Chapter 384: A Wyrm?

Solaris was not amused by her brother’s sudden presence inside the cabin. She knew full well that the agreement between her father and the King of Kowarre depended on maintaining peace at the border. Having a member of her family infiltrate the camp at night would only cause trouble if he were discovered.

“I do not agree with this, Lighter. You must leave immediately,” Solaris ordered seriously, hoping her brother would see reason and leave the house before anyone noticed his presence.

Lighter, however, maintained a relaxed posture near the wooden wall. He trusted the isolation magic he had just cast around the room and saw no danger in staying to chat with them now that Ryan had left.

“I already told you nothing’s going to happen, sister,” he replied, dismissing the warning, convinced that the workers remaining outside lacked the ability to detect him.

From the edge of the bed, Irnina watched the newcomer with a hint of doubt. She found it strange that the Demon King would secretly send another of his children when he had already officially entrusted the two of them with supervising the place.

“Tell me one thing, young prince. Did Demon King Rohan ask you to come?” the fire dragoness asked, wanting to know if there had been any changes to her lord’s orders.

Lighter averted his gaze to Irnina and gently shook his head, making it clear that his late-night visit had nothing to do with a mandate from his father.

“No, I did it on my own. I thought my reckless sister, in her attempt to challenge the human swordswoman who defeated her in the Varlylon dungeon, would pass up the opportunity to investigate this intriguing, self-proclaimed demon king,” Lighter replied in a mocking tone as he looked back at Solaris.

Those words struck a nerve with Solaris, who instantly lost her patience upon recalling that past fight. Although that clash inside the dungeon couldn’t be considered a real defeat for her given how things had ended, it had been incredibly frustrating at the time not being able to settle the score with Helen and being left with the bad taste of that interruption.

“First of all, she didn’t defeat me, and I’m not here for that. Nor do we have orders from my father to investigate this human king. Leave at once and let me do my job,” Solaris demanded, obvious annoyance in her voice, pointing toward the door so he would stop meddling in her mission.

Instead of listening to her or taking her anger seriously, Lighter looked her up and down intently. Seeing her settled inside her supposed enemy’s house, wearing her hair down after taking a bath and dressed so comfortably without her usual facade for strangers, he raised an eyebrow in disapproval.

“See, that’s what I mean, sister. You’re too naive. Father wouldn’t tell you anything because he obviously expects you to find out useful things for him. How did you let yourself be convinced to enter this house so calmly? And looking at your appearance right now, do you feel that comfortable around this demon king, or what’s wrong with you?” Lighter questioned, criticizing her for accepting Ryan’s hospitality as if they were lifelong allies.

At that direct accusation about her behavior, Solaris clenched her fists tightly at her sides, holding back the urge to draw her weapon and start a fight with him right then and there.

Irnina, seeing the trouble Lighter was about to cause inside the room with his reckless comments, quickly decided to intervene. She stood up to calm the situation before her master lost control.

“Young prince, I beg you to stop provoking my master and leave. My lady does not have to answer your questions. We will only do what we came here to do without looking for unnecessary trouble,” Irnina said firmly, stepping in front of Solaris to defend her position and reminding the prince of the sole purpose of their stay in the grove.

Lighter looked at the dragoness with displeasure, seeing that she didn’t seem concerned either about having the people of Kowarre settled so close to their lands.

“Irnina, don’t take her side. You know full well the risk involved in letting a demon king establish a base in our territory so calmly. I don’t trust that your presence here, or Solaris’s, will put enough pressure on them to keep them at bay. Have you considered the possibility that this is all a trap? Don’t be naive,” Lighter warned, trying to make them see the danger of blindly trusting the intentions of a stranger who had killed Rigal.

Despite her brother’s insistence on making them doubt, Solaris managed to control her initial anger by remembering that the permission to extract the mana trees had been granted directly by her father at the castle.

“Whether it’s a trap or not, we’ll deal with it later. They are here because of an agreement, and until it’s fulfilled, I don’t intend to intervene in anything else,” Solaris said, crossing her arms without looking at her older brother, making it clear she wasn’t going to break Rohan’s word over his mere assumptions.

Irnina nodded, agreeing with her master, knowing full well that provoking a conflict in that camp without real motives would only ruin the peace they maintained before the upcoming meeting of the demon kings.

“It is exactly as Master Solaris says. Anything you propose goes against that agreement. There is no point in continuing this conversation,” the dragoness added, backing the decision to stay out of it as long as the workers only dedicated themselves to felling the trees.

