Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 200: The Blue rank Mission (Part-5)

In a life-and-death clash, blades met blades, fists met flesh. Who would deliberately reach for someone’s clothing?

Her trust in Black and White was absolute. Replaying the earlier battle in her mind, she recalled that when those two mercenaries first closed in on her, their movements had indeed brushed against her robes.

A thought flashed through her mind like lightning.

"Could it be..." Her expression sharpened. "That they smeared some special substance on us?"

"A special substance?" Black and White exchanged blank looks, clearly puzzled.

As a physician, Zora was extremely sensitive to such matters. There were countless colorless, odorless substances in the world that could kill without a trace or manipulate unseen forces.

She herself possessed many such methods.

If she did, why wouldn’t the Black Vulture Mercenary Group?

At that moment, Prince Kael noticed the subtle change in her expression and asked gently, "What did you discover, my lady?"

Zora lifted her gaze to him. "I have a suspicion, but I’m not completely sure yet."

A faint curve lifted her red lips. "If we want to verify it, I’ll need your help."

"Oh?" Prince Kael’s brows arched slightly, his voice low and amused. "Since my dear wife requires it, how could I refuse?"

"Your strength is the greatest," she said calmly. "It’s also the most convenient."

With that, she explained her reasoning.

"You think the Black Vulture Mercenary Group smeared some special substance on us, something that attracts demonic beasts. That’s why we’re being targeted so frequently," Prince Kael summarized.

"Exactly," Zora nodded. "Don’t you think this level of aggression is far too abnormal?"

A smile touched Prince Kael’s lips, wicked yet elegant. "My lady’s reasoning is sound."

His eyes gleamed with interest. "Then let me help test whether this guess is correct."

In the next instant, Prince Kael stepped forward and vanished from everyone’s sight as if swallowed by the wind.

His sudden departure drew puzzled looks from all around.

"Zora, why did your husband suddenly leave?" Reesa hurried to Zora’s side, her face full of confusion.

At her question, Alaric Von Seraph and the others also turned their attention to Zora.

They had only seen the two exchange a few quiet words. Prince Kael’s abrupt disappearance was, no matter how one looked at it, rather strange.

"This is already deep in the White Mountains," Baldwin said with a frown, concern surfacing on his bright face. "It’s dangerous for him to leave alone. You two didn’t... argue, did you?"

The moment those words fell, the atmosphere grew subtly odd.

Since Prince Kael arrived at the academy, everyone had noticed the tacit understanding between him and Zora. He was openly attentive and considerate, while Zora never rejected him outright, yet never showed overt dependence either.

A disagreement between this husband and wife wasn’t impossible. Perhaps Prince Kael had left because of that.

Seeing the increasingly imaginative looks around her, Zora couldn’t help but laugh.

"You’re all overthinking it," she said calmly. "I just asked him to help me conduct a test."

"A test?" Baldwin’s eyes widened. "What kind of test?"

Zora smiled faintly. "You’ll know when he comes back."

Hearing this, everyone finally relaxed. If it wasn’t a marital spat, then that was good.

"Even so, it’s dangerous for him to be alone," Marcus said seriously. "Do you need us to go help?"

Zora waved her hand dismissively. "He’ll be back soon. Don’t worry."

With Prince Kael’s strength, ordinary demonic beasts posed no threat to him. If even this could trouble him, then he wouldn’t be who he was.

The group continued onward.

Alaric Von Seraph and Raphael exchanged a glance, both seeing a flicker of astonishment in each other’s eyes.

The others might not have noticed, but they had.

Prince Kael’s speed when he left... was indeed quite terrifying.

To vanish in the blink of an eye like that was something even they could not achieve. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

This man was far deeper than he appeared.

Half an hour later, Prince Kael reappeared before them.

His handsome, peerless face remained calm and elegant, not a trace of battle or fatigue upon him. There was no sign that he had even encountered a demonic beast.

"Darling, I’m back," he said softly, lips curving into a gentle smile.

Those star-like eyes reflected only Zora, as if the rest of the world had faded into the background.

Reesa and Tifanny couldn’t help but glance at Zora with envy.

No matter where he went or what he did, Prince Kael’s first thought was always of her.

That alone was enough to make anyone sigh.

"Well?" Zora asked, curiosity lighting her delicate features. "What was the result?"

Prince Kael met her gaze, his peerlessly handsome face tinged with faint sorrow.

"The lady only cares about the result and not about me at all," he sighed softly. "Your husband’s heart is truly wounded."

Zora’s eyes twitched. She knew perfectly well that the sorrow on his face was pure acting, yet... it still felt a little excessive.

"Then... were you hurt during the test?" she asked anyway, her delicate face betraying a hint of awkward concern.

The next second, Prince Kael’s expression brightened into a dazzling smile.

"So the lady does care about me after all. I’m deeply moved."

"..."

"Of course," he added leisurely, "with your husband’s abilities, danger is out of the question. How could I possibly be injured?"

"..."

She really didn’t want to talk to him anymore. Was he teasing her on purpose now?

And what was with that smug look on his face?

Watching their exchange, Reesa couldn’t help but laugh under her breath.

Prince Kael was truly something else. No matter how cool and unapproachable Zora usually was, once she faced him, all of that composure seemed to vanish.

Perhaps this was what people meant by one thing subduing another, a natural pairing written in fate.

What was more, Prince Kael’s conditions were outstanding in every sense. Even though the entire academy already knew he was married, Reesa still saw female students boldly confessing to him.

Yet Prince Kael treated Zora and other women as if they belonged to two completely different worlds.

Toward others, his attitude was icy and distant. He neither smiled nor lingered, and his rejections were swift and merciless.

Toward Zora, however, he turned into a shameless, clingy presence, never missing a chance to hover around her.

Because of this, Reesa felt that the two of them truly suited each other.

With someone as outstanding as Zora, if her partner weren’t devoted to her alone, wouldn’t that be far too unfair?

As Reesa chuckled, Baldwin was smiling as well.

She blinked at him, thinking that he, like her, was amused by the way Zora and Prince Kael interacted. She didn’t realize that Baldwin’s smile was actually meant for her.

"Can you tell me the result now?" Zora asked helplessly.

She had discovered that when it came to Prince Kael, she truly had no countermeasures.

Prince Kael nodded, his gaze softening. He found her rare helplessness inexplicably adorable.

His lady was always stubborn on the surface, yet soft-hearted to the core.

"As you suspected," he said, finally growing serious, "the problem lies with our clothes."

Following Zora’s guess, he had deliberately worn his original clothes and moved ahead alone. Sure enough, demonic beasts kept appearing and attacking him.

Relying on his experience in the mountains, he tried to evade them, yet no matter where he went, the beasts seemed able to pinpoint his location with uncanny accuracy.

Later, he changed his clothes and sealed the original set into his storage pouch.

From that moment on, the demonic beasts vanished.

There was no surprise on Zora’s face. A cold glint flashed through her clear eyes as a sneer curved her lips.

"So that’s their plan," she said coolly. "They want to wear us down bit by bit."

"Which means," Prince Kael added with a faint, meaningful smile, "they can’t be far from us."

His judgment was sharp. Julian and his group would never retreat so easily.