Chapter 416: You just need to dig a little.

“That took longer than expected.”

Lavinia muttered as she and Kael walked out of the Elders Hall and stepped onto the ground that had now turned into a snowy field after constant snowfall.

The meeting continued for a while after Kael suggested he would be taking care of the Emergency Rations. The Elders, like Draksis, tried to come up with different methods, ones that did not involve taking Kael’s help in another matter, but in the end, there was nothing much they could say.

Truthfully, the entire meeting felt like anti-Kael propaganda where the Elders did everything in their power to go against everything Kael said and did.

Only Tarevian, the Voice of the Commonfolk, and Korvath, the Commander of the Watch, somewhat supported Kael with their silence, never piling up on him like the other Elders did.

Aelindra, the Warden of Provisions, did try to be reasonable as well, but this was her Authority that was being discussed. With Kael coming up, wanting to take the complete responsibility was seen as a direct challenge to her, so she couldn’t just stay silent either.

But of course, with Lavinia standing together with Kael and shutting down every Elder that spoke, in the end, the matter was solved.

After an hour-long discussion, it was concluded that the Elders had no solution to this problem and Kael was given the authority to rebuild the Emergency Rations, something that Kael suggested at the very beginning of the meeting.

“To think they would waste an entire hour when they had nothing substantial to say, they sure have a lot of time for people who constantly complain about being busy the entire day.”

The Mage shrugged in helplessness as they continued walking.

Kael, on the other hand, was silent. His brows were furrowed, there were clearly a lot of things in his mind and after a few more silent steps, he spoke in a low voice.

“…why did you act like that?”

“What do you mean?”

Lavinia turned towards him and tilted her head.

“The way you harshly cornered Elder Draksis and others—

You even refused to tell them how we were going to secure the Emergency Rations and took all of the authority over the matter, leaving them no way out.

Why didn’t you just work together with Elder Aelindra, someone you have a good relationship with? She has experience when it comes to Provisions and their distribution, her experience would have helped us.

Then why…

Why did you act like that?”

Kael questioned, his confusion clear on his face. He had this question when Lavinia began to confront Elder Draksis, he sensed that she was being harsher than she had to.

What confused him even more was that—

“It was you who told me to accept them as they are.

You told me that they did what they did because they had no other choice, that it wasn’t their fault.

Then why were you… so harsh on them today?”

At those words, Lavinia chuckled softly as she held Kael’s hand,

“I couldn’t let them belittle you, now could I?”

Her eyes glinted with amusement.

“You are someone I consider my close friend, I obviously wouldn’t just sit and let anyone use that tone against you. I am a Princess for God’s sake,

I am quite arrogant, you know?”

At those words, Kael just stared at the woman with a flat look on his face and—

“Be serious, Lavinia.”

Lavinia stared at Kael for a while, the smile on her face still lingered, but her tone shifted.

“If we had stayed quiet, they would have taken it as weakness.”

She began.

“They would have thought they could push us aside whenever it suited them. And if the Elders see us as weak, then the people will too. That cannot happen.”

Kael’s brows drew together, and she continued, tightening her hold on Kael’s hand.

“Power is not only about swords and fire, Kael.

It is also about presence.

If you do not show your teeth when others bare theirs, they will assume you have none. And once that assumption spreads, every decision you try to make will be questioned, every word you speak will be doubted.

That is how influence dies.”

“…so this was about politics,”

Kael muttered under his breath.

“That is correct,”

Lavinia replied without hesitation.

“You need to understand that we sit amongst Elders who have ruled this land for decades.

We are outsiders here.

They respect us because of your power, yes—but this is the problem with respect born out of fear.

It is fragile.

The moment you hesitate, the moment you bow your head, that respect will crumble.

They will see you as a weapon to be pointed, not a leader to be heard.”

“But I am not their leader…”

Kael frowned and Lavinia…

She just stared at his face with a light smile on her face and—

“Not yet.”

She answered lightly before she quickly shook her head and,

“I did what I did to make sure they remembered—

We are not tools.

