CHAPTER 1486: SILLY BANTER

Zhao Li Xin left the restaurant, and as he stepped out of the lobby, a sleek blue sedan pulled up at the entrance. He opened the door, slid into the front passenger seat, and the car pulled away from the grand, luxurious hotel.

"So, you were offered a new job?" Lory lowered her sunglasses, her eyes glinting with playful amusement.

Zhao Li Xin chuckled. "Well, your husband is quite popular."

"Of course. The man I chose can’t be wrong," Lory said proudly.

He took her hand and kissed the back of it with quiet affection. "En. They’ll never make a worthy offer as long as they don’t know your true identity and my identity."

Lory smiled in agreement. Whatever the enemy learned, whatever information they gathered, their predictions would always fall short so long as her real identity remained hidden. That was why no one worried about Zhao Li Xin meeting Salvo De Rova.

Driving through the secret entrance of Cestine Palace, they made their way to the King’s study room.

Inside, Lory immediately noticed Lucas’s tired face as he signed yet another mountain of documents, while Fredhardt pointed out details and gave instructions.

Fargo was on the phone, speaking quickly, while Jay stood at his side, looking serious. They were probably finalizing Jay’s departure to join Clift’s mission.

"Hey, weirdo, you all look busy," Lory sang out, her tone light and playful as she stepped into the King’s study. Sunlight from the tall windows poured across the polished floor, catching the cheerful curve of her smile.

Behind her, Zhao Li Xin entered with quiet composure, shutting the door with a soft click that seemed to seal the room from the outside world.

Lucas looked up from behind a fortress of documents, his eyes rimmed with fatigue. "You should’ve helped me," he grumbled, pen still scratching as if even his complaints couldn’t halt the endless tide of paperwork.

Lory’s lips twitched. "Nah, I already helped you a lot, brother," she retorted, her voice sweet but edged with the memory of sleepless nights spent drowning in his responsibilities while he lay unconscious.

"And they say I’m the lazy one," Lucas muttered, rolling his eyes skyward.

Fredhardt, standing at his shoulder, didn’t bother with their sibling squabble. He slid another sheet forward, tapping it with the flat of his finger. "Okay, sign this one too."

Lucas frowned, hand hovering over the paper. "What’s this?"

"Permission for Jay to join Clift on a secret mission," Fredhardt replied without missing a beat.

Lucas’s brows drew together. "If it’s secret, then why do I always have to sign off on it? I’ve wondered that for years—doesn’t ’secret mission’ mean it’s supposed to stay secret?"

Fredhardt exhaled slowly, like a teacher forced to repeat a lesson for the hundredth time. "And I’ve explained it to you so many times. It’s for the authorization of the funds. The mission itself isn’t recorded, but the expenses still have to be justified in the military’s year-end budget. You know how they fuss about money."

Lucas jabbed back with a dry smile. "Aren’t you the one who makes the fuss?"

"Exactly," Fredhardt replied matter-of-factly, without missing a beat.

Lucas groaned and leaned back in his chair, the pen slipping from his fingers. For a brief moment, he imagined the year’s end: endless rows of stern accountants squabbling over numbers, every coin accounted for with the precision of vultures tearing at scraps.

Thankfully, he thought with a bitter curl of his lips, that responsibility wasn’t the King’s burden. With a weary thump, he pressed the Lucient seal into the parchment.

The silence was shattered as Fargo snapped his phone shut with a flourish and turned toward them, a grin stretching across his face. "Yo, Lory, Li Xin—how was the date with the charming Salvo?"

"He’s not that charming—it’s just the hair," Fredhardt muttered with a crooked sneer, not bothering to look up.

Lory’s brows furrow, wondering what Fredhardt’s problem with Salvo’s hair?

"Don’t worry, Fred. You’re more charming than he," Jay says brightly, raising his thumb sincerely, praising him

But Fredhardt clicked his tongue with a sharp tsk of annoyance—like a girlfriend refusing to believe her boyfriend’s praise.

Poor Jay only blinked in confusion. "...."

Fargo leaned sideways and nudged him. "Don’t mind him—it’s that time of the month again."

Jay’s brows shot up, genuine bewilderment flickering across his face as he wondered if men could really have a cycle too.

"I heard that," Fredhardt hissed coldly, his glare slicing toward them like a whip.

The playful bickering rolled around them like background noise, but Lory ignored it with a sigh and finally answered the question. She dropped the words with a glint of sarcasm, her tone light but her eyes sharp. "It was great. They offered him a job—" she paused, letting the silence hang, "—and a woman."

