The Kingmaker System
Chapter 171 - 170. Bigger Game (6)

Chapter 171: 170. Bigger Game (6)

Grand Duchess Dahlia was summoned to the Royal palace quite later than I expected. I had asked her to keep my involvement in this whole matter a secret.

The King didn’t know that apart from the Mordino Magic Gate project, I was involved quite deeply in other matters as well and it should stay that way.

Lady Dahlia agreed to my request and returned quite late in the evening with an aggravated expression and her aura sparking around.

I wouldn’t be surprised if she was openly called the accused for this incident and interrogated harshly.

At night after she had settled in I went to her room with a bottle of wine and knocked on the door. She opened it brusquely with an exasperated expression.

"I already said, I didn’t want to be disturbed." She spoke angrily making me raise my eyebrows.

"Apologies for disturbing so late, Your Grace," I said making her angry expression slowly relax and then her eyes narrowed.

"You want to know what happened at the palace," She prompted and I smiled bringing up the bottle of wine and a glass.

"You came to drink with me?"

"No, I came here to hear you vent." I answered.

Lady Dahlia cocked her brow as she looked at me clearly sceptical of my reason but she stepped aside regardless.

"I apologise for coming into a lady’s room so late," I muttered as I stepped inside.

She closed the door and I walked over and sat down on the chair placing the bottle and glass on the table in front gesturing for her to sit.

"Just say it really, Master Ocean. You’re curious about what happened at the royal palace that’s why you came here, right?" She asked bluntly and I smiled up at her.

"I really am here to hear your complaints regarding everything, Your Grace. I’m sure you wanted to vent it to someone since a long time."

She crossed her arms at her chest as she looked at me with narrowed eyes.

"Okay, if you don’t want to talk to a man then, talk to a woman." I said as I brought my hand up to my earstud and a soft blue glow covered my body.

My hair turned longer and my chest swelled along with my face which turned even more feminine and my waist became slimmer and hips rounded up more. Lady Dahlia stumbled back as she saw my new form and I smiled coyly at her watching her shocked expression with amusement.

It was my own new upgrade that I had been doing in my free time. Silas had given me an earstud that would change my appearance from a child to an adult and with my own brain, I upgraded it to shift from a male adult to a female adult.

"You! You!" She gasped as she stared at me and I chuckled.

Even my voice changed, it sounded like soft bells ringing when I chuckled and Lady Dahlia stared at me.

"You... You’re impossible!" She gasped.

I leaned ahead with my elbows resting on the table and chin resting in both of my palms as I smiled and said.

"Please have a seat, My Lady. I’d love to hear you talk." I added a wink making her flinch.

"I can’t with you... I swear..." Lady Dahlia breathed running her hand through her hair before she plopped down on the chair and looked at me.

"How did you do this?" She asked and I pointed at my earstud.

"It’s a magic device, it changes my appearance."

"How is it even possible?" She said as she hesitantly reached out and touched my soft forearm.

"Everything is possible with mana." I said using telekinesis to pop open the bottle of wine making her gasp.

I continued to pour the wine in the glass and then pushed it towards her making her stare at the spectacle that I created for her.

"How are you..." She was about to ask but then she sighed.

"I guess being a Dragon gives you more command over mana." She said as she picked up the glass and started swirling the drink inside.

"What about you?"

"I don’t drink." I said as I rested my chin over my steepled fingers looking at her with a smile.

"Please don’t smile like that, it’s... hard to see." She said averting my eyes.

"Eh? I don’t look good?" I asked.

She sighed before she took a sip of the wine avoiding my eyes, "Didn’t you come here to listen to me?"

"Yes, yes! Please go ahead."

Lady Dahlia took another long sip before she started speaking.

Women loved it when there was someone around them who acted as a listener without them having to justify themselves or explain anything. But just rant out, even if the subject is illogical or something which would seem fickle but it still was really important for them so, that should be respected.

She started from the point of before her marriage when she was aiming to be a Seraph knight. But right after she became the Seraph Knight she ended up falling in love with the Commander of Seraph Knights, none other than Grand Duke Alarice himself.

"You know... I was the one to propose him." She said her voice slurring a little making me smile.

"How admirable!"

"He said no though,"

"What?!"

"Yes, but I didn’t give up, I kept courting him until he finally had to say yes," she giggled making me chuckle.

"He was... really a shy person that’s why I..." She stopped and then looked at me.

"In future," she suddenly said, "If a woman ever proposes to you, say yes, immediately all right and take initiative yourself and not make her do things. It’s a hassle!"

She drank another glass making me smile as her face was already flushed and she was starting to get drunk.

"I was too ignorant to another things though. After Davian was born, our lives became even more happier everyday but then... That incident happened..."

She gulped another glass pouring herself more wine while she stared at the deep red fluid with dazed eyes.

"I thought... everything was over... I thought I’d lost my husband, my life everything... But then you came..." Her dazed emerald eyes met mine.

"Alarice told me that you saved him when he was being... tortured by that bastard... he said that his legs were... But you regenerated his legs and also reunited all of us. I can’t thank you enough for this hand and this eye as well," she said flexing her right arm and then gingerly touched her left eye.

"I was actually thinking that I would have to live like that but now I can fight with my full potential." She grinned making me smile.

"Pleased to be of help."

"What about my son though?" She asked.

"He said that you promised to be by his side!" She complained and I chuckled.

"I am always by his side, Your Grace. And that’s why I never lost hope of you and His Grace being safe and sound, I wanted to give him what he yearns for the most and it’s you not me, Your Grace." I explained making her stare at me.

