Vivian had already anticipated Greg's popularity; after all, he was a man who had even captivated her.
But she hadn't expected this blockheaded dragon girl to say something so foolish.
“Did you just say he came to find you?”
The gaze Vivian directed at Juno seemed to frost over. Dangerous light flickered in her ice-blue eyes, and the temperature of the surrounding air noticeably dropped a few degrees.
Her long blue hair fluttered gently in a breeze of mana, making her look like a volcano of ice on the verge of erupting—beautiful and deadly.
Juno, however, seemed completely oblivious to the chill, still smiling cheerfully as she spoke:
“Yeah! Because I tried to poach him once before, asking him to transfer to Ember-Eye Tower, and even offered him some really generous rewards. So he's probably changed his mind and came to give me his answer.”
As she spoke, she proudly swished the dragon tail behind her, the scales on its tip gleaming brightly under the lights.
For a split second, Vivian's expression stiffened almost imperceptibly.
Under Allie's guidance, she had already decided to stop trying to monopolize Greg, but she hadn't expected this girl to use such underhanded tactics as poaching.
She suddenly felt a pang of regret for not taking the opportunity to teach this brainless dragon woman a proper lesson just now.
If she had known she harbored such intentions, that ice ring shouldn't have just bound her feet. She should have frozen her entire body into a block of ice and then stomped on it a couple of times.
But Vivian quickly forced herself to calm down. She took a deep breath, her slender waist carving a graceful curve under her uniform.
She reminded herself that Greg loved her, so there was absolutely no way he would leave with Juno.
Therefore, his appearance here couldn't possibly be for Juno—it had to be for her.
After all, the two of them hadn't spoken for several days since the secondary defense ended.
“Excuse me, coming through.”
Just as Vivian was thinking this, Greg finally managed to squeeze his way out of the crowd.
He walked straight up to Juno, then turned to Vivian and said, “Sorry, Vivian. I have some business with Juno, so I'd like to speak with her alone for a moment.”
“...”
Vivian froze entirely.
Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and her lips pressed into a thin line. A flash of disappointment and confusion, impossible to hide, swept through her ice-blue eyes.
She opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, nothing came out. She could only watch with a complex gaze as Greg and Juno walked toward another corner of the training room.
Whispers immediately broke out among the surrounding crowd.
A boy wearing round-framed glasses lowered his voice and said:
“Hey, hey, did I just hear the word 'poach'? Is Ember-Eye Tower trying to get Greg Sass to transfer over?”
“Seriously? What kind of price did they pay to make Greg, who got a perfect score in the secondary defense, want to transfer?” His companion's eyes widened.
“Could it be... that the price is marrying Juno, Ember-Eye Tower's most famous genius, to him?”
A girl covered her mouth, gossip gleaming in her eyes:
“She's a descendant of the ancient dragons. That status alone is incredibly enticing. Besides, look at Juno's figure and looks—she's totally a match for Greg, right?”
“Makes sense! Otherwise, ordinary terms probably wouldn't move him at all.”
Every single word of these discussions reached Vivian's ears.
Her face grew increasingly pale, a flush of embarrassment and anger rising on her cheeks.
She began to regret. Had the rewards she offered been too innocent?
Was a bit of intimate companionship simply not enough to hold a man's heart?
If Juno had truly offered something she couldn't match right now, would Greg really...
Innumerable worries inevitably cropped up in Vivian's heart.
But what they didn't know was that Greg had absolutely no intention of transferring.
The reason he was avoiding speaking in front of Vivian was that she was a princess of the kingdom, making her status far too sensitive.
For her own safety, it was best not to involve her in anything related to the Empire.
“Coming to find me now... you really did change your mind, didn't you?”
Juno placed her hands on her hips proudly, her tail swishing gently behind her as her golden eyes sparkled with confidence:
“Don't worry, my promise is always valid!”
Greg immediately crushed her expectations. “No, this has nothing to do with transferring.”
Juno's expression instantly slumped, and her tail drooped. “Ah... then what do you want with me?”
Greg didn't beat around the bush and stated his purpose directly:
“Actually, I want you to act as a middleman and introduce me to the Third Imperial Princess, Sarah.”
Facing this Little Dragon Girl, Greg chose to be completely direct. Even though she had scored over eighty points in the secondary defense, he was still worried she wouldn't understand if he was even slightly indirect, so he decided to just say it straight.
Juno blinked in surprise, then let out a look of sudden realization. “Oh—you mean, you've set your sights on Sarah?”
Greg looked at her, speechless. “How did you even leap to that conclusion?”
“Well, since you're surrounded by so many beautiful females, I figured collecting beautiful females was your hobby.”
Juno tilted her head, delivering this shocking statement with a face of pure innocence.
“...”
Greg fell silent.
Juno was half right.
While Greg did indeed have such interests—after all, everyone appreciated beauty—his target this time wasn't the Third Imperial Princess, Sarah, but her younger sister, the Fifth Imperial Princess, Wendy.
Although Sarah was quite beautiful, she didn't quite reach the level of a heroine.
Having his standards elevated by the women around him, Greg didn't have much interest in her.
Thus, Greg corrected her:
“I simply want to get to know her, nothing more. So, can you do me this favor?”
After hearing his words, Juno's expression didn't change.
In her eyes, there was nothing wrong with powerful males enjoying collecting beautiful females. In the Dragon Duchy, many male dragons did exactly that, so she was long used to it.
Thus, she didn't really care whether Greg's goal was actually that or not.
But upon hearing Greg ask if she could help, her face instantly lit up with interest, her golden eyes flashing with a competitive gleam.
“I can help you.”
Juno bent down and pressed the barrier activation button on the floor. A pale blue light barrier rose once again, enveloping the two of them.
She stood back up, cracking her wrists and neck, letting out a series of crisp pops:
“But you have to spar with me first!”
Rate on N.U.