Her remark drew a ripple through the room. Humor danced at the edge of her voice, but the bite underneath was clear as glass. Zhao Li Xin chuckled softly, knowing Lory was still angry about what happened in the restaurant.

The reaction was immediate. Lucas’ face darkened, while Fredhardt’s head snapped up, his usually stoic expression cracking into open surprise. "A job?"

Fargo leaned forward, eyes alight with mischief. "A woman? Alright ~" he threw a praising look at Zhao Li Xin. Sadly, Zhao Li Xin had no idea what Fargo’s look meant.

Lory threw a sharp glare aimed at Fargo. "I saw that." Her tone carried enough weight to make him instantly drop the act.

Fargo coughed, straightened his posture, and suddenly found his phone screen fascinating again.

Jay, who had been quietly listening, perked up, his curiosity overcoming restraint. "What kind of job?"

Lory sighed, dropping into an armchair with deliberate laziness. She reached for the teapot on the side table and poured herself a drink, the clink of porcelain echoing in the study.

Zhao Li Xin, ever composed, answered instead. "As a member of the S.A.I.N.T. organization."

The words landed like a stone in still water.

Fredhardt’s eyes widened, his calm façade finally breaking. "Salvo himself invited you?"

"Yes," Zhao Li Xin answered.

"Son of a Bit*h," Fredhardt’s eyes blaze with indignation.

"Hey, Language," Fargo reprimanded Fred.

Fredhardt raised his index finger dismissively. "Oh, No- No, I’m gonna say it, I had to." he turned his gaze back to Zhao Li Xin, "What else that Bit*h tell you?"

Zhao Li Xin recounted the encounter with measured calm. Salvo had cloaked his words in charm, promising greater support for him as a painter, wealth, fame, and influence if only he would sever ties with Harland and side with the organization. Yet beneath the honeyed offers, Zhao caught another thread: Salvo’s lingering curiosity about Ethan. Whether to truly uncover his whereabouts or simply to measure how deep Zhao Li Xin’s bond ran with the Hamilton family, the probing was deliberate.

And then, as if that wasn’t enough, Salvo extended the final lure, an invitation for Zhao Li Xin to join the S.A.I.N.T. organization.

Fredhardt’s eyes darkened. He pinched his chin with practiced elegance, but the coldness in his voice left no room for civility. "That sleazy, manipulative, cunning bastard," he hissed, each word sharp as glass. "That opportunist snake!"

Jay shifted in his seat, eager to fill the silence. "The exhibition was such a success. I heard plenty of people tried to get in touch with Li Xin, even from abroad. There aren’t many true artists these days. Salvo must’ve realized if others tried to poach him, recruiting Li Xin would bring more fame to his organization."

"Or..." Fargo’s expression grew thoughtful. "Maybe he just had a hunch Li Xin isn’t an ordinary man and having him around would pay off in the long run, besides, just like Jay said, having Li Xin will garner more young generation attention to the organization, especially women."

Lucas crossed his arms in front of his chest and contemplated for a short moment before he spoke again, "Whatever Salvo’s game is, he’s not the type to back off easily. He was someone who would not stop untill he got what he wanted. My guess is, He’ll find a way to keep pushing. Speaking of pushing—who was that woman?" Lucas asked.

"Lucia Viora," Lory answered right away.

"Ah, the redhead." Fargo’s smirk widened.

"Infiltration, information extraction, disguises, if you want someone to do the ’push’ then she’s the woman for the job, she’s known to be one of the organization’s most dangerous women. Especially for someone like Fargo," Fredhardt said dryly, shooting him a side glance.

"Hey!" Fargo shot back. "No woman’s ever managed to push me around! Cause I’m....is the one doing the pushing." He waggled his brows suggestively.

"Eeww." Lory shrank her neck in disgust..

Lucas groaned, massaging his temple. "That’s... definitely not something I needed to hear before Lunch."

"But, the King should know everything happened under his nose," Fargo declared proudly.

"I refused!" Lucas snapped.

"Thank goodness I’m not the king," Lory said as she sipped her tea.

Zhao Li Xin watched the exchange with soft amusement. He still found it hard to believe that a king and his subordinates could share such easy closeness, not in the noble household and especially not in the imperial household.

Zhao Li Xin watched the exchange with quiet amusement. He still found it hard to believe that a king and his subordinates could share such easy closeness, something unheard of in noble households, and even less so within the imperial court.