Voyage Of The Villainess

"And who do you think you might be?" Malaya asked while looking directly at the man. "The first thing one should do is to introduce themselves before asking the other party." 

"Hey! How dare you ask that kind of question without manners?  Don't you know this person is..." The man with glistening silver hair stopped the guard. 

"Apologies for my rude behavior." The silver head said as he put his right hand on his chest. "I'm Muyang, Kija."

'Muyang? I remember from what Seth told us that when someone introduced themselves, their family name comes first before their given name. And he said Muyan? And it only means that is the family name of the royal family in this kingdom from what Seth further told us.'

"That person you are talking with in front of you. He is the name of the third prince of this kingdom." Seth whispered behind Malaya.

'Earlier in the morning, I met the daughter of a minister. And now, a straight-up prince. This certainly looked troublesome.' she thought after hearing Seth's statement.

"Your highness, please forgive this one for not recognizing an esteemed and honorable  person living on this island such as yourself." Malaya gave a short bow and the others bowed down as well. "This lowly servant's name is Malaya Venizever Marina."

'Marina? That sounds unfamiliar since I haven't heard of any noble house with that surname before. And the way she carried herself and her manner of speech. It was not just a movement of any regular nobles. The people that were with her as well have a certain air of superiority towards them, especially that man. This person in front of me was not just an ordinary noble, there is something to them.'

Oliver just simply gave a polite smile and bowed shortly.

"It's alright." Prince Kija said while also forming a polite smile towards them. "It seems you are foreigners from the regions."

"Yes," Malaya said with politeness. "What does his highness want from these lowly people?"

"Milady must have come to a faraway land to visit our humble kingdom. As the prince representing the Kingdom of Baslon, may I invite you and your companions to dinner with me to show our hospitality?"

'Show hospitality? Hmm. So that is the front for whatever agenda you are hiding.'

" It was indeed an honor with all due respect to your highness, what if we object to your offer?"

"Hmm well, it's just simply nothing will happen." The smile on Prince Kija's face remained but his eyes spoke differently and it flashed with coldness. "However, I have already reserved a place for us. And a rumor of how a prince was rejected by a foreigner circulates. Many would think that the royal family is not good enough for people that are outside our kingdom."

'He uses not only himself but also the royal family of the kingdom. So in this situation, it looks like rejection was never an option for us in the first place. What a sly one. He reminded me of someone.' Malaya gave a sideways glance to Oliver then back to the prince.

'Well, there is no downside to hearing his real intention. Plus, I still need to stay in this place and set my plan to become famous so in that way it will be easy for us to find the other members of my team..'

"I see, then it will be our honor to dine with you, your highness," Malaya said. 

***

The people that came with Malaya were Oliver and Hyun Jae. Since Hyun Jae doesn't want to leave Malaya alone and wants to be at her side. And Oliver already planned to come along from the start. On the other side, Rhyme and Seth were tasked to bring the carriage of the people to Seth's home in the forest.

At the moment, Malaya and Hyun Jae were seated at a square table side by side. While Oliver was beside the prince. The position was Oliver currently facing Hyun Jae while Malaya was facing the prince.

"Before starting this I just want to express this deep gratitude. Thank you for dining with me." Prince Kija started the talk between them. Then he glanced towards Hyun Jae and Oliver. Despite knowing that he was a prince, all of them remained as composed and calm as ever. Very different from the usual nobles who got break into sweats when even just talking to him. Not only that but they were not even trying to curry favor with him. "I believe I never got the name of your other two companions, Lady Malaya." The prince said.

"If so, please allow me to introduce myself first, your highness," Oliver said with a polite smile. The smile he always used dealing with every high nobles and royalty he encountered were carried a high quality and elegant energy. The smile left him unreadable for anyone.

"I am Oliver. As you can hear I don't have any family name since I'm just simply a commoner now, your highness." Oliver introduced himself as he picked the cup of tea prepared for them but just stared at it.

'Commoner now? There must be a hidden story with that. But I won't pry any further.'

"Then let me now introduce myself, I am Cheol, Hyun Jae, your highness." Hyun Jae's soft voice rang. 

And this one too. She gave off the feeling of a delicate lady from a respective noble house either.'

"I'm honored that we are able to have dinner with you, your highness. And you even reserve such a high-class private room just for us to eat. Now that there are fewer eyes here,  can I know what your real intention is with us, your highness?" Malaya said, maintaining her smile.

" Well, it's a pleasure, Lady Malaya. I simply wanted to treat the foreign delegates that take interest in our humble country"

"It is really a benevolent act, your highness," Oliver said. "However, we might truly believe that act if not for the special drinks you offered us. We don't remember offending you, your highness."

'Wait, drink?' Malaya was frozen when she glanced at the untouched drinks on them. 'Is there something in the drink?' Then she glanced towards Hyun Jae who was glaring at the prince. 'Am I the only one who remained oblivious? That is close. He was good at manipulating other people. Why didn't I even notice at first? Am I too easy to believe at his act of kindness?'

"What do you mean by the drink?" Prince Kija remained composed as ever and smiled.

"In that place, well, I don't know what it is called in this place. But the place I came from has a certain herb called the Truth Grass. And when we smell it there is a faint sweet smell of the grape. This herb although not deadly but could cause a hallucination to anyone who drank it and they would spout anything that they were hiding. This is also a main ingredient for the truth pill, we use when interrogating criminals. And I'm really quite familiar with this." Oliver said as he placed down the cup, he was holding.

'Oliver. Exjob: Former traitor who tried to be the demon lord. A half-blood prince and the black knight of the emperor of Sahaya. The black knight's job is to interrogate everyone who tried to assassinate the emperor and deal with the underground society of the empire.' Malaya looked at Oliver. 'Of course, he will be truly familiar with that kind of thing. So what will you do prince with hidden motives?' Malaya glanced back at the prince. She was now certainly enjoying the show. The battle of slyest people. ' I think this one will be one of the most unforgettable nights of my life.' Malaya forms an imaginary grin on her mind while observing the situations they are in at the moment.

There was a quick crack on the prince's smile. However, he immediately hid it. "Ah, you must mean the Wind Herb. You have a piece of interesting knowledge about the herb, you impressed me." The prince said. "Then, why did you mention such things?"

"I'm just quite confused by your highness. Despite having green tea, why do I smell a grape smell on the drink."

The prince finally gave up. "It's a pity. The wind plant is a rare herb in this place and only selected officials are still aware of this herb's existence." His smile disappeared. "As I expected, people who aimed to but the Mermaid Tears and even the slaves, are not ordinary  and truly interesting people"

'Eh. That is all? Is it already finished? I thought there would be more battles tss my body is now ready to move.' Malaya looked disappointed. And Oliver who saw this just sighed inwardly. 'I thought she would also say something.'

"Now that we succeed in his highness' test, can you tell now what do you need from us? " Malaya asked again this time. "However, since you tried to make us drink something, your highness.. I hope we will be compensated very well with this," a polite yet dangerous smile formed on Malya's lips.