‘She is the Progenitor of all Ants. A Primordial Creature with a much purer blood than my own.’
‘Bloodline… purer than your own?’
Kael’s eyes widened.
‘Indeed, she is extremely strong, in more ways than one.
Choose her.’
“I’ll take her.”
After Igni’s words, Kael didn’t hesitate any longer. His trust in his first child was absolute, and other than his faith in his child, he also had another reason to do what Igni wanted him to do.
While he had at least heard the Duskmarch Ant Queen’s name in the books he had read, the Mother of All Ants was completely foreign to him. He had never heard that name, and Igni should have been the same.
The very fact that Igni knew of her existence meant that this knowledge came from his Dragon Knowledge.
Now Kael didn’t know what this Dragon Knowledge was, but according to his theory, it was knowledge that every Dragon instinctively knows.
And if the Mother of All Ants is important enough for even the Arrogant Dragons to instinctively know about, he had quite a strong reason to believe she is quite a formidable Bond.
“Good.”
Veylara nodded as she picked up the egg and gave it to Kael. Then, she waited.
“…I won’t form a Bond right now.”
Kael muttered as he realized what the woman wanted.
He couldn’t use <Ancient Awakening> in front of her, and while there was an option to use it after forming a Bond and using the ability later, that would subject his little child to needless pain. He didn’t want that.
“Why is that?”
Veylara frowned.
“Do you not want to see whether you will be able to form a Bond or not?”
“I do not wish to return the Egg if I fail.”
Kael replied.
“You don’t have to.”
Veylara laughed.
“No, it will be awkward for me to stay here if I fail.”
“You are hiding something.”
Veylara narrowed her eyes.
“…”
Kael stayed silent. He already knew lying would get him caught in a matter of seconds. Seeing what he was doing, Veylara shrugged.
“It’s alright.”
She nodded.
“It is good that you are being careful.”
“Thank you, Mentor.”
Kael smiled.
“Calling me mentor right after you tried to hide something from me, you are slyer than I give you credit for.”
Kael just smiled at those words. Then, wanting to change the topic, he asked a question,
“Let’s say I do succeed in forming a Bond with her. It would mean I would then have Four Bonds instead of three.
How will you see it? Will you then see me as an Adept Level Tamer, or would I be an Advance Level Tamer with Four Bonds?”
“I cannot say. This has never happened before. I can only say something when you actually do form a Bond with her.”
Veylara shrugged. Soon, however, she looked into Kael’s eyes and,
“But whatever you are thinking, don’t.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t hide the Dragon.”
Veylara spoke up, knowing exactly what Kael was thinking about.
“Why?”
Kael frowned.
“She is a perfect way to ensure that the King is on your side.”
Veylara began.
“It doesn’t matter if the King is an ally or an enemy right now. The moment you reveal Lady Cirri’s existence to him, you will ensure his support.
If he is an ally, he will support you in every way possible simply because you have a Dragon. And if he is an enemy, the very fact that you went to him would tell him that you trust him and that he can manipulate you and bring you to his side.
In both cases, the King will protect you, and you will have nothing to be worried about.”
Kael listened carefully as Veylara continued,
“The King holds the most power in Drakthar. If he wishes to protect you, no harm will come to you.
That is all you need right now—protection and time.
In time, you will not only grow stronger, you will also have a much clearer perspective of people around you, not to mention Lady Cirri will grow quite splendidly as well. With her help, you will be even stronger.”
Kael nodded in understanding, carefully analyzing Veylara’s words and trying to learn how she thinks.
Veylara, however, wasn’t done yet.
“If you have the ability to hide, hide the Duskmarch Queen instead.”
“Why is that?”
“First, this will allow you to hide the fact that you have an Extra Bond. An Extra Bond can sometimes turn the situation around.
Second is that you have no reason to show the Duskmarch Queen. You can simply leave her be and let her raise an army. A year later, you can take over the army she has created and have a hidden trump card.
If the enemy doesn’t know of their existence and hasn’t made preparations to face them, the Duskmarch Ants can deal a lethal blow, even when the enemy is stronger than you.”
“I understand.”
Kael nodded again.
While Veylara didn’t know that his Ant would be different from the rest, her strategy still made sense.
He just had one question.
“Lady Veylara.”
He called out after thinking about it for a while. Veylara looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
“Do you… trust the King?”
He questioned carefully.
“I said it before, didn’t I? What I think doesn’t matter. You need to create a perception of your own. If I say something, you will believe that to be true and let your guard down.”
“I will not.”
Kael shook his head.
“I am doing this to create a perception of my own, not just about the King, but also of you.”
“…”
Veylara momentarily turned silent.
“I trust Elira and Arlan because I know what they think. I would also like to know what you think.
Please.”
Kael requested.
“…”
Veylara momentarily turned silent as she stared into Kael’s eyes. Kael, noticing her silence, continued.
“There are things I know that others do not, things I am sure of. And I use those things to form my perception of others. It would help me quite a bit if I could see how you see the world.
So please tell me, Lady Veylara,
Do you trust the King?”