Chapter 797: 728 Hope they have the sense to take a hint
Shane’s emotions, naturally, were beyond the understanding of everyone present.
Not to mention Liel and Hart, two Demon Clan officers, even Gray, the former prince who used to be quite amiable toward Shane, couldn’t help but ignore Shane, his concern had lingered on Chafne all along.
Obviously, these three were preoccupied with Chafne, their care for her undoubtedly exceeded what normal people would deem reasonable.
Alas, the more they cared, the more indifferent Chafne seemed. Apart from occasionally engaging in conversation and some interaction with Liel, she completely ignored Hart and Gray.
Annoyingly enough, Hart, as if by right, accepted Chafne’s attitude, believing it to be the norm, while Gray, despite being somewhat downcast by Chafne’s disinterest, still silently watched her from a distance, never shifting his gaze.
Shane simply didn’t want to comment anymore.
To be honest, in private and in everyday life, Gray was without a doubt a man of upright conduct, neither arrogant nor rash, and in terms of appearance, character, strength, or cultivation, he could be considered flawless. In the eyes of others, he was the very image of a Prince Charming, an ideal idol, even a perfect marriage candidate.
The last time he had faced Shane, Gray also behaved with composure and dignity, worthy of a prince’s name.
Yet, in front of Chafne, this paragon of a prince was a complete reversal.
To put it kindly, the behavior was infatuation; to phrase it harshly, he was a lovesick fool.
“Does this prince not understand that those so-called infatuated men, who willingly suffer in silence from behind the scenes, in the end, all end up as pitiful lost causes usurped by force?”
Shane didn’t even know whether he should bother explaining this to them.
After thinking it over, Shane gave up.
Because he was very clear that those blinded by unrequited love would definitely not listen to the advice of others.
His own past attempts to advise had most likely resulted in being dismissed by their stubbornness, or worse, being accused of spouting nonsense.
Knowing by Gray’s current posture, still kneeling on one knee to Chafne as if paying homage as a subject, Shane was almost dumbfounded.
Indeed, he was neither Chafne’s subordinate nor a member of the Demon Clan, but an uninvited friend from the Human Race and the former prince of the Mitra Kingdom; he had no reason to kneel like this, yet he did so without hesitation—truth be told, Shane was somewhat astounded.
This scene, if seen by the Mitra Royal Family, would probably make them so angry that their eyebrows would jump, right?
At that moment, Shane was too lazy to care anymore.
“After all, he’s just Luoqi’s elder, and that’s the extent of our relationship.”
If not for Luoqi’s sake, Shane probably wouldn’t even bother with the thought of advising him.
Now, he’ll just leave him to his own devices.
“If he succeeds, then I’ll concede I’ve lost.”
Thinking this way, Shane decided not to pay attention to Gray. Instead, he grabbed Gold, whom he had knocked out earlier, as if planning to take out some takeout.
“Is he one of those underlings of the ‘Primordial Demon’?”
Liel watched this scene with a cold glint in her eyes.
Hart and Gray looked at Gold with malice in their eyes, clearly wanting to kill Gold to vent their anger.
Shane really wanted to curse.
“If you guys are going to be emotional, couldn’t you at least ask the opinion of the person who captured this guy?” Shane bluntly retorted: “I need to get information about the ‘Primordial Demon’ from this guy.”
This reasonable explanation was met with opposition from Liel.
“But this man attempted to assassinate Lady Chafne; he deserves to die a thousand deaths.”
This was the sort of outlandish statement that came from Liel’s mouth.
“Didn’t you hear what I said?” Shane was too lazy to concern himself with the matter, stating bluntly, “Keeping him alive is useful to me; what does it matter to me whether you think he deserves to die?”
“You…” Liel glared at Shane.
Shane met the Stone Woman’s gaze without anger, only pity, as if looking at a mentally challenged child.
Both Hart and Gray looked at the scene with furrowed brows but remained silent.
For some reason, the atmosphere at the site had become somewhat odd.
“Enough,” Chafne frowned and spoke, “Keeping this traitor might indeed be useful, Liel, stand down.”
“Yes,” Liel responded immediately, withdrawing without hesitation.
Hart and Gray also relaxed their furrowed brows, showing deference to any decision made by Chafne without objection.
The stark contrast between before and after left Shane opening his mouth to speak, then deciding to remain silent.
He might have begun to understand why Chafne lost interest in these blindly obedient people.
In their eyes, there was only Chafne, excluding all others; any matter related to Chafne caused them to lose their judgment, to lose their individuality, everything prioritized Chafne alone. They did not even consider Chafne’s perspective, instead allowing their adoration, aspirations, and infatuation to run rampant, single-handedly dismissing anything they deemed a threat to her.
