Bound To The Ice Dragon King
Chapter 78: Information

Chapter 78: Information

The next day, Draven swung his legs over the edge of the bed, feeling a slight stiffness in his muscles from sleeping in an unfamiliar position. The soothing melodies of the morning birds greeted his ears, bringing a sense of calmness to his unsettled mind, that had been messed up by Rhea’s aura last night.

He opened his eyes and blankly stared at the ceiling for a long time. His complexion appeared less pale and drained compared to last night.

He sighed as the events of the previous night came flooding back to him, and he remembered how close he had been in getting back his powers. But Alina had to show up at such time.

How cruel of fate....

Draven remembered falling into a deep sleep while waiting for Rhea to return last night. His gaze landed on the neatly spread blanket beside the bed. It seemed Rhea had allowed him to take the bed last night while she slept on the floor. But where was she now? Why wasn’t she by his side when he woke up?

Draven would normally not worry about this, but after the incident with Lord Barlin, he couldn’t help but worry about the girl. Or perhaps did she leave him again?

With that thought in mind, Draven pushed himself out of bed to go look for her. He quickly stood up, slipping his feet into his worn-out boots by the bedside, and stepped out of their room.

While Draven went to look for Rhea in the building, the latter was in the kitchen ordering for their breakfast, however, a maid came to inform her that Aria was looking for her. Since the food wasn’t ready yet, Rhea left the kitchen and headed to Aria’s room. Anyway she also had plans to meet Aria. Yesterday hadn’t gone as they planned, they had failed to save the dragons and also failed to get back Draven’s powers. Thus, she had to seek for her friend’s help.

Rhea couldn’t dare involve the ghosts again after Alina had cast a spell on the building to seal them away. And she feared that if they went back there without a proper plan and ended up coming to face Alina again, then there would be no lucky escape for them. Furthermore, with Draven’s yesterday’s condition, she couldn’t bring herself to wake him up to go and meet Aria together.

Rhea entered Aria’s room, her footsteps barely making a sound on the plush carpet. She noticed Aria in the balcony area, as she approached the balcony, she saw Aria, sitting gracefully in a wrought-iron chair, her slender fingers delicately holding a porcelain teacup. The soft rays of the rising sun bathed her in a warm glow, accentuating the elegance that seemed to emanate from her very being.

Aria’s eyes were fixed on a parchment paper, her brows furrowed in concentration. Rhea couldn’t help but admire the way Aria’s serious expression only added to her beauty, enhancing the depth and intelligence in her eyes.

Lost in her thoughts, Aria didn’t notice Rhea’s presence until she spoke, "Aria. You called for me."

Aria finally looked away from the parchment, her eyes meeting Rhea’s mischievous gaze. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips as Rhea playfully teased her.

"I have never seen someone as pretty as you are in this world, and if I were a man, I’d never look elsewhere if I walk into you like this," Rhea said, her voice filled with a hint of flirtation as she took a seat beside her friend.

Aria’s cheeks flushed slightly at the compliment, but her eyes sparkled with amusement. "Flattery will get you everywhere, silly girl." she replied, her voice laced with a gentle teasing tone as well. She set aside the parchment, and looked beyond Rhea as if looking for someone, before turning to say, "I don’t see your sweetheart in sight, he didn’t come along with you today?" She asked.

Rhea’s face flushed at Aria’s words, but she dismissed her embarrassment with a scoff, stating, "Sweetheart? Spare me. I would rather choose a street beggar as my sweetheart than that fellow. He’s just an irritating pest that constantly shadows me, I can’t wait to get him off my back. Oh, and he’s still asleep in the room. I didn’t wake him up because I hope he recovers fast." She said this casually, oblivious to the fact that her words had reached someone outside and had left that person feeling saddened.

"What happened to him?" Aria asked.

Rhea sighed, "Well, yesterday didn’t go as we planned, in the end we happened to bump into Alina. And Draven got hurt in the process to escape her." She explained, not mentioning how he got hurt was due to her human aura, as Aria was still unaware of Draven’s true identity, she couldn’t disclose everything to her.

