NOVPUBOn the plaza of Parriet Tower.
"Let’s go, Tata."
Lanci continued to hold her hand, without letting go, inviting her to accompany him.
"Mhm."
Talia didn’t say anything nor did she resist, simply allowing him to lead her away.
Her emotions were extremely stable.
The inner volcano had finally been suppressed.
If she were Hyperion, she definitely wouldn’t be angry with Lanci at this moment.
I am Hyperion, I am Hyperion.
She kept hypnotizing herself in her mind, finally calming her emotions.
Lanci and Talia walked one after the other through the streets of Parriet, the morning bustle gradually replaced by the city’s vibrant pulse.
Lanci cheerfully held Talia’s hand, his gaze occasionally lingering on her profile.
The two walked leisurely like that, sometimes bursting into laughter, other times falling into brief listening.
The Cat Boss’s petite figure hid behind them, surreptitiously following them.
Even though it felt quite scared.
It was still very curious.
Today, Talia was wearing gloves, and Lanci held her hand quite casually, but the closer the two got, the more Cat Boss feared that Lanci might suddenly understand.
As it darted from wall corners to benches and newsstands like a black shadow, suddenly it noticed two other figures on the opposite side of the street, also covertly following from a distance.
They peeked around, observing every move Lanci and Tata made.
"Look, Aitio, I told you the two of them are a perfect match, made for each other!"
Countess Rosalinda excitedly whispered, a gossip-fueled glint in her eyes. 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝔭𝔲𝔟.𝖈𝔬𝔪
Both were dressed casually, utterly unrecognizable as an Earl and a Lord from the Demon World.
"It looks like there will be a good show today."
Aitio agreed, her tone suffused with a touch of satisfaction.
Thus, Tata’s two good friends hid in a street corner, now peeking, now whispering, not the slightest aware that they had attracted the sidelong glances of several pedestrians.
"Meow!"
Cat Boss called out from across the street.
The two of them immediately noticed it.
"Little cat, little cat, come over here."
Rosalinda beckoned quietly to Cat Boss.
During the first round of the Platinum-Level Card Maker exam, the little kitty had followed her around all day.
Cat Boss immediately nodded and leaped toward them.
"You’re also hoping for some sparks to fly during their date, aren’t you?"
Rosalinda hugged the Little Black Cat that had jumped over and queried, looking down.
"Meow..."
Sparks? Volcano!
Cat Boss didn’t know how to explain the complicated relationship between Lanci and Tata to Aitio and Rosalinda.
As they chatted, Aitio spotted a crimson open-top Magic Energy Vehicle speeding by, with Tata, being led by Lanci across the street, trailing behind absentmindedly, seemingly still preoccupied with something.
Talia frowned slightly, her cherry lips tight, her almond eyes brimming with thoughts.
"Hey!"
Aitio almost cried out.
But Lanci reacted in the first instant.
He swiftly grabbed the lady’s slender wrist with one hand and with the other arm, pulled her slender waist towards him, and the two quickly moved a step closer to the sidewalk.
Talia’s red lips parted slightly as the speeding vehicle stirred up a gust of wind, whipping up petals on the roadside into a colorful whirl in the air.
In that sudden moment, Talia felt as if everything around her slowed down—the footsteps of people on the road, the rustling leaves atop the trees, the petals dancing in the air—all seemed to pass slowly before her eyes like a slow-motion sequence.
Only Lanci’s strong and warm hand offered her an immense sense of real security.
Talia slowly raised her head, held tightly by the waist, hand in hand, almost as if they were dancing.
She looked at Lanci with surprise.
That formidable and reliable manner, those steadfast eyes, and, seen up close too, a handsome face...
In an instant, she felt again the familiar acceleration of her heartbeat from these past two days.
Indeed...
Indeed I still...
"Thank goodness, otherwise the people in the car would be in danger."
Lanci let out a sigh of relief and said to Talia, with the smile of a concerned citizen.
A mere Magic Energy Vehicle couldn’t possibly hurt Tata.
It would be just like hitting a tower, resulting in immediate destruction of the vehicle and loss of life.
"..."
Talia fell silent once more.
Meanwhile, around another street corner.
"Look at the good atmosphere between them."
Aitio remarked.
"Yes, yes."
Rosalinda nodded,
"Tata is so shy she can’t even speak."
She felt like her girlish heart would melt just watching from a distance.
Cat Boss: "..."
It didn’t know what to say.
It was reminded of a story Lanci once told.
When you see a white goat by the roadside from the car, you can’t assert that it is a white goat because there’s a possibility that on the side you can’t see, it is a black goat.
...
At the edge of the road, Lanci led Talia onto the sidewalk.
"Oh, Tata, why does it feel like you’ve gripped my hand a bit tighter?"
Lanci seemed somewhat puzzled.
Talia took deep breaths, gradually relaxed her hand a bit, but still let Lanci lead her, as if she were a doll-like girl.
Previously, she would have threatened Lanci, saying, "If you dare, keep holding my hand and don’t run."
But today, she was determined to disgust Lanci.
As long as she wasn’t angry, Lanci wouldn’t get his way.
"I, too, can be a little scared."
Talia feigned fragility, moving a bit closer to him,
"Could you hold my hand all day today and not let go?"
Talia looked up at him and spoke in an even-tempered tone.
"..."
Lanci fell into an unusual silence.
Though his expression didn’t change, it seemed like his face was struggling to control a look of discomfort.