Others called this “chaos from concern;” Shane simply thought it presumptuous.
Others saw it as protection; Shane only thought it troublesome.
Chafne must have grown weary of this attitude; that’s probably why she ignored those people.
Including Liel, had she not been the strongest in the Enchanting Demon Territory, Chafne’s top officer, the one managing all affairs for Chafne, she most likely wouldn’t have caught Chafne’s attention either.
One could say, to some extent, it was a situation of their own making.
“Sigh…”
Shane suddenly sighed.
“What’s wrong?”
Chafne noticed and turned toward Shane.
“Nothing.” Shane shook his head and shrugged. “Just realizing again that you have it tough.”
Hearing this, Liel and the others were all clearly confused, only Chafne raised an eyebrow and gazed at Shane for a good while before finally smiling charmingly.
“You’re the first man to say something like that to me.”
Chafne said this.
“That’s why I said it’s not easy for you.”
Shane responded with complete ease.
“Well, I’m used to it,” Chafne laughed, implying something: “Besides, I suddenly feel that all of this seems worth it.”
“Why would you say that?” Shane was taken aback.
“Guess,” Chafne winked at Shane.
Shane almost let slip a “I guess your sister.”
“Hehe,” Chafne seemed delighted by Shane’s extremely displeased expression and said, “Alright, let’s put this matter to rest and continue on our way to Central City.”
As she spoke, Chafne naturally reached out her hand and took hold of Shane’s.
Shane did not resist and, with a look of annoyance on his face, carried Gold as Chafne led him away.
Neither of them noticed that the expressions of Liel, Hart, and Gray all changed dramatically.
No doubt, these three had noticed.
“…Has the distance between Lady Chafne and that Hero gotten a lot smaller?”
Hart’s incredulous words made both Liel’s and Gray’s hearts sink.
Liel, with a stern face, followed in silence, seemingly wanting to separate the two but not daring to, and could only hang behind Shane, glaring at him with a murderous look.
Gray’s face was even more clouded, as he stared intently at Chafne holding Shane’s hand, his fist tightening unconsciously.
“Gray, do you think…”
Hart was still in disbelief, turning to Gray, about to speak.
But Gray interrupted him.
“Enough, don’t overthink it,” Gray spoke coldly for once, “The Hero is the fiancé of the Dragon Demon Lord; it’s normal for the Enchanting Demon Lord to treat him differently.”
Upon hearing this, Hart really wanted to say something but held back.
As a longtime friend, Hart could see that Gray was just putting on a brave front.
He simply did not want to accept the reality that a junior who had come to Enchanting Demon City for barely a week had accomplished something he hadn’t managed to do in over twenty years.
He was even less willing to admit that the Enchanting Demon Chafne would take a liking to such a young man.
For tens of thousands of years, how many emperors and sovereigns had fallen under the indifference of that Enchanting Demon, and how many heroes had failed to even exchange a glance with her?
Even historically renowned Heroes received the same treatment.
One can imagine how unbelievable and difficult it would be for others to accept Chafne becoming close to a man.
Hart was equally unwilling to believe it.
But watching Chafne continuously talk to Shane, and Shane responding with a lazy demeanor, their conversation was so natural and harmonious, Hart did not think this was a good sign.
Even if Chafne were willing to drop her indifference and talk naturally to others, how many could remain immune to Chafne’s charm and respond normally?
Not to mention Hart; even Liel, who had served Chafne for a very long time, couldn’t do it, often blushing and getting flustered in front of Chafne.
All this time, the only ones who could face Chafne normally were women of the same level as her.
For instance, the Six Great Demons.
Or the Three Great Goddesses.
As for men, this was unprecedented.
Thinking this, Hart glanced at Shane with flickering eyes, unwittingly feeling a hint of murderous intent.
It was born of jealousy.
Even Hart himself may not have realized he had already grown to resent Shane.
Of course, whether he was the only one felt that way was another matter.
After all, Gray was also gazing at Shane, deep in thought.
Completely unbeknownst to these two, Chafne, who was bickering with Shane, suddenly paused.
“What’s wrong?”
Shane asked, puzzled.
“Nothing, it’s nothing.”
Chafne’s expression returned to normal, not even glancing in the direction where Hart and Gray were.
However, she did make a comment.
“Let’s hope those short-sighted fools don’t do anything to displease me.”
Chafne’s seemingly unwarranted remark left Shane utterly confused.
Chafne, finding it amusing, fought the urge to pinch Shane’s cheek and chuckled coldly to herself.
Having finally met such an interesting and endearing Hero, she couldn’t let some short-sighted fools cause any trouble.
She hoped they would have the sense to behave.