"Any who touch my body with threatening intent, the Galewind Thunderhawk will attack." The words seemed simple enough, but every noble present was a shrewd judge of character, and upon hearing this, they all understood what had happened.
Numerous nobles turned to look at Marquis Kiefer, who was still clutching the wound on the back of his hand, his face pale and ghastly.
"That Marquis Kiefer must have gotten handsy with her, honestly..." Many nobles silently ridiculed him, and with such thoughts naturally came meaningful glances. Marquis Kiefer found the situation utterly mortifying.
King Johan also shot his nephew a disapproving look.
He knew that the ninth-level magical beast, the Galewind Thunderhawk, standing behind Dilia belonged to Master Rongers, the Wind System Holy Grand Mage. The Galewind Thunderhawk had attacked Marquis Kiefer, and there had likely been no time—or even a way—for it to consult with Dilia first.
This incident could hardly be said to be Dilia targeting Marquis Kiefer deliberately.
Indeed—
Dilia was not targeting Marquis Kiefer. Before attending the banquet, she had already told the Galewind Thunderhawk that anyone who attempted to get handsy with her was to be "pecked" as punishment.
The other noble youths lacked the nerve, but Marquis Kiefer had it in abundance. Naturally, he walked right into the line of fire.
"Guards! Take Kiefer away for treatment at once!" King Johan bellowed.
Marquis Kiefer offered no defense. He could only hang his head, clutching the horrifying hole in the back of his hand, and quickly leave the hall. King Johan then turned to comfort Dilia: "Miss Dilia, I am truly sorry that you had to experience this. It is entirely our fault, and I hope you will not hold it against us."
"No, no, Your Majesty, this is Little Wind's fault. When I return, I will definitely have my teacher scold it." As she spoke, Dilia shot a deliberate glare at the Galewind Thunderhawk beside her.
She then apologized: "Your Majesty, I am feeling unwell today, so I will take my leave now. Please forgive me."
"Very well, Miss Dilia. Do be sure to rest properly when you get back," King Johan said with great composure.
The evening's guest of honor, Dilia, departed just like that, and the remaining nobles could not help but discuss the incident. Poor Marquis Kiefer naturally became the center of attention.
After this incident, one would never have expected that Marquis Kiefer—freshly healed by Light healing magic—would brazenly and shamelessly continue to offer himself as Dilia's "guide," showing up at her estate day after day. The Eighth Prince Scott accompanied him every time.
What a pity...
Miss Dilia was perfectly friendly, but those two magical beasts were terrifying.
One time, when Miss Dilia tripped while walking and was about to fall, Prince Scott kindly reached out to catch her. What greeted him was a "peck" from the Galewind Thunderhawk—worse than what Marquis Kiefer had received. The hawk's beak went straight through Prince Scott's left hand.
After this lesson, both Scott and Marquis Kiefer learned to keep their hands to themselves. But just when they thought they were behaving properly, their misfortune returned.
The Earth Bear slapped them both flying with two consecutive swats.
How fearsome were the Earth Bear's paws? Even with a casual swat, both Scott and Marquis Kiefer were severely injured, coughing up blood, half-dead from the beating before finally being healed by Light mages.
As the Earth Bear, Hatton, put it: "You two, hanging around in front of me, Hatton, day after day—goddamn annoying! From now on, every time I see you, I'll smack you!"
Heavens!
Who would dare provoke a Saint Realm magical beast like the Earth Bear? Even if they sent the Rock Sword Saint, Hedesen, defeating the Earth Bear would be no simple matter. After all, the Earth Bear was absolutely among the top tier of Saint Realm magical beasts. If not for Master Rongers' Dimensional Blade being truly too terrifying, how could anyone have subdued this Earth Bear?
After this, Scott and Marquis Kiefer never dared to pester Miss Dilia again.
The playboys in the imperial capital who had harbored designs on Miss Dilia, upon witnessing the fates of Marquis Kiefer and Prince Scott, one and all abandoned any notion of pursuing her. There was no helping it—being slapped to death by a Saint Realm magical beast left them no place to cry.
Through a conversation with Dilia, King Johan learned that she had actually been a classmate of Master Lin Lei back in the same class at Ernst Academy. Moreover, Dilia was in no hurry to return to the Yulan Empire—she planned to remain in the O'Brien Empire to watch Lin Lei's battle against the Rock Sword Saint.
King Johan was, as always, a man of great composure.
Even though it was quite lengthy for a foreign dignitary to stay in one's country for several months, King Johan expressed his welcome, saying that the longer Dilia stayed, the better.
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye nearly three months had gone by. Tomorrow was August fourth, and at this moment, countless people throughout the imperial capital were discussing the upcoming Saint Realm battle. Even the towns in the outskirts of the capital were filled with people who had come from far and wide.
Because so many people wanted to watch this battle, the imperial capital was completely packed.
On Fushi Road, at the Count's manor, Hillman and the butler Xili were drinking together and chatting.
"Uncle Xili, have you noticed that these days, Lin Lei smiles so much more during meals and even cracks jokes regularly?" Hillman said, his face full of grins.
The butler Xili, with his ruddy, drink-reddened nose just as always, chuckled: "Hillman, you know the reason as well. Miss Dilia is coming to see Young Master Lin Lei tomorrow—of course he's happy! I think Miss Dilia is quite lovely. And I have a feeling she's interested in Young Master Lin Lei."
"Yeah, I can tell from the way Miss Dilia looks at Young Master Lin Lei when we eat together," Hillman said with the tone of a man who'd "been there."
Both Hillman and the butler Xili were quite satisfied with Dilia.
But...
"But Young Master Lin Lei himself always avoids the topic. I even brought it up once," Hillman said, shaking his head helplessly.
"No rush. As long as they both feel the same way, when the time comes, it'll work out for certain," the butler Xili said with remarkable confidence.