Chapter 140: Someone is approaching
"How did it go?" Kaelith asked as she stood in the room.
Avelin, wiping blood and gore off her body, replied, "Everything went perfectly fine. We didn’t need to step in."
There was already a small pile of dirtied wipes, Avalin used to clean her Queen’s body. But there was still quite much left.
Kaelith grinned. "Well, he is my darling child and a proud dragon at heart. Of course, he would handle his mates well."
Kaelith was nervous, yes, but majorly she felt elation that her child was taking a step towards a better future and also securing that his mates can keep up with him.
As she gently wiped her lady’s arm, Avelin added, "Lady Luna lost her restraints and revealed her phoenix form. That’s why, we have kept the barrier up."
Hades had restrained his presence, maybe thanks to his recent training, but the same couldn’t be said for Luna.
Kaelith froze for a moment before asking, "...are we expecting an ambush?"
Kaelith, who had lived for hundreds of years, knew exactly how rare and precious a phoenix was.
Phoenix blood was sought after by the greatest potion makers. Potions made with it could cost millions of gold coins. The blood alone was enough to drive anyone into temptation.
And now, a living phoenix was under Kaelith’s roof.
But she never once thought of Luna as a resource. Kaelith understood what Luna meant to her son. Between her son’s happiness and the lure of phoenix blood...there was no choice to make.
Now that she had accepted Luna as her daughter-in-law, it was Kaelith’s duty to keep her secret safe and to protect the girl.
"Yes, we are," Avelin answered.
Kaelith flinched, her eyes darkening, but before she could press further, the maid added, "But not because of Lady Luna. We’ll get to that later."
Kaelith narrowed her eyes, yet before she could ask more, Avelin continued, "Young Master is very close to his first awakening."
Kaelith’s expression shifted, a bright smile blooming on her face.
"Finally, my baby is going to awaken his first core. I can’t wait to see which elements he’ll gain. I hope it’s the same as mine, eheh~"
Avelin, long used to her lady’s ever-changing moods, calmly explained,
"Once that happens, I fear we won’t be able to keep him hidden from the world."
Kaelith frowned. "I’ve made the preparations."
"High-grade mana crystals and even twenty barrier chanters won’t be enough. That’s only my prediction, my Queen, so don’t take it too seriously."
Kaelith gave a wry smile. "I’d never dare take your predictions lightly, Miss Black Tongue."
Kaelith has learned through a long hard path how bad it gets when she ignores her maid’s advice.
Somehow, whenever Avelin made a prediction, it almost always turned out to be true.
At one point, Kaelith even started to believe her maid might be a soothsayer.
So when Avelin said that Hades’s awakening could release a presence strong enough to draw unwanted eyes... Kaelith took it seriously.
"I will bring someone to handle things here," she murmured. She already had someone in mind—an irritating man who had been after her for a long time. It was about time he paid back the favor she once gave him.
’I guess it’s time you make yourself useful.’
When Avelin finished cleaning her up, Kaelith got the help of her maid to remove the rest of her clothes before stepping toward the bath.
"Haah..." she let out a long sigh as the cold water wrapped around her, easing the tension in her body.
For the past few days, she had been hunting stray beasts that slipped into her territory. She knew they would appear eventually, and with her forces tied up at the border, she had gone to deal with them herself.
Of all the Dragon Kings, she commanded the fewest troops, but in strength, she stood as the second strongest in the realm.
To keep her presence sharp and unforgotten by the world, Kaelith often chose to fight with her own hands.
Avelin poured a fragrant serum into the bathwater as she asked, "Have you given thought to Young Master’s dragon bride?"
She, of course, knew the requirements for a dragon’s awakening.
If it didn’t happen naturally, then two conditions had to be met—blood and mate.
And the Young Master had already spilled plenty of blood. He had hunted beasts and fought dragons his entire life... which left Avelin wondering why his core had yet to awaken.
That was why they believed a strong mate might be the key to stirring his dormant core.
Kaelith hummed softly before replying, "Yes... Dragon King Argon’s granddaughter. What was her name again... ah, Averis. He wants them married, and since she’s strong—"
"Lady Averis..." Avelin cut in, her voice low.
Kaelith’s brows rose. She opened her eyes and glanced at her maid, who was staring blankly into the water.
The Queen called out, "Avelin?"
The maid let out a heavy sigh. "I told you we were being approached by someone with hostile intent, didn’t I?"
Kaelith’s gaze turned icy as she asked, "Who is it?"
Leaning back, Avelin answered, "Rejoice, my lady. Your daughter-in-law is flying straight toward us. And her intentions... don’t look healthy."
"..."
A long silence followed.
Finally, Kaelith asked, "Averis is heading here? But why?"
Avalin exhaled a weary sigh, "From what I have gathered...she is devoted to Lord Zerathos. She is...obsessed with him, has devoted her life to move around the world and spread chaos to please her God."
Resting her hands on her lap, she added, "Only dead bodies remained wherever she went. Last night, she slaughtered a small battalion stationed in the west....reason being they insulted our Lord."
Kaelith’s expression hardened at those words. While she was informed by Argon that his grandchild was a little eccentric...this was nothing in comparison to what she anticipated.
Avalin further explained, "She will be here in four days at her current pace."
Kaelith remained silent for a few moments.
She thought of informing Argon about it and let him handle his grandchild. But then, Averis was approaching her territory and as such, Kaelith doesn’t need to hold back and over contemplate things.
It was her territory. The way the guest would behave her response would be accordingly.
If she held hostility then so be it.
Leaning back against the edge, Kaelith said, "Take care of Hades. I will handle this one."
"As you command, my lady." The maid gave a brief bow.
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