两男一女的双龙挺进

"What\'s the mission?" Though she didn\'t like Ren\'s tone, Wendy didn\'t show her anger and asked dutifully.

"Here, read it yourself." Ren tossed a paper onto the ground. Despite the blatant disrespect, Wendy picked it up and read through the contents. Her expression darkened.

"Isn\'t this an ambush?" Wendy stuttered, unable to understand how Ren, who was much older than her, couldn\'t see that this could be a ploy by the factions after the Elemental Beast.

\'Wait!\' Her eyes widened as a realization hit her. She looked at the silver-haired boy, and his next words confirmed her suspicion.

"I don\'t care whether it\'s an ambush or not. All I want is for you to meet with this person, and that\'s final," Ren said dismissively. "Besides, it\'s in downtown, and that place is always crowded. Do you really think anyone would dare go against Captain Bofan\'s rule and attack someone inside the city?"

"Now scram."

Wendy clenched the paper, struggling to hold back her rage. She took a few deep breaths and nodded.

"Yes, leader."

---

As she walked through the hallway with the paper clenched in her hand, Wendy couldn\'t help but reflect on her life.

Wendy Chai... That\'s what people at Vermilion Royal Academy called her.

Though she was a noble, she wasn\'t treated with the same respect as the others.

The reason?

Wendy let out a mirthless chuckle.

The reason was that she wasn\'t a true noble by birth.

Her father, obsessed with status, had bought the title from the king several years ago, hoping to be treated as an equal among the other nobles. But they never saw them as one of their own.

He was still treated like a commoner—perhaps slightly higher—but there wasn\'t much of a difference.

In the Vermilion Kingdom, there were primarily two ways to become a noble: either by birth or by achievement. Those born into noble families held more power and respect, while those who achieved nobility through merit or purchase were often viewed as inferior.

Then there were those who became nobles by threatening the king of the Vermilion Kingdom... but that wasn\'t something spoken of aloud.

Wendy\'s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her own footsteps echoing in the empty hallway. She had always felt like an outcast among the nobles, never truly belonging.

It was one of the reasons the professors at the academy had relegated her to the beta class despite her strong performance in the entrance exam.

As she walked, the paper in her hand seemed to burn with Ren\'s dismissive words. "I don\'t care whether this is an ambush or not. All I want is for you to meet with this person, and that\'s final."

"I hate him. I wish I could just kill him with my bare hands," she thought, almost screaming. But she calmed herself down and breathed out.

\'No need to get angry at that scum... let\'s just focus on the mission.\'

Wendy arrived at the designated place. As Ren had said, the area was crowded with people, the streets stretching endlessly. Still, Wendy remained vigilant.

\'Maybe I\'m just being too paranoid,\' she thought. But who could blame her? Wendy knew about Ren\'s disdain for commoners... she wouldn\'t be surprised if he had actually set up an ambush for her here.

\'How do I find the person? The letter didn\'t specify anything... or could it be the person has a way of finding me?\'

Wendy scanned her surroundings but didn\'t notice anything unusual. She even glanced at the faces of passersby to catch anything suspicious, but everyone seemed to be minding their own business.

Suddenly, she noticed someone standing out from the crowd, heading toward her. The person wore a gray cloak that covered their head.

In Eos, many people had varied dressing styles, so the mundane citizens found nothing unusual about the person\'s attire and continued with their day.

The only reason the person stood out to Wendy was that they were approaching her.

Wendy raised the paper to the cloaked person\'s face. "Are you the on—"

"Follow me."

Before Wendy could finish, the cloaked person whispered in a feminine voice.

"Why should I follow you? Can\'t you tell me the location here?" Wendy frowned. She wasn\'t a fool. This person could very well be leading her somewhere convenient to ambush her when she least expected it.

"There are many eyes watching you. If you don\'t want the information to leak, you must follow me," the cloaked person whispered.

"I already checked, and I\'m sure no one is watching us."

"Are you certain about that?" The cloaked figure chuckled. "Look around."

Wendy frowned and glanced to her right.

Indeed, she spotted two men smiling at her. She glanced to her left...

There were another two there as well.

\'How?\' She frowned. She hadn\'t noticed anyone watching or paying close attention to her before, but suddenly she had spotted more than three, and their expressions didn\'t suggest any goodwill.

\'Were they watching me before, and I just didn\'t notice... or is this another trick by this person?\' Wendy mused, narrowing her eyes, leaning more toward the latter theory.

"You know what? I don\'t want to know this information anymore. I\'m leaving," Wendy stated. But before she could leave, the cloaked person gripped her hand tightly.

As a swordswoman, Wendy quickly summoned her sword.

"Let go of me this instant!" She growled in a threatening voice, her eyes turning bloodshot. If anyone from the barony had seen her now, they wouldn\'t think she was the friendly girl who got along with everyone. She looked extremely intimidating—like a white-haired demon.

"Hehehehehe." The cloaked person chuckled, showing no fear in their voice. "At first, I only needed your leader, but it seems you\'re not that shabby yourself..."

The figure paused, and Wendy\'s eyes fell on the hand gripping her wrist. She noticed a bit of exposed skin.

The cloaked person had red skin.