Chapter 198: The Case of Sister Elia
Xu Xiaoyue followed the address, wandering around for quite a while before finally finding the place.
Looking at such a grand mansion, she felt a bit out of place.
Their family back in reality was doing okay, with no worries about food and shelter, but they certainly weren’t living in luxury.
Buildings like this were something she’d only seen on TV—until she remembered, this was a game! Anything goes here!
This area was nestled deep in the residential district, where adventurers rarely ventured.
Emerald City was massive; even the outer districts had plenty of places players wouldn’t bother visiting.
After pondering it over, she decided to go ahead and knock on the door.
Before long, the door opened a crack, and a man peeked out.
“Hmm?”
“Uh…”
The moment Xu Xiaoyue laid eyes on the man, she felt a strong bloodline pressure wash over her.
Even just standing there, she couldn’t shake off the feeling of being in the presence of someone… impressive and a little intimidating.
“Uh… hello.”
Steven asked nonchalantly, “Do you need something?”
He remembered this outsider to some extent, but not a particularly fond memory.
“I… I’m looking for someone.”
“Who?”
“Um… I’m looking for…”
Uh-oh, what should I call her? How do I say this?
This NPC seemed to be someone known to… a sister or maybe a little sister?
Under the overwhelming bloodline pressure, Xu Xiaoyue even forgot she could just send a private message.
“She gave me this address, so I came.”
However, Xu Xiaoyue’s vague and hesitant response raised red flags for Steven.
As a senior member of the Dark Moon Knight Order, he was skilled at reading people and had encountered all kinds in his dealings.
“You’re looking for the young lady?”
“Huh? The young lady? Oh yes! That’s right! I’m looking for her!”
“Alright, but first you’re coming with me to the Knight Order. I suspect you’re stalking the young lady for some sort of abduction of a minor.”
“Ah! No! I promise I’m not!”
“Whether you are or not, we’ll find out at the Knight Order. From my judgment, you seem to have that motive.”
“I’m really not! That was in the past… I mean it! I’ve never done anything like that!”
“Still, we ought to go.”
If she were male, Steven would’ve dragged her off without a second thought.
But since she was female, it was hard to determine if any laws were truly broken.
Plus, being a noble, Steven had to maintain his gentlemanly demeanor—he couldn’t be too rough with a lady.
“Wait! Steven! This is my invited guest!”
Fortunately, Yuliya appeared just in time, shoving Steven aside.
She took Xu Xiaoyue’s hand, glanced around, and asked, “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, just… feeling a bit pressured.”
Xu Xiaoyue ducked behind Yuliya, not daring to meet Steven’s gaze.
The pressure was indeed intense.
This NPC was quite powerful and high-level—just a hint of their aura was enough to make anyone uncomfortable.
Plus, she truly felt guilty about her intentions.
But Yuliya remained completely unfazed, pointing an accusing finger at Steven. “Steven! You scared my guest!”
“She’s your guest?” Steven glanced at Xu Xiaoyue, raising an eyebrow. “But she looks a bit shady to me, so I asked a couple of questions, and her answers were suspicious.”
Uh… to be fair, when Yuliya came out and saw Xu Xiaoyue, she too found her a bit suspicious…
She remembered how Steven had put up a wall against Xu Xiaoyue earlier; it was a little awkward.
“Oh, it’s fine, it’s fine! She’s my guest now! There was just a misunderstanding; we’re like sisters now!”
Xu Xiaoyue nervously added, “Right! Sisters!”
Then she shrank back under Steven’s glare.
“Miss, you can’t just declare every random person a sister. Especially an outsider, with an unclear background.”
This was tough; for local NPCs, players came with a built-in ‘suspicious’ aura. They had no real identity, so trust was hard to come by.
“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”
Knowing what she was doing? Pffft. That was a laugh!
Steven internally scoffed.
The more Yuliya insisted, the more questionable it became.
With her status, why would she need an outsider as a sister? Compared to Princess Elia, was there anything special about Xu Xiaoyue?
Princess Elia was clearly her sister; there was no need to find another!
If Yuliya knew what he was thinking, she would probably scratch her head and say, “But I’m looking for a little sister!”
Seeing Steven’s skepticism was still unwavering, Yuliya felt a headache coming on.
Nobility, with all its rules and expectations, was such a hassle; she needed an excuse to smooth things over.
Suddenly, a light bulb lit up in her head.
Nobility had to bow to royalty, right? After all, Princess Elia seemed to have struck some secret deal with Little Moon; borrowing her name surely wouldn’t be an issue.
“Steven, come here.”
She beckoned him, leading him a little further away for some whispered conversation.
“Actually, I’m consulting this outsider about something… regarding Sister Elia.”
At her words, Steven’s eyes widened in shock.
Princess Elia’s matters?! An outsider?! Was she planning to leverage this outsider’s power?!
Whoa… now that was quite the bold move!
Currently, the number of outsiders in Emerald City was countless—an unofficial count suggested it had already surpassed a hundred million. This was a force not to be underestimated!
Moreover, these outsiders were primarily under the Adventurers Guild; technically, they fell under Princess Elia’s jurisdiction.
But this was a risky venture.
Outsiders were difficult to manage, their backgrounds unclear; whether they could unite and form a substantial force was uncertain, not to mention the risk of backlash.
“Miss, you need to be extremely careful with this! Make sure you tread lightly!”
“Uh… don’t worry; I know what I’m doing.”
Though she had no idea what she was doing, going along with it couldn’t be wrong.
“As long as you’re aware.”
In matters of significance, Steven still trusted this young lady.
She had a knack for turning wild ideas into reality.
Things that were challenging for others seemed to come to her effortlessly; it was just the little details that required careful oversight.
“Steven, you’re making her uncomfortable by being here, so…”
Suddenly, Steven declared loudly, “Miss, I just remembered I have things to attend to. May I take my leave?”
“Oh, go ahead.”
“Alright, I wish you all success.”
With that, Steven exited through the main door.
As he left, he didn’t even spare Xu Xiaoyue a second glance. His aura was so restrained, he passed by like a gentle breeze.
He was a knight and didn’t need to deal with enormous issues; he just followed orders.
Regarding the situation in Emerald City, he could observe but had no interest—or ability—to intervene.
