They left the window open, a breeze blowing through the room, and sat down on their seats at the table. Adara was attentively waiting for the moment she would sense the very faint mana fluctuations. Eventually, she felt them. She knew the dragon was in the room before she felt the faint mana fluctuations since a couple floating leaves started to sit down on a chair across from them.
Adara chuckled at that.
On and Hong jumped onto the chairs to the right and left of the still-invisible dragon.
Adara pointed to the food as Cale opened up a wine bottle. "Eat," she said simply, taking the now-filled glass of wine from Cale. "You spent so long getting ingredients and hunting animals for us, I doubt you ate any of it." She brought the wine glass to her lips but didn't drink it yet. "I'm sure it wasn't pleasant."
As she drank, she watched the Black Dragon remove his invisibility magic. On was shaking the leaves off of him, while Hong was waving a piece of steak from the table of food that Beacrox made in front of his face. He hesitantly leaned closer and ate it. She watched as his eyes lit up, and he no longer hesitated to take the food from Hong.
The average age of these three beings was 7 years old, with On being the oldest and the Black Dragon being the youngest. Hong was right in between them. She just watched as they ate, slowly taking sips from her wine. She didn't exactly feel hungry at the moment, so she wasn't going to eat. But she was going to eat. She knew the value of food, so now she never skipped a meal. But she didn't want to force herself to eat either, so she was going to eat later. The steak that they were eating quickly disappeared, so Adara leaned over the table to push another plate towards them.
On and Hong flinched, but the Black Dragon only stopped chewing as he started at the two of them. They continued drinking without caring.
Adara studied them a bit, the two kittens and the dragon. The dragon was fully healed, his scars and wounds were gone. He might need to eat a bit more than he currently is, but if he stays with them for a while longer he'd be the size of the average growing dragon. The kittens were also fully healthy, they were no longer malnourished as they were when they took them in. She was happy, she only wished she could introduce Hans to the dragon so he'd do the magic he did on the kittens.
And at that moment, she finally let herself relax. Her shoulders relaxed, resting comfortably at her side, and her position on the couch looked more casual than business-like. She took another sip from her wine, and while the action was the same as the other times she had done it, this time it had a different effect on everybody else in the room.
The dragon, seeing the change in her behaviour, started chewing again. The kittens gave each other a look but also continued to eat. The only other time the kittens had seen her so relaxed was when they had played with her hair the night before they left for the Capital. Cale also noticed, but he only smiled to himself and took another sip of his wine.
When Adara's voice came, it came wishful. "I would love it if things could just stay like this." When she had refused Cale's offer a few weeks ago to live with him in the house he was going to settle in during the war, she hadn't done it because she didn't want to. She did it because she couldn't. The Family, the Territory, will fall apart if she wasn't there. She wasn't there now, but she had people. If she were to retire and sit in a house by the seaside, her people would try to keep the peace but it wouldn't work. She had people everywhere, in the Poison Department as well as in Administration, even in Finance (also known as the Treasury)— her father's department— she had people. The Thornwin Territory needed her, pulling the strings on the puppets from within the shadows, or it would go to ruin. But that didn't mean she didn't want to rest.
Cale agreed. "A house this size, food like this, and time to relax, it sounds like the dream." He was thinking that this was how he was going to live his life once Basen became the Official Successor.
Adara looked outside as she took another sip of her wine, it was getting dark already. Almost absent-mindedly she commented, "We should get a wolf."
Cale looked at her like she was crazy. "What?"
She shrugged. "Well, we have kittens— which are felines. A Dragon— who is technically a reptilian even though they say they're a whole species by themselves. And now we just need a canine, and I'm recommending the wolf. I always wanted a wolf when I was younger."
Cale was about to retort something, something about definitely not getting a wolf when Adara sat up straight again. Her head turned to the door, confused. Before Cale could ask, three knocks sounded at the door.
The Black Dragon turned invisible almost immediately and the kittens started to pretend to be normal kittens by washing their faces.
Adara was standing up and heading to the door. Cale followed her, but he accidentally hit a wine bottle while getting up. Adara, who had a hand on the door, rushed in the blink of an eye to catch the falling wine bottle. Cale blinked. And Adara got up, put the wine bottle back on the table, and started walking to the door again. Sometimes it hit Cale in the face just how much slower and weaker he was than Adara.
He didn't want to ask Adara who it was, but he had an ominous feeling.