Seeing that neither of them was going to change their mind or support his idea of investigating the place by force, Lighter let out a sigh and threw his hands up in defeat.

“Alright, fine, I give up. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t being influenced by that demon king,” Lighter said, downplaying the matter after confirming that their loyalty to Ignis remained unchanged.

However, before he could think about leaving the room, he remembered another topic that had been circulating among the royal family since the Kowarre group’s visit, and he added with genuine curiosity.

“But, you two were talking to him. Did you at least confirm my father’s suspicions about his origin?” the prince asked, wanting to know if their time spent with Ryan had helped them discover what kind of being he truly was.

Solaris didn’t answer that question immediately. She remained silent for a few seconds, thinking back on the time they had spent near him since that morning, trying to evaluate the strange nature of his energy when he wasn’t hiding it.

“Father believes that man is actually a Wyrm, like the first demon king’s sentinel. But I can’t tell for sure,” she said, acknowledging her inability to distinguish something so specific on her own, and turned her head to look at Irnina. “What do you think?”

As a member of the dragon race with far more experience than Rohan’s young children, Irnina was naturally expected to have a better eye for identifying such ancestral traits, but she gently shook her head.

“Lady Solaris, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but even I have a hard time noticing something like that. He certainly possesses an intriguing power, but it more closely resembles that of a demon,” Irnina explained sincerely, for the feeling Ryan gave off was very different from any human or dragon she had ever met before.

That exact description of how confusing it was to identify the root of his strength caught Lighter’s attention, seeing in that mix of traits proof that supported Rohan’s theory.

“That’s exactly why, don’t you think he might actually be a Wyrm?” Lighter chimed in, thinking that only an ancient creature of that kind could deceive others’ senses in such a way.

“I’m not sure. It’s not like I’ve ever seen one either,” the dragoness replied, making it clear that not even for her species was it common to run into a being like the one who served the first demon king.

Solaris grew thoughtful for a moment at her subordinate’s lack of certainty, but then quickly remembered someone who did have the age and knowledge required to clear up their doubts without mistake.

“But Irnina, your mother could easily identify him, couldn’t she? Could you find out after the Walpurgis?” Solaris suggested, proposing they consult the dragoness’s mother once the gathering of rulers had passed.

Hearing her mother mentioned in the middle of the conversation, Irnina’s expression changed slightly, recalling the estrangement and family issues they had carried since she and her sister took different paths in service to the demons.

“Yes, my mother might have the answer we are looking for. But even if she knew, she wouldn’t tell us anything. My sister Janina and I are her greatest disappointments; we both serve her enemies,” she answered bluntly and threw her hands up in resignation, making it clear that trying to get information out of her mother would be a waste of time for them.

“You have a somewhat complicated family,” Solaris added.

“Master Solaris, you are not the right person to be telling me that,” Irnina grumbled.

While the three of them silently pondered the matter, searching for another way to uncover the truth about Kowarre’s leader, the darkness in a corner of the room suddenly gathered, and a figure materialized without making the slightest noise.

“So, a Wyrm. I’ll admit I was curious to know how the demons perceived my King, but I didn’t expect you to reach that conclusion,” Beatrice spoke calmly, revealing her presence in the room after having listened to their entire conversation.

The sound of that voice inside their supposed safe zone caught the three members of Ignis by surprise, and they immediately turned toward her, going on high alert.

“But who are you?” Lighter exclaimed, taking a step back, unable to understand how someone had entered the room without his barrier warning him.

“How long have you been here?” Solaris asked, her body tensing as she realized that everything they had discussed about her father and his suspicions had been overheard by the enemy.

Irnina immediately moved to her master’s side, fixing her gaze on the demon woman who had just appeared before them.

“How could we not sense her?” the fire dragoness murmured, astonished by the mastery of stealth this subordinate of Ryan’s possessed to stay hidden at such a close distance to three strong warriors.

Solaris carefully observed the intruder’s features and attire, trying to recognize her, but she was certain she hadn’t seen her among the women who had been in the cabin during the day.

“Who are you? You weren’t at the meeting we had in Kowarre, and you weren’t here this morning either,” Solaris questioned without lowering her guard, demanding to know who this woman was that had bypassed the surveillance of all three of them with such ease.

Second chapter of the day! Tomorrow is October 31st according to NovelPhoenix’s server time, though it will still be the 30th for me. But as a Halloween special, I’ll try to release four chapters throughout the day and night. Thanks again for reading and for all the support 😀