Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 84: A Gift From Gods

Chapter 84: A Gift From Gods

Aideen positioned herself on the warm, soft carpet in front of the fireplace, gladly soaking in the warmth of the crackling dancing flames.

Ahspid stretched his arm in front of his body and touched the thick textured glass in one of the room’s window frames, tracing the thin layer of the princess’s mana with his fingertips. As they returned to the castle, following the Duke’s order, the mage asked the lady to examine the mana she had left on the objects inside her room because, to his great astonishment once again, he could not feel her mana on his own body, therefore, he wanted to check if he would be able to sense it on inanimate objects instead.

’Vague, subtle, but very stable. Is this because she is here, in The North? Does the dragon’s power absorb her mana in order to protect it? Or do they simply merge together because they are just variations of the same power? Either way, this is entirely different from what I have expected from her. I wonder how much further I can push her limits without attracting the attention of the Holy Church...’

Aideen watched him move from object to object, patiently waiting for the perfect opportunity to speak, but her impatience took over.

"Ahspid?"

Still immersed in his task, the mage replied, his purple eyes fixed firmly on the small round desk next to the window,

"Yes, Your Highness?"

"What do you know about the King of Davoor?"

"I know plenty about the King of Davoor. What exactly do you wish to know?"

The princess hesitated. She had never had lessons in history so she did not know much about other kingdoms and their rulers. She was, of course, aware of the existence of Davoor, but her knowledge did not go beyond its geographical location.

"Everything, I guess. About the Kingdom, about the King..."

Ahspid paused for a moment, then turned around and sighed, pressing his long fingers against his throbbing forehead. Once again, he had to go against his own stubbornness and do something he would otherwise have never done before simply because it was the princess who asked for it.

"Well, let’s see..."

The mage fell heavily into the rocking chair beside the lady and allowed a few moments of silence to sort through his memories before continuing,

"Davoor is the kingdom located west of Geraldion. It is almost as big as our land but it is definitely much hotter and the air there is so dry, one has to stick their wet fingers into their nose just to make it easier to breathe."

The woman tried to imagine such a strange display which only made her wince in disgust. Ahspid went on,

"Davoor is the last kingdom of the Central Continent to actually proclaim itself as a Kingdom and assume all the necessary changes to its politics to be truly accepted as one. Up until barely one hundred years ago, it was still merely an enormous tribal settlement.

Though a traveling tribe in the past, once the Continent began to establish the new ruling system, Davoor was forced to abandon their exploring lifestyle, settle on their declared territory, and keep their borders unchanged. Once the Continent’s alliance allowed them to take on the title of a Kingdom, their lands have been flourishing ever since.

They are quite fascinating people, I must admit."

"Fascinating how?" Aideen raised a curious brow which only ignited the mage’s love for storytelling even more. He explained,

"Well, for one, they are rather bizarre. They used to be ruled strictly by women, and the ruling woman was allowed to take up to ten husbands of all ages; they could simply take whomever they wanted. I think this is why their men now like to pursue older women. It’s in their blood."

The princess arched her eyebrows again, now more confused than fascinated. Aware of the effect his remark had made on his student, Ahspid scoffed and continued,

"Alright, jokes aside... Yes, the men of Davoor are all born great warriors. They can be still savages at times, but powerful savages nonetheless. And the legend says that it’s all due to their bloodline that seemed to be stemming from the ancient gods they worshiped in the past.

Have you noticed the tattoos that were covering the King’s body?"

As Aideen recalled the outline of Yuraon’s naked chest, her cheeks flushed red one more time, forcing her to make a mental effort to compose herself. Ignoring the mage’s suppressed giggles, she nodded, and finally confirmed,

"I saw some bits and pieces, but I was not sure what it was."

"Well, those are the tribal tattoos every one of Davoor’s ruling bloodline is born with."

"They are born with them?"

The man nodded too.

"Yes. The mages believe that they are indeed the remnants of the godly blood that is still running in their veins. They give them protection from evil powers, their unmatched strength, and a very interesting innate ability –– to regulate their body temperature which allows them to easily adapt to any climate as they move around."

"That is such an interesting lineage... People born under the protection of ancient gods, how fascinating!"

Ahspid tilted his head to the right, carefully observing the princess’s excited expression. Her lack of education indeed made her greedy for any kind of information presented to her and it was always fun to watch her get excited about the things that to many seem more like fairytales than useful information.

"It is interesting and fascinating, Your Highness, however, the gift of gods is the gift that never comes for free. On the contrary, it comes with a very high price."

"What do you mean?"

"The Davoor bloodline is getting younger with each generation. The current king is only nineteen years old."

"Nineteen?!" Aideen could not control the volume of her voice as the mage’s answer shocked her beyond belief. "How did he get on the throne when he was so young?"

Ahspid leaned back in the rocking chair, resting his arms on its sides, his voice turning cold as he replied,

"Because his parents, the previous rulers, are dead, Your Highness. And nobody knows what killed them."