Chapter 94: Don’t Want to be Forced

Chapter 94: Don’t Want to be Forced

In the Castle Conference Room.

After everyone else had left, Duke Ogg sat alone in his seat.

Bathed in dim light, he wore a contemplative expression.

His mind replayed the earlier conversation he had with Airael at the banquet.

It was clear that Airael had gleaned something from their dialogue.

Although that didn’t matter much; if he dared to speak out, he wasn’t afraid of Airael spreading rumors outside.

The crucial question was how Airael had inferred anything from such a simple conversation.

She must have other information as reference.

In other words, Airael was deliberately keeping an eye on matters in this regard.

Since she had taken an interest in such news, it suggested that she or the forces behind her wanted to do something.

If not, she would just be bored and looking for trouble.

Duke Ogg thought this possibility was very slim.

Thus, Airael represented a new player on the board.

Or rather, she was already one of the players, engaging in this grand game alongside them.

If either of these scenarios were true, then Duke Ogg felt the need to better understand Airael and figure out what she and her potential backing entailed.

After all, an unknown player showing up in front of them could disrupt their future plans.

Meanwhile, after finishing their conversation, Airael and Axi quickly returned to the inn.

However, Airael did not head to her own room but entered Axi’s room when he opened the door.

Axi stared at Airael stepping into his room, stunned.

“Don’t give me that look, and please don’t think of anything weird. I just have a few things to discuss with you,” Airael explained, turning to face him.

Then, she summoned a little flame to light the oil lamp in the room.

Even though they didn’t continue chatting on the way, Airael was deep in thought.

She had a lot on her mind.

Axi nodded at her words and stepped into the room.

“Close the door.”

Airael reminded him.

Axi hesitated for a moment but eventually shut the door.

He didn’t move forward, keeping a certain distance and saying, “Just say what you need to say.”

He looked a bit uneasy.

Honestly, who would feel relaxed in such a situation?

A lone man and woman in the same room, especially with Airael voluntarily entering his domain.

Plus, considering Airael’s previous impressions of him, Axi couldn’t help but think a little too much.

In Axi’s mind, Airael was one of his fervent admirers.

Even though Airael had just assured him that she had been quite well-behaved lately, if anything happened due to Airael’s trickery, he’d have no justification!

If a woman forced herself on a man, it wouldn’t matter whether others believed it; he’d just feel embarrassed!

Moreover, remembering Airael’s stunning beauty beneath that cloak, it would be a lie to say he didn’t have any strange thoughts.

But even so, Axi had no intention of playing along with Airael.

First of all, at this stage, he hadn’t planned for anything in that department;

Secondly, Airael’s background was shrouded in mystery, which implied many unknown troubles;

Lastly, and most importantly, he didn’t want to be forced, nor did he have any particular interests in that regard.

Watching Axi act as if he needed to defend himself against a little girl, Airael felt quite speechless.

Was she really that scary?

And even though she had some affection for him, it didn’t imply anything beyond that.

He was really overthinking the situation!

While silently mocking Axi in her heart, Airael chose not to elaborate.

Some things are better left unsaid.

This was one such matter.

The best approach was to let facts speak for themselves.

With that plan in mind, Airael directly addressed Axi, “So I’ll just get straight to the point.”

Axi nodded, indicating he was listening.

“I think we should leave here by tomorrow at the latest.”

Upon hearing this, Axi looked at Airael with curiosity.

Although things were settled here, leaving when they had just arrived today felt a bit hasty.

Moreover, weren’t there supposed to be potential incidents on the horizon?

Airael noticed his expression and explained, “You don’t need to look at me like that; I have my reasons for doing this.”

“And what are those reasons?” Axi asked.

Airael countered, “Do you remember our earlier conversation with Duke Ogg?”

Axi nodded.

Since “the fire” had burned him once, it was a memory he wouldn’t forget easily.

“Since you remember, you should understand that we both mentioned the word ‘accident’ more than once.”

Accident!

Axi furrowed his brow tightly.

“This accident could be initiated by the Orcs or even by the humans themselves, and I believe the latter scenario is more likely.”

Seeing that Axi still didn’t quite grasp the situation, Airael voiced her concern.

This time, Axi understood, but he still had questions: “Why would humans create such accidents? There can’t be much benefit for them.”

The areas occupied by the Orcs in the far north were known as wastelands.

Thus, going through great lengths to wage war against the Orcs in the far north wouldn’t suit the humans well, as the lands taken couldn’t easily convert into concrete gains.

It would be merely a matter of empty titles!

Faced with Axi’s continued confusion, Airael genuinely didn’t know how to explain things to him.

She couldn’t just connect all the dots in her knowledge for him.

In the end, she had to play mysterious and replied, “Axi, you need to understand that while it may seem of no benefit to you and me, to them, it could look entirely different. Each of us has a different perspective, and what we see varies; like viewing a mountain from the side, it could look like a ridge, but seen from another angle, it may appear as a peak.”

Axi nodded, somewhat in agreement.

Though he still felt puzzled, he grasped the general idea.

“Great! Since you understand, do you still plan to stay here tomorrow? I remember you just said you don’t like accidents.”

With that, Airael smiled at Axi.

In her heart, Airael felt a bit conflicted.

While he had no obligation to help Nick Kingdom invade the Orcs’ territory, he was still one of them despite it all.

The enmity between Nick Kingdom and the Orcs wasn’t merely that of countries but rather that of two races: humanity against the Orcs.