"I'm afraid that 'our dragons,' as you have called them, Mr. Ambassador, are my daughter and her governess," said Runa, emulating the attitude her father and husband had taken up to that point, her chest swelling with pride and joy at having Frey back and seeing him so resolute in a meeting like this. "It may seem logical to you that it was a facade or a deception, but Eri is a six-year-old girl, as well as the dragon princess; and we turned to the Countess to instruct her. Her role in the war is that she is under our protection. I have promised her: despite her great power, she will not turn against other dragons, unless they threaten my daughter, as happened a few days ago."

Both ambassadors avoided her gaze.

"So," Oregdor finally spoke up, "if Artemia is to help us, it will be with its dragonslayers. Is that what you mean?"

She looked at Frey; he was standing by the table. He hadn't sat down again since he interrupted the cardinal of Atyr. He wasn't wearing his shirt, so the blows to his ribs were very visible. He would be fine in a few weeks, but now he was reminded more often that he was just a man.

"More than that," she replied. "We offer you information, we will share with you the enchantments that can trap dragons in human bodies, the metals that pierce their scales, the spells that can affect them, and if my husband, that is, the high general agrees, even the combat techniques of the dragonslayer order." Frey nodded with a pleased smile and his arms crossed over his chest. It was his equivalent to Runa's princess pose, the pose of the great warrior. Without his shirt, the effect was even more powerful, particularly on her.

"I imagine that Prince and General Freydelhart is willing to visit our city to train our soldiers in person." Oregdor's eyes shone. Sometimes, Runa forgot her husband's reputation. If only he would remember it more often too, then they wouldn't have had that stupid fight.

"Well..."

"Your Majesty," Jimmer stepped forward from his watchful position behind Lady Meracina. "Don't be afraid to leave Artemia defenseless, I will stay behind to protect our kingdom." Jimmer followed Frey wherever he went, this act was perhaps...

"Alright, Jim." Frey had anticipated the decision, he looked even more pleased. Who knows what was going on between those two.

"Well, if we have already settled the matter," that day, Runa's father was handling the meeting much more than he usually did, "I would like to give the floor to Cardinal Celhyun. I'm afraid your interrogation will take place here, now. We have shared the information from this meeting with you, you will extend the same courtesy to the ambassadors of Pellegrin, as well as to the countess."

The man lowered his head and nodded. It seemed that during the meeting, he had been understanding the gravity of his situation. He had participated in an attempted assassination of a member of the royal family. He had been treated until that moment as a victim and a foreign representative, but his stiff objections suggested that he had his own motives.

At an order from her father, the elven soldiers positioned themselves around the cardinal, leaving the countess free. She took a seat at the end of the table, interested in what the man had to say. Jimmer remained standing.

"Prince Frey, please proceed to interrogate the cardinal. Do not forget his rank, please." Without a doubt, Dad was determined to maintain the facade of an imposing king that day. And that was even with him wearing the beard.

"Alright, Your Majesty. Your Lordship would like to give you once again the opportunity to narrate the events from your point of view." Of course, he hadn't attended the previous meetings; now everyone would have to hear it again.

"This... well, as you wish. As you know, my name is Celhyun, I am a cardinal of the Church of War and Trade of Atyr. In my homeland, the crown is interested in maintaining the spiritual purity of the world. We respect the gods of other nations and even observe their rites when we are in foreign lands. But we advise on matters of transcendental importance such as succession." He looked at Runa, then at Eri, and decided to change the subject. "Anyway, I was on my way to Artemia to fulfill that duty, going around the Meyrin mountain range. It's a somewhat longer but generally safe route. My caravan had eight members. Without warning, three dragons, among which was the white monster that you fortunately defeated, fell upon the group. In seconds they had finished them all off, may they be fighting today on the final battlefield. They left me and my second, Venuem, alive, only for him to be devoured and usurped by that beast. Oh, I was so confused, he asked me a thousand questions about the dragon princess of Artemia, he spent three days torturing me until I agreed to obey and reveal everything I knew. They painted those horrible glyphs on my back with the blood of my companions. Just to give credibility to their story. I regret to confess that my will was never bound by anything other than fear. That beast carried me in its claws to a meadow near the city and from there forced me to guide him in his human form. I didn't know the way to Artemia, so we guided ourselves by following the Pellegrin caravan at a distance, which passed nearby a few days later. As you can see, it wasn't entirely a coincidence that we arrived on the same day."

"Do you know what interest the dragon had in my daughter?" Frey asked, though they already knew that.

"He said your daughter was one of five dragon princes, he called her 'an inconvenient sister who had to die for him to rise as the new king.'"

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Frey looked at Lady Meracina, she nodded, what the cardinal was saying corresponded with what was known.

"And why the subterfuge? Such a powerful dragon could have simply attacked the castle." It was a good question, she had also thought about it.

"He didn't share that much information with me. I suppose they know the reputation of the city, or perhaps they hoped to create a conflict between our nations..."

"No," interrupted Lady Mera, "most likely they believe that my mistress already has more than one dragon at her service. Her power, like that of other princes, can force us to submit under the right circumstances. Each prince usually subdues a small army to protect themselves, that's why they haven't killed each other yet. They used deception to see if there were others like me protecting her."

