On the North Bank of Palieu, the City of Flowers, a magnificent iron tower stood majestically by the banks of the Selena River at the edge of the horizon.
On the plaza beneath the tower, a lady dressed with exceptional elegance stood quietly. Her long gray hair cascaded like a silken waterfall, fluttering lightly in the breeze and catching the morning sun with a warm, gentle luster, as though an angel had descended into the mortal world.
"..."
At this moment, she seemed somewhat nervous, clenching her hands tightly.
Suddenly, footsteps drawing near disturbed the lady from her reverie.
She turned around slowly, directing her gaze toward the sound.
Those bright golden eyes fell upon Lanqi, who had paused in the distance.
After receiving Talia's message, Lanqi had come to District 1 on the North Bank—to the "usual spot" Talia had mentioned—to meet her.
"Sorry, I'm a little late," Lanqi greeted Talia.
He had walked over, whereas Talia had likely hitched a ride with Countess Rosalinda and arrived early.
Talia looked completely refreshed compared to earlier this morning, clearly having been dressed up once again by Countess Rosalinda at the Asturias Count's Mansion.
"Not at all, I just got here myself. Besides, didn't I call you out on such short notice?" Talia said in a remarkably easygoing tone, entirely devoid of her usual aloofness.
"..."
Lanqi released the little black cat in his arms, letting Boss Cat—who had been struggling for ages—leap freely away. He stared at Talia in astonishment.
Beneath the iron tower, their eyes met. Neither spoke first. A hush fell between them, broken only in the distance by white swans gliding across the Selena River and leaving faint ripples in their wake, yet neither of them resumed talking.
Talia's attitude today was far gentler than usual; normally, she would merely give a curt nod to acknowledge him, never speaking this much to him.
"By the way, Lanqi, do you have any thoughts on how I look today?"
Seeing Lanqi staring at her like this, Talia lifted the hem of her skirt with one hand and twirled gracefully through a half-turn, presenting herself for Lanqi to admire.
This was a court dress from the Kingdom of Posen, a gift specially presented to Talia by Rosalinda to congratulate her on passing the Platinum-rank card maker examination. She had only ever worn it when on dates with Lanqi.
Over the past century, noblewomen's formal dresses in the City of Flowers had gradually leaned toward simple elegance, no longer overly ornate or extravagant. Instead, they accentuated fine details like ribbons, gemstones, and lace upon a modest foundation, radiating a maiden's dreamy romantic aura.
"Very pretty," Lanqi observed, his brow furrowed.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Talia walked over, looking Lanqi in the eyes with tender affection as she asked.
"Are you... planning to prank me like last time?" Lanqi watched Talia with heightened vigilance.
He recalled their previous date in the City of Flowers. Someone had given her the terrible idea of deliberately pretending to be gentle and attentive just to gross him out, only for the two of them to end up locked in a contest of wills until they both exploded at each other.
"Meow."
By this point, Boss Cat had scurried off to hide behind a distant newsstand.
The thing it was most grateful for was that it hadn't followed closely behind them during their last date in the City of Flowers.
Yet Boss Cat once again couldn't comprehend what performance Lanqi and Talia were putting on today.
Talia's gaze was like that of someone looking at a lover, whereas Lanqi looked as if he were facing a formidable foe.
If cameras were shoved into their faces, it would seem like they weren't even filming the same movie.
"Heheh, I just don't want to give you the satisfaction, so no matter what, I won't let you succeed in making me angry today."
Talia crossed her arms and shook her head, as if provoked to laughter by his reaction.
Finally, a trace of maternal affection surfaced in Talia's gaze toward Lanqi, as if she were looking at her own child, Hyperion.
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Lanqi plunged into a cosmic vortex of thought.
This was the first time he had encountered such a difficult psychological contest.
Just how many layers deep were he and Talia playing against each other? He couldn't quite tell at the moment.
"Anyway, don't worry. I won't get mad at you today. Consider it me indulging you for once. You can say whatever you want to say to me and do whatever you want to do; I won't blame you at all."
Seeing Lanqi still pondering, Talia gave him a reassuring guarantee and continued.
"Is that so..." Lanqi blinked slowly, murmuring to himself. "So no matter how I provoke you today, you won't get angry?"
He asked with an eager spark, mingled with anticipation and fear.
"You... just take it that way. Provoke me as much as you like."
Talia had been about to say something, but held back and answered patiently instead.
Without waiting for Lanqi to think further, she took a step forward, grasped Lanqi's hand, and pulled him close.
"Besides, didn't you say last time that you were curious about what kind of wondrous experience it would be to date a demon princess steeped in eight hundred years of time? Have you reached a conclusion yet?"
