Chapter 285: The Red Dragon’s Secrets, Lance Beyond Common Sense

Chapter 285: Chapter 285: The Red Dragon’s Secrets, Lance Beyond Common Sense

However, because Philis was still wearing her training gear, her movement speed was severely restricted.

Lance, relying on his own agility, managed to narrowly dodge the little cat’s "pounce attacks" every time.

The two of them chased each other around the edge of the spacious training ground, looking for all the world like a couple in the throes of passion, flirting shamelessly.

Just as Philis gathered all her strength, preparing to launch an all-or-nothing, "tiger-descends-the-mountain" pounce...

Suddenly, a fair hand shot out from the side without warning and pinched the nape of Philis’s neck.

Philis, who had been flailing wildly in mid-air, instantly went limp as if someone had hit a pause button, losing all her strength.

Lance stopped and turned to look.

The one who had acted was Nieve.

Today, Nieve wasn’t wearing her usual silver and blue Knight’s armor.

Instead, she had changed into a set of very casual, everyday clothes.

She wore a soft, white silk dress, with a delicate, deep blue ribbon tied at the collar.

Below the hem of her skirt, a pair of long, slender legs were revealed.

This seemingly simple outfit stripped away her cold hardness as a Knight, perfectly accentuating the ethereal and chilly beauty befitting a Snow Lady.

At that moment, Nieve expressionlessly held the back of Philis’s neck.

Then she extended her other arm and, with great skill, wrapped it around the waist of the still-struggling little Cat Girl.

As if hauling a sack of potatoes, she dragged Philis directly to a thick, load-bearing pillar at the edge of the training ground.

"Meow! Let me go! Nieve, you big meanie! Philis still wants to nuzzle, meow!"

As she was forcibly dragged away, Philis protested loudly, swinging her small fists in a futile struggle.

Of course, she wasn’t actually using the Power of a Professional to break free; it was more like a form of affectionate roughhousing between them.

"You are not allowed."

Nieve placed Philis in front of the pillar, pointing a finger at the round column, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"If Philis really wants to nuzzle something, nuzzle this pillar."

"Lance belongs to Nieve."

"Meow! That’s not fair!"

Philis protested loudly in dissatisfaction, stomping her foot with puffed cheeks.

But Nieve paid her protest no mind at all.

The Snow Lady turned, strode quickly to Lance’s side, and then, opening her arms, brazenly threw them around his waist.

Lance let her hold him tight.

Because he sensed...

’Nieve... is she jealous?’

"Um... Nieve, let me explain. Just now, it was actually..."

Just as Lance was about to clear up the misunderstanding of the "cat ambush"...

"There’s cat fur."

Nieve pressed her face against Lance’s chest and stated expressionlessly.

"And the smell of Philis."

Then, Nieve did something that made Lance’s heart skip a beat.

She tilted her chin up slightly and buried her delicate little face even more forcefully into the crook of Lance’s neck.

It was just like the scene in the square last night.

But this time, Lance felt a large area of icy coldness that seemed to seep straight through the pores of his skin.

Her body temperature seemed to be dropping.

She began nuzzling him frantically.

Her intent was all too clear.

She was trying to forcibly cover up every trace of Philis’s scent on him!

"Okay, okay, Nieve, let go."

"Philis didn’t even touch me there. Stop nuzzling me, it tickles..."

Nieve was hugging him very tightly this time, her slender arms locked around his waist like iron bands.

Lance was afraid he would hurt her if he broke free by force, so he could only try to squirm slightly to avoid Nieve’s face while attempting to stop her with a placating tone.

"Nieve! What are you doing!"

Just as the two were tangled together in the middle of the training ground,

a stern reprimand suddenly came from the direction of the entrance.

The sudden shout made Nieve’s movements freeze, and she obediently stopped her "scent-covering" operation.

Lance turned his head and saw Julius standing at the entrance, his face ashen.

"This is a training ground!"

Julius strode forward, his tone severe.

*Phew...*

Seeing the Guild captain finally step in to stop this farce, Lance let out a long sigh of relief in his heart.

’Looks like there’s finally one normal person in this Silver Hand Guild, someone with a proper sense of right and wrong.’

However, just as Lance was about to thank this righteous captain,

the man’s next words shocked Lance so much he almost bit his own tongue.

