Chapter 462: Is she angry?

Seeing Rory come out, Aren immediately walked over to her.

"Rory, did you see Paros?"

Rory nodded, her expression looking a bit sour. "He’s completely fine, nothing’s wrong with him. Let’s go back."

Is she angry?

Aren took Rory’s hand. "It’s good that he’s fine. Let’s go home."

Rory had already extended all the care she could. If Paros refused to seize the opportunity himself, that was his own problem.

Vincent and Jasper had already brought their warship alongside.

Returning to her own warship, Rory’s complexion improved significantly. She knew she shouldn’t take out her frustration about Paros on Vincent and the others.

Sitting in the lounge, Rory buried her face in Aren’s chest. "I just went to find Paros, and before I could even say much, he rambled on with a whole bunch of nonsense. Then with a bang, he shut the door right in my face and locked me outside!"

"He even told me to leave."

Rory felt her anger flare up again just thinking about it. As if she was practically throwing herself at him to mate! If it weren’t for what happened last night, she wouldn’t have bothered making this trip at all.

"Though from the looks of him, his complexion was healthy, his voice was full of energy, and his eyes were bright. He didn’t look like anything was wrong at all."

Aren gently stroked Rory’s hair, then slowly smoothed out the strands he had ruffled.

He spoke in a warm, gentle voice, "The Dragon Clan has always been proud and possessive. A strong male like Paros would definitely want to take his female back to live in the Aquatic Domain’s Dragon Palace after mating."

"Paros knows it’s impossible for you to go back to the Aquatic Domain with him. He was afraid that if he spoke a few more words with you, he wouldn’t be able to bear leaving you. That’s why he acted that way."

"Rory, don’t be angry anymore. Maybe he feels this choice is the best one for him."

Aren didn’t care what Paros was thinking. He only wanted to coax Rory into a good mood. Whoever made Rory unhappy, he wouldn’t want them to be happy either.

"Mm."

Rory wasn’t actually that furious—she just found Paros’s attitude infuriating. But now that she was back, she felt better. It wasn’t as if she had to mate with Paros anyway. As long as she confirmed he was okay, her mind was at ease.

Meanwhile.

The Grand Elder watched as Rory left with her mates, completely dumbfounded.

How could the female Rory just leave like that? Why didn’t their Dragon Lord go back with her?

Anxious, the Grand Elder rushed into Paros’s room. When he saw Paros leaning against the bed, he nearly cried out in shock.

"Dragon Lord, you... you used the forbidden drug?!"

If he hadn’t used the forbidden drug, their Dragon Lord could never have recovered his appearance in such a short period.

The effects of the drug were rapidly fading from Paros’s body. His complexion was now deathly pale, and fine beads of cold sweat covered his forehead. Because the pain was so severe, his usually languid and haughty face was tightly contorted, his teeth clenched hard.

"Dragon Lord, are you really trying to throw your life away?!" The Grand Elder was practically in tears. "Although this forbidden drug can give you a brief recovery, once the effects wear off, it will severely shorten your lifespan!"

He had already lost his True Dragon Blood and dropped in rank, with no telling how much longer he could live—and now he was using forbidden drugs...

This...

"Since you know the dangers of this forbidden drug, don’t try to be clever again in the future," Paros warned, giving the Grand Elder a sharp look.

In truth, aside from warning him, there was nothing else Paros could do to the Grand Elder. After all, he was an elder who had raised him, practically like a father figure.

"I..." The Grand Elder pursed his lips guiltily and quickly helped Paros lie down.

"Dragon Lord, I only did it for your own good. The female came all this way to chase after you, which proves she has you in her heart! How wonderful would it be if you just went back with her? You could mate with her and retrieve the True Dragon Blood. You wouldn’t have to die, and the female Rory would gain a powerful mate."

It would be a happy ending for everyone—what was so bad about that? The Grand Elder truly couldn’t understand Paros.

"Dragon Lord, look at you now..." Why suffer like this?

"She has me in her heart only out of gratitude, not because she actually likes me," Paros replied in a low voice.

"What’s wrong with gratitude?!" The Grand Elder didn’t understand. "To mate with the female you like, who cares if it’s gratitude or love? Isn’t it enough just to be together with the female you like?"

For beasts like them, forget about gratitude—they didn’t even have females who liked them. Among their elders, only the Fifth Elder had a female master, which made the rest of them green with envy.

"I don’t need her gratitude," Paros said, closing his eyes.

He didn’t need Rory’s pity or charity. If Rory didn’t truly like him, this choice was the best outcome for him.

Inside the castle.

Upon returning, Rory went straight back to her room to absorb the energy of the beast core.

After being bathed in the divine light last night, she felt her ability level jump significantly. With a bit more effort, she would soon reach Rank 11. In the Empire, there didn’t seem to be any news of a Rank 11 female powerhouse yet.

She really had to thank Wen for helping her leap through so many ranks all at once.

To reach Rank 11 sooner, Rory didn’t even come down for lunch. It wasn’t until dinner time that Wen pulled her out of the cultivation room.

"Rory, no matter how hard you work, you can’t skip meals."

Rory had drunk a bottle of nutrient solution at noon and didn’t feel hungry at all. "Didn’t I feel like I was right on the threshold of Rank 11? I just lost track of time while cultivating."

Rory gave Wen a quick kiss on the cheek. "I’ll go take a shower and come right down for dinner."

Wen caught her wrist. "I can control water, so I’ll help you wash—it’ll be faster that way."

"Are you sure that will be faster?" Rory expressed deep skepticism.

"Trust me." Wen scooped her up in his arms and walked toward the bathroom. "If I’m going to eat you, I have to feed you full first."

Soon, the sound of splashing water echoed from the bathroom.

Wen kept his promise. In just ten minutes, he carried Rory out of the bathroom. Rory’s body was completely dry, without a single drop of water left on her.

How should she put it? It felt a little strange—having Wen wash her made her feel like she had just been dry-cleaned.

Wen placed Rory on the bed, pulled the quilt over her, and then pulled several sets of clothes out of his spatial ring.

"Pick whichever one you want to wear."

Rory looked at the sets laid out beside her and asked Wen with a smile, "Your spatial ring isn’t completely filled with clothes prepared for me, is it?"

Just how many outfits has this guy made for her?

Wen nodded. "Most of it is."

"When I’m by your side, after handling the affairs of the Mermaid Clan, I don’t have much else to do. Since I don’t want to mess with other things, I just made a few extra outfits for you."

"I want to wear that off-white one." Rory pointed to the off-white loungewear set in the middle.

She tried to reach over to grab it and put it on herself, but Wen beat her to it.

"How could I let my female master do it herself? I should be the one helping you dress."

Wen picked up the off-white clothes, his fingers gently lifting the quilt off Rory’s body. His pink, star-like eyes slowly drifted downward from her face...