Her eyes shone brightly with a touch of inquiry, as though seeking to see right through Lanqi's thoughts.
"??"
Lanqi was thrown off balance even further.
Talia seemed exceptionally assertive and proactive today.
What's more, those were supposed to be his lines!
"Hmph."
Talia chuckled softly by Lanqi's ear like a warm breath, then stepped back and gestured for him to follow.
Lanqi took only a few steps before Talia took his hand once more—this time naturally interlacing their fingers.
"..."
Lanqi was struck speechless, yet offered no resistance, letting her lead him along.
He was still observing.
Talia's emotional state was remarkably stable, as if any raging tempest within had settled instantly.
Lanqi couldn't make heads or tails of what Talia was up to. For now, he needed a round of machine learning to adapt; until then, following Loren's playbook would suffice.
Wait, he was supposed to be the romance drillmaster—why was he copying Loren now?
The more Lanqi thought about it, the more he felt Talia resembled a seasoned grandmaster today. While he remained unable to predict her moves as usual, she had begun to mutate, though it was hard to pinpoint the single greatest change in her.
"So cute I could just eat you up~"
Lanqi and Talia strolled along the streets of Palieu. The bustling morning noise was gradually replaced by the vibrant midday sun of the city.
Talia cheerfully held Lanqi's hand, humming a little tune now and then.
"After the performance in Brierda that day, many people said that the final Demon King of the demon race is the greatest diva of the contemporary Southern Continent. Over the past month, you've gained quite a few fans," Lanqi remarked as he listened to her tune.
"Is that so? Then do you feel like you're secretly dating a celebrity right now?"
The two walked at an easy pace, quietly savoring a moment of tranquility.
"A legendary celebrity who's eight hundred years old and has two kids?" Lanqi turned his head, asking with a mixture of surprise and utter naturalness.
"..."
Talia tightened her grip on Lanqi's hand slightly.
Taking a deep breath to steady her emotions, she looked up to meet Lanqi's gaze.
"Do you want us?" Talia asked.
"Want what?" Lanqi was completely baffled by her abrupt question.
He was still in the middle of his machine learning process, needing more training data to figure Talia out, but all the data Talia was feeding him was pure noise.
"Take us as a package deal, of course."
Talia shot him a glance, then stopped looking at him, muttering to herself while staring straight ahead at the road. Her resentful gaze seemed to ask: If she was eight hundred, he didn't want her anymore? If she had two kids, he didn't want her anymore?
"???"
Lanqi felt that today was playing out like a true high-level match.
On the streets near the Palieu Tower plaza, Boss Cat's agile figure lurked behind, stealthily tailing Lanqi and Talia.
Though full of trepidation inside, curiosity still drove it to see things through.
Today, Talia was the one taking the initiative to hold Lanqi's hand, so they held hands remarkably casually, looking just like an ordinary couple.
Yet the closer the distance between them grew, the more Boss Cat worried that something terrible would happen to it for tailing them. Both of these active volcanoes were reckless gamblers who would only double down against each other to the bitter end.
It darted back and forth between wall corners, benches, and newsstands, turning into an agile black shadow.
Suddenly, it felt a shadow drape over its body; someone had approached behind it.
"Meow!" Boss Cat hissed in a low growl, intending to frighten away whichever human was ambushing it.
"It's me, kitty!"
The sudden familiar voice caused Boss Cat to stop hissing.
Lifting its head, it saw a friendly face.
"Countess Rosalinda, meow?" Boss Cat asked.
Today, Countess Rosalinda was no longer dressed in the crimson evening gown she had worn when they first met, but in a tailored masculine vest suit patterned with roses. With a beret concealing her long hair, she looked exquisitely handsome, like an androgynous beauty.
"It's the two of us again!"
Countess Rosalinda scooped up the little black cat.
During the first round of the Platinum-rank card maker examination, the little cat had spent the entire day with her.
And on the last occasion they tailed Lanqi and Tata on a date, she and Aetio had run into the little black cat, thoroughly enjoying the drama the entire way.
Today Aetio was not around, seemingly busy receiving distinguished guests. When Rosalinda questioned Tata, Tata had stammered evasively without explaining what was going on, so Rosalinda had pivoted to asking about Tata and Lanqi, and subsequently followed Tata here.
"Meow, Rosalinda, my friend, meow."
Seeing Rosalinda smiling so happily, Boss Cat knew she certainly had no idea who had returned.
It didn't have the heart to wipe the smile from Rosalinda's face right now, so it kept its mouth shut.
Things had come to this; might as well enjoy the drama first.
It raised a paw and high-fived Rosalinda as a testament to their friendship.