"This morning, the other two captains from the Iron Throne and the Golden Lion Cross are coming to our headquarters to discuss the important matter of a joint strategy for the Underground City."

Julius looked at his sister with a stern face and an earnest tone.

"At a time like this, people could be coming and going all over the headquarters."

"If outsiders from those other two Guilds see you behaving so intimately in public, how do you think that will reflect on you?"

Julius lowered his voice, his tone taking on the quality of an elder passing down wisdom.

"If you really want to be close, remember to wait until there are no outsiders around next time."

"What?!"

Lance was completely dumbfounded after hearing this speech.

’Continue this... when no one’s around??’

He stared in disbelief at the serious-faced captain before him.

’Is there really not a single person with a normal sense of morality in the entire Silver Hand Guild?!’

But what Lance didn’t know was,

Julius’s own train of thought had already been warped by the scenarios he’d imagined.

"Oh, Nieve understands."

Nieve nodded obediently.

She regretfully released her arms from around Lance’s waist.

"Then next time, Nieve will be sure to drag Lance to a place where absolutely no outsiders can see before we continue."

Lance painfully rubbed his throbbing temples.

’Forget it. Let it all burn.’

He didn’t want to waste another word on this bizarre Guild.

However, Lance quickly picked up on the key information Julius had just revealed.

Today, the captains of the other two major teams were coming to the Silver Hand to discuss a joint strategy.

It seemed that after he had left yesterday, the three captains had already reached a preliminary agreement to cooperate.

This was undoubtedly good news for the tens of thousands of Ordinary Adventurers in the camp.

Just as Lance was analyzing the developing situation,

a steady, firm tread of leather boots echoed from the corridor outside the training ground.

Soon, a tall, upright figure appeared at the entrance. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

The newcomer was none other than the captain of the Golden Lion Cross, Felix.

Today, he had changed into a very elegant set of a nobleman’s casual clothes.

A deep blue, slim-fit velvet jacket, paired with a snow-white lace cravat at the collar.

He exuded the unique elegance and breeding of a nobleman without appearing overly extravagant or flashy.

Felix had just stepped into the training ground, his face wearing its usual gentle smile, and was about to greet Julius.

But when his gaze inadvertently swept over Lance, who was standing to the side, the smile on his face instantly froze, and he was visibly stunned for a moment.

Felix’s gaze seemed to be glued to Lance.

His appearance was clearly the same as the black-haired youth he had seen in the square last night; his features hadn’t changed at all.

But, after just one night,

the feeling Lance gave him today, standing here, had undergone an earth-shattering, terrifying change!

If last night’s Lance was an angry dragon, his aura flamboyant, extroverted, and aggressive,

then today, he had become like an oceanic abyss, spontaneously drawing the gazes of everyone around him.

It was as if he was the focal point of everything.

This sudden, drastic contrast caused Felix’s mind to go blank for a moment.

Because of his family background, he had had contact with the Royal Family and understood them very well.

So, in that moment of daze,

a story that made his heart race flashed through Felix’s mind.

’The Red Dragon Lineage... its inborn charm!’

But, in his understanding, or rather, according to the consensus among the entire Kingdom’s upper nobility,

the unique charm of the Red Dragon Lineage, that ability to easily captivate the hearts of others, was deeply fixed by their bloodline from the moment of birth.

It was a unique gift from the gods to that family.

This special charm bonus was fixed. Some had more, some had less, but it didn’t affect a person’s achievements later in life.

Among the past monarchs of the Iris Kingdom, there was even a king with a charm bonus of 1, but that didn’t stop him from being an enlightened and strong-willed ruler.

But, the crucial point was!

This bonus was fixed!

And in the history of the Pandragon Royal Family,

there was only one absolute exception.

That was the one who founded the Kingdom in the first place, Emperor Clovis!

According to legend, the Emperor was not outstanding in his youth. His charm, which made all races submit, was something that had constantly transformed and evolved through countless wars of blood and fire.

Looking at the black-haired youth before him, whose aura had undergone a qualitative change in just one night,

Felix’s Adam’s apple bobbed with a difficult swallow.

A crazy thought took root in his mind, growing uncontrollably.

’It can’t be, can it?’