Chapter 68: Old Rivals, Same Arrogance

Chapter : Old Rivals, Same Arrogance

Fafnir and Sonora looked at each other with sharp, arrogant gazes, as though their reunion after nearly a decade since their last meeting had not been enough to ease the old hostility and bickering between them.

Their gazes carried the kind of silent challenge that needed no words; each look seemed to say that the other had not changed, and that thousands of years had been unable to erase the strange relationship that had bound them since ancient times.

Then Sonora spoke, her unbearable arrogant personality clearly showing on her face, and said with obvious sarcasm:

“So you’ve returned, you fossil, after I thought the world would finally get some rest from your arrogance and ugly conceit.”

Anger surged in Fafnir’s chest the moment he heard her words. His crimson eyes narrowed slightly, but a proud and haughty smile soon appeared on his face.

He said in a voice filled with arrogance:

“This world should rejoice at the return of this magnificent one.”

Then he continued, his tone becoming even more provocative:

“And you, you miserable old woman, are you still a spinster after all these years?”

The moment Fafnir’s words fell, Sonora’s beautiful face darkened with anger. Her expression tightened, and her breasts shook with her fury as she shouted sharply:

“You despicable old bastard!”

Fafnir immediately replied in the same tone, without showing the slightest sign of backing down:

“You withered old harlot!”

In an instant, the tension between them escalated.

Sonora took a step forward, while Fafnir did the same, as though the fight that had nearly begun moments ago was now seconds away from breaking out.

But before the two could clash, Griselda intervened while laughing loudly. She clapped her hands and said:

“All right! Although this scene is genuinely entertaining, that’s enough. We have more important matters to take care of.”

The two turned toward her at the same time.

When Fafnir and Sonora heard Griselda’s voice, their anger subsided slightly, but they continued glaring at each other with sharp looks.

Sonora crossed her arms and said:

“He started it.”

Fafnir raised an eyebrow.

“You were the one who insulted this great one first.”

“Because you deserved it.”

“And that is another reason why I believe you haven’t changed.”

“And you haven’t become any less arrogant.”

Griselda intervened once again with a laugh.

“That really is enough. The two of you are acting as though you haven’t argued in thousands of years.”

The two looked at each other.

Then they said at the exact same time:

“She started it.”

Griselda paused for a moment before bursting into laughter.

“Wonderful... nothing has changed at all.”

Once everything had settled down, Fafnir returned to his true, calm, arrogant nature. He stepped into the palace as though it were his own, observing its interior details with interest. His gaze moved over the wooden pillars, the botanical decorations, the vivid colors, and the way nature had been seamlessly incorporated into the architecture.

His eyes moved calmly from one place to another, as though he were evaluating the palace without bothering to ask its owner for permission.

Sonora spoke sharply when she saw him enter without her permission:

“I did not give you permission to enter, you fossil, Fafnir.”

Fafnir stopped for a moment, then turned his head over his shoulder.

He replied arrogantly, as though he had not heard her objection at all:

“Every place I set foot in automatically becomes mine, you old hag.”

Sonora’s expression stiffened.

Anger rose in her chest because of his arrogance, but this time she did not answer him.

Instead, she began to realize something deeply irritating.

She knew very well what other people felt when she behaved in her naturally arrogant manner. And now, watching Fafnir behave in exactly the same way, she began to understand that his personality and hers were disturbingly similar.

Perhaps that was the true reason neither of them could stand the other.

She thought to herself:

“No... I can’t possibly be like him.”

Then she looked at his back as he continued walking through her palace and added inwardly:

“But... perhaps we really are alike.”

The realization only made her angrier, but she said nothing.

Griselda entered while laughing, followed by Sonora, and the two of them closed the gate tightly behind them.

The three walked through the palace corridors. Natural light filtered through the wooden windows, while plants and flowers spread along the sides of the passageways, making the entire place appear as though it were part of the forest itself.

After a short while, they reached a magnificent and spacious hall containing a collection of luxurious, beautiful green sofas. The hall was decorated with botanical ornaments and elegant furnishings that reflected Sonora’s personal taste.

Fafnir did not wait for an invitation.

He walked straight toward the largest sofa, occupied it, and sat cross-legged in an arrogant and deliberately provocative posture, as though he were the master of the palace himself.

