Legacy of the Dark Sage

With Kyran's unexpected visit, Avrum was the only one able to come to the Regis Estate after an hour. Stella, though eager, was tied up with critical matters in the Conclave. Her absence would have been less felt if Malek had fully recovered, but his ongoing recuperation meant he couldn't fully attend to his duties.

On the other hand, Hughes and the other Conclave council members promised to come as soon as they were available because they could not pass off the opportunity to see Kyran after so many years. They also wanted the rest of the leading figures in Ylfaen to know about his return, but because he was supposed to be in exile— so he could look for the Princess— they could not announce it.

They had intended to inform Iulia, but they understood the weight of her responsibilities as the Empress. It was simply impossible for her to make time and visit on such short notice. Instead, Jared suggested that Kyran might choose to visit himself before returning to the Higher Realm, so they were free to let her know if they could.

After concluding their conversation, Jared thanked them and returned to the mansion to inform Kyran about their agreement.

Probably because the transportation arrays around the empire had been restored three years after the war, Avrum arrived faster than intended. He was then greeted and escorted to the periphery of the Regis Terram, where Kyran and the others were already waiting.

"Oh my goodness!" Avrum exclaimed as soon as he saw Kyran. He looked him up and down and shook his head in disbelief, "For a moment, I thought you were Lord Cade, who accidentally drank a youth potion!"

Kyran looked at him funny and said, "I don't think I look that much like my father."

"What are you saying? You're his spitting image when he was your age."

"Really?" Jared scrutinized his nephew's face and frowned. "He looks more like a male-Rin with Regis features to me."

"Oi, are you not practically saying he looks like Sir Nolan!"

"Oh, you're right."

"..."

Cyneah chuckled while hearing their exchange. Their description of Kyran helped her picture him better.

Back in Somuli, Cyneah tried to trace Kyran's features using her magic sense. However, she could barely make out his features even when he tried to reduce Shaiha's concealment.

With Avrum and Jared providing Cyneah with more people to compare Kyran, she drew a better picture of him in her mind's eye. After all, unlike him, she could see her in-laws' features better.

"Aren't you glad?" Cyneah turned toward Kyran with a smile. "If they could not decide who you resembled, then it means you have inherited both your parents' features perfectly."

"..."

Kyran exercised his right to remain silent and chose not to answer. In fact, he felt slightly annoyed that everyone kept saying he looked like someone.

Was his face really that generic?

"Oh? Aren't you...!"

Avrum gasped while looking at Cyneah. He did not mean to ignore her. Truth be told, he did not notice her because Kyran stood before her. If Avrum did not know better, Kyran appeared to be hiding her.

The moment Avrum saw Cyneah, he recalled the rumored young lady who looked so much like Princess Haylee that Kyran brought to the Tower of Conclave. But as far as he remembered, the lady was a very young woman back then. She was very beautiful, yes, but she was still very young.

However, Avrum could no longer find that seemingly innocent young woman before him. He was not saying that Cyneah lost her innocent look because she still exudes that purity, but if he had to compare her with someone, she would not lose out to their Lord!

Seeing Avrum's reaction, Kyran took that chance to introduce Cyneah. Although the two knew each other, because of the brewing war, he could not introduce her formally.

"You might remember her back then, Deputy Avrum, but let me introduce her to you again," Kyran started with a smile. "This is Cyneah, my fiancée."

Avrum's eyes almost popped out of their sockets at Kyran's introduction.

"F-Fiancée?"

"Yes," Kyran replied. "I'm sorry I can't invite everyone to our nuptials, but our parents agreed to hold a separate one here once we finalize everything."

"...."

Jared looked at Avrum's dumbfounded expression helplessly. He obviously knew the Lord of the Tower, whom the latter served, liked Kyran. While Jared felt a little bad for Avrum to be the first to receive the news and agonize over how to tell his Lord, he agreed with Kyran's forthright approach in introducing Cyneah.

"...Alas... milord...."

In the end, Avrum snapped out of his senses and shook his head lamentably. He looked at Cyneah and offered his hand in congratulation. With a smile, he said, "I'm looking forward to the day you both can have your wedding here."

"Thank you," Cyneah replied while shaking his hand.

As Avrum lowered his hand, his face suddenly darkened as he thought of something and exclaimed, "Ah! Does that mean the Regis Clan and the Royal Family are finally joining forces?"

