As soon as these words were spoken, the gentle smile on August's face stiffened slightly, and a trace of imperceptible shock rippled deep in his eyes, causing the steady aura around him to become momentarily disordered.
"You..."
(Hmm? This scent... did I guess correctly?)
Tike keenly caught the subtle change in August's emotions. Just as he was about to say something more following this thread, Brandish beside him couldn't help rolling her eyes and reaching out to pat his head gently.
"Idiot! How is that possible! His Majesty is very young, not as old as you say at all. If we really talk about seniority, Grandpa August is more like His Majesty's grandfather!"
Tap.
While they were talking, a steady sound of footsteps came from the corner of the corridor ahead. Following that, a figure paced out slowly, and an invisible aura instantly permeated the air.
The newcomer wore a dark witch hat with a wide brim, dressed in boldly cut sexy attire, covered by a heavy-textured solid-colored cape, and wore knee-high boots. Her scarlet braided hair hung down her shoulder to her chest, and the face revealed under the brim was stunningly beautiful.
"Lady Irene!"
Brandish recognized the person almost instantly, hurriedly pulling Tike beside her, bowing quickly in greeting, her attitude extremely respectful, daring not to show the slightest neglect.
Although Tike didn't recognize this scarlet-haired beauty with a powerful aura at all, seeing Brandish so solemn, he also followed suit and called out vaguely: "La... Lady Irene!"
He could smell the scent of strife and blood on her, similar to August's, but unlike him, there was an indescribable sense of contradiction mixed in, so he couldn't say he liked or disliked it.
What concerned him more was that her scent was surprisingly similar to Big Sis Erza's in some aspects.
(What is the relationship between her and Big Sis Erza?)
Just as this thought flashed through Tike's mind, he felt his body suddenly become light, and he was lifted into mid-air by Irene with one hand!
"Wh... What are you doing!?"
The touch of a stranger made Tike scream, struggling with his hands and feet.
Irene ignored the boy's struggle, leaned slightly closer, flared her nostrils, and carefully sniffed the scent on Tike.
A moment later, a trace of nostalgia appeared on her beautiful face.
"Truly a long-lost scent."
"Put me down! Grandpa, save me!"
Tike twisted his body desperately, shouting at the top of his lungs to August for help.
August frowned slightly, his voice deepening: "Irene, put the child down quickly."
Irene didn't let go; instead, she shook Tike in her hand with interest, turning her gaze to August, the corner of her lips hooking into a meaningful smile: "August, I'm borrowing this child for a while."
August's eyes sharpened a bit more, a hint of warning in his tone: "Irene, don't mess around!"
"Don't worry, I won't hurt him. I just have some things I want to discuss with him alone." Irene chuckled lightly, her gaze returning to the struggling Tike in her hand. "Little guy, are you willing to come with me?"
Suspended in mid-air, Tike hesitated for a moment before choosing to agree.
"Okay, put me down first."
Irene let go and turned to leave.
"Follow me."
The feeling of his feet stepping on solid ground again reassured Tike slightly. He steadied himself, turned to Brandish and August, and said, "Big Sis Bran, Grandpa August, I'll come back to find you later!"
With that, Tike hesitated no more, turned, and followed Irene's steps. He passed through several corridors with her and finally walked into a gorgeous door.
Inside was a spacious and luxuriously furnished bedchamber. Irene took off the witch hat on her head, unfastened the clasp binding the black cape, and casually hung it on the clothes rack nearby, revealing her unveiled exquisite face and even more provocative figure.
She walked straight to the bedside and sat down, then raised her hand to pat the spot beside her.
"Come sit."
Tike stood still, his hands nervously clasped together, his eyes carrying a trace of wariness and unease.
Seeing his restraint, Irene softened her voice to soothe him: "Don't be nervous; I won't do anything to you."
Feeling the gentleness in her tone wasn't fake, Tike's tense body relaxed slightly. He moved his feet hesitantly and sat on the edge of the bed, still some distance from Irene.
The room fell silent for a moment, leaving only the sound of their shallow breathing.
"You..."
"You are not human, right?"
Just as Tike wanted to ask something about Erza, Irene threw out this astonishing question in a calm tone.
The boy raised his head abruptly, his eyes full of surprise: "How did you know?"
Irene leaned forward slightly, getting closer. Those beautiful eyes penetrated his appearance and landed somewhere deeper: "You have Vitarnus's scent on you. You are his son, right?"
"You knew my father?" Tike blurted out, followed by huge confusion. "No... Mom said he died four hundred years ago..."
"Four hundred years ago, when I was still a queen of a country, Vitarnus was my friend."
Irene lowered her eyelids slightly, a trace of imperceptible melancholy passing over her face.
"It's a pity that he, like Belserion, ultimately fell in that tragic war between humans and dragons."
Tike frowned subconsciously, recalling the past events his mother mentioned.
"The one who killed Father was Acnologia."
"Correct, that Black Dragon King. To this day, he remains a huge threat looming over this world."
Irene paused, refocusing her gaze on Tike's tender face.
"I want to know, do you want to avenge Vitarnus?"
"Not at all."
Meeting Irene's probing gaze, Tike's tone was calm to the point of indifference.
"He never did anything for me, so naturally, I have no need to do anything for him."
Irene was silent for a moment, carefully examining the child before her who carried her old friend's bloodline but had no affection for him: "...Do you hate your father?"
"No," Tike shook his head, his eyes clear but distant. "I never met him. I have no feelings for him, neither like nor dislike."
"I understand."
Irene could understand Tike's indifference toward her deceased friend. After all, he had never experienced a father's love, so it was hard to develop any feelings for Vitarnus based solely on others' words.
And perhaps in the future, she would face a situation similar to her old friend's.
Silence descended upon the room again.
Looking at the scarlet-haired beauty with a powerful aura yet revealing complex emotions, Tike finally couldn't suppress the curiosity in his heart.
"Are you human, or dragon?"