Chapter 147: A Leisurely Afternoon (Part 2)

When the sound of footsteps rang out again, it was already ten minutes later.

And during these ten minutes, Dean carefully tidied up his belongings, and holding onto the head of the bed, he made himself stand up—although the stinging pain and weakness inside his body made Dean frown, he did not allow himself to become weak or have thoughts of escape due to his physical discomfort.

‘Do not underestimate daily habits; at the critical moment of life and death, they are the most important!’

These were the words of that Old Knight, and as always, Dean agreed with them.

If he became weak or had thoughts of escape because of the stinging pain and weakness in his body at this moment, then when facing greater danger, even if his body was unharmed, he would still subconsciously think of escape—after all, this was a habit.

And Dean absolutely would not allow himself to be like that.

Phew!

When he finally straightened his back, Dean could not help but let out a long breath—he could feel the sweat appearing on his forehead and back, but compared to this, Dean enjoyed the feeling of standing at this moment even more.

Dean absolutely did not object to the feeling of lying down, because he also needed sleep.

However, this did not mean he would be attached to his sickbed.

After hearing the footsteps, Dean tidied his clothes a little—although they were just ordinary pajama liners and trousers, Dean made them as smooth as possible.

Thump, thump-thump…

Neither fast nor slow, the rhythmic knocking revealed the cultivation of the knocker; and that obviously slightly lower knocking sound clearly showed the worry about suddenly disturbing Dean, who was recovering from his injuries.

Regarding this, Dean said with a kind smile: “Please come in!”

The door was gently pushed open.

A figure draped in a cloak appeared in Dean’s vision; after the other person entered the room, they gently closed the door, and then took off the hood.

Golden long hair poured down like a waterfall, and emerald-green eyes added a touch of liveliness to the whole room.

“Your Highness!”

Looking at this person who was forever buried in the bottom of his heart, Dean was stunned for a moment, and then almost instinctively saluted and greeted.

However, the waist he had just bent gave Dean a violent sense of dizziness—undoubtedly, the reunion once again made Dean forget the state of his body.

Just as Dean was about to fall again, the Emerald Grand Duke appeared beside Dean once more, supported him, picked him up, and then placed him on the bed.

“Don’t show off; apart from me, no one else can see this!”

The Emerald Grand Duke stopped Dean’s attempt to get out of bed again, and her clear gaze held a trace of unwavering refusal.

“Alright!”

Feeling the strength of the Emerald Grand Duke’s hand on his shoulder, as well as the meaning in the other party’s eyes, Dean finally leaned back against his pillow with an embarrassed wry smile—this was the second time, right? Dean calculated the number of times he had ‘been picked up’ in his heart.

And Dean had no intention of resisting anymore.

After all, their past interactions made Dean very clear that the Grand Duchess before his eyes had quite a stubborn temper; in the things she was determined about, it was absolutely very difficult to change her.

However, fortunately, this Grand Duchess could always distinguish right from wrong.

Seeing that Dean had no intention of getting up again, the Grand Duchess brought over a chair from the room, took off the cloak she was wearing on the outside, placed the cloak directly on the back of the chair, and then just sat beside Dean’s bed; looking at Dean with emerald-green eyes, she said with a clear voice: “Thank you!”

“What?”

His eyes attracted by that familiar white-based knight uniform with green emblems, Dean, who was immersed in memories, obviously did not hear what the Grand Duchess said again.

“I thank you for everything you did for Vauban County and me before!”

The Emerald Grand Duke did not have the slightest anger; on the contrary, with a very serious attitude, she expressed her gratitude to Dean once again.

“Your Highness, this is what I should do!”

“No, facing the situation at that time, even if you had escaped, no one would have said anything… but you did something far beyond your ability—so, I must thank you for it, and I can’t wait to express my gratitude… Therefore, I snatched the opportunity to see you before the Marquis Vauban!”

Dean said sincerely from the bottom of his heart; the sincerity in his eyes made the corners of the Emerald Grand Duke’s mouth slightly purse, and a faint smile appeared on that stunningly beautiful face, almost making Dean fall into a trance again—undoubtedly, for Dean, apart from Lainey, the Grand Duchess was the woman he had the least resistance to.

However, the calmness and Toughness cultivated by his Assassin career in his previous life prevented him from making a fool of himself again.

Although it was just as the Grand Duchess said, there were only the two of them here, and the Grand Duchess wouldn’t even mind, this did not mean that Dean himself wouldn’t mind.

In front of a Lady he cared about, men always had to maintain their best side, didn’t they?

Dean was no exception.

Fortunately, Dean did quite well—

“Snatched?”

Dean used the topic to attract his attention.

“Hmm!”

The Grand Duchess nodded slightly, and in her faint smile, a trace of craftiness suddenly appeared; she pointed outside the room door and said: “That Old Marquis is still sighing lightly in the front hall right now! He must be very worried that you, Dean, will swear allegiance to me directly, and then follow me away from Vauban County!”

