Draconia Offline vol. 1

63.2. A Breather Before the Storm - Part 2

"Ryuu," Erik touches my arm. "Are you listening?"

"Sorry, I wasn't," I admit and try to hide the fact that my eyes got teary.

The Prime Minister sent me a police file on my Grandma's murder this morning and as I was reading it, sadness overcame me again. I took a glimpse of the crime scene and just that made me nauseous because I recognised Grandma's kitchen in the photo... and bloodstains. I wasn't brave enough to see the body.

"Don't look at it," Erik forbids me and closes the file for me. "In fact, put someone else on the case. You're too sensitive about it still."

"You're right," I nod. "What were you saying?"

"Our lawyers need to know if you want to sell her apartment," he repeats.

"Her apartment?" I don't understand.

"You're her only inheritor so everything she owned belongs to you now," he explains patiently and hugs me in advance, sensing my mood deteriorating quickly.

"Sell it and use that money for one of our projects, I don't want it personally," I whisper and a tear drops down my cheek after all.

"Love, breakfast is ready in the dining room and...," Gotrid enters the lounge and becomes horrified when he sees me half-crying.

He hurries to me and embraces both me and Erik into his wings. In times like these, my two partners cease to be rivals and become allies. We stay like this, hidden from the eyes of my omnipresent guards, until my eyes dry.

*****

It was supposed to be just a regular health check-up so the worst I expected was to be yelled at about losing weight during the conference. I certainly didn't expect to arrive at Julia's infirmary and find the doctor, Noage and Liana waiting for me with dead serious expressions.

"Care to explain this?" Liana narrows her eyes and purses her lips at the same time which makes her look especially strict.

At first, I have no idea why she's holding one of my feathers. Was another one that was ripped from my wings by humans found? Then I realise I left one hidden in my wardrobe.

"They found it when remodelling the apartment and moving your stuff," Liana continues. "We're lucky our people have enough subtlety to keep their mouth shut when it comes to state secrets."

"So? Ryuu wanted to keep it," Erik doesn't understand the fuss whereas Gotrid gets the gist almost immediately and his eyes widen.

Erik doesn't understand because he can't feel it. The others missed it as well before because their senses were still developing and weren't as acute. But that's in the past now and any Celestial should be fully attuned to sensing even the slightest amount of mana from any source.

"I wanted to tell you but I forgot," I blurt out apologetically.

"When?" Liana clicks her tongue.

"E-eventually?" I gulp. "I wanted to experiment a bit but I never got to it. Too much work."

"Tell WHAT?" Erik demands, impatient at this point. He's always on edge when Draconian matters elude him.

"Apparently, our Emperor's feathers have the unique ability to store mana," Julia explains. "Moreover, even after they've been ripped off from him."

"They do?" Erik is shocked.

"Magical," Gotrid caresses my wings with awe. "Why can't we normally feel it?"

"Because His Majesty's mana is so enormous that it's impossible to distinguish mana from his mana circuit from mana stored in his feathers when they're still attached to the wings," Noage takes over. "That's our scientific explanation anyway, not that neither me or Dr Julia can feel it, sadly."