[Teolas Draegan’s point of view]

 It was 38 years ago when I first saw Brekkar’s bright and cheerful granddaughter step up in the arena to prove her worth as a Knight.

Just like all the other Knight Masters back then, I too found the young lass who had yet to Awaken to be rather strange in the head for attempting to take on the responsibility of such a heavy role and join one of our Orders.

The reason behind this shared opinion was the simple fact that Seryanna Draketerus had yet to mature, to turn from a child into a full-fledged adult. Us dragons grew both in strength and wisdom when we Awakened, but most importantly, we knew the color of our scales and the elements best suited for us. Among the ranks of the Knights, for example, there were very few whose scale colors were black, white, silver, or green. These types of dragons were said to have the lowest combat potential out of us all, so they were better suited for other jobs. The blue and brown scales were acceptable, but red was sought after by many Knight Masters. Red scales had a good control over fire and heat, but they all shared the common trait of having a short temper and unwavering loyalty.

Of course, up until then, in all of my 716 years of life, I had seen many different types of Knights, from the genius who claimed and proved to be able to do it all, which was the case of the young boy of the Doesya family, to the know-it-all who couldn’t even hold a toy sword properly, but the most common ones were those who joined the ranks just because they wanted a piece of the privileges the title of Knight offered them.

Loyalty was not a skill but something the royals had to earn from their knights. The red-scales, however, tended to offer their loyalty much faster than the others, while the black-scales... well, I never heard of one serving as a Knight before. They suited more the roles of assassins. The green scales loved poison, while the blue ones tended to have one too many baths.

Thus, as a Knight Master, I was one of those who were opposed even to her taking up this trial. Seryanna Draketerus had not yet Awakened, thus we knew not how to properly train her. She was a wild card, an unknown variable, and we couldn’t have something as unstable as that within our ranks.

“Seryanna wins her 26th consecutive match!” called out the announcer.

Despite my own thoughts, this young dragoness remained unmatched among the ranks of the young Knights.

A day prior to this test, I spoke with the other Knight Masters and asked them to bend the rules a bit so that our long-standing tradition would remain unsoiled. We couldn’t have an Unawakened enter our ranks, it would have been shameful.

The usual test a prospective Knight had to pass was a duel in the arena between them and an actual Knight from our lowest ranks. If he or she could defeat them, then they would enter one of the Knight Orders. In Seryanna’s case, however, I asked for the best Knights from the lowest rank to participate. But not just one, as many as possible until she would tire out and be declared defeated.

This was done so that it would show our firm resolution of not changing our ways in favor of an Unawakened even if she was Brekkar’s granddaughter.

That was the plan, at least, but on the 27th match, Brekkar stepped inside the arena and gently patted the dragoness’ shoulder. She was worn out, gasping for air, and barely standing on her feet. Another fight and that would have been it, but this old dragon put a stop to it.

“I believe this was enough to show us all that she’s worthy of the title of a Knight. After all, if she’s not then what should we do about those poor fellows who were defeated by her in fair battle?” the dragon asked as he glared at us, the Knight Masters who were supposed to evaluate her.

“Indeed, that’s right. It should be enough.” Blachuar, the old fool was the first to give in to his pressure.

“I too agree with this.” Malkinor nodded with a smile, he would never dare go against Brekkar Draketerus.

“Well, I don’t.” I declared and looked him right in the eyes.

You can’t scare me, you old fool. I thought.

“Oh?” Brekkar showed me a grin, and I could feel a powerful flow of Magic Energy gathering around him.

Impressive, but not enough to change my mind. I thought as I remained unwavering in my decision.

“Then you’ll be the one to train her from now!” Brekkar declared with a smile as she pushed Seryanna forward.

“Huh?” I blinked surprised when I saw the timid dragoness look up at me with expecting eyes.

“Why should I?” I retorted and furrowed my brow.

“Because the King told me I can choose under which Knight Master she will serve. Also, she’ll become the Third Princess’ Royal Knight, so you won’t have to worry about an Unawakened joining any of your precious Knight Orders. Actually, I’m pretty sure that soon enough she’ll be making her own!” Brekkar announced and then let out a cheerful laugh.

