4th Prince's Invitation

Tita placed the document envelope on the table and tapped the clan crest on its surface with her fingertip.

"His Highness said that Mr. Kurapika would understand it at a glance."

She stood where she was, sweeping her gaze across the room. At last, it paused for half a second on Killua in the back row before she withdrew it.

Kurapika reached out and picked up the document envelope. When his fingertip touched the pattern of the crest, his movement paused.

Gon leaned over, stretching his head out as far as he could.

"What's inside? Why all the secrecy?"

"What else could it be? A provocation." Killua leaned against the edge of the table, sucking on a lollipop. He glanced at Tita's expression. "That guy hid himself for so long, and the moment he makes a move, he pokes at someone's sore spot."

Leorio crouched beside them, peering over the table's edge.

"Could it be a trap? Invite you over and then stab you in the back? That's how it always goes in TV dramas. The villain invites the protagonist to dinner, poisons the food, buries men with blades and axes all around them, then drops a cup as the signal."

"Watch fewer melodramas." Killua rolled his eyes. "If the Fourth Prince wants to make a move, he won't bother with so many tricks."

Kurapika tore open the seal of the document envelope and poured out two sheets of paper.

The first was a photograph of an entire box of Scarlet Eyes—thirty-six pairs in total, arranged neatly inside a velvet case, their glaring red gleaming beneath the light.

Kurapika's fingers tightened slightly, and his knuckles paled.

The second was a handwritten invitation. The handwriting was brazen, and every line was filled with provocation.

The message was simple. It invited Kurapika