Chapter 496 - 465: The Deceptive Ian (3/3)

Chapter 496: Chapter 465: The Deceptive Ian (3/3)

"Oh! I see now!"

Miss Hua’an’s eyes widened; having traveled extensively, she somewhat understood what Ian was getting at. The Frost Butterfly also nodded frequently, though it was unclear whether it truly understood: "I see now!"

"Yes,"

Ian lowered his voice again, allowing the wind’s Source Quality Fluctuation at his side to draw slightly nearer: "Although Yisen himself is a good kid, his mother may not be... The operation organized by Fiery Flame Land this time is obviously fishy. It might have been lured here by someone or some message, all to ’buff my achievements’."

"The Earth Pulse Source Crystal might not be what I thought it was—an Ordinary but secret-message-containing treasure... It is a precious treasure, just not part of this train’s crew! Someone used fake information to lure Fiery Flame Land into the trap, which could both give the credit to me and ensure the treasure’s safe arrival in the Imperial Capital; killing two birds with one stone."

"To be honest, getting credit isn’t a bad thing. If it weren’t for so many undercover Seniors here, I would probably just accept it with a smile... But if the achievements from this incident were really brushed onto me to strongly push me forward, then all the credit for this incident would likely fall on me. What would those Seniors who’ve been undercover for so long think?"

"These people come from different important departments of The Empire; by offending them all, I would undoubtedly have to rely on the big tree that is the Ellen Family... Ha-ha, although it might sound a bit vain, I guess, like Marquis Barton, this is an action by the Ellen Family to label me!"

This was Ian’s conjecture, and not vain at all; ninety-nine percent of his deductions were correct.

Because, aside from Lady Ellen, whom he mentioned, there was another person very interested in him. And that person’s authority was far greater than Lady Ellen’s.

The Second Prince of the Setal Empire, the ally of Marquis Barton, Michael Setar.

As expected, he was the one truly orchestrating all of this... and also the one who genuinely wanted to recruit Ian under his command, to brand him.

"So, Ian, what are you planning to do?"

The Fairy Miss nodded slightly; she obviously found the matter interesting. She asked earnestly, "The cake’s cream is already mixed with mustard—eating it now is already too late. You are already involved in this event; it seems you can only apologize to those undercover Seniors, right?"

"Moreover, it’s not necessarily about giving all the credit to you."

"You can’t think like that. This is also a test. Although it might be a consequence left by Marquis Barton, I must consider it as such."

Ian shook his head, answering Miss Hua’an’s question: "Once the event actually happens, there’s no turning back, especially if it’s Lady Erlen of the princess’s mother... or someone else, who wants to see how I would handle this situation, right?"

"Given the habits of these Imperial Capital bigwigs, they definitely have several plans for everything. We can’t just follow their hooks, especially someone as weak and young as me. If everything goes as they expect, it would seem mediocre. Only by surprising them can I leave a better impression... right?"

"As for what to do..."

Ian looked towards the broken window beside him and nodded slightly: "Of course, I’ll leave the train alone, using the excuse ’I’m still on a secret mission for the Marquis’."

"After all, my achievement at most was firing the first shot against Fiery Flame Land. With my absence and so many organizations involved, no one can easily push the entire incident’s credit onto me."

"Let’s go. I’ll say goodbye to Knight Tres later, and then we’ll leave the train together and head to the Imperial Capital... It’s close anyway."

After speaking, Ian got up to find Knight Tres, while Miss Hua’an, with a dawning expression, started to pack up her luggage with the Frost Butterfly.

When the young man found Knight Tres, who appeared to be the good old man of the town, the knight also showed an appropriately surprised expression and asked Ian why he had come.

And naturally, Ian went with the flow, saying he was on a secret mission for the Marquis, and couldn’t appear in the formal report, that he was now exposed, and thus needed to get off early and act alone.

In theory, Tres now should have expressed his understanding and then sent him off.

But Ian found that the brown-haired knight’s thoughts were quite complex and conflicted.

This could be seen from his behavior and actions.

"I might be able to escort you there... um... Do you know the way? The road to the Imperial Capital, and do you have a pass?"

His words came out somewhat jumbled, as if he were hesitating over some very important decision: "No, you’re a knight, of course you don’t need any pass... What I mean is, will you make it in time? I might be able to arrange for a batch of mounts for you, just up ahead at a small town."

He shouldn’t be saying so much.

"Senior."

So the young man said in a low voice, "You must have heard, right?"

Tres was taken aback and then also smiled softly, "You wanted me to hear it, didn’t you? Cunning white-haired lad, I see now why General Barton also values you."

"Getting credit is indeed important, but what’s more important is being valued by those above."

He shook his head slightly and the young knight who had been undercover for eight years spoke in a voice only Ian and he could hear, "Without backing, without being valued, you have to do like me, become an undercover agent in your teens, play a double role, swindle and deceive, do the dirty work... It’s the same with undercover work, without the support of those from Fiery Flame Land above, no matter how hard you work, you still end up as just a deputy leader of a branch, never the boss."

"Yes, this achievement and my ability can indeed make me the rising star of the Knight Order—I was even thinking just now, if you were willing to cooperate with me, claim you were an undercover agent arranged by the higher-ups, then the two of us, one provoking confrontation with Fiery Flame Land, the other capturing the leader, could definitely achieve a greater merit than any other department."

"But now that I think about it, if it offends some bigwig, I reckon I’ll forever only be a former rising star. You understand this as well, don’t you?"

Tres’s voice was almost ethereal, his tone calm, "But you’re right. This is also a test for you—so I won’t stop you... Good luck, junior."

He raised his hand, tossing Ian something that looked like a key, "Go on, this is the proof for Shuanli Town Post Station, there are two good horses inside, I had kept them for myself in case of an emergency, but now it seems they won’t be needed."

"Follow the track, all the way north, and it’s the Imperial Capital... The next time we meet, it’ll be in the Imperial Capital."

"Thank you, Mr. Tres." Ian took the proof, and he smiled obediently, "I’ll remember your kindness!"

Tres was stunned for a moment, then cursed with a smile, "Go on—damn, now I really understand why Marquis Barton is so optimistic about you..."

"That face of yours, it really is deceiving."