Chapter 241: Chapter 240: Dianey’s Change

After the awkward lunch, it was time for everyone’s afternoon break.

Lurans returned to his residence early, while Bretton dragged Ronin into the courtyard for a sparring match.

Bretton possessed two Attributes, Thunder and Water. Although his Affinity wasn’t known, the fact that he could master surging Thunderbolt in just a few days suggested it wasn’t low.

During their spar, the Thunderbolt would travel through the Flowing Flame Sword and into Ronin’s body, bringing waves of a tingling, numbing sensation.

Although Bretton’s current level of Thunderbolt Power wasn’t enough to affect Ronin, if he were facing a Thunder-Attribute Silver Knight, the paralyzing sensation would be much stronger and would require caution.

Fortunately, defending against it wasn’t difficult. He just had to use his own Fighting Qi to insulate himself from the opponent’s Thunderbolt Power. There was no need to wear special insulated clothing.

Throughout the half-hour spar, Bretton was naturally on the receiving end of a beating, but his mood wasn’t affected in the slightest. On the contrary, the more he was beaten, the more determined he became.

Even after Ronin suggested a break, Bretton remained in the courtyard, replaying the spar in his mind, summarizing his shortcomings and considering how to counter Ronin’s moves.

“He really is a cultivation fanatic.”

Ronin remarked with a sigh, took the towel Holwart handed him to wipe his face, and gestured for the butler to follow him out of the courtyard.

“Holwart, has something happened to Dianey?”

Ronin handed the towel back to the butler. “I can’t help but feel she’s not quite the same as before.”

“I don’t know what happened to the Lady, either.”

Holwart pondered for a moment, seeming to consider where to begin.

After a long pause, he finally said, “I only know that after the Lady returned from Black Python City last time, she didn’t leave her room for two or three days. When she finally came out, her personality seemed to have changed somewhat.”

Ronin nodded slowly, guessing inwardly, ’Could it be that Ossen blamed Dianey for what happened to him at Wushan Castle?’

’That can’t be right. Ossen was the one who insisted on challenging Lurans. If I remember correctly, Dianey even tried to talk him out of it.’

“Young Master, if you wish to know more, perhaps you could ask the Marquis.”

Holwart suggested, “When the Lady was preparing to leave for Black Python City, the Marquis sought her out.”

Ronin’s eyes lit up. ’Could this be Lurans’s scheme?’

Meanwhile, having finished with the luncheon, Dianey was tending to the flowers she had planted on the corridor of her small courtyard.

After watering them, she sat on a chair, basking in the sun. Drifting between sleep and wakefulness, her thoughts returned to what had happened that day in Black Python City.

As Ossen’s daughter, she had returned to her former home to visit her severely injured father, but she was met with his refusal to see her and accusations from her brother, Barrington, the heir of Black Python City.

What Ronin had thought was a far-fetched guess was, in fact, the very pretext Barrington used to blame Dianey.

Her brother even threatened that he no longer wanted anything to do with Bretton’s affairs, and that they wouldn’t intervene even if Lurans decided to restore Ronin’s inheritance rights.

The argument lasted for a long time, and Dianey defended herself for just as long, but to no avail.

In the end, it was her uncle, Alan Hyde, who stepped in to separate the two and mediate.

Ultimately, Alan gave his suggestion: have Bretton marry Kalima.

This way, Bretton would be not only Ossen Count’s maternal grandson but also Barrington’s son-in-law, giving him a more legitimate claim to intervene in the succession dispute.

This seemingly good proposal, however, was like a sword piercing Dianey’s heart, causing her immense pain.

Because before she had departed, Lurans had found her and had a talk with her.

Besides asking her to convey a simple “Are you okay?” to her father, the Marquis had spent most of the conversation predicting the Hyde Clan’s next moves right to her face—

—have Bretton marry Kalima and produce an heir; then, after Lurans’s death, kill Wiggin first, then Bretton, and finally install the infant, possibly still in swaddling clothes, as the lord of Wushan Ridge.

When Alan said those words, Dianey felt weary to her very soul.

She had once naively believed that her father and brother supported Bretton simply because he was their nephew, and a nephew controlling Wushan Ridge would naturally benefit the Hyde Clan.

