Banquet Turmoil / Public Enemy

Noah took a step back and forced a smile. "Izel, I'm so glad to see you."

Izel smiled without warmth. "Is that so? You're very glad?"

"Of course." Noah lowered his head slightly, putting on a pitiful expression. "I haven't seen you since the last accident. I've been worried about you."

Izel drawled, "There's nothing about me worth the future Crown Princess worrying over."

The smile on Noah's face was hard to maintain. "You misunderstand, Izel. His Highness the Crown Prince—"

"You're the one who misunderstands. Whether you become Crown Princess has nothing to do with me." Izel leaned down slightly, his gaze cold. "Not everyone needs that position. What I mean is—"

The young nobleman, usually so elegant in speech, now sounded as though his voice were wrapped in ice.

"Noah, what are you trying to do to Yumian?"

Noah's face went pale, but he forced himself to calm down. "What could I possibly do? He's a young master of your Carlos family."

Izel straightened again, the careless smile returning to his face. "Then why are you so anxious?"

"I'm not. I just wanted to go back and change clothes."

Izel gave a derisive laugh.

Gritting his teeth, Noah clung weakly to Izel's arm. "Izel, I really didn't do anything. Do you not trust me anymore?"

The already beautiful Omega's lashes trembled, and tears immediately fell.

Izel curled his lips and pinched Noah's chin, looking him over.

"What are you doing?"

Ning Zhao's voice came from the other end of the corridor.

Noah abruptly broke free of Izel's hand.

Unlike Noah's panic, Izel did not so much as twitch a brow. He merely withdrew his hand slowly and watched Ning Zhao approach.

Noah threw himself into Ning Zhao's arms. "Your Highness, Young Master Izel is drunk!"

Hearing the sudden accusation, Izel let out a soft laugh.

Ning Zhao gave Noah a perfunctory pat, his tone gentle. "Yes, it's inevitable to have a few extra drinks at a banquet."

Noah froze, only to hear Ning Zhao continue, "Weren't you going to change clothes?"

Meeting the Crown Prince's gentle emerald-green eyes, Noah felt a chill in his heart.

He had originally feared that Ning Zhao would misunderstand him and worried that Izel would ruin things, so he had decided to strike first and make the accusation himself.

But Ning Zhao's casual remark clearly showed that he did not want to get involved.

With no other choice, Noah could only force a smile and leave in embarrassment.

Ning Zhao looked at Izel. "Don't you show affection a little too freely?"

Izel leaned against the wall covered in ornate wallpaper. "You believe what he said?"

"Noah is very good. Naturally, I believe him." Ning Zhao smiled. "Besides, I also believe in Young Master Izel's reputation for romantic affairs."

Izel laughed. "Such trust should be expressed to your future Crown Princess, Your Highness."

Ning Zhao said, "Thank you for the suggestion. I'll consider it."

He paused. "Why are you angry, Izel? Is it because I abandoned Yumian and chose someone else as my dance partner, or because... of your relationship with Noah?"

Izel said, "What relationship do Noah and I have?"

"You were together before, weren't you?" Ning Zhao said. "You should know that no news can be concealed from the royal family, especially not your romantic exploits, Izel."

"Fine. If you insist, we were indeed together in the literal sense." Izel could not be bothered to argue.

"So what now, Your Highness? Are you going to drag me off and execute me, this Alpha who once seduced your Crown Princess?"

Ning Zhao suddenly fell silent.

He still wore a warm smile, but there was no trace of amusement in his eyes.

After a long while, he finally said, "Of course I would not be so unreasonable. It's just..."

His mild voice paused. "I simply find Your Excellency's habit of spreading affection everywhere rather interesting."

After saying that, he realized that Izel had not responded at once.

Ning Zhao was about to speak again when Izel suddenly moved closer.

Before he could react, the other man shoved him hard, slamming his back against the solid wall.

Ning Zhao frowned in pain, trapped between Izel's body and the wall.

The blond young nobleman lowered his eyes coldly. "Your Highness's words have reminded me. The Omegas in the capital are truly uninteresting. Perhaps I should spread some affection among Alphas as well."

Izel was not the tall, powerfully built type, but because he was taller than Ning Zhao, his presence was still oppressive.

Ning Zhao's lips had turned a little pale, yet he only looked at Izel without speaking.

Izel curled his lips mercilessly. "Is Your Highness afraid?"

Ning Zhao said nothing.

Yet Izel quickly released him, his tone contemptuous. "Rest assured, even if I were to mess around with an Alpha, someone as flawless as you would not be my type."

Ning Zhao remained in the same position, watching Izel walk away.

His gaze rested vaguely ahead, but it was unfocused.

After a long while, Ning Zhao straightened up and carefully adjusted his hem and cufflinks, an elegant, proper smile returning to his face.

The moment Izel returned, Lindsay hurried over and grabbed him.

"Are you all right?!"

Izel said, "What could happen to me?"

Lindsay sighed in relief, then said anxiously, "Yumian is missing. I couldn't find him."

Izel's expression sharpened. "I stopped Noah just now."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Lindsay said. "There's something wrong with the incense tonight. We need to find Yumian quickly!"