The young dragoness was filled with hope and gleaming with joy. The lass was far too cheerful for a Knight. We had to be serious, emotionless, for we were a symbol of our Lords, not a smirking monkey hanging on a tree.

“If it’s the King’s order, very well.” I nodded and succumbed to the decision.

The cheerful dragoness rushed over to me, and with a bright smile on her face declared that she was going train hard to become a powerful and honorable Knight, one that won’t bring disappointment or shame to her name. It was a nice dream, one which I planned on shattering soon. The girl had to see the reality of this world before any sign of growth could be seen within her. Besides, not disappointing someone was no reason to seek out strength, if anything it was foolish.

I planned on throwing her among the more experienced Knights and let them take her to a more difficult mission or pity her against much more powerful foes. If that didn’t work, there were plenty of other ways to wipe that cheerful smile off of her face. Knowing when to hide your emotions was crucial for a Knight, after all.

Fortunately for me and unfortunately for her, I never had to push her through any of those dangerous and difficult missions to break her. The tragedy of Scar Battlefield which would mark Albeyater’s history forever also affected her the most. Not only her parents but most of her relatives had been killed during this terrible event. They were butchered like animals by the vile human invaders.

Now, instead of a cheerful smile, I had to worry about that burning hate and rage that filled her strikes and glare. My initial plan for her was turned a full 180 degrees, but this was the job of a Knight Master. We had to take a rough diamond out of a pile of coal and polish it until our hands bled.

In theory, I could now use a number of reasons to take her Royal Knight title away, but after I heard about Brekkar suffering from the [Berserker’s Burst], I decided against it. If I did that, I feared I would attract more hateful gazes than I could handle. All of Albeyater showed their sympathy for the Draketerus family, and I didn’t plan on becoming public enemy number one.

At the very least, I had the genius from the Doesya family, who was a pleasure to train. Draejan always followed my orders to the letter and did everything he could to prove himself. To me, he was the true ideal image of a Knight, while Seryanna, with her hot temper and heart tainted by hate and rage against the humans, was far from even being considered a proper one.

Even so, I trained her to the best of my ability. It was my duty.

Then, 30 years later, after I had managed to chip away at that endless rage of hers, I could finally see her as someone worthy of the title of Knight. Nobody was looking at her with scornful or doubting eyes anymore, and her strength was often proven through friendly duels and successful missions.

I soon came to believe that once she Awakened, she would become one of my best Knights, however, years would come to pass, and she never did. Most of the Knights in my Order, while accepting her strength and achievements, had given up on the possibility of her ever becoming a proper adult dragoness. It was such a strange thing that even I began to wonder about why she had yet to Awaken. None of the dragons or dragonesses I had met so far had such a slow development.

This was not the only strange thing about her. It appeared as though almost all the dragons around her could not see her as anything else but a child. Her prowess in combat, her tactical mind, and merciless strikes were for the most part ignored. Even the one who was married to an Unawakened dragoness could not feel a single drop of sexual attraction for Seryanna. It was as if she had an aura around her that kept all the males away. It was strange, very strange.

Usually, after serving as a Knight for two or three years, a dragoness would find herself swimming in marriage proposals or at the very least have three or four dragons wagging their tails behind her.

If this was because of her hard to approach attitude or something else, I didn’t have the faintest idea.

Every Knight in the service of his Majesty, the King, was allowed to take at most two to three weeks of vacation each year in order to go visit their families or take care of other business. In the past eight years, however, Sir Seryanna had been stretching that limit with a week or more in an attempt to harvest the much-needed Bloody Mushrooms, which were required for a potion that kept the [Berserker’s Burst] condition at bay.

The market was quite scarce on them and not everyone knew how to grow a batch. It was even harder to look for them when other dragonesses aimed at Brekkar’s lands. The matriarchy of this country was at times quite frightening, especially when they targeted us single dragons in seats of power. In my younger days, I had the troubling luck of confronting the occasional lust-driven power-crazy mad-stalker dragoness prowling around me like a starved sheep.

Still, if this continued, it wouldn’t be long before Sir Seryanna’s neck would be on the line, and she would be forced to choose between her grandfather and serving this country. I thought her well, so I was certain that even if it broke her heart, she would still choose to serve the country.

