Chapter 665: Protect the Knight Stonehaven.

The seductive beauty before him radiated an almost disarming warmth, as though they had known each other for years rather than just meeting. Her stunning face became even more beautiful when she smiled or cast him one of those lingering glances, and there was an effortless temptation in every little movement she made.

More than that, there was something in the way she treated him that made it seem as though she had already taken a liking to him. She was attentive without being overbearing, openly admiring and seemingly delighted by his presence, and that easy, almost flattering attitude gave Marcus a faint but undeniable sense of satisfaction. It was difficult for any man not to enjoy being treated that way.

’Impressive.’

Marcus was genuinely shaken.

If he hadn’t spent so much time surrounded by beautiful women, he might already have been completely swept up in her charm. This woman seemed to possess a natural ability to make men lower their guard without even realizing it.

No man could easily resist her.

As he marveled inwardly, another question surfaced.

Where had this temptress come from, and why was she being so warm and flirtatious with him? Could she be some kind of PR hostess arranged by the Soulfire Guild?

Was she here specifically to entertain him?

That seemed unnecessary.

The thought passed almost as quickly as it appeared. Although the woman behaved in a teasing and seductive manner, Marcus soon noticed something that didn’t quite fit. She maintained a very clear distance from him. She never deliberately moved closer, and she hadn’t even offered him a handshake.

After spending so much time around wealthy, proud aristocratic women, Marcus had developed a fairly good eye for this sort of thing. Beneath all that teasing charm, this woman possessed an unmistakable elegance and self-possession, the kind that came from a refined upbringing and considerable confidence in her own status.

She was definitely not an ordinary girl.

In fact, that hidden quality was precisely what made her so captivating. She was alluring, yet somehow untouchable, the sort of woman who could make a man want to approach her while simultaneously making him feel that he ought to behave himself in her presence.

What surprised Marcus most, however, was that the seductive beauty smiled and looked directly at him before asking in an almost familiar, intimate tone, "An expert even SoulfireBlade and SoulSync admire. What level are you?"

She actually asked that outright.

"Lydia..."

Fortunately, SoulSync reacted quickly, interrupting before Marcus had to figure out how to answer. "Lydia, this is Stonehaven. He’s an old friend of ours."

Clearly, SoulSync hadn’t expected Lydia to ask Marcus’s level so directly either. He immediately steered the conversation elsewhere, then gave the beautiful woman an exasperated look.

"Stone, this is Lydia. She’s a Fire Sorcerer and the owner of Willow Garden Gourmet House. She heard we’d invited you to help with this quest and got curious."

’Lydia.’

The Goddess of Willow Garden.

So this was Lydia, the famous Goddess of Willow Garden, owner of Willow Garden Gourmet House and a rival of Jennifer, the Southern Kitchen Maiden of Magnolia Restaurant.

Jennifer had mentioned her before.

Marcus finally remembered. She had said that the two women had started another rivalry after entering Dominion.

So Lydia was from a wealthy family as well. That explained the bearing she’d instinctively displayed beneath all that seductive charm. For a moment, Marcus had genuinely mistaken her for some sort of PR hostess.

"SoulSync, that’s not fair."

Lydia clearly wasn’t satisfied with his introduction and immediately complained, "I asked who the expert was, and you refused to tell me. So I had to ask him myself, and you interrupted me. What kind of logic is that?"

She turned toward Marcus, her expression becoming even more charming.

"And you introduced me so thoroughly, yet you only gave me the name Stonehaven. That’s even more unfair."

She completely ignored SoulfireBlade and SoulSync as she continued in that soft, honeyed tone, "Stonehaven, are you in your fifties level-wise?"

She’s still asking. Marcus was defeated.

He remembered Jennifer’s description of Lydia. Seductive but noble, alluring but confident, and, above all, sly enough to make people wonder whether they were being led into a trap without even realizing it.

She was definitely not an easy person to deal with.

Talia apparently knew her as well, and from the way Talia had reacted whenever Lydia was mentioned, Marcus now understood exactly why.

"Level 50, 93.67 percent. I’m almost 51."

There was no point avoiding the question. Lydia clearly intended to get an answer, and she was watching him with those captivating eyes while completely ignoring the increasingly awkward expressions on SoulfireBlade and SoulSync’s faces.

Marcus could only give her a straight answer.

"Oh, almost 51. That’s quite close to the US Region level leaderboard. Blaze Fire—Doomsday only reached 51 this morning."

’She’s a sly one.’

Marcus simply played along.

"Yeah, I’m almost there. Still working on it."

"Good. Then I’ll wish you success in reaching the US Region level leaderboard."

Lydia smiled.

Her smile was beautiful enough to make her already captivating eyes seem even more alluring, but just when Marcus thought the subject had finally ended, she tilted her head slightly and continued.

"Stone, we’re all old friends here. Why are you still wearing a mask? Did you forget to take it off?"

