NoGift

AURUM noticed that her brother stopped walking. She glanced back and saw that her brother has a grave expression on her face. "Brother, what's wrong?"

"Let's go inside first," Argent answered. Then she walked inside the house and went straight to her study. Aurum and Black followed immediately.

Once inside the study, Argent immediately opened her light brain to check the location of her mother's bracelet. She gave that bracelet to her mother four years ago when she went back from her travels for her and Aurum's tenth birthday. Just like Aurum's limiter, it has the function of sending distress signal. When she told about that to her mother, she just laughed and asked her if Argent would come to her rescue immediately. But her mother still put it on happily.

Of course, Argent couldn't magically appear beside her mother. But at least, once she activated the distress signal from the bracelet, the signal would automatically relay her mother's position to Argent's light brain. A map appeared on the screen of her light brain. A red dot kept blinking somewhere on the Eastern continent. The signal was coming from one of the largest country in the world.

The Xing Empire.

Then the blinking red dot suddenly disappeared. Which could only mean one thing; the bracelet was broken or destroyed by someone. Because there's no way that their mother would break something Argent gave her.

"Brother, what's happening?" Aurum asked, seeing the serious expression on her brother's face made her feel worried.

"Something might have happened to Mother."

Aurum was startled when she heard that. Her first thought was her brother must be joking. But then, Argent would never joke about something like this. Her worry just intensified because of that. "W-what do you mean, Brother?"

"Let me check something first." Argent connected to White.

"Do you need me for something, Master?" White's sweet voice floated in her ear.

"Connect me to my Mother's sPhone."

"Yes, Master." After awhile White's voice sounded in her ear again. "There seems to be a problem, Master. Lady Anthea's sPhone seems to be no longer in working condition. In my estimate, it was probably destroyed."

Argent already thought as much but hearing it still made her frustrated. "Send me the last scene recorded by her sPhone before it got destroyed."

"Yes, Master."

It only took a few seconds before a video was sent to her light brain. Argent expanded the size of the virtual screen so that Aurum and Black could also watched it.

There was nothing but a black screen which meant that the sPhone was hidden, probably in her mother's pocket. Because if it was in her space ring then they wouldn't hear anything. Right now they could hear the sound of someone running. It was probably her mother. Based on the speed of her footsteps, she was running really fast. As if she was trying to get away from someone. Then they heard her grunt and they heard the sound of someone falling. She probably stumbled into something and lose her balance.

Then something appeared on the screen. Which meant that the sPhone was thrown to the ground. As evidence of the sudden image that appeared. The image was almost blurry as if there wasn't enough light available to make it clearer. But Argent could see the vague silhouette of her mother lying on the ground. She felt like all her muscles tightened when she heard another set of footsteps getting closer and closer.

The last thing they saw was a figure wearing a white cloak. Then the video abruptly ended as if the sPhone was purposely broken.

Argent felt her arm being clutched tightly. She looked down and saw her sister gazing up at her. The tight set of her brows and her quivering lips just showed how worried and scared she was.

"Brother, Mother, she--"

"It's going to be okay," she assured Aurum even though she, herself, was equally worried.

This was the first time she felt this kind of agitation. Not knowing whether the person she cared about was alright or not. During moments like this, she truly missed the days when she didn't give a shit about anyone or anything. Then she wouldn't feel anxious during situations like this. But she already let a lot of people inside her heart. If something were to happen to those people, then she wasn't sure what she would do. She might go berserk for all she knew.

"I know where Mother disappeared. All we have to do is investigate the hows and the whys. Then we'll definitely find her," Argent continued. "I'll save her, Aurum. I promise."

Aurum stared at her brother's purple eyes which were filled with determination. Argent's promise gave her strength. Making her fears and worries gradually lessened. She believed in Argent. Because when did her brother ever let her down? "I'll help too, Brother. We will both save Mother."

"Black will help too!" Black interjected, raising his hand.

"The place on the video, do you know where it is, Brother?" Aurum asked.

