Lydia's status was special, and in her eyes, Selene was like her own daughter. Even Selene herself couldn't deny this.

  After all, if it weren't for her aunt's help and support back then, Selene would never have achieved her current position and power.

  After returning to her residence, Lydia rubbed her sore, swollen cheeks. Just now, having dealt with Deputy City Lord Freya's deliberately showy remarks had left her feeling very uncomfortable.

  She knew Freya was no good—a schemer who liked to cause trouble behind people's backs, always acting superior and arrogant.

  Not long after she sat down, a young, strong troll entered and gently rubbed her shoulders.

  "Enough, Etienne," Lydia said to the troll."Go call the maid attending Selene."

  The young Etienne released her shoulders, nodded in agreement, and quickly left the room. He was the younger brother of the troll Drogar, and also one of the brothers of the unlucky Garruk.

  Although the three brothers had different fates, they were all under Lydia's favored protection. Now, the second brother Drogar was in charge of the caravan's guard training, while the duty of attending to the head steward naturally fell on Etienne's shoulders.

  Soon, Etienne returned with a succubus maid to the stone house. The maid looked respectful, slightly lowering her head, clearly unaware of why Lydia had summoned her.

  After all, Selene's maids were no ordinary people; only a very few possessed the authority to be summoned so directly.

  In fact, all of Selene's maids had been personally selected and trained by Lydia. They could be said to have once been Lydia's first masters.

  Lydia asked,"What's going on with that werewolf leader? I saw him coming out of the back garden."

  "Yes, Head Steward. Lady Selene personally received him. They stayed in the back garden for quite a while."

  Listening to the maid's report, Lydia's expression grew increasingly heavy. The werewolf leader indeed showed promise, but in her eyes, he was still an immature kid—not worth Selene's such careful attention.

  Especially after learning that this wasn't Draven's first time meeting Selene alone in the back garden, a faint anger rose in her heart.

  Selene wasn't an ordinary succubus; her choice of partner directly impacted the entire tribe's future! Thinking of this, Lydia's anger nearly burst forth.

  Just as she was about to find Selene for a serious talk, a guard's voice came from the doorway, saying Selene had sent for the head steward to discuss an important matter.

  "Important matter?" Lydia snorted coldly, thinking maybe this was to excuse that black werewolf again.

  When she entered the back garden and saw both Selene and Freya present, she realized the matter was not so simple.

  That bitch Freya was also there, but Lydia suppressed her anger. Regarding the black werewolf, she would never let Selene be embarrassed in front of outsiders.

  Freya was also full of confusion, not knowing why Selene had suddenly summoned them.

  Everyone was present. Selene stood up to greet them and invited her aunt to sit down, preparing to speak.

  Lydia's mood calmed a little. No matter what, Selene's attitude towards her still put her at ease.

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  "Take a look at this sketch," Selene said, pulling out a rough drawing that Draven had made from her bosom and spreading it before everyone.

  Just as the werewolf leader had introduced, Selene explained while pointing to different parts of the blueprint.

  Meanwhile, Draven stepped out of the lord's manor. It was already evening. Most things had been taken care of, and now it was too late to leave.

  He approached the Black Flag Tavern beside the square. It had just opened for business, the street was sparse with pedestrians, and business was slow.

  Liliana eagerly tried to attract the few passersby, and Martha came over to help.

  The four beautiful women of different styles standing there attracted quite a few gazes. Especially Martha, whose legs had fully healed, and whose cheerful, lively personality had completely returned.

  Although Martha didn't dress as provocatively as Angelica and the others—wearing only a rough animal-skin short skirt with the hem slightly flipped up, revealing her long legs—this only added a wild charm to her appearance.

  The pair of antlers on her head, resembling tree branches, was especially eye-catching, giving her a primitive and unique aura.

  Draven stood aside, unable to take his eyes off her, inwardly chuckling at how uniquely captivating this girl was.

  "Draven, you pervert!" Liliana's voice suddenly rang out nearby, pulling his gaze back.

  Only then did Draven look away from Martha and flash a mischievous grin at Liliana.

  A faint blush colored Martha's cheeks, though because of her naturally darker skin tone, it wasn't very obvious.

  She knew how intense Draven's gaze was, but showed no displeasure—instead, she continued working behind the counter calmly and skillfully, as if nothing had happened.

  Draven was delighted and stepped forward to pat Liliana on the head, teasing her.

  Liliana pouted and gave him a sharp glance but couldn't hide the smile in her eyes. She ran back to the counter, busily attending to customers with a quick yet coquettish manner.

  "Where's Rurik?" Draven suddenly asked.

  "He's at home preparing dinner," the bunny girl nearby said with a smile, handing him a glass of blood-red wine."He said he'll bring it over later and might visit the tavern afterward."

  Draven took the wine and downed it in one gulp."It'd be perfect if it were chilled!"

  "Where's the ice in summer? You're joking, chief," Katia laughed as she took the empty glass.

  Draven shook his head, declining their offers to refill the glass. Liliana, persistent, slapped the table and said,"Pervert, pay up!" but her eyes were full of pride and joy.

  With a clink, a silver coin obediently dropped from Draven's hand into Liliana's palm. He knew if he didn't tip, this little girl would nag all night.

  "Don't wander off, be careful," Draven warned her, then hurriedly left, unwilling to stay any longer. Going back to find Rurik was what he really wanted to do.

  Rurik was doing well—spending his days cooking and hanging out at the tavern, bringing home two bunny girls late at night. Draven squinted and teased,"Are they good? How's the effect?"

  A rare blush appeared on Rurik's face as he stammered and gave a thumbs-up."Gareth's secret recipe, really good. Everyone who's tried it says so."

  "No wonder those two bunny sisters of yours look so spirited. You deserve some credit," Draven joked, patting Rurik's shoulder.

  Rurik, a bit shy, wanted to change the subject and started talking about Black Flag Territory. Knowing his heart was tied to home, Draven began sharing some amusing stories and updates from the city to ease his worries.

  In the kitchen, Rurik stirred a thick soup with a smile on his face. Hearing that his old friend Bran was now leading over two hundred people and had become a true village chief, he couldn't help but feel a little envious.

  "Don't just envy him. What he's doing is small potatoes compared to the big things happening here," Draven said, sitting cross-legged on the floor, encouraging him."Once your plan succeeds, the impact will be way bigger than Bran's."

  Most of the time Draven spoke, while Rurik nodded or chimed in occasionally.

  The stone house was still the same, Rurik was still the same person, and the surroundings hadn't changed. During their chat, Draven suddenly felt like he had gone back to the past.

  Back then, the three of them squeezed into a small stone house, with Rurik and Bran obediently listening to him talk.

  "Too bad Bran's not here today," he muttered quietly.

  Rurik paused his stirring for a moment, his expression darkening.

  Bran was in trouble at that moment. It was a rare sunny day, and he should have been leading a hunt, but the situation suddenly turned tense.

  With the lure powder the chief had given, Bran's hunting party no longer bothered with ordinary beasts and aimed for fiercer monsters. The arrival of the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent had made capturing live monsters much easier.

  However, just as the hunting party was about to return fully loaded, Alaric ran over in a panic.

  "The Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent isn't moving!" His voice was full of fear."It's like it's dead!"

  Bran felt a heavy weight press down on his head, his headache about to explode.