“All right then, I’ll play your game.
Kael Carter, why did you help me?
No—first tell me how you knew where I was.”
Lavinia questioned, hoping to keep Kael distracted and secretly gather enough Mana to survive if things went south, but then,
“You know you can stop and gather your Mana more efficiently, right? You do not have to mind me, my schedule’s free.”
“…”
Lavinia froze.
“What?”
Kael tilted his head, confused.
“You knew…?”
“Were you trying to hide it?”
Kael questioned back, showing similar confusion.
Yep, even he had learned how to play these mind games.
He was growing.
“…”
Lavinia stayed silent.
What could she even say?
She stared at the strange man in front of her and asked directly,
“You will let me gather my Mana…?”
“Why would I not?”
“Are you not scared that I will escape?”
“I think I told you this before, if you wish to go, you can. There is no need to ‘escape’ here. I am not trying to force you.”
“…”
Again, Lavinia didn’t know how to react.
“How about it? Do you wish to stay in an Inn? You can bathe and have some rest. You can also gather your Mana and eat till you are full.
I also believe that traveling with the well-fed and rested you will be much easier, and again, if you wish to leave, you can do that as well.”
“Should we really stay in an inn? I heard you mention spies.”
“Ah, don’t worry about that.”
Kael shook his head. He then slightly tilted his head, as if communicating with someone else.
“Right?”
He questioned and,
‘Mhm, I will take care of it all.’
Imperia nodded confidently.
“What if… we get caught?”
Lavinia questioned, still a bit unsure.
“As I said, leave it to me.”
Kael nodded confidently, he had complete trust in his children. Plus, he hadn’t activated [Ascendent of the Ancient] for the day, he could very much overpower anyone in the city, even Zarak, if push came to shove.
Not to mention he had a premium subscription to real-time updates of everything happening in the district, they could leave anytime something unexpected happened.
“The more things I leave to you, the more uncertain I get.”
Lavinia answered honestly.
“Well, your entire escape was left to me and I think I did a pretty good job.”
“…”
Lavinia stared at him with a deadpan look on her face and Kael just chuckled,
“Just trust me.”
In the end, Lavinia gave in.
The temptation of bathing and eating something after three years wasn’t something she could resist, she also wanted to use this opportunity to gather her Mana and be somewhat self-reliant.
The two moved past three inns because they belonged to Zarak’s men and settled in another inn, even here, two of Zarak’s spies sat at the front table, drinking and secretly keeping an eye out.
Of course, what they were seeing was what Vitaria wanted them to see, so Kael never had a problem.
The two quickly took a room, yes, a single room because again, a party almost always used one room, buying two would be too suspicious.
It was something even Lavinia understood and didn’t complain about. Not to mention she was too focused on the food being served than to be concerned with such matters.
The two entered their room and without waiting, Lavinia sat on the bed, cross-legged, ready to meditate.
“Do you not wish to bathe first?”
Kael questioned, curious.
“I will bathe after I recover my Mana.”
The Princess answered.
It was clear that she had no trust in Kael at all, she wanted to get into the position of being able to defend herself on her own as quickly as possible.
Something Kael didn’t mind, rather, he wanted it to happen.
It was tiring to talk to a woman who was distrustful of everything around her and on guard all the time, he felt like if she regained some sense of control, the conversation might become somewhat easier.
Kael watched her meditate, it was something that concerned Lavinia, but she didn’t voice it out. She didn’t know how he would react if she said anything, she’d rather stay silent and let him do what he wanted, at least till she gained enough Mana.
Kael, on the other hand, stared at the woman while he listened to his son,
‘Father, close your eyes and sense the Elementals around her.’
Kael did as he was told and closed his eyes and just as he did,
‘!!!’
He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Absurd.
He saw an absurd number of different colored Elements around the woman,
Red, White, Purple, Blue, all these elementals surrounded Lavinia and filled the entire room, even Kael, who was used to being surrounded by the red Fire Elements, couldn’t believe the absurd number of elements he was seeing at the same time.
“Are these… all four Elements?”
He questioned out loud.
‘Huh?’
Igni suddenly frowned.
‘Four?’
Soon, the Primordial Dragon realized it,
‘Right, Humans can only sense the Elements you have affinity with. I did not consider that.’
“Wait, wait, wait, what do you mean Elements I have affinity with? Didn’t I only have affinity with Fire?”
‘Of course not. You have affinity with Fire, Lightning, Wind, and Water because you are bonded with me and Cirri.’
“But… the other elements didn’t appear before…”
Kael frowned, he clearly remembered the time when Veylara told him about Elements and how to check one’s affinity with them.
‘Cirri isn’t a Water, Wind, or Lightning Dragon specifically, so your affinity with those elements is weaker, giving Fire an edge.
Fire Elementals are usually arrogant, because there were so many of them, they didn’t allow others to appear.’
Igni explained.
“And you… knew this?”
‘I did.’
Igni nodded.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
‘As I said, your affinity with those elements is weak, learning Magic related to them will be a waste of Mana.’
‘Big brother is correct, Father.
You already train yourself to the extreme, if you try to learn more Magic, you will only slow down your progress.
Rest is important as well.’
The Mother spoke up as well.
“…”
In the end, Kael turned silent and stared at Lavinia instead.
“So how many elements does she have affinity with?”
He questioned.
‘All of them.’
Igni answered.
“And her affinity with each of these Elements is…”
‘Higher than your Affinity with Fire.
As I said before,
She is loved by Elementals.’