Aria nodded in understanding, "I guess he needed the rest then. However, even if Alina hadn’t showed up yesterday, it most likely you still wouldn’t succeed because of Lord Edmund. I called you here to share some helpful information with you, it could be of help to your plan."

"Really? What’s that?"

Aria handed her the parchment paper she had been reading awhile ago. "This is the monthly report sent here by Valen’s spy in Alina Credan’s residence. It contains a lot of information about Alina, and I know you’ve been curious to know all this." Her lips twitched up in a smile as Rhea hurriedly snatched the parchment paper.

Rhea skimmed through the parchment, halfway through it, she exclaimed, "I knew it, it has something to do with her lover!"

Everything about Enzo was reported in the parchment paper. From how Alina had forced him into their engagement, and his heart illness. The forever young elixirs she made weren’t helping his condition. Rhea angrily slammed the parchment on the table, "Alina is insane. She’s killing so many dragons for just one person who doesn’t even like her!"

Aria took a sip from her tea, "I investigated why the Emperor is in support of her actions, she proposed to help the soldiers of Birhhan get stronger. However, I also found out some interesting stuff about her past."

Rhea tapped her fingers on the table, "What’s that?"

"I’m not certain of it yet, but I did some research about Alina and found out that a century ago, Alina sought out Erebus in obtaining this immense power, as well as the ability to manipulate anything effortlessly. In return, these abilities have also caused her to have no empathy."

Rhea’s eyebrows snapped together. Erebus, that name alone had been forbidden for centuries. It had been sealed away, its name forbidden to be uttered by anyone, both among humans and the outcasts. The mere mention of its name sends shivers down the spines of those who knew the tale centuries ago, for seeking its help would awaken a force that could threaten the world’s very existence.

Legend had it that the entity, known only as Erebus was a malevolent being of immense power, born out of chaos and despair. Its reign of terror plagued the world in a time long forgotten, causing destruction and untold suffering.

Centuries ago, it was the dragons who managed to imprison Erebus within a mystic seal. Its name was banished from the world, and its existence became a forbidden secret, passed down cautiously through generations. Could Alina dare awaken such a thing to seek it help? Rhea thought to herself.

Considering this information, the timeline seemed accurate to when Draven said Alina lost her husband. He’d said Alina had wandered the world looking for ways to bring him back, she was willing to do and give anything to get him back, and she somehow found out about the dragon legend with a powerful core, and then went after Draven.

But her mission failed and the core she wanted so badly ended up in Rhea’s body, which had caused her lover’s soul to be reborn with a weak body.

Rhea subconsciously rubbed the middle of her chest where she felt the chillness of the core spreading through her veins.

Aria spoke once more, stating, "Just under seven months ago, Alina discovered her lover, who had no recollection of his previous life with her." Aria’s demeanor turned serious as she continued, "She separated him from his pregnant wife and compelled him to pretend to be content, making it impossible for him to return to his former life." Aria’s expression subtly shifted to sadness as she quietly added, her voice barely audible enough for Rhea to hear, "And at present, Aurora is missing..."

Rhea couldn’t help but said,"It turns out she’s forcing the poor man into being with her. How heartless."

Aria nodded, "Yes, that’s why he’s not accepting her."

"Of course, who would accept that kind of insane love." Rhea exclaimed.

Aria continued, "And the report also said that the forever young elixirs aren’t working as planned, she had brainwashed the emperor and a lot of people into believing what she wanted them to."

"You mean to say all those elixirs sold out in high price were just experimental?"

Aria nodded again, she took back the parchment paper. "It’s said that Alina is looking for a royal dragon essence to complete her experiment."

Rhea was stunned, killing dragons was already a huge crime on it own, but a royal one? It was said the only royal dragons left were the east clan, as Draven’s clan had been destroyed decades ago. The east clan were very protective of each other, if Alina dared to cross the lines and touch any of them, it would only lead to war.

"Alina..." Rhea’s expression turned grave, "She is misleading everyone into her scheme, and going too far with her obsession. She wouldn’t dare kill a royal dragon, would she?" Rhea asked Aria, who shook her head, "I don’t know..."