Chapter 409: Unexpected Meeting II
"Lady Pendragon, I’m glad to see you again." Lian stood up from the chair.
Aurelia walked forward, her eyes moved from his head to his feet.
A few centimeters of height change, a slightly different body structure and no sign of the man whose heart had stopped working three days ago, she noticed every small and big detail.
"Same here, especially considering that I heard you were dead three days ago."
"Looks like you fooled half the people in that world by faking your death." She said as if she was telling an interesting story.
Lian thought about the sentence for a few seconds, he didn’t know why but "faking your death" sounded like something taken from a cheap show.
The main character fakes his death, comes back a few years later and everyone is shocked.
"I had to do it to trick our enemy and defeat him." But he only said dryly.
Aurelia looked at his serious face for a few seconds and then laughed.
"You’re right."
At that moment, a cold voice came from beside them.
"What he did allowed us to win in the end." It was Seris, who added in a cold voice.
Lady Pendragon was slightly stunned, this girl had almost exploded from anger and from feeling that she had been used because of this only a few hours ago.
But now she was even defending him? Her eyes moved briefly between the two, she said nothing but her smile became slightly more suspicious.
Then she put the folder on the table beside the bed.
"Anyway, your discharge is finished, we can go now."
The Young Pendragon nodded.
And Lian also felt that it was better not to bother them anymore, he also had many things waiting for him.
"Anyway, I should go too." He said and moved away from the chair, then turned toward Aurelia.
"I’m glad to see you again."
"Same here." The woman answered with a smile.
The Young Vorhelm then looked at Seris, for a moment he didn’t know if he should say anything more or not.
"Take care of yourself." He finally said simply.
Seris said nothing.
Lian turned to leave.
One step.
Two steps.
His hand reached the door handle.
"Wait." The girl suddenly said in a calm voice.
Lian stopped and Aurelia also raised an eyebrow at the same moment.
Seris didn’t speak for a few seconds, this pause made the other woman’s gaze become more curious.
"Next month, the Dragon Mark Ceremony will be held."
The Young Vorhelm knew the name, almost everyone who had basic information about the great families had heard of it.
The Dragon Mark Ceremony, one of the oldest traditions of the Pendragon Family.
This ceremony was usually held a few months after a new Ruined Realm was opened and despite how it looked, it was not just a family celebration.
The current generation of the family was introduced there, and people who had made important achievements in exploring the new realm were honored.
Allied families and unions were invited, political and business deals were made behind closed doors.
And the important members of the new generation swore the traditional family oath in front of the First Dragon Mark.
Of course, the most important part of it was announcing the heir who would lead the Pendragon Family for the next 25 years and until that realm was cleared.
For people outside the family, being invited to such a ceremony was not a small thing.
"Since nine months have passed, it should be held next month, you can come." Seris continued.
Lian really paused for a moment, he didn’t expect to be invited so suddenly.
But Aurelia’s reaction was more interesting, the woman’s face became completely blank for a fraction of a second and her head slowly turned toward her.
She had heard something she did not expect.
Seris... had personally invited someone?
The same girl who didn’t even attend family ceremonies most of the time?
"Is this an invitation from Seris Pendragon or from the Pendragon Family?" Lian asked curiously.
"If it was an invitation from my family, the family itself would send you an invitation." The Young Pendragon answered dryly.
So yes, it was personal.
And his mind quickly checked the next month.
Returning to the Academy, meeting Kain, getting the ancient armor, selling the bodies of the monsters he had collected and probably the Academy exams.
These were all the things he could think about for now and it was not clear what would happen by then.
But if he was free, going to the Pendragon Family ceremony would not be a bad thing, in fact, it was a good opportunity.
Many of the most important people of the new generation, great families and unions would probably be there.
"If I can, I’ll definitely come."
"Okay." Seris only gave one answer and her facial expression remained cold as if she had just done something completely normal a few seconds ago.
Only Aurelia was standing beside the bed and looking at her strangely.
This time Lian opened the door and left the room, the door slowly closed behind him.
And with him gone, silence filled the room for a few seconds.
Seris opened her panel again to check the information about her evolution, as if nothing special had happened.
Aurelia was still standing in her place, her eyes were on her, she wasn’t speaking or moving but only staring.
The Young Pendragon tried to ignore her for a few seconds.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
Finally, she lowered the panel.
"Why are you looking at me like that? It’s annoying." She asked with a small frown.
Aurelia looked very serious, so serious that for a moment Seris even thought she wanted to talk about something important regarding the family.
"Now I’m sure." She said in a completely serious tone.
"About what?"
"You’re really in love." Aurelia answered without the slightest pause.
"No." Seris’s face immediately became colder and she said without hesitation.
"You invited someone to a ceremony!"
"So what? It’s just a simple invitation."
Aurelia really couldn’t believe that Seris was seriously asking that question for a moment, she raised her hand and pointed directly at her with her index finger.
"You, Seris Pendragon!" She said with emphasis and wanted to continue, but the girl snorted.
"I know my name."
"The person who didn’t even attend her own birthday two years ago and said that inviting guests was something idiots did, you invited someone to a ceremony!" Aurelia continued in disbelief.
"It has nothing to do with it." Seris answered completely without emotion.
She only looked at her for a few seconds, it had nothing to do with it? Of course, completely unrelated, ridiculously so!
The girl who probably wouldn’t even notice if this ceremony was canceled had now invited a man herself to attend it.
And not just any man, Lian Vorhelm, the son of the patriarch of their biggest rival family.
Her gaze slowly changed, an old thought, almost forgotten, came back from the corner of her mind.
The Pendragon Family.
The Vorhelm Family.
Two young generations.
Two geniuses.
A family marriage.
And a plan that she had once made in her mind mostly as a joke and a fantasy.
Aurelia’s eyes narrowed slightly, maybe... just maybe, that plan was not so unrealistic anymore.
A calm smile appeared on her face, but this smile was different from her previous smiles, it was too calculated.
"I don’t like that look of yours." Seris noticed it almost immediately and said coldly.
"Why me? I didn’t do anything." Aurelia asked with completely fake innocence.
The Young Pendragon stared at her for a few seconds and this time the woman couldn’t stop herself from laughing.
And at that exact moment, Seris became sure that inviting Lian had probably been a much bigger mistake than she had thought.