Chapter 15 : Dragon Clause

"So, let us begin the negotiations."


This is what the crowned King of the Kingdom of Lyth, "Gou Lyth Aetherius," declared. Those simple words carried the weight of centuries of conflict. The two nations, bound by a long, bloody relationship and a history fraught with grinding strategic wars, had finally reached a point where their leaders sat at the same table. 



Although it wasn't the first time, this scene brought back memories of twenty years ago, when the current King took an unprecedented, courageous step toward peace, holding the first historic conference in this very room, attended by the exact same faces that had witnessed the turning of time.

"Things are going to get tense from here on out..."


Princess Liva whispered in a low, sharp voice like a knife, slipping directly into Vain’s ear to cut his train of thought. The boy turned to her slowly, noticing the severe signs of tension etched across her body; she was gripping the edge of the luxurious wooden table so tightly that her knuckles had turned white, as if she were bracing for an unexpected blow.



Vain turned slightly to observe the Crown Prince, Marcus. The prince had maintained an absolute silence since setting foot in the hall, his cold features as unshakable as the kingdom's ice, sitting upright and stern in the seat to the king's left. In that moment, Vain realized the prince bore a striking resemblance to his father—not just in his grand physical features, but in that haughty royal aura that commanded respect from everyone around him.



Vain's gaze shifted again to the man the princess had sternly warned him about: her uncle, Lord Karl, the king's younger brother. Karl was sitting in an entirely casual posture, following the proceedings with a sense of calm focus, his elbows resting on the table and his chin propped on his intertwined hands. 


Up to this moment, Vain could find no logical justification for the princess's warnings. Karl had treated him with immense kindness and shown no direct malice or threat; he had even offered to help him explore the city and suggested he consult the elf, Siphon. Of course, this didn't mean Vain trusted him—he trusted no resident of this mysterious palace—but Karl currently sat at the very bottom of his suspect list.



"So, shall we ratify the treaty under the same previous terms and conclude this meeting?" King Gou proposed in his usual resolute tone.


Vain felt a deep curiosity to know what those old terms were, but the charged atmosphere made him prefer silence and observation rather than bothering the princess with his questions.

"Unfortunately... this time, that will not be enough, Gou."


As soon as Minister Shon uttered this phrase, the atmosphere inside the hall turned upside down. A suffocating weight fell over the air, as if an invisible lightning bolt had struck the center of the table, causing the breath of everyone present to catch for a moment.


"Huh?!"


A sharp cry of indignation erupted from the other side of the room. Vain quickly turned toward the source of the sound to see a face overwhelmed by sheer shock, its features screaming with bewilderment, as if he had been prepared to hear anything but this direct rejection.


It was the Crown Prince, Marcus. For some mysterious reason, the prince showed a sudden emotional outburst that exceeded even the king's reaction, causing Princess Liva to swallow hard in fear, terrified that her brother might blurt out inappropriate words in the presence of political figures of such caliber.



The prince quickly realized that all eyes had fixated on him. Forced to salvage the situation, he bowed his head with a faint apology before settling back into his seat. The king shot him a sharp, fleeting glance that captured the details of his outburst, then closed his eyes for a second to calm himself. Resuming in a resonant tone, he asked: "Why? The previous terms have been fair and fruitful for both parties over the past two decades. Do you wish to amend a specific clause?"


"No."

Minister Shon's reply was decisive and immediate, forcing the king to open his eyes and face him. The minister crossed his arms confidently over his chest, shooting a cold, direct gaze into the king's eyes, tinged with a hidden trace of old resentment, and added:"The Kingdom of Gerland wishes... to add an entirely new clause to the treaty."




Signs of curiosity appeared on the king's face; he hadn't expected the minister to dare ask for a new clause, as diplomatically, this automatically granted the Kingdom of Lyth the right to impose a counter-clause to balance the power.


The king swallowed slowly and asked with dignity, "Then, what is this clause that the Kingdom of Gerland demands?"



