The Yellow-Haired Villain in Soaring Phoenix's Novels Also Desires Happiness Chapter 424: Family

The tent was warm, and the bonfire burned bright.

Ariel took small sips of the coffee her maid had brought, her expression distant.

Though it felt like the fatigue of a month spent sleeping rough and eating in the open was slowly lting away in the tent’s warmth and the sweetness of the milk coffee, she still felt a hollow space sowhere in her heart.

That feeling... was like punching into cotton.

Or like gathering the courage to confess to soone you liked—only to find, at that very mont, that not only was there a ring on their finger, but they already had a child.

All that passion, and nowhere to put it!

“No, no, what am I even thinking?”

Ariel shook her head hard, driving those tangled thoughts from her mind.

Liya’s safe escape from the forest was a good thing!

Sothing she should be happy about!

Although she’d felt a strange twinge of sourness when she heard from Count El that Liya had gone to the Holy City together with that infuriating Muen, she told herself that “together” probably just ant in the sa caravan.

Hadn’t it been the sa before? Riding in the sa caravan—what was there to overthink?

In her mory, Liya and that hateful Muen Campbell had barely interacted at all. They’d hardly exchanged a few words. Even if that Muen Campbell was a well-known playboy, it had only been a single month, and in the Holy City, which was Liya’s ho ground—what could he possibly have done?

I’m just overthinking again.

Ariel gave a self-mocking smile and ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) quickly composed herself.

Her fantasy of playing the hero who saves the beauty had fallen apart, and yes, that left her a little disappointed and dejected.

But it wasn’t anything serious. Given the depth of her bond with Liya, turning that friendship into sothing more shouldn’t be much harder than poking through a thin layer of paper.

Losing one small chance wasn’t enough to make her truly disheartened.

Childhood friends. Deep feelings. Naturally developing affection. One final step—and the advantage is mine!

Ariel’s lips curled into a bold, roguish grin, her eyes once again shining with confident light.

“Thank you for your assistance, Count El.”

Ariel set down her coffee and spoke politely to the man seated at the head of the long table.

“The Bugaard family will rember this favor.”

Though Ariel normally despised the pomp and rigid etiquette of noble society, she was, after all, the first heir of House Bugaard. She had to at least understand the manners that ca with that.

“No, there’s no need to thank .”

Count El didn’t accept her gratitude; he didn’t even lift his eyes from the docunts before him.

“I was only following Young Master Muen’s orders.”

“Muen Campbell?”

Ariel froze. What was that guy scheming now...? Then she quickly thought of sothing.

“Was it the Academy that asked him to help?”

“I’m not sure about that. I’m just a soldier who follows orders.”

Count El shook his head, unconcerned.

“Then sending those commoners into the forest to search—was that also his order?”

Ariel asked casually, but for so reason, that question seed to touch a nerve. Count El suddenly looked up, his cold, expressionless gaze sweeping over her.

The air chilled at once.

“Did... I say sothing wrong?”

“No. A month ago, a natural disaster appeared in the forest. Though it didn’t bring destruction, Young Master Muen is not the kind of arrogant man who ignores the lives of commoners.”

Count El paused, recalling the gentle young man he’d t a month ago—so unlike the rumors—and continued,

“He only ordered us to wait for you outside. The one who truly forced to give that command... was you.”

“Eh?”

Ariel blinked in confusion.

?

What the hell?

At that ti I was still inside the ruins, bashing my head against those tal golems—when did I supposedly send any ssage outside?

“Forgive , that wasn’t the right way to put it.”

Count El looked at her aningfully.

“What I should have said was... the Bugaard family behind you.”

...

...

“Count.”

After Ariel left, a maid entered the tent, offering an ornate jewel box.

“This was left by that lord. He said it was the promised token of gratitude.”

Count El shot it a cold glance. “Take it back. I don’t need it.”

“But that lord—”

“...”

El sighed and rubbed his tired brow.

“Then sell it. Distribute the money to the soldiers—let them buy themselves so drinks. They’ve worked hard these days.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Those maggots... truly—”

After the maid left, under the flickering candlelight, Count El looked down at the letter he’d already read many tis. A rare, cold smile crossed his stern face.

“They usually couldn’t care less about their own flesh and blood, but the mont they sll at, they move faster than wild dogs.”

...

...

“Lady Ariel, I’ve finally found you.”

Just as Ariel stepped out of the tent, she nearly bumped into a well-dressed old man.

The man was clearly of advanced age, but his hair was slicked back so perfectly that each strand glead as if it could reflect a mirror.

He looked as though he’d been waiting there for so ti; the mont he saw her, his eyes went red.

“Who are you?”

Ariel recoiled from the hand reaching toward her, her brows knitting as she got a better look at him.

“You’re... that guy who’s always trailing behind my dear elder brother, aren’t you? What are you doing here?”

“Why, because I was worried about you, Lady Ariel, of course.”

Completely unfazed by her obvious disgust, the old man dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief.

“When we learned you’d gone missing, your brother was terribly distraught. He personally sent to ensure those lowborn searchers were doing their jobs properly. Now that I see you safe and sound, I can finally breathe easy.”

“Distraught? Why does that sound like the biggest joke I’ve ever heard? Didn’t he want dead the most?”

Ariel eyed him skeptically.

“Did that idiot get punched senseless by back then? Should I find him a doctor? I happen to know a few good ones—great at treating brain damage. If I ask nicely, they’ll even give him a twelve-percent discount.”

“...”

The old man’s mouth twitched, but he quickly forced a sincere smile.

“Lady Ariel, please, there’s no need for such distance between family. There may have been misunderstandings before, but your brother truly was worried for you this ti. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have sent personally.”

“Cut the crap.”

Ariel narrowed her eyes, her tone sharp as she faced this shaless old dog.

“If you’ve got sothing to say, spit it out. My patience is limited.”

“No, no, nothing at all! Truly nothing this ti—I just wanted to see you.”

The old man rubbed his hands together, then leaned forward slightly and asked obsequiously,

“Will you be heading to the Holy City now to find Lady Liya? If you don’t mind, I can prepare a carriage for you...”

“No need. Get lost.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll go, I’ll go, I’m leaving right now.”

But before slinking away, the old man leaned close, a strange look in his eyes.

“The family has high hopes for you, Lady Ariel. They hope you’ll continue to maintain a... deep friendship with Lady Liya.”