"Valeron the Second’s blood is much purer than our own, and once he grows up, his power will be unmatched. To make matters worse, he’s so little that every idiot will think they can be a Regent until Valeron becos of age." Sylpha said.
"That’s not the problem." Lith replied. "Valeron is not going anywhere unless he wants to, and I doubt he wants to leave. He knows of the Council and that I’m the only one who can protect him."
"That’s... too clinical an analysis for a baby." ron weighed his words carefully.
"Baby or not, I can assure you that Valeron understood enough not to leave any love between us. At least on his side." The pain in Lith’s voice was palpable. "What worries is the thought of a bunch of idiots surrounding my property.
"Of having pitchforks and torches on my doorstep, wielded by people dead set on making my life and that of my family even harder than it already is. I’ve called you to inform you of the recent events and to warn you.
"I’m not in the mood for rcy. I’m not in the mood to pander to those stupid enough to think they can harass a Dragon in his lair only because they are many. I promise you that I won’t leave the confines of my property until I calm down.
"Yet if soone cos looking for trouble, they will find it. No politics. No debates. Only retribution." Lith echoed Raagu’s words.
"Is this a threat?" ron asked, seeing a violent burst of mana flare behind Lith’s eyes.
"As I said, it’s a warning." Lith had a hard ti keeping his voice calm and steady. "Today, my son and I almost lost our lives. Yet I’ve lost my son anyway, and my daughter has lost his older brother.
"I’m angry. I’m hurt. I won’t tolerate any further attacks on my person or peace. Be they powerful Awakened or weak commoners, anyone who takes a single step on my property will be treated like an enemy and dealt with extre prejudice."
"We’ll do our best to contain the situation." Sylpha nodded, understanding that in his current mood, there would be no reasoning with Lith. "Keep us updated, and we will do the sa. Is there anything else?"
"Thanks, Your Majesty." Lith gave her a polite nod. "No, Your Majesty."
"Then have so rest. You deserve it. Queen Sylpha out." She hung up the call and added. "At least Vehren has the bearing to follow etiquette. I count it as a win."
"Yeah, but I don’t know how long he will hold." ron sighed. "He’s this close to snapping, otherwise he would have never been so brash. Usually, Verhen is subtle. He nudges people in the direction he wants. He doesn’t send veiled threats like he just did."
"What did you expect?" Sylpha replied. "To you, Verhen was sitting in the safety of his house, but he just escaped death, and Valeron repudiated him. It’s a lot to take, and he called us right after he was done dealing with the aftermath.
"I’m amazed Verhen was so composed. In his shoes, I’d be throwing furniture and spells around like rice at a wedding." The Queen had no idea that she had to thank Solus for that.
Her pain was as silent as Lith’s was loud. She smothered the flas of his rage and diverted part of his attention to her. Even at his worst, Lith still worried about Solus and kept himself together not to let his emotions add to her burden.
"This is bad." ron tapped on his lips. "If ln throws Valeron to the court of public opinion, things will escalate quickly. We’re lucky Kamila just revealed her pregnancy. It’s a blessing all over again."
"What do you an?" Sylpha asked in confusion.
"That everyone knows she is pregnant and what the Guardians will do if she gets upset." ron gave her a sly smirk. "We just need to inform our beloved Royal Court of the truth about Valeron before ln does.
"Then, we have to warn our dear friends that while we can understand their outrage from the depths of our heart, the Guardians will not. That if Lady Verhen or Elysia gets upset and the noble households end up razed to the ground, there’s nothing we can do."
"Genius!" Sylpha jumped off her seat and kissed ron. "Unlike Awakened, a single person is harmless. Only nobles have the power and influence to sway public opinion with propaganda. Without their help, ln’s claims will be dismissed as one of his many lies.
"We just need to remind the esteed mbers of our Court that Guardians can’t be fooled by strawn. Otherwise, so moron might stir trouble in the hope of pinning the bla on their rivals to get rid of them.
"Good point." ron nodded. "Let’s find the politest and clearest way to make them understand they are one baby-tantrum away from putting an end to their bloodline. We must make the Valeron’s issue everyone’s problem and nip ln’s ploy in the bud."
***
Verhen Mansion, at the sa ti.
The Queen had just ended the call when Lith realized what he had just done. He slumped in his chair while covering his face with his hands, sighing.
"That went well." Solus erged from the stone ring and tried to lift his mood. "The Royals are on our side."
"Are you mocking ?" Lith turned to her. "That was a disaster."
"No, I’m not." Solus shook her head. "Sure, you were a bit heavy-handed, but the Royals know what you’ve just gone through. It would be weird if you weren’t upset. At worst, you’ve reassured them you are human."
"Solus is right, and you are being too hard on yourself, Lith." Kamila nodded. "Think about it. You are angry and on edge. There’s no way the Royals took your words lightly.
"Now they’ll do everything they can to keep things from escalating and relieve you from taking care of the public relationships with the Royal Court. I count this as a win."
"And so do I." nadion erged from Lith’s shadow. "Show them everything."
"What is she talking about, Lith?" Solus and Kamila looked at him in confusion.
Back when he had left Valeron at the Mansion, Lith had only told them that the boy knew Lith had killed Jormun and that a group of Awakened had tried to kill them. Lith was in a rush to intercept Cailm’s rescue party, and there was no ti for a full explanation.
"Show them, or they won’t see the full picture." nadion insisted.
Lith sighed and shared every detail of the ambush with a partial mind fusion with Solus and a mind link with Kamila.
"Those rabid curs!" Solus yelled first since the mind fusion was faster.
"What’s wrong with those people?" Kamila needed a bit longer to get to the point that had triggered Solus’ outburst. "How could they ask you to abandon Valeron like that?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." Lith replied once the mind link was over. "According to their logic, I should abandon you, Kami, when you are in trouble and not pregnant, since you don’t share my blood."
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