitating, the knight in charge walked over.

"Captain, look at these two," a soldier whispered in his ear. "They don't seem like ordinary people."

Nalong glanced up, taking in the handsome young man and the beautiful girl. They were indeed dressed in very opulent attire, but he couldn't believe that any high-ranking nobles would come to a roadside snack shop like this. They must just be wealthy merchants from out of town, here in the capital to do business.

They seemed quite rich...

Greed stirred in Nalong's heart. Moreover, that girl, though her face was veiled, had an absolutely stunning figure. The officer's lust began to stir as well.

"What are you two doing here? Do you have proper identification?"

Nalong was scheming about how to extort them. Under the table, Xu Feng gently grasped the girl's soft, slender hand. It was trembling slightly. Though Arola had a strong personality, she was now rather frightened. She had seen that portrait earlier—*those despicable slave merchants, still they wouldn't let her go?*

She hadn't expected *the slave traders* to have such influence, even able to mobilize the City Guard for a search. If she were discovered...

"Don't be afraid!"

Xu Feng used magic to thread his voice into a line, sending it directly into Arola's ear. Though it was just a simple reassurance, the young princess's heart gradually settled.

This young man, who often bickered with her, this infuriating fellow who frequently made her flush with fury—yet now, his hand felt so warm, his shoulders so broad, as if she could safely lean on him. Xu Feng gave her a wonderful sense of security.

"Xiaoya, have some food."

Xu Feng served the young princess a slice of meat. From beginning to end, he didn't even glance at the City Guard, treating them as if they were air. Such arrogance was truly extreme. The other diners were holding their breath in fear for this young man, yet the other side didn't make a move.

Nalong was no fool. Though he was shameless, he was also quite cunning. Otherwise, as a mere low-tier upper-rank knight without even Battle Aura, he would never have risen to the position of platoon leader. The guy had some small cleverness.

Earlier, he had been blinded by greed and lust. But now, seeing the young man act so arrogantly, he calmed down instead. *He wouldn't dare act like that without strong backing.* If the other party had no backing, how would they dare to disregard him like this?

"Young master, you are..."

Xu Feng couldn't be bothered to talk to him much. He touched the spatial ring he carried, took something out from it, and placed it on the table. It was a small badge with a unique pattern—a blood rose reborn from flames. This was the family crest Xu Feng had designed after being granted the title of Viscount.

"L-Lord Viscount."

Nalong was startled and secretly relieved. Luckily, he hadn't acted impulsively earlier. Xu Feng—that was a man of great influence in the capital. He was just a small platoon leader; how could he afford to offend such a prominent noble?

"Get lost!"

"Yes, thank you, my lord."

"Wait!"

Nalong stopped, turned around, his face full of respect. "May I ask, what other instructions do you have?"

Xu Feng, in his lifetime, most despised such bullies who fawned on the powerful and flattered their superiors. Yet now, he had no choice but to patiently ask him.

"Who is the woman in this portrait? Who ordered you to search everywhere?"

"This..." Nalong hesitated. In principle, he shouldn't leak confidential information. But first, he wanted to curry favor with this new noble of the capital. Second, he never dreamed in his wildest dreams that the veiled young girl beside Xu Feng was the very target they were searching for. Nalong thought that this Viscount was just driven by curiosity; telling him wouldn't matter.

"This woman's identity, I'm not too clear about. We're searching for her under orders."

"Under orders? Whose orders?"

"It's our City Guard Commander." At this point, Nalong leaned in closer, lowering his voice. "I dare not hide it from Your Excellency. On the surface, it's the Commander's order, but actually, I heard the Commander is acting on behalf of Prince Baris."

Prince Baris?

Xu Feng's heart tightened. Though he hadn't been in this world long, he had been granted the title of Viscount for several months now. He had learned quite a bit about the empire's powerful and prominent families—at least the very famous ones, he had heard of more or less.

Prince Baris—that was the Emperor's own younger brother!

The empire's previous Late Emperor didn't have many children. Those still alive today are only two sons and one daughter. The eldest princess married far to the north, becoming the wife of the Northern Legion's Legion Commander, who is also one of the empire's three great Dukes, Duke Assur. The eldest son became the current Emperor. The remaining one is this Prince Baris.

So, the important figure Nasim wanted to curry favor with was this Prince. It's just a pity that halfway through, he, Xu Feng, played the hero and saved the beauty, ruining Nasim's scheme.

But being involved with the Emperor's younger brother made this matter somewhat troublesome. He needed to be careful. Though Xu Feng's heart was greatly stirred, on the surface, he showed no sign of it. "I see. You may go."

"Yes, my lord!" Nalong bowed again before turning to leave.

Hearing this news, Xu Feng and the young princess lost their appetite. They settled the bill and left the restaurant. On the streets, teams of City Guard soldiers were everywhere, searching shop after shop. Shops run by beastmen, in particular, were getting extra scrutiny—chaos reigned, with crying, cursing, and no small amount of noise.

They had even set up checkpoints, inspecting passersby.

Though she wore a veil, Xu Feng could see the fear in the young princess's eyes. After all, born into nobility, she had been pampered since childhood. When had she ever experienced such turmoil? She thought she was already safe, never expecting so many twists and turns remained.

The other party was a Prince. She glanced at Xu Feng beside her, could he protect her?

Feeling the girl's delicate body press closer, Xu Feng understood her fear. No matter how strong-willed she was, a girl was still a girl. Little Pepper was usually sharp-tongued, but when trouble came, she needed someone to protect her.

The small hand he held was icy cold. Pity welled up in Xu Feng's heart. He reached out and gently wrapped his arm around the girl's slender waist. "Don't be afraid, lass, I'll protect you. As long as I'm here, no one can take you away."

He wasn't just saying this to comfort her. Xu Feng wasn't boasting or bragging.

In the eyes of ordinary people, a Prince was indeed an unapproachable, important figure. But he... didn't take him seriously at all. Well, that might be a bit of an overstatement, but in short, Xu Feng wasn't afraid of offending him.

The Emperor's brother—sounded glorious. But in terms of actual power, Baris was far inferior to the southern nobles' leader, Duke Walter. The Prince's status was noble, but to prevent his younger brother from threatening his throne, Baphia XV actually kept him under tight watch.

Baris held a high rank and was immensely wealthy, but his actual authority was pitifully small. Mobilizing the City Guard to search for a girl wasn't much of a feat; the Commander was just giving this royal family member some face.

Moreover, he was the disciple of a Saint Expert. His teacher was one of humanity's only two remaining Archmages. If Baphkler appeared in the world, even the Emperor would treat him as an honored guest. What could a mere Prince do to him?

Of course, these were just worst-case scenarios. If Arola were discovered, Xu Feng wasn't afraid to break ties openly. But then again, making enemies everywhere wasn't beneficial. Even without real power, a Prince was still a member of the royal family. If they could slip through unnoticed and avoid offending him, that would be the best way to handle it.

The City Guard's inspections were strict. Trying to contact the beastmen's shops and follow them back to their homeland was clearly impossible now. Xu Feng took the young princess back to his residence. Though there were checkpoints along the way, especially focusing on inspecting women, Xu Feng was currently the empire's most prominent figure. The moment he revealed his identity, the City Guard immediately bowed and scraped. Besides flattering and bootlicking, who dared to check the veil of the woman beside him?