Chapter 290: I only ask for a place to stay.
“They declared that I became corrupted.”
Lavinia spoke with a cold, expressionless look on her face and—
“What…?”
The instant she heard those words, the Matriarch’s expression changed.
“Did you say corrupted…?”
She questioned. The air inside the hall changed. Kael noticed how everyone’s hostility instantly turned into wariness.
Which was surprising because, according to Lavinia, these people were cut off from the rest of the world, they shouldn’t even know what being corrupted or corruption means.
It wasn’t just Kael, even Lavinia seemed taken aback by that reaction. She quickly cleared any misunderstandings,
“It wasn’t true. I was framed by my—”
Or at least that is what the Princess tried to do, but before she could even complete her sentence—
“Reveal all your Bonds, now.”
The Matriarch ordered in a strict tone.
“…”
Lavinia turned silent, her poker face breaking in an instant.
At that reaction, the Matriarch, who had been seated all this while and didn’t show much aggression till now, stood up and grabbed her sword.
“What is it? Didn’t you say you were framed? Show your Bonds and prove it.”
She ordered again, her voice much heavier than before. Almost as if she was prepared to rip Lavinia in half if she didn’t follow her words.
Lavinia’s fingers clenched around her cloak. Her eyes shimmered, and for a moment, the memories of her Bonds being killed overwhelmed her.
Her body started to tremble, but knowing how important it was, she controlled her emotions and revealed the truth,
“They… they killed all my Bonds before selling me.”
Her voice was hoarse, almost as if she would cry any moment now. It was a sight that would make any being’s heart ache,
But not the Matriarch.
“So you are saying you have no way to prove that you aren’t corrupted?”
She narrowed her eyes, holding her sword even more firmly. The rest of the people present took out their swords as well.
“I… they really did ki—”
“Even if they did kill your Bonds, you could have formed new Bonds with new Beasts, yet you chose not to and decided to live without a Tamer’s biggest strength instead.
No explanation makes sense of this situation,
Unless…”
The Matriarch paused as she glanced at Lavinia and,
“Unless their ‘claims’ were tru—”
“She is not corrupted.”
Kael interrupted. He had had enough.
“And why should I believe your words?”
The Matriarch questioned, finally turning her attention towards Kael.
Kael paused for a moment as he stared at Lavinia,
And then,
“Igni.”
He called out.
The portal was opened, instantly alerting everyone present in the room. Everyone else started bringing out their Bonds as well, ready to defend the attack but…
The instant Igni’s head came out of the portal, every Beast present in the Hall froze in fear. Igni, on the other hand, finally stepped out of the portal, revealing his complete majesty.
“D-Dragon…”
One of the Council Elders sitting on the same level as the Matriarch stuttered, staring at Igni in awe and horror.
It wasn’t just him,
“A-A real Dragon…”
Every person present in the hall widened their eyes in shock, even the Matriarch was no exception.
“You won’t believe my words, but you aren’t going to deny a Dragon’s claim, are you?”
Kael questioned directly.
“W-What…?”
The Matriarch stuttered, looking at Kael and then the majestic creature that stood beside him.
“A Dragon’s Claim, you aren’t going to deny it, right?”
“L-Lord Dragon…”
The Matriarch didn’t know what to say.
Yes, she came from the Velmourn Family, a family that hated the Dragonborns and the Drakthar Kingdom, but this did not mean that they didn’t acknowledge a Dragon’s existence.
Even if they only had the Steel Dragons as their Guardian Beast, it wasn’t because it was their choice. They didn’t have other Dragons because other Dragons simply did not choose them.
The Velmourns respected and feared other Dragons all the same.
And now…
With a Dragon standing right in front of them…
The Matriarch of the Velmourns bowed her head,
“Lord Dragon.”
She greeted as politely as she could. Following the Matriarch, the rest of the people in the hall bowed their heads as well.
“Lord Dragon.”
Igni stared at the sight in front of him without any change in his expression. He couldn’t care less about humans other than his father, but since he knew why his father called him here, he glanced at Lavinia and—
“That girl was framed.
Her heart is too pure to be affected by that vile energy. Even if she was forcefully fed the Seed of Corruption, her body would simply spit it out.”
“What…?”
The Matriarch widened her eyes in shock.
“Lord Dragon… are you perhaps saying that she is… loved by the spirits?”
“You know about Spirits?”
Igni questioned back, a little surprised. He had read the history together with his father, and there was no mention of spirits anywhere.
“I have heard the legends. I do not know much. Our ancient records only state that no human can be loved by the spirits.”
“Yes, Lavinia is an exception. I was shocked too when I found out about it.”
Igni nodded.
In an instant, everyone in the room turned towards Lavinia, who had absolutely no clue what was happening.
Kael simply held her hand and nodded at her reassuringly. The confused Lavinia just nodded. She was still confused, but with Kael standing next to her, she decided to focus on what was important.
“E-Even if that is the case, Lord Dragon. I cannot take the descendant of our sworn enemy into our house.”
Suddenly, the Matriarch spoke up. Her eyes then fell on Kael and,
“But our doors will always be opened for Lord Dragon Tam—”
“Don’t bother. I won’t join without her.”
Kael declared directly.
“…”
The Matriarch turned silent. If she was just doing this out of formality before, now, with a Dragon standing right in front of her, she wanted to take Kael in no matter what. But at the same time, she also didn’t wish to take in the descendant of an enemy. It would be difficult for her to trust he—
“I do not ask to trust me blindly, Matriarch.”
As if knowing what the Matriarch was thinking, Lavinia spoke up.
“Have your people keep an eye on me, monitor my actions, decide on your own if I am actually here to cause you harm or if I am an opportunity that might turn everything around. I am sure you are capable of making the correct decision.
I only ask for a place to stay.”