Chapter 25

Tension tightened in Arkin’s jaw. Even after a couple of meetings, he had roughly anticipated what kind of person Draconis was, but experiencing him up close only made them think the man was even more insufferable.

Taking advantage of the moment, Draconis stepped closer, leaned in toward Arkin, and whispered secretly.

“Your Solinar, our Igninov, and… Kepet. The three kingdoms must join forces to lead the rest of the foolish ones—that’s what I’m saying. What’s the use of dragging along insignificant, impractical things all together under the pretext of peace and prosperity?”

Kepet. Arkin’s gaze narrowed. Is that why he had approached the Kepet princess? Just to say something like this…

“So what are you planning to do about it?”

“Well, it’s not like I’m planning to do anything in particular. I’m just suggesting that we share a little more… special friendship amongst ourselves.”

Arkin blankly looked down at the hand Draconis extended. He couldn’t possibly be on the same side as everyone else. Now was the time to clearly state his stance.

“I refuse.”

“Ha.”

Like an oil-soaked torch catching fire, a spark flashed in those red eyes as he let out a dry laugh. Retracting the hand he had extended, he sneered to his heart’s content.

“The prince of the Forest Kingdom of Solinar hurls insults without a care right in front of my face. Truly a country fitting for acting stubbornly and put-afore even in ragged shapes.”

“I simply don’t want to join hands with you lot who don’t respect other countries.”

“Respect? Did you just say respect? You want me to respect that frail weakling over there?”

Draconis let out a scoff. He now pointed his finger openly toward Elio.

“That must be because you haven’t seen the Veilon bastards cower flat every time they come to our Igninov. They are pathetic parasites who are nothing but a burden to the alliance.”

“Shut your mouth, Igninov!”

The lid that had been simmering flew off with a pop. Unable to hold back his anger, Arkin strode toward Draconis. A fierce light gleamed in his blue eyes, filled with rising disgust.

“You Igninov lot sure casually spit out such rash remarks.”

A hair-trigger situation. Draconis didn’t back down either and continued speaking.

“I was kind enough to think of you, yet in the end, choosing to walk the path of associating with that gloomy and useless thing is utterly exasperating. As expected of a rigid Solinar that hasn’t an ounce of flexibility. You people are always morally spotless, aren’t you?”

It was then that Draconis’s body, as he tried to step back with a sneer, was abruptly grabbed. Draconis distorted his face and glanced sidelong at his own shoulder. Arkin’s large hand was gripping his shoulder with strong leverage, as if to crush it.

“…Draconis.”

The air pulled taut. They were similar in height and build, but at this very moment, Arkin was completely overpowering Draconis.

“Let go of this. What on earth do you think you’re doing?”

Draconis clenched his teeth, but he couldn’t raise his voice. The killing intent gleaming in Arkin’s eyes, like an awakened wolf of the winter forest, was downright eerie.

“Hear me, Prince of Fire.”

Arkin lowered his voice, pressing down on Draconis’s shoulder.

“In the Forest Kingdom of Solinar, we learn that nothing in this world springs forth without a reason. The soft moss wrapping the feet, the colonies of mushrooms decomposing rotting wood, the tree leaves casting shade and the sunlight settling in right on cue, rabbits and deer grazing on grass, excreting, and spreading seeds, birds singing and carrying pollen, and even the beasts of prey maintaining balance by devouring them. They gather together to form a giant forest and circulate the forest’s ecosystem.”

“So what?”

Flames burned fiercely in the eyes of Draconis, who retorted irritably.

“If the balance of even one place breaks, the forest immediately falls ill, and the balance of the ecosystem twists and shatters, so nothing in the world is useless. That is my belief.”

The Prince of Fire only glared in silence without answering. His crimson eyes burned, quietly fueling his anger. Amidst the deadly flowing silence, the Prince of the Forest opened his mouth once more.

“So your thoughts don’t matter. Veilon is a strong ally of our Solinar.”

Arkin shouted, pressing down on his shoulder with force once more.

