Elyana looked at him, then slowly swept her eyes around the room. It was a little disconcerting to see her bright one moment and solemnly cautious the next.

"I cannot say for sure" was her simple response.

Ardyn understood. "Okay. You don't need to elaborate if you don't want to."

She smiled slightly. "Thank you."

"No problem. You're not obligated to tell me anything, so…"

"I know. It's just…" She let out a soft sigh. "I want to let you know that Leon's a good guy. I'm sure of that. Back then, he started distancing himself from us after living away from the castle. It made Evan really sad because he regarded Leon as one of his close friends at that time."

"I see..." Ardyn nodded in acknowledgment. He hadn't really expected to get such a detailed backstory about the man, but he figured he could indulge Elyana's nostalgia.

In a way, he was a little touched that she trusted him enough to tell him. Even though it wasn't a good thing — after all, what if he was a bad guy? — it meant a lot to him, especially considering his current situation.

"I guess he must have had his own reasons. But hey, at least he's talking to you again, right?" he said, trying to lighten up the atmosphere a little.

Elyana nodded slowly. "Yeah, but… there's still this unexplainable distance between us, a line that he doesn't want to cross." She suddenly looked around conspicuously before adding in a quieter voice, "Evan thinks that Leon might've been… warned by the Duke."

Ardyn was startled. "By 'warned', you mean…?"

Elyana nodded, her eyes dimming. "I told you that Duke Hartengrove is very strict with Leon, right?" she said quietly. "He built his empire from nothing and made his territory flourish with his own hard work and efforts, so he wants to raise Leon to be a great leader and let him inherit the duchy to keep it going from generation to generation."

Ardyn was instantly sympathetic. "Damn… that sounds tough."

"It is, and I keep getting more worried about him each day," Elyana confessed. "He used to smile all the time, and he was such an innocent young boy back then. But now, it sometimes feels like I'm looking at a stranger. He doesn't smile or laugh much anymore, and he barely speaks unless it's business-related. I miss the old Leon that we used to play with…"

Ardyn said nothing, feeling a bit out of place at this moment. It wasn't any of his business, after all.

But he figured that it would be better to remain cautious. Elyana kept saying that Leon was a good guy, but Ardyn just couldn't shake off this odd feeling about him and the Duke. It was like he could feel invisible eyes boring on his back even now.

Stop being paranoid, he scolded himself. Just focus.

"Oh! I need to go." Elyana turned to him. "Wait a minute. Where's Matty-bear?"

"I'm here."

Ardyn and Elyana turned to Mathias who turned up at that very moment.

"Where have you been all this time?" she asked in concern. "You suddenly disappeared."

"Ah. I caught up with a friend of mine earlier. The conversation ran longer than expected," Mathias said apologetically. "You should go on to the table, Your Highness. His Majesty seems to be looking for you."

"Oh! You're right. Pardon me."

Elyana waved at them with a smile before hurrying towards the table where the royal family was waiting for her.

Mathias stood beside Ardyn with a sigh.

"So it seems that you've met the Duke," he stated.

"I did. Why?" Ardyn asked curiously.

Mathias was silent for a moment. "Be careful," he finally said in a hushed tone. "He is not a man to be trifled with. One suspicious move from you, and he might find out who you are very quickly."

Ardyn turned to him in alarm. "Wait, are you serious? But I thought my disguise is foolproof?"

"It's not anything personal. It's just that the Duke seems to hold a subtle hostility against Guardians," Mathias explained quietly. "It's the reason why I, along with the others, keep our distance from him. His son, on the other hand, follows his orders most of the time, so steer clear of him too as much as you can."

Ardyn resisted the urge to groan.

I thought the plan was to blend in, but it turns out that I might have metaphorical snipers trained on my head the entire evening! Geez!

Mathias seemed to notice his dilemma, because an amused expression appeared on his face the next moment.

"Don't overthink it," he said, chuckling. "We're all here to protect you whatever happens. The Prince is here as well. Just focus on maintaining your cover."

"Right. Okay." Ardyn smiled. "Thanks."

At that moment, Mathias seemed to notice something and fell silent. Puzzled, Ardyn followed the direction of his stare and saw Ansel waving at them from afar, seemingly making an odd hand gesture.

"That's my cue to go over there," Mathias said with a sigh. "Sorry, but I'll have to leave you alone for now. Will you be fine on your own?"

Ardyn nodded. "There won't be any nobles who'll come to me and make small talk, right?" he asked nervously.

That was the last thing that he wanted to happen. He was capable of keeping up the ruse, but sometimes his big mouth would mess things up for him. He didn't want Evan's plans to be ruined just because of his carelessness.

Mathias chuckled. "No need to worry about that. The nobles only mingle with those whom they are familiar with," he clarified. "If they don't know you, they won't approach. Besides, His Majesty will be making a speech soon, so everyone will be distracted by then."

"Okay. Got it." Relief crossed Ardyn's features. "You can go. I'll be fine."

"Okay." Mathias nodded to him before walking over in Ansel's direction. The younger man's face lit up with satisfaction when he saw Mathias. He glanced at Ardyn and waved before disappearing into another room.

Ardyn was left alone in the corner of the hall, watching the events unfold before him. Next to him was the delicious buffet table, and he couldn't seem to take his eyes off it.

I wonder what the food here tastes like? he wondered, his mind filled with the urge to eat at least one. He watched as a few civilians and nobles took plates from the table and picked out their favorite dishes.

Nice! I found a momentary distraction!