I immediately tightened my grip on the sunflower seeds in my hand. For some reason, my heart began to feel uneasy. Should I really go to Silvermoon City? However, I had nowhere else to go, and Silvermoon City had everything I needed for treatment. What if they find out I'm a girl?
How does this world treat girls?
The growing unease attacked my heart, making the tension in my mind even more unbearable. Quietly, I placed the seeds given by Campbell Russell into the inner pocket of my bag.
"Highness Edmond, are you really taking this person back?" Suddenly, the pilot spoke again, addressing Edmond... His Highness!
"Yes," Edmond's tone was indifferent and cold, with a hint of indifference.
"But Silvermoon City only accommodates girls and those with abilities."
I was surprised; indeed, girls are crucial in this world!
"If you bring him back, he will also be expelled..."
"I know." Suddenly, with a cold and disdainful tone, as if he didn't want to hear any more nonsense, Edmond interrupted the pilot. His seemingly calm voice, however, carried a trace of uncompromising authority.
The pilot fell silent, only glancing at me before turning his head.
"Stop." Suddenly, Edmond commanded.
"Yes, Your Highness." The pilot dared not say more to Edmond, his posture remaining tense. The atmosphere became somewhat dull and oppressive due to Edmond's tone just now.
"Hmph." A light laugh came from Edmond, "Who are you really?" As his words came, my seat started to rotate, turning towards him.
At the same time, his seat also turned towards me, and we faced each other.
With one leg crossed, his left arm horizontally across his chest, supporting his right elbow, his right hand casually placed under his chin, lips lifted in a slight smile but with a deep chill. Looking at him at this moment, I instinctively became wary. Why? Why did he make me feel uneasy?
I looked at him inexplicably, "What?" I faintly felt that the Edmond in front of me at this moment was no longer the one Campbell Russell and I had encountered—the Edmond who had risked his life with us, healed me, and carried me onto the spaceship. Danger emanated from him, like a lion slowly approaching its prey.
And here I was, sitting in the seat, seemingly secured by a safety belt but feeling more like I was bound tightly by ropes, with no way to escape!
I had willingly entered this cage.Edmond, or rather, the Highness Edmond mentioned by the pilot, with just a displeased tone, filled the air with tension. He retracted the cold smile at the corner of his mouth, stood up from his seat, and coldly looked down at me. Then, he slightly frowned, leaned down, placing his hands on both sides of my seat. His handsome and profound face was now right in front of me, with violet light shimmering in his eyes.
I moved back slightly, but I was bound to the chair, unable to retreat. Edmond turned his face to my ear, "Every year, many people go to great lengths, using various means to try to infiltrate our Silvermoon City, stealing information. Among them, hm." He chuckled lightly, a hint of mockery in his laughter, "There are many who pretend to be injured like you, seeking help from our Silvermoon City."
I turned my face to him in surprise, "Do you think I deliberately got injured?!"
"Isn't it?" Edmond retreated, sitting back in his seat with a smile on his lips, but that smile was particularly indifferent. "The clothes you're wearing are made of a very ancient material, but now there are no resources to produce it."
I stared at him dumbfounded. My clothes... had become antiques in this world?!
"And your skills, your judgment, your calmness, and your strategy all indicate that you are not an ordinary person. Well..." Edmond rubbed his chin as if pretending to be thoughtful, "But you don't look like someone from the Asura King, and hmm, people from Eclipse City are too filthy, disgusting." He shook his head repeatedly, unlike Campbell Russell, he detested people from Eclipse City, finding them nauseating.
Disgust filled his raised eyebrows, and Edmond raised an eyebrow, looking at me again, "But you are clean, and..." he squinted slightly, "you smell good."
I blushed instantly; this statement seemed like he was teasing me! Luckily, my face was covered in mud, and he couldn't see my embarrassment.
Edmond began to stare at my face, and under his gaze, I adjusted my breathing, trying to stay calm.
"Tell me, who are you, and what is your purpose?" Edmond expression instantly turned cold, sitting deep in his seat, staring at me coldly.
I couldn't believe it and looked at him in shock. How could a boy change so much? In one moment, Edmond seemed genuinely concerned about my injuries, even about my bare feet, and in the next moment, he sat here interrogating me!
"Could it be... all the kindness before, everything good to me, was just to trick me onto your spaceship?" My heart sank instantly; I was indeed in a world of deception!
"Hmph." Edmond chuckled lightly, licked his lips, frowned slightly again, supporting his face with one hand, "You got it wrong. Initially, I was indeed interested in you, suddenly falling from the sky, brave and cunning. I wanted to know your identity, to know which tribe you belonged to. But at the moment you were injured, I suddenly understood, it was you..." he pointed at me, "who wanted to go with me..." he then pointed at himself, "back."
"Don't flatter yourself!" I said angrily, "So, was your kindness to Campbell Russell also fake?!"Edmond smirked, "No, I was serious about Campbell because Silvermoon City needs someone with his abilities."
I angrily squinted my eyes, "Campbell Russell was right. People from your Silvermoon City are despicable! I should go with Campbell Russell!"
"Hahaha." He laughed loudly, lowering his gaze to my legs, "No, you won't go with him."
He really had seen through my act of pretending to be injured just to get to Silvermoon City!
"Still unwilling to talk?" He looked at me with a smile, "It's okay; I'm patient. I'll wait until you speak." He sat there confidently, his gaze as sharp as an eagle's, the sharp eyes turning into eagle claws, gripping me tightly.
I stared back at him, "I have amnesia, don't you know?" Or was it what he told Campbell Russell, that I had hit my head and lost my memory?
"Hmph." Edmond chuckled, "That was me testing you. Campbell Russell has been asking you, and I could see that you were confused. You were hiding a big secret..." His sharp gaze burned into my face, "But you couldn't come up with a reason to deceive Campbell Russell. So, I said you had amnesia. You're clever, but not clever enough." He narrowed his eyes slightly, making his gaze even sharper, and even a hint of heat seemed to emerge, as if he had a great interest in the hidden secret within me.
I laughed at myself, a painful laughter. I had actually trusted Edmond so much, but in the end, he never trusted me.I forgot how calculating and meticulous he was. When Campbell Russell questioned me about my lack of abilities, he said those people had already scanned me and knew I wasn't a person with abilities. It showed that Edmond had been observing the surroundings meticulously, leaving nothing unnoticed. While Campbell Russell was killing enemies, he was counting corpses, telling Campbell Russell that he missed two, and they needed to be killed.
Edmond could observe so meticulously, noticing every subtle change in my expression. He was practically a mind reader, able to see through your inner thoughts by the slightest change in your facial expressions.
However,Edmond couldn't see through mine. He saw the confusion in my heart, knew I was hiding something, but he didn't know that what I was hiding wasn't some harmful identity to Silvermoon City but a colossal, unimaginable secret.