Eros did not head straight home. Instead, he had the carriage driver stop several streets away from his house and alighted.
The reason he didn't go home was that he still had one piece of unfinished business: infiltrating the Imperial Palace to steal the Heart of the Ocean. If he went back now and Estelle or the others asked if he had successfully stolen it or encountered any trouble, what would he say? To avoid a future awkward situation, he planned to complete the task before returning.
However, the operation could only begin at night, and since it was currently still morning, he had to wander around for quite some time.
With a long sigh, Eros walked toward the outer city. Wandering in the inner city carried the risk of bumping into a family member, which would blow his cover.
Finally, night descended. Eros glanced at the crescent moon in the sky and lowered his head to speak to the Soul Ring on his finger.
"Cynthia, will there be a full moon tonight?"
A second later, Cynthia’s cold, calm voice echoed from the ring: "No. The nearest full moon is three nights from now."
Eros nodded. As the former Goddess of the Silver Moon, she only needed a glance at the sky to know the moon’s movements for the coming days. Eros had asked this same question before attending the ball; only after confirming there would be no full moon during those three days did he go with peace of mind.
His purpose, naturally, was to ensure his appointment with Ayesha wouldn't clash with the party. If they overlapped, he would inevitably have to stand one party up—something Eros, as a "Master of Time Management," was unwilling to see. Now, by using Cynthia’s power to know the lunar conditions in advance, he could prepare calmly.
Knowing there would be no full moon tonight, Eros shifted his body, and a layer of shadow power enveloped him. Without hesitation, he merged into a nearby shadow and began traversing toward the Imperial Palace.
Upon reaching the palace, Eros recalled the maps he had memorized and, after a moment’s thought, headed toward the palace where Empress Isabella resided. As he delved deeper into the royal grounds, Barbara’s voice suddenly spoke in his mind with a heavy tone:
"Something is wrong. This palace... something is off."
Eros immediately froze. I knew this mission wouldn't be that simple.
He asked in a low voice within his mind, "What is it? Did you discover a problem?"
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Inside the soul space, Barbara’s small face was tense. After sensing carefully for a moment, she let out a breath. "Deep beneath the palace, there is a Sequence 2 in a very strange state. However, his aura is much weaker than a normal Sequence 2—it feels incomplete."
Eros was startled. An Angel-level existence deep beneath the palace? Even if Barbara said this Angel was weaker than average, an Angel was still an Angel. Just by standing there and revealing their Mythical Creature form, anyone below the Beyonder level would likely lose control and mutate into a monster on the spot.
Is this the foundation of the Royal Family? No wonder that 'filial son' is so arrogant.
Seeing Eros preparing to abandon the mission and slip out of the palace, Barbara comforted him: "Don't worry. That Sequence 2 is currently in a deep slumber. As long as you don't cause too much of a commotion, you won't wake him."
Hearing this, Eros breathed a silent sigh of relief and stopped his retreating footsteps.
"Do you think the Church knows about the Angel hidden under the palace?" Eros asked Barbara quietly in his mind as he carefully navigated deeper into the palace.
Barbara replied with great certainty: "The Church likely doesn't know. That Sequence 2 is hidden very deep. I only discovered him because I can see through all illusions. For anyone else, even another Sequence 2, it would be extremely difficult to find him."
A look of realization appeared on Eros’s face. It seemed the Church truly was in the dark. If they knew, the Royal Angel wouldn't need to hide so deeply.
His father used to say the Royal Family only possessed promotion methods from Sequence 9 to Sequence 4. That was likely fake news spread by the royals. Or perhaps they truly only had up to Sequence 4 once, but obtained the subsequent methods later through some means—for instance, from the Evil God of the Abyss.
Now, Eros seemed to understand why the Royal Family possessed a Sealed Artifact specifically designed to find those with Spirit-Blessed bodies. They likely sacrificed these bodies to the Abyss in exchange for higher-sequence potions and methods. If so, was the reason their Angel was weaker than normal because he didn't promote through the standard path, but through a "gift" from an Evil God?
He posed this question to Barbara. She thought for a moment before saying, "It's a possibility."
Eros gave a low chuckle. Now he had another piece of leverage against the Royal Family, even if they didn't know it themselves.
After passing through several courtyards, Eros finally arrived at the entrance to Empress Isabella’s bedchamber. Looking at the tightly closed doors, his body turned into a pool of shadow and squeezed through the cracks.
Finally, Eros’s body materialized beside Empress Isabella’s bed. Looking at the beautiful, mature woman fast asleep, his first glance went to her exposed, porcelain-white neck. It was empty; she didn't wear the Heart of the Ocean to sleep.
Eros scanned the room and spotted his target on a nearby dressing table. The Heart of the Ocean sat there. He walked over stealthily and picked it up with extreme care.
Turning to glance once more at the sleeping Empress, his body dissolved into a pool of shadow and vanished into the boundless darkness.
Once outside the palace, Eros looked at the priceless Heart of the Ocean in his hand and said lightheartedly:
"Next, we’ll see what kind of deal that 'Paper Lady' proposes."
However, he wouldn't know until tomorrow night. Tossing the Heart of the Ocean in his hand, Eros fell into thought. What should I do now? Go home?