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

A moment later, Luo Ye returned to the outer platform of the dragon's nest, carrying two skinned wild rabbits and a handful of spirit herbs.

The open-air stone stove outside the dragon's nest was already burning brightly. He used an iron skewer to skewer the rabbit meat and put it on the stove. Then he took out a small packet of homemade mineral salt from his pocket and slowly sprinkled it little by little on the sizzling, oily rabbit meat.

The oil dripped from the cracks in the skin, hitting the charcoal fire and sparking tiny embers. The aroma of charred meat mixed with the faint, bitter scent of medicinal herbs drifted on the mountain breeze.

Eluvia's little nostrils twitched first.

She was curled up on her private bed, tapping the black stone surface with the tip of her tail, putting on a nonchalant air of "I'm not hungry at all."

But the moment that smoky aroma entered her nostrils, her tail visibly paused, and the rhythm of tapping the stone surface changed from "calm and noble" to "irritable and accelerated."

Serafina, on the other hand, remained composed, sitting gracefully on the guest bench, her silver hair cascading over her shoulders, her eyes gentle, and a signature calm smile playing on her lips, seemingly unconcerned about the smell of roasted meat.

Luo Ye carried the roasted rabbit meat and the stewed soup in the earthenware pot into the inner hall, where the confrontation between the two dragon kings remained unchanged.

Eluvia and Serafina occupied opposite corners of the hall, one above and one below, their gazes meeting across the distance, the air thick with a subtle yet suffocating atmosphere.

Eluvia remained curled up on the black dragon's stone-carved bed, her small dragon claws resting on the stone edge, her tail tip lightly tapping the black stone surface.

Serafina remained seated on the guest bench, her silver hair falling casually over her shoulders. Her eyes and brows were gentle and elegant, and a faint smile, elegant and harmless, always made Luo Ye's hair stand on end.

Luo Ye glanced at them and decisively made the best decision of the night.

He silently carried the plate and earthenware pot to the stone table in the center of the hall, placed them securely, then took three steps back, put his hands behind his back, and kept his eyes down, disguising himself as a human-shaped bonsai that did not participate in any gender wars.

"...Why did you actually make her portion?" Eluvia stared at the plate he had put down, unconsciously swallowing.

As expected, Luo Ye chose to stand on the same side as the arrogant little black dragon, explaining, "After all, the Silver Dragon King is a guest from afar, and we are the hosts, so we must take good care of him."

"Hmph, you have a point." Eluvia said, her stomach letting out a soft rumble.

Serafina smiled slightly, managing to suppress a laugh.

She sat gracefully on the stone bench, tearing off a small piece of roasted rabbit meat and putting it into her mouth. Her chewing movements were neither fast nor slow, like a noblewoman appreciating imperial cuisine at a palace banquet.

This scene, combined with the Silver Dragon King's decisive and ruthless nature on the battlefield, and his control over the life and death of the Silver Dragon clan, creates a subtle and endearing contrast.

Then she stopped chewing.

Her silver eyes narrowed slightly, and the curve at the corners of her eyes gently unfolded, like snow slowly melting in winter.

She didn't speak immediately, but instead chewed the piece of meat carefully and swallowed it before letting out a soft sigh, her tone filled with undisguised, sincere appreciation: "...Hmm, it's really good."

"Thank you for the compliment, Silver Dragon King." Luo Ye maintained the dignified posture of a human-shaped bonsai.

Rafina didn't look at him. She picked up the earthenware bowl, took a sip of soup, and then began to analyze it seriously: "The soup is also good. The medicinal herbs remove the fishy smell and enhance the aroma. It is warm, nourishing, and soothing to the throat. It doesn't have the fishy smell of animal meat."

She put down the ceramic bowl, turned to look at Eluvia, who was secretly swallowing her saliva on the pedestal, and gave her a teasing smile: "Eluvia, you really struck gold."

"Outstanding appearance, formidable combat strength, meticulous mind, and also an excellent cook."

"Where did you find such a perfect contract knight? I want one too."

Just as Luo Ye was about to politely say "Your Majesty flatters me," a familiar, bone-chilling coldness came from the back of his neck.

Clearly, one of the little black dragons has started to get jealous.

Sure enough, the next second, Eluvia's deep, melancholic voice came from behind, her tone brimming with possessiveness: "He's my personal dragon knight, not yours. You'll never meet him. Give up!"

"Of course I know he's yours," Seraphina said casually, stirring the hot soup in her bowl with her fingertips.