All she had to do, she thought, was to urge Bretton to work hard at his Cultivation, to become strong enough not to be manipulated by others.

But when Lurans’s prediction showed a chance of becoming reality, she panicked.

She was just an ordinary person who couldn’t even defeat a fierce hound. In front of this group of Transcendents who killed at will, there was nothing she could change.

Even if she were to use her charms to win over some of her former suitors, the strongest among them was merely a Silver Knight. It wouldn’t change anything.

Fortunately, however, she still had a choice.

“I should just focus on tending my flowers.”

Dianey lay down on the chaise lounge, bathed in the sunlight, and drifted into a deep sleep.

In the afternoon, Wiggin returned to the castle.

After receiving the news, Ronin paid him a courtesy visit.

However, Wiggin was in the middle of a discussion with several officials from Wushan City about gathering and transporting grain and Weapons. He only exchanged a few simple words with Ronin before returning to his business.

’Watching Wiggin’s focused and busy appearance, he doesn’t seem completely incompetent, does he?’

Ronin tactfully excused himself from the study. Seeing that the sun was about to set, he decided it was time to give Lurans a little shock.

On the mountain path, Lurans summoned his Thunderbolt Wind Chasing Beast and rode on its back, slowly ascending the mountain.

In response to Ronin’s question about Dianey, Lurans didn’t explain in detail, but simply said:

“I just made her understand her place. She should first be my, Lurans’s, daughter-in-law, Wiggin’s wife, and Bretton’s mother, and only then Ossen’s daughter.”

Lurans looked down at his grandson walking beside him and changed the subject. “Do you really have a Dragon?”

He still found it unlikely. After lunch, he had even specifically sought out and flipped through several books, but the Dragons described in them were all fictional and couldn’t stand up to scrutiny; not a single account seemed to be based in reality.

But seeing Ronin’s dead-serious expression, his heart began to pound with uncertainty.

A corner of Ronin’s mouth curled up. It was a little funny seeing the old man’s cautious, probing manner.

“Of course. As you know, Grandpa, I’m a straightforward person. I never lie.”

Lurans’s white beard twitched. “You’ve told plenty of lies.”

Ronin touched his chest, over his heart, and thought to himself: ’I really never lie. Unless I have no other choice.’

“I’ve been to many places in my youth and have seen more than my fair share of Magical Beasts.”

Lurans patted the Thunderbolt Wind Chasing Beast beneath him. “This fellow is said to have the blood of a Giant Dragon. Besides this, there are other Flying Magical Beasts, like the Dragon Eagle, which are also descendants of Giant Dragons.”

He shook his head slightly. “But as for a real Giant Dragon, I’ve never truly seen one with my own eyes.”

“You’re about to.”

Ronin had already called out to Carlos in his mind. He could sense that the Dragon was not far away; after being summoned, it would likely arrive in less than ten minutes.

’Revealing Carlos’s existence to Lurans is actually a very fitting move,’ he thought. ’Next time I come to Wushan Castle, I can land directly on this back mountain instead of going through all this trouble.’

Seeing Ronin’s certainty, Lurans said no more. In his heart, he was already seventy or eighty percent convinced.

It wasn’t as if he was some sheltered country bumpkin. Even if he did see a Giant Dragon, there was no need to be shocked. It would be nothing more than an extremely rare Flying Magical Beast.

Before long, the two arrived at a clearing on the mountainside.

Lurans dismounted, and his Thunderbolt Wind Chasing Beast trotted into its dedicated shelter nearby.

But suddenly, it froze. It snapped its head back to look at the sky, letting out an uneasy, low whinny.

“It’s here,” Ronin said.

Lurans had already looked up at the sky the moment he sensed the unease from his Contracted Magical Beast.

In the dim twilight, a black dot in the sky grew larger and larger. He couldn’t yet make out the form of the Giant Dragon, but a faint pressure settled over Lurans’s heart.

Being worldly and experienced, he knew this was a pressure originating from a bloodline. Only a Magical Beast with a truly noble lineage could have such an effect on a person.

His eyes flickered, revealing the shock in his heart.

“So this is a Giant Dragon?”

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