Chapter 292: If you are too scared, we can leave.
“So you are saying… that the Drakthar leaders erased… such an important part of history… just to… make themselves look good?”
“Well, it wouldn’t be the first time it happened.”
Morvain shrugged.
Kael turned towards Lavinia, who nodded with a grim look on her face.
This was definitely possible, she would be a fool if she denied this possibility.
“…”
For a moment, Kael lowered his head and started thinking.
“How did the Heroes of the Past defeat Corruption?”
Kael questioned. If it was done before, then things would become much simpler. At the very least, he would get some sort of help, a way to get stronger that is only possible for the Hero from another world, or some other important information he should know about.
“I do not know. As I said, if you do not know about it, then the Dragonborns must have erased those records.”
Morvain shrugged.
“Huh…?”
Kael’s frown deepened.
“The Dragonborns only erased the records they had, no? What about the records you have?”
He questioned. Morvain, however, only stared at him with a deadpan look on her face and,
“We barely survived the War of the World’s Envy and were exiled here. Do you think we were given time to gather our historic records in the midst of all that?
And before you ask, no, our ancestors did not have the time to recreate those records, they were busy trying to survive in these lands.
With the Steel Dragons abandoning us, things got even worse, and by the time it got a little stable, generations had passed and most of the records were lost.
The only thing we know are the bedtime stories that our mothers used to recite to us at night. To most, these just sound like fairy tales,
But we know they are true.”
Morvain spoke with a solemn look on her face.
“So you have no information?”
“Not something that would be of help to you.”
Morvain shook her head.
“…I understand.”
Kael could only nod.
He didn’t come here thinking he would get any past records anyway, it would have just been some extra bonus if he did.
It wasn’t a big deal, or at least that was how he convinced himself.
“But why did the Hero decide to come here?”
While Kael was thinking all this, Morvain questioned.
No matter how much she thought about it, it made no sense. As embarrassing as it may be, Morvain knew that their current situation was nowhere close to any of the existing nations.
They were worse in every way. They were weaker, they had fewer resources, they lacked information, and they were isolated.
Even their magic technology lacked since the entire world was closed off to them and they only had their own mages to rely on, and even they weren’t doing that great of a job simply because of the lack of materials to create anything.
Yes, the Velmourns were in that bad of a situation.
For a moment, Morvain thought that Kael didn’t know about it but—
“I do not trust Drakthar’s King.”
Kael answered, pulling the Matriarch out of her reverie.
She frowned at that answer. Soon, however, as if she realized something, she turned towards Lavinia, who nodded lightly as she lowered her eyes, not wanting to recall that memory.
“It was…?”
Morvain tilted her head.
“Yes, it was the King who framed her.”
Kael nodded.
“But if she is the Princess, then the King must be he—”
“Yes, he betrayed and framed his daughter. I cannot trust such a person.”
“Why did he do it?”
“A Phoenix gave Lavinia her Egg, he coveted it.”
“What…?”
Morvain widened her eyes, a little taken aback.
Lavinia’s body trembled lightly. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, but it wasn’t working. Feeling everyone’s stare made her uncomfortable.
“So you decided to side with her.”
“That is correct.”
Kael nodded.
“But still, why not go to some other Nation? Even if they aren’t the strongest, they are still better than us, no?”
“I was told that the Velmourns were quite arrogant, but you are quite the opposite of that, and I do not mean that in a good way.”
Kael countered.
“How long are you going to demean yourself?”
He questioned back.
Morvain, however, shook her head.
“I am only being practical here.”
The Matriarch looked into Kael’s eyes and,
“Arrogance is only good when one has something to back it up. For the weak, arrogance only means death.”
“To openly admit you are weak…
I wonder what your ancestors would say if they heard it.”
“I do not care what they say or hear.”
Morvain answered directly, her voice filled with conviction.
“I only care about my people.
Reliving glory days is a coward’s nostalgia.”
“…”
Kael turned silent. He didn’t expect to hear such strong words.
“Now, please answer my question, Hero Kael.
Why us?”
Kael paused for a moment. Morvain’s eyes were heavy. Not just her, but the rest of the people present in the hall all stared at him with the same looks on their faces, almost mirroring their Matriarch.
It just showed how much influence she had on her people.
He stared at Lavinia, who nodded. He nodded back and decided to be honest,
“The Treaty of Vorgath.”
Morvain narrowed her eyes at those words.
“The Treaty stops the outside world from interacting with Velmourns and their people, so if you accept us as your people, they wouldn’t be able to come after us.”
“So you want to use the Treaty to your advantage?”
“That is correct.”
Kael nodded.
“Your presence will attract too much attention to us.”
“It will.”
Kael nodded again.
“If you are too scared, we can leave.”
Suddenly, Lavinia spoke up.
At her words, Morvain narrowed her eyes.
“Provoking me will not help you, Princess.”
“It was not my intention to provoke you. Every one of us wishes to survive, you aren’t any different. The decision you take will be with your people’s best interest in mind.
I believed there was still a part of Twilight Sovereigns left in you, but I can now say that is not the case. You are no different than a small tribe trying to survive.
We have no intention of making things difficult for such hard-working, honest people.”
Saying those words, Lavinia bowed her head and Morvain’s mouth twitched.
The Matriarch clearly understood what the Princess was doing.