The Dragon Lord's Aide Wants to Quit [BL] - Chapter 188

Chapter 188: Awkward Timing
The sound broke through the monotony, and Riley—whose gaze had been absolutely covert moments ago—was now staring at the dragon lord like a startled deer.

Brrr—rrr—rrr.

Their eyes met.

To anyone else, the sound was nothing more than an unusual alarm for someone who supposedly disliked phones. But to one dragon and his suspiciously human aide, it was a signal for something very specific.

Blood feeding.

And wasn’t this just the most awkward timing imaginable?

Earlier, Kael had been able to time it conveniently—before or after a meeting. But this particular session had dragged on far longer than expected because, apparently, everyone suddenly had findings to report after the tally of missing magical beings had been finalized and cross-checked.

“Lord Dravaryn,” a voice crackled through the orb, “the centaurs are in an uproar! They’re saying their reports haven’t been submitted properly!”

The tension in the air sharpened instantly.

Now even Riley was concerned, his earlier awkwardness vanishing completely as his focus snapped to the conversation.

“It means someone’s tampered with the report,” another voice added quickly. “Either the assigned MBE agent or one of the centaurs responsible for the handover. As expected, the centaur chief is demanding an answer, My Lord.”

The line erupted into overlapping voices of outrage and concern.

“Are you saying there’s an inside job?”

“Who else would have access?”

“Sure enough, no wonder the records look like this!”

Riley leaned forward unconsciously, curiosity overtaking his earlier restraint. He moved closer to Kael, who sat with the same calm posture but whose golden eyes flickered open the moment Riley came into his peripheral view.

Kael exhaled quietly, as though preparing to end the call for a moment. But before he could speak, their eyes met again—another wordless exchange passing between them.

The magical orb continued to project the agents’ frantic voices. The room hummed with overlapping suggestions, desperate attempts to patch up the growing mess.

Riley shook his head subtly, silently mouthing, continue the meeting.

Kael frowned at him.

Riley, standing beside the desk now, crossed his arms and mouthed again, just keep going.

The dragon lord’s brow furrowed deeper, but he still managed to respond to the agents in his usual calm, commanding tone. “Contact the Centaur Chief,” he ordered. “Prepare a separate version of the report with altered numbers that don’t match the pattern we’ve started to notice. Hand it to him personally. Have him submit it like any normal report—and observe the changes once it’s processed.”

The other end of the orb fell silent for a few seconds before voices of agreement followed.

“Understood.”

“We’ll get on it immediately.”

“That might actually expose the leak.”

There was a collective sigh of relief. Even through the orb’s distortion, Riley could sense it.

He understood that feeling.

After all, he’d seen what Kael could do when things went wrong. He remembered the last image he saw before passing out days ago.

Sure, his boss often felt more like a demon than a dragon. But when it mattered, seeing him was nothing short of a miracle.

Brrr—rrr—rrr.

But the said miracle demon was working right now.

So Riley really ought to adjust.

Kael’s expression twitched as the snoozed alarm went off again. He clearly didn’t like what it meant. Normally, after ten minutes, Riley would start to feel uncomfortable—and they had already postponed it once.

But before Kael could reach for the orb or speak, the human aide suddenly moved to his right, crouched—then, without warning, plopped down on the floor beside him.

“?”

Kael blinked, silent.

The agents’ voices crackled faintly from the orb.

Riley, however, was now sitting cross-legged on the floor, expression entirely too calm for someone who had just decided that this was the solution.

Kael blinked down at him, his expression unreadable, and Riley could practically feel the silent question radiating from him.

What are you doing?

Riley met his gaze, tapping his chin like someone in deep thought. Then, very deliberately, he tilted his head toward Kael’s hand, his brows moving in a series of subtle expressions that were meant to say something like, just trust me, I have an idea.

Kael raised an eyebrow. Clearly, he didn’t understand.

The aide stuck at the estate had been thinking—thinking all day, actually.

Surely, there were other ways he could get blood directly from Kael, right?

Using their mouths had made sense at the time—he had been convulsing, unconscious, and the situation had been desperate. Afterward, he had balked at the idea of drinking blood like it was water, but maybe that had only been because it was new and terrifying then.

Because who wouldn’t? Especially when he had no idea of what had happened and why he needed blood in the first place. But now that he’d gotten used to it, surely he wouldn’t faint at the sight anymore, right?

Just think of it as juice, just like tomato juice.

He was just trying to be practical about it.

Then again, it would probably take some time to convince Kael to allow for a container since dragon blood would carry traces of mana. And he’d never been the type to leave anything of himself behind.

Well, they could always incinerate the container later, right? He’d even get completely disposable paper cups!

But for now, since it was Kael’s blood, he figured it was best to honor the dragon lord’s preferences.

Riley took a deep breath, then resumed his wordless attempt at communication.

Kael’s eyes narrowed slightly, clearly asking, What are you even planning?

Riley pointed at his own hand and began tapping his forefinger repeatedly.

Kael stared.

The tapping continued, intensified, even.

Kael’s brow furrowed, his expression now clearly saying, Are you having a problem with your finger?

Riley sighed.

“Hand,” he finally mouthed, exasperation creeping in.

Kael blinked, then extended his hand slowly, still looking suspicious.

Riley took it carefully, turning the palm upward. That was when Kael realized what the human was trying to say.

He was planning to take the blood from his hand.

Riley figured it met all of Kael’s requirements—it wouldn’t come from a spot where blood would gush, it wouldn’t stain anything if he was careful, and more importantly, it was something he could look at without picturing gore.

It was basically like a paper cut. He could handle that.

Kael’s eyes darkened as he stared at the twig who was holding his hand. He clearly wanted to say no, but one look at the timer counting down told him they were close to the end of their buffer time.

And Riley, seeing his hesitation, puffed his cheeks in irritation as if saying, Come on already.

The agents on the other end must have noticed the dragon lord suddenly jerk back, because someone immediately asked, “My lord, is everything alright?”

Kael grunted, low and unamused. “Fine. Continue.”

Then, with a visible sigh, he resigned himself to the situation.

Riley watched, mildly impressed, as Kael cast a cleaning spell from his elbow all the way to the tips of his fingers.

Overkill? Probably. But hygiene was hygiene.

The next thing Riley saw was the fingernail on Kael’s thumb sharpening ever so slightly before it grazed his forefinger. A small, neat cut appeared along his skin.

Riley flinched but stayed still, watching the red bead of blood appear. Kael’s expression darkened further—probably realizing how ridiculous this entire situation was.

And Riley, as he stared at his boss’s hand, had one very clear thought.

What could possibly be more insane than regularly making out with your boss?

Oh.

Apparently this.

This was definitely more insane than making out with his boss.