Mr. Dragon Knight, the dragon girls are chasing you!

At the same moment, a thousand miles away, in the capital of a human empire.

The magnificent and prosperous capital of the Holy Radiance Kingdom is located in the heart of the central plains of the continent. The high walls of the royal city are built with millennia-old hardened magic rock, and the walls are engraved with the royal emblems of the empire's protectors. In the daytime, the gilded patterns gleam in the sunlight.

The city is divided into four concentric circles: the royal palace, the top-tier noble district, the commoners' market, and the mercenary outer city, with clear class distinctions and strict order.

The Violet Duke's Mansion is firmly rooted in the most auspicious location within the noble circle, backed by the Holy Spirit Lake in the center of the royal city. It is the most expansive and culturally rich manor-style noble residence in the entire noble district.

The mansion is surrounded by towering, straight, and thick blue-gray magic stone walls. Between the cracks and textures of the stone, dense vines of deep purple, thick-leaved violets climb. The vines are naturally imbued with the magic inherited by the family, never withering in any season, and the petals have their own faint, magical fragrance.

This magical plant, unique to the Violet Clan, is both a family totem and a symbol of the roots of the Violet surname passed down through generations.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the Violet Duke's mansion had been as tense as a string about to snap since dawn.

The servants, guards, and laborers in the mansion all held their breath, walked quietly, and dared not speak loudly. Even when serving tea, they moved with utmost care, for fear of disturbing the main hall's proceedings and incurring the master's wrath.

In the hall, Duke Raymond of Violet sat upright in the main carved armchair, wearing the hereditary silver epaulettes with thorn patterns. His middle-aged face had a cold and deep profile, and his eyebrows and eyes carried the majesty and composure that came with the experience of an old nobleman. He held a neatly folded, encrypted military report between his fingers.

This thin, confidential report, delivered by the scouts at dawn, has been read by him more than ten times.

He knew every single character in the Imperial script by heart, but piecing them together gave him a sense of absurd unreality.

[Military Headquarters Golden Armor Hunter Allied Forces Battlefield Report: At the end of the Eternal Night Rift Dragon Slaying Campaign, Duke Raymond's second son, Luo Ye, was unfortunately kidnapped by an ancient black dragon. His current whereabouts are unknown, and his fate is uncertain.]

These few words, however brief, plunged Duke Raymond into deep thought.

Luo Ye, his second son, was born with a personality that was different from ordinary people.

My thoughts followed the ink marks, instantly pulling me back to that gentle spring morning ten years ago.

That year, the violets in the courtyard were in full bloom, and their fragrance filled the entire mansion.

The eight-year-old child was thin and small, with a coarse cloth bag on his back that was much taller than himself and filled with simple dry food and adventure tools. His small body stood at the threshold of the Duke's mansion's gilded gate, looking up at Raymond, who was dressed in formal attire and about to attend the noble council, his dark eyes clear and bright.

"Father, I want to leave the royal city, travel across the continent, and explore this world."

At the time, Raymond thought it was just a child's ramblings on a whim. It was too common for a young boy raised in a noble family to yearn for the freedom of the mountains and fields after reading a few adventurer picture books.

He chuckled and raised his hand, gently stroking Luo Ye's soft black hair with his palm. His tone was casual and indulgent as he reassured her, "When you're older and stronger, you can go wherever you want."

He thought the matter was over.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking and the morning light had not yet illuminated the courtyard, the guest room in the side courtyard where Luo Ye had stayed was empty. In the center of the carved desk, there lay a blank sheet of paper with a small hand-drawn sword on the edge. The handwriting was neat and strong, completely unlike the style of an eight-year-old child.

"I'm going on an adventure. Don't worry about me, I'll become the strongest adventurer. —Luo Ye"

That year, Luo Ye was only eight years old. Without guards or money, he stepped alone out of the heavily guarded Duke's mansion and into the dangerous wilderness teeming with magical beasts.

