A groan emerged from the man.
Kael stirred awake slowly. His body still felt weak, but the pain had lessened. As he opened his eyes, he spotted someone sitting beside him, gently pressing a damp cloth on his forehead.
"Lyria?" he said, jolting up in shock. "You... you’re here?"
Lyria didn’t flinch. Her expression was blank, her voice flat. "I’m watching over you. Also guarding the room."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "What about the egg?"
Lyria tilted her head, confused for a second. Then she replied, "It’s in the room."
Kael’s heart skipped. A cold wave rushed down his spine.
’If anything happened to that egg... I’m screwed.’
His mind raced. The promise he gave Carol, the risk of someone tampering with it. He couldn’t stay still. He threw the blanket off and stood up, wobbling slightly, but determined.
Just then, the door creaked open.
Queen Alvera entered first, tall and calm as ever, her icy blue eyes unreadable. Behind her was Iris, who stood with arms crossed, watching him carefully.
Kael’s eyes darkened the moment he saw them.
"I don’t have time for this," he muttered. "I need to check the egg first."
Alvera didn’t budge. "We need to talk," she said coldly.
Kael’s jaw clenched. He stepped forward, glaring at her. "Not now."
"You’re being reckless," Alvera said calmly.
Kael stared at her down, his tone sharp. "That egg matters more than you think. If it’s been touched or moved—"
Alvera raised a brow. "Is it really that important?"
Kael’s gaze hardened. His voice dropped low.
"Don’t pretend you don’t know."
There was no need to act. There was no way someone of her stature couldn’t discern it.
He took another step forward. The air around him grew heavy. His cold presence wrapped the room like a storm about to break.
"I’m not joking," he said, voice deadly calm. "If anything happened to that egg... you’d better be ready. I don’t let anyone lay a hand on what’s mine."
Crimson light shimmered faintly around him, like a flash of killing intent hidden beneath a calm face. The white room dimmed for a moment, tainted by a strange, heavy energy.
Iris shifted slightly, ready to react if needed.
But Alvera didn’t flinch.
She met his gaze, just as cold.
"Then go check it," she said slowly. "But don’t forget—we still need to talk. And this land does not bend to your anger, Kael."
Kael didn’t reply. He pushed past them without a word, heading straight for the room.
Behind him, Alvera narrowed her eyes.
Iris muttered, "He’s too unpredictable."
To which Alvera replied softly, "Yes. And that’s exactly why he’s dangerous."
Kael rushed into the next room, his boots thudding against the stone floor. His eyes immediately locked onto the glowing egg resting inside a bed of woven blankets and enchanted cloth. Soft, pale-blue light pulsed from it like a sleeping heart.
He knelt beside it quickly, his fingers hovering just over the surface. His eyes narrowed as he released a small stream of mana, letting it flow gently around the egg.
He searched deeply, carefully, for any signs of tampering or disturbance.
See if there was a foreign presence or anything unnatural.
Thankfully, it was nothing.
The mana surrounding the egg remained pure and untouched. No strange residue. No traps. No curses.
Kael exhaled a long, deep breath. His shoulders finally relaxed.
"Thank God... It’s good."
He sat beside it for a moment longer, then turned toward the door.
Lyria had appeared and stood silently, just inside the room. She watched him without a word, expression blank as usual.
Kael pointed at the egg, his tone serious and sharp.
"Listen, Lyria. This egg comes first. Before me. Before anything. You need to take care of it and make sure nothing happens to it, no matter what."
Lyria gave a small nod. "I know."
"I’m not joking. Don’t let anyone touch it. Don’t even let it out of your sight."
"You don’t need to repeat yourself, Master," she said in her monotone voice while her eyes scanned the egg. "I already understood."
Kael stared at her for a beat longer, then gave a tight nod. "Good."
He stood up slowly and walked out of the room, his face cold again. The flicker of warmth he had shown near the egg was gone.
A while later, Kael stepped back into the room where Queen Alvera waited.
She was sitting beside a tall ice window, her long pale hair braided down one shoulder. Iris stood nearby, arms folded as always. The air felt still—quiet, like a storm was brewing but hadn’t struck yet.
Alvera turned her head when she sensed him. "You’ve returned."
Kael walked up without a word and took the seat across from her. His eyes met hers directly, expression unreadable.
"Everything was fine, I assume?" she asked.
There was a pause. The sound of wind brushing past the outside towers filled the silence.
Alvera studied him for a moment. Her eyes were cold, but not hostile.
Then she asked, her voice low and even, "What did you see there?"
Alvera leaned back slightly, her sharp eyes locked on Kael, and pressed on.
"Why did you create such a mess?" she asked, voice steady but sharp. "Were you found out?"
Kael didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he tilted his hand casually, letting the dull glint of his storage ring catch the light. With a subtle pulse of mana, he checked it—each compartment, each hidden layer.
He exhaled softly through his nose. That was a relief.
"Wasn’t my intention to cause a mess," Kael finally said. "But let’s just say... things got a little hot the moment I saw what they were hiding."
Alvera’s gaze narrowed slightly. "Start speaking clearly."
Kael leaned forward, his elbows resting on the cold table between them.
"There’s a massive port structure being built near the southern edge of Night Star’s coast. Not just for trade. It’s a fortress in disguise. Beneath the scaffolds and smoke, there are containers. Sealed, mana-shielded. Military-grade. I saw sigils from at least three different places... including some that were erased. Deliberately."
Alvera’s expression didn’t change, but her fingers tightened around the armrest of her seat.
"They’re hiding something," she said.
Kael nodded. "That’s not even the strange part. From what I saw, it seemed they were planning a large-scale warfare."