On another and more interesting note, about 30 years after I took Sir Seryanna under my wing as her Knight Master, my best pupil, Draejan Andrakaryus Doesya came over to me on an autumn day and thanked me for having taught him all that he knew in regard to what it meant being a Knight. The upper nobles apparently took a liking to him and proposed that he should be granted his own Knight Order. I was quite pleased to hear this and gave him my blessing. Now, if only Sir Seryanna would Awaken, then with a bit of luck she would also follow in his steps.

Honestly speaking, as years passed by and I saw these two pupils of mine train and grow, blooming with talent and potential, I began to think that if they made the big step and joined hands in marriage, through their union, they would give rise to a new and powerful family of prestigious Knights. That was my own little silly dream, but seven years later, Draejan walked up to me and asked me if I was acquainted with Sir Seryanna.

The shock I received from this question made my jaw drop to the ground. How was it possible that I had never realized that these two pupils of mine were so dense in the head? I was their Knight Master, and I was quite sure I had assigned them to work together on countless missions. It was simply impossible for me to fathom how in the name of all the known gods it was possible for Draejan to never once take notice of her!

Was Seryanna’s own repulsive aura so powerful that she turned invisible in front of him?

With a heavy sigh, I began to tell him about the young dragoness and how well she performed as a Knight, sometimes under his own command in one or two missions.

“Master Teolas, pardon my rudeness, but I can read her mission reports myself. What I am interested in is how she is as a dragoness.” he told me with a smile.

Well would you look at that! He’s interested in her as a member of the opposite gender! To think that he of all people would gain immunity to that one’s male repulsion aura. I thought and then asked as I showed him a smirk “Did she catch your eye, Draejan?”

“It might be so.” he nodded “But what I want to know is if the rumor about her being related to that Brekkar Draketerus is true.”

“Oh? Brekkar? Yes. Sir Seryanna is his granddaughter.” I nodded. “But how come you didn’t know this?” I asked as I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Master Teolas, up until now, I didn’t care much for a dragoness’ affection, so I simply focused solely on my training. I was told that I was rather dense during my time as a Knight in your Order, but I can assure you that it was intentional.” he declared with a strange sense of pride in the tone of his voice.

“Is that so?” I furrowed my brow and wondered if maybe I was wrong about him being immune to her aura.

It could have well been possible that such a silly thing didn’t exist at all and Sir Seryanna herself was an unapproachable dragoness because of her personality and general demeanor.

After this series of questions, we chatted a little about his recent missions and other worldly things, but that was probably the last time I had the chance to speak with him in such a casual way.

The following year was marked by countless changes, among which the most unpleasant one was the restructuring of the Brekkar Army. I knew several dragons and dragonesses from there. I even trained a few myself, but to my surprise almost all those who had even a sliver of loyalty towards the Queen and King of Albeyater had been removed from the upper ranks.

When I happened to take a walk one day through their camp outside of Drakaria, I was surprised to see so many ruffians and scoundrels wearing the prestigious armor of our nation. Some of those fools even tried to approach me with the intent of robbing me right there in broad daylight.

Pity the fool who tries to steal from the gods for they shall strike down his soul and heart not his body!

Or so the saying went. A god I was not, but I was a Breakthrough-er with a high rank within Albeyater’s military. Thus, my choice of destruction was not their souls or hearts but their bodies. I made it clear to all those within the army, that such behavior was unacceptable and least they wished to be disintegrated like their friends, they should learn to behave.

A week later, the heinous activities of this reformed Brekkar Army were reduced in both severity and frequency. Word spread among them that if they did anything too obvious or loud, they wouldn’t even have a chance to beg for jail time.

Several months after this event, I was surprised to find out that Sir Seryanna had returned to the Seyendraugher Castle, but the way I got to know of this was through a rather unpleasant event.

It appeared as though Sir Draejan had been challenged to a duel by a young human, and I was to be their referee. The prize at stake was the right to marry Sir Seryanna.

Why would you even ask for such a silly duel when you could have killed him right here and there? He’s a human and he doesn’t even look like a noble. I thought when I first heard the story from Sir Draejan.