An absolute silence prevailed. With the exception of Vain, the tension seemed to have reached its peak among everyone, to the point that Vain felt a slight tremor run through the body of the princess sitting beside him.


The minister took a deep breath, then spoke in a dry, formal tone: "By the unanimous consensus of the Senate, the Kingdom of Gerland demands the restriction of the Dragon's movements in the southern parts and borders of the Kingdom of Lyth, bound by an official, magical contract pledged by your royal family."



The silence lingered, but this time it was terrifying. The king continued to stare at the minister without showing any immediate reaction, as if a dark corner of his mind had anticipated that this issue would be raised one day.


"Have you utterly lost your minds, you damned bastards?!"


The Crown Prince exploded in anger once again, unable to restrain himself this time. Vain turned to see the prince's features contorted with extreme rage; his forehead was fully creased, and his mouth twisted in absolute disgust and refusal. For Marcus, merely daring to involve the Great Dragon in political bargaining was a desecration of the sacred and an unforgivable insult.

"You say restrict the Dragon? Even you realize the sheer arrogance of this demand, Minister Shon."


The king interrupted the dialogue with a booming voice, yet strangely, he did not reprimand his son for his harsh words; the minister's proposition was grave enough to justify this overwhelming anger.


Minister Shon sighed deeply, maintaining his diplomatic composure. "I know that well... but it is the decision of the entire Senate, not a personal whim of mine. Your Great Dragon has been flying and lurking frequently near our southern borders recently, and in a highly suspicious manner."


The tension in the room escalated. The matter of restricting the Dragon was not as simple as outsiders imagined; it was borderline impossible. 


Although the Dragon Aetherius was considered the Supreme Protector and sacred patron of the kingdom, the royal family itself held no actual authority over him, communicating with him only in existential emergencies that threatened the country's annihilation. Therefore, putting forth a request to ban him from flying in his own lands was the pinnacle of audacity, and the king knew with absolute certainty that the Dragon's pride would take such a proposal as a personal insult.

"Unfortunately, this is an impossible demand to fulfill, Shon."


The king declared it after a brief moment of thought. It was a decisive, unequivocal rejection, devoid of any evasion—a response that Minister Shon seemed to have anticipated beforehand.


The echo of the king's words reverberated across the vast hall. Vain swallowed nervously, clearly sensing that the ropes of negotiation were on the verge of snapping, and the specter of failure loomed over the table.


The minister sighed once more, but this time, a faint, mysterious smile graced his lips: "Well, I did expect this response... but, don't you think you are being a bit hasty in your judgment, Great King?"


When the king caught sight of that familiar smile on the minister's face, a strange sense of reassurance crept into his heart. He knew Shon intimately and knew he had no desire to destroy the peace treaty they had maintained together throughout their reigns. Their relationship transcended dry politics, having deep roots in a shared past full of hardships.



The minister cleverly continued explaining his argument: "The condition is limited solely to restricting his movement in the southern provinces of your kingdom, and I actually understand the Senate's fears. Imagine with me a mythical creature, whose raw power defies the laws of nature, capable of simply wiping an entire kingdom out of existence, flying constantly near your borders... Some of our elders have become unable to sleep just thinking about this constant threat."


Shon's argument was fiercely logical; Great Dragons like Aetherius were considered weapons of mass destruction, equivalent to massive armies of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and mages.


"Then, what is your alternative proposal?" the king asked, his tone hiding a lump of sorrow. He added, "As I have stated to you for the third time, the idea of restricting the Dragon is completely impossible. Your Senate will have to change the clause, or we will be forced to terminate the agreement and part ways."


The king spoke while feeling an internal bitterness. Deep down, he hated the idea of canceling the treaty even more than the minister did, fully aware that it would place both kingdoms in a permanent state of war readiness, inevitably leading to battles where thousands of innocent victims would fall. 


