Upon seeing the smiling dragon girl swinging her ponytail as she entered, the Aurelian Dragon, who had been in a cheerful mood, immediately felt a sense of foreboding.
"Excuse me, Miss Long, what can I do for you?"
Lyra Draconis looked at him with a puzzled expression and asked curiously, "Could it be that you, a person of high status, have forgotten our agreement?"
"Oops!"
Aurelian Dragon suddenly remembered his seven-day promise with the dragon girl. He'd been so busy these past few days that he'd completely forgotten about it. But it was only the sixth day, and Lyra Draconis had come looking for him already… Could it be…?
"No way, how could that be?"
The uneasy man first banished this rather unpleasant thought from his mind, then took a deep breath and asked, "Oh, Miss Long, you came to see me this time to tell me that you're going to give up on our agreement, right? It's okay, I'm very easy to talk to."
Lyra Draconis rolled her eyes at him, as if she were looking at a guy who was daydreaming.
"What I'm here to tell you is that I...have...already...done it!"
The dragon girl slowly and deliberately delivered this terrifying news to the person whose face was growing increasingly pale. To match her tone, the girl's beautiful ponytail swayed vigorously from side to side a few times.
"What?"
Aurelian Dragon gasped, feeling a wave of dizziness wash over him. He could hardly believe his ears; Lyra Draconis had actually healed the wound inflicted by the sorcerer—this was completely beyond his comprehension. He had never heard of anyone being able to fully heal a wound inflicted by a sorcerer's magic sword; even the greatest healers lacked such ability. The most obvious example was the wound on his back, which, because it was inflicted by an object of the same nature as a magic sword, had never fully recovered, leaving a permanent mark.
"Are you kidding me?"
Aurelian Dragon looked at the crescent-shaped eyes that were smiling smugly before her and asked again in a very uncertain tone.
"Come with me, and I'll show you!"
※ ※ ※
In the room where Yao Niang was staying, almost all the women who had been with Aurelian Dragon were there: Phoenix Vane, Lynette Quill, Obsidia Shade, Cynthia, and Zuo Lanxin, who rarely showed up. They watched as Aurelian Dragon was pulled into the room by Lyra Draconis, looking uneasy, and couldn't help but smile with sympathy.
"This humble servant is deeply grateful to you for saving my life!"
After exchanging greetings with Aurelian Dragon, Yao Niang raised her head, and her flawless pink face immediately came into the man's view.
"What an elegant woman, what a beautiful face!"
The man, who had always known how to appreciate beauty, secretly admired her, momentarily forgetting his current position.
"Now you can see clearly, there isn't even a trace left on Yao Niang's face."
Lyra Draconis said proudly, emphasizing that there wasn't a single scratch.
Now that things had come to this, Aurelian Dragon had nothing to say. With so many witnesses present, there wasn't even a shred of room for him to back down. He could only smile wryly and obediently admit defeat to the dragon girl.
Lyra Draconis was very satisfied. She smiled as she looked at the Aurelian Dragon, whose face was contorted with a bitter expression. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly glanced at Phoenix Vane, who was standing to the side.
Phoenix Vane smiled sweetly, but with a hint of deeper meaning. She shook her head slightly at Lyra Draconis, then turned her head slightly to look at Zuo Lanxin, who sat calmly on the embroidered stool.
Hearing Lyra Draconis speak so calmly, Aurelian Dragon secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time felt helpless. Sigh, would this dragon girl truly be the nemesis of his life? Why did she even create such a difficult problem for him?
Thinking of this, Aurelian Dragon glanced at Zuo Lanxin, who was declining the offer, and thought to himself, "Good heavens, so you were involved in this whole thing, making me lose this deal." However, he was also curious. How could this seemingly quiet and gentle woman play a role in repairing magical damage? Could it be that she also possessed abilities he was unaware of?
At this moment, Zuo Lanxin said softly, "Since Sister Long puts it that way, I won't stand on ceremony. I would like to ask Brother Ye to come with me to meet someone in a couple of days."
"Oh, what kind of person is she? Let me make it clear first, if she's not a beautiful woman, I won't look at her."
As long as he's not facing Lyra Draconis, Aurelian Dragon's mind becomes very sharp, and his relaxed tone makes Zuo Lanxin blush slightly.
Before anyone could reply, Aurelian Dragon suddenly remembered something and said with a smile to Yao Niang, who was standing silently to the side, "Do you know? The woman who helped me a lot is also named Yao Niang." Seeing the women's puzzled looks, she explained, "She's Yusuf's beloved concubine."
"It's her? That's quite interesting, but is that beautiful woman as pretty as this one?"
Lynette Quill reached out and embraced the beautiful woman beside her, then asked Aurelian Dragon a question. A strange look flashed in the beautiful woman's eyes, but everyone was focused on Aurelian Dragon's actions and didn't notice it.
"Hmm... well, let me see."
Aurelian Dragon walked up to Yaoniang and took the opportunity to feast his eyes on her beauty before slowly saying, "Our Yaoniang is much prettier."
Phoenix Vane couldn't help but chide, "Our beautiful lady, your mind works way too fast!"
