VBNWDW - Chapter 72
Chapter 72
Three days passed in a flash. The Naist family's reparations had been fully transferred to the Maple family, and they had put out the word that Orion would be locked in his study for a month, forbidden to leave. They had put on an excellent performance for the public.
The rumors circulating in Anthelia City shifted. The story changed from Orion, jealous of Nestor's talent, using a scroll to kill him in a fit of rage, to Nestor ambushing Orion's friend, and Orion striking out in anger to defend his friend. For a time, the Maple family was pushed into the eye of the storm.
But what truly troubled them was another matter.
The Queen's favoritism that night—even though they felt Her Majesty had simply made a fair judgment—had prompted the other Council families to distance themselves from the Maple family, including those who had previously been close to them.
This was unavoidable. In the three-way balance of power, the Council families inevitably acted as a single entity. Any internal conflicts were resolved privately; what sense was there in letting an outsider pass judgment?
Especially when that person was their adversary, whose power they had collectively carved up.
Thus, the Maple family faced unprecedented ostracism.
But they were helpless. Even if the Duke of Maple were given another chance, he would have resolutely made the same choice.
So, the Maple family could only brace themselves and endure. Fortunately, Nestor's Magister teacher had sent word the day before, stating that he would not give up on Nestor and had arranged for someone to deliver items to aid in his recovery.
This brought a wave of relief to the entire family. They secretly thought that once Nestor became a Magister, the other families would regret their actions and come crying to them for support. When that time came, they would surely treat them with the same cold indifference.
With such thoughts, the Maple family felt a little better, casting cold glances at another similarly ostracized Council family—the Iliana family.
Compared to them, the Iliana family's situation was even more miserable. It was a completely undeserved disaster. No one knew what that despised illegitimate daughter had done, but for the past few days, she had been summoned to the palace by Her Majesty. Sometimes she would leave at sunset, other times she wouldn't return for the entire night. Eventually, she simply stayed in the palace for two or three days at a time without coming back.
In this time of widespread anxiety, no matter how the Iliana family explained themselves, even to the point of nearly expelling Ivo from the family, they were still lumped in with the Maple family, shunned and excluded together.
Vast white clouds obscured the sun, their edges glowing a brilliant gold. The azure sky peeked through the gaps, and sunlight streamed down with it.
The lawn, now repaired, was devoid of the lively atmosphere of the past few days. Her Majesty the Queen had used the recent incident as a reason to grant a half-month holiday.
At this moment, a ten-meter-long black dragon lay sprawled across the verdant grass, its head resting on its sharp claws. Its molten gold eyes were half-closed, looking drowsy and lazy, while its tail swayed idly.
Whether intentionally or not, its massive body was curved into a semicircle, enclosing Her Majesty the Queen within. It lazily watched the small spells she summoned.
Sometimes it was a Fireball, sometimes a Flame Prison, and sometimes a Flame Blade formed by condensing fire. They all crackled as they were hurled at the dragon's body.
But these ferocious-looking attacks failed to even lift a single one of the dragon's scales, let alone leave a scorch mark.
When she temporarily finished, the black dragon would languidly offer its critique. The first one looked impressive but was utterly useless. The Flame Blade was decent, and she should work on improving it.
It was as if Metis was giving it a massage, and if the pressure was too light, it would even be met with disdain.
Metis's expression shifted again and again, but she could only sit on the dragon's tail in exhaustion, waiting until she had rested enough to summon more magic to scratch the dragon's itch.
On the other side, Ivo received no such treatment. She stood near the very edge of the lawn, awkwardly reciting the difficult incantations for dark magic.
Two days prior, the black dragon had the Queen find some dark magic cores by any means necessary. Then, using a similar method, it purged the wood element from Ivo's body and allowed her to feel the presence of dark magic.
This procedure was incredibly bold and dangerous. Even a human Magister would likely not dare to attempt it lightly. After all, the human body was fragile; the slightest mistake could cause the elements to run rampant within, rupturing meridians and leading to death.
But with the black dragon present, such a thing naturally wouldn't happen. It was just that Ivo herself couldn't withstand the scouring of the elements. She fainted for an entire night before waking up and was forced to rest in the palace for two or three days. Only then could she barely walk and slowly begin to relearn magic.
However, with her previous experience and now learning a compatible type of magic, her progress was currently quite smooth.
Once again depleting the elements in her body, Ivo leaned on a third-tier dark magic staff that the dragon had casually created, struggling to catch her breath and rest.
Her gaze unintentionally swept to the other side, and her thoughts began to wander.
Perhaps even the subjects of the discussion, the dragon and the person, were unaware of the level of prestige they had achieved after the battle of Nia City. The people rejoiced that they were once again under the protection of the Dragon Clan and looked forward to reaching new heights under Queen Metis's rule.
This was one of the reasons for the Council families' unease during this period.
A few days ago, while walking down a long street, Ivo had even seen people murmuring the names of the black dragon and the Queen during their prayers, which made her glance over several times.
But no matter what the public opinion was outside, neither the dragon nor the person was affected in the slightest.
Ivo silently retracted her gaze. After resting, she lowered her head and continued to chant.
The black dragon naturally noticed this furtive glance but paid it little mind, afraid that the petty Queen would get jealous again. It withdrew its gaze and continued to watch Her Majesty scratch its itch.
In the process of human magic cultivation, becoming an apprentice mage was the easiest part. As long as one could sense the elements, they could become an apprentice. The two most difficult hurdles were becoming a junior mage and a Magister.
The former was the standard for a human to officially step into the world of magic. A junior mage not only had to learn all sorts of magical knowledge and memorize various tedious incantations but also had to master magic to the point where the elements truly obeyed them. It sounded simple, but in reality, most humans with poor talent were stuck at this stage, unable to break through their entire lives.
