Chapter 135: That Idiot
"Hurry!"
"I don’t know how long it took us to get up here, so just do it now!"
"Take it out. Fast!"
Kael watched as Riley replayed it again. The twig had been seated inside the tub with his brows furrowed for over ten minutes when he finally blurted, "I could’ve sworn it’s that idiot’s voice!"
"Which one?"
"Ugh. It’s got to be Lord Darin. Sir, it probably sounds baseless, but I swear. After how many years of being forced to hear him out because he couldn’t reach you, I’m pretty sure about this."
"But as for the other one..." Riley paused, seemingly unsure about his guess.
"Unless the second daughter has a clone, it’s likely the first daughter."
"Sir, you mean the other person is Elira Elowen?"
"Likely. The second daughter dared to approach yesterday. And since you said there’s a time stamp on that thing,"—Kael pointed at the pen recorder—"Then unless she had a second body, it couldn’t possibly be her."
"And since you’re positive it’s the other noodle, then as an elf, only someone with a higher status would dare speak like that to him."
"Ah! That’s true! But now that we know this, what are you planning on doing, My Lord?"
The twig was staring at him curiously, and Kael wanted to ask what he wanted to do instead. After all, wasn’t Riley the one who dared make risky plans by himself?
Earlier that morning, when Kael had told the slumbering human he would check the sanctum for changes, Riley—who had merely grunted—had actually rolled over to call him back.
With glassy, half-moist eyes, hair sticking up wildly, and his arms wrapped around that suddenly displeasing pillow, the twig had mumbled, "Sir, if you’re going, could you please grab my pen. I think it fell. It’s a very important pen to me... so please..."
He had been barely awake, yet he still repeated the description of the pen multiple times until Kael finally said he had understood it the first time. Only then did Riley give him that unnerving smile before sinking back into sleep with a muttered, "Take care."
Kael had thought then that he ought to tell himself that instead, especially when the twig wouldn’t even wake up to the constant knocking.
But in the end, the dragon lord, who had taken even less time—now that he didn’t have to concern himself with broken necks and human heart attacks—had entered the sanctum, only to find Riley’s pen as he described it.
He picked it up as earlier reminded, then moved to check the crystals.
Tsk.
As expected. They really should have just wiped these liars out a long time ago.
Because lying across the pedestal were the originally empty mana crystals, which were now filled to capacity.
In a place that did not accept any other mana signature, what else could have possibly filled them?
But then his relatively confirmed suspicion became fact when he got back, and the suddenly excited twig showed him what that pen was really all about.
A pen recorder.
According to Riley, he had left it running. And if someone had really come over, at least he would hear something.
Kael could see the excitement in Riley’s eyes, but instead of feeling glad, he was sure a vein had popped in his head as he thought about how dangerous that could have been.
It was fortunate it was only a pen he used for that moment—something the other elves had likely seen him use often. But if anyone else had discovered he left it there intentionally, this twig would have been in real trouble.
But Riley, who also did not want to die too early, had thought of the same things.
He explained that he had not planned on being careless.
He had a few other human gadgets with him that worked fine in the sanctum, since the problem there was with magical items, not mundane ones. But in his mind, the pen was the most logical choice, because it could believably have fallen out of his clothes after being jostled around like that.
Riley even went through the trouble of explaining all this while Kael gave him that grumpy look again. And in the end, Riley had to swear to inform him about such things in the future. Because according to Kael, what if something like that compromised a future mission?
Not that Riley disagreed. He even admitted as much.
But deep down, what he really wanted to say was that he should not even be on such missions in the first place.
He was an aide. Where was the paperwork in all this?
Where were the lunch meetings, office meetings, or any other meetings he could put on a proper calendar without it looking like a criminal’s daily log?
Then again, maybe he was better suited to the thug life, because no sooner had he complained about it than he found himself staring down a meeting he could not refuse.
There was a knock on the door, and an elf stepped inside carrying a tray with an envelope.
The servant bowed politely. "My Lord. Aide Hale. Her Majesty, Queen Rhiannon Elowen, has sent this over."
Riley raised his brows, took the envelope, and cracked the seal. Sure enough, it was an invitation. What surprised him was the wording. It specifically mentioned outgoing communications. That was... interesting. Intriguing, even.
Unfortunately, with the elven servant still standing there, allegedly because the queen had instructed her to wait and guide him, Riley could not exactly discuss it. So he forced a smile and said, "I’ll change clothes. Give me a moment."
"No."
He had not even said anything to his boss when Kael said it flatly.
Riley’s eye twitched. Did this guy think he wanted to go? Obviously, he also wanted to say the same thing!
But inside the privacy of Kael’s sound barrier, Riley quickly whispered back, "Sir, I don’t think I have a choice this time. She even sent someone to wait for me. But since we already know they have the thing with them, I’ll just be extra careful."
Extra. Extra careful. Because after combining their findings, they would be damned if the elves did not have the Codex with them. And surely, if two members of the royal family were involved, the others had to know. Unless they were all turning a blind eye.
Ugh. Screw them all.
And then, in the way only Riley could, the aide who had promised himself to be extra careful shouted as he walked out, "Honey! I’ll come back right away. You know where I’ll be if I take too long, right?"
Kael tilted his head, but this time the dragon lord did not scoff. He only said, "Mn. I know." Loud enough for those tattletales to hear.
And just like that, Riley walked into the oddest tea time of his short life.