VBNWDW - Chapter 69

Chapter 69

"Metis…"

The small black dragon, as exquisite as a glass doll, stood on the wooden table and wrapped its little claws around the other's wrist, its tail wagging behind it in an appeasing manner.

Faced with the crowd's astonished and shocked gazes, Metis simply lowered her eyes, her expression aloof and cold, and once again pulled her hand away.

The black dragon lost its footing and immediately tumbled backward, landing on its bottom with its legs kicked out.

And that wasn't all. Metis then extended a finger and poked the dragon on the head.

Caught off guard, the little black dragon fell backward, its claws and feet kicking in the air as it lay sprawled in a pathetic and pitiful state.

It tried to struggle up, but the moment it lifted itself a centimeter off the table, it was pressed back down.

Its tail wagged in vain as the little black dragon smiled fawningly at Metis. The queen remained expressionless and silent. The dragon took this as a sign of forgiveness, so it tried to get up again, only to be pushed back down once more.

The black dragon blinked, tried again, and was pushed down again.

It was a bit like a mischievous child deliberately flipping a turtle onto its back, watching it flail its four legs, only to push it back down every time it was about to succeed in righting itself.

But the people who witnessed this couldn't laugh as they might have in their youth. Their expressions were grave, and cold sweat trickled down their temples.

A knock sounded at the door, and servants streamed in carrying trays. After bowing, they began to set the table.

No one dared to utter a word, only watching as meals identical to Metis's usual fare were placed before them.

The food was far simpler than what they were used to in their own families. Only a portion of roasted meat looked remotely presentable, but they had long since stopped eating ordinary meat. The meat of magical beasts was more conducive to absorbing elements and tasted better.

They remained silent, not daring to suspect that Metis was deliberately making things difficult for them. They knew all too well where the treasury's money had gone. There weren't even enough servants to wait on such a large group; they had to come in and out, taking three trips to finish.

"Your Majesty…"

But that wasn't the real trouble. The maidservant standing beside Metis was in a predicament. Seeing the dragon lying on its back, she held the plate in her hands, not daring to put it down.

Metis glanced up and waved a hand. "Don't mind it."

Perhaps fearing the maid was still too timid, Metis simply flicked the black dragon to the very edge of the table, a gesture of utter disdain.

The black dragon had no choice but to hug its tail, not only remaining on its back but also trying to curl into a ball as much as possible.

Sitting behind her mother, Mo Wen was the least afraid of the group. She had already had her suspicions about the relationship between the Queen and the black dragon last night. Coupled with the major loss she had suffered, she was now rather delighted to see the black dragon in a bind.

Seeing this, she almost couldn't stop herself from laughing out loud and quickly lowered her head to hide it.

Julieta noticed her daughter's small movements and shot her a sideways glance, warning her not to cause trouble at a time like this.

But for once, her usually obedient child acted out. She tugged on her mother's hand and whispered, "See, I wasn't lying…"

This matter went back to last night. Mo Wen, who always went home right after class, had disappeared without a word.

This had sent Julieta and her wife into a panic. They sent out many people to search for her, fearing she had met with an accident. They finally found her near the market, only to learn she had bought a great deal of jewelry for someone else.

Julieta and her wife were so angry they didn't know what to say. They looked at each other, half-amused and half-exasperated, assuming their daughter had reached that age and had fallen for some girl. They thought she would be back soon, but they ended up waiting until late at night.

If that were all, it would have been fine. But she then claimed she had bought it for the Queen's dragon and timidly asked if she could be reimbursed. She didn't have a single gold coin left and was even in debt to someone else.

Who could believe that?

If the little knight hadn't always been an honest and trustworthy child, Julieta would have probably taken out a whip.

So, on that unlucky night, not only had the little knight been fleeced by the black dragon, but because she couldn't pay for the roasted fish, she had to promise Ivo a month of magic lessons. Then, she was suspected by her mother of getting involved with a bad woman and nearly got a beating.

If the God of Light had heard, even he would have shaken his head for her.

But now, seeing the black dragon in a predicament, her resentment had completely dissipated. She pretended to be nonchalant as she raised a hand to cover the corner of her mouth, which she couldn't stop from turning up.

Looking back at the head of the table, the dragon saw Metis pick up her spoon and knew she had no intention of pressing it down anymore. It nonchalantly flipped over and crawled back to Metis's side.

If it hadn't been deliberately playing pitiful, let alone Metis, even if everyone here piled on top of it, the creature could have gotten up with ease. And as for struggling to climb the table? It wasn't as if it didn't have wings. But how could it show how cute it was without a little climbing?

The scheming dragon shamelessly hugged Metis's wrist, blinked its gilded eyes, and said in a drawn-out tone, "Metis, are you busy today? Why didn't you come back so late?"

Metis ignored it. As if wearing a black gemstone bracelet, she lowered her head and raised her hand to drink her oatmeal porridge.

The black dragon hanging from her wrist was responsible for wagging its tail.

Metis hadn't told it about the afternoon's events. But the dragon had been keeping track of the time, and when it saw Metis hadn't returned, it flapped its wings to go find her. It had just landed on her lap when she patted its head as if to push it away. So it quickly acted cute and climbed onto the table itself, which led to the previous scene.

The people below quickly lowered their heads and mimicked Metis, drinking their porridge. But they were used to fine food, and this oatmeal was difficult to swallow.

