Bound To The Ice Dragon King
Chapter 55: Was smitten by her

Chapter 55: Was smitten by her

"Oriana Credan is the most self-centered person I’ve ever seen, she’s arrogant and rude. She can do anything she wants in Birhhan and get away with it because of Alina’s backing. No wonder she’s wicked enough to get me killed, I see now that evil runs in the blood of the Credan’s, just as Alina had heartlessly betrayed you, Oriana had also..."

Rhea kept discussing Alina and the other members of the Credan family. Nonetheless, Draven, who had been listening to her rambling with an indifferent expression, interrupted her.

"What does any of this have to do with the ghost?"

Rhea halted her speech abruptly, aware that Draven had no interest in hearing more about the Credan family. Hence, she shifted the subject back to the ghost.

"On that particular night, I refused to assist her. However, she persisted in troubling me, even invading my dreams, dragging me into the realm of the deceased. Sometimes she wept, other times she merely stared at me with mournful eyes. It became too overwhelming for my senses, so I relented..."

Draven raised an eyebrow questioningly, "Does that mean you aided her in finding her son?" he inquired.

Rhea chuckled softly, "I wish. Unfortunately, I was merely an insignificant daughter of the Villden household, incapable of bypassing the dungeon’s security that the ghost mentioned. He was confined in a location I had never ventured to, and I dared not confront Oriana to request permission for entry. Given the animosity between us, it would undoubtedly result in my execution."

The ghost was extremely determined for Rhea to save her son, even though the situation was dangerous. Despite this, the ghost refused to give up. She proposed that they collaborate in order to navigate through the dungeon. As a result, Rhea had no other choice but to agree in the end. She began closely monitoring Oriana’s actions in the city and eventually discovered the hidden entrance to the dungeon.

With the ghost’s assistance, Rhea soon memorized the schedules of the security guards who were at the secret entrance. She knew the number of guards per shift and when they would take breaks. Over time, she familiarized herself with the rotation of shifts and eventually managed to enter the dungeon by disguising herself as one of the guards.

However, as was often the case, things took a turn for the worse in the end.

As Rhea stepped into the dungeon, she was shocked by the sight she met. Although, she hadn’t seen or been in a dungeon before, but she’d read about it to know how it should be. It was always one or two persons per cell, however, this one...

The cell was cramped and filled with over thirty individuals. The air was terribly poor, with a hot and stuffy atmosphere, and the scent of blood lingered in the air. It was overwhelmingly unbearable to the extent that she felt nauseous.

Rhea understood the reason behind the oppressive nature of this place. Due to the small size of the cell, the people were tightly packed like pills. Their faces were abnormally flushed, as if they couldn’t obtain enough air. To exacerbate the situation, there was burning coal in front of each cell, seemingly adding to the unbearable heat.

When the prisoners caught sight of Rhea, who was disguised as one of the guards, it was as though they had encountered their worst nightmare. They all gazed at her with fear, some even baring their fangs, but they fought to resist shrinking into the walls. Rhea drew all their attention as she approached, as they were anxious about what would unfold next.

Rhea observed them with astonishment, realizing that all the outcast prisoners appeared to be children.

Rhea stopped in between her story. Upon further reflection now, wasn’t it decreed to eliminate the outcasts upon sight? Why were they imprisoning the children?

However, the strange thing was that all the outcasts in the cell were little dragons in their human forms, their fearful blue eyes darting around.

Rhea stood before the cramped cell, where amidst the children, a little girl was so frightened that she started crying and wetting herself. However, one of them, appearing mature and the eldest, looking to be around the age of nineteen, he showed bravery by approaching the iron bars. He revealed his sharp teeth, while his clothes appeared cleaner than the others, as if he had just been captured. With his blue eyes darkened dangerously, he stood protectively in front of the children, glaring hatefully at Rhea.

"Have you come to take another one of us? Haven’t you taken enough yet?" the young man gritted through his teeth.

Aside from this particular young man, none of the rest dared to speak or step forward. They all stood behind him, almost as if trying to hide from Rhea. Seeing the pitiful sight of the children made her heart ache. However, she didn’t have the authority to set them all free, as it would only lead to her own demise. Her purpose was to only take one of them.

Yet, how could she choose one and leave the others behind? Rhea surveyed the children and inquired,

"Who among you is Aedan?"

No one answered.

Of course, they wouldn’t answer. And Aedan wasn’t stupid enough to give himself out. However, the brave young man spoke again, "There’s no one by that name. Let the children be. And if you dare lay your hands on any of them, I swear on ice...I will freeze you to death if I get my powers back!" He threatened.