Jared sighed and waved his hand dismissively.

"Stop. Stop. You're getting ahead of yourself," he said, putting an arm over Avrum's shoulder. "Let's not talk about such heavy topics when the big guys are not around."

Obviously, the big guys Jared was referring to were his father and brother, as well as Emperor Euan. After all, they were the ones who had an official say in those things.

"Uncle's right," Kyran agreed while looking at Jared again. "Deputy Avrum, I need your help with something."

"Right, right," Avrum scratched his head awkwardly. "Master Jared explained it to us. That's why Malia agreed to let me come here as soon as possible."

He smiled at Kyran and said, "I hope you're prepared for some excruciating experience. My magic is not as friendly as those poisons you're immune to."

*

Aillos leaned back in his chair and looked at Ducal standing before him.

The two were inside his office sorting the spar requests that arrived after the first spar matches.

Before the end of the spar, Aillos announced that they would be accepting requests, expecting those tribes that did not send any spar requests against Kyran to send one finally. After all, Dilitrio's remark before Eissen announced the end of the match had caused a lot of commotion.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Contrary to expectations, however, some of the requests they received were withdrawals of their initial requests. Then, some tribes who had fought Kyran sent another request, with different talents participating.

"I expected the second day of the spar to cause a commotion, but this is..." Aillos sighed while looking at the transparent glowing parchments that occupied his table and almost a quarter of his office's floor.

Ducal looked at the parchments still on the floor and shook his head, "This is all because they did not know anything about that boy. With the remark Dilitrio left as well, too many speculations are going around."

He looked at Aillos and lowered his head in plea: "Please, Lord Aillos, address the clan's concern. If not, I'm afraid this incident may cause friction between tribes."

"Hm..."

Aillos took a deep breath and contemplated Ducal's words. While it was true that all dragons did not want a repeat of The Fall, which was why they supported Aillos's decision to accept the Regis Family to the clan because they had the Draconic core, he also knew that they were not willing to take a risk and sacrifice the future of the clan if the situation turned for the worse.

At the moment, the speculation of Kyran having two Ancient Magic Cores could be considered among the worst situations they could be in. Moreover, if that news reached The Emperor, it would only spell one thing.

War.

Of course, until the speculation around Kyran was confirmed, the dragons were still calm. But what about after Aillos confirmed it? What then?

Dragons don't go into panic. Instead, they go into a frenzy when they are triggered.

Aillos knew that was what Ducal wanted to avoid. Once dragons enter into a frenzy, they stop recognizing friends from foes. The only thing that would remain was their desire to protect their tribe.

Currently, those tribes that requested the retraction of their spar request against Kyran could be considered pacifists. They would likely decide what to do after Aillos made an official statement about the rumor. Then, those who did not make a move were confident with Aillos. They were the ones who would accept and believe anything he said because they knew he could protect the clan no matter what.

Lastly, the tribes that sent a new request against Kyran were realists. They wanted to learn the truth themselves and would work out their tribe's countermeasures without relying on Aillos.

"Leave them for now," Aillos decided after a moment's pause.

Ducal looked at him with a troubled expression, "Lord Aillos..."

"Even if I tell them about the truth, at most, they will decide to retreat to their territory and lie low. At the end of the day, as long as The Emperor remained ignorant of Kyran's existence, nothing would happen."

"Are you not worried that someone will betray the clan?"

"I trust my people."

"..."

"And if they are my loyal vassal, they will know I will not abandon them. They will not make any stupid move that will jeopardize the clan."

Ducal smiled wryly and shook his head, "This is why I can't leave you alone."

Aillos chuckled.

"Alright," Ducal straightened and looked at Aillos with an unwavering resolve. "We will do our best to assure everyone. But I hope you also put more thought into delegating your successor."

"...Thank you."

As Ducal returned to checking the parchments on the floor, Aillos continued to observe him with a slight smile.

Ducal might still insist on him finding a successor, but he has mellowed out on matters pertaining to the Regis Family these past few days.

It was a good sign.

Moreover, Ducal might say that he was concerned about what would happen if the dragon tribes started going against each other, but in fact, he was worried that the Regis Family might not be able to 'survive' if they got caught in the middle. Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire

Pushing his thoughts aside, Aillos went back to checking the parchments on his table. He made a mental note of the tribes that requested to spar with Kyran again and those who wished to retract their request.