Legacy of the Dark Sage

After convincing Cyneah not to worry about Aillos's reaction if she left the building, Kyran warped them out and went to the room he used to stay in when he fell unconscious from the magic energy of Coelus's corpse's influence.

The building Cyneah stayed at had its own array formation. When Kyran warped, Aillos was notified. Thus, he stopped his meeting with Eissen and Veles, who were providing their report on all representatives' accommodation and arrival status.

"Let's continue after lunch," he told them curtly.

"Milord, you have to attend a luncheon and meet with all the patriarchs. If we wait until after then to continue the meeting, it will be too late—."

Veles nudged Eissen, cutting the latter midsentence of what he was saying. Eissen did not take offense but did glare at Veles for interrupting him. However, when he saw Veles jerking his head toward Aillos's while furrowing his brows, he realized why he stopped him and fell silent at once.

Basically, Veles stopped Eissen because he saw Aillos furrow his brows when he prematurely dismissed their meeting. Knowing Aillos, he likely sensed something— and at this point, Veles guessed that it concerned the Regis— and had to leave at once.

In a way, any news about the newly arrived Regis was confidential and should be treated with extra care. If something related to them occurred, they had to consider it a priority to ensure that the tribes would not learn of them before Aillos made the announcement at tomorrow's gathering.

Aillos looked at Eissen and Veles and said, "I'll leave all matters about the representatives to your discretion. Only inform me of an emergency."

"Yes, Milord."

"About the luncheon... let Ames attend. Tell them that I am in the middle of an important meeting outside and cannot attend."

"That..." Veles started with a slight frown.

If the luncheon appointment was only a regular courtesy to greet all the patriarchs, having Ames attend would have been all right. However, it was more than a courtesy and could be considered an unofficial opening of the Grand Gathering. If the host were not present, it would have a negative impact.

Though the Patriarchs would not immediately be disappointed with Aillos, they would feel unappreciated and might even wonder what the purpose of doing a Grand Gathering was if he was not seriously attending to them.

"Rather than having Lady Ames attend, we can delay the luncheon for an hour. Will you be able to attend then?" Veles offered after a short pause.

"Hm..." Aillos leaned back and scowled. He figured out what Veles was trying to tell him and contemplated it.

Seeing Aillos consider his suggestion, Veles was truly appreciative. In fact, that was one of the main reasons they wanted Aillos to continue as their leader. He listened to his subjects and tried to meet them half way.

After a moment's pause, Aillos told them, "Start the luncheon on time. Tell them I will be late, and just tell them to enjoy the meal first."

"We'll keep them company then," Veles confirmed. "But please make sure to limit it to an hour late."

"I will."

Aillos nodded at them before leaving his office.

Outside, a quilin with neatly combed white hair dressed in a silver coat approached him respectfully. The quilin was named Eustace, and he was the butler assigned to Aillos's mansion.

Eustace was considered the most experienced and respected among all the butlers in the main palace. Besides, he had been serving Aillos and Ames for a long time.

"Milord, you called?"

Though Aillos did not make any obvious call, Eustace was familiar with his action to know that he had something to say.

"Have someone take Ames here. Also, tell her to bring all necessary people along."

"Yes, Milord," Eustace replied and stepped back. As he did, his figure blurred, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Unlike most quilin servants in the palace, Eustace was one of those high-ranking quilins with combat experience. To make a comparison, he and Zephyr came from the same fold. This allowed him to do his duties better as the butler of Aillos's mansion. After all, the duties of a butler were not limited to managing household concerns.

After giving Eustace his order, Aillos went directly to the room Kyran stayed in his first few weeks.

"You have a nerve of steel to use warp inside the palace," Aillos growled as soon as he entered the room.

Kyran, who sat on the couch with Cyneah, shrugged his shoulders and replied, "If you did not place Neah in such an isolated location, I would not have resorted to that."

"That is for her protection."

"It's too excessive. She's like a prisoner."

"...That is for her protection."

