Chapter 129: A Necessary Strategy
Back outside the door, three elven servants had come with the simple task of inviting the dragon lord and his human aide to a meal. Simple. That was the plan.
Except when they drew closer, they froze.
Inside, the human’s voice rang out, sharp with fury. "I’m dying to go home!"
The elves exchanged wide-eyed looks. Angry. He sounded angry. And the tone wasn’t mild frustration either. No, this was the kind of voice you heard when someone was about to snap a chair in half.
All three of them paled.
This was bad. Very bad.
They had been warned—no, commanded—to treat the dragon lord and his aide with the utmost care.
Kael Dravaryn was the most vital figure in the ongoing investigation, the only one likely to help recover the Moonveil Codex. Offending him was already out of the question. But now, if his aide was demanding to go home?
It was a crisis.
To make matters worse, their detection stones glowed ominously, shifting through shades that signaled volatile emotions. Anger. Stress. And then—was that... pity?
The elves stiffened. Pity? From a dragon?
Their minds immediately spiraled. If the dragon lord pitied the human, that could mean...
What if he truly considered sending him away? Surely he would just discard a fragile aide, right?
Now, discarding him would be fine. But then, the words from the servants yesterday echoed like curses. Don’t mess with the human. The dragon lord is practically all over him.
But if it was really like that, then what if instead of discarding him, he decides to go back to follow the human? But the barrier would not allow them, right?
If only.
But who were they kidding when even she was aware that the dragon lord had entered Silvara by destroying part of that very same barrier!
All three servants gulped.
The others before them had already made mistakes. Grave mistakes. What if that was the reason why the aide wanted to go home? He’d been bullied yesterday, and with humans being so fragile... This might be the final straw.
So they panicked. And in their panic, the only solution that came to mind was to interrupt before things escalated. One of them raised a trembling hand and knocked.
The door opened by Kael’s magic, smooth and silent, revealing a scene that nearly sent them buckling on the spot.
The human aide knelt front and center on the same bed, eyes wide with shock at the intrusion, finger jabbing accusingly at the dragon lord.
Meanwhile, Kael himself was reclined, golden hair spilling, bare chest exposed, looking every bit a predator pretending to be prey while calmly absorbing the tirade.
The elves wanted to faint.
Professional. Be professional. That was the only thought keeping their knees from giving out.
But inside, disbelief roared. Because what they were seeing was impossible.
The dragon lord was letting it happen.
The same dragon lord who had once reduced crowds to ash for lesser offenses. The same dragon lord whose mere gaze nearly killed the elves who dared approach too close to his aide yesterday.
And yet here he was, lying back, while his human shouted at him like he was an ordinary mortal.
The elves had walked in on a fight.
And somehow, impossibly, it looked like the human was winning.
One of the elves stammered but somehow managed to force words out. "Good morning, Lord Dravaryn, Lord Hale. The masters of the house send an invitation for breakfast... if you are interested."
Silence.
Thick, heavy silence. The three elves felt sweat bead on their foreheads as they waited.
Finally, Kael spoke, his tone smooth and absolute. "We’re occupied. Tell the king, maybe some other time."
The elves nodded so quickly it nearly counted as bowing. Then they practically bolted, robes swishing, eager to sprint back and report before their legs gave out.
Meanwhile, Riley just stood there, frozen in place. He glanced at the door. Then at Kael. Then, at the shimmering magical barrier, sliding right back into place around the bed the instant the doors closed.
"???"
The confusion only doubled when Kael said, perfectly calm, "Apologies. Consider it... a necessary strategy. You had to be genuinely angry for that to work. And since I know you’re desperate to go home, I intend to close this matter quickly."
"Huh???" Riley blinked rapidly, still pointing his finger like an idiot at Kael’s chest.
"They heard you say you wanted to go home," Kael added. "Because I wanted them to hear that."
"What?"
Riley’s jaw dropped. Slowly, painfully, his brain caught up. "What the heck? You could’ve just told me!" he burst out, horrified at the realization that the lizard had deliberately pushed him into a meltdown just in time for an audience.
"It wouldn’t have worked if I told you. Elven servants use artifacts to read emotions. It’s why they think they’re good at what they do."
"???"
"So if we wanted it to be believable," Kael continued smoothly, "you had to actually show the right emotions."
Riley was speechless. He had been played. Absolutely, shamelessly played. And he couldn’t even complain because—damn it—it made perfect sense.
"Now, do us a favor," Kael said, "and watch to see how much better they start treating you. If that happens, then we can start eliminating theories."
"T-then you really have no plans of staying here for a long time?" Riley asked hesitantly.
Kael arched a brow. "What? Am I wrong in thinking you actually don’t like it here?"
"No! You’re right. I hate it here." Riley admitted so fast he nearly tripped over the words.
Kael’s lips curved faintly. "Then make food. And start remembering everything you heard last night."
"Wait, last night? Are you telling me those are real sounds?"
"You tell me. Does my pulse or heartbeat sound phantom to you?" Kael shrugged, and Riley was once again back to being flustered.
Only this time, after being angered so early in the morning, he felt he deserved a hit, so he took a pillow and smacked the golden lizard with it.
Only to receive, "A for effort."
Gaaaaah!