"It's somewhere in Xing."

"Xing? Then we have to go there immediately!"

"It wouldn't be that easy," Argent replied to her sister. "Xing isn't like a backwater country like Shandra. We couldn't just enter there recklessly. Even if we used a disguise and made ourselves looked like citizens of Xing, it would still be painfully obvious that we're foreigners. With Xing's strict rules against outsiders, our range of action would surely be limited. Which in turn would just hinder our search."

"Then what should we do?"

"We can go there on an official business and use my identity as the founder of Silver Corporation to its best advantage."

Aurum gave Argent a questioning look, clearly not understanding what she meant. Instead of explaining further, Argent once again talked to White. "Connect me to Prince Li Jun's [TalkUs] account."

"Yes, Master."

A little while later, the face of the fourth prince of Xing appeared on the screen. "Lord Hanover?" he said, clearly confused by this sudden call.

"Good morning, Your Highness. Are you perhaps interested in doing business with me?"

----------

Li Jun went down the carriage and stared at the majestic manor in front of him. It was even much grander than the residence he was staying at. Well, that's not really surprising considering that this was the house of one of the few dukes here in Albion.

The sudden call made by the Duke of Hanover really surprised Li Jun. He thought after that assassination attempt, the two of them would no longer have any chance to talk again. Though he was actually planning to visit the duke and try his luck before he left for Xing. But who would have thought that the duke would contact him first?

A stern looking butler and a couple of servants welcomed Li Jun at the entryway of the manor.

"Your Highness," the butler greeted, making a perfect bow. "His Grace is waiting in his study. If you could follow me please."

He nodded and followed the butler. The butler stopped in front of a room and knocked on the door. When they heard the voice of the duke allowing them to come in, the butler opened the door and gestured for Li Jun to enter. So Li Jun did so.

The young duke stood up once he entered. "Your Highness, please do sit." Li Jun sat on the seat in front of the duke. Argent looked around and seend to notice something. "You didn't bring your bodyguard with you?"

[Of course not. The guy is still suffering from heartbreak. Bringing him here to see you just right after you reject him will just open his wound even further.] So Li Jun left Lei Feng and just brought the general's three dark guards with him. But of course he couldn't tell those things to the duke.

"He's busy with something. Regarding the call you made, are you serious?" Li Jun asked, changing the subject and immediately getting to the point of the reason he went here.

"Of course. I never joke around when it comes to money."

Li Jun suddenly felt excited. It would really help a lot if he could partner up with Silver Corporation. "Then what do you have in mind?"

"Silver Corporation is planning a big project and I think Xing Empire would be perfect for it. But I have to check the condition of your country first to be sure."

"You mean... you're going to Xing yourself?"

"Yes. If it's not too much of a hassle to Your Highness, I'm planning to travel back with you."

"Of course not. You're very welcome to travel back with us." Although Li Jun still found it weird that the duke would go to Xing himself. Li Jun just guessed that he's the type to check first the things he planned to invest on before really putting his money into it.

"Good. If I find Xing satisfactory, then we will proceed with the project. I'm willing to give 40 percent of the project's future revenue to Your Highness." Li Jun's heartbeat sped up when he heard that. 40 percent would certainly be a lot - defnitely a lot - of money. "But Your Highness has to do something for me first."

And there's the catch. "If it's within my ability, then I will do it."

"I want Your Highness to make sure that I can freely move in your country without anyone hindering me. Can you do it?"

That was an odd request. But certainly not that hard. If he told his Emperor father about the benefits their country would gain by working with Argent Blackbourne, then Li Jun was sure that his father could make an exception for the young duke. But still. "You're not planning to do any crime once you're there, are you?"

"It all depends. But don't worry, if ever I do commit a crime, I'll make sure that no one will find out."

"I appreciate your consideration," Li Jun said sarcastically because he's not really sure if the duke was serious or not. At the end, he could only sigh. He couldn't really let this oppurtunity pass, right? "Then I promise you."

Argent grinned like a satisfied cat. "Good."