The Dragon Lord's Aide Wants to Quit [BL] - Chapter 201

Chapter 201: Proof of the Living Bond
But what do you know? Riley wasn’t particularly angry about how that sounded.

He was angry about how dangerous that could have been.

Okay, fine. He was also angry when he first heard the general concept because the bastard could have led with the important bits instead of telling the story in the most infuriating order possible.

He could have just said it plainly! But no, Kael had to let him boil first.

So what exactly did Kael do?

Nothing, apparently.

Or rather, it wasn’t about what he did—it was about what he allowed to happen instead.

After the incident at the dragon estate, Kael had initially insisted on his side of the story. But instead of understanding, people began looking at him as though he had lost his mind.

The only reason no one said it aloud was that several of them had witnessed what he did to the nest when he escaped. They knew better than to provoke him.

Still, Kael had learned a lot from that time—though not everything he learned was something anyone would wish for him.

The first thing he learned was to hide his strength.

Even after he and his parents discovered his sudden breakthrough, Kael chose to graduate early from the nest, showing only what was necessary. Nothing close to the performance he originally intended to ensure his strong position as the heir.

The second thing he learned was silence.

The young dragon—no longer a dragonling, but not yet a full adult mentally—who once spoke his mind freely and often too strongly, stopped doing so.

He began to hold his tongue.

The third thing he learned was restraint.

Instead of correcting others or telling them what he thought, young Kael chose to watch and observe. He listened to the way people twisted the story, the way they filled in blanks they didn’t understand, and he said nothing.

Because even after so much time had passed, he couldn’t bring himself to believe the official resolution of the attack on the dragon estate.

And perhaps most importantly, he never told anyone that he was still searching.

He continued to look for the egg.

And for that damned being that reeked of malice.

Then one day, just before the rites that would permanently free him from the nest were to take place, an incident occurred.

A dragonling had threatened to destroy his own core—if Kael refused to take him as his mate.

It created a commotion, as expected.

Because of the importance placed on dragonlings and the next generation, coupled with the extinction of the white dragons, it immediately became a topic that required formal meetings.

Obviously, it was disastrous to threaten the dragon lord and his family like that, but because the culprit was a dragonling, they couldn’t simply enforce the usual punishments. But not addressing it would set a precedent that would only invite more families to use similar tactics to get what they wanted.

Surely, the elders who led the most prominent families would have objected, even pushed for severe punishment.

But to everyone’s surprise, they didn’t.

In fact, not a single compelling argument came from them.

Riley, who was listening, was scandalized by everything. But what followed scandalized him even more.

Because, sure, the family of that hysterical dragonling would rise in prominence, but in the eyes of the elders who knew about the death of Kael’s mate—who never got to finish the rites—they had already decided that Kael was a broken dragon.

Those who had bonded with mates understood how deep that connection ran. So to them, young Kael might not even grow up strong enough to inherit the title of dragon lord.

But the others, who didn’t know the truth, wouldn’t question it; they’d just see this as a golden thigh that they should really grab onto.

The elders, seeing a potential elimination of competition, weren’t about to stop something that could benefit them in the long run.

So, much to everyone’s astonishment—and to Lord Karion and Lady Cirila’s fury—the council of elders actually encouraged everyone to hear out the delusional dragonling’s demands.

Kael, on the other hand, didn’t say a word.

Lady Cirila fell ill for a time, unable to comprehend how they could expect her son, who had just endured such a traumatic loss, to enter a forced mating bond. All because they couldn’t handle a dragonling’s madness.

Of course, the others didn’t know what happened to Kael, nor did they know about his mate’s existence, but even the elders were really showing their true colors.

But what hurt her most was not the council’s decision—it was her son’s silence.

He didn’t protest. He didn’t rage.

He simply became quiet.

He became a shell of the boy he once was. And now only woke, moved, and did as he was told.

Because when his mate died, it seemed their son had died with the egg, too.

Kael, the said shell of his former self, allowed himself to be dragged into that farce. He didn’t speak a single word—not to his parents, not to the elders, and definitely not to that budding maniac of a dragonling.

Inside, though, he felt sick. The kind of sickness that came from deep within, heavy and suffocating. But strangely, when it hit him, Kael felt an odd sense of relief.

Because he was right.

He wouldn’t be reacting like this if the bond had truly been broken. While he couldn’t feel the egg anymore, the fact that he felt anything at all meant that the bond still existed somewhere.

Still, that wasn’t enough to prove anything.

Just being repulsed by the dragonling’s incessant proclamations of love wasn’t evidence. His parents needed something undeniable.

So Kael waited.

Waited until the ceremony.

And when it came, he shocked everyone.

The moment that dragonling tried stepping onto the runic circle where Kael stood, the air shifted.

The markings beneath their feet flared, glowing red as the dragonling was violently thrown back, his body crashing against the wall with a heavy thud.

Gasps rippled through the chamber.

The elders froze. Even Kael’s father stood up from his seat, eyes wide in disbelief. No one had expected it.

The dragonling tried to threaten himself again, shrieking in frustration, but this time his parents had no choice but to seal his magic entirely. There was nothing more that could be done.

Kael Dravaryn simply could not enter into a mating bond.

And for the first time since the day everything fell apart, Kael smiled.