Many of them frowned, especially the students. To cultivate them, their families had them eat magical beast meat almost daily. Fearing they would tire of it, they hired several chefs to cook in various styles. Being young, they were not yet skilled at hiding their feelings, and their disdain was written all over their faces.

But they didn't dare complain. Lord Black Dragon was still hanging from Metis's wrist. If they said one wrong word…

They forced down the oatmeal porridge.

For a time, the only sound in the vast hall was the clinking of bowls and spoons.

Then, footsteps approached from the side. Everyone immediately put down their spoons. The head of the Maple Family shot up from his seat, rushed forward, and asked, "Temple Head, how is my son?"

The smile that usually hung on the lips of the Temple of Light's Head was gone. He fell silent for a moment before saying, "Nestor's injuries were too severe. I did my best to heal him, but…"

The result was just as Cadmon had predicted. Although the flesh had grown back, there were lasting side effects. For instance, he could no longer lift heavy objects and was not as agile as before.

The Maple Family head's eyes reddened, and his body trembled. Nestor was his most beloved and outstanding youngest son. Just a few days ago, he had been chosen by a Magister and was planning to leave Anthelia next year to study by his teacher's side.

Now that this had happened, there was no telling how much it would affect Nestor. If that Magister were to go back on his word because of this, it would be a huge blow to both the family and Nestor.

Blood rushed to his head. He spun around, took a few steps toward Orion's family, and roared, "I'll kill you, you cruel, vicious spawn!"

A staff had already appeared in his hand. Orion's face turned pale, and his father stood up to shield him, simultaneously summoning his own staff. "Orion didn't do it on purpose. He just got carried away and made a mistake. Why must you fuss over a child?"

The Maple Family head's face twisted in fury. "A moment of being carried away can ruin Nestor's entire life!"

"You're going too far. Didn't the Temple Head say it would only have some effect?" the head of the Naist Family frowned, then added, "We are willing to give Nestor appropriate compensation."

"Can a little compensation get Nestor's hand back? Why don't you chop off your son's hand, and then we'll forgive this matter," the Maple Family head retorted, not yielding an inch.

Orion flinched, finally feeling a sense of fear. He quickly shouted, "Teacher Cadmon also said we could use external items! It's his fault for not thinking to use a scroll, so why blame me?"

As his words fell, everyone's gaze shifted to Cadmon, who was standing nearby. He pursed his lips, not knowing how to defend himself. Who would have thought that person would be willing to throw away even a scroll?

"Elder Cadmon…" The Maple Family head whirled around, staring at him in disbelief.

In truth, everyone present understood why he had taught that way, but the Maple Family head was too consumed by rage to think rationally.

Cadmon's lips trembled. Just as he was about to speak, the Head of the Temple interjected, "Why don't we go see Nestor first and ask him what he has to say?"

That was indeed the logical course of action. The head of the Naist Family immediately said, "Let's go ask him first. Caius, Leif, you two go as well."

The intention was to shift the main conflict back onto Nestor. After all, they all believed that Nestor had ambushed the two of them because he was dissatisfied with the outcome of the match. With that as the pretext, their own responsibility would be lessened.

The Maple Family head also agreed with a grim voice, knowing full well that his son went straight home after class to study the projection crystal his Magister teacher had left him. How could he possibly have had time to go out for revenge?

The group departed for Nestor's room, each with their own thoughts.

Meanwhile, the Queen at the head of the table had not uttered a single word. Only when she saw the bottom of her bowl did she finally put down her spoon.

"Metis…" The little black dragon was still hugging her wrist.

Metis looked down at it. In truth, she wasn't that angry. After all, she was the one at fault first for deliberately teasing a certain dragon. But Metis was still young and had been confined to the palace before, so she didn't know much about such matters. To suddenly be pinned down by a dragon…

It was normal to subconsciously not know how to face it.

She had wanted to use this incident to hide for a while, but she couldn't withstand a certain dragon's shameless persistence.

Seeing this, the black dragon understood. It loosened its claws, flapped its wings to grab a napkin, and then diligently wiped her mouth for her.

Fortunately, there was no one else here. If they had seen this, who knows what they would have thought.

Metis let her fuss, then finally said, "Change back."

The dragon, still holding the napkin with its two claws, looked at her with a blank expression.

Metis had to clarify, "Change into a person."

Upon hearing this, the black dragon didn't even ask a question. Space distorted for an instant, and then the silver-haired, dark-skinned beauty appeared in Metis's lap.

Her attitude of surrender was proactive, and she was excellent at finding the right position.

Metis subconsciously caught her, her hand wrapping around the other's waist. Her gaze drifted to the woman's shoulder, where there was a deep bite mark—one she had inflicted in a fit of anger last night.

But now was not the time to worry about that. She looked down at the woman with enchanting eyes, raised a hand to pinch her cheek, and said, "Next time, you are not allowed to do this without my permission."

The black dragon knew how to focus on the important parts. Her eyes curved into crescents as she said, "So there can be a next time?"

This infuriated Metis, who pinched harder, wondering how this dragon could be so thick-skinned.

Yueqing didn't feel any pain. She smiled sweetly, raised her arms to hook them around Metis's neck, and tilted her head up to offer her red lips.

On the other side of the wall, the argument continued unabated. Metis leaned down and bit the other's lips in the same fashion.

Cascading gold and silver hair intertwined, as if they were inseparable.

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