For a fleeting moment, he had considered finding a flexible way out, but accepting such a condition would undoubtedly be interpreted by his advisors and his people as weakness and treason against the kingdom's sovereignty. Thus, he chose steadfastness and stuck to his stance.



At that moment, an idea flashed in the king's mind, making his eyes snap wide open. The Dragon usually never approached the southern provinces. Despite his absolute might, he respected the ancient covenant forged with the founding royal family. So, what had changed recently?
The king turned very slowly, shifting his heavy, stern gaze toward the new and only variable in this complex equation: the Protector's guest.

"Boy... where exactly did the Dragon find you?"
Vain's body suddenly stiffened as the entire hall's attention zeroed in on him. He felt the crushing pressure and the weight of expectant stares waiting for his answer.


Vain swallowed hard and stammered, "I-I don't know precisely, but I think the place was in the North... The whole area was submerged in ice and biting cold."


"Completely frozen, and you say in the North?"


The king immediately sensed a massive contradiction in the boy's words. The fully frozen region in known geography was the eternal domain of the Dragon, and being there was human suicide without advanced magical travel mechanics and sufficient provisions, given the complete absence of any signs of life or villages. 

And most importantly... that frozen region was located in the extreme Southeast of the kingdom, not the North!

The king's curiosity ignited regarding this young boy who managed to survive in that lethal environment, but his top priority right now was salvaging the political negotiations.


"You said the place was completely frozen, yet you pointed to the North. What made you so certain of that direction?"


Vain's tension doubled as the simple question turned into what felt like a formal interrogation by the head of state. He felt the heat of sweat on his forehead and quickly recalled the details of his journey, relying on what Zeel had told him and the movement of the celestial bodies.



"The sun... I figured out the direction by observing the movement of the sun."


The king closed his eyes slightly upon hearing the answer. At the very least, he deduced that the boy wasn't intentionally lying, but rather lacked correct geographical knowledge; the movement of the sun gives you the four cardinal directions, but it doesn't pinpoint your exact location on a map. 


And the region the boy was talking about was, without a shadow of a doubt, the beginning of the southern outskirts bordering Gerland.

This deduction aroused the king's suspicion. The Dragon's presence in that southern region was bizarre, and his venturing to the extreme borders was an even stranger event. There was only one logical explanation: the probability that the Dragon had moved to the far south specifically because of this boy was exceptionally high.


Initially, the king had intended to speak with the Protector's guest in private after concluding the peace treaty, driven by curiosity regarding the relationship between this frail human and the Dragon Aetherius, who usually disdained interacting with humans. But now, all his plans changed, and the negotiations had to be postponed.



"Excuse me, Minister Shon... I must suspend the session temporarily. I need to speak privately and immediately with the Protector's guest."

(Click!)

At that opportune moment, as if fate itself were intervening to arrange events, the great door to the hall opened. A prominent and influential figure in the kingdom's court entered: the Head Elf Mage, Siphon, returning to the dining chamber that had transformed into a political battleground.


Minister Shon understood with his usual astuteness that the situation had taken an unpredictable turn. He painted a faint smile on his face and replied, "Very well."


Siphon advanced with dignified steps until he stood beside the king, bowing as he said in a low voice, "The little princess is sleeping safely in her mother's wing, Your Majesty."


The king nodded in agreement, then turned to Siphon and whispered a fleeting command. The elf immediately complied, raising his magical staff adorned with ancient runes. As soon as the staff's gem glowed with a bright, pale white light, Vain felt a wave of dizziness, and the features of the dining hall dissolved like ink melting in water.


In the blink of an eye, Vain found himself sitting on his chair inside a realm of absolute void, completely white and boundless, where everyone else had vanished. Nothing remained before him except the imposing figure of the Great King Gou, who was staring at him with deep, piercing eyes.


The king adjusted his posture, breaking the silence of the void with a voice that echoed throughout the white expanse:


"So... I have some important questions for you, guest of the Protector."