Even the thick-skinned Lorenz was now visibly flustered, stammering, "No, Richie, listen to me..."
But Richard no longer wanted to tolerate the other person's frivolous behavior.
He easily broke free from the other's embrace, summoned water to wash the sticky dragon blood off his fingertips, and then headed towards his dragon cave without any hesitation.
Lorenz tried to give chase, but was surrounded by a swarm of dragons.
Their eyes were filled with obsessive fanaticism, they prostrated themselves in worship as if worshipping a god, kissing every inch of his body, and then screamed in panic when they looked up and saw the horrific and hideous wound on his side.
...
Richard sat listlessly on his pile of jewels, gazing absently at the undulating sea in the distance, and silently made a decision in his heart.
He thought he had long since let go of his obsession with Lorenz, but when he heard that Galle was still alive, a ferocious murderous intent inevitably arose in his heart.
But he hated that version of himself.
Born a dragon, he could no longer distinguish between desire and love.
Just as Claude had told him in the academy, he had almost succumbed to temptation and nearly became a slave to desire, just like his licentious kin.
But he had finally begun to think about it, and that first step was so important.
He would always remember the sunrise that day, the newly risen sunlight shining on the shimmering waves, yet a strange emotion welled up within him. Facing the sea, he wanted to cry, but he was mindful of the man behind him, who was carefully combing his hair.
At that time, he naively believed that the other person was different.
In the end, it was all so ridiculous; I was just deluding myself and ended up in a very embarrassing situation.
"Xie, Mu, Lang," Richard said slowly, only then realizing that it was the first time he had ever pronounced the other person's name.
Bili's pronunciation was so strange that his tongue almost got tied in knots, and he didn't even know if it was correct.
But none of that matters anymore.
He will gradually forget the other person, just as he has left Lorenz behind.
Now that he has made up his mind to continue on this journey, he must be prepared to bear it all.
...
The shimmering waves reflected the solemn glow of the setting sun, and finally welcomed the gentle redemption of the moonlight.
Richard remained motionless, gazing at the undulating sea, his mind blank in a state of utter emptiness, but the only source of light had been taken away.
Just as he was about to get angry, he heard Lorenz stand at the entrance of the cave and ask awkwardly, "May I come in, Richie?"
In the darkness, Richard's silver eyes gleamed.
He remained noncommittal, but countless tiny flames flew from his fingertips, igniting all the candles in the cave.
In an instant, the entire Dragon Cave shone brightly, with countless gems and gold vying to reflect the magnificent light from the surrounding area.
"Why are you lighting so many candles? Aren't you worried you won't have enough for tomorrow?" Lorenz smiled, flattered, and swaggered in.
The burly man proudly bared his chest, but a white cloth was wrapped around his waist. Even if all the treasures glittered together, they would pale in comparison to his breathtakingly handsome face.
“Over the years, you have amassed quite a fortune, but still not as much as I have.” Lorenz glanced around, and seeing that Richard didn’t respond, he cautiously added, “But from now on, everything I have will be yours. If we combine our treasures, we can definitely buy the entire continent of Zhuyuan.”
Richard listened to the other party's ambitious plan without feeling sad or happy. He simply asked indifferently, "Does your wound still hurt?"
"Hmm?" Lorenz narrowed her purple eyes, then took the opportunity to move closer to Richard, saying aggrievedly, "It hurts! Of course it hurts! But I didn't use magic to heal..."
“Because this is the first mark you’ve left on me since we’ve known each other for so long. I’ll keep it as a keepsake after the scab falls off, forever,” Lorenz said happily.
Even though he felt a little embarrassed saying these cheesy things, he had no qualms about it when facing Richie.
Richard remained silent for a long time, then looked up and stared intently at him, asking expressionlessly, "Did you say the same thing to Galle before?"
Hearing Richard repeatedly mention that damned Naga, Lorenz's brow furrowed with anger. He wanted to question what Richard meant, but in the end, he patiently said, "Don't mention him, okay, Richie? I know... I wronged you before."
Richard merely raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.
A wisp of light quickly gathered in his palm and swung it toward Lorenz's waist.
Lorenz tried to dodge, but after five years in a coma, his body and reflexes were far less agile than before.
He could only watch helplessly as the light element disappeared into his waist.
As the tingling, warm sensation spread through him, his heart sank little by little.
Lorenz looked at the man sitting high on the throne, resting his chin on his hand, and said seriously, "Rich, we need to have a serious talk."
Perhaps it was because he had finally come to his senses, but with each glance at Richard, his longing for him grew stronger.
He longed to hold her in his arms, and he also longed to be her only one forever, to have her body and soul completely under his control.
Since becoming the most powerful member of the dragon race, he had never felt such a strong desire. The burning sensation he felt at all times was even more intense and scorching than the instinct that rose up in the Rose Salt Lake.
As if hearing his plea, Richard leaped down from the high throne.
The silver dragon walked to a corner of the dragon cave, where a set of mithril-crafted table and chairs stood, with an exquisite chessboard on it.
To be honest, even though Lorenz was full of all sorts of wild ideas about Richard at this moment, he couldn't help but be moved by the material of that chessboard.
Whether it's the chessboard made of tridacna shell and black jade, or the chess pieces made of obsidian, mithril wire, and rubies and sapphires, they all hit the aesthetic points of the dragon race hard.
“Rich…” Lorenz stared intently at the chess piece, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
Did you find this chessboard specifically for me because you know I like Four-Player Chess?
“Sit down, it’s been a long time since we played chess.” Richard took the lead, sitting down on the mithril stool, and gently said to Lorenz, pointing to the chessboard beside him.
