Chapter 171: Ares
"So what exactly was the mistake? Or rather, what did that prince do, that someone else had to take the fall for it?" Gara asked, finally starting to grasp the situation in that faraway province.
"Ares did nothing wrong, Master. He’s both a cousin and childhood playmate of the prince.
One day, while they were wandering near a training ground, the prince saw the empty arena and insisted they try it out. On impulse, he dragged Ares into a spar."
Hilda let out a heavy sigh. "Neither of them had ever sparred before, nor did they know each other’s true strength.
Ares assumed the prince was strong—he looked healthy, with well-developed scales and large horns. Unfortunately, that assumption was wrong. With just one strike, Ares sent the prince flying and knocked him unconscious."
"In truth, losing or getting hurt in sparring is perfectly normal. Even the Dragon Lord, in his youth, often lost to Sir Reus, Ares’s father.
But the spoiled prince, who had never known defeat, couldn’t accept it. He began making false claims, accusing Ares of starting the fight without permission, of ambushing him, and even of using Talent after they had supposedly agreed to fight with nothing but raw dragon power."
Gara couldn’t help but frown. He hadn’t expected things in dragon territory—especially under its Lord—to be this messed up.
"So... was Ares sentenced to death?" he guessed.
Hilda nodded, regret heavy in her eyes. "That decision was widely opposed. Pure-blood dragons are sacred. They shouldn’t be treated carelessly, not even by the Lord. But the Dragon Lord didn’t care.
His son came to him, bandaged and demanding execution because he was ashamed of his losing, even though a healer could’ve mended the wound in minutes. And so, the Lord willingly pushed his own nephew into the jaws of death."
"Then why didn’t the opposing faction rise up and overthrow him? If he makes decisions that foolishly—killing his own blood so easily—he must be both weak and stupid," Gara said bluntly, not bothering to hold back.
"Sir Reus refused. The title of Dragon Lord can only pass when the current one dies, and the next heir is always his direct descendant. Only if no descendants exist would it pass to the closest blood relative.
Sir Reus would never kill his own cousin and nephew. Instead, he staged Ares’s death. Officially, he ’died in prison from food poisoning’ before the execution date."
At last, Gara fully understood the situation.
When her long explanation ended, Hilda returned to her request. "The dragon coming to Falopo Town belongs to the faction supporting the current Lord.
That’s why I’m uneasy about keeping Ares hidden here. Besides... a life in hiding is little different from death. At the very least, he should be given something meaningful to do."
Her expression softened. "Master, I hope you’ll consider hiding Ares inside your dimensional space. You’re the only one I trust to entrust him to. I promise he will serve you well."
After a half-dragon manager, now a pure-blood dragon worker? Sounds fun, Gara thought.
The house within his dimensional space was vast, complete with a large yard, a pond, and even a forest behind it. Truth be told, an extra pair of strong hands would be invaluable.
Once he entered the Academy, he wouldn’t be able to rely on Fian and Madha for every little thing. They needed to focus on their studies too.
Having an extra pair of strong hands wasn’t a bad thing.
"Alright. I’ll allow Ares to hide in my dimensional space, but..."
Hilda’s eyes lit up. She didn’t even care about the ’but.’
Whatever condition Gara set, she and Ares would agree to it. They had even discussed the possibility that Gara might make Ares his slave, just like her.
"...I want to form a Soul Oath with Ares," Gara continued.
"Of course. That’s no problem, Master. Ares can’t be registered as an official slave because of his identity, but you and he can still make an unofficial contract."
"I don’t want him as my slave if it isn’t official. He doesn’t need to be a slave, just a regular worker. What matters is the oath."
After they sorted out the details of Ares’s duties when he lived in the dimensional space, Hilda left to fetch him, while Gara released Fian and Madha from the dimensional pocket.
He gave them a quick rundown about Ares.
"A man? Is he young?" Madha asked, suddenly sounding way too protective.
"Hilda said he’s forty-nine," Gara replied.
Hearing that, Madha instantly relaxed.
Gara, however, didn’t bother explaining that dragons lived much longer than humans. That forty-nine was basically the age of a freshly grown adult dragon.
Madha actually studied different races when he was in training as a guard so he knew that, but in his relief, the thought slipped his mind.
"So, we’re heading out to make this Soul Oath?" Madha asked. Gara nodded.
The three of them made their way toward the house of a Liner who was capable of binding Soul Oaths, the same Liner who bound Fian and Wina before.
On the way, they stopped to buy some coconut snacks, the city’s ever-popular treat, to relieve their hunger.
When they reached the dark wooden house, Gara spotted Hilda waiting near the door. At her side stood a young man, tall and lean.
He wasn’t as bulky as Madha or Fian, but about the same height as Fian. His skin was pale—so pale it almost glowed pink under the sunlight, as though he hadn’t seen much of it in a long time.
His hair shimmered silver, streaked with red strands that looked painted but were clearly natural. Maybe dragons just grew hair like that. His eyes, meanwhile, gleamed gold.
Though he wore the muted clothes of a commoner, the aura he gave off was anything but ordinary.
Even from a distance, Gara could feel how strikingly handsome and radiant the man was.
Unfortunately, the heart icon’s number floating above his head threw Gara off. [-10%]
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