Chapter 440: They are not the enemies.

After spending a few more minutes in the sky, Igni finally dipped. They had already spent too long here, the Elderlies must be waiting for them.

The Dragon banked into a wide circle over the Elders’ block, the sight instantly attracting the Elderlies’ attention.

Those who saw the Dragon from their windows quickly walked out with bright looks on their faces, rushing to greet Kael.

For some reason, the sight loosened something inside Kael that fear had knotted tight. Lavinia sensed it as well—

She smiled as she stared at the Elderlies and in a low, gentle voice—

“They do not show this expression to everyone,

You are the only one. It is because you are special.”

“I am not special.”

Kael answered with a smile as he finally jumped from Igni, then extended his hand towards Lavinia. The Mage accepted his hand and purposefully landed in Kael’s arms.

Kael gently put her down as the Elders quickly surrounded him.

And in an instant, he was buried in questions,

“Kael! Are you okay?”

“I heard something happened during the council!”

“You aren’t hurt, are you?”

“You shouldn’t push yourself, you already work too much.”

“Did someone say anything to you? Do you want us to talk to them?”

“…”

“…”

Kael blinked at the situation, a little taken aback.

He stared at Lavinia with a light frown. The Mage just chuckled,

“Don’t look at me, I didn’t say anything.

The rumors must have spread quickly.”

Kael’s frown deepened and then finally—

‘Some people saw brother Igni burning the Elders Hall and flying away. Once more people gathered, they started talking, and while Morvain settled the crowd and told them to move, she didn’t give them any answers. So people began coming up with their own theories.

These theories spread everywhere, much faster than normal rumors since it was directly related to the Council.

And because the Elders’ block is now quite a popular place with most people coming here for food, the Elderlies were the first of the bunch to learn about it.’

Imperia gave a short summary, telling Kael everything he needed to know.

Kael blinked at the information, staring at the Elders who looked at him with worried looks on their faces,

“I am fine, there is no need to worry.”

He finally answered with a light smile.

“We still need to know what happened?”

“Yes, there were quite a few troubling words.”

Some Elders questioned further, the rest nodded in agreement.

Kael, however, shook his head,

“I do not wish to talk about the matter.

I will only say that I did what I had to.

There will be no more conversations regarding this matter anymore.”

He stated directly and the Elders flinched, instantly nodding at his words without any counters.

Just then—

“Papa!!”

A cheerful voice was heard.

It was Nyrri, who was now rushing towards Kael, looking absolutely adorable. Elder Maela and a few others were walking behind him, making sure the adorable little thing did not fall. Kael too, smiled as he saw the Laviatharid and he extended his arms, open for a big hug.

Something little Nyrri reacted quickly to and jumped forward without even calculating if he would reach his Father.

Kael laughed and quickly rushed forward, knowing Nyrri wouldn’t reach him. Just as he grabbed him, Nyrri, with his still undeveloped limbs, hugged him as tightly as he could.

Kael didn’t lose his balance either and hugged him back,

“You did well today.”

He praised.

It was a sight that warmed the hearts of the Elders present in the square.

Kael then finally glanced at Maela and nodded at her. The woman nodded back. Lavinia then stepped forward, giving them the rations needed for the day and very quickly, the Elderlies got to work.

They were already a few hours late but these were the same people who were habitual to being starved for days. A few hours didn’t change anything.

After delivering the rations, Kael and Lavinia decided to return. Too many things had happened, the Stormcallers’ attack didn’t seem one bit natural, plus, now that the word that something happened during the Council had spread amongst the people, it didn’t seem like this matter would die anytime soon.

While the Council was having its own discussion, Kael and Lavinia needed to plan and prepare for what might happen next as well.

…

“How are the people reacting?”

Kael, who had returned to their home, finally brought out Imperia and asked directly.

“No, first tell us how much do they actually know.”

Lavinia shook her head, she glanced at Kael and—

“Morvain hid Draksis from the crowd till I was there, so she might have done something.”