Adara had frozen the second she heard unrecognisable footsteps. But that was normal in this unknown house where she didn't know anyone. But then she froze further when she heard Choi Han's footsteps. How is he here? He can't be here unless he travels like a lunatic. He shouldn't be here for another three days. And Crown Princess Rosalyn is definitely with him, but Lock should be injured. Choi Han would never force an injured person to move faster, especially since the potions that we gave him don't work on the Wolf Tribe since they were disowned by the gods. Her mind ran with the calculations. The chances of him physically being on the other side of this door are 100,01% considering his footsteps. The chances of Choi Han forcing an injured person to move are nigh 4,98% considering the type of person he is. The chances of Crown Princess Rosalyn using advanced magic to teleport them here are higher— 7,53%— but not much considering the cautious and careful precautions she is undergoing since surviving the assassination attempt. But they are definitely on the other side of this door.
She reached her hand to the doorknob and opened it. She was expecting it, but her heart still sank as she saw Choi Han in front of her.
"Cale-nim, Adara-nim. I'm sorry. You were the only people that came to mind."
He looks desperate, Adara thought. And like a mess. Her eyes wandered away from Choi Han, next to him, was Deputy Butler Hans, who was confused. A bit behind the two, was a red-haired person who wasn't taking her eyes off of Adara's scars. And, of course, there was also an injured person on Choi Han's back.
Adara sent a brief look towards Cale who was still looking at Lock. "I was joking when I mentioned having a wolf."
He sent her a look that seemed to say that she had jinxed it.
Lock was in no state to be paying attention to his surroundings, but Rosalyn became attentive when she saw who opened the door. It was a red-headed man and next to him was a Southerner. With pitch-black hair. Her eyes widened. Only the Royal Family had such dark hair. A princess? Or the Queen? But then Rosalyn frowned. What is Southern Royalty doing in the Capital during a celebration? Especially during the Festival. Only then did Choi Han's sentence come to her. Adara... Adara Thornwin. The Trash of the North-East, or well half of it. And the other half, Rosalyn's eyes wandered over to Cale before turning back to Adara. Choi Han had talked about Adara. So this is her. Her scars are bigger than they say, it stretches across her whole face. What could have happened to a simple Count's Daughter for her to get an injury like that?
The Simple Count's Daughter, taking note of how Crown Princess Rosalyn's eyes wouldn't leave her scars, took a step back, opening the door further for them. "Come in for now."
"Bring him with you," Cale added.
The person on Choi Han's back was none other than Lock of the Blue Wolf Tribe, the Future Successor of the Wolf King. Looking closer, she realised with a start that he was going through the pain that was a textbook description of transforming into a Berserk Mode for the first time. This isn't supposed to be happening now. It should happen in a year from now when the Healer Pendrick dies. Not now. Too many things were different than the Novel Kim Rok Soo read and it was annoying her.
Adara and Cale inspected everyone around them, they were all worried and desperate. They simply said one thing before everyone walked into their room. "Don't worry."
Currently, three people were in their room. Choi Han and Lock and behind them was Rosalyn. Crown Princess Rosalyn, she thought, memories she hadn't thought about in a while suddenly coming up. She read the book she got from her tutor about the Royal Family of the Breck Kingdom often when she was a child. She seemed like such a wonderful person and as she sought out rumours about her, all she heard were things admirable. She didn't know what drew her to like— no. She knew very much what drew her to like Crown Princess Rosalyn of the Breck Kingdom so much. But now was not the time to think of it. Because in her room was not the Crown Princess of the Breck Kingdom but instead an unnamed redhead.
Cale immediately got rid of Hans. "Hans. Go bring something to drink."
"Excuse me?" Hans frowned, he was outside the room. "Ah, right away!"
Adara closed the door as he left her view. Turning to Choi Han show as staring at her and Cale expectantly, she motioned to the bed closest to him. "Go lay him down."
Choi Han nodded. "Got it." He went to the bed quickly and laid Lock on it carefully.
She walked to the edge of the bed and studied the boy. Well, he definitely has the purest of pure blood, he looks like a weak human. But he is tall, how old is he? 13? He is tall for a 13-year-old.
Lock was huffing and puffing while trying to keep his eyes open. He was frowning deeply and his body was limp though he still tried to put strength into it.
