The cabinet was terrified by the mastermind's actions and had no way to suppress it, so they could only block all possible avenues.
However, Levy had encountered this communication failure problem more than once before, so he was quite adept at handling it now.
The butler stood silently by the door watching His Highness the Crown Prince "do his handicrafts." He usually wouldn't make a sound at this time, and even if he did, Levi would ignore him completely.
But after looking for a while, the butler couldn't resist any longer. He discovered that the pile of parts Levi had disassembled came from a very old communicator model, and could only stammer as he advised, "Your Highness, if you need anything... you can ask someone to purchase it..."
There's absolutely no need to do it yourself!
Levy had just finished adjusting the signal when he heard this and laughed: "Through whom? The cabinet? To have them eavesdrop on me?"
The old butler had nothing to say and could only mourn for the pile of precious parts.
Levi completely ignored the old butler's distressed expression. He adjusted the signal band several times before straightening up and walking to the side to wipe his hands.
"What do you want?" Levi asked, his tone somewhat indifferent, clearly indicating that he was in a bad mood.
The butler reported truthfully: "The young gentleman in the black robe has woken up."
Levi became interested and glanced at the shelf next to him, where the black robe he had casually grabbed was hanging.
“Bring him to see me when he wakes up.”
-
"So... is everyone still asleep?"
As Lanny followed behind the butler, he couldn't help but keep asking questions.
The old butler glanced at him, nodded, and comforted him, "But people are starting to wake up, and there are some staff members in each position now. Things will gradually return to normal."
But Lanny felt no sense of relief whatsoever.
He was so shocked. He clearly remembered that he had only browsed the internet before going to bed, so how did he end up like this when he woke up?
Previously, the capital planet was overcrowded, and the cabinet was worried about the population every day, wishing they could organize an immigration campaign every year.
But now, the streets outside Roy Palace are deserted, not a soul in sight.
Lanny was a little scared and had no idea what to do.
According to Imperial law, he is still two years away from adulthood and is still an orphan. Given his current situation, Lanny is very afraid that he will not be able to survive.
Following closely behind the old butler, Lanny's heart was pounding in his chest.
He couldn't help but ask, "Where are we going now?"
The butler said gently, "His Highness the Crown Prince wishes to see you."
Your Highness the Crown Prince?
Does the empire have a crown prince?
Lanny, at his age, doesn't pay much attention to current affairs, but he does remember that the throne was vacant and that there had been no heir for many years.
But that was clearly not the most important thing. Lanny had no interest in how this prince came to be; he just wanted to survive in this terrifyingly empty world.
After hesitating for a moment, Lanny asked, "Your Highness, what brings you to see me?"
When this question was raised, Lanny felt a glimmer of hope.
He couldn't help but wonder what kind of person this Crown Prince was? Was he gentle or stern? Could he be kept in the palace? Here, he would have no worries about food and drink, and his safety would be guaranteed.
Unexpectedly, after he asked the question, the old butler did not respond immediately, but instead turned his head and looked at him probingly again.
The butler also found it strange, because the boy named Lanny was very confused after waking up and even asked why he was there. He looked as if he had just come out of the hospital's nutrient tank, and his demeanor was completely different from when he was wearing the black robe.
If the butler hadn't personally settled the boy, he probably would have thought he'd been switched with someone else along the way.
The butler was somewhat worried, knowing that Mr. Lanny had fainted during his fight with His Highness the Crown Prince.
Don't let them damage someone's brain.
After thinking for a while, the butler tentatively replied to Lanny, "His Highness the Crown Prince was very interested in the story you told, and he asked you to come over this time to ask about the next development of the story."
Lanny's heart jumped into his throat.
A story? What story?
How can he not remember at all? How can we continue the story if he doesn't remember?
Lanny's heart was pounding all the way.
He had no idea what the story had been about, and wanted to subtly ask the housekeeper, but he was afraid of revealing that he didn't remember the truth of the story and being kicked out.
But if I force myself to continue, wouldn't that be considered deception?
If he deceived the Crown Prince, would he be considered guilty?
Lanny's heart started racing again; in such hot weather, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Silently following behind the butler, we walked through a long corridor, passed a huge open-air garden, turned right after crossing the garden, and walked for a while before finally arriving at the prince's bedroom.
After walking such a long way, especially after passing through that vibrant garden, Lanny's guilt slowly subsided.
The butler went in first, while Lanny waited outside, unable to resist glancing at the garden behind him again.
Deprived of the protection of the ecological regulation system, the lush plants in the garden have withered somewhat, but they are still quite abundant. Such a scene is hard to find in this day and age; every naturally grown plant is incredibly precious.
Even such delicate plants can grow so well... Lanny became even more determined to stay here.
The tightly closed doors of the sleeping quarters opened, but before Lanny could even catch a glimpse of what lay inside, the heavy, ornate doors slammed shut again.
The old butler came out, but did not immediately let Lanny in. Instead, he asked him seriously, "Mr. Lanny, please tell me honestly, did you tell the story last time? Is there any memory loss? Or have you seen any strange people before?"
This series of questions suddenly made Lanny's throat tighten.
He looked up and met the old butler's aged, gentle, yet extremely serious eyes, and felt that all his little thoughts were being seen through.
Under that gaze, Lanny almost blurted out the whole truth.