"I'm just giving an objective evaluation. Looks, fighting ability, cooking skills—these are all genuine strengths. What's wrong with praising them? You can't forbid others from even offering a compliment, can you?"

Eluvia's dragon tail thrashed restlessly behind her, striking the stone surface with a soft sound. Her tone was strained yet firm: "You can praise me, but you don't need to praise me in such detail!"

"Oh?" Serafina tilted her head to look at her, her silver hair sliding down her shoulder, a sly glint in her eyes.

"Next time I'll be more concise when I praise you: 'Your dragon rider can cook delicious food,' are you satisfied with that?"

"Eluvia, with such a petty attitude, you can't be the queen of a clan~"

"You—" Eluvia opened her mouth to retort, but realized that getting angry meant the other person was right.

Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, a fleeting look of frustration and anger flashing in her dragon eyes. Her tail swished behind her, making a loud cracking sound, but she couldn't manage to utter a complete and powerful retort.

Luo Ye kept his head down and drank his soup the whole time, resolutely refusing to look up, speak, or make any eye contact.

But out of the corner of his eye, he could clearly see that the expression on Eluvia's little face went from anger to grievance to resentment, and finally to a slightly wrinkled nose and tightly pursed lips, clearly saying, "I can't argue with her, but I'm very angry."

Serafina obviously saw it too.

She curved her lips into a smile, holding her wine glass with a leisurely and composed posture, like a large, silvery-white cat that had just lazily stretched in the sunlight.

Just when Luo Ye thought the dinner could proceed smoothly to the end, Serafina suddenly put down her wine glass and looked at him.

"Mr. Dragon Knight," her tone returned to its usual casual tone, "when did you form a soul contract with Eluvia?"

Luo Ye's hand holding the chopsticks stiffened for a moment, but she quickly recovered and replied in a low voice, "...A few days ago."

"A few days ago?" Seraphina raised an eyebrow, accurately grasping the key information. "The battlefield of the Eternal Night Rift, where the Hunter Alliance suffered heavy casualties and besieged the Dragon King?"

"……Yes."

Serafina picked up her glass and took a sip of the pale golden fruit wine. Her gaze, seemingly thoughtful, swept over Luo Ye through the rim of the glass. Her gaze was light, yet it was like a thin layer of moonlight gently covering a person, leaving them nowhere to hide.

"I heard you fought bravely on the battlefield, holding off the pursuers single-handedly and buying Eluvia time to retreat. What a brave dragon knight!"

The moment those words were spoken, Eluvia on the pedestal jerked her head up.

Her gilded vertical pupils narrowed slightly. She stared at Serafina for two seconds, then slowly turned her gaze to Luo Ye, before slowly returning it to Serafina's face.

She was seriously considering one thing: how likely was it that she could kick this woman out?

But the next second, Eluvia angrily lowered her head. She was injured and couldn't beat this female dragon. Damn it!

Her tail landed back on the stone and slammed down, expressing her displeasure.

Luo Ye pretended not to see anything and replied with her head down, "...It was just going with the flow."

"Go with the flow?" Serafina placed her glass back on the table, a sharp glint in her silver eyes.

"To be willing to shield someone from death in a desperate situation requires more than just courage. Moreover—"

Her tone softened, tinged with a knowing, playful edge, "At that time, Eluvia's essence was damaged, she was extremely wary, and distrustful of any outsider. You were able to break through her defenses and make her willingly bind herself to a soul contract of shared life and death..."

She paused slightly, her gaze lingering on Luo Ye's face for a moment before turning to Eluvia on the pedestal above, her smile deepening: "It seems you not only have courage, but also the ability to manipulate the minds of dragons."

Luo Ye felt a chill run down her spine, but remained outwardly calm.

Before he could even think of a reply, Eluvia's cold, protective voice came from above: "What are you trying to say, beating around the bush?"

"No ill intentions," Serafina shrugged, her posture relaxed.

"Just a simple sentiment. The Dragon Knight Pact, which binds humans and dragons together, has been broken for over three thousand years. I always thought that such a contractual bond would never exist in the modern world again."

She lowered her gaze to the pale golden liquid swirling in her glass, her voice softening, as if talking to herself, yet also as if addressing the human opposite her:

"So I'm genuinely curious—how exactly did you manage to persuade the ever-guardian Dragon King of the Night, whose wariness is ingrained in his very bones, to form a pact with a human like you?"