Chapter 206: Future Lord of the Red Dragon

Chapter 206: Chapter 206: Future Lord of the Red Dragon

Elvira strode out from behind the curtain, lifting the hem of her ornate and elaborate princess gown.

When she saw the person standing on the balcony, her emerald eyes instantly brimmed with joy.

Elvira hurried forward, completely ignoring royal etiquette, and gave her best friend a tight hug.

"You have no idea how dull that reception is."

The Princess rested her chin on Cecilia’s shoulder, her voice filled with unrestrained complaint.

"Those old geezers just recite the same false praises over and over. It made my palms itch. I seriously wanted to draw my sword and shatter every single one of their wine glasses."

Cecilia let out a soft chuckle, amused by the complaint.

As she smiled, two sweet dimples appeared on her cheeks.

"Your Highness is the most brilliant prodigy in the entire Kingdom now."

Cecilia gently patted her best friend’s back, soothing her in a soft voice.

"It’s only natural they’d want to get close to you and win your favor."

"How many times have I told you? When we’re alone, just call me Elvira."

She muttered with a discontented pout, then released her arms.

Elvira took a half-step back and studied her best friend in the moonlight, whom she hadn’t seen in a while.

Although Cecilia still had the same youthful, sweet, and gentle appearance that could be mistaken for weakness,

Elvira could still sense a change in her.

In her eyes, the Cecilia of the past was like an exquisite piece of porcelain, carefully protected in a display case.

Beautiful and fragile. Gentle, yes, but always tinged with a lack of confidence and a withdrawal from the world.

Now, however, there was a new resilience in her eyes.

It was the kind of security that comes from having someone to lean on, a steadiness that no longer feared any storm.

"So what was it really like, interning at the Adventurer’s Guild?"

Elvira leaned casually against the cool stone railing, her curiosity piqued.

"I heard from Master Reinhardt that the places Adventurers frequent are often harsh and chaotic. A person like you... you didn’t get pushed around, did you?"

Cecilia lowered her head, her slender fingers unconsciously tracing the faintly glowing Moonlight Moss Hand Pendant on her left wrist.

"I had to trudge through mud, delve into forests, and get myself filthy from head to toe."

’She thought back to her first days of the internship.’

Cecilia couldn’t help but smile. There wasn’t a trace of complaint in it, only sweet nostalgia.

She lifted her head, her red eyes meeting the Princess’s, and spoke softly.

"Elvira, I’m in love."

The air seemed to freeze in that instant.

Elvira froze, completely stunned. Her emerald eyes widened in shock.

"In love? With who?"

The Princess’s tone became urgent as her mind raced, sifting through a list of suitable candidates.

"Is it one of the powerful young nobles? Or one of the other top students at Violet Academy?"

"It’s neither."

Cecilia gently shook her head.

A lovely blush crept into her cheeks in the night breeze. Her voice was gentle, yet it carried an unmistakable note of pride.

"He’s just an ordinary Adventurer. He doesn’t have a distinguished family or astonishing wealth."

"A commoner Adventurer?!"

Elvira’s voice shot up an octave. She seized her friend’s slender wrist, her relaxed expression instantly turning stern.

"Cecilia, have you gone mad?"

"You are the sole heir of the Rosenthal Clan, the future Duchess of White River Province!"

"Never mind the difference in your stations! Can you imagine the political firestorm if this gets out?"

"And just his status as an Adventurer—don’t you know how dangerous that Profession is?"

"He lives on a knife’s edge every day! How can he possibly guarantee your safety? What if he dies in some Underground City one day? Then what will you do..."

As if she had expected this reaction, Cecilia was not deterred by Elvira’s harsh questioning.

Instead, she gently took Elvira’s hand, which was clenched tight with anxiety, and gently cut her off.

"He’s very strong."

"He might even be stronger than you."

Her lips couldn’t help but curl into a smile. Whenever she thought of his tall, upright figure, she seemed to be enveloped in a gentle radiance.

"He’s not like the people we used to see in the Royal Capital or at the academy."

Cecilia’s voice was as soft as if she were telling a bedtime story.

"He doesn’t have any of those rigid virtues that Knights believe in, and he couldn’t care less about the decorum nobles are supposed to maintain."

"He’ll haggle with cunning merchants at the market for ages, all to save a few measly Copper Coins."

"On the very first day he took me into the forest, the first thing he taught me was to abandon all dignity and run without hesitation if I ever faced a danger I couldn’t possibly defeat."

Elvira’s brow furrowed tighter the more she listened, the confusion in her eyes deepening.

’Greedy, cowardly, no sense of honor.’

’It sounds like... not only is he low-born, but his character is questionable, too?’

"But..."

Cecilia’s eyes grew misty. She remembered the time they’d faced the Destiny Technique, how he had shielded her with his own body.

She remembered the birthday candles he lit that night, just for her.

"But when I was truly in mortal danger, he was the one who stood before me, shielding me even in the face of impossible odds."

