Even behind the black gauze, Colin could see a flush rise on the female mage's face.
Only then did he notice that her golden hair had turned white, seemingly out of nowhere!
Moreover, strands of hair emanated an aura of frost.
She was losing control of her mana power!
No wonder she needed help.
"Of course, it's my honor!"
Since the lady made the first move, Colin would not play coy in return.
Moreover, he understood that his identity as the highest-ranking noble in this troop was probably why he was chosen, not because she suddenly became fond of him.
Yes, class discrimination.
It's so prevalent in this world.
Even if Knight Blis was a formidable force, capable of crushing Colin with just one hand.
But without a conferred nobility or being a potential successor to a noble rank, he was just a noble in training in the eyes of the high nobility, he was yet to step into the threshold of real nobility.
To precisely express the knights' awkward predicament:
To the commoners, they were nobles, but the nobles viewed them as commoners.
Therefore, the noble-born female mage would rather choose Colin but won't let the more familiar Blis, whom she trusted more, get close to her.
Of course, it might also be because Blis needed to lead the troop and couldn't be distracted…
Colin was musing while dismounting his horse to mount the female mage's warhorse.
Not delicate warmth, but biting cold.
The sensual thoughts that have begun to simmer within Colin were instantly snuffed out.
The female mage stiffly nestled into Colin's embrace, as though searching for warmth and reliability.
Blis leveled a warning look at Colin, then turned around to regroup and get the troop ready for departure.
"My apologies, Knight Colin, I've been using magic too frequently these days and I'm a bit exhausted. That's why I need your help..."
"Don't say so, you did this to help us escape from danger. Don't worry, I will take care of you."
The troop set out once again.
The horse ride was bumpy as they were moving at a brisk pace.
The female mage's body was weak, and she barely stayed on the horse with Colin's arms around her.
"Are you okay?" Colin felt the female mage in his arms trembling slightly so he leaned in to ask, "Do I need to slow down?"
"I'm fine, no need." The female mage gritted her teeth, "We must leave this place as soon as possible."
"Alright."
The bumpy ride had both of them pressed tightly together, inevitably causing some friction…
Then Colin embarrassingly discovered that his blood was concentrating in a particular area of his body.
It seemed like vampires have that capability too.
He'll have to remember this when he got some free time…
Luckily Colin can now freely control the flow of his blood, so he dispersed the blood concentrated in a certain place to the rest of his body to avoid any awkwardness.
"What's your name?" To divert his attention, Colin casually asked.
The female mage hesitated for a moment, but she replied, "Vera."
However, she didn't mention her surname.
Colin furrowed his brows, "Flower of Truth?"
"You know Elvish?" The surprise was evident in Vera's voice.
"Of course, this is a vital skill for a sophisticated noble," Colin bluffed.
In reality, Emon, the zealous butler that always strove to elevate the Angler family's prestige, had painstakingly instilled some of this knowledge.
But Colin only picked up a smattering of it, enough to get by. In this case, a modicum of knowledge was just enough.
"Ainu coimas cuivie, Laurelin leuca miule," a string of Elvish slipped from Vera's lips again.
As the race that was first to learn how to utilize mana power, many magic spells must be chanted in Elvish, hence, it became a mandatory language for mages to learn.
"What?" But the half-learned Colin faltered.
"Hehehe..." Vera chuckled at Colin's perplexed look.
"Stuck-up Woman!"
"What?" Vera's slender eyebrows furrowed, "Which language were you just speaking?"
"Guess." Colin grinned smugly.
He certainly wouldn't tell her that he was just speaking Chinese.
"It sounded a bit like Quenya," Vera guessed but then shook her head, "No, that can't be."
Quenya was the language exclusive to the High Elves, but just like the High Elves themselves, it has long since vanished from the world.
The present-day Elves and Naga races are actually descendants of the once High Elves.
Therefore, whether in pursuit of their ancestors' footsteps, or to delve into the ancient arcane books that no one could understand, Quenya has always been a major focus of study for these two races and the mages.
Unfortunately, thousands of years of research have only resulted in piecing together the pronunciation of a few dozen words.
That's why Vera believed Colin, who couldn't even speak fluent Elvish, wouldn't possibly know Quenya.
Despite the fact that his pronunciation just now was strikingly similar to the currently deciphered Quenya words.
"What kind of language is Quenya?" This was Colin's first time hearing of this term.
Just as she expected, Vera thought to herself.
"It was an exclusive language of the High Elves. It has been lost to time."
"Oh," was Colin's indifferent response, followed by a curious question, "What exactly happened to the High Elves? Has your Mage Council discovered anything?"
"No," Vera shook her head, "The time is too far removed, and the only ancient books that might have documented what happened back then were written in Quenya…"
Colin rolled his eyes, seriously doubting these mages' ability to decipher languages.
"However…" Vera left her sentence hanging.
"However what?"
"However, the Mage Council has some speculations."
"Let's hear them."
"The disappearance of the High Elves and the Giant Dragon occurred more or less 5000 years ago. Meanwhile, the gods, the Lord of Glory, the God of War, the Goddess of Fate, the Storm God… started spreading faith around that same time. So, there may be some connection…"
"How dare you speculate about the Lord of Glory!" Colin cut her off firmly.
He had to do it.
Although he thought Vera's speculation made some sense and he didn't have much reverence for these so-called gods, as a knight, he had to stand his ground.
It was part of his "character."
Otherwise, he would face rejection from the entire nobility class.
Vera also realized she was foolish to discuss such a matter with a fanatic knight.
She sighed, seemingly losing interest in the conversation.
Colin stayed silent, pretending to be "offended."
Over time, Colin found that the body in his arms began to warm up gradually.
Apparently, the female mage was slowly recovering from her arcane surge.
However, with this, the friction between their bodies became even more sensuous and romantic.
Colin had to try harder to keep his blood from rushing to certain areas it shouldn't…
Nevertheless, the faint scent of rose continuously infiltrated his nose, stirring his restless heart.
When evening fell and the team stopped for a rest, Colin finally got off the horse, feeling a great sense of relief.
However, at the same time, he felt a hint of reluctance.
"Thank you for today, Knight Colin."
"No need to thank me." Colin bowed and then turned back after a few steps to ask, "What was the Elvish phrase you said today?"
Vera hesitated slightly: "Believe in truth, not lies."
"Got it." Colin nodded with a smile and left.
Vera had lied.
Colin happened to know the last word of the Elvish phrase she uttered.
But Colin didn't expose Vera. He understood she had told a little white lie to spare his feelings.
The last word of the Elvish phrase didn't mean "lies", it meant... "Deity."
So, the true meaning of the Elvish phrase Vera spoke should be:
Believe in truth, not deities.