Roco’s Recruitment

Roco suddenly said, “Since this misunderstanding has been cleared up, may I be so bold as to ask another question?”

Ard raised an eyebrow. “Please, go ahead.”

This time, Roco didn’t look at Ard. His gaze was fixed on Yexi, who was holding the lazy Pomelo.

“Miss Yexi, would you be willing to serve another master? I am willing to offer a thousand gold pieces and a high position.”

Ard’s mouth twitched. This guy is really annoying. But knowing Yexi’s personality, Ard looked at Roco with an amused expression.

Roco noticed Ard’s gaze and his heart sank. It seems this won’t be so easy.

“I am not willing.”

As expected, Yexi rejected Roco’s offer without a moment’s hesitation.

“If Miss Yexi has any special needs, I will do my utmost to satisfy them…”

“No.”

Another cold rejection. Roco looked into Yexi’s eyes. He could not detect any emotional fluctuation upon hearing his generous offer. She treated his conditions as if they were nothing.

Roco even began to wonder, Does this maid even have desires? How did Ard manage to win her over?

“You won’t even consider it?”

“I will not.”

“But we are…”

“I wouldn’t consider it even for a royal relative. Not even for the king.”

“…”

Roco looked at Ard helplessly. Alright, he was out of options. No wonder this guy was just sitting there enjoying the show.

“If Miss Yexi changes her mind, my offer will always be open.”

This time, Yexi didn’t even bother to reply. Roco awkwardly rubbed his nose.

Ard stood up. “If there’s nothing else, we’ll be on our way. In three days, I will inform you of the detailed plan.”

“I won’t see you out.”

After Ard and Yexi had left, a knightly Kelly strode in, her bearing heroic and valiant. She bowed to Roco and asked, “Your Highness, I saw Lord Ard leaving just now, and he didn’t look very happy. Did you two have a disagreement?”

Roco waved his hand dismissively. “No. I just tried to poach his maid in front of him. I imagine anyone would be a little upset.”

Kelly said, exasperated, “In that case, Your Highness, please refrain from doing such dishonorable things.”

Roco said nonchalantly, “Because the cost of offending him is low, but if I had succeeded, the reward would have been immense.”

Kelly frowned, clearly disapproving of Roco’s pragmatic view.

Roco continued, “Besides, the only thing I’ve lost is his good impression of me. My own insignificant reputation won’t suffer much from another dent. Ah, what a pity. I thought I could recruit two capable attendants for that little brother of mine.”

Kelly sighed. “The Young Master would not want you to debase yourself like this.”

Roco said lightly, “So don’t say anything unnecessary to him. These are not things he would want to hear, understand?”

Kelly replied bitterly, “Yes, Your Highness.”

…

“Ah, that’s infuriating! That NTR bastard! He tried to steal my woman right in front of me!”

Ard was getting his disguise done by Yexi in a room at an inn, and couldn’t help but complain.

“But he underestimated the bond between me and Yexi! Our relationship cannot be broken by mere material benefits! Our relationship is destined to develop further.”

“Stop your chunni speech. My relationship with you is not that ambiguous.”

Yexi flicked Ard on the forehead. This was no gentle, playful tap from a romance novel; this really hurt!

“Ow, ow, ow! Be gentle!”

Despite the sharp pain, Ard sat as still as a wooden post, not daring to move. The reason was that Yexi had warned him that the materials used for the disguise would produce a corrosive poison if the proportions were wrong, and his handsome face, which he was rather proud of, would be gone forever.

“Hahahahaha~”

Make no mistake, this was not the laughter of a person. It was Pomelo, the husky-like creature suspected to be an arctic snow wolf. It was wearing the weighted gear Yexi had put on it and was running back and forth on an obstacle course she had set up.

Although the room they were staying in was not large, Yexi had made excellent use of every available corner. Pomelo had run countless laps on this course, so skillfully that it made Ard’s heart ache to watch.

Of course, there was a reason Pomelo was so obedient. Its stomach was completely under Yexi’s control.

Yexi had mentioned that she had some knowledge of dog training from her past life. There was a specially developed dog food that was highly attractive to dogs, similar to the effect of catnip on cats. Of course, it excluded the hallucinogenic effects of catnip and added a stimulant-like effect, but it was harmless and not addictive. It was often used by some of her colleagues to train hunting dogs, with excellent results.

Every time Pomelo completed a lap, Yexi would reward it with a blue kibble. As long as Pomelo had stamina, the excitement coursing through its body would make it run like mad. Pomelo’s heart was against it, but the kibble was just too delicious. Every time it finished one, it would silently swear not to eat the next, but when the next one was brought to its mouth, Pomelo couldn’t control itself and would eat it. And so, it was trapped in a vicious cycle until its stamina was completely depleted.