Marcus nearly stumbled. ’Definitely not an ordinary woman.’

She had managed to probe another one of his secrets while maintaining such an intimate, perfectly reasonable tone that it almost sounded as though he were the one being strange for refusing to answer.

And she did it completely without caring about the reactions of the other people in the room.

"Stone, don’t mind Lydia. She’s always like this. She’s curious about everything."

Fortunately, SoulfireBlade and SoulSync had finally reached their limit. They cut off Lydia’s honeyed interrogation before she could continue and began explaining the quest to Marcus.

Apparently, the Soulfire Guild had encountered a randomly spawned system character while exploring the mountains, which had triggered a Hidden Quest. They had five days to complete it, and the quest allowed a maximum of ten people to enter a secret map where they needed to kill a Level 60 Gold-tier boss and retrieve a specific quest item.

The boss was a Sorcerer-class Black-Robed Corpse General. It possessed powerful offensive abilities and solid defenses, and it could also summon a large number of Level 50 soldiers to fight alongside it. The Soulfire Guild’s ten-person team had already attempted the quest twice, and both attempts had ended in failure. Several members had died each time, forcing the remaining players to retreat.

The quest also had a strict time limit. They couldn’t simply abandon it and return whenever they pleased. With no other choice, SoulfireBlade and SoulSync had finally reached out to Marcus for help.

Two failed attempts were enough to show that this wasn’t going to be an easy fight.

Marcus gave a modest nod. "I’ll do my best. Hopefully, we can succeed this time."

SoulSync immediately smiled with confidence. "Stone, with you there, I don’t think it’ll be a problem. Come on, let’s have a drink. Try this one too. It’s one of Lydia’s dishes. For regular customers, you can practically consider it priceless."

Marcus took a bite.

"Mm. Not bad."

In fact, it was genuinely excellent.

It was more than worthy of a chef capable of standing alongside Jennifer.

Yet Marcus couldn’t help looking toward Lydia again.

She was dressed in a simple red robe that carried the distinctive warmth of the Fire element. The outfit was elegant rather than extravagant, emphasizing her slender figure and graceful curves without making her look the least bit gaudy. Combined with her extraordinary beauty and natural charm, the overall effect was striking.

It was difficult to imagine that a woman like this had personally prepared the food on the table.

Marcus had expected Lydia to be talkative and lively, the sort of woman who could keep an entire table laughing without ever letting the conversation fall silent.

Instead, she was surprisingly quiet.

For most of the meal, she barely said anything at all. She simply watched Marcus with those alluring, captivating eyes, occasionally giving him that devastating smile, as though she had developed a particular interest in him at first sight.

It made Marcus deeply uncomfortable.

And although she mostly listened in silence, whenever she did decide to speak, her questions were enough to give him a headache.

"Stone, what weapon are you using? Does it have bonus damage against the Black-Robed Corpse General?"

"Stone, how high is your defense now? How many Level 50 soldiers can you tank at once?"

"Stone, why are you only wearing casual clothes? Come on, let me see your equipment."

Every question was probing his strength.

Clearly, Marcus, the expert whom SoulSync admired and the player SoulfireBlade and SoulSync had gone out of their way to invite, had completely captured Lydia’s attention.

And she was very good at asking questions.

Her timing was precise, her wording natural, and her delivery so casual that it was difficult to find a reasonable excuse not to answer. Add in that stunning face, those subtle expressions, and the honeyed tone of her voice, and even questions that would normally sound intrusive somehow became difficult to resist.

Her constant probing gave Marcus a headache, but strangely enough, he didn’t feel annoyed.

He wasn’t angry or offended either.

It was almost as though her questions were perfectly natural, as though refusing to answer her would somehow make him the unreasonable one.

’What a difficult woman.’

Marcus could only marvel inwardly.

She was genuinely difficult to resist, but beneath that irresistible charm was an equally impressive cleverness. Lydia knew exactly how to get people talking, and she clearly knew how to disguise probing questions as casual conversation.

Of course, the people suffering the most were SoulfireBlade and SoulSync.

They were completely powerless against Lydia, who had simply stopped paying attention to them.

The two brothers could only regret their decision.

If they had known what would happen, they would never have casually mentioned to this sly girl that they were inviting an expert to help with their quest. They had only asked Lydia to prepare a few of her signature dishes for their guest.

Instead, they had apparently poked a hornet’s nest.

The expert Knight Stonehaven, whom even they respected, had immediately caught Lydia’s attention.

As they watched her continue asking one question after another, SoulfireBlade and SoulSync could only suffer in silence. They knew firsthand just how troublesome this woman could be once her curiosity was piqued.

In the end, they could do nothing but pray.

’Gods, Buddhas, Goddess of Dreams... please protect the innocent Knight Stonehaven.’

This was definitely not the scene they had imagined when they invited him to dinner.