The atmosphere in the room instantly fell silent.
On his sofa, Arlen tensed up and spontaneously swallowed hard. The sharp gaze coming from the purple-haired youth in front of him felt so intimidating, as if locking down his every movement.
He is truly terrifying! Arlen thought, shivering. I feel like I am being stared at by a starving apex predator.
"Arlen?" Calian called out, breaking the silence. His voice flowed softly, yet it was laden with absolute firmness.
The boy flinched. "Y-Yes?"
"There are a few things I need from you this morning." Calian continued, immediately initiating their main topic of conversation without any small talk. "And for this first request, I absolutely do not want to hear a refusal coming from your mouth."
Although still enveloped in confusion and intimidation, Arlen, realizing he had no other choice, could only nod in resignation.
"Yes. Whatever it is... I will do it." he answered quietly.
"Good! I will get straight to the point." Calian replied firmly, feeling satisfied with the cooperative answer from the brown-haired boy. "I want you to make a universal key capable of opening all the anti-magic and mana cuffs of your creation. Dozens of the kidnapped people have managed to escape, but their hands are still shackled by those cuffs you made."
Hearing the first request, Arlen spontaneously breathed a sigh of relief. The tension disturbing his peace instantly evaporated. For him, it was a trivial matter.
"If that is all, I would gladly make a universal key for all those cuffs." the boy replied, his tone now sounding more confident with not a single trace of hesitation on his face. "As long as you can provide a low-tier magic stone and a bit of iron ore or a small knife... I can make it for you right now!"
Calian fell silent, then leaned his back against the sofa once more.
The purple-haired youth felt at a loss because he did not have a single one of the materials Arlen had just mentioned.
Seeing the silent reaction from the young man sitting in front of him, Eralio, who had been listening to their conversation all along, immediately understood the situation.
The man knew that Calian did not have what Arlen needed.
"Your Highness, please leave that matter to me." Eralio said in a polite tone, taking the initiative to offer assistance. "I happen to have a stock of those materials in the storage room. I will immediately prepare everything needed to make the key."
And then, in that very instant, Arlen felt as though his soul had been forcibly ripped out of his body. His eyes widened, staring at the middle-aged man sitting to his right.
"Y-Your Highness?!" Arlen repeated, stammering. His brain struggled hard to process what his ears had just heard. "Why do you call that man 'Your Highness' instead of using his name? Is he a member of the Imperial family?"
Hearing the barrage of questions demanding an explanation about the purple-haired youth's identity, Eralio's face instantly turned pale. The man quickly covered his mouth with one hand, realizing he had just made a highly fatal mistake.
Damn it! Stupid mouth! Eralio cursed in panic inwardly. I accidentally leaked Prince Calian's identity to this little boy!
Eralio looked at Calian with eyes full of regret and fear, bracing himself to receive the Imperial Prince's wrath.
However, contrary to Eralio's expectations, Calian did not look angry at all over the slip of the tongue. His face remained calm. Calian indeed already had long-term plans for Arlen, who would eventually work under the direct protection of the Empire.
"There is no need to be afraid, Mr. Eralio. I will not punish you over such a trivial matter." Calian said in a very calm tone, dismissing the host's fears. "But in the future, I hope you can be more careful with your words."
"Y-Yes, Your Highness!" Eralio replied sincerely, rubbing the left side of his chest with an immense sense of relief. "Thank you very much for your generosity. I promise I will not repeat it again."
Calian smiled gently at the [Valuation] possessor. "I will hold you to your words, Mr. Eralio."
"Yes, Your Highness! I assure you, I will not disappoint you." the man replied with full conviction.
After settling the matter regarding his slip of the tongue, Calian's gaze returned to Arlen, who was currently sitting stiffly, staring at him as if waiting for an explanation from his lips.
"Now, Arlen. As you have just heard, my true identity is actually—"
Calian's words were suddenly cut off.
Wolvin, who had been sitting quietly next to him all this time, suddenly raised his right hand and placed the back of it right in front of Calian's face, signaling his husband to immediately stop talking.
"Darling, there are two people walking up the stairs heading toward this room!" Wolvin reported in a lowered voice that could only be heard by those inside the room.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly fell silent again upon receiving the report.
And amidst that silence, Wolvin continued to focus his hearing to eavesdrop on the quiet conversation taking place outside the room.
"It seems the two of them are spies or part of that slave trader syndicate." Wolvin continued, reporting what he had heard. "Because right now, those two men are whispering about their shift schedules in Wollen City and coming up with a plausible excuse to resign from this house without raising suspicion."
Hearing the crucial report from his spouse, Calian nodded in understanding. His vigilance instantly peaked, and he decided to postpone his explanation to Arlen.
On their respective sofas, Eralio and Arlen were left transfixed by what the Night Wolf youth had just laid out.
Eralio clenched his fists tightly. Shock and anger mixed into one. He truly did not expect that among his workers, people he paid and trusted, there were parasites who were part of the kidnapping and slave-trading syndicate that had been troubling the Empire, infiltrating his home.
The same went for Arlen. The boy was incredibly shocked, but for a different reason. He never expected that Wolvin possessed such sharp hearing that he could listen to someone's conversation from afar.
And that proof became all the more undeniable when the Night Wolf youth explained in detail the topic of conversation of the two men he had heard from outside the room.