Chapter 250: Olivia (Part 3)

“You—”

Olivia froze. She wanted to argue but found herself at a loss for words.

Even she had to admit that this red dragon’s rhetoric was quite shrewd. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t find any flaws in it.

After all, she had seen the freeing of the serfs, the changes in the lives of the citizens, and the wealth flourishing in the cities firsthand. Even with all her enmity and prejudice, Olivia couldn’t simply ignore these realities.

“But, but…”

“You also killed those who sought justice.”

After stammering for a long while, Olivia gritted her teeth and forced the words out.

Kaesys almost laughed at the young silver dragon’s feeble rebuttal, only releasing a puff of sulfuric breath beside her.

“Silver dragon, aren’t you being a little naive? They wanted to be heroes who slay a dragon. Should I have washed my neck and waited to be killed?”

“Moreover, back to our earlier question—what exactly is ‘justice’?”

Olivia let out a cold huff, deliberately turning her head aside. “It certainly isn’t something for an evil dragon like you to define. No matter how you twist things, Tiamat’s blood will always betray the evil in your heart, and Bahamut’s light will never shine upon you.”

Kaesys ignored her and continued, “The so-called leader of your ‘righteous people,’ Grayhawk Slaud, was the chief mage of the Lackman family. He was complicit in the brutal slaughter of thousands of tieflings and a trusted henchman of the old vampire.”

“Th-that was an exception!”

“Collaborating with Slaud was a desperate choice. There were still people like Angel with unwavering integrity who opposed you—”

Olivia couldn’t help but try to defend.

Kaesys cut her off, pressing directly, “And when the tieflings were being massacred, when the serfs were being ruthlessly exploited, when people were reduced to blood slaves, where were those so-called righteous people then?”

“Why did none of your righteous heroes show up? Why was it I, the ‘evil dragon,’ who put an end to it all?”

He paused, his tone laced with subtle mockery.

“As for that ‘gold dragon’ you speak of…”

“When you learn the truth, you will see just how much of a joke you really are.”

Olivia didn’t pick up on the subtext, instead taking the red dragon’s words as a cruel taunt about Angel’s fate—a jab meant to make her feel small and powerless, to force her into submission.

Thinking of her missing companion, tears welled up in her eyes again, and she screamed at the top of her lungs,

“Stop trying to sully others!”

“A dragon like you could never understand the justice in Angel’s heart!”

“Maybe you can wreak havoc for a time, and maybe you can use twisted logic to shut me up, but his light will endure forever!”

Olivia’s voice cracked, tears streaking down her silver cheeks from her blue-gray eyes, which glistened like springs ready to overflow.

“...”

Kaesys almost couldn’t contain his laughter as he listened to Olivia’s desperate defense of his own fabricated identity.

He never imagined that this character, conjured at random, would leave such a lasting impression in her mind, beautified by her emotions and memories.

Kaesys initially intended to reveal his identity and crush Olivia’s spirit entirely, using the opportunity to break her will and establish control over the silver dragon.

But seeing how stubbornly she clung to this illusion of ‘Angel,’ Kaesys suddenly changed his mind.

“Perhaps there’s more benefit to be extracted from this foolish silver dragon.”

He mused while scratching the bony ridges of his chin.

Suddenly, Olivia’s weak voice broke his thoughts.

“What do you want?”

Kaesys turned his head, studying the silver dragon in front of him.

Olivia’s slender neck and delicate limbs were bound by burning-hot shackles. Chains of magic tightly wound around her sleek silver body, binding her torso and glossy wings.

The spell array designed to hold any dragon short of an elder was like an unbreakable cage to her.

Many of her scales had cracked under pressure, silver flakes littering the ground. Her body was covered in wounds, and her posture was awkward under the bindings.

This pampered young silver dragon had likely never known such pain. She lay on her side, panting lightly, her body rising and falling with each breath.

To dragons, beauty knew no taboo. Kaesys could even appreciate the grotesque appeal of an ogre now, let alone a fellow metallic dragon. By draconic standards, this young, well-proportioned silver dragon was undoubtedly “beautiful.”

Kaesys lowered his head toward her, their eyes meeting. He was indifferent to her gaze filled with fear and hostility.

“I’ve changed my mind, silver dragon.”

“For Bahamut’s sake, I won’t take your life. Though you failed to observe a guest’s manners, I will still treat you as a host would. But, if you remain stubborn, you may have to stay here for several centuries.”

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the palace, the white dragon Tinia caught her master’s scent, excitedly rushing inside—only to witness a scene she would never forget.

A massive red dragon stood in the hall, a familiar yet changed figure. Despite his altered form, Tinia recognized her master—Kaesys—through their bond and his familiar sulfuric scent.

The thirty-meter-long body of the red dragon made the grand palace seem almost cramped.

And at his feet lay a young silver dragon, bound by a spell array, battered and barely conscious, her eyes filled with defiance—clearly the result of Kaesys’ handiwork.

“Awo?”

Tinia let out a confused howl.

It was strange.

The one bound by this terrifying spell array was another dragon. She should’ve felt relief—this meant she wouldn’t be dragged back by her master.

But watching the wounded silver dragon lying helplessly before Kaesys, Tinia felt something welling up in her heart—a feeling she could only call “jealousy.”

For a fleeting moment, she wanted to rush forward and take the silver dragon’s place, to endure the punishment bestowed by her master herself, even if it meant being bound by the dragon-binding spell again.

She finally understood her desire.

“Damn that silver dragon, get away from my master!”

“Only I deserve to be whipped by him!”

Overcome by rage, Tinia’s scales quivered as she watched Olivia, her eyes filled with hostility.

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