(Crap. How am I supposed to proceed with the probing now?)
Elise had no idea the black-haired Hero was secretly enjoying the romantic drama she’d unknowingly set up. After snapping at Charles, she instantly realized neither of her two pre-planned schemes—sacrificing herself to seduce Luke, or leveraging Charles’s connection to subtly extract intel—was usable anymore.
All Charles’s fault!
She shot another sharp glare at the red-haired youth wearing a pitifully wronged expression, then turned to Luke with a graceful bow.
“A pleasure to meet you, Lord Luke. I am Elise, handmaiden to Lady Aelia.”
With charm tactics abandoned, Elise’s composure swiftly returned to normal. She bowed elegantly.
Naturally, she hadn’t given up testing Luke—after all, this concerned the revered Lady Aelia’s happiness.
(Though your master doesn’t actually want romantic happiness at all.)
Luke nearly chuckled inwardly as he extended his hand.
“A pleasure. I’m Luke, the 250th-ranked Hero.”
As the saying goes: “Scholars have no single pinnacle; warriors are strictly ranked.”
Just as Saintesses were divided into Arch Saintess, candidates, and Novice Saintess, Heroes had their own tiers.
Thanks to popular magazines like *Chronicles of Heroes* stirring the pot, even the top five hundred Heroes were officially ranked.
As the weakest of the continent’s five realms, the Southern Realm’s Heroes rarely ranked high—the highest only reached 143rd. Luke stood out as the fastest-rising and most accomplished Hero there recently.
*Chronicles of Heroes* labeled him a promising Southern Realm Hero with potential to break the top hundred, currently ranked 250th.
Luke felt no dissatisfaction with the number—anyone who *would* react clearly had revealing origins.
Moreover, his mind-reading ability accelerated significantly when he obtained accurate intel firsthand.
True enough: within moments of contact, Luke had already extracted yesterday’s memory of Aelia and Elise’s conversation.
But Elise’s heavy bias had heavily embellished details. Luke could only sift useful fragments for judgment.
(Could that pink-haired nuisance be setting a honey trap to later slander me as morally corrupt?)
The more he pondered, the more plausible it seemed. At minimum, Elise had come to test if he was a lecher.
“Lord Luke, may I ask you something?”
Having calmed, Elise shook his hand and decided to play along.
“Please.”
“Have you… ever had a romantic partner before?”
Pfft.
Charles, genuinely there just to drink water, spat it out instantly.
He shot a horrified glance at Elise’s dead-serious face, then at Luke’s effeminate-yet-handsome features—a look many girls would admire—and sweat beaded down his brow.
In that moment, the pressure Luke radiated surpassed even his legendary breakout from three thousand bandits with thirty cavalry.
(Overreacting much? You already knew she’s here for that pink-haired nuisance. Why spiral? And “effeminate”? You’ve probably never seen truly androgynous celebrities. My looks are *unremarkably handsome*—the Louis Koo kind!)
Luke grumbled inwardly.
Still, Elise’s bluntness made sense. Direct questioning beat clumsy advances or relying on the tongue-tied Charles.
After all, Luke carefully maintained a public image of cheerful integrity.
“Nope.”
Luke grinned, his expression guilelessly innocent like a rustic village boy.
“No? But Lord Luke, you’re so handsome!”
Elise exclaimed, too focused to notice the red-haired youth behind her visibly faltering.
“Some expressed interest,” Luke added with an awkward chuckle, “but I was solely focused on growing stronger and fighting the Demon Lord’s Army. I suppose I missed my chances.”
“A true man’s ambition lies beyond romance—prioritizing the battle against the Demon Lord’s Army is righteous!” Charles’s eyes lit up as he chimed in with fervent conviction.
Ignoring the chatterbox, Elise noted Luke’s candid answers and genuine-seeming expression. She gradually warmed to the gossip-like flow, excitement bubbling up.
“So… what are your thoughts on Lady Aelia?”
She instantly regretted the bluntness.
“Huh? So all that was what Aelia wanted to know?” Charles realized, beaming. “I was right from the start!”
Elise went momentarily speechless.
(Looks like “love makes people lose their wits” isn’t just a saying,) Luke mused with an inward shake of his head.
“I believe Lady Aelia is kind-hearted and beautiful…”
Luke delivered the Messiah Kingdom’s textbook reply—but Elise instantly interpreted it as strong approval.
(As expected of Lady Aelia! She’s already won Lord Luke’s heart!)
Utterly devoted to Aelia, Elise had prepared for every scenario last night—though contingency plans assuming Luke’s disinterest risked hurting Aelia or making her seem presumptuous.
Her duty was to prevent that awkwardness at the source… Now seeing Luke at least held favorable regard, joy flooded her heart.
Luke also breathed an inward sigh of relief.
He’d briefly considered feigning disinterest in that pink-haired nuisance—but after reading Elise’s memories, he scrapped it fast.
Because her plan? If Luke showed disinterest, she’d switch to “evangelism mode,” cling to him, and tirelessly preach Aelia’s peerless beauty and world-moving kindness until he surrendered.
Just imagining it sent chills down his spine.
Still, Luke refused to be led blindly. He showed appreciation for Aelia—but only at the level of admiring a beautiful celebrity on screen. Hence—
“…I’m certain our future journey will be a very pleasant collaboration.”
Elise felt delighted by his refreshingly natural reply—until a subtle unease crept in moments later.
True, she lacked personal romance experience. But she knew the theory and had observed lovers firsthand.
Luke’s demeanor, however, felt like he was discussing someone else’s affair.
Could it be…? A bad premonition struck. She hurriedly asked:
“Lord Luke—what do you think of Lady Aelia… *romantically*?”
“Huh?” Luke blinked, scratched his head with an awkward smile. “Sorry, I’ve never considered that… Besides, I doubt Lady Aelia has such intentions either?”
