"Could it be... Do you really think I'm on impulse?"

Staring at the black-haired wizard with a stunned expression, the countess, who had regained her composure, smiled softly.

It's just that the self-deprecating laughter is really a bit ......

"Charlotte ......"

"I love you—yes, it may seem irrational, but that's what I really think. I don't know how many times it was interrupted, but the countess stared at the black-haired wizard with burning eyes:

"Although you are impulsive, self-righteous, arrogant, arrogant and ignorant, keen to break other people's plans, and always go your own way without saying hello, you don't want to be discovered but you are keen to explore other people's secrets, and use all kinds of means and ways to humiliate others......"

"......" Loren Turin.

"But it cannot be denied that deep down in my heart ... It's because I have a crush on you, otherwise I can't explain what I'd do to you... Such a person is always reminded to hang his fear!"

"In addition to this, what you have done in the past few years also proves that you are a worthy Duke of Byrne... Marry you, within the limits of my acceptance. ”

Taking a deep breath, Charlotte, who was obviously already blushing, was still holding her head high, and her demeanor was undiminished: "So that's right, I admit that I want to possess you, have all of you and make me all of yours... This idea of 'conquest' is already there from the day you become a duke. ”

"So frankly, I don't care if you love me or not, but I want you... It's as simple as that, even if it's just in name, I'm going to turn you into my thing!"

"Is this explanation clear enough?"

With a raised brow, the haughty countess issued an ultimatum.

Clear, and clear, couldn't be clearer.

This is the demeanor of the Countess of the Red Blood Castle.

The corners of his mouth twitched, and Loren, who was being dragged by the collar, was forced to look at Charlotte, who was lowering his head, and his mind was full of desperate thoughts, that is, how to get off the stage.

"That's... Inadvertently intrusive, but ......"

The doorway rang out, and the locked door was pushed open.

Leena de Salion, who poked her head out and carefully pushed the frame of her glasses, said in a weak voice like a wisp of smoke: "Two, can I come in and talk about it?"

The face under the black-rimmed glasses was so kind in Loren's eyes for the first time!

"Please come in, please speak!"

Cautiously pushing open the door, and cautiously looking at the black-haired wizard and the countess - the room was neat, and the two of them were neat, nothing special.

Under the black-rimmed glasses, a hint of disappointment flashed in Lena de Salion's ruby eyes.

"The Duke... And Your Excellency, your guests are basically here—those who should not come, those who know and those who don't know. ”

"What do you mean by what should come and what shouldn't come?"

Loren's expression was inexplicable.

"It's a celebration feast, and it's a wedding—anyone with an impure purpose shouldn't come. Lena de Salion pushed her glasses and said softly:

"Arles, the Dwarven Kingdom, and the Heavenly Dome Palace have all sent envoys, who ask for money, cry poor, and tempt... Didn't have any good intentions. ”

"What about those who don't know?" Charlotte couldn't help but ask.

"Ah, that's a lot easier to explain. Turning her head, Lena said to Loren in a particularly flat tone:

"Your Excellency, there is a dragon among your guests. ”

“......？！”

At that moment, Loren and Charlotte looked at each other at the same time, looking at each other.

"It's... Forget it, he's outside the gates of the Red Blood Castle right now, the city is in chaos, the Earls of Stormcastle and the Earls of Rock Castle are organizing the guards and suppression, and your bodyguard, Lusen, is surrounding the big red guy with the witchers. ”

Big red guy......

Grum?

Loren's mind immediately thought of a certain grumpy, but still calm, crimson dragon - during the Battle of Ebolden, he was the first to react to destroy the elven fleet, and after the death of Iolet, he chose to retreat instead of immediately retaliating.

In all fairness, Loren still has a crush on him... Why did you suddenly come to the Red Blood Castle?

"They all think you should go... Well, actually, I think so too. Lena de Salion said very seriously:

"What if... You don't want to see your castle demolished by him. ”

....................................

When the black-haired wizard arrived in a hurry, he found that the situation was far from what a certain "girl with black-rimmed glasses" had described, as if the Red Blood Castle was about to end in the next second.

