Legacy of the Dark Sage

Chapter 1140: Grand Gathering (1)

Raelia leaned back on her bed with furrowed brows.

"Lord Null," she repeated, her voice laced with disbelief as she sighed. "I still find it hard to believe that we are indebted to Ames’s family."

Alta fell silent as she shared the same sentiments. Apart from that, she had trouble believing that Kyran was the person The Emperor was after and the black mage she pursued back in the unnamed plane.

"...Lady Raelia," Alta started after a short pause. "Are you really planning on returning to The Emperor’s side after you’ve recovered?"

After Alta answered every one of Raelia’s questions, the latter expressed her intentions of returning to The Emperor’s side. Alta could not voice her disagreement because Raelia’s work for The Emperor was part of the Blade Dancers’ agreement to show their loyalty.

To be more precise, the Blade Dancer’s agreement with The Emperor was to provide him with their best talent and work as part of his Elite. When the previous mage from the Blade Dancer Clan grew too old to help The Emperor, Raelia, a promising talent during that generation, replaced him.

Raelia was still a great help to The Emperor. As a matter of fact, she was the captain of her own squad. Her authority was far lower than that of Deus and Midnight, who served as the Head Aide and Deputy Aide of The Emperor, but it was enough for her to order the dispatch of mages from other clans under the Solis Clan.

Considering Raelia’s position in The Emperor’s Elite, Alta could understand why she wanted to return. However, the fact that The Emperor destroyed her clan should have voided the agreement binding her to him. In Alta’s opinion, there was no reason for Raelia to return.

"I want to confirm His Majesty’s intention for what he did to the clan," Raelia replied, shaking her head before adding, "I am still skeptical about what that person told the elders and the Clan Head regarding soul threads. I can’t trust his words because he is not the Soul Emperor.

Until I get definite proof that His Majesty had intentionally released his magic to destroy the clan, I will give him the benefit of the doubt."

"But that’s...." Alta stopped short of what she was about to say.

When she explained what had happened, she refrained from telling Raelia about Cyneah. Alta promised to keep Cyneah safe and to start with that; she had to ensure that no one else should know about her—at least, not without the Dragon Emperor or Kyran’s permission.

Raelia looked at Alta and narrowed her eyes, "Is there something you have not told me?"

Alta sighed and shook her head, "I’m sorry, Lady Raelia. It’s just that... I feel uncomfortable knowing of your patience and loyalty to The Emperor. Regardless of his intentions, don’t you think he should have already clarified the situation by now and stopped the rumors circulating among the other clans? Yet even then, you wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt..."

Raelia did not respond. To be honest, she was very mad when she heard her clan got caught in the middle of a crossfire when The Emperor confronted Ruin and the Void Master. But she could do nothing but reign in her anger. This was because there were so many versions of the truth of what happened, and each sounded more absurd than the other.

The only rumor she deemed possible had been the one she told Ames. But even then, she was not entirely convinced.

In any case, Raelia only wanted to give her clan a chance to be in The Emperor’s good graces again by giving him the benefit of the doubt and confirming the truth. She knew that if Clan Head Geir or Elder Zigor knew what she was thinking, they would allow her to make her decision. She never once doubted that the two older men would be angered by it.

Alta had a different take on the matter, though. After being around Kyran and observing his interaction with the clan’s head, elders, and executives, she was sure that they would be disappointed with Raelia’s train of thought.

Nonetheless, Alta could not blame Raelia because she had been working with The Emperor for a long time, and it would not be impossible for her to develop a deeper loyalty toward him than her clan by then.

The two of them, with Aron, were inside Ames’s office in her chamber. They were busy organizing the things that Aillos told them to do.

Ames looked at Cade from her seat, pausing for a bit from reading some documents.

"An exchange, huh?" she smiled wryly before returning her attention back to what she was reading. "It was nothing formal like that. During Grand Gatherings, dragons tend to get a little excited, and a request for a spar happens all the time. The dome is there to cater to that."

"Request for a spar..." Aron’s expression turned grim as he thought of something.

Ames’s face distorted as she guessed what he was thinking.

"I’ll make sure that Father tells everyone not to send out spar requests against you and the others."

"If you do that, everyone will just see us as an eyesore even more," Aron said.

"True," Cade agreed, chuckling. Let them request it. We’ll just play by the gathering’s rules."

"But—."

"We’ll just keep Kyran out of it," Aron also chimed with a wry smile. "If that boy received any request... we’ll likely end up infuriating the others."

He turned to Cade and said bitterly, "I love my grandson, but after everything that happened, I find him quite good at provoking others— intentionally or not."

"I agree, too."

Not one to save his son’s face, Cade agreed with his Father’s assessment of Kyran.

"You two don’t seem worried about your relationship with the dragons worsening at all."

"I don’t want to be rude, Lady Ames. But it’s not like they have any good feelings about us in the first place," Cade said.

"That’s true... but as long as they understand your situation..."

"There is no need for you and Lord Aillos to build up our image among your people, Lady Ames," Aron told her with a smile. "In fact, a certain level of discord can be helpful."

Ames did not say anything because she understood where Aron was coming from. In fact, during the first few years after her Father united all the dragon tribes, conflicts surfaced almost every day. In the end, those conflicts shaped the tribes’ relationship, and now they were all united.

Considering this, it might be helpful if the dragons and quilins requested to spar with the Regis and Kyran’s people and grew to understand them. By doing so, they could build good relations in the long run.