Absurdity

Lydia put down her steaming coffee cup and asked.

She found the invitation from the person before her very strange.

Aurelia, as the Saintess of the Great Dragon Divine Dynasty, rarely interacted with anyone within the academy.

Although she was inherently a noble, elegant, and graceful dragoness, that was merely her outward disguise.

The coldness in her eyes was not just simple aloofness; Lydia could sense more…

Shadowy and fierce emotions were buried beneath her calm and cool demeanor.

She was a person accustomed to burying her true emotions deep inside, but with just the right catalyst, all those things hidden in the past would instantly reveal subtle clues.

This was Lydia’s sixth sense as a girl.

Her master had once been skeptical and surprised by her sixth sense, but it had never been wrong.

Therefore, Lydia naturally felt a sense of caution towards this White Dragon Saintess, who had little interaction with her yet had specifically invited her.

“No need to be nervous, Student Lydia. We’re all schoolmates, no need for such hostility.”

Aurelia gracefully set down her teacup.

Although she was of the White Dragon clan, in her human form, her posture and details lacked the inherent ruggedness and wildness of the dragon race.

Every one of her gestures was like a fine rain in March, nurturing the land, yet this gentleness carried a thick layer of disguise.

Everything she displayed, in Lydia’s eyes, was a pretense seen through a veil.

“We’ve been schoolmates for three years now. We’re all familiar faces on the Star Chart. Three years is not a short time. Even if we’re not friends, we must be acquainted, admiring each other’s skills.”

“But I remember you once publicly stated that you don’t like socializing. Now, a student who dislikes socializing suddenly invites me, an unfamiliar peer, which makes me a bit flattered…”

Lydia narrowed her eyes slightly, her words loaded with meaning.

“Indeed, given my personal character, I truly dislike socializing. In terms of emotions and cognition, I hope to maintain a dual purity of body and soul, at least until the wedding, so that I may be worthy of my beloved.”

Lydia’s mouth twitched involuntarily. She just felt that the White Dragon Saintess before her had a somewhat disturbed mental state, or rather, the two of them were simply not on the same wavelength.

“Then, talking to me, won’t that corrupt your so-called emotions and cognitions?”

The chestnut-haired girl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes with a hint of playful inquiry.

“No, among the myriad races in the Academy of Revelation, only you are special.”

Aurelia spoke calmly, but a strange tenderness, typically reserved for family, appeared in her pale golden eyes.

Lydia keenly perceived that gaze.

She was very annoyed by someone looking at her with such strange and gentle eyes without explanation.

That feeling was as if she were being kept in the dark, a puppet in someone else’s game.

“Please speak plainly. I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Student Lydia, what I am about to say might shock and confuse you a little, but for our mutual benefit, please listen patiently…”

Starting with such a disclaimer made Lydia feel a strong sense of foreboding about Aurelia’s upcoming words.

Sure enough, the following words came rushing at her with a strong sense of absurdity.

“I know that recently, Student Lydia has been diligently cultivating, hoping to defeat Student Philicia in the academy competition three months from now. And I hope you will discontinue this plan. The reason is…”

Before she finished speaking, Lydia couldn’t help but interrupt her narration.

“Why? On what grounds? Why, because of a single sentence from you, must I abandon a wish I’ve poured years of sweat into?”

The fierce tone instantly made the conversation between the two somewhat tense.

Lydia’s greatest wish right now was to win back her master’s body through victory in the academy’s final match.

She knew her master well; he was a very home-loving person.

She had once asked her master about his biggest dream.

Her master’s reply was that after he retired, he would buy a detached, two-story small Western-style house in Kendall Town.

He would live on the first floor, and the second floor would be hers.

Actually, if it weren’t for his responsibilities and the thousands of poor people in the surrounding slums desperately trying to survive, her master’s own personality would have been very willing to find a quiet place and live an ordinary life.

More than a peaceful life, escaping the identity of a “non-owner” was her master’s sole obsession.

But the consequences of this obsession shattered the beautiful future he had envisioned countless times.

Lydia had sworn that no matter the cost, she must personally bring her master home.

She was powerless to save his life at the most critical moment, but she had to at least try her best to let his remains rest in his familiar homeland.

“Student Lydia, you are too impatient.”

Aurelia seemed to have anticipated this scene. She calmly blew at the white mist on her hot tea, then took a small sip.

“I know your past, and I know why you’ve struggled until now. But what if I told you now that your beloved master, who you’ve been thinking of, actually didn’t die in the Elf Forest?”

The incident of Thief Saint Conde’s demise in the Elf Forest had a significant impact on the entire Seraphis Continent.

Other races viewed it as a warning from the elf race, as the elves usually disliked war and loved peace, long giving the impression of being gentle, beautiful, and easy to bully.

But now, capturing Thief Saint Conde and causing this legendary figure, whose speed was considered top-tier on the continent, to perish here, also served as a warning to other races.

It warned those restless individuals that the elf race was not to be trifled with, especially those cunning human mercenaries.

In the years following Thief Saint Conde’s incident, reports of mercenary groups capturing elves had indeed significantly decreased.

Most people were not unfamiliar with the name Conde, and Lydia, since coming to the Academy of Revelation, had not deliberately hidden her identity.

With a little investigation, it would not be difficult to uncover her past teacher-student relationship with the renowned Thief Saint Conde.

“And now, someone who doesn’t seem to have a good relationship with you suddenly comes before you and tells you that your beloved master, who died five years ago, is actually alive and hasn’t died. How would you react?”

Others might not know, but Lydia’s heart was filled with a sudden surge of anger.

Clang!

The alchemical blade at her waist suddenly unsheathed.

The sharp tip of the blade pressed against the delicate skin of the white dragon girl’s neck.

If the blade advanced one more step, it would pierce her throat without obstruction.

“Are you making fun of my master?!”

Those familiar with Lydia knew that she was inherently a kind and studious senior student, but even gentle people had their ‘reverse scales.’

Lydia’s reverse scale was her master, who had raised her, taught her how to be a person, and was as great as a father.

Her master’s death, in her eyes, was already a fact.

After all, in her memory, the gemstone symbolizing her master’s beating heart shattered in her hands.

And now, this White Dragon Saintess before her dared to use such an absurd piece of news to stop her challenge.

Aurelia subtly raised her eyes, unconcerned, meeting the azure pupils of the person who had stood up and pressed a blade to her neck.

An icy killing intent burst forth from those seemingly gentle eyes.

The girl’s aura was like the biting wind of January, a frigid intensity that caused flesh-tearing pain.

Yet the white dragon girl, treated in such a manner, showed no signs of anger or displeasure.

She simply sat in her original position, her lips still holding that polite smile.