Outside the city gates, the Knights of Byrne and the Counts, who had arrived urgently, simply blocked the roads and walls to maintain law and order, and dispersed most of the crowd before they could cause a riot, especially when the feast was about to take place and the crowd gathered.

As for a certain Firmament Wings leader who "surrounded" the dragon, Lusen, he only had the witchers form a circle in the open field outside the city, and report to him at any time.

The "Flood Beast" that hovered in the wilderness outside the Red Blood Castle, the Crimson Dragon Grum, raised his dragon head proudly, looking down condescendingly at the "small figures" who were pointing at him, and had an interested expression.

"What's going on?"

The black-haired wizard with the corners of his mouth twitching turned his head to look at the culprit of "lying about the military": "Miss Lena de Salion, don't you think you should explain?"

"Explain, is there anything else I need to explain?" the girl in black-rimmed glasses tilted her head and asked rhetorically with an even more inexplicable expression:

"I lied, it's as simple as that. ”

"......" Loren Turin.

"But I think the 'smart' Duke of Byrne should be able to understand the reason for this. Pushing the frame, Lena de Salion glanced at him casually with a look full of meaning:

"When he understands, he will know how much he owes me. ”

Taking a deep breath, Loren still didn't say anything.

If it weren't for Lena, Charlotte would have continued to hold on - she had at least bought herself a little bit of grace in doing so.

"Actually, when Charlotte and I mentioned her plan, I guessed that this might be the outcome. ”

Still with that indifferent expression towards everything, Lena de Salion said lazily: "Although she always pretends to be calm, she still overestimates the power of her sanity. ”

"Especially when she meets the guy who always makes her lose her mind... Even more so. ”

After being stunned for a moment, Loren immediately understood something.

"So... You already knew?!"

"Of course... Think about who I've been with longer in the past three years, are you or her?" the girl in black-rimmed glasses rolled her eyes inadvertently: "My 'smart' Duke, do you still need to ask?"

“...... Then why didn't you tell me sooner, even if it made me a little mentally prepared!"

"Ah, I'm sorry, I thought you were as smart as you would be able to spot it yourself. Full of sarcasm, Lena de Salion looked as a matter of course:

"What's more... If I had revealed it in advance, would it not have betrayed my dear friend Charlotte, and you, Lord Duke, would not be as grateful to me as you are now. ”

After speaking, on her cheeks under black-framed glasses, she did not forget to show a smile of "harmless to humans and animals".

"Gratitude?" Loren's smile stiffened a little, "Aren't you afraid that I will tell Charlotte that you are secretly snitching behind her back?"

"Of course not. Lena de Salion was undaunted: "You are not the kind of guy who will find yourself bored, this kind of thing of killing a thousand enemies and losing ten thousand is not within your choice." ”

"Gratitude is nothing more than the hope of future benefits and needs—and in view of the more intimate relationship between you and the Countess, you have more days to ask of me. ”

Syllable!

Loren wanted to slap her in the face now, but ended up slapping himself in the face.

I almost forgot that this is a goblin with no inferior intelligence, twice as much emotional intelligence as him, and driving Isaac crazy!

Turning his head, the black-haired wizard, who didn't dare to say a word, walked in the direction of the crimson dragon as if he was "running for his life".

The very "interesting" girl with black-rimmed glasses shrugged her shoulders and didn't say anything more, she followed behind the duke very obediently, and followed suit.

Seeing the Duke coming, Byrne's knights moved closer to the sides, shouting angrily to disperse the cheers around them and get out of the way.

[We meet again, Duke Byrne.] 】

A bell-like roar exploded in the black-haired wizard's mind, and there was a slight arrogant "politeness" in the amber dragon eyes:

[If there is any confusion caused by my unsolicitation, I hope you will understand. 】

Understanding... That's what I said.

Is it okay if I "don't understand"?

The black-haired wizard raised an eyebrow, neither agreeing nor rebutting.

But the dragon had no intention of stopping, and had no intention of caring about Loren's temperament.

