Chapter 468: White hair

Lian quickly carried Paros out of the room on his shoulder.

The Grand Elder stared blankly at Paros, who was lying across Lian’s shoulder with his eyes tightly shut, his mind going a bit numb.

He looked toward Rory. "Lady Rory, our Dragon Lord... he..."

"He’s fine," Rory explained with a smile. "Paros was feeling too much discomfort just now, so he took some medicine Lian gave him and fell asleep."

Is he really just asleep? Looking like this, hasn’t he actually passed out cold?

Oh well. The matters of young people were not for an old man like him to pry into. They trusted Lady Rory’s character; she certainly wouldn’t let anything bad happen to their Dragon Lord. If she truly wished to harm him, she wouldn’t have helped him time and time again.

After bringing Paros back aboard her warship, the vessel immediately set a course for the return journey.

In the lounge, Xarion looked at Paros, whom Lian had laid onto the bed, and reached out to pat Paros’s face. "Is he completely knocked out?"

Lian said, "He took the potion and fell asleep. He probably won’t wake up until tomorrow morning."

"So he was drugged unconscious," Xarion shook his head with regret. "What a pity he isn’t in his beast form right now. If he were, it’d be great—we could take advantage of this to pluck a few of his dragon scales."

Paros’s dragon scales were exceptionally precious.

Vangar shot Xarion an exasperated look. "Be a decent beast, would you? He’s already in this state, and you’re still thinking about plucking his scales." After saying that, Vangar turned to Lian. "I remember dragon horns can be used as medicinal ingredients, right?"

Rory glared speechlessly at both Vangar and Xarion. "You two have had enough!"

Paros was already in such a state, yet they were still scheming over his dragon horns and scales. It was unbelievable... not a single decent person among them!

Suppressing a smile, Lian echoed Rory’s sentiment. "Rory is right. You two guys are far too much. Paros is already like this, and you’re actually thinking about plucking his scales and harvesting his horns—you’re practically not human."

With that, he immediately took Rory’s hand and said, "Rory, it’s late. Let me accompany you to rest first. Paros won’t wake up before tomorrow morning. Just leave Xarion and Vangar here to keep watch over him."

Xarion and Vangar were both so amused by his nerve that they let out cold laughs. This guy is truly shameless enough. Making them guard Paros while he kept Rory all to himself—no wonder Yuel couldn’t stand him back then.

Inside the castle.

Yuel, who had finally finished his busy tasks and returned home, arrived to find Nix, Jasper, and Aren packing things in the living room.

"Why are you all still awake at this hour?" Yuel had returned in a hurry and hadn’t even changed out of his Consul uniform.

"Yuel, you’re back!" Nix said happily upon seeing him. "Rory is accompanying me to the Lion-Tiger Clan tomorrow. Jasper, Aren, and I are preparing the gifts to bring with us."

It was a good thing Jasper and Aren were so thoughtful, picking out many highly appropriate gifts. If it had been left to Nix alone, he would have only thought about bringing along a few extra mechas and warships tomorrow.

"Where’s Rory?" Yuel asked. "Has she gone to rest?"

Rory’s decision to go after Paros again hadn’t been mentioned to Yuel. Since she would be back first thing in the morning anyway, there was no need to distract Yuel while he was so busy with work.

"Rory went to find Paros and will be back first thing tomorrow morning. Vincent, Wen, Vangar, Xarion... oh, and Lian, all went with her," Nix said.

Chasing down Paros?

Yuel smiled faintly. "I see."

He produced an exquisite box from his spatial ring, inside of which lay his petals. "I have matters to attend to tomorrow and won’t be able to go to the Lion-Tiger Clan with you. This is a gift from me to your parents—please bring it to them for me."

Nix took the box Yuel handed over, looking at him with deep gratitude. "Yuel, you’re being far too polite!"

Yuel smiled warmly. "We’re all family—it’s only right. I came back to fetch a few things and have to head out again shortly. Once you finish up, get some rest early as well."

Terry poked his head out from Yuel’s hair and said to Nix with a cheerful grin, "Daddy Nix, when you go home tomorrow, if those cousins of yours laugh at you, just beat them up! Don’t be afraid—Mother, Daddy Yuel, Daddy Vincent, Daddy Wen, Daddy Vangar, and all the others will back you up!"

"And Terry! Terry will back you up too!"

Nix was amused by the little guy and reached out to gently stroke him. "Alright, Daddy Nix will be waiting for Terry to back me up." What a cute little thing.

Yuel quickly returned to his room to grab his items.

Watching Yuel leave, Jasper let out a sigh. "Ever since Yuel joined the Executive Department, he’s been terribly busy lately." He hardly ever saw him rest, and he was scarcely around all day long.

Aren remarked, "He just entered the Executive Department, so there are naturally tons of affairs to handle."

The Executive Department was a place that ate people alive without spitting out the bones. With Vincent and Vangar standing behind Yuel, even though he had entered the Executive Department, his stance remained aligned with the Military Department. The people in the Executive Department wouldn’t treat him too well—exclusion, exploitation, and scheming were bound to happen. If Yuel wanted to gain a firm foothold there, he would have a lot on his plate for quite some time.

Nix said, "Yuel works so hard. When I get back from the Lion-Tiger Clan tomorrow, I’ll cook plenty of delicious meals for him to build up his strength."

After grabbing his things, Yuel departed swiftly.

On his way back, Yuel originally thought about sending Rory a message. But after a second thought, he decided against it. At this hour, even if she was on the warship, she should be resting. It would be better to message her tomorrow so as not to wake her.

The next morning, at dawn.

The warship returned to the Central District.

Rory brought Lian and the others back to the castle. Paros had not yet awakened, so Vangar carried him straight off the warship on his shoulder.

Seeing Rory return, Nix put down what he was holding and ran out excitedly to greet her. "Rory, you’re back!"

"Mm." Seeing him smile so brightly, Rory couldn’t help but smile too. Her little cat is truly the best—not only easy to coax and sweet, but completely free of stubbornness.

"Are all the things we need to bring to the Lion-Tiger Clan ready?" Rory asked Nix.

"Everything’s ready! Last night, Jasper, Aren, and I even made lots of delicious food together to bring to my mother today."

Speaking of which, Rory felt a bit remorseful. "I really should have personally cooked some delicious dishes and prepared gifts for your mother." Meeting Nix’s family for the first time, she felt she ought to have prepared gifts in advance to show proper sincerity.

"Rory, you must never say that," Nix said earnestly. "Having Jasper and Aren help me prepare them is no different from you preparing them yourself. Besides, just having you accompany me back makes me immensely happy—and my mother will be overjoyed as well."

In other households, a female’s other mates wouldn’t care about such things at all. Yet in their home, all the mates got along exceptionally well, closer than actual brothers.

"By the way, how is Paros doing?" Nix asked suddenly. "Did he come back with you?"

As he spoke, Nix turned his head and caught sight of Paros being carried on Vangar’s shoulder. Seeing the white hair on Paros’s head, Nix was utterly shocked.

"Paros... what happened to him?"

Good heavens, why has so much of Paros’s hair turned white?!