Blueflame, The Healer Granny, and Uncle Bamboo all froze. Their faces cramping up as they glared at the Bald Prince. To become his slave?
"How dare you!" Bamboo rose to his feet and glared at Ace's black eyes, his anger and disbelief rising.
Ace calmly looked back at him and shifted his gaze to the chief behind him, "Don't take it as an offense BlueFlame," looking back into Bamboo's eyes, "and you too Bamboo, sit down there calmly like the dog you are."
Bamboo flinched, this! THE NERVE!
He almost couldn't believe this was the same kid he was giving guidance a second ago.
His veins popping all over his body, he said through gritted teeth, "Never had a youngster ever been so rude infront of me. Hahaha, to believe I liked you for a second."
Startled out of his daze, Blueflame said, "Calm down Bamboo, you are talking to a prince."
"I am calm, or he would have been long dead," Bamboo said, his eyes those of an experienced hunter.
Blueflame stopped his little games and focused on Ace's face. Null prince, what are you planning?
He had at first just wanted to joke around with the Prince, be the friendly old man who gave some guidance, and get a connection going on with them. But little did he know that this was not Harry's original body but his clone, Ace.
And anyone knowing about Ace and Harry was a terrible issue. Since that could end up as a big problem when Harry and Ace truly started becoming two people, hopefully, the Ace of the Academy and Harry of the royals.
Two opposing factions.
If the fact that both were one ever came out, he will be killed from both sides.
But Blueflame hadn't thought all of that, he just wanted to build a relationship with a prince who was believed to be a Null but actually had a Body Gift, he was ready to be subservient, but a slave?
ραΠdαsΝοvel.cοm Ace chuckled at their ugly faces and said, uncaring, "I don't care if you want to be my slave or not, it is either you become one, or I will send my Grandmother to wipe out your memories, You know what? I don't want anyone to know that I came here."
He truly didn't care for their feelings, as long as it benefited him, what kindness repaid with kindness, what feelings? As long as it had nothing to do with his family or himself, he didn't care. He can and he would do anything for his own benefit.
Blueflame pondered, he was old, but not stupid, in fact, he was quite smart. He knew that the Prince was right and he had no choice. And moreover, just like all the other princes, behind the Null Prince's back too, there was a vicious Stage 5 beast.
If he messed with her, his little settlement would only burn.
Even Bamboo was restrained due to that. They had no vain dreams of killing him and hiding that secret, no matter what, it would be revealed at a point.
And Harry wasn't that afraid of them killing his clone either, even if the clone died, he wouldn't immediately die, he would have some time of respite to get to 100 soul limit to stay alive and that won't be very hard now. With Valeria's help, it would be easy to go on another Marathon.
Everyone grew silent. Silent to the point the glares seemed palpable and the anger ominous.
"Let me say this again," Ace said, "I am asking you to be my slave, but not for free, I will provide for your settlement, you will have a backer in the name of the infamous Null Prince."
It was always better to reduce the resistance with a carrot alongside the stick, "So what do you say, Blueflame, do you want to be my slave?
Blueflame sighed and then asked, "Prince, are we even worth that trouble?"
He had a bad feeling that the prince might just be stalling time till his Grandmother, the fiercest of all except one woman in the Lust royalty, reached here. And if that was the case, he could only pray.
And that really was a very probable choice, since if Ace had outright said he will kill them all or forcefully remove their memory and turn them into retards, they would have killed him before facing the repercussions head-on.
They were not cowards.
Or they won't be speaking with a prince this calmly.
"Indeed, you people are not worth all this trouble," Ace said, unfazed by Bamboo's twisting face, "I don't care if you all end up dead in a gutter or be burned into oblivion. What I care about are the twins, no, not the twins exactly, but Rome. He is a good choice for my first retainer."
Blueflame sighed again inside, he knew it. He knew it must have been those kids.
The healer, the old woman, said from the side, her forehead creased in a bit of worry, "But prince, you do know that Rome's Gift may seem ridiculous but it often clouds his judgment into bad decisions, right?"
Ace smiled, and his dark eyes grew fierce, "Nice trick, but do you think it will work on someone who had seen the kid for himself? Do you think I would believe you?"
Arrogance? No, Kid didn't even have much pride. He was proud of himself regarding his ability to judge humans; it had worked well for years for him as one of the best entrepreneurs on Earth.
Blueflame looked Ace in the eyes and asked, quite weary, "Then please tell me, Prince, what if I just give you Rome and Raina? Would you leave our settlement be?"
If they could sacrifice, no, just allow the kid to be a prince's retainer and be removed from his blacklist, it was a good deal.
Bamboo couldn't help but find his heart quiver. And eyes widen.
Was the chief going to allow his friend's son and daughter to be given away to a dark-hearted person as literal slaves?
Sure, he didn't say the word 'slave' when he mentioned the kids but... it was already evident how dark-hearted this person was. Even if he respected the chief, he would fight against such a decision.
And hearing the words of Blueflame, Ace couldn't help but chuckle, "Old man, are you an idiot? You have been jumping to conclusions quite a lot."
His eyes then darkened, he was bored of this idiocy already.