Sonora immediately frowned at the sight.

“What a rude man...”

Griselda and Sonora sat on the sofa opposite him, while Fafnir remained seated in complete comfort.

Once they were all seated, Fafnir looked at Sonora and said:

“Aren’t you going to offer your guests anything, you old hag?”

Sonora replied sharply:

“Gris isn’t my guest, you fossil. She’s my friend, and she is in her own home now, so she can do whatever she wants here.”

She then looked at him disdainfully and added:

“As for you? I’m not offering you anything.”

Fafnir regarded Sonora with an indifferent gaze before saying:

“Fine. I’ll provide for myself, then, since I’m in my wife’s friend’s home.”

He waved his hand.

Suddenly, a jar of wine and several exquisite glasses appeared on the table before them.

Sonora paused for a moment as she looked at the jar.

Griselda, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow with interest.

Fafnir lifted the jar with one hand and opened its lid.

The moment it opened, an extraordinarily pleasant aroma spread throughout the hall. It was deep and rich, carrying an ancient fragrance unlike that of any ordinary wine.

Griselda and Sonora instinctively breathed in the aroma and exchanged a brief glance.

Fafnir poured himself a glass of wine, then another for his wife, Griselda. He closed the jar afterward and placed it back on the table.

Then he waved his hand.

Griselda’s glass of wine flew through the air and gently settled into her hand.

Griselda raised the glass and took a sip.

The next moment, an expression of intense delight appeared on her face.

She blinked in surprise.

Then she took another sip.

And another.

Before she realized it, the entire glass was empty in her hand.

She stared at the empty glass for several moments, as though she could not understand how it had disappeared so quickly.

Fafnir smiled faintly.

Sonora, who had been watching Griselda beside her, noticed the obvious expression of delight on her face. Curiosity began to rise within her, making her wonder about the taste and type of this wine.

As though Griselda had read her thoughts, she turned toward Fafnir and asked excitedly:

“My dear, what kind of wine is this? I’ve never tasted anything like it before.”

Fafnir took a sip from his own glass indifferently and replied:

“This is wine I brewed at the beginning of the Primordial War, thousands of years ago. I planned to drink it after I won the war, but things did not go as I had intended, so it remained with me from the war until now.”

Griselda’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“Wine that is more than five thousand years old? That’s incredible!”

When Sonora heard that the wine had been brewed more than five thousand years ago, her curiosity to discover its taste grew.

She did not hesitate.

She waved her hand without the slightest shame, and the jar flew into her hand.

She opened the lid and took a large drink directly from the jar.

She paused for a moment.

The wine was rich and deep in flavor, and the centuries that had passed had given it a distinctive taste unlike anything she had ever experienced.

She lowered the jar slightly and stared at it with clear admiration.

“This...”

Then a satisfied smile appeared on her face.

“This is better than I expected.”

Fafnir watched Sonora’s shameless behavior from where he sat, then said coldly:

“Do you even know what a glass is, you spinster?”

She did not turn toward him immediately.

Sonora continued savoring the wine and its flavor for several moments before answering shamelessly:

“This is very good wine, old man. I’ll accept it from you as payment for staying in my home.”

Griselda raised an eyebrow as she looked at her friend.

Then she said with a laugh:

“Sona, did you just steal my husband’s wine?”

Sonora answered completely calmly:

“I didn’t steal it. I merely decided to consider it payment.”

Fafnir said:

“Since when did you become the one who decides what belongs to me?”

Sonora smiled sarcastically.

“Since you entered my home without permission.”

Silence fell for a moment.

Fafnir looked at her.

Sonora looked back at him.

Then Griselda said while placing a hand against her forehead:

“Here we go again...”

Sonora laughed.

Fafnir merely gave her an arrogant smile.

“Looks like I’ll have to put up with you for a while.”

Sonora replied:

“And I’ll have to put up with having you in my home.”

She then took another sip of the wine and added confidently:

“But at least... your presence won’t be entirely unpleasant if you’re going to leave me more of this wine.”

Fafnir stared at her for several moments before saying:

“We’ll see.”

And so, after nearly a decade since their last meeting, the old rivalry between Fafnir and Sonora began anew—this time inside Sonora’s own home, with Griselda present, fully aware that their visit was never going to be peaceful in the slightest.