Chapter 483: Chapter 483: Two Contrasting Intentions

"Prince... Nolan?" Leina was shocked.

She had not expected to meet Nolan in this situation.

Her expression quickly turned gloomy as she stared at him coldly.

"What do you want? Are you here to mock me?"

She could not understand how Nolan knew that her relationship with Glarvic had fallen apart.

Had he planted spies in the palace?

That possibility was not impossible, and it made her even more wary of him.

Nolan was not offended by her cold attitude. After all, he was the one who had caused the complete breakdown between Glarvic and Leina.

"Don’t be so wary," Nolan said casually. "I didn’t come here to mock you or anything like that. You’re looking for a place to go, aren’t you? How about coming with me to the Great Velmora Empire? I guarantee you a good position in the imperial palace."

Leina snorted and sneered coldly. "Do you think I’d accept that? You’re the cause of the collapse of our kingdom’s foundation. How could I possibly go with you? I’d rather die than work with you and your empire."

She no longer maintained the polite attitude she once had.

With no ties left to the kingdom, there was no reason for her to hold back or suppress her emotions toward Nolan.

"Pfft! You’re really stupid, Leina," Nolan scoffed with a cold chuckle. "Me? The cause? Are you delirious? The real cause is the greed of your king, Glarvic—and of course, yourself. If you had accepted my offer earlier, do you think you would have fallen to this state?"

She wanted to deny it, to argue back, but she couldn’t find the right words.

What Nolan said was cruel, but unfortunately, it was a bitter truth she had to accept.

Gritting her teeth, Leina turned and walked away, no longer paying him any attention.

Watching her leave, Nolan gave a thin smile and teased, "Are you sure you really want to go?"

Those words made Leina freeze. Before she could turn around, Nolan added in a slightly threatening tone, "Don’t think I’ll be satisfied with just two ports. In fact, I intend to annex the entire territory of the Kaldarion Kingdom... hehehe..."

Leina’s eyes widened, and she turned back, her face flushed red with anger.

"Nolan Lorian..." she growled.

A powerful force erupted from her body and struck directly at Nolan.

If it had been anyone else—even another Celestial Mage—they would have been blasted back and forced to their knees.

However, her opponent was Nolan. Instead of being repelled, he remained standing, crossing his arms in front of his chest without moving an inch.

"You—" Leina was shocked and was about to speak when Nolan suddenly vanished from his spot and appeared in front of her.

He grabbed her by the neck and slammed her hard onto the ground.

"Puff!" Leina’s eyes widened as blood burst from her mouth.

She tried to fight back, but her strength drained away, as if she had become an ordinary person again.

Staring into Nolan’s cold purple eyes, fear crept over her.

’Those eyes... They’re so similar to the cold eyes at the inn earlier...’ She swallowed in panic.

Nolan continued to stare at her until Leina felt her fear reach its peak.

Then, with a faint smile, he said, "What I said is true. I’ve been targeting the Kingdom of Kaldarion from the very beginning. I’m sure you’re smart enough to realize that the reason those two kingdoms attacked you was because of me."

His admission made Leina’s chest tighten. She had known it all along.

After all, only she, Glarvic, and Nolan and his companions knew the truth.

It was impossible for Leina—let alone Glarvic—to have told other kingdoms about Netherium.

That meant Nolan and his side were clearly the culprits. Still, she hadn’t expected him to admit it so openly.

"So what?" Leina stammered, forcing a faint smirk. "Do you think I... care?"

Nolan looked deeply into her eyes, his smile slowly widening.

"In your eyes, I see sadness, regret, and reluctance," he whispered. "Don’t tell me you still have feelings for the kingdom—or rather, for Glarvic, right?"

Leina froze. As she looked at Nolan’s playful expression, she realized her biggest secret had been laid bare before him.

Shame flooded her, and her face burned red. She didn’t answer, only turning her face away, as if afraid to meet his gaze.

Nolan couldn’t hold back his laughter. He spoke casually, "No wonder you were so loyal to Glarvic before. So you were in love with him. Let me guess—it was unrequited love, wasn’t it?"

He loosened his grip on Leina’s neck, finally giving her room to breathe.

Leina slowly sat up, glaring at Nolan in anger, yet ultimately holding herself back from attacking him.

After all, Nolan was far too powerful. Even she stood no chance against him. She couldn’t understand why he chose to hide his strength from others.

If Nolan revealed it, couldn’t he easily become emperor in place of his father?

"Return to the Kingdom of Kaldarion. Your king has realized his mistakes and has begun reforming the kingdom. He needs you."

After saying that, Nolan turned and walked away.

"Wait!" Leina called out. "Why are you helping me? What is your goal?"

Just moments ago, Nolan had clearly said he wanted to take over the Kingdom of Kaldarion.

Yet now, he was telling her to return to Glarvic’s side instead. The shift in his intentions was truly confusing.

Nolan paused briefly, then replied indifferently, "Nothing in particular. I’m just too lazy to manage a kingdom. Let Glarvic hold power until his line of succession. After all, it’s better to make allies than enemies, isn’t it? In any case, a living ally is better than a dead enemy."

His figure moved away once more, slowly disappearing from sight.

Leina remained standing there, dazed by his final words.

"A living ally is better than a dead enemy, huh?" she murmured.

A faint smile appeared on her pale face.

"What a strange idea. But... I like it..."

...

Whoosh!

The snowstorm spread in all directions with tremendous force.

As far as the eye could see, a thick blanket of snow covered the ground.

In the middle of the storm, two figures—a man and a woman—walked forward with serious expressions.

"I just received news that the Tower Master, Sylvia, was defeated by the white dragon. Do you think we can defeat it?" Cassiopeia asked in a heavy tone.

Sylvia’s name was well known throughout the continent. She was the current master of the Tower of Silence and one of the strongest figures alive.

Although Cassiopeia trusted her own strength, she did not feel confident about winning if she had to face Sylvia directly.

After all, Sylvia had been famous since Cassiopeia’s childhood. The gap in age and experience between them was enormous.

"Sylvia was defeated? Doesn’t that mean the monster is incredibly strong?" Draco said in shock.

According to previous reports, the dragon’s strength was only equivalent to that of a Celestial Mage.

Meanwhile, Sylvia was far from an ordinary Celestial Mage—she had reached the pinnacle of magic and was extremely formidable.

If someone like her could be defeated, what hope did they have of challenging the dragon?

"Are you scared?" Cassiopeia asked jokingly.

"Scared?" Draco froze for a moment, then smiled proudly. "Impossible! No matter how strong the dragon is, I can defeat it with my fists!"

He raised his fists toward her, and Cassiopeia only smiled in response.

At last, they arrived before a massive cave, dark and silent.

"We’re here."