Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 104: Born To Be A Dragon

Chapter 104: Born To Be A Dragon

"What do you mean?"

Tillian arched his neatly-shaped eyebrows, his eyes widening in surprise. Seizing the opportunity, Ahspid carefully removed the Duke’s hands from his collar, straightened his jacket, and took a step back, offering his explanation from a safer distance,

"Since the princess is the descendant of the Snow Dragon, her abilities are formidable and diverse. However, through my experiment with the vision exchange, it has become evident that when she taps into her dragon lineage, it exhausts her body greatly. Though she may recover swiftly for now, in the future, this may not be the case."

The weight of Ahspid’s words still eluded the Duke. While he possessed some knowledge about Aideen’s lineage due to his close contact with King Zelon of Utar, he remained convinced that awakening her true powers would never pose any harm to her well-being.

"Elaborate. Why cannot she handle these powers?"

"She inherited her ability to use magic from Navia, the last mage who could control all types of mana. But she also inherited the magical abilities of Utar, the founding dragon, the most powerful one. While her body can handle magic because mages are still human, being human is exactly what causes trouble here. It means that the potent powers of Utar, while marvelous in nature, will only continue to exhaust her body further. If she continues to use them excessively, it will only be a matter of time before she finally breaks."

The Duke’s study fell silent once more, the mage’s weighty words lingering in the air like a mysterious and ominous presence. Finally, Ahspid released another sigh and continued,

"I did not conduct proper research before testing her limits, so I sincerely apologize, Your Grace. But this is a warning. Every single person aware of the princess’s true powers must keep it a secret. Under no circumstances must this knowledge leave the walls of this castle. If this information falls into the wrong hands, her life will be in real danger."

The mage looked away for a moment as if taking a pause from speaking or gathering his thoughts, before returning his gaze to Tillian and adding,

"This means, Your Grace, that your revenge plan will have to be revisited. And my... intentions, too."

Tillian furrowed his eyebrows and clenched his fists angrily, his response loud and tinged with irritation.

"Do you truly believe I would have exploited her like that?! All I wanted was for her to grow stronger, to be able to protect herself when no one else could!"

Another long sigh escaped the mage’s blood-smeared lips.

"No need to get angry with me, Your Grace. Some things simply must be said aloud. However, we must now be even more discreet. I will cast a disguising spell on the castle and extend it as far as possible to conceal her mana from others. She can continue to develop her powers here gradually, but we must be prepared to defend her if necessary."

The Duke nodded in agreement and asked,

"Do you think King Zelon should be informed about this?"

Ahspid shook his head.

"Something tells me he already knows. The question is... Does he believe you can protect her if her secret is exposed, or is he convinced she can do it herself if needed?"

Tillian could not help but sigh as his headache intensified, becoming unbearable.

Suddenly, everything around him descended into utter chaos. From the very beginning, he knew he had placed himself between two dangerous fires: King Zelon Imrie, Aideen’s grandfather and ruler of Utar, who had tasked him with safeguarding Aideen and The North; and the Royal Family of Ruans, whom he sought to obliterate to return his rightful place on the throne.

His own selfishness and greed had led him to this point, and now it gnawed at him from within. While he could endure the hardships of his own fate, endangering Aideen’s life was a burden he could not bear.

Noticing the man’s distressed expression, Ahspid walked closer and lightly patted him on the shoulder, offering sincere reassurance –– a rare display of emotions on his side,

"Rid yourself of this nonsense, Your Grace. She is safe and happy here. She would not be as content in Utar, trust me. Zelon is not a bad man, but he is a bad parent. Even Leif would not be able to protect his niece from him. You did her a great favor by demanding her hand in marriage from Zelon.

I will do what I can to help her unlock her true potential. She is not weak. I am certain there is a way for her to harness all her abilities. After all, she was born to be a dragon."

Tillian sighed once more and ran his fingers through his flowing hair. He had no choice but to trust Ahspid’s words, for if he were to give up on Aideen, then his very life would be worth nothing too.

"Very well. I will let you continue your lessons. However, if you endanger her life one more time––"

"Speaking of that."

As if attempting to either change the subject or divert the Duke’s attention from yet another threat in his address, the mage brought up another important issue at hand.

"Her Highness was able to confirm that the curse afflicting the young King was placed on his lineage by the fire witch."

"I am aware of that. Yuraon showed me the ancient writings too. What about it?"

"I believe we might have a chance of lifting that curse, Your Grace."

Tillian widened his eyes in shock.

"What? That witch is dead. She killed herself after cursing King Finnur. It is impossible to lift the curse without her."

Ahspid rubbed his forehead, feeling as if the Duke’s headache had now transferred to him as well. Then, he turned his purple eyes to the dark night scenery outside the study’s window and concluded in a somewhat nostalgic voice,

"Yes, she is dead. But there is still someone who can enable us to communicate with her."