"Besides, isn’t the King quite a piece of work, if he had released the news of you being in Mordino earlier then I and Young Master Davian would have come for you sooner." I prompted.

"He is!" She said slamming her empty glass down.

"That little... He dared to say that the Walls of Frosthail are too weak to keep the kingdom safe!" She shouted angrily and I tilted my head to the side.

"I wonder what he will do when he has to fight those rogues himself,"

Lady Dahlia laughed, "It would be quite a sight! I will enjoy watching those rogues shared him to pieces."

"What about the Queen? Didn’t you see her?"

"That bi-... That woman was the worst!"

"Did she say something offensive?" I asked and Lady Dahlia poured another glass of wine before gulping it in one go.

"Sh-She asked if the Montaire are suddenly starting to delve into the crime world and tarnishing their name by selling the rogues! Montaire would never stoop so low to adopt the wrong means to keep themselves afloat! We would rather die than use such tactics!"

She was enraged and her aura was swirling around like a charged tornado making my man clash with it.

"I wished I could strangle her weak neck but that woman is so sly that she could make anyone feel belittled with only a few words and a smile. She thinks just because she’s the Queen she is the noblest woman while all others are trash!"

The Queen must have riled her up a lot, Lady Dahlia didn’t seem like she would really end up killing Katherine if she got a chance.

"She also had the gall to ask what I was doing at your place. She asked me if I had something to do with you, nosy woman!"

I cocked my brow and she poured another glass for herself, "What else did she ask?"

"She asked about if you are the one who was buying those rogues or if you’re involved into it."

"And what did you say?"

"Well... You told me not to tell about your involvement so... I just told them that since your place was close and we had a few injured people who were getting treatment at your hospital that’s why I was at your place."

"She must have prodded, right?"

"The King..." She started and took a pause to take a sip, "he asked her to not ask too much questions about you,"

"He did?"

"Yes,... What do you have over him anyways? He seemed like... He had a good image of you in his mind..."

Of course, he had.

"The Queen didn’t seem... pleased by it, she asked me a few more questions about that night and then the King asked me to give you a message about... staying away from these things."

I chuckled and she asked, "What is it... that the King knows about you?"

"I’m a valuable asset to him," I answered, "I’ve shown him that I’m on his side that’s why he’s behaving like that for my case."

"Does he know that you’re a Dragon?"

I chuckled, "No, it’s only a few people including your family who knows about the truth."

"Then what..."

She picked up the bottle again and turned it upside down over her empty glass but only a few drops fell and she shook the bottle and let out a groan. The bottle was finished.

"There’s... so many things that I want to talk to you about..." She said as she placed the bottle down.

"But, I’m sleepy right now..." She said as she rubbed her droopy eyes.

"I should leave then, a lady should have enough sleep to keep her beauty intact," I said as I stood up.

Lady Dahlia hummed before she rose to her feet holding the table for her support. She slowly started walking towards herbed with staggering feet and stumbled making me use telekinesis to keep her from falling. She seemed a bit disoriented as she was almost hanging midway before I made her stand upright.

"What... kind of Dragon are you though? I... don’t think a Dragon can be so human-like."

I smiled, "I guess... I can tell you this secret,"

"Secret?" She asked as she managed to find her way to her bed without falling again.

"Yes, the secret about my Dragon bloodline."

[Defender of Divine Glory asks you to use your words with caution.]

[Goddess of Wisdom warns you against breach of secrecy clause.]

"What clause?"

[Giver of Gifts explains that there is an unspoken code of secrecy for all the candidates that they should never under any circumstances reveal their real identity or about the purpose of their birth to anyone else.]

"Don’t worry, it’s not that," I assured them and looked at Lady Dahlia who was looking at me, waiting for me to continue.

"Do you remember the story about this nation’s founding?"

She nodded, "The First King killed the evil Dragon who had killed various people and established this kingdom."

I smiled feeling slightly melancholic as I recalled the real story and met her eyes, "That Dragon... he was forced to kill,"

"Forced?"

"What would you do if someone attacked you with the motive of taking your wealth?"

"I’ll kill them all."

"That’s what he did," I clarified.

"Those whom he killed were there to kill him so that they could sell his body parts for money. It was self-defense which was seen as tyranny and since humans always justify their own acts are noble, the Dragon was termed as an evil entity. It attracted a lot more enemies and the Dragon in order to save his life killed all of them and finally King Rudolph killed that Dragon..."

I released a deep sigh as I recalled that scene and also the remnants of that Dragon, my blood seemed to be sizzling beneath the surface as if it was recalling the memories of the suffering inflicted upon it.

"How... do you know all this...?" Lady Dahlia asked and then her eyes went wide, "Are you that Dragon?!"

I smiled ruefully, "No, but I’m his scion. He passed on his mana and bloodline to me."

I looked at my hand clenching my fingers before I looked at her.

"So, you’re his..."

"I can be called his legacy and that’s why, it’s my duty to fix the history and give back the glory to my predecessor that he deserved. He was murdered and not killed for the justice."

"So, will you kill King Rudolph’s descendants?"

"No, I’ll fix the things on my own and for that, I need to put a rightful monarch on the throne."

Lady Dahlia stared at me for a long moment without saying anything, her previous sleepiness which had disappeared because of the shocking secret started to return.

"Good night, Your Grace. It seems like I’ve kept you up quite late." I smiled before I turned to the door and left the room.