VBNWDW - Chapter 104
Chapter 104
In a domed sunroom constructed from glass and iron, meticulously cultivated plants hung from above, their verdant branches trailing down as sunlight squeezed through the gaps.
The silver-haired woman sitting on the swing spoke with a careless smile, "I wasn't talking nonsense. Don't you go slandering me."
Standing opposite her was Mo Wen, dressed in a simple knight's uniform. Her long red hair was tied into a high ponytail, and her elegant, gentle features were tinged with a hint of anger as she repeated, "But… but Ivo…"
"Ivo said…"
"Said what?" the Dragon Lord was as wicked as ever.
The upright Sir Knight was, of course, no match for the wicked dragon. Although fairy tales depicted knights as omnipotent, in the real world, Mo Wen could only lament how much Her Majesty must have suffered to tame this dragon.
"She said… she… I…" Mo Wen stammered for a long time but couldn't get the words out. She had come storming over to settle the score, but now she was utterly speechless.
Instead, the Black Dragon raised an eyebrow, suddenly leaned closer, and lowered her voice. "You two didn't…"
Her gaze shifted downward, a knowing smile playing on her lips.
Startled, Mo Wen took a step back, abruptly grabbing the collar of her own tunic and shouting, "We didn't!"
The wicked dragon asked with a grin, "Then why are you pulling at your clothes?"
The little knight said righteously, "It's cold!"
"This is a sunroom."
"It's still cold!" the little knight insisted without hesitation.
"You run cold?"
"Yes."
The Dragon Lord nodded thoughtfully. "I have a few good medicinal recipes here. I'll have them sent to Sir Julieta later so she can help you build up your strength."
Mo Wen's expression froze. She forced a twitch of her lips and had to maintain her composure. "Thank you for your concern, Lord Dragon."
"Tsk." Hearing this, Yueqing knew she wouldn't be able to pry anything out of Mo Wen today. She nodded, bored, and decided to dispatch Her Majesty the Queen to do some reconnaissance.
Mo Wen, unaware of the other's thoughts, thought she had been let off the hook and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Then what did you come here for?" With no gossip to be had, the Dragon Lord was ready to show her out.
The topic circled back around.
To prevent a repeat of the previous incident, Mo Wen had no choice but to swallow her grievance. "Please don't teach Ivo nonsense anymore," she said helplessly. "She's still a child."
The Black Dragon blinked, her gilded eyes full of innocence. "What did I teach her? I just taught Ivo a little something an adult ought to know."
She then added, half-chiding and half-teasing, "Ivo is an adult now. You can't keep treating her like a child."
"Besides… didn't you find it pleasurable?" Yueqing looked over with a sly smile.
Sir Knight's face instantly flushed red. Utterly outmatched by a certain dragon, she scurried away in defeat.
On her way out, she ran into the chubby little dragon cub. The little one had been learning to hunt with the Purple Cloud Eagle for the past two days, though Mo Wen suspected Her Majesty and the Dragon Lord were more interested in helping the little highness lose weight than in whether she actually learned the skills.
Still, Mo Wen bent down, picked up Her Highness, and said with a smile, "Your Highness."
She subconsciously weighed the cub in her arms. She was two pounds heavier than before Mo Wen had left for the campaign. Heavier still.
The little one called out in her sweet, childish voice, "Auntie Mo Wen, are you going back already?"
"Yes, Your Highness. I'm still on leave for the next two days," Mo Wen replied with a nod. The grievances of adults had nothing to do with children, and the upright little knight would never misplace her anger.
"Okay. Will you get married during your leave?" Wodaixina asked suddenly. Her chubby little hands were still wrapped around Mo Wen's neck, and her tail, which she hadn't retracted, swished back and forth.
Mo Wen's expression froze. She subconsciously glanced at the Purple Cloud Eagle, only to receive an indignant denial.
She was a bit dazed. "What are you talking about?" she mumbled.
The little highness had not yet learned her wicked dragon mother's cunning and answered frankly, "Last night, Queen Mother and Mother were discussing your wedding gift."
Sir Knight's expression shifted from ashen to purple to red. Finally, she stammered, "Soon… soon, I suppose."
In truth, her knightly education forbade her from engaging in such acts before marriage, but last night, Ivo had tied her up…
The little one lacked the complex thoughts of an adult and simply nodded with a smile. "Then please do your best, Lady Mo Wen. I can be your flower girl."
Mo Wen fell silent for a moment before nodding.
By the time she left the palace, it was dusk. The setting sun painted everything in crimson hues as smoke rose from kitchen chimneys.
Mo Wen walked to the classroom door. Having learned her lesson, she made a point to stand at the very edge, avoiding the gazes of the students inside.
The classroom door was ajar, and voices drifted out. Ivo's voice was as cool as ever, like a river in early spring just beginning to thaw, crashing against pebbles. The students inside were long accustomed to it, looking at their teacher with a degree of fear.
But Mo Wen, leaning against the wall, was thinking that her voice sounded a little hoarse.
The orange sunlight fell on her own features, then slipped through the crack in the door to climb onto Ivo's white robes.
Julieta and her wife had actually prepared many clothes for Ivo, treating her like their own daughter. Every year, they would have a tailor come to take her measurements and custom-make a batch of outfits, but Ivo still often wore her mage robes.
The Mo Wen family felt helpless about this and could only prepare several sets of robes for her to wash and change. To tell them apart, Mo Wen had specially embroidered thumb-sized patterns on them. The one she was wearing today, for instance, had a little rabbit on the collar.