Kael nodded at those words and turned towards Imperia, waiting for her to begin. Imperia nodded and started answering calmly,

“There were a few people who heard Draksis’s screams but no one actually knows what really happened.

So while there are theories that say Father and Draksis got into a fight, not many people believe it.

Most are waiting for either Father or the Matriarch to clear things up.”

“What about those who aren’t waiting?”

Lavinia asked another question. Imperia stared at the Mage and—

“Some of them think Father ran after hurting Draksis, some think Father did it so he wouldn’t lose control over himself and accidentally hurt others.

The opinions are mixed, but the Velmourns loyal to Father simply refuse to take the opposite side.

They say either Father didn’t hurt Draksis, or that Draksis deserved it.

They have complete faith in their Dragon God.”

The Ant explained, slowly turning towards her Father.

“These are either the soldiers who fought together with you against the Stonefangs, their families or close friends, or people who have been regularly eating at the Elders’ block. Their loyalty to you is strong, it wouldn’t waver even if Draksis’s condition is revealed, especially if we tell everyone what happened truthfully.”

Kael nodded at those words and while what he did still made him uncomfortable, he was now getting used to the feeling. He knew that he needed to focus on stabilizing his position and gaining people’s support, not dwell in the past.

He glanced at Lavinia and chuckled softly.

“You making me the Dragon God helped us quite a bit.”

“I had no hand in that, the people started believing what they wanted to believe in.”

The Mage quickly defended herself, but this time, Kael was prepared.

“Yeah?

Then please clear something that has been bugging me for a while now.”

“What?”

Lavinia raised her eyebrow.

“Why didn’t you give the rations to the Elderlies when I was with Igni? You had it inside your Sanctuary, no? Then why didn’t you just give it to them when you were already there anyways?”

Kael asked with a provocative smile.

“That’s because…”

“Because the Divine Rations cannot be given without the presence of the Dragon God.

Isn’t that the notion you wanted to spread?”

Kael spoke before Lavinia could.

The Mage stared at the man in front of her and—

“I didn’t say anything.”

“But that is exactly what you wanted people to believe, no?”

Kael questioned as he gently held Lavinia’s hands and moved his face closer to hers,

“So tell me, Princess, how exactly is this not you making me a God in people’s eyes?”

“…”

For the first time in a while, Lavinia was out of words. She just stared at Kael, then, her eyes fell on his lips. Lips she had been… secretly tasting for days now…

The woman secretly gulped, trying her hardest to keep her eyes locked into Kael’s and not look down. She tightly held Kael’s hand but then—

“I believe we should discuss what is important first.”

Imperia, who was sitting inside Kael’s pocket, spoke in a flat tone as she stared at the Mage with a deadpan look on her face, knowing exactly what was going on in her mind.

After all, unlike Kael, Imperia knew everything the Mage had been doing at nights.

“R-Right!”

At the Ant’s words, Lavinia reacted with a flinch, almost jumping away from Kael as she took her hands away from him.

She then stared at the man and—

“T-This isn’t the time to talk about this.

Whoever is behind this, the fact of the matter is, your strong image has given us an advantage.

It is something we should not let go.

We should strike when the iron’s still hot.”

“No, we will not do anything.”

Kael shook his head, making the Mage frown.

“What? Why?”

“We will wait for the Council to make a move.”

The Hero declared.

“But why give them this chance?”

Lavinia didn’t understand.

“Because they are not the enemies.”

Kael answered, looking at Lavinia with a firm look on his face.

“I would like it if this matter isn’t pursued anymore. We already have the Stormcallers to worry about, adding another issue on top of it isn’t a wise decision.

Of course, it will be a different story if the Council decides to attack us,

Then,

We will retaliate.”

“That is what I do not understand, why give them a chance to attack us? Why give them a chance to take us by surprise?”

The Mage frowned and at those words, Kael just smiled as he stared at his youngest daughter and—

“Because they can never take us by surprise.”

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