I couldn’t even pity this young boy who looked weaker than my lowest knight. In all due honesty, I was hoping for the duel to be over in the blink of an eye, but before I could even give the start for it, Sir Seryanna showed up.

“Wait!” she shouted.

Her sudden appearance here was definitely unexpected, but what surprised me even more was to find out that she was dragging with her the Bloody Beast of the Battlefield, Kataryna Greorg. I was one of the few to witness her battle five centuries ago, when she mercilessly slaughtered our enemies.

This dragoness was like a maelstrom of death and carnage, pulling towards her all the enemies around her only to slice and dice them with her blades. When her swords broke, she tossed them aside and stole those belonging to the enemy. When she needed a shield, she pulled corpses off the ground. When her armor broke apart, she cast ice to shield herself from the enemy’s blows.

No matter who stood before her, she didn’t stop until their heads rolled on the ground. Some called her the Ice Fury, others the Blood Ice Witch. On the enemy’s side, she was called the Berserker Traitor. She had gained other nicknames as well, but no matter what people called her, this dragoness was both feared and admired as well.

His Majesty, King Feryumstark, ordered us not to attack her and stand aside until she was done. When the battle ended, the dragoness walked up to us covered in blood from head to toe, and her ice armor gave the impression that it was actually made from her own blood. In her right hand she wielded a broken two-handed sword and in her left hand she dragged the head of the enemy general.

This young dragoness stood before someone as imposing as a wielder of the golden-scale and yet she didn’t flinch or showed any expression on her face. It was as if she was looking into the far horizon with the eyes of a dead dragon.

I felt chills running down my back just by standing near her, and I knew in that moment that no matter what I did, I wouldn’t be able to defeat this battle maniac.

Now, after so many centuries had passed, this Ice Fury stood before me and claimed this human to be her friend.

In a moment, I felt as though the entire fate of Albeyater stood on this weakling’s shoulders. What could a human whelp like him do with no proper gear and weapon against someone like Draejan who was armed to the teeth?

I could see it now, a single strike and the boy’s head would fly off, then the Ice Fury would turn us all into an art piece made out of our own blood and guts. Her dark artistic humor would then spread all across Drakaria until it was turned into a ghost city.

To say that I was sweating or looked afraid? Nah! Both my fear and sweat ran away before my body could. Now I was just waiting for the inevitable.

But then, the unthinkable happened. The human boy was the first to attack, but Draejan dodged at the last second. The dragon was playing it tough, but I knew that if that strike connected, it would have been lights out for him. Draejan was spared by a drop of luck.

With the battle unfolding before me, I could feel the strength in their hits, both of them could fight on equal ground against some of my best Knights. No, I would even go so far as to say that besides the Knight Masters, there was no one here who had the strength to challenge them, and I was a Breakthrough-er.

What was most frightening about this battle, with the exception of the frightening presence Kataryna Greorg gave off, was the fact that just one hit from Draejan could kill Alkelios, but the other way couldn’t work. The difference in armors and weapons was what made the gap between them so big even if the human’s raw strength and speed were higher.

I trained Draejan myself, so I knew that he couldn’t achieve that power without relying on brute strength alone. He was using Magic Energy like crazy and playing it off like he was owning the stage.

Maybe the only one who could see how lucky Draejan was for being fought against with a plebeian sword was Kataryna Greorg. Her eyes could follow all of their movements, and her wisdom far surpassed mine, so I could only guess what she could easily see that I didn’t.

When I saw the chance to end the duel, I quickly raised my hand up and said “I declare this official duel to be over. Sir Draejan wins.”

If I didn’t announce it, the two would have probably continued and the human boy would have ultimately met his doom at the end of the Knight’s blade.

What followed next was Kataryna Greorg’s declaration of support towards the Third Princess. In other words, she made a political move that would make most noble dragonesses walk with their tails between their legs. She was definitely not a power to be trifled with.

Unfortunately, my former pupil, Draejan, could not see the horror that I once saw. I tried to explain it to him while leaving out some gory details, but it didn’t seem like I got through.