We are not children to be lectured.

We are voices that cannot be silenced—voices that hold as much power as them.”

She explained as she nodded with a meaningful look on her face.

“…”

Kael stared at her in silence.

Lavinia may have tried to rush it away, but he didn’t miss her ‘Not yet’.

Of course, this wasn’t the first time he had heard about it either, he knew Lavinia’s intentions of coming here were much higher than what she let on and…

It seemed like it had all begun.

After all, Lavinia was finally using the Ants when she wasn’t before.

“Where are we going next?”

Kael questioned lightly.

“What about the people? How have they reacted to the news of the corrupt provisioners?”

Lavinia questioned back and at her question, Imperia popped out of Kael’s pocket. Lavinia had already created a barrier around them, making sure no one saw or heard them, so it was all fine.

“There is a… unsettling tension amongst them.”

The Ant began.

“A seed of doubt has been planted, the blind trust they had in each other has started to falter. The Unity that was once strong is… now seeing a few cracks in it.”

Hearing those words, Kael frowned. Lavinia on the other hand, smiled lightly, satisfied.

“And what happened after the public punishment? What is the people’s reaction to that?”

The Mage questioned, and seeing the look on her face, Kael couldn’t help but recall the time when she quickly stepped in when Morvain told him to announce the punishment and said it would be better if the leader did it herself.

At that time, he felt like she was just showing the Matriarch a little respect because of what they unknowingly did but now…

Now it seems like the Mage had another reason to do that.

“Not all Velmourns have heard the news, many are still working, but amongst those who have, many are… dissatisfied.”

The Ant reported.

“Most wanted harsher punishment and while some did agree with the Matriarch’s statement that capable men should be used for work, people are still having a difficult time forgiving the provisioners.”

“Good.”

Lavinia nodded, even more satisfied.

Imperia stared at the woman with her big eyes, but in the end, she just nodded back and went back into Kael’s pocket, not commenting on anything.

Lavinia, on the other hand, turned towards Kael and—

“Then should we start feeding people?”

She questioned, tilting her head with an innocent smile on her face.

“Do you finally want to go there?”

“I do wish to see the empire Lady Imperia has created.”

Lavinia nodded, her smile widening.

“Alright then, be careful.”

Kael nodded as he picked her up like a princess and jumped into the air.

…

At a mountain peak, cold winds howled, carrying sharp flakes of snow that cut like blades. Because of how high in the air it was, the snow here was much heavier and the weather was much, much colder compared to the mainland where the Velmourns lived.

It was a harsh environment, and in this environment, Kael, with Lavinia in his arms, landed softly on the frozen ridge.

“Y-You could have moved a bit slower… you know?”

Lavinia spoke in a low voice.

Unlike Kael, who didn’t feel very cold, probably because of his Bond with Igni, Lavinia was different.

She was freezing.

She had clung close to Kael, grabbing him as tightly as she could to use his body heat to keep herself warm, even now, she seemed to have no plans on leaving him.

“…I thought the faster we got here, the better.”

Kael answered in a low voice, acting like he was looking around but the red on his face was very apparent.

He… he liked the feeling of having Lavinia wrapped around him like she was right now and when he realized that she came closer to him as he moved faster…

He couldn’t control himself and momentarily lost control over himself.

Quite embarrassing, yes, but fortunately for him, Lavinia was wrapped around him too tightly to actually see his flushed face.

Kael took advantage of the situation and wrapped his arm around her body, pulling her even closer and only after enjoying this closeness for a good minute, did he finally actually begin looking around.

The world around them was nothing but white—snow piled high, ice wrapped around jagged stones, and no sign of life anywhere.

“Ria… where do we go?”

Kael questioned innocently, he had landed exactly where Imperia told him to but…

There didn’t seem to be any signs of the Empire his daughter was talking about.

Imperia slowly crawled out of his shirt and sat on top of his head,

“You are already here, Father.

You just need to dig a little.”

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