Chapter 242: Lady Serie Is Observing
What is love?
This problem was far more difficult for Serie to understand than even the most complex ancient magic.
She once thought that the bond between herself and Kurtz, which spanned a thousand years, and the tacit understanding they shared through the end of the mythical era, had long surpassed any emotional realm that human language could describe.
This feeling needed no explanation.
However, Flamme's declaration of love was like a ray of light, suddenly piercing through the orderly realm of her understanding.
She clearly felt a powerful impulse.
A violent urge to twist Flamme's audacious head off her slender neck and kick it like a ball.
The thought came so suddenly and intensely that it startled her slightly, and she immediately had the idea of putting it into action.
Fortunately, another, deeper emotion suppressed it.
She was delighted with Flamme and liked her very much; this liking stemmed from the affection a teacher has for their student.
At the same time, because she treated her as an exception and had brought her back and raised her, the protective feeling she herself was unaware of suppressed this dangerous impulse in time.
In the end, Serie's expression remained unchanged, but the coldness deep in her eyes transformed into an even more indescribable silence.
"Let's go."
She spoke calmly, as if the scene that had just shocked any onlooker had never happened.
There were no questions, no outrage, and after the initial surprise, there was no further astonishment, as if Flamme had simply done something insignificant.
This reaction not only stunned Flamme, who was on edge and bracing for a storm, but also surprised Kurtz.
Flamme's red eyes were filled with disbelief and astonishment.
'Is that it?'
'Lady Serie... does that mean she's tacitly agreeing?'
'Would she even be willing to give up Teacher Kurtz to me?'
This overly naive thought popped up uncontrollably, giving her a sudden tremor, but she immediately dismissed it.
'Based on my understanding of Lady Serie, there is absolutely no way she would be willing to give up Teacher Kurtz to me so easily!'
'There must be a deeper idea behind it.'
'But it's okay! I'm not afraid of her!'
Flamme kept encouraging herself in her mind.
Kurtz, on the other hand, sensed that beneath Serie's overly calm exterior lay some extremely unusual thoughts.
That was not tacit consent, much less compromise, but rather an attitude akin to observation.
'What does Serie want to do?'
Kurtz wasn't sure either, but that didn't stop him from observing the situation.
Although it might be unfair to Flamme to say this, if this opportunity could bring Serie a sense of crisis and teach her what love is, then Kurtz would be happy to play the dumb protagonist in this chaotic situation.
But he would never reciprocate Flamme's feelings.
Because the human lifespan has a limit.
Even Flamme was no exception.
On the other hand, Serie gave no one another chance to investigate.
She turned first and walked down the tower with steady steps; her back revealed no hidden meaning.
In this extremely eerie atmosphere, the group left the city that had once been in crisis because of them and was also saved because of them.
Duke Hod and Bishop Casalius had intended to hold a grand farewell ceremony for everyone, but Kurtz refused.
The Duke even suggested that everyone stay a few more days so that he could commission a statue of them, so that the city would remember their contributions.
However, this proposal was also rejected.
It was too late to do things that they didn't have time to do a thousand years ago.
Therefore, there was no grand farewell, only the complex and awe-inspiring gazes of Duke Hod and Bishop Casalius, who watched them depart silently from afar.
The journey began again.
At this moment, Flamme seemed to have completely broken free from some invisible shackles.
Her earlier declaration on the tower was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather a genuine expression of her resolve.
She no longer felt any shyness or concealment and expressed her burning emotions to Kurtz without reservation.
When Kurtz walked down the street, she would naturally move closer to him. Even when they rested, she would immediately sit down next to him, shoulder to shoulder, as if that was her exclusive spot.
Even the way she addressed him had changed. Instead of adding "Teacher," she boldly called him Kurtz.
'This is no ordinary disciple; she must be severely punished.'
But Flamme's stubbornness was beyond imagination.
"Kurtz, try this. It's delicious!"
"Kurtz, are you tired? Why don't you lean on me and rest for a bit?"
"Kurtz..."
Aside from his millennia-old companion Serie, only Flamme would address him by his first name like this.
Kurtz felt extremely uncomfortable.
Initially, he tried to refuse and keep his distance.
He would avoid her hand, let her sit back in her original seat, and reject her advances, reminding her of her place and trying to correct her form of address.
Unfortunately, they all failed.
Her love was as tenacious as a vine.
Each time she was politely rejected, a fleeting sadness would pass through her eyes, only to be quickly replaced by an even stronger flame, and she would try to approach him again in a different way.
She seemed determined to use this pervasive infiltration method to wear down all of Kurtz's defenses.
Kurtz wasn't heartless. He couldn't possibly do anything excessive to the disciple he had personally trained and raised. Those cold, hard words of rejection were already his limit.
Moreover, he was also waiting for the other person's reaction.
Serie made no response to Flamme's affectionate gestures, even as Flamme began to take her place.
She was just observing.
Yes, observing.
She would sit not far away, her eyes always inadvertently glancing at Flamme and Kurtz.
Whenever Flamme and Kurtz came into contact, she would squint her eyes slightly, her gaze becoming exceptionally serious, and she would even occasionally nod gently, revealing an expression of "I see."
Kurtz began to suspect that Serie might be using him and Flamme as some kind of sample, and was silently taking notes in her mind.
But if that was the case, on what day would she finish her observation log and return to the battlefield?
Kurtz was very curious.
The journey continued.
Until one ordinary afternoon.
As usual, Flamme held a tempting-looking fruit and walked toward Kurtz, who was resting nearby.
"Kurtz, this fruit..."
Before she could finish speaking, a golden figure was faster than her.
Serie, who had been unresponsive, suddenly began to act.
She moved swiftly, instantly appearing behind Kurtz.
To Flamme's astonishment, Serie reached out naturally, not to take the fruit, but to hug the man in front of her from behind, even slightly tiptoeing to press her body entirely close to Kurtz.
With her other arm, she wrapped around his chest, their cheeks pressed together, creating an embrace that was even closer and more possessive than Flamme's previous one!
After she finished doing all this, she even turned her head slightly to look at the completely frozen Flamme: "My foolish apprentice! Is this the standard way humans express love and ownership?"
Serie had finally revealed her fangs!
[End of Chapter]
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