Chapter 1031: Visit

"Why do we have to change our direction?" A man in his mid-twenties clicked his tongue, annoyed by the driver.

"We have got the news that the route ahead is blocked by the Ardagan family's garrison. If we continue, we will be perceived as a threat," the driver replied hurriedly.

"They dare? If they dare to hurt me, the crown prince, they will have to face the royal army."

"Your Highness. I believe that we should head to that city. We've got information that the area around their main city is forbidden. In addition, the young lady of the Stargaze family, who has become the one in charge of the family, is staying in that city.

"If Your Highness recklessly enters their territory, it could be said that the royal family is abusing their power. So, I believe that we should go to Laivaen City instead." An old noble, who accompanied the crown prince on this journey, suggested it with a calm expression.

The crown prince frowned before saying, "Alright. We'll go to Laivaen City."

The old noble was a bit surprised that it was so easy to change the crown prince's mind, who was supposed to be known as stubborn.

Either way, they could still gain some information and even confirm the existence of those technologies.

The moment they arrived in Laivaen City, they were stopped by the wall. The city was in the middle of reconstruction, so it was rather hard to enter the city. In fact, it had only been opened recently because of the new immigration plan.

"You are in the presence of the Crown Prince. Open the gate!" The driver shouted while taking out the insignia that symbolized the royal family.

"This..." The soldiers were confused. If it were a normal noble, they would just make a quick inspection and let them inside. But the opponent was the royal family, they didn't know what to do.

If they opened it so quickly, Anna might get angry at them and tell the Lord about it.

"You're in the presence of the Crown Prince. Are you going to rebel?" The driver repeated himself while glaring at the soldiers.

However, the captain of the city garrison came out, saying, "My apologies. I am the one in charge of this city's defense, Hansen. We have notified the one in charge of this city, so please wait for a moment. It appears that she will personally come to the gate."

The gate turned tranquil once again when Anna was mentioned.

The old noble couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows. In his perspective, Noel was the one who did all the planning and negotiation. Even when she worked as administrative staff, Anna wasn't that good of a politician.

So, there shouldn't be much of a problem dealing with her. Even then, since she personally planned to come, it wouldn't be good if they rushed in.

It didn't take too long for the gate to be opened, revealing Anna and a few soldiers waiting on their horses.

Anna soon jumped off her horse and politely greeted them. "The one temporarily in charge of the Ardagan family, Anna Stargaze, greets Your Highness, the crown prince."

The crown prince and the old noble came out of the carriage.

The crown prince couldn't help but look dumbfounded when seeing the change in Anna. If one talked about her, it would be her cold face and harsh treatment of those around her.

Even if she greeted him, it would be the same. That was why the crown prince was stunned to see that her expression had mellowed greatly. There was a bright, feminine smile on her face.

The difference was simply too big. If he had to describe the previous Anna, it would be the cold flower on the edge of a cliff standing proudly even in the winter. But if he looked at her right now, the spring had arrived and the cliff was filled with green grass and warm sunlight.

Realizing that the crown prince was mesmerized by her, the old noble tried to cover him by replying to the greeting. "We are thankful for the welcome, Young Lady Anna."

"Ahem!" The crown prince snapped back and hurriedly tried to regain his composure. He coughed a few times before saying, "I am honored to have you welcome me personally."

"Thank you for your words." Anna took a step back before extending her hand to the city. "Please come in. I shall lead you to the city."

"Please."

Anna then jumped back to the top of her horse and immediately led them to the center of the city.

While they were at it, the crown prince tried to talk about everything in order to have a conversation with her.

Anna obviously explained everything while leaving several important details. The old noble was shocked by the advanced technology that the Ardagan family possessed and knew that they had to find a way to procure it.

On the other hand, the crown prince didn't care much about it as talking to Anna was much more important.

Anna couldn't help but recall everything she knew about the royal family.

'In his previous life, the crown prince himself was not really that good with politics. However, the second born and third born children are princesses, and the fourth prince is still too young. That's why the king has no choice but to give the throne to the crown prince.

'That's why the crown prince is often accompanied by an old noble whenever he goes around to take care of his problem.

'Looking at his expression, it's clear that this old man is interested in rune technology. It seems that I can ask the mayor to distract him for a moment.

'And this crown prince... does he not have any self-restraint? He can't even hide his intention... For someone like the crown prince, he should have seen a lot of beautiful people. While I consider myself beautiful, I don't think I'm the most beautiful in the kingdom, so I don't really understand his obsession. Either way, it's going to be useful in dealing some damage to the royal family.

'Now that I think about it, if the crown prince falls from grace, will the fourth prince become the successor? The second princess is quite good in politics, but she is not really favored because of her gender in this kingdom. The third princess is lacking in achievement, so I don't have much memory of her.

'The Third Prince has become a constant threat to the throne, so I don't know much about those princes and princesses. In that case, I should hit him lightly... After all, Noel told me that the main reason we used the crown prince was not to extort the royal family but to stop anyone who tried to marry their daughter to Noel, including the princesses.'

Anna thought while calculating her plans. She had to be swift for this since she didn't want to entertain this crown prince for more than two days.

Suddenly, a soldier rushed toward her, bringing certain news.

The soldier whispered it into her ears as if it were something important. Obviously, this action didn't escape the old noble's eyes.

Anna's expression turned serious as she said, "Alright. You can go first. I will have to entertain our guests. I will catch up as soon as possible."

"Yes." The soldier then rushed back to his position.

"What's wrong, Miss Anna?" The crown prince asked.

"It's... nothing." Anna looked hesitant as if it were a very important task.

"Please don't hesitate to say it. I don't mind waiting a little bit." The crown prince portrayed himself as a magnanimous person.

"This..." Anna looked down before saying with an embarrassed tone, "Our trailer is about to leave. Since it's still in the testing phase, I have to go there to supervise the entire process."

"!!!" The old noble widened his eyes as he turned to the crown prince, gesturing to him to actually use it as an invitation. This would be a good time to check out that new trailer that the spy was talking about.

The crown prince, however, didn't care much about the trailer. As long as it meant he could be together longer, he would do it.

"In that case, I don't mind if we go there... Of course, if it's not a problem for you to show me such a thing." The crown prince gave a smug smile.

A big smile appeared on Anna's face, captivating the crown prince. She even bowed much lower as if showing her deep gratitude. "Thank you so much. Thank you."

This boosted the crown prince's ego, not realizing that he had fallen into her trap.

She immediately led the group to the north gate so that they could watch the trailer leaving this city.

There were also a lot of people. Even after departing several times, there were still a lot of people who were interested in seeing it.

However, those who wanted to watch would have to go to the wall while the workers were the only ones allowed to watch it up-close.

Since the guest this time was the crown prince, of course, he would be one of those qualified people.

"This is..." The old noble widened his eyes in shock, looking at the sheer size of the vehicle. He never thought that he would see such a behemoth capable of bringing so many goods.

Even the crown prince had his attention captured for a moment. Compared to this trailer, his carriage was simply too small. What if he used this as his carriage? Wouldn't it make him look majestic?

Anna took a glimpse of their reaction and couldn't help but smile evilly, thinking, 'The fish has taken the bait.'