Olivia Sparks

Unbeknownst to the three gal pals and Selena who just had the shock of the day, a duck hunting party hosted by Nisia Pistol and Gun Club in honor of King Alistair was ongoing hundred of miles away, south of the metro. It was actually the club's centennial foundation celebration.

Although the best time for a hunt was foul weather, the club decided to lure the king into attending with a promise of clear and bright weather ahead because everyone knew that King Alistair preferred to hunt in broad daylight where it's harder to spot and aim a prey.

As the members had predicted, King Alistair was in attendance and was in a pleasant mood, smiling and shaking hands with everyone in the tent.

The gun club's president then ushered him to a spot where all the rifles were in a corner inside the tent. 

King Alistair was all smiles as the president urged him to pick any rifle of his choosing. Deep inside, the king was at war with himself. 

He certainly did not need to use any of it because he brought his own gun. However, he didn't want to offend the host by declining the good offer so he just smiled his signature genuine smile that was far from genuine.

The gun club president excused himself when another noteworthy member arrived, leaving King Alistair to study the rifles on the stand that was calling out his name.

His eyes immediately zeroed in on a classic, picking it up and feeling its weight when he heard a voice behind him.

"Your Majesty," Lance Go showed his respects, bowing slightly to hide the smirk on his face.

King Alistair regarded the man who stepped out of nowhere. His sight immediately moved down to the young lad's boots and raised a brow of approval upon seeing Lance was wearing the same snake-proof boots like his. 

"Young lad, how's everything going on with your company?" King Alistair asked to hide the huge question mark floating above his head. 

He did not have a clue about the young lad who approached him, but if the latter was included in the guest list then King Alistair guessed that the young lad had some sort of connection in the gun club or was a member himself.

After all, this was a prestigious gun club, and if one was permitted access inside, it meant that person was either a politician or one of the many tycoons in the country.

"Good. Everything's going well with me. My wife, Selena Lee, is pregnant too," Lance dropped his wife's name to intentionally pique the interest of King Alistair and was successful at it.

"Ooooh! Yes, congratulations. I heard Ava was throwing a baby shower in Selena's honor." King Alistair congratulated Lance and clamped a hand on the latter's shoulder. "Let's go. Ducks won't wait for us." He was humming as he loaded one bullet after another into his rifle. 

The entire time, he tried to act naturally. He knew the name. He read it in Wyatt's intel report. He knew who Lance Go was and what he was cooking behind the Suis' and Lees' back. However, because his facial recognition was so poor, he even passed it down to his son Maxen, he almost failed to realize who it was had the young lad not given his name.

Months ago during the auction, one of the poker players from Vuono who was an arms dealer, informed Wyatt that a certain businessman was purchasing all types of assault weapons illegally from the neighboring countries. 

At first, some dealers would sell their guns on the man who named himself as 'Mr. Lee'. However, when word got out that 'Mr. Lee' had been procuring far more guns than he needed, they immediately stopped selling him goods because if their numbers were right, he could even build an army of his own. 

King Alistair immediately heightened his senses. His hearing alerted him that Lance Go wasn't moving in his spot. It felt awkward that he could feel the young lad staring at him, watching his every move, so he stared back at Lance with the same intensity the latter had. 

"Go on, don't be shy and pick up a rifle," he said and gestured towards the racks of guns on the side, urging the latter to pick one that he could use for the day.

For security purposes, different models of rifles with its specific bullet would be used that afternoon, so it would be easy to trace who was using what rifle.

King Alistair never left his eyes on Lance as the latter picked up a rifle to his liking. "Of course, the youngins preferred a Super Black Eagle 3," King Alistair commented.

"Everything needs to progress, Your Majesty. Your Winc.h.e.s.ter might be an oldie but goodie but it's best to be displayed at home," Lance said, his lips then tilted up in a lopsided grin. It was obvious that he was mocking King Alistair with the latter's choice of rifle.

"Hahahaha!" King Alistair laughed, it reached the ears of those who were within the vicinity. 

Heads snapped to their direction and weren't surprised to see Lance Go speaking with the king. After all, the Suis and the Lees were known to have a strong bond. Eventually, everyone went back to business and chatted among themselves, leaving King Alistair and Lance Go to themselves.

King Alistair was so amused by Lance's audacity to ridicule him, but he liked how honest the young lad was, unlike any other men he encountered who would lick his boots instead of telling the truth.

"I like you," King Alistair said, bobbing his head as he regarded Lance. "But I'll like you more if you surpass my hits this afternoon."

"It would be an honor to beat your score, which I will, by all means, Your Majesty. I heard you're the best hunter in Nisia," Lance said and raised his chin up in a challenge, his back was straight as a ruler. Much to King Alistair's chagrin, the lopsided grin in Lance Go's face was still in place.

He wondered if he owed the young lad something that he was not aware of hence the latter's animosity? Hiding his dissatisfaction with Lance Go's taunting, King Alistair let out another loud and booming laugh, his shoulders shook as he did.

"Hahahaha!" King Alistair laughed and nodded his head. He handed his rifle to a waiting security detail and said in a trivia, "Everyone says I am the best hunter in Nisia, but I'll let you in on a secret. I am not. There is one more person who's better at hunting than me, and that's my son. Always a clean shot even with the sun glare and all. Let's see if you're as good as me then."

King Alistair took his leave without waiting for Lance to send another jab on him. One more second beside the man would turn into a piss fight between them which was insulting on his part because why would he even spare a second of his time over a sc.u.m like Lance Go?

On his way to join the members of the gun club, he whispered to the security detail to his left to keep an eye on Lance Go, just in case the young lad stirs trouble for the royal family.

King Alistair wanted to alert Maxen over Lance being in close proximity with him, and holding a gun too, but knowing his son, Maxen would definitely rush over where the gun club was at the moment and take that opportunity to strike a move on the young lad, given that it was obvious why Lance was in attendance at a hunting party no less.

While everyone was busily chatting before they head out for the hunt, Lance Go's brows furrowed as he fired a message on his phone, ignoring the number of missed calls from "Annoying Snake", which we can safely assume to be his wife, Selena.

Today, his name would make the headlines and be known to the rest of the world, not because of his business failing for the nth time, but for his name to be written in the history books of Nisia in the years to come.