Serena crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow. "What? Just because I was disobedient, you had to be even more disobedient?"
Nicholas was forced to laugh by her utterly unapologetic tone.
He tightened his arms, holding her close, and rubbed his chin against her shoulder as if to punish her. "Fine."
"Since we're both already on board and that's an established fact, and neither of us can just walk off the ship mid-voyage, let's table the argument about who was more disobedient for now."
Serena tried to push him away. When he didn't budge, she slapped her hand over his disguised face just as he leaned in for another kiss. "Exactly. Arguing about this is completely pointless."
Her expression turned serious. "Right now, we need to stop wasting time and talk business."
Nicholas nodded. "Right, business."
His long fingers began twisting the ends of the hair draped over her shoulder, his eyes glinting playfully. "Serena, let's talk about exactly who this Fenris is."
Serena: "?"
Fenris?
Why were they talking about Fenris?
How was that business?
Shouldn't the business be the crucial clues she had spent the last two days gathering aboard Project Zero-Transit while disguised as The Panacea?
Nicholas let out a cold laugh, his jealousy impossible to hide. "Serena, you seem awfully invested in that mercenary captain."
He scoffed, practically radiating vinegar. "Speaking up for him, giving him subtle warnings... what, do you know him?"
Serena: "..
: "..."
Her eyebrow twitched. Staring at the massive vat of jealousy in front of her, she was utterly speechless.
"How is this business?" She rolled her eyes, prying his arm off her waist and pushing herself up from his lap. "Nicholas, is there room in your brain for anything other than jealousy?"
Nicholas slumped back against the sofa, making no move to fix his rumpled shirt. He just sat there, looking devastatingly lazy and relaxed.
Those seductive eyes tilted upward. "Fine, then we'll discuss your business first."
"As for my business, we can take our time with it later."
Serena: "..."
Was this man ever going to stop?
She shot him a sideways glance, her tone exasperated. "That mercenary captain was specifically hired from overseas by the ship's organizers. From the looks of in the boarded with än ulterior motive, probably something similar to ours.
it
"Earlier, when he was guarding the cargo hold, deliberately asked for a
ninety-second window to shut down
the scanning Held
didn't just do it,
to grab the raw data of the
Augments in the hold; I was also testing him."
"And my suspicions were right. Fenris definitely has his own agenda."
"Since we're all after the same thing, we might be able to work together if necessary."
Serena knew that if she didn't placate this jealous man's ego, he would harp on it forever.
To ensure the rest of their conversation was productive, she offered a concise explanation.
Then, she sighed. "Can you actually listen to me now?"
A smile played in the man's eyes. With his collar half-open, displaying that incredibly appealing collarbone, he looked just as dangerously handsome as his real face.
"I've been listening to every word you say, Serena~"
He dragged the words out in a low, lazy drawl.
It made Serena's fist itch with the urge to punch him.
Choosing to ignore him, she flicked her pinky finger.
A microchip, disguised seamlessly as a nail decoration, dropped right into her palm.
"The complete core data for Asset
07 is right here." Serena handed the chip to Nicholas. "I sifted through it That hidden command locking onto you wasn't implanted right before the exhibition. The earliest trace of the code dates back to before it even boarded the ship."