For a while afterwards, I thought that things had returned to their quiet usual ways, Alkelios kept his word about not stepping within the Seyendraugher Palace, and Kataryna Greorg picked up Sir Seryanna’s younger sister as an apprentice of sorts. I heard her training regime was quite harsh. So much in fact that one day the black-scaled dragoness tried to flee from her teacher using her full might. She was caught mid-flight and then turned into an ice sculpture. She remained like that for a couple of hours until the sun finally thawed her off.

I also heard another strange rumor about Kataryna Greorg. Apparently, she got into a fight with someone in the middle of the city. The damage she caused was enough to make Prime Minister Elovius faint, but that dragon managed to pull it through.

I didn’t go look at the aftermath because I didn’t see the reason to do so. Instead, what I did was to send a few of my Knights to spy on Alkelios. About two weeks ago, they lost track of him. He fled the city from the looks of it.

No one would blame the human boy for running away. After challenging the genius Knight Sir Draejan to a duel and loosing, he become a pitiable and laughable fool as well as a harassment target for the more idiotic nobles. About the latter, I highly doubted they had the guts to actually pick on Alkelios. With Kataryna Greorg watching them like a sheep would a pack of tasty wolves, I could bet an entire year’s salary that they wouldn’t even get the chance to try whatever they had planned.

About one week after Alkelios vanished from Drakaria, I received a summon from his Majesty, King Feryumstark. I found it odd at first, but if my King needed me, I could only oblige.

As I was making my way towards his Majesty’s study room, I happened to see Sir Seryanna and Sir Draejan on the other side of the corridor.

For a moment, I couldn’t believe my own eyes, but that dragoness had finally Awakened. I was honestly quite happy to see that she became a proper adult, just as much as I would if she was my own daughter. Sir Draejan was probably congratulating her about her Awakening, she was his fiancé, after all.

“Draejan... I’m telling you this out of the ‘kindness’ of my heart. If you dare to touch me again... I’m going to kill you.” she suddenly told him and then walked away.

I gulped.

Are they on bad terms? But isn’t she his fiancé? What’s going on? I thought to myself and then as I remembered all of the past events, including the unusual worry she showed for Alkelios, I suddenly realized that I may have made a blunder.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I decided to go and talk with her later and maybe scold that foolish Draejan too, but first I had to go see his Majesty, King Feryumstark.

I walked up to the door of the study room at the second floor and knocked three time.

“You may enter.”

With a calm breath and a stoic look on my face, I stepped inside the fairly large room. There were tall bookcases covering the walls and a large wood desk at the back, near the window. The dragon who made the furniture in this room was someone I happened to meet two hundred years ago. He was quite old and despite his shaking hands, he did wonderful work on several pieces. The designs inspired elegance and a fine sense for art. The lines carved in often gave me the impression that they were alive or flowing as though they were made out of some sort of liquid.

It would take me at least four centuries to reach that remarkable level of skill, but I often thought that if I were to retire someday, picking up woodwork and carving might not be such a bad idea. My old heart was soothed by the work done on such fine and minute details.

Within this impressive room, his Majesty was standing in front of the window, looking down at the city of Drakaria. His golden wings were folded, and he held his hands at his back. The way the sunlight bathed this dragon in its light often made me wonder if I was looking at a mortal or maybe something divine?

Yet, this didn’t appear to be a simple casual summon. The presence he was giving off despite looking so calm and peaceful was crushing even for someone like me.

“Your Majesty, why have I been summoned?” I asked in a low voice as I didn’t dare to take a single step away from the door.

“Come closer.” he told me.

I obeyed and approached the desk. Without his permission, it was considered highly rude to move at my own discretion. Barging into his room even by mistake could earn a dragon his neck and his family a severe punishment. After all, there were some things no one was allowed to do no matter what.

For his Majesty, anyone who walked up to him without stating his business or requesting to come closer was a possible assassin or someone who knew not how to respect the golden-scales that he wore.

“Teolas, you have served me well these past centuries, yet I can’t help but wonder if maybe you have gotten old and rusty?” he asked.

“Your majesty, my bones have always creaked like an old rusty door, but this is only because I achieved a Breakthrough at an old age.” I replied in a calm and polite manner.

“Really? Then why were you unable to see the gem that Sir Seryanna had brought with her to the palace?” he asked and then turned his head slightly, only enough so that from the corner of his right eye he could pierce me with his cold glare.