It was a rather amusing image. No matter how much the students below the lectern feared her, no matter what legends about necromancers circulated in the Roy Kingdom or how terrifyingly they portrayed Ivo.
Only Mo Wen knew that every morning, Ivo would stand before a row of mage robes embroidered with little rabbits, carrots, and black kittens, choosing one with great care.
The bell finally rang. The students below the lectern let out a collective sigh of relief, looking up at their teacher until she uttered the two words for "class dismissed," at which point a murmur began to rise.
Mo Wen didn't know what Ivo was doing—probably packing her things—as she didn't leave the classroom right away. Instead, a few students came out first.
When they saw Mo Wen at the door, they were first shocked, then delighted. Just as they were about to call out, they saw Mo Wen shake her head to stop them.
A gesture from General Mo Wen was still quite effective. The students forcibly suppressed their words, their eyelids fluttering rapidly.
Even Mo Wen, who was trying to keep a straight face, couldn't help but be amused.
She tilted her head to look inside the classroom. Ivo had just stepped down from the lectern when she was stopped. A powerfully built male student was blocking her way, seemingly saying something to her.
The smile on Mo Wen's lips faded, and she walked straight inside.
"Leif, I believe I've made myself very clear."
"I know, I know, Teacher, but you can't deny my feelings for you…"
Sir Mo Wen very naturally took Ivo's hand, lowered her head, and said, "I've come to take you home."
The classroom fell silent for a moment, and gazes filled with various emotions landed on the three of them.
Leif's mouth hung open. "General Mo Wen," he called out stiffly.
Mo Wen acted as if she had only just noticed him. She looked up, a polite and gentle smile on her lips. "Leif, you're taking Teacher Ivo's class?"
Mo Wen knew him. He was a member of a family acquainted with the Mo Wen family, and they had frequent dealings. He and Mo Wen were considered peers.
"Yes," Leif nodded subconsciously, following her lead.
Although they were peers, compared to Mo Wen, who had already become the Queen's right hand, Leif, who was just a student, was inevitably a step below.
"That's good. Ivo is a very responsible teacher. You can ask more questions in class from now on," Mo Wen nodded, her overly gentle mask seeming somewhat fake.
At least, to Ivo standing beside her, it seemed very fake.
"O-okay," Leif stammered in reply.
Mo Wen seemed ready to end the pleasantries. "If there's nothing else, I'll be taking my fiancée and leaving now."
"Fiancée?" Leif seized on the word, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Without batting an eye, Mo Wen smiled faintly. "Yes. The wedding should be held sometime soon. I hope you'll be able to attend."
With that, ignoring the shockwave her words had caused, she led Ivo straight out.
It wasn't until they had left the academic building that Ivo spoke from behind her, her voice faint. "Fiancée?"
The little knight, who had been so composed just moments ago, suddenly tensed up and blurted out, "What? Does Teacher Ivo not want to take responsibility?"
The hand holding hers tightened unconsciously. The little furnace of a knight held the truly cold-natured person in her palm, transferring her scorching warmth.
Mo Wen turned around. The little knight, whose every move exuded a superior upbringing, clenched her jaw and said stiffly, "Miss Ivo, the knight's code contains a directive against one-night stands."
A hint of a smile appeared in Ivo's eyes. The wind blew past her rabbit-embroidered mage robe as she retorted, "And?"
"The knight's code also states that a knight must be single-minded and absolutely loyal to their partner."
"So?"
Mo Wen tugged at her collar, revealing the scattered kiss marks on her neck. On the side was a conspicuous bite mark. It was hard to tell how much force the other had used, as the skin had been broken.
She continued, "You have to take responsibility."
The proper knight, who had always been so by-the-book, had been racking her brain the whole way but couldn't come up with any suitable words. But this alone was enough to make Ivo smile.
The wicked necromancer nodded. "That will have to wait a few days."
The knight took an incredulous step forward, tugging at her collar. "You've already done this to me, and you still don't want to take responsibility…"
Ivo, who had at some point learned the dragon's wicked sense of humor, asked with a half-smile, "Done what?"
"What?"
"This!" Sir Mo Wen now looked exactly like an unwanted Golden Retriever, wagging its tail anxiously.
"And you didn't do this to me?" Ivo tilted her head, revealing the skin hidden beneath her robes. It was a little better than Mo Wen's, but there were still a few unrestrained kiss marks.
"Yes, but…" Defeated not only by the dragon but also by Ivo, Sir Mo Wen's face flushed red.
The ever-cool necromancer finally let out a helpless smile and took the big dog's hand. "Let's go, Sir Mo Wen. If you don't want to become the talk of Anthelia tomorrow, I suggest you start walking."
It was still the time when school let out, and students were already pouring out of the classrooms. Although they had only paused for a moment, many students were already casting surprised glances their way.
Mo Wen certainly didn't want that, so she let Ivo lead her forward.
The warm orange light fell upon them both. Mo Wen gradually caught up to her, walking shoulder to shoulder, and then she heard the person beside her speak.
"Her Highness Wodaixina went out a couple of days ago and bought all the jewelry in the market. The next shipment won't arrive for another two days."
Ivo turned her head and smiled. "I'll have to wait two more days before I can pick out a diamond ring that is barely worthy of Sir Knight."
Mo Wen froze for a second. At some point, their joined hands had become intertwined, fingers laced tightly together.
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