Chapter 689: A Hidden Alliance

Third Person’s POV

Edhan, meanwhile, didn’t say anything.

His entire attention was focused on Ethan.

His sharp eyes carefully examined the unconscious young man, and a faint light flashed within them.

He seemed to have noticed something, but he remained silent.

Sensing Edhan’s decision, Reed and Pebba also didn’t dare say anything.

Erius, however, suddenly shifted his attention toward Eleanor.

"Hey, professor..."

Eleanor still had her back turned toward him.

"This guy is going to die soon anyway. Why don’t you come with us?

My party and I will protect you with all our strength."

There was a faint look of anticipation in Erius’s eyes as he spoke.

He had not recognized her earlier during the battle, as the dangerous monster and Ethan had occupied most of his attention.

But after realizing who she was, he had become excited.

Like most of the academy boys, he had been attracted to this elegant and beautiful violet-haired professor for quite some time, and now that such an opportunity had presented itself, he still wanted to try his luck and win her favor, even though he knew that she was connected to that Eryndor in some way.

As for Aurelia, he barely paid her any attention.

The anger and resentment clearly visible on her face had already revealed her feelings toward him, making him realize that there was little chance of making her fall for him.

’She is quite an exotic and beautiful girl.’

’Cheh, what a waste!’

If they had been in Ice Emperor City, he would have considered playing a game with this feisty little cat.

However, this dangerous place had killed whatever interest he might have had in doing so.

At the same time, Erius had also abandoned his previous plans of using the two women against Ethan.

In his eyes, Ethan was already worthless.

The young man who had once posed a potential threat to him was now nothing more than a cripple lying unconscious, seemingly on the verge of death.

There was no longer any need to use these women as leverage against him.

"No, thank you, Prince Erius."

Eleanor finally responded, her voice calm.

"I am indebted to this pitiful young man and Princess Arlene for saving my disciple and me, so it isn’t possible for me to accompany you."

She still didn’t turn around as she spoke.

Erius’s expression darkened, and he snorted coldly.

"You don’t know what’s good for you, woman."

Not caring about his disrespectful words and attitude towards a professor, he turned around.

Knowing that Eleanor and Aurelia had allies of their own who were already antagonistic toward him, Erius didn’t continue arguing like a loser.

He left the room, with the unwilling Aria following behind him.

Even as she departed, Aria couldn’t help taking several glances back toward Ethan’s pale figure.

Once the trio had left, Eleanor’s expression finally darkened.

A hidden cloud of malice and resentment filled her eyes as she stared in the direction Erius had disappeared.

That bastard prince had managed to provoke her anger.

But Eleanor quickly suppressed it.

She had faced similar provocations many times throughout her life and understood that there was no benefit in engaging with someone like Erius, especially when her current strength and backing were far inferior to his party’s.

She had finally found her son.

She wouldn’t allow some reckless prince to distract her from her prize.

Meanwhile, Erius and his group soon left the city.

Their destination was the Death Valley.

It was the place where one of the two treasures of this ice abyss, the Ice Soul Water, could be found.

After they left, Ethan’s eyes suddenly opened.

The sudden movement startled everyone in the room.

For a brief moment, Eleanor and Aurelia simply stared at him, as though they were afraid that what they were seeing might be another illusion.

Then the cloud of gloom that had been hanging over their faces vanished.

Even Arlene, who had been preparing to leave, revealed a faint smile.

Edhan, however, reacted differently.

There was no surprise in his expression.

It was almost as though he had already expected Ethan to regain consciousness at this moment.

Ethan slowly pushed himself upright and took a moment to assess his surroundings.

His gaze briefly passed over the people in the room before settling on Arlene.

Without looking toward Eleanor or Aurelia, he calmly said,

"I would like to have a private moment with these two women.

Can you and your party members go outside for a while, Princess?"

Arlene’s smile widened slightly.

She clearly understood what Ethan wanted.

"Of course."

She nodded and turned around.

"Let’s go."

She led the others outside the dilapidated room, with Edhan following behind her.

Once they stepped outside, Pebba, who had been holding back her confusion for quite some time, finally couldn’t contain herself any longer.

"Oi, I don’t understand what’s going on, Princess!

Why was everyone acting like that after Prince Erius left?"

Arlene smiled as she looked toward the ruined city around them.

"Well, nothing particularly complicated happened."

She paused before explaining.

"Mister Eryndor regained consciousness just before my elder brother entered the room.

He contacted me through soul transmission and asked me to act distressed and frustrated when my brother arrived."

"So that your brother wouldn’t become suspicious and leave us after abandoning Mister Eryndor."

"Ohh..."

Pebba’s eyes widened in realization.

"So that’s what happened?"

Reed, who had remained silent until then, suddenly spoke.

"But why would he abandon Prince Erius and join our side, Princess?"

Arlene’s smile faded slightly as she glanced in the direction of the room.

"Well, I don’t know the answer to that."

She didn’t attempt to speculate.

"Regardless, we should be glad that we are gaining such a powerful helper in this realm that has already been invaded by those dangerous monsters."

Edhan nodded in agreement.

Unlike the powerful talents he had encountered before, who often became arrogant and stubborn because of their strength, he understood one simple fact.

He alone couldn’t deal with enemies of this level.