The Dragon Lord's Aide Wants to Quit [BL] Chapter 266: Learning the Hard Way

Okay, maybe a little re-evaluation of the plan was necessary because, while it worked, it had not been the best idea.

The three of them sat around the table in a daze.

Riley, Liam, and even Orien looked like they had just been hit with a collective whiplash. Riley had one hand braced against the tabletop, breathing a little too hard. Liam sat stiffly on his chair, eyes blown wide like a stunned fish. Orien was slumped backward, tail limp, blinking slowly as if the world had not quite settled back into place.

Thyrran had not been able to stop Riley in ti.

Well, the ex-guardian had not expected him to open the space crack almost all the way, practically drawing a line with one giant swing of his body.

If the room they were using had been bigger, who knows how big of a space Riley would’ve opened?

And the mont it happened, black dragon mana flooded the room so strongly that the three of them were practically drowned in it. While the pressure that had been overwhelmingly thick, heavy, and definitely ancient sent Thyrran toppling over.

Even Liam, who did not yet have a ford core, had frozen in shock as that foreign presence washed over him.

By the ti Riley managed to force the space crack shut again, his hands were trembling.

"What the heck was that?" Riley finally gasped, wiping sweat from his brow.

"It wasn’t like that when we first opened it."

Thyrran coiled nearby, expression tight. "Ah, Young Master, that is because the Dragon Lord was present back then and had warded the room you used when discussing this."

Riley blinked.

"In a sense," Thyrran continued, "the mana could not freely perate every corner the way it would without guidance."

"What?" Riley shot upright. "Why didn’t you tell sooner?"

"I was trying to," the familiar replied calmly. "But you opened it imdiately, and I got blown away."

Riley froze.

Then he winced. "Ah. Sorry."

That one was on him. He had gotten too excited.

He imdiately turned to check on the children. Liam looked shaken but alert, still blinking as if his brain was catching up.

"I’m okay, brother," Liam said quickly when Riley asked. "I think... maybe because I don’t have a solid core yet, it didn’t really stick? It just kept brushing against ."

Riley nodded, relieved. But maybe he ought to ask his mother if the Caldens had so sort of affinity for black dragon mana because clearly Liam was doing better than Orien who was an actual dragon.

He looked down at the golden dragonling cradled awkwardly against him.

"Orien?" Riley asked gently. "Are you okay?"

Orien lay flat on his back, staring at the ceiling, limbs slightly stiff.

"Yeah," he said slowly. "But Auntie... I think we shouldn’t do that again."

Riley humd in agreent.

"Maybe just take a small bone, a really small one, next ti," Orien added weakly.

His tail twitched once.

The foreign mana had been too strong. Too concentrated. It had made him realize sothing deeply unsettling. Those were remains and artifacts, yet it had felt like being engulfed by countless living black dragons at once.

Riley hugged him closer and pressed a few apologetic kisses to his face. "Yeah. I think you’re right."

Then he paused, thoughtful.

"But I think," Riley continued slowly, "I figured out what you ant by the feeling of mana."

Orien blinked.

Liam lit up instantly. "Wow! Really, Brother?"

Riley smiled at both of them. "Yeah. That was external mana. Familiar, but not yet mine. I think now I know what I’m supposed to look for."

He closed his eyes briefly, searching for the right words. When the mana from the space crack had overwheld him, it felt as if sothing inside him had tried to reach for his clan’s mana, only to be choked off by his own skin.

It was a very odd sensation, to say the least. And it had been difficult to concentrate on the feeling of his skin jumping at him when he clearly felt like gravity was weighing on him.

But now that he could breathe properly, he knew he had to capitalize on that sensation. Just as the golden dragonling had pointed out, they had not felt anything even remotely close to that when they were simply trying to will it, the way Kael had suggested.

"It feels like it’s inside ," Riley said. "But also kind of separate. Like it’s gathered sowhere. And with it being magnetized by the external mana, I suddenly beca aware of it."

He frowned slightly. "Almost like molten liquid shifting around. Or maybe like rcury in one of those old thermoters."

Orien’s eyes slowly brightened. He had no idea what rcury was or what a thermoter was but clearly his pupil had understood sothing right away!

He puffed up a little in Riley’s arms, looking incredibly proud.

Riley noticed and chuckled. "So since we figured out sothing important..."

Both children leaned in.

"Maybe we should get a little treat before we go back to practicing."

Orien perked up imdiately, body jerking upright, dizziness forgotten as his tail began to swing eagerly.

"A treat?"

"Yes," Riley said, grinning. "A treat. Let’s go make sothing fun first."

__

Orien sniffed.

Then sniffed again.

And again.

The golden dragonling hovered close, eyes narrowed with intense focus as he tracked Riley’s every movent.

The temporary cook hadn’t even started mixing anything yet. He was simply preparing the ingredients, laying things out and preparing the proper utensils, but Orien watched like this was a sacred ritual that required his full attention.

His nose twitched.

Riley noticed and laughed softly. "Hey. You might want to stop sniffing so hard."

Orien paused, offended. "Why?"

"Because that powder is about to go places you really don’t want it to go," Riley said, grinning.

Liam imdiately nodded in agreent. He reached over and tugged gently at Orien’s arm. "Lord Orien, what about coming over here?"

The dragonling hesitated, clearly torn between curiosity and pride.

"It will irritate your nose if you accidentally inhale all the powder," Liam explained earnestly. "You’ll keep sneezing."

Orien scowled, then huffed, backing up a step. "Hmph. Fine."

He crossed his arms and eyed the table suspiciously. "Then what is that, anyway?"

Riley glanced down at the bowl in his hands. "This? It’s just a simple snack. We’re using what we have with us."

He tilted the container and poured the contents in.

Golden yellow kernels tumbled into the bowl like it were the most expected turn of events. Except it shouldn’t be.

Orien froze.

His eyes widened. His pupils practically sparkled. He leaned forward despite himself, tail giving a sharp flick.

"What. Is. That?" he demanded, voice sharp with urgency.

The newly renewed student blinked, then smiled knowingly. "This is sweet corn."

Orien stared.

"And what are we making?" the dragonling pressed.

Riley lifted another ingredient with a grin. "Well, we’re making buttered sweet corn with cheese."

The golden dragonling stopped breathing for a full second.

Then his tail started swishing uncontrollably.

Who knew what that was, but clearly, he deserved sothing that had so many words and shone like little stars because he had done so perfectly well.

Naturally.