Chapter 171: Are any requests acceptable?

“You see?”

Perletti held Sevyara up like a scientific specimen and turned her toward Olivia while explaining with complete seriousness:

“I recently discovered that juvenile dragons display extremely high alertness and attack-preparation postures when faced with sudden stimuli. It’s similar to many mammals and reptiles.”

“But when facing familiar individuals, the reaction threshold becomes much higher. Against unfamiliar threats, however, they immediately enter an intimidation state, attempting to scare off the opponent.”

“What’s interesting is that applying pressure to the back of the neck can trigger an almost instinctive ‘forced immobilization’ reflex, accompanied by changes in muscle tension and suppressed breathing…”

“This is very likely an ancient protective physiological mechanism left over from the era when mother dragons carried hatchlings by the scruff during transport. It’s rather rare for a highly intelligent race to still preserve such primitive reflexes.”

“Y-You jerk! You’re experimenting on me again! Playing with my body!”

The moment Perletti let go, Sevyara instantly regained mobility. With an embarrassed and furious howl, she lunged at Perletti and bit down on her arm.

Of course, she didn’t even leave a tooth mark.

Only dragon saliva.

“Well, dragons are an ancient race that inherited countless eras of history. So preserving some… mm, rather ‘classical’ physiological traits is perfectly normal.”

Perletti swallowed back the word primitive before it could slip out.

“Besides, this little thing tore the room apart while sleeping earlier. There’s basically nothing durable left in here. Even a dog could wreck a house under those conditions, not to mention a juvenile dragon like Sevyara.”

“True enough.”

Olivia looked at the ridiculous yet strangely harmonious scene before her and couldn’t help laughing softly. The heavy mood from earlier seemed to have dissipated.

“Oh right. Actually, there’s a serious reason I came to see you today.”

“What is it?”

Perletti asked while trying to peel Sevyara off her arm.

“Today is one of our elven traditional festivals.”

Olivia’s voice softened slightly. Anticipation flickered in her eyes, along with a trace of nervousness she seemed unable to completely hide.

“Because of various reasons, I was never really able to properly participate before… This year, I wanted to… invite you to go with me.”

“Is it just my imagination?”

Perletti stopped wrestling with Sevyara and tilted her head slightly, carefully studying Olivia’s face.

“I feel like your mood today is a little… off somehow? Like you’re… forcing yourself to hold something together?”

She leaned in slightly, trying to search for clues hidden deep within those emerald eyes.

The serious investigative expression paired with Sevyara still stubbornly gnawing on her arm made the whole scene look especially comical.

“Ah? R-Really?”

A flicker of panic crossed Olivia’s face so quickly it was almost impossible to catch.

Subconsciously, she raised a hand to smooth nonexistent stray hair beside her ear before quickly explaining:

“I’ve just been handling official business nonstop these past few days, so I’m probably a little tired and haven’t rested properly. Why would Titi suddenly ask something like that?”

She noticed?

No… she probably just thinks I look unwell… I can’t let her notice anything more than that.

“It’s nothing. I just suddenly thought of it and asked.”

Perletti didn’t press further. She pointed at her loose sleepwear.

“Wait for me a bit? I can’t exactly go to a festival celebration dressed like this.”

“Okay. I’ll wait outside.”

Olivia visibly relaxed, her smile brightening once more.

“No rush.”

The door gently closed, separating Olivia from the room.

The relaxed expression on Perletti’s face slowly faded.

“You’re more sensitive than I am,” she sighed quietly. “Did you notice anything strange about Olivia just now?”

Feiye stepped out from the shadows and walked to Perletti’s side. Her violet eyes narrowed slightly as though replaying every detail from moments ago.

“Mmm… her heart felt… heavy. Not light like usual. Sister, what’s wrong?”

“I’m just worried about her.”

Perletti walked to the wardrobe, selecting clothes as she spoke softly.

“Olivia always looks like she can handle everything. Cheerful, dependable… but I keep feeling like she’s carrying around a lot of things inside her that she refuses to tell anyone about.”

“And that’s what worries me the most. Because you never know when all those buried emotions will suddenly explode—or what form they’ll take when they do.”

“So what does Sister plan to do?” Feiye looked up at her.

“I want to use today as an opportunity to spend some time alone with her and really talk properly. At the very least, I want to figure out what exactly has been troubling her.”

“So Sister is… abandoning Feiye to go on a date alone with her?”

Feiye’s voice suddenly dropped lower, carrying a faint tremble and chill.

“It’s not a date!”

Perletti turned around irritably and lightly flicked Feiye’s forehead.

“Can your little brain stop making simple things so complicated all the time? Her condition is obviously not right right now. As a friend, being concerned and wanting to help her is perfectly normal, isn’t it?”

“But Feiye doesn’t like her.”

Feiye spoke stubbornly, her voice muffled.

The fact that she could restrain herself from showing killing intent toward Olivia was already the greatest concession she could currently make.

To let Perletti go out alone with her, sharing time and attention that should belong solely to herself—

That touched the most sensitive string deep within her heart.

If possible, she would rather kill Olivia.

Perletti looked at Feiye’s tightly pressed lips and lowered eyelashes, assuming she was simply overthinking things again.

She sighed, crouched down until they were eye-level, and spoke in a negotiating tone:

“Then… how about this? Feiye can make one request. As long as it’s something I can do, I’ll agree to it. In exchange, you stay obediently in the Tower today and let me accompany Olivia, okay?”

Feiye fell silent for a moment.

The room’s atmosphere seemed to freeze. The only sound was the faint scraping of Sevyara sharpening her claws against the gemstone.

Slowly, Feiye raised her head.

Those eyes, which usually seemed empty or stubborn, now glimmered faintly with a strange light.

For the first time, her gaze no longer resembled that of a child simply dependent on her older sister.

Instead, it carried a trace of distant amusement utterly mismatched with her apparent age.

“…Really?”

Her voice was very soft, yet carried unmistakable probing intent.

“Sister means… no matter what request… it’s okay?”

“Yeah. As long as it’s something I can do.”

Perletti nodded, though an inexplicable chill suddenly ran through her heart.

Why did this child’s expression suddenly feel… kind of terrifying?

Feiye shuffled one small step closer, nearly pressing herself against Perletti.

Tilting her head upward, she slowly examined Perletti’s face before finally fixing her gaze on those azure eyes.

“Really,” she repeated word by word, her voice even softer now, like feathers brushing against the most sensitive part of one’s heart.

“An-y-thing… I want… is okay?”