Chapter 71: Soundproof?

Caius glanced at Rita, who was standing beside Hazel with an amused expression, before asking, "Check if you can get into her head."

Rita turned her glowing eyes toward Hazel, studying her for a few seconds before letting out a sigh. "It’s very easy to get into her head. In fact, that’s what’s filling her head right now."

He sighed and started walking toward the exit. "She’s coming with us."

Hazel’s mouth fell open, but before she could complain, Ethan looked at her with a serious expression and added, "It’s an order."

....

By the time they arrived at the Dragon Kingdom, it was already very late at night. Rita hadn’t followed them to teleport the group, so they had to travel the normal way, which made Hazel even more tired than she had expected. She was already thinking about finding a comfortable bed when the palace gates opened, revealing a tall man with golden eyes and long dark hair who walked toward them with a welcoming smile.

"Welcome to the Dragon Kingdom, Caius. I was beginning to think you had forgotten that I invited you to my palace."

Lincoln, the Dragon King, greeted Caius before looking at Ethan and Janet, whose presence seemed to remind him of something unpleasant. He sighed deeply, shaking his head as though he couldn’t believe what he was about to say.

"The last time you two came here, you nearly destroyed part of my palace because of a human girl."

Janet rolled her eyes. "That was in the past, Lincoln. Why are you still talking about it?"

"Because the human girl is still here!" Lincoln exclaimed, pointing at Ethan with a look of disbelief. "She’s still living in my kingdom, and from what I can see, she’s now making you avoid her even more than before."

Ethan sighed helplessly, looking as though he regretted ever coming to the Dragon Kingdom. "Where is she?"

Hazel immediately turned toward Janet, who had suddenly become very interested in the palace walls. "Why would you even go looking for her?" Hazel asked, unable to hide her confusion. "If a woman keeps chasing a man who doesn’t want her, shouldn’t she be the one to feel embarrassed?"

"Hazel, stop," Janet whispered, grabbing her arm before she could continue.

"I’ve already given up on him," Janet added quietly, although everyone standing around them could hear every word.

Hazel looked at her in surprise, but Janet refused to meet her eyes. She had spent enough time allowing her feelings for Ethan to hurt her, and she had finally decided that she wouldn’t keep fighting for someone who didn’t choose her. Whatever happened between Ethan and the human girl was no longer her concern.

Lincoln cleared his throat and led them into the palace, but they hadn’t even walked very far when a young woman came rushing toward them. Her eyes were fixed on Ethan at first, and she looked as though she had been waiting for his arrival all evening, but the moment she noticed Caius walking behind Lincoln, she stopped so suddenly that she almost lost her balance.

"My goodness!" she gasped, covering her mouth with both hands as she stared at the Werewolf King. "How can someone be this good-looking?"

Caius scoffed without giving her another glance and continued following Lincoln deeper into the palace, as though he hadn’t heard her at all. Hazel watched him walk away before looking at the human girl, who was still staring after him with wide eyes.

Janet immediately grabbed Hazel by the arm and dragged her along. "Stop looking, please. I don’t want you getting involved in another person’s love problems tonight."

....

Ethan watched Janet’s retreating figure with a helpless expression, but before he could follow the others, Anita stepped closer to him with a small smile.

"I wanted to see you, Ethan, but you’ve been avoiding me."

He raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed by her complaint. "You’re beginning to have a lot of nerves. How did saving you from demons turn me into your personal responsibility?"

Anita’s smile stiffened for a moment before she forced herself to look sad. "I only wanted to thank you properly. Besides, I suddenly don’t remember where I came from, and I don’t know who else I can turn to for help."

The wolf guards standing around Ethan immediately looked away, trying not to react to her words. They had dealt with enough humans to recognize when someone was pretending, and Anita’s performance was so obvious that they were almost embarrassed for her. She wasn’t worried about losing her memories; she simply wanted an excuse to stay close to Ethan.

Ethan, however, had no intention of entertaining her tricks.

"We’ll inform your president, and he can come to collect you tomorrow," he said coldly. "Let this be the last time you try something like this. Protecting humans from demons is our responsibility, and we won’t allow those creatures to hurt innocent people, but that doesn’t mean you can turn my help into a reason to follow me everywhere."

Without waiting for her response, he turned and walked away, leaving Anita standing there with a smile that had completely disappeared from her face.

....

Meanwhile, Lincoln had taken the others into a large sitting room where servants were already preparing refreshments. He looked at Hazel and then glanced at Caius with an expression full of curiosity.

"Oh, my goodness! How is Caius treating you?" he asked Hazel. "And where will you sleep tonight? Surely, you’ll be staying in his room."

Hazel shrugged as she picked up a glass of water. "I’m fine, of course."

Her answer made everyone turn toward her, and for a moment, the atmosphere became strangely quiet. Lincoln blinked several times, wondering whether he had misunderstood her, while Janet stared at Hazel as though her friend had suddenly started speaking another language.

Even Caius, who had been standing quietly near the window, turned his head to look at her.

"Errr..." Lincoln began, struggling to find the right words. He knew Caius and Hazel weren’t exactly on good terms, so he couldn’t understand why she sounded so confident about staying in the Werewolf King’s room. "Are you sure about that?"

Hazel looked around and finally noticed the strange expressions on everyone’s faces. She rolled her eyes, placing her glass on the table before standing up. "What? I said I’ll be fine, and I’ll be fine! Why is everyone looking at me like something terrible is going to happen?"

She turned toward the door and walked away, muttering under her breath, "As if something will happen."

Janet remained frozen for a moment, watching Hazel disappear before slowly turning toward Caius. Ethan looked at Caius, whose expression had become difficult to read, before a small smirk appeared on his face. Without saying anything, Ethan walked over and patted Caius on the shoulder before leaving.

Lincoln toward Caius with a curious expression. "What makes her have so much nerve, eh, Caius? I have never seen anyone speak so confidently about sharing a room with you."

Caius raised an eyebrow. "Is your room soundproof?"

Lincoln paused, staring at him as he tried to understand the sudden question. Then his eyes widened slightly, and he immediately nodded. "Very soundproof."

Caius gave a small nod before turning and following Hazel out of the sitting room, leaving the others behind.