When Hal ca out of the void, his view was that of the inside of a Teleportation building and there were attending Runemasters looking up at him as the latest arrival while one had a scroll in hand.
As it usually happened, the one with the scroll asked for his na and after he refused to give it, they only took a depiction of his image before letting him leave.
Hal walked out of the Teleportation building and got his first chance to see the capital of the Arkene Duchy and it was just as he would probably expect a Duchy capital to be.
It had a visage that only the most successful (In cultivation as well as business) could live within it... As though it was the most high-end part of the Duchy where the best of the Duchy gathered to coexist.
And it was.
Anyway, Hal did not have ti to gawk at structures and he quickly boarded a carriage to take him to the Rose Petal restaurant.
When he arrived and paid his fare, he was in front of a large establishnt that was definitely grander than the one in the Silva Duchy.
Hal walked in and as was usual for the absolute depiction of male perfection that he was, there were eyes pulled in his direction but he ignored them and focused on a restaurant worker who step forward to him,
"Shall I get you a table?" the worker asked while looking around as though to spot anyone else that might have co here with Hal to eat.
"No, I'm not here to eat, I'm here to see the head of this establishnt. Aliya, I believe is her na"
As soon as Hal ntioned the na 'Aliya, the attention he got went from simply interested to wonder and a bit of awe.
How could Hal have known that the head of this establishnt, the one the Princess had told him to ask for, was not one whose na could be called so flippantly?
How could he have known that Aliya had followed Tanya's instructions so well to truly root herself in the Arkene Duchy capital that she had now beco a fearso figure that not only possessed impressive strength but was also fad to have powerful backings?
Despite the perking and the interest of those within the restaurant, the worker, who did not actually react like any of them, just asked,
"Do you have an appointnt?"
Hal nodded,
"I believe I do," he said but refrained from calling the Princess' na as he felt it was more prudent not to throw her na around and protect the Confidentiality of her plans as well as the fact that he was working with her for as long as my as he could and for as long as was necessary.
The worker then asked,
"Na?"
"Hal" was all that Hal gave and the worker produced a list which he looked through and then looked up from it to study Hal's features intently before he said,
"Co with , Sir"
The worker turned around and walked away through a door to what seed to be the back of the restaurant.
The door actually lead to a stairway which the worker began to climb and Hal climbed along with him until they were in front of a grand door that he knocked on and said,
"My lady, he is here"
There was a one-second silence but then a voice sounded from within the room,
"Co in"
Hal noticed the one behind the door had not asked who the 'he' was referring to and he wondered if he was the only male who had an appointnt to et her or if there was a particular inflection in the worker's saying of 'he' that he had not heard.
Whatever it was, Hal was sure that the one behind those doors knew exactly who she was letting into her office.
The door opened and the room behind it was wide and grand.
Looking more like the office of soone running a business than that of soone running a spy network for a princess of the Empire... Which was the point.
Aliya herself was beautiful but it was hard to focus on that beauty when she was frowning at him and looking incapable of producing a smile.
Now, even though she frowned, she was surely still beautiful with her fairly red lips and smooth and fair skin but her frown seed more for intimidation and to turn n away from her looks than to draw them in with her own version of seduction.
When Hal walked in and the worker left, he noticed the slight widening of Aliya's eyes at the sight of him.
He guessed that the Princess must have given the lady a fairly accurate depiction of his looks and that had been enough to ascertain who he was and what she should be expecting but it had in no way prepared her for how he actually looked.
She was quick to rearrange her mask of indifference almost imdiately but Hal had had his effect on her regardless.
"I am Hal, You must be Aliya" Hal decided to make the first move in the introduction by being enthusiastic and stretching his hand towards her.
Aliya's eyes went from his hand to his face and then she returned her eyes to his hand and shook it.
"Nice to et you," she said as they shook hands.
Aliya was seated behind a large executive desk and there was a chair in front of it for Hal to seat in but there was no way was going to sit inside that small chair and after his hand separated from Aliya's, he went over to the sofa in her office and sat on it.
Aliya watched him lean back on the sofa and relax and she furrowed her brows but Hal ignored this as he said,
"So the Princess told to et with you and you will help get close to the Arkene Duchess"
Aliya sighed and stood up from behind her desk to walk around it and towards Hal and it gave him the chance to look at her full figure.
Aliya sat at the far edge of the Sofa and began,
"Yes, I can get the ball rolling on the plan. I have enough of a footing in the Duchy and more than enough connections to make this happen.
However, I know even better than the Princess the situation of the Duchy and I know the brutality of the Duke while also knowing that the Duchess is most likely more of a nutcase than the nymphomaniac than she is seen as in public.
What you are planning will not be easy and I can't help but feel that Tanya is putting her hopes on soone that she cannot fully trust" for the last part, Aliya stared intently at Hal.
Hal shrugged with a slight smile,
"Well, you just made a short but interesting list of risks... Should the fact that I am taking those risks not be enough to convince you of my trustworthiness"
"Actually, it's the opposite. Why are you doing this? From what Tanya tells , you have undergone missions for her already and only get paid in blue gems as well as rit points... Are those truly all you require to put your life at risk for her plans?" Aliya said.
"Are they not enough?" Hal asked with his smile unshaken,
"You're a hired gun. You have no loyalty to Tanya and I doubt you actually want or care to see her succeed... I have only t you for a few minutes at most and I can already see it in the way you carry yourself, the way you smile, and the way you so confidently sat on my sofa.
You are commanding, soone like you can't just be satisfied with working for soone else.
You have an agenda... An ulterior motive.
What is that motive?
What are you planning?" Aliya asked and she leaned towards Hal and moved a bit closer to him on the sofa while still frowning and being every bit intimidating but Hal was not going to give in to the feeling and simply furrowed his brows,
"Ah, I see, you are on a loyalty trip... Trying to make sure your Princess is not being duped" he said.
"I t Tanya in the Royal Academy, I admired her for years and other than that slutty Elsa, I was closest to her in the Jade Foxes Guild.
I knew of her goals just like Elsa but while that slutty bitch could not handle her best friend having ambitions and not wanting to sleep around like she did and left her, I vowed to help Tanya with her goals.
How much I would have loved to have been close to her at all tis but she needed back here in the capital I was born in and I will do anything for her.
I will have her sitting on the throne of the Haron Empire even if it kills !
So I ask again and I want an answer..." Aliya said and summoned her cosmic Armant while releasing the mighty pressure of her cultivation to help her intimidation,
"What are you planning?!"
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