“Gem? May I ask what you are referring to, your Majesty? Has she perhaps uncovered some long-lost treasure?” I asked as I furrowed my brow.

Although I was old, I was far from turning senile. If Sir Seryanna had indeed found something valuable, I would have been one of the first dragons to know. If it was a weapon, then she would have asked my opinion on how to properly wield it. Her friend, Dregarya, would have also sniffed it out and the ruckus she would have made would have been enough to alert my eyes within the Palace.

No matter how hard I struggled to understand this matter, I couldn’t wrap my head around it, but then his Majesty spoke that name.

“Alkelios Yatagai.”

“Huh?” I blinked surprised.

How is that boy a gem? I wondered as I was now even more confused.

“Sigh, it appears that old age has indeed gotten a hold of your wits.” his Majesty turned around and shook his head.

“I beg your pardon, but he was just a human peasant who almost got killed by Draejan and...” I was unable to finish my words as the King’s fingers were wrapped around my neck and I was lifted off the floor with one hand. “Ugh... your Majesty?” I asked as I struggled in his grasp but freeing myself from it was like struggling to pry open the jaws of a giant river lizard.

“The very fact that this human came here together with Sir Seryanna should have told you that there was something special about him. I mean even I know of how deep her hatred runs for their kind, yet from what I was told, this dragoness showed a smile she never did for the past 38 years.” he told me.

“I still d-don’t understand, your Majesty.” I said as I was now holding onto his hand rather than trying to open it.

“Although I’m currently staying by my wife’s side more than I do in the public eye, this does not mean that I have grown deaf and blind, Teolas.” he glared at me.

“D-Does this have anything to do with Draejan?” I asked.

“Everything.” he glared, and I could feel his claws piercing my skin.

“GAH!” I cried out in pain.

“He dared to claim full ownership of Brekkar’s Army, although I had intended only to lend it to him temporarily. He forced the granddaughter of my friend into an engagement she never desired and despised from the bottom of her heart, but most importantly, he nearly killed the human she brought along.” he summarized it for me, but I feared that the most important part was that last bit.

“W-Why is that human so i-important, your Majesty?” I asked.

“Why?” he narrowed his eyes at me, and the pressure of his presence increased to the point where I felt as though every breath of air I took was going to be my last.

Just because he managed to get in Sir Seryanna’s bed or become friends with Kataryna Greorg shouldn’t have made him important enough for the King of Albeyater to make a move. No, it was ridiculous for him to make a move for a human, he barely did so for a dragon. Even when Brekkar was announced to suffer from the [Berserker’s Burst] he still didn’t give out the order to find a cure for him.

There were some who said that Brekkar himself asked him not to waste the country’s resources on a dying old dragon like him, but that had to be a lie. The Albeyater Kingdom was certainly shown to have suffered from the loss of a great general like him.

“Maybe your eyes have gone blind, you old lizard.” said his Majesty as he finally released me from his grasp.

I fell down on the floor and felt too weak to even try to stand up. I was gasping for air shaking from every joint, half of it was from the fear that I have somehow wronged his Majesty and the other was from his very presence.

“I-It’s possible... y-your Majesty, but... m-may I ask? W-What is it that your Majesty saw in that human that I didn’t?” I asked as I drew out every spec of strength I had left in me so that I would not disgracefully faint in that spot.

His Majesty walked up to the window once more and released his pressure that was pinning me down to the floor.

“Courage. Passion. Determination. The strength to fight against the impossible...” he stopped and then looked back at me “And the opportunity to make my wife’s dream come true.”

“The Queen’s dream? An alliance... with the humans? An end to the Great War?” I asked as my eyes grew so big, they almost popped out of their sockets.

If that human could bring our nation to that outlandish future, then I could see why the King treasured him so much. Even to the general population of Albeyater, the Queen’s dream was far more important than that of the King’s. After all, we were a matriarchal society at our core, despite the fact that recently the Prime Minister Elovius took up most of the Queen’s work.

“Your Majesty, I understand now why you would wish to keep this Alkelios Yatagai within your reach, although I fail to see how he will be of any use in this regard. However, may I ask what have I done wrong to earn your Majesty’s spite?” I asked and then knelt before him.

