Chapter 505: Chapter 302: It Was Supposed to Be Me First

The next day, David, holding a crystal-clear legendary magic amulet and walking slowly out of the Silver Castle to greet the morning sun, still looked quite baffled, his gaze especially vacant. It was as if his soul had been hollowed out; he looked just like a gigolo who’d just been spoiled by a wealthy matron.

After all, he had found himself entangled in a fight with a seasoned legendary warrior overnight. The enemy fought to the death with a momentum in no way inferior to that of a giant Dragon, so it could be considered an evenly matched battle.

But… what happened to the simple guard mission we agreed on? How did it turn into this mess?

How am I going to explain this to Dad when I get back?

He always thought those ’young miss and her bodyguard’ type novels were ridiculous, but when this kind of plot happened to him…

Damn the suspension bridge effect.

David stared silently into the sky, yet bizarrely found the whole ordeal a bit thrilling.

He remembered last night’s passionate encounter in the empty banquet hall of the Silver Fortress…

Tsk, so satisfying…

Lust

Although there had been no substantial development between Attilicia and Mirillian, their relationship seemed more like best friends.

But now, without uttering a word, he’d gone and bedded his best friend’s mother…

Who cares? Besides, isn’t having a mother enough for him?

The mighty Chosen of God—surely enough to make other Dragons green with envy.

Jealousy

With his thoughts clear once again, David almost carelessly revealed his true form and soared into the sky.

By the time he returned to Dewensen on a newly acquired hippogriff, it was already the following month. There were only a couple of days left until the military mobilization meeting on the High Elves’ full moon night.

The inevitable had to come.

Tsk, I need to figure out a way to get Elizabeth to leave the main throne city area that night.

David had already asked his father, Attilicia, to craft a Flame Protection magical item to give to her, so he wasn’t too worried about accidentally harming her. But in such a scenario, he also didn’t want this duke’s daughter, for whom he had a favorable opinion, to suffer an indelible psychological scar.

Especially after that unexpected night of passion with her mother, he felt a somewhat absurd sense of responsibility towards Elizabeth.

At the very least, I have to keep my word, don’t I? he thought.

Unfortunately, because she was a political hostage, he couldn’t take her away from Dewensen early for such an occasion.

Now, with this advanced military intelligence, even though the capital city of Dewensen appeared as calm as ever, David could clearly sense some obvious differences as he walked the city streets.

Firstly, perhaps to prevent the infiltration of Dragons, especially Silver Dragons, the density of True Vision Magic Guards and Reveal Truth wards had clearly increased. Unfortunately, even though these could prevent legendary Silver Dragons like Attilicia from disguising themselves, he, a Red Dragon wielding Authority that operated outside the established rules, still roamed unimpeded in broad daylight.

Secondly, more and more troops from the various territories of the Elven Kingdom were assembling at the port of Dewensen. Even though these ordinary Elves were still in the dark, they thought their foes were still the Dwarves from Skanis, holed up in Eight Peaks Mountain and scampering around like groundhogs in their tunnels.

Those Dwarves were tough, and the climate was even harsher. However, ever since the fall of the War God’s Divine Realm, Elariya had inevitably begun its ascension to the prime material plane. As a result, the ecosystem, previously destroyed by various apocalyptic magics, was slowly healing and recovering.

Most importantly, once they completely drove out those entrenched Dwarves, their military exploits would make them the next group of Elven knights—or even new Nobles. They would be granted new territories at the site of their lost kingdom, a significant event that hadn’t occurred for many years, not since the founding of Dewensen in the Elven Kingdom.

With such enticing incentives, the Elves walking the streets of Dewensen all appeared spirited and radiant. This was a far cry from how they were under the inept King Ailiando in years past. Only when passing Golden Oak Plaza did the Elves briefly slow their pace to pay their respects. There, they saw families who, even after two years, were still protesting the inexplicable Battle of Montero.

At the same time, they unavoidably felt puzzled as to why the kingdom’s high echelons were being so secretive about this defeat. From the motive and the process to the outcome, everything was shrouded in mystery. It was just like the Old Continent operation fifty years ago.

And wasn’t the creator of that catastrophic crisis, Pafila the Crimson Calamity, long gone from Elariya? It was said that even the two Dragon Gods had mysteriously vanished, with the decaying Dragon God Farazur having already met his demise. Even in the tales of many Bards, the mighty Dragons that once ruled the skies and lands of their homeworld, Toriel, were on the brink of extinction, possibly retreating from the stage of history any day now.

The world of the Elves no longer feared calamity from the Dragons.

A cause for celebration indeed.

At present, only one name was whispered quietly amongst the Elves:

The Second Crimson Calamity.

The Red Lotus Nova.

David Uthos.

Could it be that this mobile calamity had reached legendary status? How could this be possible?!

“In this world, nothing is impossible.”

Meanwhile, David was heading to Dewensen Academy to find Elizabeth, give her a ’gift,’ and go on a ’date.’ Because of his week-long absence, Aria had not received his ’correctional training.’ Looking pale and distracted, as if suffering from withdrawal, she passed by Golden Oak Plaza, listening to the discussions among the Elven citizens and feeling a sense of understanding.