The human and the cat poked their heads out in silent unison, observing every move made by Lanqi and Tata.
"Oh, by the way, little black cat. When the three of us tailed Lanqi and Tata last time, we took photos of them tenderly holding hands and feeding each other at the Colonges Sunbridge Inn Restaurant. Because international mail was suspended back then, I wasn't able to send those lovely commemorative photos to you. But international mail reopened a few days ago, so I mailed them over to your restaurant," Rosalinda looked down and said to Boss Cat.
"Holy shit, meow! Sent?!"
Boss Cat struggled in panic, unable to stifle its screech.
The recipient on that end was most likely Sigrid!
By the time Lanqi and Tata returned, those photos might already have been made public!
"Sent? Yes, I did indeed send them," Rosalinda said, looking at the little black cat with a puzzled expression to confirm once more. Back when they took the photos, she had kept hearing Boss Cat constantly muttering 'send,' so she had taken it to heart and mailed them to Boss Cat.
"..."
Things were bad; it had become the chief culprit.
Boss Cat had no idea how to explain the current complicated situation at Boss Cat's Restaurant to Rosalinda, or that Lanqi and Tata's date that day was probably nothing like what Rosalinda and Aetio had perceived on the surface!
Just as Rosalinda and the cat were chatting, Rosalinda spotted a dark blue convertible mana vehicle speeding past. Lanqi, who was being led across the street by Talia, trailed behind absentmindedly, still lost in thought.
Lanqi's emerald eyes were brimming with contemplation.
"Lan—!"
Rosalinda nearly cried out.
Talia reacted in the nick of time.
Wrapping an arm around Lanqi's back to pull him into an embrace, she swiftly moved the two of them a step closer to the sidewalk.
In that sudden instant of weightlessness, Lanqi felt everything around him slow down. The footsteps of pedestrians on the avenue and the swaying green leaves on the treetops drifted past his vision as if in slow motion.
Only Talia's warm palm and embrace brought him an overwhelmingly grounded sense of reality.
Lanqi slowly lowered his head, staring in utter astonishment at Talia, who was suddenly holding him tightly in her embrace.
It wasn't that he had never been hugged by Talia before.
It was just that she had never initiated such an intimate, distance-free press against him like this, as if she no longer maintained even the slightest reservation between a man and a woman toward him.
"With me here, you won't get hurt," Talia said to him, raising a hand to gently cup Lanqi's cheek like a mother soothing a child startled by traffic.
"..."
Lanqi remained speechless.
Her voice and her warmth swept through his mind, throwing his thoughts into further disarray.
In the past, he definitely would have repeated that it was a relief, or else the people in the vehicle would have been in grave danger.
After all, how could a mere mana vehicle ever budge him and Tata? It would be no different from crashing into an iron tower, instantly resulting in a wrecked car and dead passengers.
Yet under the present atmosphere, for some reason, he found himself utterly unable to voice those words.
"Lanqi, are you shy? But if you need me to keep holding you to put your mind at ease, I'll hold you the whole time," Talia asked him, cloaking her smugness in a teasing, doting tone as if seeing through his bewilderment.
Embracing right in the middle of the street like this, they had already drawn backward glances from passersby.
"..."
Lanqi's eyes shifted slowly, meeting Talia's triumphant golden gaze.
He was somewhat at a loss on how to counter Talia's moves.
Yet if he hesitated any longer, she would surely see through his predicament.
Lanqi didn't know whether he had been possessed by a sudden madness or was acting on sheer conditioned reflex.
Lanqi subconsciously wrapped his arms around Talia, involuntarily leaning in to gently inhale the delicate fragrance of her hair, as though savoring a vintage wine.
Talia shuddered all over in shock.
Yet she held back from shoving Lanqi away.
Suppressing the blush rising to her cheeks, she continued holding Lanqi, paying no heed to the eclectic crowd on Palieu's streets.
If Lanqi wouldn't let go, neither would she—they would see who could subdue whom.
...
Behind a corner across the street.
"Look how wonderful the mood is between them! This ambiguous, zero-distance embrace, this youthful innocence... this is what love is all about!"
Just watching from afar made Rosalinda feel like her maiden heart was melting.
"Meow."
Held in Rosalinda's arms, Boss Cat also looked on at Lanqi and Tata's date.
Last time, the process had been completely wrong, and the outcome had been completely wrong.
This time, the process was still completely wrong, but they seemed to have blindly lucked into the right outcome.
It didn't know what to say.
It merely felt that if Lanqi and Talia's battle of tacticians were to get a second season, it would probably turn into a pinnacle tournament of pure madness.
Chapter 869