Judging from Aillos's repeated response, he could not refute Kyran's claim that Cyneah was like a prisoner. He did think it was pitiful to keep her hidden like that, but that was to ensure no one among the dragons would trigger the dangerous item hidden inside her body.

"I... think the mirror is calm right now," Cyneah voiced her opinion, but mainly to alleviate the tension she sensed was about to explode between the two. "So there is no immediate danger of someone triggering it..."

Aillos took a deep breath and sat on the couch opposite them. He crossed his arms across his chest before leaning back and looking at Kyran.

"I see that you managed to wake up just before the gathering."

"I won't miss it."

"I won't allow you to miss it either."

"..."

"Enough with this cheeky response," Aillos waves his hand dismissively. "Why did you leave the building and not call for us?"

"Neah needed a change of environment."

"What?" Cyneah almost choked in surprise. "It's my fault?"

"It's not your fault per se," Kyran corrected her with a sigh. "In any case, it's only right that she meets my family now that I'm awake, don't you agree, Lord Aillos?"

Aillos raised his brows, "So you're finally going to address her false identity?"

"What 'false identity'?" Kyran repeated with a frown.

Cyneah blushed and waved her hands frantically before her, saying, "I-It's nothing important! It's just that when we first arrived, we needed to tell them how I managed to use the route Lady Ames used when I'm not even a Regis."

"Ames told everyone that Sisi is your life partner."

"M-Milord—!"

"Ah, that? It's not exactly false."

"!"

Aillos frowned, "Do you understand what a life partner even means to dragons."

"I do," Kyran replied without batting an eye. "And she is someone like that to me."

"..." Cyneah fell silent, her face burning up. "...How could you say something so embarrassing with a straight face..." she grumbled under her breath.

"Because I don't find it embarrassing," Kyran replied. "Are you embarrassed?"

Cyneah's heart seemed to skip a beat as she raised her head to look in Kyran's direction. Before she could respond, however, Aillos cleared his throat and said, "Do you're flirting later."

Cyneah gasped and turned toward Aillos, "W-We're not—!"

"Okay."

Cyneah looked at Kyran when she heard his response and shouted, "Don't just agree!"

Seeing her flustered, Kyran could barely contain his amusement. Obviously, he responded as brazenly as he could to get his intention across to her. Because if he did not, she would continue to be embarrassed about their relationship in public and only show her affection openly when they were alone.

Kyran did not like that, especially when there were dragons like Ladon and Thorn who did not seem to care about her having a life partner and still looking at Cyneah affectionately. Of course, he knew those two had no romantic feelings for her. They knew she was a human, and as pure dragons, unless they were as free-spirited as Ames, they would not seek another being as their life partner.

Nevertheless, that did not stop Kyran from being wary of them. Ladon and Thorn might not cross the line, but there were others that might. To avoid that, he had to make his relationship with her as clear as crystal could be.

Aillos understood Kyran's intention. That was why he called Ames over and asked her to bring everyone involved with them. To be precise, when he asked Eustace to have Ames bring all the necessary people, Aillos meant Cyneah and Kyran's parents.

Frankly, Aillos would not have cared about their relationship. But because Cyneah possessed something very dangerous, he wanted to ensure that no one would dare get involved with her as much as possible. The only way he could do that was to make her relationship with Kyran as official as it could be.

Similar to Kyran's concern, dragons might not actively seek a different being as their life partner, and there would always be an exception like Ames. Aillos would not have cared if it was another being. But if it was someone with the Macabre Glacier, then that was a different matter altogether.

"I understand what you want to do, so I decided to call Ames over. She'd bring them along as well."

"Thank you, Lord Aillos."

After resolving that matter, Aillos changed the subject by telling him about what they could expect in the Grand Gathering.

While listening, Cyneah's expression darkened as she realized how dangerous it would be for Kyran and his family.

"I will prohibit spar requests directed to you and your family," Aillos informed Kyran with a straight face.

Kyran nodded, "That's fine."

"As much as I trust my people to play fair, I want you to be on guard. The Venom Dragon Tribe will likely request a spar, and their specialty is... well, I think it's already obvious... poison."