Chapter 302: 301 ‘We are brothers.

Shane was indeed cursed.

And it was a curse he couldn’t comprehend.

The evidence lay in the mark on his hand, which hadn’t faded even after several days had passed.

This really made Shane a bit scared.

“It’s just a kiss, right? You didn’t disagree, did you? Otherwise, why would you have closed your eyes before?”

Shane felt completely innocent.

Although he had enjoyed the moment at the time–after all, it was his first time having absolute control, unlike the previous times when he had been forcefully kissed–if the price for enjoying it was this high, then Shane really had to reconsider.

As for ignoring it with his Resistance Skill, that was impossible.

Who knew if the Resistance Skill even worked?

If it did, why hadn’t it had any effect when he was bitten?

Shane was seriously suspecting that Princess had a way to neutralize the Resistance Skill.

Therefore, in the following days, Shane discreetly tried to ask Luoqi for some answers, but sadly all attempts failed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Princess played innocent, which left Shane frustrated to the point his teeth itched.

Of course, Shane didn’t know that Luoqi was equally frustrated with him.

The reason, of course, was that the day after the kiss, Luoqi had subtly asked a question.

“What is our relationship now?”

The underlying meaning of this question was more than clear.

At least, Shane felt that, if he just put in a bit of effort, it probably wouldn’t be that hard to claim Princess for himself.

However, if he did claim Princess, Shane always felt he’d end up directly tied to a marriage contract, stuck into a situation where he’d have no choice but to marry this girl.

That’s how royal love works: straight to talk of marriage and weddings, no room for ordinary dating–either get married or part ways, with no third option.

And Shane wasn’t keen on jumping straight to marriage discussions.

Not right now, at least.

Otherwise, he’d be completely trapped by the Kingdom and end up working his fingers to the bone for them willingly.

So, on impulse, Shane replied,

“We’re brothers.”

That day, Shane got a beating from Luoqi.

This was a classic case of “seek death and you shall find it.”

Given these circumstances, it was only natural for Luoqi to harbor resentment.

Shane never got an answer and eventually had to give up.

“I don’t believe you would actually curse me to death.”

Shane thought and finally put the matter aside.

Saying he had put it aside, Shane’s feelings for Luoqi had definitely changed.

Naturally, Luoqi’s feelings toward Shane couldn’t be the same as before either.

That one kiss had altered their relationship.

Even though they hadn’t spoken about it, some things didn’t need to be said for everyone to understand.

Thus, afterward, the frequency of Shane’s visits to see Luoqi significantly increased, and Luoqi, in turn, would cleverly finish her work in advance, purposely freeing up two or three hours to spend with Shane.

Still, the way they interacted with each other didn’t change much. They would still playfully fight, tease each other, laugh and joke around, and sometimes act childishly stubborn with each other. How they were before was how they remained.

The only change was probably that they acted with even less restraint.

For example, Shane previously would only flirt verbally with Luoqi, but now he dared to be more hands-on, while Luoqi’s frequency of pulling, dragging, hugging increased significantly, as if she had lost all caution.

If an outsider saw this, their eyes would surely pop out.

Firstly, they looked like a too-intimate couple.

Secondly, the Kingdom’s precious gem showed such a lack of guard towards the opposite sex that it could shock the world.

In such scenarios, it wasn’t that nothing else happened.

For instance, at the estate, Shane had already instructed Lasha to go and handle the preparations. He believed that on the day of the ennoblement ceremony, there would be a grand banquet taking place.

For this banquet, Shane gave Lasha a whole thousand Gold Coins, urging her to make it big and beautiful.

It couldn’t be helped.

“Anyway, it’s a house given to me by Princess. The banquet can’t be too shabby.”

If it was too modest, it wouldn’t just be embarrassing for Shane and Luoqi, but the Royal Family would lose face too.

After all, this estate was originally the side residence of the Founding Brave Mithra and had direct ties to the Royal Family.

If anything substandard appeared in this house, the Royal Family would certainly feel disgraced.

Even if there were few attendees on the night of the ennoblement ceremony or if the status of those attending was too low, it would be unacceptable.

All of this could tarnish the reputation of the estate and the Royal Family, which couldn’t be allowed to happen.

As a result, Shane ended up having to write out some invitations, requesting the attendance of high-profile Nobles at the banquet.

“F*ck, why do I feel like this is getting more and more troublesome?”

Shane really wanted to bang his head against a wall.

“Sure enough, Princess’s lips aren’t so easy to savour.”

What else could he do?

Go all in!

Luckily, in the Royal Capital, Shane did have some acquaintances he could invite.

“First of all, Mr. Migis must be invited. Although he’s an honorary Marquis and the pinnacle of the Kingdom’s Civil Servants, normally even Viscounts don’t have the credentials to send him invitations, but Mr. Migis should accept mine.”

