Dragon Genesis: I Can Create Dragons - Chapter 382: A week.

Chapter 382: A week.

“You all will be the same,

No ranks, no titles, no exceptions.

From the youngest child to the Matriarch herself—everyone will be watched.”

Lavinia spoke directly, staring at all elders and—

A heavy silence fell in the Elder’s Hall, all Elders staring back at Lavinia. By now, even Kael, who seemed out of it a few moments ago, was sitting with a straight back, as if he was standing right behind Lavinia with all his support.

An action that made sure that the Elders’ gazes did not faze Lavinia.

The Princess just stayed silent, waiting for them to react.

“…You want to watch everything?”

Morvain finally spoke in a low, calm voice.

“Even the Elders?”

“Yes.”

Lavinia didn’t flinch.

The Matriarch paused for a moment and then—

“Does this mean you suspect us?”

“It is only fair, don’t you think? You were suspecting your people—what makes you sure the traitor isn’t amongst any of you?”

Lavinia questioned back.

“I trust them.”

Morvain answered quickly.

“Does it mean you do not trust your people?”

“…”

Morvain momentarily turned silent, but then—

“And why should we trust the two of you? Every single one of us was born here and did everything for the sake of our people. You are the only exception to that.

If anything, the two of you are still strangers to us, are you not?

Why should we trust strangers instead of our people?”

Draksis questioned directly.

And he was not alone—

“And didn’t all of this start after you arrived here? How do you explain that?”

Tarevian narrowed his eyes as well.

Lavinia stared at the two elders and spoke directly,

“If you truly think this began when the two of us arrived, then I do not have any more words to say to you.

Go with whatever you are planning, forget I said anything.”

“Stop.”

Morvain spoke up, staring at the three.

She could sense Draksis and Tarevian’s anger and Lavinia’s passive aggression, and she had no choice but to nip the bud before it grew too much.

The last thing she wanted right now was for a fight to break out.

Lavinia understood it as well, so instead of giving in to her emotions, she calmed herself down and—

“We have only been here for two weeks, but from your words, it is clear that what the enemy knew about Velmourns wouldn’t be possible if they only had two weeks’ worth of information.

I think it is rather clear that the two of us are not the spies.

Yes, I admit trusting complete strangers will be difficult, impossible even. What we did today does not earn us your blind trust, I know that.

I am not forcing any one of you to follow my words.

What I said was merely a suggestion—it is entirely up to you if you wish to follow through with it or not. This was the reason I brought it up for discussion in the first place instead of following through with it on our own.”

Lavinia took a brief pause in between her words, seeing how they were being received.

“We will not take action unless you want us to, and we will follow whatever arrangement you people decide.

What we will not do, however, is use our resources in a half-hearted manner.

We will follow whatever arrangements all of you decide, but if it is decided that we are going to use the method I suggested, none of you will be excluded.”

The Princess declared her stance again.

“So either you will use your abilities to keep an eye on every single Velmourn including us, or you will not use your abilities at all, is that it?”

Draksis questioned. He too seemed to have calmed down. He did not want a fight either, not against the people who had saved them.

“Yes, that is correct.”

Lavinia nodded.

“Is it not like giving us an ultimatum?”

The Forge Master asked.

“I prefer you call it being thorough. I would like to believe that none of the people I am sitting with is a filthy traitor but… this world seems to hold a grudge against me.”

Lavinia spoke in a low voice as a hollow smile appeared on her face.

“None of what I wish to believe can truly be believed. My own father, who I believed loved me the most, betrayed and enslaved me.

Hence I find it difficult to trust even the most loyal people.”

“You seem to trust him quite a lot.”

Tarevian questioned, staring at Kael, and without missing a beat—

“I trust Kael with my life. If even he betrays me, I will kill myself.”

The Princess answered, instantly silencing the round table, while Kael held Lavinia’s hand more tightly.

Those words were heavy, but he already knew Lavinia’s mental state. Her paranoia was far stronger than anyone he had ever met—heck, even he needed a LOT of time to get her to trust him.

Lavinia was no longer in a state to bear another betrayal. She was… much more vulnerable than she let on.

Of course, Kael himself had no plans on betraying her either. If she was going to let her entire mental state depend on him, he was going to make sure he did a good job holding her tight.

“…very well.”

Suddenly, Morvain spoke up, attracting attention.

“Survival comes first.”

The Matriarch declared, making her decision.

“Haah…”

Korvath exhaled through his mouth.

“So this is how it’s going to be, huh?”

He looked at Lavinia, his jaw tight.

“I’ve buried more friends on the Wall than I can count. I bled for Velmourn. Watched our skies day and night. Now I’m to be watched like a criminal?”

His voice didn’t rise, but the pain in it was sharp.

Still, after a moment—

“If that’s what it takes to keep Velmourn alive, so be it.”

He gave in.

It wasn’t just him—

“As long as the people do not find out about it,

I agree to it as well.”

Aelindra nodded.

This was much better than direct interrogation and everything else the other elders suggested. At the very least, the Unity that held the Velmourns together would still be upheld and work wouldn’t be disturbed either.

It was the best solution they could hope for—even if it was morally grey.

The rest of the elders did not object either.

Just as Korvath said,

If that was what it took to keep Velmourn alive, so be it.

But—

“A week.

I better see the traitor in front of my eyes within a week.”

Draksis threatened, and Lavinia nodded confidently.

After all, there was no way the traitor would not report everything that happened today to his master.

The Ants were already at work. Kael had already called them before they came to this meeting. Every single ant was currently behind every single Velmourn—heck, there were a few Ants inside the Elder Hall right now.

Now…

All they had to do was wait for the traitor to move.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com