Cecilia took a deep breath, looking the Princess straight in the eye without flinching.

"Elvira, I used to live in constant Fear."

"I was afraid I wasn’t perfect enough, afraid I wouldn’t get top marks on my Magic exams, and terrified that my family would despise me for my Half-Elf blood."

"But he’s different."

"He gave me a sense of security that comes from being chosen, unequivocally."

"It’s a feeling that isn’t based on what the world thinks of me, or on the Aura of being a Duke’s heir."

"It’s just because of me. Me, as I am. That I’m worthy of being chosen by him, completely and without reservation."

"I know he’s not perfect. He even has a lot of the same little flaws as any ordinary person."

Cecilia tilted her head back slightly, letting the night wind stir her silver hair as she gazed at the false yet beautiful stars in the night sky.

"But he’s also the one who made me truly understand..."

"If you love the summer, you can’t just love its sunrises. You have to love its downpours and its mud, too."

"So, I love everything about him."

"I love his cautious, calculating nature, and I love his courage when he draws his sword and charges ahead."

"I accept his commoner status, and I accept the constant worry that comes with it."

To Elvira, the Cecilia standing before her now seemed to radiate a dazzling light.

She could feel the unwavering strength in her friend’s heart, clear as day.

"As long as I can be with him, I feel like hiding from a pursuing Demon in a swamp would make me ten thousand times happier than sitting in this palace."

A cool night breeze swept past, making the balcony curtains snap and flutter.

A long silence fell over the balcony.

Elvira stared blankly at her best friend.

In Cecilia’s seemingly fragile body, she saw a vibrant, searing Life Force she had never before witnessed in any noble.

It was a sense of Power that came not from personal might, nor from the glorious heritage her family had built over centuries.

It was a pure, grounded love.

As she looked at Cecilia’s face, shy yet brimming with happiness, an uncontrollable, bittersweet pang bloomed in the softest corner of her heart.

’So this is love?’

Elvira murmured to herself, her head bowed. Her usually confident voice was now tinged with a hint of envy she hadn’t even noticed herself.

’So falling in love can really make a timid girl this brave.’

’So that’s how beautiful a smile can be, when you’re thinking of someone else.’

Elvira let out a long, slow breath, releasing the tightness in her chest.

She looked up at Cecilia, the tension in her face finally melting away into a sincere, relieved smile.

"It sounds like even though he’s not a noble..."

"...in your heart, he outshines any Knight in gleaming armor."

Hearing her friend’s change in attitude, Cecilia nervously clutched the hem of her evening gown. "Elvira," she asked cautiously, "you really don’t object to me being with him?"

"Why would I object?"

Elvira reached out and placed her hands gently on Cecilia’s slender shoulders, her old determination returning to her eyes.

"If that man can bring such a beautiful, genuine smile to your face, then in my eyes, he’s the only one in the world worthy of the Violet Pearl."

Her emerald eyes now shone with affection for her friend.

"But..."

Elvira’s tone suddenly shifted as she began to tease, half-joking.

"Duke Rosenthal, however, won’t be as easy to persuade as I am."

"If the day comes when your family stands in the way of your love because of his station..."

Elvira released one hand and patted the ornate sash at her waist.

She wasn’t armed for the banquet tonight, but that spot was always reserved for her Knight’s Longsword.

"Write to me anytime."

The Princess’s voice rang with conviction.

"My sword—the sword of Elvira Pendragon—doesn’t just conquer new lands for the Iris Kingdom on the battlefield."

"It can also cleave a path through any thorns that stand in the way of my dearest friend’s happiness."

Cecilia’s eyes instantly welled with tears, moved by her friend’s words.

She cast aside all thoughts of ladylike noble etiquette and threw her arms around the imperious princess.

"Thank you, Elvira."

Elvira gently returned the embrace, holding the Half-Elf maiden who was half a head shorter than her. Her gaze drifted past Cecilia’s shoulder toward the deep, vast night sky.

At that moment, for reasons she couldn’t explain, the prodigy who stood at the pinnacle of the Kingdom’s Power and Talent felt a sharp pang of envy.

Though she still didn’t understand the first thing about love, she couldn’t help but wonder...

how wonderful it would be if, someday, she too could meet someone who would make her want to lay down all her defenses and burdens.

Someone who would make her, like Cecilia, want to throw herself headlong into loving the entire summer.

Cecilia rested her chin on the Princess’s shoulder, her voice returning to its usual gentle sweetness.

"The day after tomorrow is your Heroic Spirit Baptism ceremony."

"I hope that after you enter the Star Realm, you’ll be able to draw the Holy Sword that exists only in Legend—the one that symbolizes the Red Dragon destiny of the Pandragon Royal Family."

Hearing this blessing, Elvira gently patted her friend’s back, her voice filled with its usual unrivaled pride.

"Of course I will."

"Make sure you’re there early the day after tomorrow. You can witness my glory firsthand."