I’m Really Not Trying to Be Chased by the Heroine as the Villainous Playboy! – Chapter 560

Chapter 107: Reunion

“Little White Wolf! Your big sister Britney is back! Just a bunch of skeletons, they won’t take my life!”

“Yeah, welcome back.”

“…Your face doesn’t look like you’re welcoming me.” Britney couldn’t help but comment.

The Silver-Haired Girl paused slightly, feeling her own cheeks.

What kind of expression do I have right now?

“I’ve heard everything. That kid is really something. First, he saved me, then he held off Sequence 5 and thousands of troops all on his own.” As she said this, Britney’s playful demeanor faded, revealing genuine admiration.

Britney patted the girl’s shoulder, “Your apprentice is outstanding, so you should trust him a bit more.”

Xue Nuo nodded slightly, but her heart felt bitter.

She had no doubt about Roy’s capabilities.

But worry would still worry, and guilt would still be guilt.

As a mentor, once again leaving him behind felt like a heavy weight on her chest, making it hard to breathe.

“Alright, hurry back and rest.”

“Okay.”

Xue Nuo turned around sluggishly, about to take a step, when she suddenly caught a faint cry.

That was the cry of a griffin.

Everyone looked up and saw the Golden-Winged Griffin descending.

“Look, your little apprentice is back…?!”

Britney tried to pat Xue Nuo but ended up missing, as the Silver-Haired Girl rushed forward to greet the griffin even before it had fully landed.

“Roy? Are you… okay?”

The young boy jumped off the griffin, amused by her strange question, “Does the teacher hope something’s wrong with me?”

“No, I just… it’s good you’re fine…”

With his left arm still bandaged and hanging in front of him, Xue Nuo could only use her remaining hand to gently rub his shoulder.

But just as she relaxed, she noticed the young boy’s wet and icy clothes, and her gaze sharpened.

“Get inside! It’s way too cold out here!”

“Eh, actually it’s not that bad… Teacher! No need to rush!”

Without giving him a chance to refuse, the Silver-Haired Girl took off her coat and draped it over Roy, pulling him onto the silver wolf, rushing back to the lord’s manor in Gale City.

Xue Nuo pushed the young boy straight into her room and sternly urged, “Hurry up. Go take a bath and warm yourself.”

Finally getting a chance to speak, Roy chuckled helplessly, “Teacher, is it possible I’m not that afraid of the cold?”

The Silver-Haired Girl blinked and then remembered her “Cold Resistance” ability.

Recalling her earlier flustered and embarrassing state, Xue Nuo couldn’t help but blush, but she still maintained a serious expression: “That doesn’t mean you can let your guard down; the Cold Resistance ability has limits.”

“That may be true, but it’s really not that severe…”

“Not listening? Should I help you wash?” Xue Nuo threatened, frowning.

“Absolutely not!”

There’s a kind of cold that makes even your mom worry you’re cold.

Seeing Xue Nuo come over to remove his clothes, Roy could only give up resisting and obediently jumped into the bathroom for a hot shower.

Meanwhile, Xue Nuo leaned against the door outside, finally letting out a sigh of relief, sinking down to the ground, her lips curling up in a smile.

He’s fine.

“Um, Teacher Xue Nuo…”

“No need to rush, just take your time washing.”

Roy felt a bit embarrassed, “No, I was going to say, could you get me a new set of clothes?”

Only then did Xue Nuo realize, cursing herself for being so careless, she hurried to find a maid for clothes and slipped them through the door crack to the young boy.

During this, she couldn’t help but catch a glimpse of the boy’s solid skin, causing her thoughts to waver.

But she quickly snapped back, shaking her head and dismissing those thoughts.

Now’s not the time to think about that.

After a brief rest, Roy followed Xue Nuo to the lord’s hall, where they would discuss future strategies with various nobles.

The Silver-Haired Girl sat in the lord’s position, overlooking everyone, with the silver wolf by her side, exuding an air of icy pride.

Looking at the girl already displaying the commanding presence of a lord, Roy felt proud yet also a little dazed, struggling to connect the dignified lady at the imperial border with the sisterly figure who had just been flustered and anxious for him.

No noble spoke out against the girl sitting in the lord’s position.

The conspiracy between the imperial prince, the Demon Race, and the Cultists had only served to fully unite the fragmented border nobles, rallying around the Andewiss family. Xue Nuo’s timely retreat, preserving most of their forces, also gave the nobles hope for a counterattack.

However, there were still considerable disagreements regarding future actions.

Britney couldn’t help but call out, “What’s there to discuss? We should immediately mobilize troops and take back Snow Wind Fortress!”

Another refined young noble chuckled wryly, “Lady Britney, mobilizing troops takes time. If we rush back, it might not be prudent…”

“Not prudent? Are you saying we should just watch the royal family collude with the Demon Race and seize our territory?”

On one hand, reclaiming Snow Wind Fortress quickly and striking back at the royal family was the consensus among the border nobles.

On the other hand, with nearly ten thousand Demon Race members plus the imperial guards stationed at Snow Wind Fortress, taking it back was not something that could be done on a whim.

During their retreat, the old count had already dismantled the castle’s magical defenses, leaving Snow Wind Fortress vulnerable. But even so, breaching the heavily guarded castle would still be fraught with difficulties.

If we consider that attackers typically need at least three times the forces of the defenders, the current combined forces of Snow Wind Fortress and Gale City would barely total twenty thousand, at most twice the number of the enemy.

The ongoing heated discussions left Xue Nuo hesitant to make a decisive call.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please calm down.” At that moment, the old count spoke up, suggesting, “Why not find a middle ground?”

“While Snow Wind Fortress is certainly important, attacking with insufficient troops may only lead to increased casualties. Given that Miss Xue Nuo stands for justice, I believe the major border nobles would respond swiftly if we mobilized together.”

“Let’s wait another seven days, until reinforcements arrive from various regions, and then we’ll set out to reclaim Snow Wind Fortress.”

The old count, holding a high reputation with both experience and accomplishments at the scene, garnered immediate agreement from both military and civilian sides.

“Given that…”

Just as Xue Nuo was about to announce the decision, she caught sight of the young boy deep in thought and changed her approach, “Roy, what do you think?”

Why would they suddenly ask a boy about the major conflict over Snow Wind Fortress?

The girl’s blatant favoritism left the nobles from Gale City exchanging confused glances.

They couldn’t quite grasp his background; all they knew was that he was Xue Nuo’s prized apprentice and a knight from the Lionheart Kingdom. They also found it puzzling why Barry, Britney, and others who had participated in the battle at Snow Wind Fortress showed no doubt at all.

Foreigners should not involve themselves in the internal affairs of the empire, but anyone who had witnessed the engagement would understand the deep connection between Roy and Xue Nuo; the forces backing the boy were not to be underestimated.

Even without considering those factors, just the fact that Roy stood firm in battle was enough to earn him a voice in this moment of memory.

With Barry leading the way, the direct supporters of Xue Nuo held their tongues, and the nobles of Gale City naturally did not speak up either.

Roy, not one to be modest, spoke up without hesitation, “Teacher Xue Nuo, in terms of leading troops into battle, I surely don’t compare with the veterans present. But when it comes to the Demon Race and Cultists, I must say I have some knowledge.”

“The Demon Race went to great lengths to launch a surprise attack on Snow Wind Fortress; their goals are probably not that simple. I believe we should consider their intentions from the worst perspective,” Roy paused and stressed his point: “For instance, the Desperate Defense Line.”