CHAPTER 80: THE NEST, THE ARTIFACT, AND THE GALL

Kael’s thoughts were cut short when something tugged at his sleeve.

The twig.

He raised a brow, asking what without words, and the aide hissed back in a whisper that was far too sharp for someone clinging for dear life. "You could’ve warned me that the statues were something!"

He wanted to say that they were—in a sense—but even he couldn’t predict when the guardians chose to borrow those vessels. For a century at least, none of them had moved. Still, the mortal kept inching closer, brushing against his arm each time they passed another carved figure, practically bumping into him as though Kael’s clothes had suddenly become a shield. It was distracting. Oddly, not unpleasant. So he didn’t bother to correct him. Not that he could, since the truth was only meant for seated dragon lords.

Instead, he shifted the topic. "We have a few hours before we have to leave to check on the nest."

The aide blinked up at him. "Huh? We’re actually going there?"

"Of course."

"Considering everything??? What kind of excuse are we even going to tell them?!"

"Not through the front door. After all that, it would be impossible to enter without a strong enough reason after telling them not to appear before us."

"Then how?"

"It’s being handled. It started the moment the whole thing was in full swing earlier. While it was certainly problematic, all of them showing up like that and focusing their attention on us helped."

That only raised more suspicions. The mortal’s steps faltered. "About that... what the hell was that all about? All that talk about staying in the nest and yet—?"

"It will be investigated."

His glare sharpened. "But isn’t it too late now? If I were a criminal, I’d have cleaned everything already. Especially with all this time handed to me!"

"We sent someone the moment that dragonling showed up."

"Oh! Seris? Since then?"

"Yes, even through all that scent alterer, even Father could smell the presence of someone who shouldn’t have been outside."

"But wasn’t Lady Seris out officially?"

"As official as they chose to label it. But save for birthdays and the solstice, anything else is just an elaborate excuse. But the rest? How else could all those dragonlings arrive looking so polished without an established method?"

The aide nearly tripped over his own feet, realization dawning. "So there’s actually a way in and out? Wait—you’d know because you also stayed there, right? Did you also sneak out like them?"

"Mn."

That answer earned him a stifled snort. He didn’t miss it. The mortal was picturing it—Kael, young and reckless, playing hooky like the other dragonlings. His lips twitched, barely hiding a laugh.

"Was it difficult to escape that place? How’d you do it, Sir? Maybe it’s still the same way today?"

"No. Not difficult. And certainly not the same." Kael, though, raised a brow at that honorific again.

Suspicion glimmered in wide human eyes. "Why? Did you get caught? Did they shut it down because of you?"

Kael stopped walking long enough to look at him, expression flat, golden eyes narrowing with the weight of disbelief. Then his voice landed with blunt finality. "I destroyed the nest to get out."

The aide blinked.

And blinked again.

That expression didn’t change. The great lizard wasn’t joking.

"!!!"

Air caught in his throat. What kind of hooligan destroys a school just to escape?!

Well, shit. Apparently, his boss.

"But Orien’s case is likely different."

That jolted him wide awake. "Huh? How are you sure?"

"Because if it were that simple, why would anyone use that decommissioned artifact?"

A frown tugged at his mouth. "So you’re saying it’s better to investigate how the artifact was stolen?"

"In a sense," Kael replied, voice calm but edged with something that suggested he was already three steps ahead. "It narrows down the search. Also, if we look into Orien’s case too particularly, someone will want to erase their traces."

The aide shot him a look. "But you are investigating the nest, right?"

That pause was far too deliberate. Golden eyes studied him, curious at the sudden reaction. "Why? Are you seeing other issues that warrant investigation?"

His chest tightened. Taken aback, he still managed to push forward. How could the great lizard just brush something like this aside? "Well, it’s probably something you already thought about, but I believe you need to look into the source of all that indoctrination."

"Indoctrination?" Kael asked, tone low, as though testing whether the mortal was serious.

"Yes," came the decisive reply. He could already feel the weight of dismissal looming, so he explained quickly. Dragons were selfish, individualistic, hardly the type to follow blindly. Indoctrinating or brainwashing such beings shouldn’t have been easy. But that logic only held for adults. And while he understood why Kael would think it was impossible, because doing this would require having a dragon sit long enough for an actual conversation without eating or incinerating the alleged speaker.

Which truly was easier said than done. But that’s for those grumpy ancients.

The dragonlings were different.

After seeing them firsthand, he was certain. They were social, impressionable, and cared about ideals and belonging. That entire scene where they were spouting the same nonsense? That had to come from somewhere else. Not from sheltered dragonlings. Certainly not from someone like Orien, who was practically a blank slate.

He laid it all out, his voice rising with conviction as he paced a step closer. "Someone’s feeding them this. Planting the idea of who they’re supposed to be. Of what they’re supposed to want."

Kael’s expression sharpened.

"For one, even they said that someone told them about this fact. Sure, it could be their parents aiming for political leverage, but how likely was it for every single parent to say the same thing?"

"Also, it’s one thing to talk about a possibility, because crushes do exist even when you probably hadn’t met any of them, but to make it seem like a legitimate right? I believe that shouldn’t be ignored," he said firmly.

A faint hum left the dragon lord, his golden gaze never leaving him. "Sure. But you don’t need to feel threatened by them. With what you pulled back then, even if they insist, it would be difficult to prove. Especially after earlier."

"..."

"?"

"!!!"

"YA!" It took a moment for it to sink in, but the word burst out before he could stop it, his whole head practically burning at the audacity of this giant lizard. The gall. The sheer nerve.

Then, unable to stop himself, he snapped, "Who even wants to be your mate?!"

Kael didn’t flinch. Didn’t even blink. "Well, just as you said, apparently all of them."

His mouth fell open. Speechless. Utterly robbed of words, he sputtered for a moment before finally managing, "Then go pick one of them!"

"No, thank you," came the effortless reply. Calm, smooth, infuriating. "Because I’m a responsible dragon lord who knows how to take responsibility. And even now I’m showing my sincerity as a proper honey."

Honey. He actually said ’honey.’

The urge to smack that face was immediate, but just as his hand twitched, that faint upturn at the corner of Kael’s mouth distracted him. Subtle, smug, and entirely too handsome for its own good. His breath caught, just for a second.

He missed his chance.

Frustration boiling, he pinched the nearest bit of sleeve instead, muttering vicious curses under his breath. The dragon didn’t even flinch. If anything, the lizard looked entertained.

Riley then decided to turn these archives upside down, if necessary, in search of the key to removing that sigil.

Because what if he died of hypertension instead?