Seeing that Richie finally smiled at him, Lorenz almost impatiently ran to sit down opposite him. His scale boots clattered over the gold coins, creating a series of extremely pleasant sounds.
When his knees pressed intimately against Richard's knees under the table, Lorenz's pupils instantly constricted with delight.
He would never again mercilessly slaughter his opponent without leaving a single survivor. Lorenz thought this, yet he was also somewhat troubled.
How can I subtly hand a piece to Ritchie without him noticing?
...
In this game of chess, the two dragons sat upright and played exceptionally slowly.
Until dawn.
Lorenz looked at the situation, which was beyond saving, but hesitated to say "General".
He remembered how he used to force Richard to play chess, and how he would gloat and humiliate him after Richard's hasty defeat.
Those words were so harsh that they went beyond simply trying to crush the other person's dignity.
Just like the words he said after he rudely stole her first kiss, he harbored a secret, despicable, and filthy little scheme.
"I lost."
But at that moment, Richard, sitting opposite him, readily admitted his defeat and took the initiative to lift up his king and hand it to him.
No longer the dejected person of the past, the other person's expression was exceptionally carefree, as if they had finally let go.
The long, slender, fair fingers contrasted sharply with the glossy black chess pieces, making it almost impossible for Lorenz to look away.
He stiffly reached out and took it, inevitably making contact with the other person's fingertips, but was startled by the icy coldness emanating from the other person.
Lorenz looked at Richard with some apprehension and murmured, "We can come again..."
“No need, Lorenz. I should say goodbye.” After so long, Richard finally looked him in the eye, but his mind was in turmoil.
bid farewell?
Why did Richie say goodbye to him?
He's already awake, where does Richie want to go?
He had had enough of the more than four hundred days and nights without her by his side, and all he wanted was to stay with her forever.
Lorenz's face was full of disbelief, his lips opened and closed repeatedly, clearly still reeling from Richard's words.
Seeing their reaction, Richard sighed helplessly and said to himself, "I've packed up the important things. You can discuss what to do with the rest. You can take the chessboard if you like; anyway, I've never really liked playing chess..."
It was simply because Lorenz liked playing chess, and he just wanted an excuse to spend time with him.
But now, he has completely healed the wounds that have eroded him for years, and his past excuses seem superfluous, just like his foolish self before.
"So you had this planned all along." Lorenz finally realized why the other party had lit all the candles so extravagantly last night—
Because they didn't know when their master would return.
The thought that the other party actually wanted to leave made Lorenz unable to control the raging anger in his heart. The man-eating flames made his heart feel like it was about to explode.
He couldn't help but say angrily, "Stop messing around, Richie. I've already agreed to marry you, what more do you want? Didn't you say before that you liked me?"
He questioned her loudly while forcefully holding her in his arms.
As long as he refuses to let go, the other party will have no chance of escaping. Even if he cheats, he will keep himself tightly bound to the other party's side.
But his arm reached only empty air.
The other person was clearly standing in the same spot, yet it felt as if they were separated from him by several dimensions of time and space.
“You know yourself that was in the past.” Richard curled his lips and said self-deprecatingly, “Actually, if I weren’t unable to control the magic of time, I would like to go back to the past and take back everything I said.”
Instead of causing so much ridiculous and chaotic trouble for others.
"No! How dare you do that? You clearly love me, you'll always love me!" Lorenz's mind was a complete mess, and he roared madly, "I know, you did it for those damned Azure People, didn't you?"
"It seems you know quite a bit." Richard's silver eyes flashed dangerously, and an exceptionally terrifying aura suddenly erupted from his body.
The aura was ancient and distant, faintly carrying the roars of countless dragons.
Overwhelmed by that unparalleled aura, Lorenz knelt uncontrollably on the ground.
His instincts made him desperately want to kiss the other's toes, just as the other dragons had done to him. But as soon as he lowered his head, Richard disgustedly moved his foot away.
Even though there were several layers of space between them, Richard still felt incredibly uncomfortable.
“Listen up, Lorenz.” Richard glanced at the burly man kneeling before him and coldly warned, “Since I can wake you up, I can also make you fall asleep again. Don’t do anything unnecessary, or I will castrate you completely.”
Lorenz, who was pinned to the ground by the oppressive force, had bloodshot eyes. He answered with difficulty, "Ha... if this is your true thought, as long as I can, as long as I can have you... then I'm willing..."
Richard shook his head, thinking to himself, "What kind of madman is this?"
But he immediately mocked his past self, wondering what kind of vision he had to be so obsessed with such a scumbag.
"Goodbye, Lorenz." Richard withdrew his oppressive aura and returned to reality from several layers of space. He walked expressionlessly across the sand paved with gold coins and headed out of the cave without looking back.
“Wait a minute, Richie!” Lorenz called out to him just as he was about to walk out.
Richard stopped walking, but did not turn around.
The reason he stopped was because the other person's voice was too shrill; it was the first time he had ever seen Lorenz in such a disheveled state.
“Human lifespan is so short, even if I only have five hundred years left…” Lorenz looked resentfully at the tall and beautiful young man at the cave entrance and declared with great pain, “I will still be here, waiting for you.”
Once those damned Green Glass people are all dead, his Richie will definitely return to his side.
Lorenz simply couldn't believe what Richard said.
He clearly loved her so much, how could she so coldly and heartlessly change her heart after only a year away?
Even now, he still stubbornly believes that Richard was just throwing a tantrum at him.
“I didn’t want to answer you, Lorenz. But your stupidity has truly surpassed my understanding of the word.” Richard took a step forward and walked out without looking back.
Beyond the Dragon Cave lies the vast expanse of sky and sea at sunrise.
"My departure is not for anyone's sake—"
"Just for myself."
That's all.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com