The corners of her mouth turned down. It is too late to prevent him from entering Berserk Mode. Poor child, it will hurt. She moved her hand, she saw Choi Han's eyes focus on the small movement immediately. She reached her hand out and patted Lock's head. Making sure she was in his field of vision, she started speaking slowly. "Don't worry, child, keep your eyes closed, everything will be okay. There is no need to strain yourself, we all want you alive and well." Her voice was its normal indifferent tone, but something in it made Lock calmer, he started huffing less as he closed his eyes.
Cale moved next to her as Lock was closing his eyes. "Everything will be okay," he repeated her words.
Lock was calling for someone but no words were coming out of his mouth. He was calling for his Uncle, the Chief of the Blue Wolf Tribe, the man who fiercely ran to the invaders and died fighting them, even though he was one step away from becoming the Wolf King. Before he died, his Uncle had made sure that Lock was safely hidden.
Everything will be okay.
That's what his Uncle said before leaving. Before dying. Lock frowned harder as he thought of his Uncle, but if Adara and Cale saw it, they did not let on.
Choi Han would've smiled at their actions, was he not confused about the situation at hand. "Cale-nim, Adara-nim, why is Lock like this?"
Adara frowned on the inside as she looked at him. He looks anxious and desperate. At this point in time, he would have just started opening his heart to Lock. So why is he like this? And why is the storyline so messed up? We could not have changed it this much. She knew that this was why Cale was trying to cut off their relationship with Choi Han so that the storyline would not continue changing so drastically.
"Potions don't work either. According to Rosalyn, the Wolf Tribe is one that cannot use potions. Healing magic does not seem to work either. I'm not sure about what to do. I need to protect him. I'm supposed to protect him." Choi Han was starting to get worked up.
"Calm down," Cale told him quickly.
If you continue on like this, Adara thought staring at Choi Han, it might just be you who ends up going berserk. Dragons cannot go berserk and neither can you, but a mana explosion and you going into a killing frenzy is just as scary. If Choi Han went into a killing frenzy she would probably be able to block his attacks while protecting Cale, but she might not be able to save everyone in this room. But he calmed down as Cale had told him to do, which put her less on edge. His personality is nice, she decided. But he is strong. She wouldn't trust him if he's not 100% rational.
"Cale-nim, Adara-nim."
"If you trust us, just leave him to us," they said at the same time.
Choi Han hesitated for only a small movement. "I trust you."
Adara and Cale nodded, their nodding in sync. "Good."
Adara observed his posture, confirming he had indeed calmed down, before feeling some mana fluctuations and turning to Rosalyn. She isn't using Mana right now, is she? She was not at all worried about Crown Princess Roslayn finding out that she was a Dark Elf since a being with Mana could not sense Dead Mana, though the beings who could use Dead Mana could sense Mana but not use it.
What surprised Adara was that she looked exactly like the description in the books. The genius Crown Princess Rosalyn, the successor to the Throne in the Breck Kingdom, was prepared to throw all of that away to pursue her dream of being a mage. Her hair was as red as a rose, with her lips mirroring the colour. Her hair had a more orange hue than Cale's bright red-coloured hair. And though she looked like a rose, her personality was close to the Sun.
But she was not looking at anybody in the room. She was solely focused on the chair that the Black Dragon was sitting on. "This aura— this strong aura of mana!" she murmured, her hands shaking and clenched.
Oh, Adara sighed. Apparently, the dragon was curious about this mage, since he had sent over some mana to Rosalyn, showing off some mana skills that Rosalyn would very much like to achieve but would never be able to. While Dragons were known to hate humans, they liked mages quite a bit.
"Stop it. Stay still," Cale said quietly to the empty chair.
Almost instantly, Rosalyn took a deep breath and returned back to normal. The dragon removed his mana, but Adara noted that Rosalyn's hands were still shaking. She turned to the two Trash. "Just what—."
Adara never dreamed that she would ever cut the Crown Princess she looked so much up to when she was younger off. But here she was. "This is more important."
"Ah." Crown Princess Rosalyn's stance changed and her hands stopped shaking. She was now fully calm. And about 93,76% rational, Adara estimated. She looked at Lock who was laying down on the bed with his eyes closed before turning her gaze back to the two Trash. "What is going on with Lock right now?"
Adara's eyes wandered to the small staff in her hand. So, she did use teleportation magic. That is unlike her. I'm missing a contributing factor. What made her reveal the extent of her abilities to these two?
"You are a mage, right?" Cale asked her.