Rhea ignored his threat and instead thought of another way to get the ghost’s son to show himself.

"If you don’t show me who among you is Aedan, I’ll pick any random person among you. And you know the outcome. Now, show me who is Aedan."

Despite that, the children refused to give him out. They only held each others hands and fearfully gazed at Rhea. She was taken aback, she hadn’t expected these creatures to stand for each other like this.

The young man spoke again, "Can’t you see that they are just children? Have you got no conscience at all." He remarked, then added, "Take me instead, take whatever you want from my body, but please don’t hurt the children again."

Rhea’s heart felt heavy. She looked at the innocent children. Even though their king had committed a sin, they had nothing to do with it. They were just children. How could she have the heart to take Aedan alone?

Thinking of this, Rhea sighed in defeat and mumbled, "Well, this is not going to be good, but I have to break the rules again." Saying this, she used her spikes to rip out the lock, it broke the iron lock in one strike.

"I will set all of you free, but only if you reveal to me who Aedan is. Show me where he is."

Although the young man wanted to continue protesting, it was pointless now. The other children’s eyes unconsciously turned towards one boy in the back, who stared at Rhea with wide eyes.

Seeing his expression, she realized he was Aedan. Rhea breathed a sigh of relief and stepped aside, opening the door to the cell. "Thank you for making it easier for me, children. You are now free to leave."

Despite hearing these words, the little ones still appeared hesitant. However, one of the boys eagerly stepped forward, only to be stopped by the older boy.

"Stop, don’t trust this wicked lady. She’s just trying to deceive you into a trap!"

Rhea shot him a glare, but didn’t bother explaining herself, knowing he wouldn’t believe her. However, the eager boy was too impatient to leave and ignored the warning. He grabbed the wrist of a little girl, who appeared to be his sister based on their rare purple hair, and hurried out of the cell. Rhea made no attempt to stop them and allowed them to escape.

Rhea lazily leaned against the cell’s door and crossed her arms against her chest, she raised an eyebrow, "Are you leaving or should I close the door?"

Hearing her words, the children didn’t hesitate again and immediately rushed out. Nevertheless, the guards who’d just returned from their breaks noticed something to be wrong, and quickly rang the alarm bells.

Rhea hurriedly entered the cell where only Aedan and the young man remained. Aedan looked up innocently as Rhea approached, disregarding the other man’s stares, she crouched down to the little boy’s level and gently patted his hair with a smile.

Even though this young boy was a dragon, he had still experienced the loss of his mother right in front of him. Rhea understood the feeling of being without a mother, so she knew he must be going through a difficult time.

Rhea wiped away the dirt from his cheeks and softly spoke, "Your mother is concerned about you. She pleaded with me to rescue you. Come with me, and I will lead you out of this place."

Aedan looked at Rhea in astonishment, "Mama? But mama...has gone to heaven. She left me alone..."

Suddenly, Rhea noticed a glow in the cell, revealing the ghost of the boy’s mother. Her watery eyes were fixed solely on her son, as her quivering lips displayed a sorrowful expression. "Aedan..."

Rhea smiled at the ghost and then delicately held the boy’s hand, assuring him, "First, I will free you from here, and then I will explain how I encountered your mother."

Rhea began heading towards the door with the young boy, but the protective dude unexpectedly blocked their path. His deep blue eyes were locked onto her, and he questioned, "You’re a human girl, so why are you helping dragons?"

Being taller than Rhea, the young man made her tilt her head back to meet his gaze. "It’s because I believe these children have done nothing wrong to deserve imprisonment," she replied. With a gentle pat on his chest, she pushed him aside, saying, "If you’re not ready to leave, I am. We can’t afford to waste any time."

The pale face of the young dragon showed a hint of pink as Rhea gently placed her hand on his chest to make him move aside. He quickly followed her, a faint smile forming on his face.

Draven paid attention to the story until now and turned to give Rhea a glance. She looked smug as she spoke about this part of the tale. Silently, he took a sip from the tea that Rhea had prepared for him during the storytelling.

"I am certain that the young dragon was smitten by me, to the extent of blushing," she proudly commented.

Draven scoffed, "Don’t be too full of yourself, little girl. Just because he blushed doesn’t mean he’s smitten by you. Young Ice dragons are too cold to please, they don’t fall that easily. I’m sure he blushed because of your shamelessness of touching his chest."