Chapter 284: Move before others do.
“Is this the reason the meeting was called?”
Veylara questioned in a cold, frightening voice that sent shivers down Alaric’s spine. Instinctively, he created a barrier around him, something that made Veylara let out a hollow laugh,
“You think that little thing would be enough to protect you?”
“W-What…?”
Alaric stuttered, he couldn’t even fully express himself.
Yes, the Archmage was that scared.
“Veylara, calm down.”
Finally, the King spoke up as he stared at Veylara with a neutral look on his face.
Of course, Alaric wasn’t the only one who was intimidated by her, even the King was no exception. For now, however, he managed to keep his poker face.
“Your Majesty, do you not see the greed in his eyes!?”
Veylara snapped.
“Greed!? What greed!? I am only doing this for the sake of the Kingdom and the World! If such ability truly exists, do you think we would face as many difficulties as we are currently facing while dealing with Corrupted Beasts and the Twilight!?”
Seeing that the King was standing with him, Alaric regained some of his confidence and snapped back.
Soon, however, he realized his mistake, and his face paled in horror as the woman stared at him with a cold, lifeless look on her face.
It was almost as if she was looking at a dead body.
Heck, the Archmage was having a difficult time breathing.
It wasn’t until Varyon placed his hand on Alaric’s shoulder that he calmed down and was finally able to breathe.
“Calm down, Veylara.”
Varyon repeated the King’s words, and unlike the King, he wasn’t intimidated.
“I understand that you are attached to that child, and I also admit I have shown a disgraceful side today. I hate that I was momentarily tempted by the thought of having a Dragon. I am sure everyone here is.”
The rest of the Council Members lowered their heads.
“But you also need to understand that Alaric’s words aren’t wrong either. If such an ability truly exists, then the Twilight would become an easy opponent.”
Varyon reasoned.
In front of him, Veylara calmed a little as well, allowing the rest of the members to breathe a sigh of relief.
Soon, however, the woman shook her head.
“Do you think such an ability can exist?”
She questioned as she glanced at Varyon. She then momentarily glanced at Alaric and,
“I will ignore the fools who lose themselves in greed, but you, do you truly think it is possible for such an ability to exist?”
“…we can always hope, can we not?”
Varyon answered, unsure of his own words.
“Don’t be foolish, Varyon.”
Veylara laughed.
“Dragons are beings closest to Gods.
Do you think one can just… create them?”
“…”
Varyon turned silent.
“If Kael truly had this ability, do you think he would have worked so hard?
If he could turn Wyverns into Dragons, do you think he would have formed a Bond with a Dreamveil Kitsune? Wouldn’t it have made much more sense to continue to form Bonds with Wyverns and turn them all into Dragons?”
“He… he might be trying to hide his ability.”
Alaric spoke in a low voice.
“Why do you think he would do that?”
Veylara questioned.
Alaric turned silent, but—
“Because he was afraid.”
Zephyr answered Veylara’s question.
“He must have sensed the greed his ability would have attracted. He must have guessed that it might put him in danger, so he decided to hide it.”
“So you are saying that we, the Drakthar Kingdom, the Strongest Kingdom there is, weren’t even able to reassure a 20-year-old child to share his secret with us?”
“Yes.”
Zephyr nodded without any change in his expression.
“We failed.”
He admitted.
“So what you are saying is that when Kael left, he didn’t go out to train, but he escaped from us?”
“Yes.”
Zephyr admitted again.
“So what are we going to do about this?”
Veylara questioned.
“We will bring him back and protect him till he feels reassured.”
“Heh.”
Veylara directly laughed at that answer.
“So you wish to bring back someone who escaped and protect him? And you think everything will work out just fine?”
“If we be patient about this, ye—”
“Haaaahh.”
Veylara just facepalmed as she exhaled deeply, almost as if she couldn’t take how foolish these people were.
“Are you trying to turn the Hero into your enemy?”
She questioned directly.
“What…?”
Zephyr narrowed his eyes.
“Do you think he will come back with you willingly if he escaped?”
“…”
Zephyr didn’t say anything.
“Do you plan on using force?”
“…”
Again, the Shadow Regent stayed silent.
His silence, however, did not work on Veylara,
“So you plan on abducting him.”
Zephyr’s expression changed, confirming Veylara’s words.
“And you think the Hero would then accept your protection after that?”
Veylara questioned, and at those words, Varyon’s and Sylvara’s expressions changed. They were now able to see the problem.
But—
“We aren’t the only ones who will be after him. We do not have to be the ones to abduct him, we can rescue him from his kidnappers as well.”
Zephyr answered, instantly shifting the table’s mood.
“That way, the Hero will not only accept our protection, he will also feel indebted to us.”
At those words, Veylara, Varyon, and Sylvara all widened their eyes in shock.
“You…”
The three very quickly understood what the Shadow Regent was actually planning.
“You plan on manipulating him into believing that you helped him when you were the kidnapper all along.”
Zephyr simply stared back at them with a neutral look on his face and,
“I am not doing anything wrong. There are too many eyes on the Hero, now more than ever. If we do not move, others will, and we do not know what they will do—especially Twilight or the Xenthalor Empire.
On the other hand, we only want to see the Hero grow. Even if he doesn’t actually have the ability to turn Wyverns into Dragons, we can keep him here and train him under our protection.”
“Don’t act like a messiah, you are manipulating him.”
Veylara snorted.
“I will do whatever it takes to make my Kingdom the strongest.”
Zephyr replied shortly,
At those words, everyone turned towards the King, waiting for his decision, and the King—
“Move before others do.”