Duke of the North Refuses the Villain Route

Chapter 11-The Shadow Talons

Fresh out of his armor and a much-needed bath, Roran sat at the head table in the Obsidian Castle's war room. On both sides of the long table sat the administrative and military staff that were in charge of the Northern Wall's defense.

They were all silent, probably feeling the literal heat oozing out of him because of his anger. Ever since he found out the truth about the dragon blood, he had always been on the edge of losing his anger. Only the experience and control he developed in his years as Rhett allowed him to hold back from destroying a part of Azureleaf Forest.

After killing and scaring off the black mountain lions that were supposed to ambush them, they quickly dealt with two of three mages. One of them happened to be carrying the antidote to what they called the Enthrallment Potion, which allowed them to rescue the ten members of the investigation team that had accompanied them. They had been sent to the nearest temple, just to check if there was something wrong with their bodies and minds. They had been ingesting the potion on and off over the past year after all.

After which, he and Kaelan went after the final mage and confronted her. He already knew their plans and who they worked for due to reading the novels. His plan was just to kill her right away. But then he smelled the dragon blood. A smell so similar to Aleron's that he nearly lost his mind and anger and ended up torturing her more than necessary. In the end, he turned her into ash and left a message in her soul for her owner to see.

Looking at his people, he wanted to blow up and yell at them for their carelessness. But he knew that would be pointless.

The mages were there by the orders of the late Grand Duke Roano. As people loyal to Valtoria, they could not and would not question his orders. His words had been absolute.

Realizing that his anger was directed at someone already dead, he let it go. A deep sigh escaped his lips, and the rising temperature of the room cooled down. Everyone in the room visibly relaxed, but still a lot stiffer than the staff back in Valtoria Castle.

Even bored after being cooped up in that Valtoria Castle for days, he kind of missed it. Unknowingly, he had come to accept it as his home.

"I don't want an explanation for why these people had been left to do as they please," he spoke. "But I am asking that from now on, be stricter on surveillance, even if they are people that I have personally sent over, do you understand?"

"Yes, Your Grace," they chorused.

After which they proceeded to discuss proper vetting procedures and countermeasures against mind control magic and potions. They even discussed the possibility of hiring a few mages which had been vetoed by Roran himself. It would have to wait until he arrived at the capital and visited the Magic Tower.

The magic diamond sitting in a sealed box in his room was something the Grand Archmage, the leader of the Magic Tower, would covet more than anything. Roran figured that he would be given the privilege to hire a few mages from the Tower using it. He already had a few people in mind.

A while later, the discussions ended and he dismissed them all. He had, after all, awakened them in the middle of the night. It was still a few hours before dawn, so they would still have enough rest.

"Vice-Commander, stay behind," he said.

Kaelan, who stood behind Vice-Commander Bandar looked over. His hazel eyes were brimming with questions directed towards him before he left the room too. Roran could not blame him. He had witnessed Hellfire and was probably wondering why Roran had two flames. Roran believed that he was more intrigued by the notion that the white flame could burn souls.

I hope he does not misunderstand and think that my Dragon Flame is similar to the Eternal Dragon Flame.

The moment he was alone with Bandar, he directed his Dragon Eyes towards him. The mischievous look in the man's dark brown eyes changed. It turned calm and confident but retained a bit of the mischief that he always saw on the man's face.