Daily News: Insect Girls' Heavy Dependence

It wasn't until Richard forgave the whining Dreamworm because of his tantrum that the little guy stopped causing trouble in his head.

I didn't even have a chance to hug Yekalin for a little longer.

The duchess's glass eyes gleamed, focusing on the change...

Richard seemed to see four overlapping pupils in those extremely beautiful eyes.

Only after Yekaterin's eyes returned to normal did she speak with great interest:

"Guess what I saw?"

Richard also looked into the distance, but saw nothing: "It certainly wasn't a fourth-tier insectoid beast or anything like that, otherwise you would have dragged me away!"

Yekaterin was clearly not satisfied with this answer.

She stared into Richard's eyes: "Guess again. I'll give you... um... three chances to ask a question!"

"Is there a reward?" Richard asked, staring into her eyes.

"Yes!" Yekalin nodded earnestly, her hair teasing someone again.

"You haven't kept your promise from last time?"

"Isn't it you holding me right now?" The Duchess said, hugging him even tighter.

"This counts?" Richard was clearly disappointed.

"Of course it counts! If you get it right the first time... what am I going to reward you with later? Okay! You've used up your three questions, you can't ask any more."

Richard played along with her playful banter: "I didn't guess it. Is there a punishment?"

Yekaterin said in a feignedly fierce tone, "Of course there are. Go tie them to the city wall and kick them off..."

Hearing this, Richard understood what had happened. Yekaterin must have seen that group of new blond-haired guys!

Without the slightest hesitation, the wings on its back unfolded again.

Fly back to Stormwind.

……

That night,

The ring wall around Stormwind.

It didn't snow tonight, but the wind was blowing exceptionally hard.

The wind howled across Stormwind, then slashed at the blond-haired men who were being held captive outside the city...

[Daily Intelligence System: Fifteen Tier 3 Mature Humans are present in the new blond-haired team.]

Richard turned and walked down the city wall, looking at Yekaterin with some confusion:

"Do you know what those guys are planning to do in Stormwind this time?"

Yekalin shrugged, completely unconcerned.

"Those old fogies in my family still want to discuss cooperation with me. They want me to tell them the secret of our lineage, otherwise they won't be recognized by the king to inherit their titles. Too bad I've already told you the secret..."

"Alright."

Richard understood why the August family in the Inner World had been sending blondies.

If you don't know the truth of that history.

Even those collateral branches of the Augustus family, who wielded all power within the inner world, could not become true top-tier nobles—because they lacked the recognition of the royal authority…

Richard clicked his tongue twice and commented:

"I never expected that Dio, the knight who betrayed the goddess... his royal descendant would still have such a sense of contractual obligation."

"It's not just about the spirit of contracts..." Yekaterin tidied Richard's hair, which had been ruffled by the wind.

"Hmm? Is there any other hidden story behind it?"

Richard gestured to the captain of the guard, signaling him to continue sending troops to intercept the blond-haired men trying to cross the bridge. He also instructed the Storm Riders lurking in the shadows to be ready for battle at any moment…

He then lifted his coat to wrap Yekaterin in it and headed towards the military camp tent.

Find a place where no one else is around, and discuss the new secret.

Inside the tent,

Yekalin sat in the head coach's chair.

She yawned, clasped her hands together, rested her chin on the table, and fought off her weariness.

"Do you know about black-haired nobles...? Well, judging from your expression, I don't..."

Richard draped his coat over her shoulders, then stretched and looked like he was listening intently.

Yekaterin patted Richard's hand, which was playing with her long black hair, and continued:

"Black hair is nothing special among commoners. But in the true noble bloodline, black-haired nobles can be traced back to the first King Gil, also known as Knight Dio..."

Richard realized he had just been disrespectful to his ancestor. He had been joking about Dior betraying the goddess, only to find out he was his descendant...

He stopped playing with Yekaterin's hair behind her and moved over to sit opposite the Duchess, looking somewhat worried.

"So, does that mean we can trace our bloodline back to the same ancestor? The blood ties must be quite distant..."

Yekalin naturally understood what this guy was worried about. She rolled her eyes at the idiot.

"Five hundred years have passed, and tens of thousands of people within the royal family can intermarry. Let alone us, members of local noble families with different surnames..."

Even with Yekaterin's explanation, Richard still had some doubts:

"But most of the August family should have blond hair, right? The Charlemagne family are all grey-haired. Is your mother also from the royal family?"

Richard recalls never having met his rumored royal mother.

Based on what Yekaterin said, the black-haired nobility can be traced back to the knight Dio. Therefore, as legitimate members of the royal family, they must all have black hair.

If your father has gray hair, then your black hair must have come from your mother.

Yekaterin was probably in the same situation; her mother was likely a member of the royal family with dark hair.

Even though it's highly unlikely that a member of the royal family would bear children for multiple local nobles, Richard still couldn't rule out that kind of ethical scenario!

I know Richard is still fixated on that impossible thing.

Yekaterin interrupted his reverie:

How old are you?

"20."

"I'm also 20 years old, so we couldn't possibly have the same mother!"

Richard listened to Yekaterin's resolute yet hesitant tone before making a decision:

"You've never met your mother either..."

"You don't have any either?"

……

"Damn!" the two exclaimed in unison.

While tacit understanding is a good thing... in this particular situation, it's not necessarily a good thing.

Richard felt even worse:

"I think we shouldn't be so in sync, what if...?"

Yekaterin rejected it outright!

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! The royal family has tens of thousands of people! If you keep thinking these nonsense, I'm not going to talk to you anymore!"

Since Yekalin had said that, Richard naturally didn't want the plot to be too melodramatic.

He quickly changed the subject:

"After all, you're practically a member of the royal family. That's why the king favors you when it comes to controlling the title. It's definitely better for someone with royal blood to hold the title of Duke of the North than for it to fall into the hands of the August family..."

Richard finally got down to business.

Yekalin didn't mind; he had just steered the conversation off-topic.

"That's exactly what you said. It's just that because of my brother... um, I forgot to tell you, His Majesty is my cousin in terms of clan seniority... that's why the August family doesn't dare to act recklessly."

"King Kiel has been on the throne for fifty years, and he's actually your elder brother? You're of such a high generation? Are you of the same generation as that old man?"

Richard now realizes that he made the right decision to be a kept man!

My seniority in the entire Kingdom of Kiel has skyrocketed!