Chapter 38: Influence

"I'm fine…"

Chen Heng nodded and looked at Verna in his embrace as he asked, "What about you? Are you alright?"

"I… I'm fine."

Being embraced by Chen Heng, Verna's face became red as she nodded.

Chen Heng smiled and let go of her so that she could leave.

Verna somewhat absent-mindedly left; her mind was still completely blank.

Thinking of the scene from before, and how Chen Heng had attacked, she could not help but feel her mind go blank.

Chen Heng's expression was calm as he looked at Kelly in front of him, "They were all ordinary people; none of them were Knight Apprentices.

"However, none of them were weak, and all of them were well-trained elites. I don't know where they came from."

Speaking to there, he could not help but frown, feeling quite confused.

"After I interrogate them, we'll know where they're from," Kelly said vehemently with an ashen face.

This was public humiliation to him.

This banquet was held by him and most people here were nobles. It could be said that they all had important identities and were not ordinary people.

If anything happened to anyone at this banquet, he would be in trouble.

Most people would not care how things had happened; they would just know that there was an assassination at Kelly's banquet.

If that was all, it would not have been too big of a deal. However, Kelly had seen clearly that they were aiming for Verna.

With Verna's identity, if anything happened to her…

Kelly could not help but shudder, unable to imagine the terrifying consequences.

If they had assassinated Verna, the entire Kutu Royal City might have fallen into chaos, and Kelly would be doomed. Even his father, a Count, would not be able to protect him.

Fortunately, Knight Kailin had been present…

At that moment, Kelly felt incredibly fortunate that he was friends with Chen Heng and had been able to invite him here.

Otherwise, things could have gone terribly.

With those assassins' abilities, if it was not a Knight like Chen Heng acting, it might have been too late.

Thinking to there, Chen Heng became even more important to him.

"Looks like after this, the banquet probably won't be able to go on."

Looking at Kelly, Chen Heng lightly smiled and said, "Since it's like that, I'll leave first."

"Very well."

Kelly nodded and said, "Thank you so much for your help, though right now is not a good time to talk.

"I will visit you in a few days to properly thank you," he said with a serious expression.

Chen Heng smiled and nodded, and he turned and left under everyone's respectful gazes.

Before he left, Chen Heng gave a secret glance towards a corner.

The candles were not very bright, making that corner seem somewhat dim and impossible to see clearly.

However, with Chen Heng's vision, he could see clearly into the distance.

There was a young girl looking at him; she had not left.

Sensing that gaze, Chen Heng inwardly smiled but did not stay, and he directly left.

"Princess, he has already left," a servant said, her face a bit pale.

Verna reluctantly looked away.

"Do you think I can meet him again?" she asked while looking at the servant in front of her.

The servant paused for a moment before saying, "You are the Princess and can meet whoever you want to summon.

"However, you are still young and it is not suitable for you to individually meet with young men."

She reminded her in a soft voice, "However, as long as you are willing, Princess, there will always be more opportunities in the future."

"That's right."

Verna nodded and finally gave a slight smile, "There will always be opportunities."

"I wonder how effective my actions tonight will be…"

Sitting in the carriage, Chen Heng's expression was calm as he thought to himself.

He had gained more than he had expected at this banquet.

He had just come to this banquet to get to know some more people, develop his image, and perhaps discuss some business matters.

He had never thought that not only would he be able to get to know a good target, but he had also been able to show off.

No matter how good a weapon was, if there was no opportunity to use it, it would be useless.

Even though Chen Heng was a Knight and was far stronger than ordinary people, if he did not have a chance to show his strength off, no one would understand just how powerful he was.

Chen Heng had been able to show his strength, and this would make other people feel more favorably towards him.

This included the people Chen Heng had saved, such as Verna and Kelly.

To Chen Heng, this was his biggest gain.

Chen Heng decided that after going back, he would try to investigate Verna's true identity.

After concluding the results, he would decide how to act.

If she ticked all of Chen Heng's boxes, perhaps he would take the initiative and try to get to know her.

Sitting in the carriage, Chen Heng sat by himself and continuously thought to himself.

Time gradually passed.

Soon, it had been half a month.

Over this past half a month, Chen Heng had acted quite steadily, and he was just like normal. He either went to classes or trained, seeming incredibly diligent.

During this period of time, the results of Chen Heng's actions that night manifested.

In just a short period of time, Chen Heng became even more famous, and news of his bravery spread throughout all of the Kutu Principality's noble circles.

Who knew how many of the people there had spread news about Chen Heng's actions that night.

Immediately, Chen Heng's reputation had become even greater.

During that period of time, Kelly had come to visit Chen Heng and told him something—he had found the identities of those assassins.

What was surprising was that those assassins did not come from the Kutu Principality but a famous assassin organisation from a neighboring kingdom.

They had been hired to assassinate Kelly and others.

Of course, that was only Kelly's way of explaining things.

In actuality, Chen Heng knew the truth.

It was evident that the person those assassins wanted to kill was that girl called Verna.

Even though Kelly had been on their hit list, he was not as important as Verna.