Reincarnated As A Dragon With A Godly Inheritance
Chapter 24: Warm bed

Chapter 24: Warm bed

Kaedros stared at Rauk Lythienne, completely stunned. That wasn’t what he expected to hear.

Want him?

Across the table, Taria’s jaw had dropped in the same wide-eyed shock as most other people.

"This might seem sudden..." Rauk began, but Kaedros raised his hand.

It wasn’t polite, it wasn’t respectful. And it wasn’t meant to be, he didn’t even care about any of that as he frowned at the noble.

Rauk fell silent, more out of pure surprise than anything else. No one, especially not a commoner, Ascendants or not, had ever interrupted him like that before.

Kaedros hadn’t given this much thought before. All he’d cared about was surviving and staying under the radar. But now... he glanced at Taria.

"If at all then i’m all about the females," Kaedros said coldly, frowning. "Males are all hard edges. Females... soft. Especially the lower...."

Taria cleared her throat loudly, her face flushed crimson. "I think the Lord understands, Kael."

Rauk, flustered and blushing, waved his hand, shattering the noble aura he’d worked so hard to cultivate. Now he just looks like a boy caught with his hand inside the pot. "That’s not what I meant! I want you, but not like that!"

Kaedros raised a skeptical brow. From the way people looked at him in the streets, he knew he was considered "beautiful" in his human form. And why not? He was a noble Dragon!

"So what exactly do you mean?" Kaedros asked.

"I want you as a team," Rauk clarified quickly. "Not... whatever you were imagining." He shot a glare at the few snickers breaking out across the room.

Kaedros’ expression shifted the moment he heard team. That was it. That was the angle, that was guy was after them and came to their table.

But whose idea was this? The Lythienne family? Or the Celestial Order?

And more importantly, why?

It didn’t matter. He wasn’t joining any team, it would simply inconvenience him.

Kaedros placed a hand on Taria’s shoulder, and she turned to him in surprise.

"Thank you, Lord Rauk," Kaedros said with a polite smile, then he gritted his teeth, he felt as if his inside was burning and someone was plucking his scale as he added the next words, "but we must decline. We’re not worthy of such an honor."

Taria nearly snorted. Not worthy? Where had that nonsense come from? He could be arrogant one moment, humble the next, it constantly surprised her.

Or was it an act?

"There’s no need to be modest," Rauk insisted. "The Refiners have already praised your talents. Their records say it hasn’t even been a month since you got your classes, and yet... you’re already stage four and such!’

The Refiners....

Kaedros’ eyes narrowed. That confirmed it. The Celestial Order was moving behind the scenes.

He gave a dry laugh. "And why would you need us, when you already have a rank two knight standing behind you? We’d be useless."

Rauk shrugged. "I’m not looking for bodyguards. I’m forming a team of promising bounty hunters, ones who can grow together." He gestured toward his knight. "Knight Vexa will be our support during our hunts."

Kaedros narrowed his eyes. "And what’s your gain, Lord Rauk? We advance up, but what do you get out of helping us?"

Nothing came for free. Not in this world. Kaedros knew this more than anyone.

"I want a great many things," Rauk said, spreading his hands. "Who knows what the future holds? It’s always wise to have exceptional allies."

Kaedros wasn’t convinced. "Then you should’ve gone to the bounty hunter’s Association and asked the instructors for their best."

"What better proof than the two who reached such stage without teacher, no team, and no backup?" Rauk insisted. "I want you both."

Still evasive.

Still hiding something.

Kaedros forced a smile, but it was thin and stiff. "Forgive us, but we’ll have to decline. We’re simply too low to be joining a noble team like yours."

Gasps and whispers rippled through the inn.

"He turned down the Lord?!"

"I told you, that guy’s weird."

"Doesn’t he know it’s smart to work under a noble?"

"Well... the Lythienne family isn’t exactly wealthy..."

"Shhhhh! He might hear you."

Taria snickered beside him. Kaedros arched a brow at Rauk, who reddened faintly and cleared his throat.

"If it’s about money," Rauk said, "you’d be paid handsomely. You wouldn’t need to worry about expenses."

"We don’t want your money," Taria said. "We just want to be left alone."

Rauk turned toward her then, eyes dragging slowly over her frame. Kaedros’ hand tightened instinctively on her shoulder.

A quiet show of possession. One Rauk didn’t miss.

The noble smirked. "Are you two... together? Lovers?"

Kaedros didn’t hesitate. "No. We’re just hunting partners."

She’s my investment.

Taria looked away, eyes dimming, her mood suddenly turning sour.

Rauk’s smirk widened as he turned his attention fully to her.

"So you’re not lovers. Interesting... How about this, then? If you join my team, I’ll give you a chance to experience something new. A taste of me. You’ll have whatever you want."

The table went silent.

Taria stepped forward, her voice sharp as steel. "I am a bounty hunter. A Warrior. And I take what I want with my own hands."

Kaedros’ smile was feral. Deep inside, something old and monstrous stirred. Someone wanted to take his treasure? The investment he already put his money on?

"My partner stays where I stay," he said darkly.

Rauk’s expression twisted. It wasn’t going the way he’d imagined. He thought a poor girl would leap at the chance to warm a noble’s bed. Now, his patience wore thin.

He stepped closer to Kaedros, locking eyes with him.

"You don’t want anything to happen, do you?" Rauk said, voice low and threatening. "What if your little partner was walking alone at night... and happened to meet some men who liked fresh, young...."

He didn’t get the chance to finish.

Kaedros moved.

One moment he was standing. The next, he was on the table, blurring forward with speed no ordinary bounty hunter could track. His fist cracked across Rauk’s jaw, snapping the Lord’s head back with a satisfying thud.

But Knight Vexa was just as fast.

She moved like a ghost in steel, her massive sword flashing free of its sheath and resting coldly against Kaedros’ neck.

Not a whisper in the room.

Not a breath.

Everyone waited.