The Yellow-Haired Villain in Soaring Phoenix’s Novels Also Desires Happiness - Chapter 291



69. Equal Joys and Sorrows

“I want to buy ten!”

Fenny’s exuberant voice reached Ariel’s ears, making her instinctively glance over in curiosity.

“Has that senior Fenny made some money too?”

“And from her conversation, it seems she’s relying on this bet as well?”

“How wonderful.”

This shared happiness made Ariel smile knowingly, and she couldn’t help but want to engage with that senior, thinking it would be nice to get to know her in advance since they would be traveling together for a while.

But before she could step forward, she heard a serious and familiar voice behind her.

“Is everyone here?”

An elderly man in a gentleman’s suit had somehow appeared among the crowd, his weathered yet sharp eyes scanning everyone.

“Professor Plang?”

Ariel looked at the suddenly appearing old man, her heart racing a bit:

“Is it really you accompanying us in person?”

“Not me.”

Professor Plang denied:

“I just came to see you off after finishing my own matters, and to escort a certain troublesome individual.”

“Uh?”

Before Ariel could grasp what Professor Plang meant by “escorting a certain troublesome individual,” she heard Lia muster her courage to raise her hand and ask:

“Um… Professor Plang, aren’t we still missing someone?”

She counted again and again, but there were only six of them.

And conveniently, it was that scoundrel who was absent.

“Indeed, we are still missing one person, but he will arrive soon.”

“Professor Plang, I don’t seem to see any transportation from the academy.”

Marshall, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and asked:

“Are we going to walk to the Holy City?”

“About that, I believe it will arrive shortly as well.”

“Uh?”

Professor Plang’s answer left everyone a bit puzzled, as it seemed he wasn’t very clear about it either.

But before they could continue questioning, they heard exclamations from the crowd around them.

“Quick… look!”

“What is that?”

The exceptionally wide street in front of the academy, which could accommodate eight carriages side by side, suddenly became chaotic after a flurry of bell sounds. The nobles, who had been politely chatting with one another, seemed to have seen something shocking, their expressions shifting as they urged their drivers to clear the way.

Soon, the street, which had been jammed with carriages, was forcibly opened up, and a particularly extravagant convoy slowly approached from the end of the street.

There were a total of six carriages, each adorned with exquisite decorations, the pale golden patterns shimmering slightly under the not-so-dazzling winter sun.

From those pale golden patterns, everyone could clearly sense the fluctuations of magical energy; it seemed that some defensive magic was affixed to the exterior of the carriages.

But what astonished them was not just the carriages themselves, but the magnificent horses pulling them.

Each of these horses was significantly taller than ordinary ones, and there was no driver holding the reins. Their heads were held high, their strides powerful, their eyes intelligent, and beneath their flowing manes, they were covered in fearsome scales!

They looked less like horses and more like terrifying magical beasts.

As these magnificent horses passed by, the ordinary horses around them trembled, kneeling down, some even collapsing to the ground, frothing at the mouth, causing further chaos in the vicinity.

“This… this is… a dragonblood subspecies?”

There are dragons in the world.

Naturally, there are subspecies that carry the blood of dragons.

Although dragons have mostly vanished from sight, the number of subspecies is not scarce due to a certain trait of dragons.

However, since they inherit dragon blood, these subspecies naturally inherit the ferocity and pride that come with it.

Thus, subspecies are often extremely fierce magical beasts, difficult to tame.

And those that can be tamed usually represent just one word.

Expensive.

Extremely expensive.

Ariel remembers that her count father had a few subspecies of fine horses with a touch of dragon blood, so precious that ordinary people weren’t even allowed to look at them.

But now, are they actually using these horses to pull the carriage?

And two horses to pull one carriage?

What extravagance!

Ariel snapped back to reality, astonished:

“Are these carriages what we’re going to ride?”

After a brief pause, all eyes suddenly turned to Professor Plang.

“Should be,” Professor Plang replied, raising an eyebrow in surprise as he glanced at the last carriage.

“How wonderful!”

Ariel immediately perked up at his words.

Not just her, but the others also shook off their impatience and curiously looked at the carriages, especially the dragon-blooded steeds exuding a unique aura.

Who would have thought the academy would be so generous this time, even the carriages are so luxurious? Is this the treatment for top students? Love it!

The convoy slowly came to a stop before them, and though there were no drivers, the fine horses moved with a terrifying precision, like soldiers in a disciplined army.

Ariel nervously rubbed her small hands, cautiously approaching the invaluable dragon-blooded steeds, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

How wonderful.

So wonderful.

She had thought the journey would be unbearably dull, but not only was that annoying guy not accompanying them, they could ride in such a luxurious carriage!

Plus, she had made a good profit before setting off; indeed, is luck balanced for everyone?

She had been unlucky before, unable to earn money, and had to eat black bread every day, but from now on, was her good fortune finally arriving?

No more worrying about money every day, and no more eating black bread!

This is just too…

“I advise you not to touch them carelessly, Ariel.”

Just then, a voice that Ariel was extremely familiar with, yet never wanted to hear, rang in her ears.

“These dragonblood horses, although specially trained, can be quite violent towards strangers, so you need to be careful.”

Hearing that voice, Ariel’s body suddenly froze.

She stiffly turned her neck and looked to her side.

Suddenly, the curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a handsome face came into view, the golden hair shining like the sunset, far more dazzling than the luxurious carriage beside it.

“Wh… what?”

Staring at that familiar face, Ariel was stunned, murmuring:

“Mu… Mu En Campbell? You, how could you be here?”

“Huh? Of course, I’m here.”

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Mu En replied, puzzled:

“Did you not know? I’m on the list for this event too, so naturally, I have to go to the Holy City.”

“I know, but you…”

You shouldn’t have been defeated by someone else and lost your qualification, right?

Could it be that over the course of seven days, none of the hundreds of qualified people in the academy could defeat you?

And if you are here, then those gamblers on the rooftop earlier, and the senior who made a fortune…

Ariel suddenly turned around.

The gamblers were still on the rooftop, crying and wailing, while that senior, Fanny… was approaching with excitement, shyly saying:

“Mu En, can I… can I always be your fan from now on?”

“Huh?”

Mu En looked utterly bewildered, completely unaware of what was happening.

But at that moment, Ariel understood everything.

The happiness she shared with Senior Fanny was not equal.

What was equal to her was those gamblers on the rooftop.