Duke Raymond still remembers that morning.

He stood in front of that note for a long time, so long that the Duchess came in and asked him what was wrong, before he came to his senses.

He ultimately raised his hand to stop all the guards in the manor who were preparing to go out to track them, and did not send anyone to search across the border.

As the second son of the Violet family, he was not required to inherit a fixed title and was not bound by the strict family rules of the eldest son. He was born with the right to choose his own life.

On a deeper level, Luo Ye's intelligence far surpasses that of his peers since childhood. His observation, adaptability, and patience are naturally outstanding. At such a young age, he was able to evade all the guards in the mansion and leave quietly, which is enough to prove that he has a strong ability to protect himself. Raymond is convinced from the bottom of his heart that this child will not easily perish in the wilderness.

This departure lasted for a full ten years.

Over the course of ten years, the two rarely saw each other, their contact was extremely sparse, and he rarely went home.

Most of the letters were scattered and were delivered through the continental adventurers' guild's online channels, and were sent back to the Duke's mansion in the capital from time to time.

The envelopes are simple and rough, made of cowhide sourced from the wild. Occasionally, they contain a piece of uniquely textured monster scale, a high-purity wild magic core, or an emblem of a niche tribe from a foreign land.

The letters always contained only a few short greetings of peace and well-being, never indicating the location, never mentioning any dangers encountered, and never detailing the journey.

Luo Ye never told them where he was or what he was doing; he only proved that he was still alive.

The eldest son, known for his composure and adherence to rules, was responsible for managing the family's title, overseeing the fiefdom, handling court and noble affairs, and coordinating official royal duties.

Over the course of ten years, Raymond gradually grew accustomed to his second son's frequent absences and to the fact that the carefree and rebellious boy was never seen in the mansion.

When he had free time, he would always subconsciously linger on the Dragon Clan section of the Magic Merchant Guild's quarterly continental anomaly report, taking a few extra lines of information on the dragons' migration patterns, and secretly wondering if his second son, who was wandering outside, was currently roaming around some dragon-related mountain.

Right now, battlefield intelligence shatters all calm thoughts.

Raymond traced the words on the paper line by line with his fingertips, a chill settling in his eyes.

The battle report from the Golden Armor Hunter, who killed the Allied Commander, was polite and respectful in its wording and well-structured in its sentence format. However, the calculating intent between the lines was blatant and glaring, and the purpose was obvious.

The so-called battlefield tactical wound report, all personnel fought with all their might, and at the last moment, they were able to evacuate thanks to Young Master Luo Ye's self-sacrifice.

Every embellished statement is an attempt to find the perfect scapegoat for the Allied Forces' disastrous defeat in slaying the dragon, suffering heavy casualties, and failing to eradicate the Black Dragon King.

Luo Ye was all alone, kidnapped by the Black Dragon, and his whereabouts were unknown. He was unable to prove his innocence or defend himself in court, making him the perfect scapegoat.

Raymond's arm felt as heavy as if it were carrying a thousand pounds of iron, his movements slow and stiff as he raised his hand to hand the hot-button secret report to the Duchess sitting beside him.

The Duchess, who had been by her side for many years, possessed a gentle and refined temperament. Even in her forties, her features remained clear and soft. She was kind-hearted and empathetic, and always worried about her young son who was traveling far away.

She had just received the secret report and scanned the two lines of text when her fingers suddenly tightened their grip on the paper. Her red lips instantly turned pale, and she subconsciously raised her hand to cover the corner of her lips. Warm eyes quickly reddened, and a surge of suppressed bitterness welled up in her eyes.

She forced back a sob, refusing to let out a heart-wrenching cry; her voice trembled and was hoarse, filled with the complex emotions accumulated over ten years.

"That brat... ran away from home when he was eight, saying he wanted to explore the world."

"Ten years have passed. I thought he was long dead out there—and now they're telling me he was captured by a dragon? His fate is unknown?"