“It is my honor to serve Your Highness!”

Dean said with a smile—he did not obsess over why the Grand Duchess could hear the sighs from hundreds of yards away; after all, Gold-rank Strength was enough to explain everything.

“Then, are you willing to return to the Three Southern Counties with me?”

The Grand Duchess looked at Dean with focused attention.

Facing such a Grand Duchess, Dean almost agreed subconsciously; however, just as the words were about to leave his mouth, he thought of the situation he was facing.

Clearly, with his previous performance, the Grand Duchess appreciated him; as long as he went to the Three Southern Counties, he would definitely be heavily relied upon.

And Dean also sincerely, from the bottom of his heart, wished to follow the Grand Duchess away.

But… the Blood Moon War!

Thinking of that war that would destroy everything, Dean just couldn’t agree.

After all, it was well known that the Four Northern Counties were the true defensive strongholds and conscription grounds for infantry and cavalry of the Emerald Kingdom; although the Three Southern Counties were full of blooming flowers, they mostly focused on the navy.

Using warships to deal with cavalry?

Unless warships could go onto land, it was simply impossible.

And Dean didn’t think he had the ability to take warships onto land and compete with the Iron Cavalry of City.

So, after opening his mouth, Dean shook his head—

“I am now the Regiment Commander of the Ferrchelen Knight Order, but I am willing to serve Your Highness!”

Dean said with an apologetic tone.

Although there was no further explanation, everything was already clear.

After all, the Ferrchelen Knight Order was within the Tier Territory, and the Tier Territory was a territory under the jurisdiction of Vauban County.

“For the honor of the Ancestor? Your Ancestor will be proud of your choice!”

The Grand Duchess looked at Dean, and a trace of understanding flashed through her emerald-colored eyes.

Clearly, the identity Dean had been building up before began to play a role—undoubtedly, as a Grand Duchess who followed Knight traditions, she understood and supported the practice of using military achievements to restore Family reputation very well.

Moreover, looking at Dean who went from hesitation to determination, she did not stint with her praise—

“If, I’m just saying if—the Three Southern Counties still welcome you, I am willing to reserve a piece of Territory outside Southern Port County for you!”

The Grand Duchess gave her promise very solemnly.

“Endless gratitude!”

Sitting against the pillow, Dean tried to sit up straight to express his thanks, and this action caused the Grand Duchess to press Dean back onto the bed again.

“Your body is very weak, and you need to rest as much as possible… do you know what the Spell you used before was?”

The Grand Duchess frowned slightly; obviously, she wasn’t truly blaming Dean, but was worried.

“No, it was just something passed down by the Family, used as a final hope!”

Dean answered with words he had thought of long ago.

Even when facing the Grand Duchess, there were some things Dean couldn’t say clearly—after all, judging by the Grand Duchess’s personality, if she really knew that he had gone to ‘dig’ the tomb of the Conqueror King, even if she didn’t feel disgust, she would definitely have misgivings; and Dean didn’t want such a situation to happen.

So, he kept his mouth shut and told a white lie.

Pushing everything aside, that Family which even this body of his couldn’t clearly remember would take the blame.

“A final hope? Hmm, it could indeed be called a final hope… but obviously, the passage of time has made your Family’s records regarding this Spell incomplete—the Prison of the Demon Dragon is one of its many names; just as its name suggests, the Lightning gate you saw is the passage to that prison which holds various Demon Dragons and Evil Dragons, and both sides exchange their needs in the form of a Contract! However, as far as I know, no one who has signed a Contract with Demon Dragons and Evil Dragons has come to a good end—as Demon Dragons and Evil Dragons expelled and imprisoned by the Dragon Clan, they are more cunning and evil than anyone who signs a Contract!”

The Grand Duchess first nodded, and then, with a solemn expression, explained the dangers to Dean.

“Not a single person?”

“Correct, not a single person!”

Facing the Grand Duchess’s serious answer, Dean subconsciously thought of the Conqueror King—the opponent’s Sword Technique, body, and abilities, plus these two scrolls, Dean inexplicably felt that there was a connection between them.

If he had looked through that diary…

And subconsciously, Dean thought of that book he had ‘eaten’.

Clearly, in that diary, there should have been some records about the ‘Prison of the Demon Dragon’.

However, since it had already been ‘eaten’, Dean naturally couldn’t ‘spit’ it out, so this regret disappeared instantly—for an item that was impossible to recover, Dean would absolutely not waste too much thought.

After all, that was an item, not a person.

“Your Highness, can you tell me more about the Prison of the Demon Dragon?”

Dean, having retracted his thoughts, looked at the Grand Duchess in front of him.

“Of course!”

Meeting Dean’s serious gaze, the Grand Duchess nodded and smiled faintly.