As the ’sole survivor’ of that horrific war and the one who had been redeemed, she was one of the few lucid individuals aware of the inside story. It was for her sake, and to ensure the success of the impending “Dragon Annihilation Plan”—a radical strategy to completely eradicate Dragons from Elariya—that Queen Arasya of the Elves had resorted to such a desperate rescue mission. Though the rescue mission succeeded, it came at a tremendous cost. And all this was due to her, the Chosen of the Moon Goddess. Her arrogance and conceit during an ill-advised venture into Central Earth had led to an ambush and her capture.

It’s all because of me… she thought, her voice barely a whisper.

She had never despised her hypocritical self as she did now, loathing everything about her past. Never before had she so desperately needed the comfort of ’Saphiros’. It was as if, in his absence, she would inevitably regress into the ’Star Singer’ she once was—a persona that caused her both physical and psychological discomfort.

As she wandered aimlessly toward the gates of Dewensen Academy, she suddenly saw the familiar figure she believed could “redeem” her.

“Saphi…” she began, a surge of joy making her take a step forward, but then she froze.

She saw Saphiros, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time. He was surrounded by a group of Elf students with complex expressions, half-kneeling before Elizabeth, their teacher and the object of their youthful adoration. Then, while Elizabeth was clearly overwhelmed and unsure what to do, he solemnly placed a legendary Elven pendant upon her magnificent bosom—a feature no less impressive than her mother’s. A single glance at the pendant was enough to know it was valuable enough to buy their entire family’s lands and property.

“This… this is too precious! I can’t accept it,” Elizabeth stammered, her body tense. Her face flushed, she quickly waved her hands and made to take it off and return it, but then she heard David’s next words.

“This is your mother’s necklace. Don’t you recognize it?”

Elizabeth froze, then looked down for a closer inspection. She was utterly dumbfounded. It really was her mother’s necklace! It was also one of the heirlooms passed down through generations of her Scallia family: Scallia’s Tears. This legendary force-field type magical item was inherited from a lineage of Dragons. It could activate a protective force-field spell to shield the wearer when they encountered danger.

But… but how did it end up in Saphiros’s hands, for him to give to me? Elizabeth wondered. Wait a minute… could it be?! Could this be what Mother intended?

Suddenly remembering a certain custom among Moon Elves, Elizabeth clapped her hands over her mouth, as if struck by lightning. Although Saphiros was excellent in many ways, and she had occasionally found herself fantasizing about him in her midnight dreams…

But… but…

He’s Aria’s boyfriend!!!

How can he do this!

Is Saphiros really that kind of Elf?

To abandon his girlfriend of two years and pursue me, all at my mother’s behest?

Just as Elizabeth was reeling in confusion, David’s next action seemed to be the ’final nail’ confirming the Elves’ speculation. David then took her tightly clasped right hand. He produced another magical ring, which looked equally valuable, and slid it onto her index finger. Looking into her eyes with deep meaning, he earnestly requested, “This ring was personally crafted by my father. Please, you must not take it off! Lastly, please meet me at Dewensen Memorial Park at eight o’clock the evening after tomorrow. Don’t be late, alright?”

By then, the operation would have already begun. Alicia and the others, who had also secretly infiltrated Dewensen, would use the chaos as an opportunity to whisk away the duke’s daughter, who had been trapped in a foreign land for nearly twenty years. However, David could not directly reveal any of these internal details to her. Even though he trusted Elizabeth, she was still a young woman, far from possessing the kind of deep composure that allowed one to remain unfazed when Mount Tai collapsed before them.

“I… I…” At this moment, Elizabeth felt like crying. For one, she wasn’t certain if this was truly her mother’s intention, nor did she know what profound meaning or arrangement lay behind it. She instinctively wanted to pull her hand away, to at least avoid accepting another gift laden with even greater ambiguity. However, his grip was too strong; she couldn’t even begin to withdraw her hand.

“OH!” Seeing an action that was tantamount to a public marriage proposal, the crowd of Elves in front of Dewensen Academy erupted into excited chatter. Their hearts, however, were filled with a mix of emotions.

This was personally suggested by the Duke of the Silver Wheel, and it’s a gift from his father! This clearly indicates an engagement arranged by both families! they thought.

However, some female Elves familiar with various gossip looked at David with expressions that clearly branded him a scoundrel. This was because they had already spotted the figure of the other poor woman involved—the original girlfriend.

Elizabeth, her expression highly tense, naturally sensed this deathly, strange silence. Glancing through the crowd, she saw a solitary figure standing forlornly across the street, exposed to the cold wind. She froze.

“…Aria!”

Even though she had done nothing wrong, at this moment, she inexplicably felt the guilt of a thief. Elizabeth finally managed to pull her hand from David’s grasp and instinctively tried to yank off the ring he had given her, wanting to prove she had no such thoughts or intentions.

But who could have expected it? To prevent her from inexplicably dying later from one of his own indiscriminate AOE attacks, David had directly applied his Authority of Arrogance the moment he placed the magical ring on her finger.

Its effect: Without my permission, this ring cannot be taken off.

It was just like a cursed item in a game, soulbound to her!

Thus, Elizabeth’s action, originally intended to prove her innocence, instead became clear evidence of a guilty conscience in Aria’s eyes.

“Aria?” David, hearing the name, also turned in surprise. He saw the Chosen of the Moon Goddess standing there, head bowed timidly amidst the falling winter snow.

“It was me… I was here first… I clearly…” Aria murmured, her words turning into choked sobs. Then, with tears streaming down her face, she suddenly turned and fled, disappearing into the crowd.

“…” David was speechless and choked up. He felt this whole melodramatic scene carried an inexplicably infuriating sense of déjà vu.

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