Chapter 20
Although Whid didn't care much for salad, they smiled as if they found the fruit and cookies tasty.
They had pulled the corners of their mouth wide to either side, just like a person.
“How fascinating. It's not easy to form a bond with a drake, especially a Gold Drake.”
“We happened to form a bond.”
“Life is a chain of coincidences, after all. How old are they?”
“About thirteen months now.”
Clora looked slightly surprised at Jade's answer.
It was hard to believe Whid was only thirteen months old.
No matter how quickly babies grew, the energy they currently gave off was simply impossible.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Buuurp!
Unlike the startled Clora, Whid heartily accepted the cookies Jade fed them and let out a satisfying burp.
After drinking a glass of water, they burped again.
Then they looked at Clora with curiosity.
Astonishingly, the little one who had never once even glanced at Rainy or Steven despite all their efforts showed interest in Clora first.
“Hello?”
When a clear, bright gaze turned toward her, Clora greeted them first with a warm smile.
Whid then slipped out of Jade's arms, climbed down onto the table, and slowly approached Clora.
“Oh my!”
Rainy, watching them stride toward Clora without hesitation, could not hide her envy.
She was both surprised and jealous that Whid, who never even pretended to hear her no matter how plaintively she called, had approached Clora first.
Sniff sniff.
Yet Whid paid no attention to Rainy's feelings.
Instead, their eyes gleaming, they slowly approached Clora and sniffed her.
They were showing interest in the half-elf race, which they had never seen before.
-That must seem fascinating to Whid.
-It's a completely new race to them. Besides, they share half the bloodline of elves, who are loved by nature.
-But their affinity with spirits is a little weak.
Normally, spirits were always by an elf's side.
Even if they had not formally contracted with them, spirits tended to accompany them, but that was not the case with Clora.
Despite being a half-elf, her affinity with spirits was still lacking.
Swoosh.
Clora reached out her hand, completely unaware that the two spirits were talking about her.
Though Whid had lived for over three hundred years, they were still adorable.
The cuteness peculiar to a baby made Clora smile as she stroked Whid's head when they drew near.
Flinch!
When Clora's hand touched the forehead Whid had allowed no one but Jade to touch, Whid flinched in surprise.
But soon they relaxed into the gentle touch.
“Aww, what a good baby.”
Although reptile-like scales closely covered Whid's head, they did not feel cold at all.
Rather, the pleasantly rough texture felt so good that Clora kept stroking them without realizing it.
“I want to pet them too……”
Whoosh!
Whid, who had quietly allowed Clora's touch, instantly turned around when Rainy reached out her hand.
They flew back to Jade at once, coldly enough to seem almost heartless.
“As expected.”
“Hng!”
Lloyd took the scene in stride, having seen it repeated several times on their way to the capital.
He had expected this time to be no different.
Rainy, on the other hand, looked close to tears.
She had tried to sneak in a touch, but Whid was just as hard to win over as ever.
“I heard you're going to help our children this time.”
“Yes. Our intentions happened to align.”
“Please take good care of them.”
“I'll do my best.”
Clora smiled warmly at Jade's calm reply, free of any flowery words.
In truth, she had not placed much faith even in the claim that he was a master-level spirit mage.
Not even when the person making the claim was Haynes.
As a half-elf, she knew well how important spirit affinity was, so she had inwardly dismissed the three people's claim that he might be a high-ranking spirit mage.
But she had been mistaken.
The world was indeed vast, and there were humans whose affinity with spirits surpassed that of elves.
‘Upper-grade isn't his ceiling—it's his floor.’
Despite being a half-elf, her affinity with spirits was below average.
That made it impossible for her to gauge Jade perfectly, but another ability of hers told her something.
It told her that Haynes's judgment had not been wrong at all.
In fact, even Haynes had failed to properly assess Jade because his field of expertise was different.
‘Either way, it's a huge relief. We were able to gain the assistance of someone like him.’
Clora inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
Though she was their grandmother, she was unable to intervene in practice.
She had gone into hiding from the public, and it would be problematic in many ways for the Kingdom of Arhan to intervene directly in the civil war of the Kingdom of Polstein.
But Haynes and Jade should be more than capable of turning the tide of the war.
‘Especially since the Second Prince's side knows nothing about Jade.’
They would have reported that an unidentified spirit mage had joined their side.
But that was the extent of what they knew about his abilities.
Moreover, even spirit mages of the same rank could have wildly different abilities depending on how they used their spirits.
‘An upper-grade spirit wouldn't be at a major disadvantage even against a master. In fact, they display even greater power in large-scale battles.’
Being a half-elf herself, Clora knew more than anyone about the power of spirits.
Thus, Clora looked at Jade with eyes full of trust.
“Lloyd and Rainy will do well on their own, but if something comes up that requires my help, contact me anytime. If it's a request from you, Jade, I'll do anything I can.”
“I'll remember that.”
After their brief chat, Jade left.
Since his purpose had been to introduce himself, he had exchanged a suitable amount of conversation and returned to his room.
Yet even after Jade left, he remained the center of the conversation.
