MMORPG: Crowd Control

Kate was left in a difficult position after hearing Chris rambling on about the situation at Yors Castle.

He kept on explaining how internal conflict and external conflict would soon bring the ruin of Yors Castle.

In addition, he emphasized that the two princes are no longer holding their facade and were publicly at war with each other.

Although every citizen in Yors Castle knew Kate Norton was more suitable as an heir, the two princes were first born and the Norton Royalty followed the primogeniture.

Primogeniture is the right to succession belonging to the firstborn and the two princes are twins, making things overly complicated and complex.

"Recently, I've heard rumors that one of the princes even colluded with a black mage to gain an advantage in the fight for the throne." Chris rubbed his chin and said.

"..."

If she didn't know before, then right now, Kate definitely can tell her identity had long been exposed.

Who would speak such things to a stranger from the beginning?

Kate then turned her attention toward Lei Zhen, who had been keeping silent the entire time.

"Did you know my identity beforehand?" She asked in a slightly cold tone.

Lei Zhen shook his head. "Nope, I only knew about it after Chris told me about it."

Kate narrowed her eyes and stared at him. Lei Zhen remained still, keeping a calm expression. He wasn't lying about this part, so even being stared at by her didn't flinch him a bit.

Little did he know, she was sensing his mana and whether it was fluctuating or not.

When she realized his mana had not fluctuated a bit, meaning he was not a bit nervous. Kate started to recall their first encounter where Lei Zhen was forced to go toward her due to the Hounds of Nightmare.

'Indeed, he didn't seem to have any change in expression when seeing me nor act any differently.' She thought to herself.

Even though Chris didn't show it, she could subtly sense his nervousness when their eyes met.

However, Lei Zhen's behavior and attitude had remained the same throughout, almost like her identity meant nothing to him.

Seeing how Lei Zhen didn't have the intention to speak further, she turned her attention to Chris.

"I suppose you said all those words for a purpose, right?" She asked coldly.

After all, Chris was still a complete stranger to her other than the fact that she knew he was a merchant.

Remaining vigilant after experiencing an ambush was a must. She wasn't going to just go head over heels simply because she was rescued.

Who knows if this was another plot from the black mage or someone behind him?

Trust is a delicate term and no one can earn that term with a few actions or words.

"Indeed, the reason why I planned to sell my merchandise in Yors Castle is, of course, one, a big profit given the circumstances there. And two, I want to have friendly cooperation with the well-known princess, Kate Norton." Chris bowed slightly when addressing her.

Lei Zhen might not know the proper etiquette in greeting royalty, but not for him. Chris was trained for this and knew when or where to act properly in front of people.

If a merchant can't even do the proper etiquette befitting of a nobleman, then why would anyone trust him on his merchandise?

"Friendly cooperation with me?" Kate raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Since you are this well-informed, then shouldn't you know that I have no interest in the throne?"

"But you have the citizens in your interest."

"That does not mean I would go against my two elder brothers for the throne. I only know how to fight, not politics."

Suddenly, Chris started laughing when he heard Kate rebuking him with such an explanation.

"Haha, Princess Kate, I can't tell if you are naive or just too pure." Chris shook his head.

He turned around and asked Lei Zhen instead, "I'm sure you already know what I'm trying to tell her, right?"

Lei Zhen shrugged his shoulders.

He did not want to be dragged into their conversation since it was too sensitive and he does not have enough information at hand.

Regarding the political struggle and the royal family, he was completely clueless about it other than the king that he had to meet thanks to Robert Knightman.

Although unwilling, Lei Zhen knew he had no choice but to walk forward and ask Kate a question that had been haunting him.

"Princess, have you heard of a person named Robert Knightman?" He asked respectfully.

She was a princess, after all, so giving her some minimum respect was necessary. Plus, this was a great time for him to learn something about Robert Knightman.

Given she was a princess, her knowledge should be broad and wide.

However, he didn't expect his simple question would cause Kate to shiver temporarily.

Her eyes suddenly turned watery for a moment as she grabbed Lei Zhen's collar and asked, "Where did you hear that person's name from?"

Her sudden outburst shocked even Chris as he didn't recall hearing of such a figure before.

'Who the heck is Robert Knightman?' Chris wondered silently.

Meanwhile, Lei Zhen was nearly choked to death by her strong grip and had to pat her hand to tell her to release her hand.

"I'm about to be choked to death." After she released her grip, Lei Zhen coughed a few times and complained.

"S-Sorry… I just got a bit agitated hearing that name." Kate held an apologetic expression. Clearly, she was affected quite a bit to hear the name Robert Knightman from Lei Zhen.

"Who is Robert Knightman?" Chris asked in a bewildered tone.

He had studied the royal family thoroughly and every important character within the Yors Castle. Yet he had never seen nor heard of Robert Knightman.

Kate took a deep breath before sighing softly, a tinge of sadness could be seen in her expression.

"Robert Knightman was my personal instructor. His identity was concealed so no one had his information." She said dejectedly, reminiscing of her past when she was still being trained by him with a wooden sword.