It made sense, dragons rarely interacted much with each other, it was to be expected that they couldn't easily detect each other.

"We'll assume that then." Everyone looked back at Frey and the cardinal. "That brings me to another question. Was your companion especially strong or skilled before being devoured? He demonstrated unusual power in that room, and according to the countess, a dragon is only as strong as the body it usurps."

"Not at all. He was a man dedicated to theological study, he was in shape as our order requires, but he was not nor did he seek to be a warrior. Maybe it has to do with the fire that the dragon breathed on himself every day."

Everyone looked at Meracina again.

"The elf and her husband have seen me do that. I use my fire to rejuvenate my body and heal its wounds, it has nothing to do with giving me power, maybe because he's a prince... Miss," Eri reacted by sitting up straight in her chair, she was bored to death, yawning lazily, "if you would be so kind as to come closer."

Eri jumped out of her seat and approached her teacher.

"Miss." Her tone was still stern, but sprinkled with a sweetness she didn't use with anyone else. "Please, I want you to try to breathe your fire on me, but instead of healing, think about strengthening, it should be that simple."

"Okay, I'll try, teacher." Eri inhaled deeply and blew an intense orange fire, different from the blue-white flame with which she healed wounds. The petite and fragile-looking woman was soon surrounded by flames that didn't even burn her dress. When the flames consumed shortly after, a smile appeared on Lady Mera's face. Suddenly she grabbed Jimmer by the gorget of his armor and with one hand, hoisted him up to throw him a few meters back. His back hit the wall with a crash of metal against stone that startled everyone.

"That's for locking me up for two days in that horrible dungeon." She sat down as if nothing had happened. Looking Frey in the eye, "Well, that confirms it, the white prince had the power to strengthen his subjects in usurped bodies, now my lady has the same power, although we will have to experiment a lot to know its extent."

Jimmer got up from the floor, his neck hurting, but otherwise intact. He signaled that he was fine and that they should continue. It seemed that at this point he had accepted that he deserved the dragon's wrath. Still, everyone in the room remained standing, the soldiers with their weapons ready.

Frey walked around the table, approaching Eri without losing sight of Mera.

"Daughter, do you think you can do the same with me?"

"It won't work, dragonslayer knight." The tone was even stricter, this time sprinkled with disdain. "The young lady is a dragon princess, her powers are of our race."

"I'm not so sure, Countess. Come on, Eri, just a little, I'll be fine even if it doesn't work."

Eri looked at her father with wide eyes and a grimace. She was worried about hurting him. Still, she blew gently on him.

The orange fire surrounded Frey with a faint aura. It took much longer to disappear, but it didn't hurt him.

"I don't think it worked." He punched the table to test it, shattering the spot he hit, sending splinters flying across the room. "Or maybe it did, although considering my own strength, there's not much difference."

Eri grinned from ear to ear.

"I helped, Daddy! Can I help you fight now?"

A lump formed in Runa's throat at the thought.

"When you're older, my girl..." Frey said before anyone else could say anything, "you will be the one to defend the kingdom and those you love. Right now, leave that to Dad and Mom. But I promise you can help us in many other ways."

Eri wasn't satisfied, but it was the right answer, the best thing he could have said. The little girl sat back down, she was so polite when she wanted to be, surely she would throw a tantrum later.

"Well, that settles another one of our doubts." Frey approached Cardinal Celhyun to look him in the eye. "Now, tell us honestly, if you wanted the assassination attempt to succeed."

The question came as suddenly as the attempt itself. It was absurd to expect the cardinal to be truthful if the answer was affirmative, but the future of relations between Artemia and Atyr depended on his reaction.

"No, my lord," he said without hesitation. "I confess that when the assassin revealed his intention to me, I thought he would kill another dragon. I didn't object, although I had heard the stories, I thought the gods of war and trade would bless removing a woman, a dragon no less, from the line of succession. But when she entered hand in hand with her governess, I saw the truth with my own eyes. I would never wish harm on a child, and the princess is that, above all else. My gods may be firm, but never ruthless."

Runa believed him, Eri had that effect on people. Frey's frown said he wasn't equally convinced.

The regal voice of Runa's father filled the room.

"Cardinal, this is not a trial against you. You will be sent back to Atyr under escort where my namesake has claimed the right to judge and sentence you. Until then, you will enjoy the hospitality we offer foreign dignitaries, but you will remain confined. I trust you understand our reasons."

The soldiers took the cardinal away. Frey's question was necessary and everyone wanted to know how he would answer, but he had turned the interrogation into a trial, they couldn't continue without creating a diplomatic problem. No one reproached him, Runa least of all.

The meeting was over, Eri approached her parents with the permission of her grandfather and her teacher.

"Mommy, Daddy, can you come to my practice today?"

They looked at each other, both nodded without saying anything, but the expression on their faces brought the light back to Eri's, who jumped up happily before running towards the castle courtyard. She even went to look for Bestenar, whom she pulled by the arm until he followed her. Apparently, that day she wanted to show everyone her progress.

And indeed, that day the courtyard of Artemia's castle was the place where Eri, for the first time, managed to rise by herself to the height of a man, and stayed there for several minutes, before the astonished eyes of her family.