Chapter 257: Ashes of Loyalty

A dragon’s fang.

No.

Definitely not just that.

When Kael saw what Renee was holding, something in him suddenly clicked.

“As you could probably tell, that isn’t an ordinary fang,” Renee said quietly.

There was a momentary pause, and Riley, whose eyes were still puffed up, looked between his mate and his mother in confusion.

“A former dragon lord’s fang,” Kael murmured. “Was that how your ancestors managed to enter the estate to rescue him?”

Riley blinked. “Wait… what?”

Renee nodded before he could ask more. “Yes. It is just as you guessed. That fang belonged to one of Riley’s ancestors. It was the same item the vassals used when they had no choice but to bypass the wards.”

Riley felt a chill crawl down his spine. Because suddenly he was out there, literally holding on to an ancestor’s fang.

Wasn’t that the same as handling prized ancient relics without even so much as a fucking glove?!

His hand trembled, but then he figured that, technically, he was some sort of ancient relic too.

But just as he panicked about proper handling of such treasures, he remembered Kael’s earlier explanation of the estate’s defenses.

Oh.

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The Dragon Lord’s estate was probably known to most as impenetrable. For one, that’s where the most powerful dragons lived, and unless criminals weren’t particularly concerned about their lives, then maybe they would attempt something unthinkable.

Second, the land, as well as the buildings on it, were definitely well-fortified even by modern standards.

But because the estate was originally designed as a gathering place for dragons, there were pockets of land that were intentionally left free of warding. These were natural resting areas, places where dragons once came and went freely.

The vassals had used those places whenever they wished to visit the egg.

But that wasn’t the issue. The problem came from something else entirely.

Renee placed a hand over her heart as she spoke. “One flaw of the estate is how it still recognizes the masters who lived there before.”

She likened it to renting a house only for the previous tenants to still have keys that could be used to enter it.

Riley made a face because he thought similarly when the golden dragon told him about that fun fact.

Kael, on the other hand, didn’t deny it. What was the point when clearly those vassals knew that much and probably more? His jaw tightened.

“Maybe it didn’t matter much before,” Renee continued. “Back then, most changes in ownership happened only when the previous lord died. So they probably didn’t worry so much about trickery or imagined that there would be beings who would think of using it maliciously.”

That was definitely a major flaw. Then again, the dragons from back then probably thought so little of it, considering their acknowledged superiority.

Renee had a lot to say about that as an adult and as a mother, but she didn’t really feel she had the right to complain about it when even her family had exploited that loophole to rescue her son.

Also, to be fair, even if they could enter the estate, that didn’t mean there weren’t other security measures in place.

Which was precisely why even she was aware that the Iltheran vassals couldn’t have just relied on a way in; what was probably more crucial at that point was knowing about the way out.

Thankfully, at that time, one of the vassals who decided to visit together with her ancestors was old enough to have sufficient knowledge about the layout of the dragon estate.

“That visit was meant to be simple,” Renee said. “They planned to return the fang that had been recovered from the ruins. And since the lord, the lady, and the young lord were all gone because of the accords and the nest, they thought it was the perfect time to visit the egg.”

“!!!”

Kael stiffened slightly at the mention of his family.

“But when they arrived, Lord Rueben noticed things that alarmed him.”

Renee’s expression grew grim as she recalled the details.

“For one, the path leading to the unused entrance was flattened, as if someone had walked there without even trying to hide. Then the estate, which should have been more relaxed with the dragons away, was completely silent.”

A heavier pause followed.

“But from what I’ve been told, the worst sign was the stench. A smell that should never have existed. Something foul. Something that should not have seen the light.”

Riley felt the hairs on his arms stand on end.

“That was when Lord Rueben ordered the others to stand down. He said he would enter alone.”

“Alone?” Riley whispered. “Why would he…?”

Renee gave him a sad smile. “Obviously, no one wanted that. Everyone insisted on going in together. After all, would it not be better to fight with more hands? But old Lord Rueben convinced them. He said that if he was right, someone needed to survive. Otherwise, everything would be for nothing.”

He even insisted that, with his age, it would only be right for him to go.

Renee remembered thinking that it didn’t matter if he were ultra ancient, because she believed no one would be happy to know that someone had sacrificed that much for them.

And clearly, given her son’s expression, Riley probably thought similarly. To think she hasn’t even gotten to the horrendous parts.

Then again, she wouldn’t be surprised if her son had somehow heard a different version of the story from Kael because right now the two of them looked like they had seen a ghost.

But maybe that would’ve been the right reaction because, sad to say, Lord Rueben was right.

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Using the black dragon fang as a pass, Lord Rueben managed to get to the main manor without being stopped.

Definitely not a good sign.

And sure enough, the moment he stepped inside, he saw the house swallowed by fire. And as someone whose clan had once served as the proud butlers of the Iltherans, how could he not know that, aside from decorative plants and things like books or clothes, none of the permanent furniture or fixtures were meant to catch fire.

From her grandmother’s re-telling, Renee had been told that it had been intense. That they were only fortunate enough to have someone like Lord Rueben, who knew his way around the dragon estate.

“But apparently, what made it all difficult was how he managed to overhear the attacker looking for the heir’s mate.”

Renee watched as Kael stiffened at her words. But she somehow expected that reaction because it would slowly explain their reasoning for not returning to their care.

For an egg whose existence shouldn’t have been known to the public, how come someone would specifically come to look for it?

Lord Rueben rushed out as screams of servants being tortured rang out.

The assailant was using forbidden fire. The staff were slowly being torched with something so sinister that it would’ve been better if they had just outright died.

And it didn’t help that the monster doing it kept laughing maniacally as it took down more and more people.

It wasn’t even hurrying, like success was inevitable.

Lord Rueben figured he had to get their young master out.

But much to his surprise, the egg hadn’t been inside the room.

“!!!”

“Wait, I wasn’t in the room?” Riley asked while pointing at himself.

“Yes. From what I’ve been told, they think your instincts for self-preservation kicked in.”

Riley thought that was a good thing, maybe he wasn’t simply a doughnut, but then that room… “But Mom, they found dragon egg shells insi—Oh.”

The mind-blown son came to a realization as he looked down at the table where the pocket space was still open.

“Oh…!”

Renee smiled and nodded slowly. “It’s probably what you’re thinking. Considering what Lord Rueben saw and how the goal had been very particular, he realized the monster probably wouldn’t stop unless it got its hands on the egg. So he decided to stage it himself.”

“He made an empty egg held together by the mana from a small piece of dragon bone.”

“In truth, that probably wouldn’t have worked in a normal setting, but because the tainted mana from the forbidden flames made it difficult to isolate particular mana, he thought he’d be able to pull it off.”

“And in a sense, it worked. But it only worked because the servants of the Dravaryns tried to protect the replica with their lives.”

“Lord Rueben apparently got caught by the servants who were rushing to protect the egg. They realized he was making a replica but wouldn’t finish in time.”

Renee continued her story while steeling herself. “But much to his surprise, instead of simply driving him away, they told him to leave the egg, then to run to the courtyard.”

The old vassal didn’t know what they were going for. At least up until he left as told, only to hear them screaming.

Renee was told that, in a final act of loyalty, the servants chose to burn with the replica. And when the monster finally reached the wrecked shell pieces they had shielded with their bodies, a loud, hysterical laugh of victory rang through the manor.

Riley’s vision swam. He remembered how Kael mentioned the piles of people who were in that room, and suddenly, he couldn’t breathe.

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