But then he suddenly thought of the lush plants in the garden, the empty streets outside the window, the scorching sun... Lanny's lips moved, but he finally nodded: "I told the story, I remember it very clearly, and I didn't see anyone."
The old steward glanced at him again, sighed slightly with regret, and turned to open the door to the bedchamber: "Alright, in that case, come in with me."
Lanny followed cautiously behind the butler, keeping his head down and not daring to openly look at the surroundings.
Then he heard a pleasant voice, lazy and with a hint of laughter, its tone low at the end.
The voice asked, "Shall we continue the story?"
Lanny involuntarily looked up and saw a tall man sitting on the sofa smiling at him.
The old butler, standing to the side, kept his eyes down and remained indifferent.
This Crown Prince has a face that can easily make people blush and their hearts race when he casually smiles at them.
Those long, narrow eyes were even more captivating. When they weren't acting crazy, their icy blue eyes shimmered with a smile, and they looked at everyone with a touch of deep affection.
Of course... such a good impression can only remain at the first meeting. The butler sighed inwardly.
Lanny was clearly just an ordinary boy. Seeing the prince like this, he didn't know where to put his hands, and just lowered his head and stammered, "The story... I... I'm a little tired today, I'll continue in a couple of days..."
This unexpectedly matched the black-robed man's weekly schedule.
The butler's heart skipped a beat. He looked up and saw Levi beckoning to Lanny: "Come here."
Lanny was somewhat wary, but she couldn't resist being drawn to the beautiful sight and walked towards the Crown Prince.
Levy stood up and offered Lanny a seat on the sofa, but he did not choose to sit down himself.
He looked at the boy in front of him, a slight smile playing on his lips, and asked in a low voice, "Do you like it here?"
The tone of his voice was more like a lover's whisper, and Lanny's last bit of wariness vanished completely. He wanted to nod eagerly, but fearing that his eagerness would be awkward, he only nodded twice with restraint: "I like it."
“Very good… Here you don’t need to worry about making a living, you don’t need to wander the empty streets, and if you get bored, there will be people to help you pass the time.” Levi squatted down, looking gently at the boy on the sofa, his captivating blue eyes seemingly reflecting only the boy’s image. “Then would you like to stay?”
"Of course!" The Crown Prince's words clearly struck a chord with Lanny, who couldn't help but feel that the prince was incredibly gentle! So gentle that... Lanny felt like he was the special one.
Thinking of this, Lanny, who had no memory of the story, felt a pang of guilt, but he quickly suppressed it.
“I also hope you can stay here,” Levy said with a smile. “Sometimes, I’ll need your help, is that alright?”
Lanny had no intention of refusing at all when asked such a gentle question. Who could refuse such a kind prince? Lanny agreed without even asking what kind of help was needed.
Soon, His Highness the Crown Prince asked a few more questions and then had the steward escort him back.
As he was leaving the bedchamber, Lanni glanced around and saw a black robe hanging on a rack. Lanni suddenly felt that the robe looked familiar, and the Crown Prince's attitude emboldened him, so without thinking, he reached out to touch it.
But before his fingers could touch the fabric, his elbow was suddenly gripped by a powerful force.
Lanny almost cried out in pain. He thought he was locked in some kind of machine, but when he looked down, he found that it was just a hand with long, slender fingers.
He slowly raised his head and saw that the Crown Prince, who had been standing by the sofa, was now standing by the black robe. His icy blue eyes looked down at him, and although he had the same smile as before, it sent a chill down his spine.
Lanny heard the Crown Prince say in his lazy tone, "This is not something you can touch."
For the next few days, the Royal Palace remained quiet, unchanged by the presence of another person.
Burke remained on guard outside the gate, reminiscing about his life in the First Legion under the blazing sun, and pondering whether to use the upcoming beast tide in a few months as an excuse to request a transfer back to the edge of the star system.
The old butler continued to tend to the gardens and the precious works of art within Roy Palace.
Levy seemed to have found something to do, spending his days locked in his bedchamber fiddling with something, which spared the treasures of the Royal Palace from disaster.
Midway through, someone from the Capital Laboratory came and delivered a mental wave analyzer.
The arrival of this instrument shattered the tranquility of Roy Palace. His Highness, whose temper was already notoriously bad, was now as unpredictable as the weather on the capital planet.
In a separate isolation room, Levy stood in front of the analyzer's screen, bending over to look at the results.
The butler stood on the other side, looking at Lanny lying inside the machine.
On the analyzer's screen, the monitored mental waveform is being precisely compared with the mental waveform of Mr. Lanny retrieved from the database.
The progress bar slowly reached its end, and the comparison results popped up: the waveforms matched 100%, and no abnormal mental waveforms were found.
Levy clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, straightened up, and stretched, clearly very unhappy with the result.
This is the third comparison.
Ever since the instrument arrived, he's been monitoring Lanny's waveform every day. Unfortunately... he hasn't caught the little thing he's looking for.
Just as Levi was about to leave, but Lanny was still lying in the machine, the butler hurriedly stopped Levi with a thick instruction manual: "Your Highness, this machine can be harmful to the human body. Isn't it a bit inappropriate to use it so frequently?"
Hearing this, Levi chuckled softly, a cold smile playing on his lips. He glanced at the sleeping person inside the machine and replied nonchalantly, "Isn't this what he wanted? He'd probably rather be lying in this machine than be kicked out of here."
The lack of progress for three consecutive days clearly put Levy in a bad mood.