“You fail to see how he will be of use? Let me clear that up for you. First of all, he’s one of the few humans who fell in love with a dragoness. Second of all, that dragoness up till now was known to be a human hater. Third of all, she holds a fairly high political influence within the Draketerus Ducal Family despite she herself not being aware of it. Sir Seryanna, at the end of the day, is the last remaining matriarch of her family. The scorched lands of Scar Battlefield are still her domain.” he explained.

Now I see why Draejan wanted so badly to take Sir Seryanna as his bride. By doing this, he would have gained access to both the Brekkar Army and the Scar Battlefield, which he could then develop as he pleased. Not only that, but he could use her influence as his own. After all, the words of the Matriarch are far more important than those of her husband’s. I thought as I was finally beginning to see the pieces of this giant puzzle fall into place and forming a clear picture of the whole mess.

His movements were strategic, but within this age of uncertainty and great turmoil, they appeared as invisible.

“Just imagine what would happen if Albeyater announced the marriage between the Matriarch of a Ducal Family and a Human with no status or rank on the Human Continent.” he told me.

“The rumors spread by the upper echelons in the human society would lose their credibility. Up until now, they have depicted us as nothing but rampaging monsters incapable of feeling love and affection.” I said.

“Exactly. From there to actually establishing an alliance treaty with one of the foreign nations, such as Ten Swords Kingdom for example, it’s not that much of a far-fetched dream.”

“But something like this can only happen if Alkelios succeeds on both the political and military battlefield.” I pointed out.

“I’m certain we can find good teachers for him if he doesn’t make a mark on his own by then. As for what you have wronged me with... no, Albeyater. Well, you almost chased away this irreplaceable asset.” he told me as he narrowed his eyes at me.

I felt a knot in my throat and gulped on empty air.

“The duel... I should have stopped it.” I said.

“Indeed. You should have realized that something was wrong, that an ordinary human cannot just appear within the Seyendraugher Palace like that. You should have been the first one to question who he was and why he was there, but instead you mistakenly saw him as a useless insect buzzing around a powerful dragoness. If Kataryna Greorg and Sir Seryanna had not reached the arena in time, then the boy would have died, right?” he asked.

I nodded.

Draejan at that time was intent on either severely mutilating him or killing him. The fact that those two arrived then and there was his best stroke of luck. It was as if the heavens themselves twisted the laws of this world just so that he can have another chance at life.

“Alkelios probably isn’t even aware of how close to death he was back then, but leaving aside my Queen’s dream, if he died, then right now, our war would have been against Kataryna Greorg and even Brekkar Draketerus himself.” his Majesty declared.

“What? Why Brekkar?” I asked surprised.

“Because Alkelios is the one who cured him of the [Berserker’s Burst], and I don’t need to tell you how that dragon feels about life debts.” he explained.

Upon hearing this unfathomable tale, I felt my blood draining from my face and my knees getting weak.

I had lived for more than seven centuries now and witnessed more things than I could count, yet I couldn’t even begin to understand what sort of entity this Alkelios Yatagai was. It would be best to simply describe him as a walking natural disaster that twisted and changed the fates of all those he came in contact with.

Did this human boy earn the favor of the Gods to hold such power? I wondered.

“Do you understand now with what you have sinned?” I was asked.

“Barely, your Majesty, but I can only ask and plead how I may atone for my mistakes?” I asked and lowered my head until my forehead touched the floor.

“Go to the Doesya family. Talk with my daughter and her husband. See what they know of Sir Draejan and find out if they are plotting anything against me. In case they are, I could hardly believe that daughter of mine can be capable of something like this, so there must be someone manipulating her from the shadows, feeding her thoughts of madness. Find out who that individual or organization is. Uncover all the dirt on the Doesya you can find, and I want you to compile for me a list with every single ally and acquaintance Sir Draejan has. Do you understand now what your mission is, Sir Teolas Draegan?” he ordered in a firm and powerful tone of voice.

“Yes, your Majesty! This humble servant of yours understands and will proceed immediately to do as you command!” I replied with my forehead still touching the floor.