"Yes, I am," she responded, the hold on her staff tightened.
"Have you ever heard anything about the Berserk Mode of Beast Tribes?" Adara knew she had, but Adara was supposed to have no idea who this red-haired person in front of her was. So she was acting accordingly.
Rosalyn's face filled with confusion. "I have read about the Wolf Tribe's Berserk Mode in books. However, I have never read anything about heating up like this and being in pain."
Adara made a sound of agreement which made Rosalyn stare at her. Adara felt the familiar feeling of discomfort when Rosalyn's eyes went to her scars first and then her eyes. "It's his first time," she explained. "They don't describe the first times in books anymore. The only written records we have are from the Ancient Times."
"Excuse me?" Rosalyn was confused. Nobody can read the language of the Ancient Times. Not fully. A few words here and there that look like our modern words— maybe— but generally speaking the Ancient Books are unusable to us. What confused her was how Adara and Cale knew about it, if it was only written in the Ancient Books. It was not possible that they translated it all.
Choi Han turned to them, listening in on the conversation. Cale noticed that, and started to speak to everyone in the room. "Beast People lose their sanity during their first time entering Berserk Mode because of the physical pain from their bodily transformation. If they can persevere past this first painful transformation, they will be able to use the Berserk Mode as a weapon," he explained.
Beast People were at their strongest when they were in berserk mode. That was written even in the current books.
Adara stared at Lock. "He will go berserk very soon." She turned her head to look at Rosalyn at the same time Cale did.
Rosalyn found it only a bit weird how much they synced. "I don't know what kind of person you are, but I am able to read the situation." Oh, I know exactly what type of people you two are said to be. All information she had on the Trash of the North-East duo was based on rumours. But rumours are not to be trusted. So while her tone was stern, her eyes were gentle. "He is a young boy."
"We know," Adara and Cale said.
She was asking for their help. And they were agreeing.
Adara heard On and Hong walking before she saw them. They jumped onto the bed and Adara would've taken them off from there if she did not know the two siblings. On and Hong stared at Lock until Lock bared his teeth at them and growled. His instincts were in control instead of his rationality, making him react harshly to other Beast People. He looked so vicious at the moment that Adara calculated the chances of him doing something to On and Hong again in fear that she miscalculated.
But On let out a meow and Hong used his front paw to smack Lock's growling mouth. It was a sharp paw attack that was telling Lock to stop it. Adara let out a snort, chastising herself for not believing in her children and her calculations. Hong turned to Adara and Cale, his eyes seemingly telling them to hurry up and help Lock.
Adara stepped forward and petted the two on their heads. "He will be fine soon. Don't worry."
Rosalyn watched one of the Trash be so gentle with the kittens and she found it hard to believe that this was the same Trash who threw bottles at everyone. Wait— no. That's the other one. Her gaze turned to Cale who was also watching Adara.
Adara turned her head to the door and Cale started walking to it, knowing from her reactions by now that Hans was probably at the door. He had a hand on the doorknob when Hans knocked, he opened it a second later. He brought drinks as well as wet towels with him.
"Hans."
"Yes, sir?"
"Bring something to carry him with."
"Ye— excuse me?"
Cale pointed to Lock on the bed. "Put him on it and take him to the Underground Training Arena. Oh, make sure all of the knights are out of the arena and that nobody is in there."
Hans's expression was clearly asking why they would move a sick boy to the Arena, but Cale ignored it. When Hans turned to Adara, trying to see if she would give him an answer, she also ignored him. Hans did not know why he tried.
"Hurry up," Cale said.
"Yes, sir, ma'am." Hans had a ton of questions and he was looking at Cale and Adara weirdly, but he still did his job. He exited the room to find something to carry Lock with, while Adara and Cale turned to look at the two conscious and rational people in the room.
"Choi Han," they started, syncing up. "And you."
"It's Rosalyn," she introduced herself quickly.
"Miss Rosalyn," they said, still syncing up.
Choi Han and Rosalyn were staring at them now, tearing their eyes away from Lock.
"Yes, Cale-nim, Adara-nim?"
"What is it?"
Concern, despair, worry, sincerity, Adara listed off the emotions on their faces. They look like simple good people rather than heroes.
They bluntly spoke to the two good people. "You two will need to get beaten up a bit."
~~~
[A/N]: Woohoo, finally, Roslayn and Lock have entered the picture! Adara is going to have another child to care about ^^