Without receiving a reply from Leon, he instead saw a trace of pity in Leon’s eyes. The young version of Prince Andre couldn’t help but frown and then continued to speak:
"Regarding the current situation, you should be able to guess part of it. This world in front of you is drawn according to my own memories, and with your current ability, there’s no possibility of breaking out and escaping."
Leon raised an eyebrow at the words.
"You’re telling me this, are you expecting me to give up resisting, or do you want me to surrender to you directly?"
"That’s not necessary, I don’t care about those things."
Prince Andre shook his head and then pointed to the green-eyed girl protected by Leon, saying sincerely: New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet
"I only want Feiliya. If you return her to me, I can let you leave here immediately."
After hearing Prince Andre’s "simple" request, a touch of gratitude appeared in the eyes of the green-eyed girl, and she immediately wanted to step out from behind Leon, but...
"That’s not good, is it?"
Grabbing Feiliya’s collar and pulling her back behind him, Leon stared into the young prince’s green eyes and said:
"There are only you and her left in the Crolock royal family right now. If she is also handed to you, once the Crolock royal bloodline is severed, the effectiveness of Watcher’s Palace will decline, and my mission will completely fail."
"That’s your concern."
After Leon’s reply, Prince Andre slightly frowned, then said with a somewhat indifferent tone:
"The strength of Watcher’s Palace has nothing to do with me, nor with the Crolock royal family. Neither I nor the Crolock royal family have the responsibility to maintain the effectiveness of Watcher’s Palace for the Clean-up Bureau.
As for your mission... Sir Leon, I hope you understand that I’m willing to stand here and negotiate with you only because I don’t want to get into a fight and mess up my painting in this world, not because I’m incapable of dealing with you.
Now I’m willing to let you and Director Edward leave, so you’d better agree and not continue to test my patience, or the final outcome will be something neither of us wants to see."
After nodding ambiguously, Leon, holding the struggling Feiliya, squinted his eyes and asked:
"Compared to completing the mission for the Clean-up Bureau, I do care more about my own safety. This deal is not out of the question, but how can I be sure that after returning Princess Feiliya to you, you’ll truly let Director Edward and me leave?
After all, I’m currently trapped in your painting, and Princess Feiliya is my only leverage. If you were bluffing just now and decide to act against Director Edward and me after taking her away, then what should I do?"
Hearing this, Prince Andre frowned with some impatience and said:
"Just say it, what do you want?"
"I want some insurance."
Leon raised the [Silver Dagger of Cutting] in his hand, measuring it against Feiliya’s forehead, then earnestly proposed:
"To make sure Your Highness won’t go back on your word, I can return half of Princess Feiliya to you first, and the other half will be returned after Director Edward and I are safe... Hmm... do you want the left half or the right half?"
After hearing Leon’s proposal, looking at the shimmering dagger on her forehead, the struggling green-eyed girl immediately calmed down, didn’t dare to move, and started winking frantically at Prince Andre.
Don’t! I don’t want to be split in half vertically! Please don’t agree!
"If you don’t want to negotiate, so be it."
Looking at the [Silver Dagger of Cutting] tightly gripped in Leon’s hand and realizing he had rejected his terms, Prince Andre fell silent for a moment, then looked up with an expressionless face and said:
"Although I don’t want to dirty this painting, since you don’t agree to my terms, there’s no choice... Goodbye, I hope you won’t regret it later."
After leaving an incomprehensible threat, the young version of Andre’s body trembled slightly, as if something was being pulled out of him, and the previously slightly angry eyes returned to a state of untainted clarity.
Looking at Leon in front of him with surprise, the young version of Andre scratched the back of his head with confusion, full of puzzlement, and asked:
"The assassin who kills you."
Casually replying to little Andre, Leon quickly advanced with a knife, grabbed the startled Prince Andre, and stabbed him seven or eight times.
Witnessing this sudden occurrence, the Guard Commander in the distance, who had been watching like a hawk, was dumbfounded. His eyes suddenly bloodshot, he almost crawled over, intending to take back Prince Andre from the "assassin" and see if there was any hope, but...
Feeling his body, having been stabbed seven or eight times yet without any wounds, the young prince couldn’t help but gape in amazement, threw away the ball, clapped vigorously, and then asked eagerly:
"Are you a magician? Is your knife mechanism triggered, retracting upon contact with a person, or is the knife actually soft? Did I guess right?"
Allowing the young prince to touch the blade of the [Cutting Silver Coin] and verify the blade’s condition, Leon couldn’t help but let out a slight sigh as he looked at the young prince’s intact clothes.
At present, not only is the "canvas" uncuttable, but even the "content" and "characters" painted on it are uncuttable. Except for the spot in direct contact with the blade, any sliced parts would instantly heal.
It seems Prince Andre’s painting ability really restrains me completely, Director Edward’s judgment was spot on, this type of battle where the opponent’s true body can’t be seen is indeed something I can’t handle.
As Leon pondered in distress, watching the curious Prince Andre, who had no wounds, fiddling with the small knife, the tall, strong Guard Commander, who had half-rushed over, let out a long sigh of relief and staggered to brace against a nearby sculpture as if collapsing in exhaustion.
Damn... If I see this damn magician again, I’ll beat you every time!
Giving Leon a vicious glare, watching Prince Andre grabbing Leon’s arm and repeatedly stabbing himself with the knife, the still uneasy Guard Commander took a couple of breaths and then hurried over, advising sincerely:
"Prince Andre, these people are suspicious; you should..."
Hearing the Guard Commander’s advice, the young prince blinked in surprise and then pointed at Leon’s big, red, round nose and his face with a jumble of colorful patterns, asking curiously:
"What’s suspicious? Isn’t he the clown from the circus my father hired to liven things up?"
This time it was Leon’s turn to be surprised. Seeing the large red nose suddenly appear in his view, Leon’s eyes widened, and before he could speak, he felt his clothing suddenly grow heavier.
It seemed as if a gigantic invisible paintbrush, soaked in carefully mixed colorful pigments, gently brushed his clothes twice, transforming the newly changed black wool coat into a clown outfit covered in vertical colorful stripes and an array of vibrant patches.
Next, a somewhat muddled memory of a performer’s life, combined with reasonably skilled juggling techniques, abruptly flooded Leon’s mind, causing his previously tightened lips to curl up habitually into a brilliant yet formulaic smile.
Darn, I’ve really become a magician now!