"A guest?" Shion looked surprised. "Who?"

"It’s..." Luna hesitated. Before she could answer, the office door opened, and a beautiful figure stepped inside.

She was a mature woman with white hair tied neatly into a bun. Even her long, curled eyelashes were white.

She wore a casual pink dress that made her look elegant and charming.

Shion recognized her immediately—it was Claire.

"Claire?" Her eyebrows lifted slightly. "What are you doing here?"

Claire didn’t answer at first. Her gaze, filled with love and longing, was fixed on Nolan.

"I came to visit," she replied casually. "Why? Don’t you welcome me?"

She finally tore her eyes away from Nolan and shot Shion a displeased glance.

"It’s not like that." Shion smiled awkwardly. "It’s just... you came so suddenly. I thought something had happened."

She stood up and added, "Have a seat. What would you like to drink?"

Claire walked over and sat down beside Nolan.

"Just tea," Claire replied shortly.

Shion nodded and went to brew some tea for her.

Luna wanted to help, but Shion told her to go take a nap instead.

"It’s been a long time, Your Highness. How have you been?" Claire asked softly.

Nolan smiled. "I’m fine. How about you?"

"I’m fine too. By the way, I heard you killed the First Prince of the Ancient Kingdom of Eron—Aldrian Lyren. Is that true?" she asked curiously.

Aldrian’s death couldn’t be hidden by the royal family. The news had already spread across the entire southern continent.

However, the identity of the one responsible remained a mystery—even to Claire.

But about a week ago, Shion told her the truth: the culprit was Nolan.

Of course, Claire was deeply shocked and could hardly believe it. Yet she also knew Shion had no reason to lie.

That was why she was so eager to meet Nolan. Unfortunately, arranging a meeting with him was incredibly difficult.

But luckily, she received word that Nolan had visited the Blue Moon office today, so she came straight there without hesitation.

Nolan nodded and didn’t deny it.

"Yes, I’m the one who killed him. As for the reason... it’s a bit complicated. But in the end, I did it because Aldrian tried to rape my sister."

As he spoke, his expression turned cold.

"Rape your sister?" Claire’s face darkened. "That’s despicable! No wonder you killed him—he deserved it!"

Nolan was surprised by her reaction. As far as he remembered, Claire was always calm and gentle.

It was rare to see her this angry.

"Thank you for your support."

Nolan patted her head, and Claire’s face instantly flushed with embarrassment.

For some reason, whenever Nolan treated her like that, she always felt at ease.

In truth, though, she was much older than him. She shouldn’t have felt that way.

Yet reality told a different story—she actually enjoyed it immensely.

Suddenly, her gaze fell on Eira, who was sitting on Nolan’s lap.

"Who is this little girl, Your Highness?"

"She’s Eira—the little dragon who used to love chocolate. Do you remember?" Nolan replied, poking Eira’s cheek with his index finger.

"Eira?" Claire was stunned. "How could she have grown so fast? As far as I recall, it hasn’t even been a year since you brought her back, has it?"

Although Claire wasn’t very familiar with dragons, she knew their growth was usually slow.

Even a baby dragon could take hundreds of years to enter adolescence.

Maybe Eira didn’t need that long. But... less than a year?

"Eira is special. I gave her many precious potions—so valuable their worth can’t even be measured," Nolan explained casually as he stroked the little girl’s hair.

"I see..." Claire nodded slowly, her gaze never leaving Eira.

For some reason, the little girl reminded her of herself.

’If Nolan and I had a child... would she look like her?’

The moment the thought crossed her mind, Claire froze, then quickly slapped both her cheeks.

’W-What am I thinking? How could I even think something like that?’

Nolan was far younger than her—he was even younger than her late nephew, Zarak.

"What’s wrong? Why do you look so distracted?" Nolan’s confused voice came from beside her.

Claire immediately sat up straight and shook her head stiffly.

"N-Nothing. By the way, Your Highness, I have a business matter I need to discuss with you," she said hurriedly, quickly changing the subject.

"Of course." Nolan nodded and smiled. "Tell me what’s on your mind."

Claire calmed herself and began discussing work matters with him.

Nolan was the majority shareholder of the White Lotus Trading House.

On the surface, Claire was indeed the owner. However, she knew she was merely managing it on his behalf.

Therefore, major decisions still had to be discussed with Nolan, even though Nolan had once said it wasn’t necessary.

...

Two days later...

Whoosh!

Nolan threw a flurry of punches and kicks at Evalyn. However, Evalyn managed to dodge them—though with some difficulty.

Nolan stopped and nodded in satisfaction.

"Your reactions are excellent. You’re improving so quickly," he praised admiringly.

No wonder his father, the emperor, had once said Evalyn was a genius. In just three days, she had made astonishing progress.

Evalyn panted heavily, but she was grinning.

"Thank you. It’s all thanks to your teaching and training."

Her doubts and arrogance had vanished. All that remained was her recognition of Nolan’s ability.

The man she used to defeat so easily had now become the one helping her when she needed it most.

"There are still two days left. We’ll use them to sharpen your reflexes and physical strength," Nolan stated.

He picked up the wooden sword that had been prepared and tossed it to Evalyn.

Evalyn caught it and spun it in her hand.

Without hesitation, she lunged at Nolan. Her sword rose high before swinging straight toward his face.

Nolan dodged easily, but Evalyn didn’t stop there.

Using her body weight, she twisted her hips and swung her sword horizontally.

Once again, Nolan simply ducked and avoided the strike.

He took advantage of Evalyn’s slightly off-balance posture and threw a punch.

But Evalyn seemed to anticipate it. She bent her knees and leapt backward.

They stared at each other for a brief moment, then dashed forward and resumed fighting.

Their movements were swift, and their attacks carried enough force to seriously injure each other.

After fifteen minutes, Evalyn began to tire. Nolan immediately seized the opening—he grabbed her left wrist, pulled it down, and pressed her arm in place.

"You lost again," Nolan said with a smirk.

Evalyn let out a small sigh. But this time, there was no frustration like before—only relief, along with a faint smile.

"You won."