1656 Trust

Before the figure could even move out from the darkness, Alex could already see who it was. And that had surprised him quite a bit.

It was the Crown Prince.

'What is going on?' Alex wondered. Were the two of them working together? They had not given him any sort of hints to this.

Either the two were too good. Or…

"You better have a good explanation for what's happening, Luoyang."

The Crown Prince finally walked out and Luoyang gave a slight start in surprise. She had not known he would be there, or at least hadn't expected it.

"Fangyu!" the woman said softly, trying to keep her voice steady. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"I should be the one asking that," the Crown Prince said. His eyes turned toward Alex. "Your Majesty, what are you doing with my fiancee this late in the night."

Alex was somewhat confused for a second. He had realized they weren't working together, or they were making him think they weren't working together. He couldn't tell which one it was.

If this was a trap by some chance, he had to act as if he had been caught in it.

"I was told to wait until after midnight and follow her when she came for me," Alex said. "I'm trying to figure out what it is about myself."

The Crown Prince turned toward Luoyang. "So, what is it about?"

Zhan Luoyang grew frustrated. This was not how this was supposed to go. Alex was supposed to come to her manor on his own, not with the Crown Prince. She had tried to force the Crown Prince to change the plans many times, but he had stubbornly decided to come here.

And now when she was this close, he was going to destroy all she had worked toward. She could only grow frustrated with that.

She drew in a deep breath and let her emotions calm down. Fear, anger, hesitation. All emotions slowly dissipated inside her and she spoke again.

"Fangyu, please return to your room. This is something I must do. I will explain it to you in the future. I promise I will, but I must do this right now." Her voice was calm and pleading, and full of love too for the man that stood before her.

The Crown Prince looked at her for a long second before shaking his head. "What have you gotten yourself into, Luoyang that you can't even tell me?" he asked. "I'm supposed to be your partner. We're going to be married in a few years. If you will hide things from me, then how am I to trust you."

"Please, you must trust me for now. I promised them I wouldn't tell anyone else," Luoyang said and immediately grimaced.

"Who is them?" the Crown Prince asked.

"I cannot tell you," the woman said. 

"Why not?" 

"Because I promised them."

"You made an oath?" The Crown Prince frowned at the woman. "What have you been doing Luoyang?"

"No, no oath. Just a promise," Luoyang said. "But I hold my promise dearer to me than I would an oath."

Alex was curious as well. Seeing her be so secretive made him believe she was doing something that others couldn't learn about. Something illegal or maybe even evil. But at the same time, seeing her so honorable made him think she was doing something completely different.

'She's doing something that others would consider bad, but she considers it good?' Alex thought. That made him think of another group that could be considered the same.

'Damn, is she part of the Oathbreakers?' he thought. Those were defectors of the military though, so he didn't know how she could be an Oathbreaker. Did she perhaps meet them outside and decide to be a part?

The Crown Prince thought upon his fiancee's words for a while and nodded. "I'll trust you that you aren't doing anything wrong," he said.

The woman seemed to visibly slacken from relief.

"But, you will have to prove my trust. I will go along with you and see what this is all about," he said. "If I find that you are lying, then… well, we'll see after that."

"That's not how trust works," the woman protested. "You cannot say you trust me and then immediately ask for proof."

"I do now," the Crown Prince said. "You've done a lot of things during these past few years that have made me question what you were doing. But I've trusted you this entire time. But this is too weird."

"If nothing else, then for His Majesty's safety alone, I must go with you," the Crown Prince said.

Luoyang gritted her teeth. Anger seemed to return to her voice when she spoke again. "I'll let you come along if you make an oath," she said.

"I'll make no oath until you've earned my trust again," the Crown Prince said.

"Then give me your word. Make me a promise," she said.

"Regarding what?"

"Promise me that whatever you see tonight, you will not do anything. You will not fight, not report back, or let others know what is happening," she said.

The Crown Prince looked into his fiancee's eyes for a long while before nodding. "So long as my or his Majesty's life isn't in danger, I will only see what you are going to do today. If it is, I will act on it, Luoyang. Even if it is you. I won't like it, but I will act."

"That's alright," Luoyang said. "Nobody's life is going to be in danger anyway."

She sighed in the end. "I can't believe you're making me break my promise for this. You and I are going to have a long talk once this is over."

The Crown Prince was surprised to see her somewhat return to her old self. 

"Where's senior Huogang?" the woman asked.

"I told him I was going to your room," the Crown Prince said. "He shouldn't know I'm here."

"Dammit, I hope nobody heard our conversation," the woman said silently, looking around for people.

"The Crown Prince has already set up a formation of sort around us," Alex said. "It's likely a sound-blocking formation."

The Crown Prince gave a hint of surprise. "You're not supposed to be able to notice the barrier while you're on the inside of it," he said before taking out a talisman from his sleeves. "How did you know, Your Majesty?"

"I have my tricks," Alex said. He could see the many flows of green color swirling around the three of them, which would usually be impossible for anyone without the Demon Eyes to notice.

"Good enough," Zhan Luoyang said. "Follow me then."

She walked out of the house and Alex followed her with the Crown Prince behind her. They walked out into the garden and then continued walking. It was a while before Alex realized what they were doing out there.

They were making their way to Luoyang's separated house where she was said to practice with pills and poison. The two couldn't help but wonder what they were doing there.

"What is inside?" the Crown Prince asked.

"You'll see," the woman said. "Don't freak out and remember your promise."

"I'm a man of my word, Luoyang. You know me," the Crown Prince said.

"I do," Luoyang said. "But this will test the strength of your resolve and your word."

The Crown Prince frowned. "Just what is inside?" he asked.

"People that I wanted His Majesty to meet," the woman said. "One is especially didn't want you to meet. So keep your promise."

"Who is inside?" the Crown Prince nearly demanded, but the woman managed to keep her calm.

"You'll see," she said. "Now, let us go in."

Luoyang pulled out a small copper plate that looked like a medallion without a string attached to it and used it to open one of the formations to the house. A small hole appeared on the barrier and she walked in.

Alex walked in behind her, his spiritual sense enveloping the entire house in a second. As soon as he did, he sensed a small large portion of the 2nd floor being covered in formations that blocked other's senses.

That was the only place in the house with a formation hiding it.

"What is there?" the Crown Prince asked after entering. 

"You'll see soon," she said. "We're close now, Your Majesty."

Alex nodded and started following her. 

Was this really a trap? He sensed nobody else in the house, but that didn't mean there was no trap. He did sense a lack of a formation that blocked spatial displacement, so he could teleport out if he was in trouble.

The Crown Prince walked on ahead, quickly making his way to the 2nd floor where the formation was. When he arrived, he stopped and waited for the other two to catch up.

"Who is there?" the Crown Prince demanded.

Alex felt a single spiritual sense pass through him. Someone was there alright. Based on the strength of the spiritual sense, he wasn't very strong, but those sorts of things could be hidden.

"I know, and I tried to avoid it," Luoyang suddenly spoke. They realized the person inside was sending messages to her.

"He demanded I bring him here. I couldn't bring His Majesty here without him coming along. I had no choice," she said.

The two men looked at her, wondering what she was being told.

"Damn you!" she suddenly said. "Tell him to go if you want him to go. He won't listen to me. He says he doesn't trust me."

"Luoyang, who is inside?" the Crown Prince asked.

The barrier in front of them suddenly faded and a weary-looking youth with a hesitant face stared at the three of them.

At the sight of the young man, the Crown Prince's eyes went wide.

"Brother?"