Kael was led back to his room. They gave him time to think about it all.
When he walked in, he saw Lyria. She was poking at the egg with her finger, spinning it slowly like it was a toy. Her eyes were wide with curiosity. Kael stopped at the door, watching her quietly with an amused smile.
"Yo, what are you doing?" he asked.
Lyria jumped, pulled her hand away fast, and stood up straight with a serious face—like she hadn’t been doing anything.
Kael grinned, holding back his shock asked "What’s that? Are you playing with the egg?"
"I... I was just checking it," Lyria stammered, voice not as cold as usual.
"Ohhh! And how do you ’check’ it?" he tilted his head like a curious man.
Lyria opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She blinked, lips moving, brain frozen.
Kael let out a soft laugh. "Haaa... relax. I was just teasing." He turned around like he lost interest.
Lyria breathed out in relief.
But Kael looked back at her, eyes sharp for a second—like a predator watching prey. Then he blinked and looked away.
"Take care of the egg," he said plainly.
He didn’t care if Lyria was just curious or if something inside her was screaming to eat it alive. If she tried anything dumb, he’d act.
It was also a test of her trust.
But for now, he’d let it go.
Honestly, if he devoured the dragon himself the moment it was born, he might gain godlike power. The thought made him grin in a twisted way. But... no. That would be too much. Even for him.
Lyria hugged the egg close and looked up at him. "Master, what was the meeting about?"
Kael stared at her for a second. Then he casually explained what Alvera had told him—about the poison, the soldiers, the relic.
Lyria frowned. "Master, this sounds dangerous. Aren’t we just getting dragged into other people’s mess?"
Then he tilted his head again and gave a slow, eerie smile.
"Dangerous? Hehehe... That’s the best part."
His eyes gleamed, wild and unstable. His fingers twitched as if already tasting the chaos.
"Let them drag me in," he muttered to himself,
"For someone I find it’s fun."
Lyria took a step back.
Kael just chuckled. "Let’s see what fun waits at the port."
It was late at night. The wind was strong, and the snow kept falling without a break. Kael moved like a shadow between the dark corners of the Ice Elf city. His hood was low, and his footsteps made no sound. He had to be careful. The Ice Elves didn’t like him. If anyone saw him sneaking around, they might attack without warning.
He slipped behind a small snow-covered hill. The top was like a white cap, untouched. At the back of it, under a thick tree, Iris stood, waiting.
Kael frowned the moment he saw her.
"Where are the others?" he asked, voice low but sharp.
Iris didn’t blink. Her silver hair barely moved in the wind. Her face looked carved from ice.
"There is none. It’s just you and me," she replied calmly.
"What?" Kael shouted. His voice cracked the silence like a whip. "What do you mean it’s just you and me?! We’re doing a dangerous mission! Shouldn’t we bring more people?"
"We can’t," Iris said flatly. "The place stinks. The air there is too foul. We Ice Elves can’t stand it."
Kael blinked. He looked at her like she had lost her mind. "Stinks? What’s your excuse?"
He grabbed his head and laughed. A dry, broken laugh. "This is insane. This is completely insane," he muttered to himself, pacing in a small circle.
Then suddenly stopped and looked ahead.
His face went blank for a second. The snow was gone. It had stopped falling.
Now, ashes were drifting through the sky.
They fell slowly, covering the white snow with black dust. The air smelled like burning wood and death.
Thick smoke floated all around them. Heavy, bitter, sharp. It clawed into Kael’s lungs as he tried to breathe.
He coughed, eyes watering.
"The hell is this?" he shouted.
He turned and looked toward the nearby dock.
What he saw made him freeze.
The dock was half-burnt. Dark smog hung over it. No sound came from there—only the soft sound of ashes falling but he saw large vessels of ships floating in the water.
Iris stood beside him, calm as ever. Her eyes didn’t even flinch.
Now he understood why the Queen had asked him to come here.
He and Iris stood on the ridge, eyes fixed on the view ahead. The snow-covered hill overlooked a broken part of the frozen sea. The thick layer of ice had cracked open like shattered glass. Hot steam rose from the cracks. The cold wind mixed with it, forming a thick grey fog that made everything look like a nightmare.
Massive black ships moved through the broken ice, slowly cutting the sea open with their sharp iron hulls. Smoke poured out of long chimneys on top. The engines growled like beasts. The ships looked old, rusted in some places, but strong. Too strong.
Dozens of people stood on the ships, moving like ants. All of them wore dark coats and gas masks. Their faces were hidden. Some held weapons. Some carried large metal boxes. The entire dock was alive with movement—smoke, steam, and masked men moving in silence.
Kael narrowed his eyes, taking it all in. He didn’t speak for a moment.
Then he asked, calm and curious, "What are they even transporting? And where?"
"We don’t know," Iris replied, her voice flat as ever. "They started this around three months ago."
"Three months..." Kael repeated. He stared at the dock, then looked up at the sky, lost in thought.
That was the same time the rumors of the Ice Devil had started spreading. Villages freezing overnight. People are disappearing.
’Is there a connection?’ he thought.
"You didn’t stop them?" he asked.
"We couldn’t," Iris answered. "It’s not our land. And with Night Star’s growing presence, we’re already on edge. We can’t attack without proof. That’s why we asked you for help."
Kael let out a quiet laugh. No emotion. Just a dry sound.
"I see... That’s clever." He smiled faintly. "Even if I get caught, I’m just a human. You lot can step back and say you had nothing to do with it."
His eyes gleamed in the dark, a twisted shine under the moonlight.
’I knew it. No one becomes Queen by being soft. What a clean way to wash her hands off.’
Iris noticed the look on his face. She said coldly, "You will be compensated for what you’re going to do."
"This is a mutual exchange," she added.
Kael turned to look at her. Her cold blue eyes stared into his frozen blades.
He smirked. Calm. Dangerous.
"It’s only worth it if I make it out alive."
Kael’s breath turned to smoke as he whispered, "They are destroying nature."
Iris gave a slight nod. "We know."
Kael tilted his head slightly, a twitch in his smile. "And yet you didn’t raise your voice."