Lucien's move on Naya

I'm back, Father," Ella said as she bowed her head.

"Welcome back, my daughter," Lucien replied warmly.

Lucien walked up to Dan and Naya, who were standing behind Ella. "You both did an exceptional job ensuring my daughter's safety. I can't thank you enough, but I will do my best to show my gratitude," Lucien said sincerely.

Dan and Naya bowed their heads in unison.

"When you both are done resting, come to the meeting hall. I have a reward for both of you," Lucien stated before proceeding into his mansion with Ella.

Hours later, in a dining hall located inside the Champion's chambers, Dan and Naya were seated opposite each other, a tray filled with various delicacies between them.

Dan held his spoon, playing with his food. It was clear his mind was elsewhere.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Naya asked, bringing Dan back to the present.

"Huh? Oh yeah," Dan said, quickly starting to eat.

"What's bothering you?" she asked, noticing his distraction.

With food still in his mouth, Dan tried to talk but his words were garbled.

"You can swallow first before you talk," Naya suggested.

Gulp

"Haa... I said it's nothing that important, really," Dan replied, but Naya didn't buy it. She had never seen him so deep in thought, even though they hadn't known each other for long.

"Well... I was thinking about what happened back in the sixth realm," Dan finally admitted.

"You..." Naya's face turned red.

"What...?" Dan looked at Naya blankly, wondering what made her speechless, until he remembered. "No, no, no, I wasn't talking about that. I mean what happened before I woke up."

"Oh, is that what you meant," Naya said, relaxing a bit.

"Yes, I can't really remember much. All I remember is feeling so exhausted, but I can't remember what happened after that," Dan explained.

"Really?!"

"Yeah."

"Well, the healer said you were poisoned," Naya stated.

"Poisoned? But I didn't eat anything."

"Yeah, she said it was airborne."

"Airborne?" Dan stroked his chin, trying to recall. "Ohh!"

"What is it?" Naya asked.

"When I entered my room, it smelled so nice," Dan exclaimed.

"All rooms were smelling nice, Dan," Naya pointed out.

"Hmm... is that so?"

"Haa..." Naya sighed. "Well, that may most likely be the case."

"Hmmm, and I wonder what kind of gift the Head Chief wants to offer," Naya pondered.

"It might be money," Dan suggested.

"How can he give us money when we don't even leave this place?" Naya replied.

"It might be a promotion," Shawn added, entering the room and walking toward them.

"You... How long have you been listening?" Dan shrieked in fear.

"I just came now," Shawn said with a straight face.

"Promotion, huh? But to which rank?" Naya asked.

"Beats me," Shawn shrugged. "By the way, Dan, I've been meaning to ask you something..."

"What is it?" Dan was jolted.

"How did you do that?" Shawn asked.

"What?"

"The power of the seven, how can you use it?"

"Well, umm... I trained a long time to unlock it."

"Unlock?" Shawn squinted his eyes at Dan. To Shawn, Dan's response seemed odd, if he said 'unlock' then that means...

Shawn looked at his hands for a few seconds and then shook his head, dismissing the thoughts. "How many years did it take to 'unlock' it?" Shawn asked.

"Years? It took me two weeks," Dan replied.

"Two weeks? You are really something. Well, then I will leave you to your meal, that is all I needed" Shawn said and left the hall.

"Are you sure that is something you should disclose so casually?" Naya asked.

"What do you mean? I see no harm."

"You might not get to see it before it becomes harmful," Naya stated.

"Alright, alright, I understand."

Hours later, Dan and Cornelius were seated across from each other. Unlike other times, the atmosphere was a bit light and calm, but something was clearly brewing.

"That is definitely strange," Cornelius said, stroking his chin, unlike Dan's his expression stern and serious.

"Like I said, maybe you got the wrong information."

"No, or maybe the target wasn't the lady but rather someone else," Cornelius muttered.

"Hmmm..." Dan tilted his head.

"Well, that's bygone for now," Cornelius said, leaning closer to Dan. "As planned, you need to get close to the lady, very close, so she can trust you enough to share her thoughts and dreams."

"Hmm... I know, but I have been meaning to ask, why are you so fixated on Ella? I mean, if you want power and position, you can go for the Head Chief instead. Based on what I have seen, you will definitely get it–the Head Chief trusts you to a certain degree."

"No. I don't want any of that. I hate politics; it's a game of lies and deceit that leaves a bad taste in my mouth," Cornelius clenched his fist.

"You say that, but you play a major role in it."

"That's because I have to stop something or rather someone, and in order to do that, I need to get to Ella first. She is the key–and if my hunch is correct, she might be one of the major players in this game."

"By someone do you mean...?" Dan asked, squinting his eyes, trying to gather as much information as he could from Cornelius. Apart from retrieving the dark amulet, he had another goal, and to reach it, he needed as much information as possible. Dan's counter-questioning seemed to be working perfectly until...

"That's enough for now. You don't need to know the rest. All that matters is that you get Ella to trust you," Cornelius said, standing up from his seat and leaving the room, leaving Dan alone.

Dan sat upright, supporting his head with his hand as he pondered. 'Ella, huh...' Dan let out a sigh. 'If the date and time Gaius gave me were right, then there is no way she would have been involved. That leaves only one person...' Dan stood up from the chair and left the room.

Hours later that same day, everyone was gathered in the meeting hall inside the Head Chief's mansion. Dan and Naya stood ahead, in front of the rest, with Lucien, who wore a bright, charismatic smile as usual.

"I wonder what the reward will be," Barnabas said to Shawn, who was beside him, but Shawn ignored him, remembering his conversation with Dan from a few hours ago.

"I have summoned you both today to commend you for your completed task. Even though it was against the law, you did not hesitate to carry out the mission perfectly, and as such, I have prepared the perfect reward for both of you," Lucien said, taking a breath and glancing at Naya and Dan.

"Dan, for your reward, you will no longer have to fight in the arena for your life. Instead, you will be my daughter's personal guard," Lucien announced.

Hearing that, Naya was overjoyed and nudged Dan on his arm. "You are really lucky, Dan," she said. Deep down, Naya always blamed herself for putting him in his current situation, so hearing this lifted some weight off her chest.

"As for you, Naya, the same conditions apply. You shall no longer fight in the arena, but you will work in my mansion as one of my mistresses," Lucien smirked.

Everyone in the hall didn't look surprised; they felt happy for them. However, Dan and Naya were shocked, their eyes wide open as they looked at Lucien.

"Huh??"

[NEXT: GAMBIT]