Vol. 6 - Ch. 82 - Catching a White Deer Empty-Handed

"Dragon... Shadow? What do you mean by 'Dragon Shadow', Mr. Fick?"

Vanessa was professionally trained, and though she was indeed deeply shaken, she would not be easily tricked into giving away information.

Yes, although Vanessa was certain, she still hadn't definitively confirmed that 'Master Fick' was indeed the king's illegitimate son.

Fick smiled calmly at Vanessa's question. His sharp eyes seemed to be able to see through her heart. 

"Miss Vanessa, I'm referring, of course, to the 'Dragon Shadow' you desire most."

"Mr. Fick, you sure love to joke! I don't even know what a 'Dragon Shadow' is, how could I possibly desire one?"

Vanessa continued to play dumb. Her organization, 'Hidden Dragon', maintained strict confidentiality. Unless they could prove the man was indeed the illegitimate son of Damodardas III, their secrets would never be shared with unrelated parties.

So far, it seemed Fick was merely tossing the concept of 'Dragon Shadow' back and forth.

Although Vanessa was eager to find the 'Dragon Shadow', she still maintained her rationality.

"That's a good answer, but I'm not the commander of your 'Hidden Dragon', so I won't be rewarding you."

Fick casually tossed out another keyword: "Hidden Dragon."

First 'Dragon Shadow', then 'Hidden Dragon'. It seemed to Vanessa that Fick had practically spilled the beans on the entire organization—these were their two most crucial secrets!

Whether it was the organization's name, 'Hidden Dragon', or the illegitimate child's codename, 'Dragon Shadow', these were the organization's most forbidden secrets. Now that Fick had revealed them one by one, Vanessa felt the organization's safety was in jeopardy.

—How strange! How does Fick know all this?

—Isn't he a wild 'Dragon Shadow'?

—Could it be...?

… 

"'Hidden Dragon'? What is a hidden dragon? Lord Fick, I'm really confused by what you're saying."

Speculations are just speculations, and Vanessa remained true to her professionalism.

However, Fick seemed tired of this game of mutual suspicion.

"Miss Vanessa, let me be frank with you." Fick, as if sensing Vanessa's feigned ignorance, took the conversation to a higher level.

He stepped forward, closing the distance between them to less than a meter. At such close range, Vanessa could even see his long eyelashes.

"Miss Vanessa, I'm not just any 'Dragon Shadow'. I'm the one being hunted. My original partner is dead, and the organization hasn't assigned me a new partner yet."

"Just now, I was testing you, wondering if you were the new partner sent by the organization. But it seems you're not... This means you're indeed a member of the organization, but you're pursuing the 'Dragon Shadow' according to your own wishes. Am I correct, Miss Vanessa?"

His words finally broke down Vanessa's last defenses. To her, all the illogical events of tonight made sense after Fick's confession.

However, Vanessa still had one last thing she couldn't figure out.

"Mr. Fick, you've been insisting that I'm a member of that organization. I hope you can provide evidence and not just make up some strange identity for me."

If Fick could explain this matter to Vanessa's satisfaction, then she would have nothing to say.

Vanessa was surprised to see that he answered this question almost instantly.

"What kind of evidence do you need? You've made it so obvious, haven't you?"

Looking at Fick's expression that seemed to say "Is that even a question?", Vanessa was puzzled.

"Obvious? What was obvious?"

Fick didn't beat around the bush and directly stated the basis for his judgment.

First, he looked like a commoner, and it was strange that a young lady like Vanessa, a supporter of the class gap between nobles and commoners, would actively seek out his friendship.

Second, Vanessa was too anxious, having already changed her address to "Lord Fick", which didn't fit her image as a young lady.

After much reflection, he concluded that Vanessa's attentiveness to him could only be one possibility: that she had seen through his identity as 'Dragon Shadow', or that she was the organization's next partner.

"Miss Vanessa, don't you think this is obvious?"

After hearing Fick's reasoning, Vanessa could no longer play dumb and obediently nodded, admitting she was a member of the 'Hidden Dragon'.

… 

"Mr. Fick is indeed worthy of being a 'Dragon Shadow'. He is truly unique."

"Then please get to the point, Miss Vanessa."

Vanessa nodded. Now that the conversation was out of the way, it was time to change her destiny.

Therefore, she frankly admitted that she had indeed never been assigned a 'Dragon Shadow' and held little influence within the organization.

This time, she approached Lord Fick precisely to confirm whether he was indeed a 'Dragon Shadow'—if so, she planned to bypass the organization's rules and directly form a partnership with him.

"How bold of you to say that, Miss Vanessa... Aren't you afraid I'll reject you and report your violation of rules to the 'Hidden Dragon'?"

Hearing this, Vanessa genuinely laughed for the first time in their conversation.

"Lord Fick, stop kidding! If you had that in mind, our conversation wouldn't have gotten this far."

This simple statement both praised Fick's intelligence and hinted that she understood the situation.

Her words successfully transformed the conversation from a "mutually probing hostile relationship" to a "win-win partnership."

Next, as Vanessa had hoped, Fick didn't outright deny the possibility of a private collaboration.

However, it seemed that this exceptionally talented 'Dragon Shadow' Fick wasn't so easy to negotiate with.

"Ms. Vanessa, to be honest, I'm not very satisfied with you, the 'Hidden Dragon'. The abilities of the staff are uneven, and working with you no longer appeals to me..."

Before Fick finished his words, Vanessa knew that he was about to state his ‘conditions’.

Vanessa was no naive girl. She knew his willingness to cooperate with her was definitely motivated by self-interest.

It would depend on the extent to which their interests overlapped.

"However, if you could help me with one thing, I would be willing to collaborate with you for a while to see how it goes."

Having already gotten to this point, Vanessa couldn't help but ask, "What is it? Please tell me in detail."

At this point, Fick shifted his gaze from Vanessa's face to the three deer spirits at her feet.

After observing them for a few seconds, he said to Vanessa.

"I'd like to borrow the power of the 'Sacred White Deer’."

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