After Yexi and Ard had finished their disguises, they saw Pomelo lying on the floor like a puddle, a look of existential dread on its face. At that moment, Yexi took out three red kibbles and brought them to Pomelo’s mouth. Although it knew this red kibble was suspicious, Pomelo ate it without hesitation. So delicious!

Pomelo looked ecstatic, then, with a thud, its head hit the floor, its eyes closed tightly, as if its doggy life had come to an end.

Ard, seeing this, asked, “What’s with it?”

Yexi tossed the red kibble in her hand. “This kibble is used to help pets like hunting dogs recover their stamina after strenuous exercise. It complements the blue kibble. After eating it, the pet will fall into a deep sleep for a short period of time. It also has a high nutritional value and can effectively restore the energy it has lost.”

“The person who invented this is a true exploiter. Train, then sleep, then train again. How cruel.”

“It’s not so bad,” Yexi said calmly. “The things he invented have no side effects. They don’t just drain the pet’s potential in a short amount of time.”

Ard stroked the sweetly sleeping Pomelo. It didn’t react at all, sleeping as if it were dead. Ard smiled. “Little brother, isn’t this a happy life? Eat, then sleep, then eat again. Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of this to enjoy in the future.”

“By the way, it’s impressive that you were able to find the materials to make these things in this world.”

“Even in different worlds, there are some plants with similar, or even superior, medicinal properties. Once you understand the principle of how to make something, finding the corresponding materials is not difficult. After all, the Beast Forest near Pekoin City grows almost 60% of the continent’s plant species. But I didn’t expect Pomelo to last this long. A full two hours, with almost no rest in between.”

“Why does this scene feel so familiar?”

Yexi glanced at Ard. “You were the same during your first weighted training. Even worse, actually. You walked as slow as a crawling creature. In the end, you were a pile of dead dog, and I had to drag you, and you still wouldn’t wake up.”

“…”

A sword pierced Ard’s heart.

Yexi continued, “Although I’ve never seen a real arctic snow wolf, for it to be so young and still be able to maintain such an agile speed for nearly an hour with a weight twice its body weight before slowing down… that’s much better than a certain someone who claims to have Black Dragon blood. It’s very abnormal.”

“…”

A second sword pierced Ard’s heart.

Yexi said, suspiciously, “Could it be that the one with the real Black Dragon blood is it, and you’re just a fake? Looking at its black fur, it’s quite possible.”

“…”

A third sword pierced Ard’s heart. Ard was defeated. Ard was resurrected. He tried to reclaim his status, which had fallen below that of a dog. “A black dragon would travel all the way to the arctic to mate with a snow wolf? That idea is a bit… I can’t imagine that beautiful picture.”

“They can transform. I hear that magical beasts that live long enough have that ability.”

“Only dragons have been confirmed cases. For other species, it’s just a legend.”

Yexi glanced at Ard. “Does arguing with me about this change the fact that you’ve been outclassed by a dog in both intelligence and stamina?”

The ship Ard sank again. But after a moment’s thought, he realized something. What was he doing competing with a dog? No matter how smart a dog was, could it fall in love? This was not his competition.

With his spirits restored, the invigorated Ard headed for the Baron’s mansion alone. This time, it was truly inconvenient to bring Yexi along. Last time, he could use the excuse that he had captured her on the road, so he couldn’t very well say he liked to bring a burdensome wife with him when he was doing another business.

Ard, holding the token the Baron had given him, went straight to the mansion and met with the Baron, only to be told that the Baron was discussing important matters and that he should wait in a room. This made Ard a little curious. What important matter could make the money-grubbing Baron put aside the news about Ard? But although he was curious, he had no way of finding out.

At that moment, in a dark basement of the mansion, Quentin was fawning over a black-robed figure sitting in a chair, just like Ard had when he first met him, the very picture of a sycophant.

The black-robed figure said lightly, “Are the funds ready?”

“Well, my lord, my treasury was recently attacked. It will be difficult to gather the funds in such a short time. You see…”

Before Quentin could finish, the black-robed figure stood up and walked over to him, staring into his guilty eyes, his voice filled with a chilling killing intent. “Answer my question. Are the funds we need ready or not?!”

“They’re ready! They’re ready!” Quentin was so scared he was drenched in sweat and collapsed to the floor.

“I’ll send someone to collect them in two days. Don’t try any tricks. You should be well aware of our methods.”

Quentin quickly replied, “Yes, yes!”

The black-robed figure snorted coldly. “Get out!”