Romanoff Dukedom: The Valk League (7)

"Ius, are you even listening?" Fluger probed Ius when he received no response.

However, his attempt was for naught, seeing that the Ius stayed inattentive of the proceedings of their gathering. Ius' fixation was on the very person, careless and innocent, roaming around the garden as if there was no tomorrow.

Herkel's curiosity was piqued by what had stolen Ius' attention. As far as he knew, only the worst of incidents or the most heinous of criminals could make the young man that preoccupied.

Thus and so, Herkel made his way towards the window and stood a meter apart from Ius. He then trailed Ius' line of sight and smirked once he saw what had gotten their leader to daydream.

"Oh, how surprising. You're interested in a woman now?" Herkel jestingly uttered as he obstructed Ius' view, securing the young man's irritation for the next hour.

Ius hurriedly shoved his humorist of an acquaintance to the side. Latterly, his gaze searched for the figure of the lady amongst the crowd in the garden. However, the lady was nowhere to be seen, even her shadow. Ius clicked his tongue out of disappointment and sighed deeply.

Since he wouldn't be able to do anything regarding the lady's disappearance, he just shifted his gaze to the person he considered a disturbance.

"What do you need?" Ius asked with an indifferent tone.

Still, his glower conveyed his desire to antagonize the dumbfounded man in front of him.

Herkel simply lowered his head as he went back to his seat. It wouldn't do him any good to further disturb the young Romanoff.

Ius didn't follow Herkel back to their seats. He stood by the window for a short while more, wondering if the lady would make a return.

Noticing that the number of servants in the garden was slowly decreasing, Ius became certain that he wouldn't see the lady for the rest of the day. Because of that, he went back to his couch.

The instant he was seated, Ius finally gave Fluger his response, albeit late.

"You were talking about launching our operation tonight, am I correct?"

More than a query, he just repeated what he thought he had heard, disproving his companions' assumption that he wasn't heeding their discussion.

"So you plainly decided to ignore us when we're in the middle of a meeting? What is with you today, Ius? Are you certain that you're not sick?" Herkel pestered Ius with the questions he detested, sounding as if he's a concerned mother.

Withal, everybody else in the room knew better. Herkel was definitely beginning to get annoyed by the constant interruption and the boorish behavior of a certain couple. By couple, it meant him and Fluger.

Ius simply ignored the incautious remark made by Herkel. There were times when Herkel Avret couldn't decide what character to assume, so it was difficult for Ius to reason with him.

While holding the saucer with his left hand, Ius leisurely took a sip of his tea. However, he failed to remember that he had already emptied the cup earlier. A maid was quick to notice the matter, approaching the table to replenish their young master's tea.

Before making a statement, Ius drank half of his tea. He was still exhilarated from seeing the lady's eyes that surpassed the brightness of his. Once he was satisfied, Ius lowered the cup and the saucer as he leaned back on the couch.

"If we're starting the operation later this evening, then it would be better if we do it covertly instead of openly parading the streets. I do not covet to be viewed like those pompous knights strolling around town with their noisy armors." He stated, the adamance in his voice the most genuine emotion he had expressed so far.

Ius was never the type to savor being in the limelight. Drawing attention to himself was something he would do only if he was on the verge of death. Regrettably for him, he was the talk of the town even when he's doing nothing.

Despite all his efforts to escape the center of the stage, his accomplishments were unceasingly publicized by the onlookers. Ergo, he elected not to bother with anything outside of his work. He had hired someone to take care of the amount of publicity he was getting.

Fluger, who had repented enough from breaking the teacup, was now curious about Ius' plan. Though it might seem unlikely, the young man had no plans of protesting against what Ius had come up with.

"Alright, you can assign each of our areas of surveillance," Fluger suggested as he swept his companions with his gaze.

Ius straightened his posture while forming the plan in his head. He went on and emptied his second cup of tea, just in time for him to finalize his plan.

"Aaviren you'll take the downtown including the slums. Make sure that your disguise is faultless else the recluse beasts will try to approach you."

"Roger that." Aaviren Brosch quickly gave his affirmation after bowing once.

Ius then turned his gaze to the person sitting on his left side.

"Ivar, the Eschira forest and the noble district are yours. The river won't be a problem for you to cross, considering that you're the most agile out of the six of us. You should roam around the noble district first since it is less difficult to do."

Ivar Chroly acknowledged the order merely by giving Ius a thumbs up. Well, as long as they understood the gravity of their duty, Ius wouldn't really mind how the others would express their affirmation.

"Moving on, Ulysses will take the central district where the market is situated. Avoid initiating any sort of altercation with the knights at all cost. I repeat, at all costs. If I dare harken an incident that you are the initiator, I will side with the knights."

Ulysses Parvor hesitated to agree because he was not confident of preserving a serene mind when he's around the human knights he deeply detested. The grimace on his countenance created the impression that he already had several squabbles with the armored humans, which was, unfortunately, the truth.