“You seem not to know how important the existence of fog is to us, so let me tell you. Fog seeps into the forest, moistens the earth, and humbly makes way when the sun rises. Thanks to the damp moisture the fog brings, the forest grows even more lush. But what about fire?”

Arkin’s gaze, spoken as if chewing the words out, was as cold as frost.

“We have not yet forgotten what the predecessors of your Igninov did in the past. The vast forest burned, and countless lives living within it died. You lot consider trampling small kingdoms only natural, but we do not. And you still haven’t discarded that arrogance, living only by the logic of force.”

He paused to catch his breath and continued.

“I will do my best to protect the World Alliance. A true alliance where all kingdoms are respected equally. Not a fake alliance like yours that divides the strong and the weak and tries to rule by force.”

“Ha, a great saint has graced us.”

Draconis shrugged off Arkin’s hand with all his might and stepped back.

“There’s no need to act all cool and righteous, is there? Don’t tell me you think I proposed friendship because I looked up to you? No. Arkin. That’s not it. No way.”

Clutching his shoulder with his other hand as if feeling pain in the grabbed shoulder, Draconis burst into nervous laughter.

“You act all lofty and clean, but how could I not know that your Solinar is also rotting from the inside? Your dynasty can’t do a damn thing without the power of the elders. People who can’t even run their own country’s household are just putting on airs of being great.”

Arkin closed his mouth. Draconis’s mocking voice flew toward him like an arrow.

“Now that I look at it, it seems it won’t be long before Solinar collapses either. Living while deluding yourselves like that.”

The silence dragged on. At the end of staring intently into each other’s faces, a bell signaling assembly broke the silence and rang out.

Clang.

Arkin’s tightly clenched fist loosened slightly.

He slowly caught his breath. It was time to go to the main building. He mustn’t disobey the priest’s instruction to gather at the dining hall. However, Draconis was clenching his teeth and opposing him right across, seemingly unconcerned about such rules.

Unable to watch any longer, Elio stepped up.

“Uhm, they said if we change into training clothes and hear the bell, we should gather at the dining hall… We’re going to be late…”

The eyes of Draconis, who stood unmoving, remained fiercely hostile. Arkin, standing firmly planted as if his feet were rooted to the ground, also showed no intention of backing down.

Clang.

When the second bell rang, Arkin let out a long breath. A large part of him didn’t want to lose to that idiot, but he had to go now.

“Damn it, I’m sick of this. Let’s go quickly.”

The shrill voice of Kaichen, who he thought was half-conscious, urged him on. Recovered out of nowhere, the Lightning Prince had already dusted himself off and gotten to his feet.

Clang.

The moment the bell rang once more, Arkin finally unclasped his fist before Draconis and raised both hands. He was conveying his intention not to fight.

“We have to go to the main building. Let’s stop this.”

“Weakling.”

Draconis gave a crooked laugh. Yet, much like someone waiting for Arkin to end this situation, a look of relief settled on his face.

Looking at Arkin and Elio behind him as if looking at something unpleasant, he sharply spun around and headed toward the dining hall. Kaichen, who had been sitting awkwardly, sprang up and hurriedly chased after his coattails.

“Hey, wait, me too, I’m coming too!”

Ha, after I helped him to his heart’s content, that guy is a total knucklehead…

Sighing, Arkin turned back to look for Elio. Elio was standing leaning against the wall with his head bowed low.

“Uhm, I’m sorry, Arkin. Because of me for no reason…”

“Forget it, let’s go.”

Arkin pulled the slumped Elio by the shoulder. The skinny and slender prince of Veilon was helplessly led away the moment he was grabbed by Arkin.

“We have to go back to the main building. You remember?”

“Yeah.”

As he slipped out of the accommodation building and crossed the narrow garden, Arkin subconsciously glanced in the direction where the women’s quarters were said to be.

He didn’t know why he looked that way, but Nephitia crossed his mind. Now that he was free from the strange sensation that had enveloped them both, if a safe opportunity arose, maybe he could use Draconis as an excuse to strike up a conversation…