Lord blessed by the elves

Chapter 124 and

Seeing his brother's embarrassed state, another thought suddenly popped into his mind, and he couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time: "No way... could it be that my little brother... likes this kind of thing?"

To be fair, Mrs. Winnie was indeed very charming.

She was around thirty years old, the age when a woman sheds her immaturity and develops a mature charm. She had a full and shapely figure, and her speech and mannerisms combined the competence of a businesswoman with the gentleness of a woman. Every smile and frown exuded just the right amount of charm, which was indeed quite attractive to a young man like Rezal who was just beginning to experience love.

Kruse quickly patted Elena's head gently and scolded her in a low voice, "Don't talk nonsense!" Then he gave Mrs. Winnie an apologetic smile, "Madam, my sister is young and ignorant and speaks without thinking. Please don't take offense."

Mrs. Winnie laughed heartily: "How could that be? Little Elena is so adorable, I'm overjoyed. The room is ready, I'll have someone take you up. You must be tired from your journey, please get some rest."

The first meeting, which was a little awkward and ambiguous, passed by without any major incident.

But two thoughts kept running through Kruse's mind: one was that he needed to find an opportunity to "educate" his outspoken sister;

Secondly, we need to "pay attention" to the second brother, who seems to be experiencing his first stirrings of love and whose aesthetic sense is a bit off.

This trip to Campino seems destined to be anything but peaceful.

Seeing his brother's suspicious blush and his sister's "astonishing" statement, Kruse felt completely overwhelmed.

Territory development, potential assassinations, family finances… and now there are the added complications of complicated family relationships and his teenage brother's bizarre aesthetic sense? He rubbed his temples, thinking to himself, "Looks like I'll have to have a serious talk with Father sometime, at least to sound him out. What if Lady Winnie really becomes our stepmother? Wouldn't that kid Rezal be so embarrassed he'd want to disappear?"

He temporarily suppressed these chaotic thoughts and went upstairs with his family.

The top floor of the tavern is clearly reserved for VIPs; it has a quiet and secluded environment and six rooms.

The two rooms closest to the stairwell were occupied by Knight Carter, Squire Edin, and two other apprentice knights, two to a room. Their positions were perfect for monitoring everyone going up and down the stairs, forming the first line of defense.

At the far end of the corridor, the room with the best view belonged to Reyes. It had a window that offered a view of the area behind the tavern, allowing him to keep abreast of the outside situation. The rooms of the three Kruze siblings were arranged in the middle, with Reyes even placing Kruze's room next to his own.

When assigning rooms, Reyes patted Kruse on the shoulder, his tone trusting: "You're the oldest and most sensible, so I feel more at ease having you stay next to me."

Kruze was puzzled by his father's words. They sounded like ordinary concern, but when combined with the assassination mission mentioned in the system notification, they seemed to have a deeper meaning.

Did the father realize something?
Or is it just a gut feeling?
Filled with doubt, he entered his room. The room was clean and tidy. He casually placed his homemade backpack, made of thick canvas and leather, on the table. However, the moment he put the backpack down, a furry, black-and-white head suddenly popped out from the not-quite-closed opening, panting heavily. At the same time, a mental force filled with discontent and complaint crashed into Kruze's mind:

"Phew! We're finally here! I was suffocating! This backpack was so cramped!"

Kruse was initially stunned, completely bewildered. But when he saw that head clearly—round ears, dark circles under the eyes, and the signature panda face—the astonishment on his face instantly turned into uncontrollable ecstasy!
Your Majesty Kyle the Shapeshifter!
It had secretly followed me! A tremendous sense of security instantly washed over me like a warm current!

With this powerful figure by its side, even though it is still recovering from its injuries, its strength is far beyond what an ordinary assassin can contend with!

At least most of my previous worries have been resolved!

"I...I shouldn't worry too much about assassins, right?" Kruze muttered unconsciously in Elvish, almost with a sense of relief at escaping a disaster. But then he added uncertainly, "Shouldn't I?"

After all, His Majesty's condition is unpredictable, and his temper is hard to fathom.

He composed himself and decided he had to find out the truth, as it concerned his and his family's lives.

He walked to the table, looked at Kyle the panda struggling to climb out of his backpack, and asked in the most respectful tone, very carefully, in Elvish:
"Great Lord Kyle, it is a truly unexpected and delightful surprise to see you here. I wonder... how much have you recovered your strength? Is it enough to deal with... any potential threats?"

He needed to know just how much protection this temporary "guardian" could provide.

Upon hearing Kruze's direct inquiry into his strength, Kael'thas in his panda form visibly stiffened. His dark eyes began to dart around unnaturally, and he mumbled some meaningless "uh-huh" sounds, clearly trying to evade the core question by changing the subject.

Seeing its appearance, Kruse already understood.

It seems that His Majesty's restored strength is indeed quite limited, to the point that he is embarrassed to say it out loud.

He felt somewhat relieved, at least he didn't have to worry that its strength would attract unnecessary attention, but this also brought uncertainty about the level of protection it would receive.

Since he couldn't rely on strength, Kruze's tone became much more casual and less polite. He asked with a hint of helplessness, "Kyle, why did you sneak in? Wouldn't it have been better to stay in the castle, where you'd be well-fed and pampered?"

Panda Kyle didn't seem to mind the change in his tone. He used his backpack as a backrest, sprawled out on the table in a "Ge You slouch," and replied irritably with his mental commands:

"You think I, Your Majesty, want to run around with you?" It rolled its eyes. "If I'm too far away from you, without the aura emanating from that Elf King's creation on you to conceal it, my residual dragon aura might leak out! That vengeful, stinky red dragon will soon be able to sense my approximate location!" It paused, pointing its paw at Kruze. "You don't want your little castle and territory to be used as a target by that guy and instantly turned into ruins because of my existence, do you?"

Kruze suddenly understood. So that's how it is!
It was the built-in aura-concealing effect of the Elf King's monocle that helped Kael hide his whereabouts!

This made him even more excited about the "cloak of the Elf King" that he had not yet obtained, wondering what magical functions it would have.

(End of this chapter)