"Anything that's been done leaves traces. He has no choice but to end this before everything is exposed."
"And more and more Tarnished are gathering. The longer this drags on, the more trouble it will cause."
For some reason, Melina felt a quiet sense of relief.
Thinking back over these past days, she realized she hadn't done anything meaningful at all, just drifting along without purpose.
She almost felt like she was becoming nothing more than an accessory to Torrent.
At least Torrent could help Nolan in battle.
But in front of Nolan, she always seemed clumsy, like a useless fool.
Seeing her like this, Nolan felt a small sense of satisfaction. A gentle smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
Just as he was about to praise her, a sudden commotion drifted in from outside the window.
"What's going on?"
Puzzled, Nolan tilted his chin toward the source of the noise.
"An Ancient Dragon showed up," Melina replied calmly, arms folded.
"You're telling me something this important only now!?"
Nolan's eyes widened in disbelief.
It wasn't fear. Ancient Dragons were simply destructive enough to wipe out a city.
He had worked too hard to build all this. He wasn't about to let some random dragon wreck it.
Melina pursed her lips, unconcerned.
"I didn't sense any hostility. And you didn't ask."
No wonder he hadn't felt any danger.
Nolan froze.
"Damn it…"
A moment later, he couldn't help but curse under his breath.
It felt like something surged up in his chest and got stuck there, leaving him thoroughly irritated.
At that moment, he was almost certain she was doing this on purpose.
Who exactly said Melina was stiff and dull like a block of wood?
If they had the guts, they could come out and see whether he'd cut them down.
Alicia, standing nearby, couldn't help but twitch at the corner of her mouth.
To push the usually gentle Nolan this far… Miss Melina really was something.
"What's wrong with you?" Melina tilted her head, genuinely puzzled.
"Don't play dumb. I'll deal with you later."
Nolan narrowed his eyes at her, reached out, and pinched her expressionless cheeks, gently pulling them to the sides.
The gesture looked almost affectionate, but from Melina's indifferent expression…she clearly felt nothing at all. If anything, she even raised an eyebrow in challenge.
Deal with me?
Melina put her hands on her hips.
She admitted Nolan was strong, but she wasn't weak either. She had no reason to be afraid.
Nolan hadn't expected the little blockhead to push back like this. He let go of her face.
"Come on. Let's go see what exactly showed up."
He didn't know many Ancient Dragons. Only one.
But Ancient Dragons were intelligent beings, not mindless beasts.
Just knowing there was no hostility wasn't enough to identify who it was.
At last, as he stepped out through the castle gates, he saw it at a glance.
A massive creature lay sprawled before the entrance.
Nolan paused, then a genuine smile spread across his face.
"I didn't expect it to be you, Lansseax. It's been a while."
Laughing, he strode quickly toward the enormous figure.
Seeing an old acquaintance again, he was truly happy.
Hearing Nolan's voice, the Ancient Dragon let out a pleased laugh.
Under the astonished gaze of everyone present, its massive body rapidly shrank and shifted.
In the blink of an eye, it became a strange, human-sized figure with a dragon's head.
Lansseax lifted a hand and lightly brushed her chin, a hint of surprise in her eyes.
"I thought you'd rush over the moment you saw me, blaming me for not saving you back then."
"Do you have any reason you had to fight for me?" Nolan shot back.
"…Fair point. You really are my type."
Lansseax paused, clearly caught off guard by his answer.
But soon, an even brighter smile spread across her face.
She was plainly pleased with his response.
"Saintess Knight Lansseax greets the Lord of Her Highness Trina."
With that, Lansseax gave Nolan a graceful bow.
This time, Nolan was the one who froze, blinking in surprise.
Trina even managed to bring this Ancient Dragon to her side?
By the time everyone gathered their thoughts, they had already returned inside the castle.
Making sure no one else was around, Nolan lowered his voice.
"What were the terms?"
"Just as expected of little Nolan. Sharp as ever."
Lansseax nodded, her tone carrying no real reverence for the Lord of the vow.
"From the moment you were born into this world to the day you closed your eyes three years ago, Her Highness told me everything."
"Right now, there isn't a single secret about you left to me. Not from head to toe."
Nolan stood there, stunned. It took him a moment to come back to himself, suspicion written all over his face.
"That's it?"
At most, Her Highness would know some surface details. Nothing that couldn't be said.
Besides, Trina had never examined his body. How could she possibly know everything about him?
"And that's not enough?"
Lansseax met his gaze. In an instant, her posture shifted closer to that of a human as she gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
As the distance between them shrank, her body pressed almost fully against his.
The dragon maiden tilted her head slightly, warm breath brushing lightly across his neck.
It felt like a faint tickle spreading through him, as though a soft feather were tracing over his heart.
She really hasn't changed at all. Looks like she hasn't been affected.
Nolan leaned in casually, his eyes fixed on the slender dragon maiden.
Her graceful figure was striking at a glance.
Up close, it was even clearer that her form was anything but an illusion.
And yet, even with her so close, she couldn't fully hold Nolan's attention.
It was as if a faint, shadowy figure stood between them, flickering in and out of sight.
He lifted his head, his gaze passing over her toward the distant north, where the Haligtree stood.
"Did you come from the Haligtree?"
A sudden wave of longing rose within him. Nolan lowered his gaze again, looking back at her as he took hold of the hand resting on him.
"You really know how to ruin the mood."
The dragon maiden huffed softly, lips curling with a trace of annoyance.
"Of course. A Saintess Knight comes from the Haligtree."
Lansseax pursed her lips, clearly a little displeased.