The latter was the key to whether a human could truly establish a firm foothold in the world of magic. But all of this was still too far off for Metis.
For now, the black dragon was only concerned with whether Metis was building a solid foundation, lest she suffer for it later.
Another volley of fireballs came flying over.
The bored black dragon flicked its tail, then turned its head, opened its mouth, and swallowed a fireball whole. It mumbled its review, "I prefer water magic. It can be turned into ice cubes, which taste better."
Metis's face was pale, too tired to respond. She simply shot it a glance.
The thick-skinned black dragon grinned, naturally swinging its tail over for Metis to sit down and rest.
The red sun gradually sank, and the shadows of the surrounding walls stretched ever longer.
The black dragon had lost its earlier attentiveness. It rolled around on the ground a few times, exposing its belly, which was still covered in inky scales, and showed a hint of impatience.
It was a dragon, after all. No matter how considerate and meticulous it could be, it still found the process of humans practicing magic to be long and boring.
It turned over again, lying on its side to look at Metis. Its eyes darted around before it said, "Metis, I'm dirty."
It was the one rolling around on the lawn, yet it spoke with a righteous indignation that made it seem like it was all Metis's fault.
"My scales are stained with dirt, and they smell scorched. I'm not clean anymore," the black dragon added, even lifting a claw to gesture.
The spot it pointed to had smooth scales that gleamed like jewels in the sunlight.
In contrast, Metis looked more disheveled. Sweat from her exhaustion made strands of hair stick to her cheeks, and the hem of her white robe had unintentional scorch marks.
But the dragon insisted, "I don't smell good at all anymore."
Metis didn't say a word, just watched this wicked dragon weave its clumsy lies. Then, it slyly made its request: "You did this, Metis. You have to wash me clean!"
As if on purpose, it wagged its tail after speaking, making Her Majesty the Queen recall the experience of washing its tail in the study.
The bad dragon was picky. One wash wasn't thorough enough. It rose and fell again and again, and she even had to hold it in her hand for close inspection, repeatedly asking if it was clean yet.
At first, the little queen refused to acknowledge her, her ears burning red as if they would bleed. She couldn't utter a single word and could only turn her head away.
Later, unable to bear the dragon's incessant pestering, she answered in a tearful voice that it couldn't be washed clean.
How could it possibly be washed clean with that kind of water? This was the upright little queen's true thought, and she even added that it was dirty.
The black dragon wasn't annoyed. It just patiently took hold of the hand Metis was using to pinch the tip of its tail and guided it further down, chuckling softly as it said that if she couldn't wash it clean, then Metis could just help her wash it again.
This dragon was truly wicked.
Metis was helpless, with no strength to struggle. She didn't even have the energy to hold the tail. It was called helping, but in reality, the dragon was pressing her hand down, holding it tightly against its tail, making her feel the rising and falling pressure.
In the end, was it washed clean or not?
Metis could only remember panting through her tears that it was clean, but the dragon still didn't stop.
"Metis, I want a bath," the black dragon said, wagging its tail and shamelessly repeating its request.
It even rolled over, acting more shamelessly than a mangy dog, rolling back and forth as it called out, "Metis, Metis."
Her Majesty the Queen was speechless, unable to understand how the majestic dragon from before could have become like this.
Even Ivo, off to the side, couldn't help but look over. Feeling the distant gaze, the dragon finally felt a pang of embarrassment. It immediately rolled back over, cleared its throat a few times, and said, "Ivo, you may go back now."
Fortunately, the young woman on the other side was accustomed to her indifferent expression. Hearing this, she bowed slightly and said, "Lord Yueqing, Your Majesty, I will take my leave."
She turned and left briskly. It wasn't until she had quickly reached the corner that the gaze following her finally disappeared, and the shameless cries started up again.
"Help me bathe, Metis. This dragon wants to soak in a hot spring too."
The dragon reverted to its previous state, rolling around and making a fuss.
Seeing that Metis wasn't speaking, it stopped to think for a moment, then transformed into a palm-sized little black dragon and continued to roll on the ground. It probably thought its larger form wasn't cute enough to capture Her Majesty the Queen's heart.
Metis went from looking up to looking down, her expression changing again and again. Finally, she sighed in resignation. "Let's go."
The little black dragon froze, then blinked and said, "You agreed?"
"Hurry up. I'll have the servants prepare a boar-bristle brush to scrub you down today."
The little black dragon immediately flapped its wings and flew over, landing on Her Majesty the Queen's shoulder. It didn't matter what Metis said; as long as its goal was achieved, the rest would depend on how it handled things.
The little black dragon settled down contentedly, its tail wagging and wagging.
On the other side, the city gate opened, and Ivo walked out. The young knight who had been waiting for a long time naturally walked up to her and said, "I'll walk you back."
Ivo showed no surprise. It had been like this for the past few days. Mo Wen, who didn't need to relearn magic, would make a special trip here to wait at the gate and escort her home.
The people who had been ordered to watch the gate, hidden among the crowd, saw this scene, and their expressions darkened. They followed for a while before turning to leave, as if rushing to report something.
But the two walking side by side rarely spoke, their relationship even colder than before.
The knight turned her head, casting a subtle glance before lowering her eyes again. She knew she was using the other person but couldn't bring herself to be honest about it.
Ivo, on the other hand, seemed much calmer, or perhaps she always wore that impassive expression. It wasn't until they reached her door that Ivo turned to look at her.
Mo Wen pressed her lips together and only said, "Goodbye, Ivo."
The other woman nodded, returned the same words, and then unhesitatingly stepped away.
The sunlight stretched her shadow long, but it was cut off by the closing door.
Mo Wen stood there for a moment before turning to leave.
Comments
Post a Comment