Aurelian Dragon chuckled, then changed the subject, saying in a serious tone, "Oh dear, I haven't reported to Lakeside Residence yet today!"
Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter. Lynette Quill sighed, "Aurelian, aren't you keeping yourself a little too busy?"
Aurelian Dragon nodded very seriously and replied, "There's no way around it, men's work is just too tiring!"
Amidst the women's playful scolding, the shameless man laughed heartily and smugly walked out of the room. As soon as he stepped outside, Aurelian Dragon felt a huge weight lifted from his heart. As long as he stayed away from that dragon girl from now on, everything would be fine!
He had a grand plan in mind, but unfortunately, he forgot that he never seemed to get his way with Lyra Draconis. But people always try to think positively, and that's a kind of optimistic attitude, isn't it?
Lyra Draconis made a face at the Aurelian Dragon's retreating figure, but when she turned around, she saw Phoenix Vane looking at her approvingly, and she couldn't help but feel very happy. "In order to be with Phoenix Vane, I'll reluctantly let that wretched fellow go," the dragon girl thought to herself.
※ ※ ※
Aurelian Dragon, riding on horseback, suddenly sneezed loudly. He touched his nose in confusion, wondering, "Who's talking bad about me? Or is someone cursing me?"
A group of people emerged from around the corner, all riding magnificent black horses. Leading them was an incomparably handsome young general. In fact, "incomparably handsome" doesn't even begin to describe the impression Aurelian Dragon had of him. Aurelian Dragon wasn't someone who hadn't seen the world; figures like Prince Elnario and Zhu Dejun were also exceptionally handsome men, but compared to the man before her, they were like stars compared to the moon.
The young general's face was as bright and clear as the full moon on Mid-Autumn Festival. His handsome, well-defined eyes held a captivating allure, and his long, ink-painted eyebrows and skin, as smooth as a peeled egg coated in powder, were the epitome of a flawless complexion. But the most striking feature was his forehead: a small birthmark in the center of his broad forehead, its color a vibrant red like a pomegranate blossom glistening with rain, captivating all who beheld it.
In addition, the man was wearing pure white armor, which seemed to have a halo around him in the sunlight, complementing the jet-black steed beneath him and creating an incredibly strong visual impact.
The dozen or so knights following behind him were also quite formidable, but compared to him, they were hardly worth a second glance.
"How could there be such a handsome man in the world!"
Aurelian Dragon gazed at the handsome face bathed in sunlight, a rosy glow, and blurted out.
Obsidia Shade asked in surprise, "Young master, don't you know who he is?"
Aurelian Dragon glanced at the young girls in the street who were completely captivated by the general, and asked, "Should I know about him?"
Obsidia Shade chuckled and said, "He is General Aeron Skyrend, the famous commander of the Aeron Legion, whose reputation in the army is second only to Miss Phoenix Vane."
Upon hearing Obsidia Shade's introduction, Aurelian Dragon was taken aback. He had heard countless praises of the general from people who knew him well, but he never imagined that he was such an unparalleled handsome man.
Aurelian Dragon stared intently at the face that drove women mad and made men jealous, and said to Obsidia Shade, "Do you like him too? Tell me, I won't be angry."
Obsidia Shade was startled and said coquettishly, "Why would you think that, young master? I'm just curious about him. Besides, I don't like men like him."
"You don't like it?" Aurelian Dragon looked at Obsidia Shade's pink face with a hint of disbelief.
"Because he's too beautiful, almost unreal, and upon closer inspection, he seems somewhat feminine. I still prefer men with a more masculine air like you, young master," Obsidia Shade said, her voice barely audible as she finished speaking.
Aurelian Dragon was overjoyed, but still remained unconvinced, saying, "You're not doing this to please me, are you?"
Obsidia Shade blushed, but mustered her courage and quickly kissed Aurelian Dragon on the cheek, making the man overjoyed and almost jumping for joy.
"This is outrageous! To be so dissolute in public like this, this man who climbed up the ladder through nepotism is truly shameless!"
Aeron Skyrend witnessed all of this. As the two sides passed each other, he saw Aurelian Dragon smile at him. He raised his head, snorted coldly, and rode away, leaving Aurelian Dragon and his group behind.
"Pah, what's with this guy acting so high and mighty?"
Feeling resentful, Aurelian Dragon said bitterly, then suddenly remembered something and muttered, "Why did that guy run back to Esnia? Wasn't he leading the Aeron Legion south?"
"He's back for the Second Prince's wedding because of the marriage between Fast and Wu'an," Cynthia interjected. "In recent days, envoys from other countries on the continent have come to Esnia to attend this wedding ceremony."
"My intuition tells me that this guy's arrival in Esnia is not as simple as it seems to outsiders. There must be something fishy about this, something we should pay close attention to."
Aurelian Dragon expressed his opinion very seriously and drew a conclusion about today's encounter.
Obsidia Shade and Cynthia exchanged a smile. This man was spouting nonsense again, perhaps out of displeasure. However, since they always followed Aurelian Dragon's lead, they said nothing more, urging their horses to follow closely behind.