The Legendary Knight: Rise of the Primordial Dragon

Chapter 105: Suspicious Chloe

After the Beast Taming lecture, Max, Chloe, and Vlad made their way to the cafeteria of the main building, where they had their lunch before heading to the mandatory lecture on Magic Law and Ethics. With her stomach full of delicious food, Chloe could not stay awake through the tediously long lecture. She slept soundly through the entire two hours despite the professor’s repeated warnings, ending up losing fifty credits for indiscipline.

The next lecture was on Elemental Studies, where Professor Camille delivered a lengthy theoretical lecture on elemental affinities, carefully covering which elements harmonised with one another and which stood in opposition.

It was already four in the evening when the lectures finally came to an end. Chloe was ready to rush straight to her dormitory to recover from the crushing exhaustion she had suffered through the long lectures, conveniently ignoring the fact that she had already taken a full two hours of sleep.

Naturally, Vlad did not allow her slothful behaviour to continue any further. Like it or not, she was dragged off to the gym, where she spent two relentless hours lifting weights and running on the treadmill.

---

"I want to go back to mama," Chloe whimpered as she walked dazedly through the dim hallway of the main building, her head bobbing weakly with exhaustion.

"Stop whining," Vlad muttered, walking on one side of her while Max strolled lazily on the other. "You are never allowed to skip training, no matter what you say."

"Exactly, training is essential for knights," Max said casually, nodding in agreement with Vlad, his hands resting idly behind his head. He had managed to slip out of Vlad’s gym schedule earlier by claiming he needed to invent a new bot, which explained his annoyingly high energy levels.

Chloe snapped her head towards Max, who seemed to be giving Vlad even more motivation to become heartless. Her piercing gaze immediately flinched him into silence. He decided to keep his mouth firmly shut, even though he was thoroughly enjoying the quiet suffering of the girl who had made him hate mangoes.

"What are you staring at him for?" Vlad asked, his eyes narrowing at Chloe. "He didn’t say anything wrong."

Chloe turned to Vlad, giving him a long, silent stare before mumbling, "Heartless Vlad. Mama and Dad never treated me like this."

Her head drooped as she stopped walking altogether and declared, "You don’t care about me anymore."

Vlad let out a long, tired sigh, his hand dragging slowly from his forehead down to his chin in an exhausted, weary gesture.

"If I didn’t care about you, I would not have forced you to run on that treadmill," he said in a soft, appeasing tone.

’D-did he just confess?’ Max gasped internally, thoroughly delighted by the conversation unfolding between the two of them.

Chloe remained still with her head lowered, giving no visible reaction. She already knew, deep down, that Vlad forced her to train only for her own good. She was not truly upset about it. Back in the village, Chloe had always been showered with warmth and affection by Elaria, Edren, and Vlad. But now, not only was she far away from her mama and dad, Vlad had also grown much stricter with her. She was simply craving some genuine affection.

"Look at me," Vlad said softly, lifting her face gently by the chin. Her lavender eyes met his crimson ones, which held nothing but deep, unwavering care for her. Whenever he looked at her with such a warm, tender expression, her heart always skipped a beat, and this time was no exception. "You are my precious Chloe. Whom else would I care for, if not you?"

A faint blush spread across Chloe’s cheeks, her eyes instinctively darting away from his face as she slowly shuffled forward.

"I want a hug," she demanded, and before he could respond, she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and pressed her head against his chest. Her warmth seeped gently into him, and the sweet, delicate scent of lavender filled his senses.

The gesture briefly caught Vlad off guard. Whenever he had offered her a hug in the past, she had shut him down without a second thought, yet now she was the one crossing that line herself. It was only then that Vlad truly realised how deeply lonely she had been feeling. Perhaps the meeting with her father was the reason behind her sudden craving for love and reassurance.

Whatever the reason, Vlad decided not to dwell on it further. Instead, he simply gave her the warmth she needed. He gently placed his hand on her head and stroked her silky hair with tender care.

Max bit down on the fabric of his shirt in sheer frustration at how lovey-dovey the two of them were being. He had never felt more envious of anything in his entire life.

"Are you not being a little too bold, cheater?" A soft, feminine voice echoed through the hallway, instantly drawing the trio’s attention.

A dozen feet away, at the end of the corridor, Seraphina stood with her arms folded, leaning casually against the frame of the tall wooden double doors.

Chloe instantly retreated away from Vlad, her face burning a deep crimson. Now that she had finally received the affection she had been craving, the embarrassment struck her all the harder.

"Good evening, Se—Miss President," Vlad said, quickly correcting himself mid-sentence. He had almost made an irreversible mistake.

Max also greeted her in a nervous, stuttering tone, while Chloe remained silent, still recovering from her embarrassment, her head lowered and her face expressionless.

Seraphina closed the distance between them with graceful, measured steps, a hint of annoyance flickering across her face. Once she reached Vlad, she grabbed him by the collar and demanded, "Care to explain yourself?"

"What did I even do?" Vlad asked, his voice genuinely confused. His reaction only deepened Seraphina’s frown further.

"Is that how men behave after being caught red-handed?" she asked, releasing her grip from his collar.

She glanced over at Chloe, who had already fixed her with a sharp, piercing glare. A wry, amused smile formed on Seraphina’s lips. She let out a dramatic sigh, her pink eyes dropping in mock sadness.

"It hasn’t even been a day since you went on a date with me, and now you’re already holding another girl in your arms."

Her teasing revelation instantly triggered sharp reactions from both Max and Chloe.

"Vlad, you went where with her?" Chloe demanded, shock and disbelief clear in her voice. Her usual composure was already flying out the window.

For some reason, Vlad felt strangely flustered answering her.

"It was the one-on-one meeting with the President that I received as a reward from the Orientation," Vlad explained quickly. He turned to Seraphina and continued, "Please do not say anything that might cause a scandal for you."

"Oh, so it was about that meeting," Max sighed, shaking his head in relief. There was no way someone as high in nobility as Lady Cendral would actually go on a real date with a mere commoner. The thought seemed far too absurd to be true.

"Hehe~ I’m just playing with my lovely juniors," Seraphina chuckled softly, thoroughly enjoying the furious expression on Chloe’s face, which seemed completely unconvinced by Vlad’s explanation.

She turned gracefully on her feet and moved towards the door at the end of the hallway. "Come, you must be here for the Student Council Meeting."

As the three of them began following her inside, Chloe demanded, her eyes narrowed at Vlad, "What did you do in the meeting with spanky girl?"

Vlad flinched at the question. A lot had happened during that so-called meeting. He did not mind telling her anything about himself. But she would only grow worried if he revealed how he was almost burnt alive in a building and had fought off a bunch of thugs in the city. Not to mention, the incident held Seraphina’s secret, one she had trusted him with.

"Nothing much," Vlad replied, his eyes turning sideways in guilt. "We only talked this and that about the academy."

"Hmmm..." Chloe continued glaring at him.

’I am sorry for not being honest,’ Vlad murmured inwardly before turning his gaze ahead, where Max had already entered through the door.

"Hey, wait for me," Vlad called, quickly moving forward. He pulled one side of the double door open and strode inside, escaping the suspicious eye of Chloe.

"Hmph, I am not going to let you eat the berries of outsiders," Chloe muttered as she moved forward as well, stepping through the door.