Chapter 161: Gryphon Knight, Vivian

“Wow! They’re so beautiful!”

Wendy’s eyes were sparkling as he curiously sized up the massive creatures in the center of the Courtyard.

Those dozens of Griffins each exuded the fierce aura unique to birds of prey.

They had the powerful hindquarters of a lion covered in golden fur, while their upper bodies were in the form of giant eagles, with full wings and iron-gray feathers that shimmered with a metallic luster under the sun.

Their hooked beaks gleamed coldly; one look was enough to tell they were not to be trifled with.

What boy could refuse such a creature?

These were living Griffins!

Being able to fly in the sky on one of them was ten thousand times cooler than a sports car or anything like that!

The female Knight in the lead removed her helmet, revealing a well-defined face.

When she saw Wendy’s overly delicate face, her cold expression unconsciously softened a lot.

“You must be Prince Wendy. I am Vivian, the Captain of the Central Academy’s Griffin Guard.”

The female Knight stepped forward with vigorous strides and proactively extended her hand.

“Oh, hello,”

Wendy was watching with great interest.

Hearing this, he turned his head and naturally reached out his hand, preparing to shake hers, “I am Wendi Bucaike.”

But before he could finish, a hand reached out from the side, grabbing his wrist with just enough force to pull the Prince back.

“Hello, I am Astreia Valoran.”

The Witch took the opportunity to pull Wendy halfway into her embrace, offering Vivian a flawless smile.

That smile was bright and moving, yet it gave Vivian a mysterious chill, causing her hand extended in mid-air to freeze instantly.

An invisible pressure rushed toward her.

She saw Astreia’s possessive, intimate posture and Wendy’s innocent, oblivious expression, and immediately realized.

Damn it!

How could she make such a low-level mistake!

Vivian withdrew her hand almost reflexively, quickly took a step back, placed one hand over her chest, and bowed in apology.

“My apologies, Excellency Astreia! I was disrespectful!”

Seeing how humble and polite the other party was, Astreia’s heart skipped a beat for no reason.

She saw a reflection of her former self in this female Knight.

Back then, she was also like this: polite, humble, and cautious, for fear of saying one wrong word or doing one wrong thing.

For a moment, she actually became somewhat dazed.

“In that case, let’s set off as soon as possible.”

Wendy’s voice broke the brief stagnation.

He poked his head out from Astreia’s embrace, eager to have a close encounter with those majestic big guys.

However, just as the Prince excitedly approached a Griffin, a sudden change occurred!

The group of Griffins, which had been standing quietly, suddenly became collectively restless.

They scraped the ground with their claws, let out low growls from their throats, and their wings were nervously half-spread.

The Griffin closest to Wendy even jerked its head up and let out a sharp, piercing, aggressive cry!

“Skree—!”

The Prince was startled by this sudden turn of events.

He hurriedly took two steps back, his face full of question marks.

What did I do?

I just wanted to touch you!

Why are you acting like you’ve seen the murderer of your father?

“Snowwind! Quiet!”

Vivian’s face changed, and she immediately shouted a rebuke, about to step forward to soothe her mount.

But before she could move, an extremely cold killing intent, like an invisible tidal wave, suddenly erupted from beside her, sweeping through the entire Courtyard!

Vivian’s hair stood on end at this moment.

Her whole body felt chilled, and even breathing became difficult.

The Griffins, which had been restless just a moment ago, reacted even more violently.

As if they had encountered a natural enemy at the very top of the food chain, their feathers instantly puffed out.

Then, one by one, they “thudded” onto the ground, prostrating themselves.

Their huge heads were buried deep within their wings, and their massive bodies shook like leaves in the wind.

The entire Griffin Guard, dozens of overlords of the sky, now behaved like a bunch of little chicks that had done something wrong, shivering and not daring to make even a single sound.

“Hmph,”

Astreia let out a disdainful sneer.

“As expected, they are just a bunch of beasts.”

She withdrew the killing intent that nearly froze the air and stepped out with her long legs.

Dragging the still-confused Wendy along, she walked straight toward the snowy-white Griffin that had just shrieked at him.

That was the strongest of the Griffin Guard, Vivian’s exclusive mount—”Snowwind.”

Right now, “Snowwind” was shaking the most, his whole body trembling violently.

Astreia didn’t even give it a glance.

She flipped herself up and sat forcefully on its back, then reached down and pulled Wendy up, settling him steadily in front of her, encircling the Prince entirely within her arms.

Wendy only felt as if he were sitting on a fluffy, still-shaking sofa, with a warm and security-filled embrace behind him.

He even had the leisure to pat the Griffin’s neck beneath him, whispering:

“Stop shaking, stop shaking. If you shake any more, you’ll turn into an electric massage chair…”

As Astreia restrained her killing intent, the surrounding Griffins finally stood back up shakily, but they still kept their heads down, not daring to make any movement.

Meanwhile, Vivian and the Griffin Knights behind her all had their eyes wide and their mouths agape, enough to fit an egg inside.

They stared fixedly at “Snowwind,” who was being sat upon by Astreia.

That was “Snowwind”!

The proudest, strongest, and most unruly Griffin in the entire guard!

Aside from Captain Vivian, it never allowed a second person to touch it!

But now…

not only was it being ridden by an outsider, it had even yielded!

The opponent hadn’t even lifted a finger!

Just the aura released was enough to make the entire group of Griffins collapse!

What terrifying strength was this!

In Vivian’s mind, the legends recently circulating in the Northern Region instantly flashed by.

–A single person and a single sword, slaying Orcs in the midst of ten thousand troops.

–A single roar, scaring away tens of thousands of Orc elites.

–The name of the Northern Lioness could stop a child’s crying.

Previously, she had felt these rumors were somewhat exaggerated.

After all, how could a person be strong to such an extent?

But now, she believed it!

Not only were the rumors not exaggerated, they were even too conservative!

Not far away, Laxana, who was sitting on her Magical Staff preparing for takeoff, saw Astreia holding Wendy and showing off to her heart’s content under everyone’s reverent gazes.

Her small face scrunched up in envy.

She grabbed her sleeve and bit it hard, her inner self turning into a sour lemon.

Damn it!

Why isn’t it me who’s this cool!

Layana, standing beside her, could only shake her head helplessly.

***

After a small setback, the group was finally ready to depart.

Yekaterina and Prime Minister Allison stood on the steps of the Courtyard to see them off.

The Little Queen’s gaze never left Wendy, but in the end, she didn’t say any more words to urge him to stay.

This was the best outcome for now, and she had her own responsibilities as a Queen to bear.

The whimsical ideas left behind by Wendy were waiting for her to realize them.

Under the command of their respective Knights, the Griffins stood up shakily, not daring to commit any further offenses.

At Vivian’s command, they flapped their massive wings simultaneously, whipping up a fierce wind and soaring into the sky.

They soon turned into black dots in the clouds, disappearing over the horizon.

“Have a safe journey… Wendy.”

Watching the Griffin Guard fade into the distance, the Little Queen withdrew her gaze and turned to return to the Council Hall.

But the moment she turned, her footsteps abruptly stopped.

In front of the Council Hall doors, a figure stood quietly at some unknown point.

It was a woman wearing a dark purple court dress, her figure slender, her black hair coiled into an intricate bun, leaving only a plain and calm profile.

She simply stood there quietly in the Shadow, as if she had been waiting for a long, long time, blending into the surrounding environment.

If one did not intentionally look, it was almost impossible to notice her presence.

“Are you… Lady Claudia?”