God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World!

Chapter 502: Darius Aston

For a brief second, Gabriel’s movement slowed.

The princess seemed to notice it immediately because a soft laugh escaped her lips beneath the veil. It was not loud, but it carried enough amusement to tell him she had seen his reaction.

"You took that seriously?" she asked.

Gabriel looked at her calmly. "You said it with a straight face."

"That is because I was bluffing," she replied, her tone now lighter. "If I truly had a talent that let me read through people so easily, this hall would be much less interesting."

Gabriel said nothing for a moment, then let out a quiet breath.

"So Your Highness chose me for another reason."

She nodded once, her hand remaining steady in his while they moved across the dance floor. The music stayed soft, and the warm light above them reflected faintly off the polished floor.

"I simply did not want to dance with any of the nobles," she said. "Especially the ones in this hall."

Her voice remained calm, but there was a clear note of distaste underneath.

Gabriel glanced past her shoulder for a brief second and saw several men still watching them from their tables, some with curiosity, some with irritation, and some with poorly hidden envy.

"You dislike them that much?" he asked.

The princess’s veil shifted faintly as she turned her head just a little. "Most of them only know how to smile with their mouths. Their eyes say enough."

Gabriel almost smirked at that.

"So you used me."

She did not deny it.

"Yes," she replied honestly. "By dancing with you, I avoid them for one song. It is much easier than rejecting them one after another."

Gabriel’s hand remained steady at her waist while the dance continued, but his voice lowered slightly.

"You may have helped yourself, but you pushed me onto their radar."

The princess turned her gaze fully to him.

"That worries you?"

"It is inconvenient," Gabriel replied.

She seemed to think about that for a second. Then she said, almost casually, "Nothing will happen to you."

Gabriel raised a brow slightly.

She continued in the same calm tone.

"I will protect you."

That answer was so direct that Gabriel looked at her for half a second longer than before. The confidence in her voice did not sound like empty comfort. It sounded natural, as if she truly believed that saying it was enough.

The music slowed a little near the end of the song. Around them, other couples were already preparing to return to their tables.

Gabriel spoke quietly. "That is generous of Your Highness."

"It is practical," she replied. "I do not like creating trouble for someone and then leaving them to handle it alone."

Before Gabriel could say anything else, the song ended.

The two of them separated neatly. A few nearby guests clapped politely while others simply watched with even greater curiosity than before. The princess gave Gabriel a small nod and then began walking back toward her table without another word.

Gabriel returned the nod and stepped away from the dance floor.

Now that everyone was moving again, talking again, and shifting back into place, the hall had become noisier than before. That was exactly what he needed. He moved back toward the side of the room instead of his original table, keeping his pace steady and his posture relaxed.

Several people glanced at him while he passed, but none stopped him.

At the far end of the hall, Darius Aston stood near a group of nobles with a glass in hand. His face was composed again, but his eyes stayed on Gabriel for a moment too long. Gabriel noticed it, though he gave no sign.

A few seconds later, he slipped out of the banquet hall.

The corridor outside felt quieter immediately. The music from behind the double doors was muffled now, and the warm light from the chandeliers in the hallway stretched across the polished floor. Servants moved past from time to time, carrying trays or adjusting decorations, but Gabriel kept his head slightly lowered beneath the hat and followed the rough route from XMan’s map.

He walked with purpose.

That alone made a difference.

Most servants and guards did not question someone who moved as if he clearly knew where he was going. Gabriel did not look around too much, did not slow down needlessly, and did not make eye contact with the maids he passed. He simply walked. Once or twice, a servant glanced his way, but then quickly looked elsewhere and continued on.

He took one turn, then another, crossing through a wider corridor lined with portraits before moving down a less decorated hall with fewer lamps. His hand stayed near his coat while his eyes quietly tracked everything around him.

After several minutes, he turned into a more deserted hallway.

This section had not been on XMan’s map.

The light here was dimmer, the lamps spaced farther apart. The sound from the banquet had faded, replaced by a heavier silence broken only by his own footsteps and the occasional distant creak from deeper inside the castle.

Gabriel kept walking anyway.

"Where exactly do you think you are going?"

A voice suddenly called out from behind making Gabriel to stop in his tracks.

The sound of another pair of footsteps approached slowly from the other end of the corridor. When he turned slightly, he saw Darius Aston standing there, one hand resting near his side, his posture elegant but guarded now.

"This part of the castle is not for guests," Darius said. His calm smile from earlier was gone. "You are not supposed to be here."

Gabriel looked at him without surprise.

The truth was, he had already sensed Darius following him several minutes ago. The man was trying to be discreet, but to someone like Gabriel, it was not enough. That was why he had deliberately led him away from the brighter, more crowded parts of the castle and into this empty hallway.

It was cleaner this way.

Darius narrowed his eyes slightly when Gabriel did not answer right away.

"I asked you a question," he said. "Who are you, and why are you wandering through restricted halls?"

For a moment, the corridor stayed quiet. The dim lamps cast long shadows on the walls, and the cool air in this part of the castle felt noticeably different from the warm banquet hall behind them.

And then Gabriel raised his hat slightly looked at Darius and smiled, his teeth glistening faintly in the dark.