The two said no more and hurried off to search for Yumian.

Over the course of a banquet, it was inevitable that people would come speak to Elaine.

But whenever anyone approached, they saw the Marshal with a cold face, his gaze capable of freezing someone to death.

He looked as though he were warning everyone not to disturb him.

So they wisely left again.

Elaine had not been completely unsociable in the past, but he worried that Shi Sheng would feel uncomfortable, so he simply cut off all pleasantries from others.

Shi Sheng knew nothing of this. He had been eating desserts beside the buffet for quite a while, his cheeks puffed full.

Elaine found him adorable. "Eat slowly."

Shi Sheng turned around and realized that his younger brothers had all disappeared, which worried him a little.

He looked around, then noticed that both the Crown Prince and Noah were still in the hall, and temporarily relaxed.

Nothing should happen, right...

"X-Xiao Yi."

Shi Sheng looked up and saw his mother approaching.

He was stunned. He had not seen her earlier and had thought the Shi family had not come today.

He set down his plate and wiped the corner of his lips with Elaine's handkerchief.

Shi Sheng's mother watched their natural movements in silence for a moment before saying to Shi Sheng, "Xiao Yi, Mom wants to talk with you."

Shi Sheng looked up at Elaine and remembered what he had said before.

But Shi Sheng did not actually want to avoid seeing his mother. She had been fairly concerned about him.

So he smiled at Elaine and told him it was all right.

When Lindsay and Izel found Yumian, the Omega had Deli pinned beneath his foot and was tying him up like a trussed chicken with the man's own tie.

Lindsay was stunned. "Yumian!"

Seeing his brothers arrive, Yumian turned around, sharp beast fangs visible beside his lips.

Lindsay's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly took out a pill and handed it to him. "Hurry, take it."

Yumian efficiently swallowed the pill, then tied a bow on the bound Viscount Deli. "You came at just the right time. This guy harassed me. Go call—"

He paused. "Go call those annoying bastards from the Capital Police Bureau to take him away."

Izel crossed his arms. "Impressive."

"My god, it's fortunate we found you in time." Lindsay breathed a sigh of relief, then looked Yumian over from head to toe. "He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"You should be worried about what I did to him." Yumian clapped his hands. "It's all that fat pig's fault. I nearly lost control again."

Lindsay frowned. "It probably wasn't because of him. There's something wrong with the incense."

Yumian froze. "What incense? The one Noah prepared?"

He turned to look at Izel. "Then why is he fine?"

Suppressing the irritation in his heart, Izel pressed his tongue against the sharp tooth in his mouth. "Hard to say."

"Good thing you're all right." Lindsay handed Izel a pill. "Let's go back first. We should inform the family head and leave early."

Izel took the individually wrapped pill, but did not swallow it immediately. Instead, he casually slipped it into his pocket.

His episodes of losing control had always been less severe than Yumian's, so Lindsay was not overly worried.

He only thought how fortunate it was that nothing had gone wrong.

The three hurried back toward the hall, but suddenly heard several terrified screams.

Not long before, Noah stood beside Ning Zhao and watched through the crowd as Shi Sheng accompanied his mother out of the banquet hall.

Elaine followed behind Shi Sheng.

The fragrance in the hall was still faint.

The other three members of the Carlos family were nowhere to be seen.

Noah quietly clenched his hands, unwilling to accept it.

He did not know how Izel had learned that he wanted to get rid of Yumier. He had clearly been very discreet.

But after Izel's interruption, he had failed to bring anyone to catch Viscount Deli and Yumian in the act. He did not even know whether that old man had succeeded.

But it did not matter. He actually had two plans.

Besides the drug given to Viscount Deli, there was also incense capable of triggering the Carlos brothers' beast transformations.

The latter was his true objective.

Even if he could not get rid of Yumian, as long as any one of the three lost control in public, the Carlos family would become the target of everyone's condemnation!

Yet the banquet was nearly over, and this family had disappeared somewhere.

Noah's heart was full of resentment and unwillingness.

Suddenly, a shrill scream came from outside the hall.

"Murder... Thanatos has murdered someone!"

Noah's heart tightened, then was drowned in wild delight.

The guards pushed open the hall doors and escorted Ning Zhao to the scene.

The bolder nobles followed behind them. When they saw the sight before them, they all froze in shock.

Blood flowed across the floor at the entrance to the washroom in the long corridor.

The person lying on the ground had already stopped breathing, a longsword piercing straight through his throat.

Many recognized the pale noblewoman collapsed on the floor. She was the wife of the Shi family.

A short distance away from her stood two figures.

The shorter Omega clung tightly around the waist of the taller Alpha, as if trying to stop him from doing something.

But his Alpha showed no reaction.

"...Elaine." Ning Zhao steadied himself before barely managing to speak. "What happened here?"

Hearing the voice, Elaine slowly turned around.

Since he was attending a banquet, he had unusually dressed without his usual murderous aura today, and his long hair was not tied up.

But the instant he turned around, someone screamed in terror.

Under the dim corridor lights, Elaine's eyes were red.