“Grandmother, what do you think?”
“He's remarkable. Lord Haynes wasn't exaggerating when he said Jade was strong enough to make the outcome impossible to predict. To be honest, I didn't readily believe him myself.”
“Right?”
“You've truly been blessed by fortune. It's not easy to meet someone that strong, much less gain his assistance. And it means the heavens are still helping you. But don't let your guard down too much. Just as you have a secret weapon, the Second Prince surely does as well.”
At Clora's words, the siblings nodded with stiff faces.
They had already been keeping that in mind.
Since the Second Prince's side would know they were here, they assumed they would be making preparations of their own.
“Of course, before that, you need to steel yourselves. Are you confident?”
Clora's kind expression changed in an instant.
She became not Lloyd's grandmother, but Clora, who had once been the Queen of Arhan, and her gaze turned severe.
Lloyd swallowed hard at the sudden change in her eyes, but he did not avert his gaze.
“Yes. I won't yield or run away anymore. And I intend to reclaim my rightful place.”
“You could die.”
“I know. But I won't live cowardly any longer.”
“Good. That's my grandson.”
Clora, who had stared at Lloyd with a gaze devoid of even the slightest tenderness, soon smiled brightly.
This was precisely the answer she had wanted.
But Lloyd was not finished speaking.
“Even if I fail and die, I will make certain my sister survives. So please promise me. If things go wrong, promise you'll take my sister in.”
“What are you talking about!”
“Stay out of this, Sis.”
Lloyd looked only at Clora.
He did not give his sister so much as a glance.
Pleased by that intense gaze, Clora smiled warmly and nodded.
“I promise.”
“Thank you.”
“Keep that resolve to the very end. Even if you become king.”
“Yes.”
Clora could not help smiling at how utterly different he was from before.
It brought to mind anew the saying that trials make people stronger.
He seemed to have grown up all of a sudden, too.
“But wouldn't it be better to trust Jade rather than me? You'd probably be safer staying at Jade's side than mine. After all, I've retired from active duty.”
“……Grandmother!”
“You'll burst my eardrums. I'm not old enough to be deaf yet.”
“So you really went that far in your conversation?”
Lloyd bit his lip and asked Rainy, who had instantly turned red.
He knew all too well that this had happened because he was lacking.
“I approve. I only met him today, but his soul is sound. Humans lie, but spirits can't lie. There are spirit mages with evil personalities, but spirit mages loved by their spirits are rare.”
“How strong do you think he is, Grandmother?”
“At least a high-ranking spirit mage—one capable of summoning upper-grade spirits.”
“Not at most, but at least?”
“Yes.”
Rainy's pupils dilated.
That was because “at least” meant he had already contracted with an upper-grade spirit.
Lloyd was equally surprised by those words.
“He must have contracted with wind and water spirits, too. Those were the two strongest scents.”
“Water? But he has never summoned a water spirit.”
“He had no reason to reveal that to you. Just because you're in the same boat doesn't mean you have to tell each other everything, does it? The same goes for you two.”
“Hmm!”
Rainy let out a troubled groan.
Because not a single word of it was wrong.
Lloyd's face brightened instead.
The stronger Jade was, the better it was for him.
“So if you want to secure him, do it quickly. For someone of that caliber, his identity doesn't matter. Besides, I hear that although he is an illegitimate child, noble blood flows through his veins. Secure him firmly before someone else snatches him away.”
“The Arhan royal family isn't going to snatch him away, are they?”
“I can't say anything about that. Grandmother no longer holds any real power.”
At the ambiguous answer that did not deny it, Lloyd swallowed hard without realizing it.
Rainy was just as shocked.
“I'm joking. Surely you don't think I'd snatch away someone on my grandchildren's side. But don't take that as grounds to relax. The current king and the other nobles may not think as I do.”
“I'll keep that in mind.”
“How are things going with winning over the neutral nobles?”
“……It's not easy. The Second Prince is devoting just as much effort to winning them over.”
“Naturally.”
Clora nodded.
The situation was just as desperate on the Second Prince's side.
He must want to resolve the current situation as quickly as possible.
“But there are also people waiting for Lloyd. Whatever anyone says, Lloyd is the legitimate heir.”
“That's right.”
“We're planning to return as soon as the reinforcements arrive. And that's when the real battle will begin.”
Rainy's gaze hardened with resolve.
Though they had fled all the way to the Kingdom of Arhan without being able to do anything after the sudden attack, things would be different from now on.
She intended to make absolutely certain of it.
“You mustn't rely on Jade too much. The power of numbers can't be ignored, either. And you mustn't let the casualties grow too high. They're your enemies, but don't forget that they're also citizens of the Kingdom of Polstein.”
“Yes.”
Lloyd answered in a heavy voice.
He was already deeply troubled by that very issue.
Though they were enemies, the soldiers were innocent.
If anyone was to blame, it was the nobles supporting the Second Prince, including the prince himself.
‘I will reclaim my position and make the Kingdom of Polstein a powerful nation.’
A firm goal began to take root in Lloyd's eyes.