[Your friend Lusin told me—of course, maybe he didn't know I heard him—that today is your wedding day, forgive me for not bringing any gifts......]

"Dear Lord Grum, please don't continue to be so polite—or I'd have thought that it wasn't a dragon standing in front of me, but a human. ”

Interrupting the other party coldly, the black-haired wizard said expressionlessly, "Let's be honest, what are you here for?"

After saying that, Loren, who stood with his head held high, stared at Groom's eyes.

The crimson dragon with a hideous expression also stared at him intently.

There was a dead silence.

Because Loren was the only one who could hear Grum's words, it was like the Duke was constantly provoking the dragon in the eyes of everyone around him.

The oppressive atmosphere is very tense.

The nervous Earls of Storm Castle and Mountain Rock Castle clenched their swords tightly, not even raising their hands to wipe the cold sweat from their foreheads, while the demon hunters who were on guard stared at the Duke and the dragon's every move without the slightest relaxation.

Lena de Salion, who was still at ease just now, also held her breath at the moment, and her eyes didn't even blink.

Because she's de Salion... It was because of De Salion that she realized that the Dragon's Wrath was not a myth, but a natural disaster that could really destroy everything.

[Even if it is of the Queen's blood, no one dares to question the dragon... Lord Byrne, Miracis is right, you are arrogant. 】

The monstrous blood basin opened its mouth slightly, and the crimson dragon's voice became cold:

[Could it be... Aren't you afraid that your castle and country will become a sea of fire?]

"I'm afraid, of course I'm afraid. ”

Loren's answer was very crisp, and he didn't care: "But if an agreement has just been reached, hurting allies because of a little quarrel can only show that the noble silver dragon Enzo, and the more noble dragon clan, are not sincere at all." ”

"Since I am insincere, what difference does it make between me being offended and not being offended?"

The crimson dragon's eyes were even darker.

[Then may I ask, what is considered 'sincerity' in your eyes - interrupting you several times and not caring about humiliation?]

"Of course not, mutual understanding and respect are the signs of sincerity. Loren said lightly: "And you are now standing on my land, facing me and my people, but you owe even the most basic respect, of course I will think that you are not sincere." ”

"If you don't want to see that, it's easy to show your sincerity – tell me, for example, what are you here for?"

The expressionless crimson dragon, the dim yellow dragon's eyes narrowed slightly.

[On Enzo's orders, Torch Peak will honor its promise to the Empire and the royal family of de Salion, and assist you in winning the battle of the Azorean elves until the enemy is completely annihilated or defeated.] 】

Grum's suppressed roar of anger rang in Loren's mind.

[Until then, our compatriots will be stationed in the gathering places and important fortresses of the various armies of the Empire, assisting and sheltering you, etc., and maintaining communication to ensure that nothing goes wrong. 】

The black-haired wizard raised an eyebrow, and the other party said the same thing as if he didn't say it.

"I know all of this, and that's not what I'm asking. Loren said coldly, "I'm repeating the question - why did you, the venerable Crimson Dragon Grum, appear in the Red Blood Castle?"

That's my answer. 】

This time, Groom's answer was very succinct and clear:

[The gathering place and important fortress of the various armies of the empire - Red Blood Fortress is also one of the most important fortresses of the empire. 】

Well, stationed in the Red Blood Castle?

It's a fortress too, yes, but... This is the South.

When the elves hit here, the empire is about to fall, right?!

The black-haired wizard who forced his composure tried to suppress his emotions as much as possible.

But that flash of eyes was still captured by the crimson dragon - the hideous bloody mouth actually revealed an almost "cunning" look.

Exactly the same as Milasis.

[As you know, Enzo did not make an agreement with Brandon de Salion alone, but with you and Brandon; to maintain this agreement, you need both of you to exist at the same time.] 】

[The dragons will never break their promises, we will fulfill all our obligations in accordance with the agreed content, and we will also strive for the agreement that belongs to us - these are the original words of Lord Enzo. 】

[Therefore, from now on, I, Grum, will be stationed in the Red Blood Castle as the messenger of Jufeng Mountain!]