Chapter 198
“At least for now, but it’d be a waste to stop there, don’t you think? After all I’ve invested in this kidnapping scheme.”
What Ysaris didn’t know was how much Trienne had truly invested. Years ago at the Herti Kingdom’s border, when his plan to strike Kazhan Tennilath had half-failed, he’d endured endless scolding from the elders.
The only silver lining was taming wyverns with the blood he’d painstakingly collected from Tennilath. Even better, his theories had successfully breached the imperial palace’s barriers.
…The problem was, he’d burned through all those resources for this operation.
Having gone so far as to orchestrate a diversion just to kidnap the prince, he needed to extract proper compensation. Of course, he’d gotten something far more valuable—Ysaris herself—but he’d already decided to monopolize that treasure for now.
Trienne grinned, twirling his finger in the air.
“So we’ll increase the prince’s value! Forcefully awaken his abilities!”
His giddy smile made Ysaris step back in alarm. She turned sideways, shielding Mikael—who murmured “Mama?” sleepily in her arms—from the dark mage.
“What do you mean by ‘forcefully awaken’?”
Her voice dropped into something threatening. Trienne’s shoulders slumped dramatically at her coldness.
“You think I’d endanger our precious prince? Still don’t trust me?”
“No. So explain.”
Her unshakable sternness made him pout like a child, his whining voice hilariously unbefitting someone centuries old.
“Weeell, truth is, I don’t know how to forcibly awaken Tennilath powers. Those are usually bloodline secrets. Even if I knew, forcing it would likely fail—just look how many generations passed without awakening.”
“Then how exactly would you awaken Mikael?”
Trienne’s smirk returned at her inevitable question. Whether his mood swings were genuine or all an act was unclear.
“Like I said—I don’t know how to awaken Tennilath powers. But…”
He dragged out the pause deliberately.
“…You know about my purification abilities,”
Ysaris finished.
Snap!
Trienne clicked his fingers in delight.
“Exactly! Why not awaken the prince’s dormant purification gifts instead?”
“Hnn…?”
Mikael peeked out from Ysaris’ arms at the rising voices, yawning sleepily at Trienne as if asking why they kept mentioning him.
“Mama, wha’ doing?”
“Nothing, sweetheart. Is this noisy man bothering you? Mama will talk in the bathroom—wait in bed, okay?”
“Oh-ho! Can’t exclude our guest of honor!”
Trienne chirped.
“Your Highness, wouldn’t you like to become special? How about boosting your worth?”
“Don’t spout nonsense to a two-year-old. We’ll talk separately.”
At her icy warning, Trienne scratched his head—yet his grin never wavered.
“Ahaha. Here’s the thing, Your Majesty…”
His tone remained eerily calm, almost inorganic.
“You seem to think I was making a proposal.”
“…! You can’t mean—”
Ysaris’ eyes widened. His smile stretched impossibly wider in response.
“It was a notification. I will forcibly awaken the prince.”
“…Tch.”
She clenched her teeth, then forced herself to relax. Though she resented his unilateral decision, awakened abilities might ironically protect Mikael—Trienne would value him more, just as he did her.
However little she trusted him, she nodded stiffly.
“Fine. What’s required to forcibly awaken purification abilities?”
“Nothing major! Five minutes tops.”
Then he beamed, delivering the line she never saw coming:
“A near-death experience. Simple, right?”
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