“If Mr. Migis is willing to accept my invitation, then the Nobles affiliated with the Lazahad family will all accept as well. I’ll write one to each of them.”

“Additionally, I need to extend invitations to those who sided with me during the royal audience.”

“Alright, let’s do that.”

Having made up his mind, Shane realized that he actually had quite a few people he could invite, and their status and power were not low either.

These connections could be considered as Shane’s network in the Royal Capital.

And the invitations that Shane sent out, without exception, all ended up in the hands of the intended recipients.

“I will certainly be there in person.”

Migis promptly made such a promise.

The other invitees did the same, each granting Shane significant respect.

This made Shane finally realize that he didn’t only have enemies in the Royal Capital.

Though some people were interested in his future prospects, knowing that Shane’s path was bright, and thus readily agreed to come in hopes of establishing some connections with him, Shane did not mind.

Building connections was not something he cared about.

If there was to be a deeper exchange, that would require further consideration.

In this way, Shane’s arrangements went very smoothly, with virtually no issues arising.

On the other hand, the outside world was shaken by the news that Shane planned to move into Mithra’s residence.

“How dare he!?”

“A mere Viscount moving into the heart of the Noble District?”

“Is he planning to scorn all the Upper-Level Nobles?”

“No way! This cannot be allowed!”

The nobles who were already disdainful of Shane were now completely enraged.

Concerning status and face, it wasn’t just that the person involved was someone they already disliked; even if it had been someone they liked, knowing that someone had “climbed over everyone’s heads” without understanding the enormity of their action, the nobles would not hesitate to turn against them.

But just as they started to plan their actions, a piece of news came.

It was a proclamation from Luoqi.

“That was a noble title present I gave to Lord Shane, those who have opinions are welcome to come to me.”

With one sentence, many of the nobles were left speechless on the spot.

It wasn’t that they weren’t angry, they just didn’t dare to express it.

If the opposition had been anyone else, even if it had been the King Himself, they would have dared to remonstrate, asking His Majesty to reconsider.

But when it came to Luoqi, they simply didn’t know what to do.

Though Luoqi wasn’t the King, her authority within the Kingdom was even heavier than His Majesty’s.

“Lord Shane is someone I acknowledge, who at a young age has made significant contributions twice and even has the ability to tame Artlu’s Black Dragon. Don’t you think such talent deserves this gift?”

The words thrown out by Luoqi, whether the nobles were convinced or not, the general public was.

“Since he is someone the Princess values, it doesn’t seem too excessive.”

“Besides, he is indeed very young yet has such great achievements, deserving of the Princess’s high regard.”

“Compared to those nobles who fight over this and that all day, this Adventurer named Shane, who has come this far by his ability, is undoubtedly more suited for this treatment, right?”

“You’re right.”

The public gradually came to accept this amidst their surprise.

The nobles who were aware of the situation were eager to tell them loud and clear.

“Do you know that the person you are supporting now is very likely to whisk the Princess away?”

“Valued? Of course, he is valued! He has become the only favorite by the Princess’s side!”

“Do you have any idea how close they usually are?”

“They even spend entire days alone in the room together!”

“Your Princess is about to be taken away, yet here you are supporting them, a bunch of fools!”

The nobles were fuming with anger.

But this was something they truly dared not spread recklessly.

Otherwise, the Royal Capital was definitely on the brink of an uproar.

At that point, as the side spreading rumors, they could not bear that responsibility.

In the end, the nobles could only swallow their grievances and secretly plot how to make Shane step down and move out of that residence gracefully.

Some even planned to send someone to stir up trouble and drive Shane out from there.

What they didn’t know was the kind of Hell that awaited them.

On this day…

“Roar–!!!”

With a dragon’s roar echoing throughout the Noble District, the pitch-black dragon, full of excitement, flew into the vast expanse of the residence.

“You Lin!”

Shane stood in the garden, waving at You Lin in the sky.

“Roar!”

You Lin roared with excitement, as if venting all the frustration of being cooped up in the North District Riding Beast House this whole time at once, rushing into the residence, fluttering its wings, stirring up a hurricane in the garden as it landed heavily.

“Haha!”

Shane eagerly rubbed You Lin’s head, which came over for a cuddle, and laughed heartily as he channeled bursts of Magic Power into it.

You Lin’s roars of comfort and excitement rose one after another, lingering for a long time.

Ai Yi also hopped down from You Lin’s back.

“Is this going to be your base from now on?”

The little girl, hugging a pillow and gazing out at the complex of buildings, nodded in satisfaction.

Yes, not bad, almost comparable to her own home, quite suitable for living.