Chapter 288 - Meeting and Warning (2/2)

”Iridescia Arcenon,” the woman said before standing up from her seat and making her way towards where they were. She then continued with a light giggle, ”A Duchess of the Seraph Kingdom.”

”Ah.” With the woman introducing herself to Dane, he hastily apologized as he said, ”My sincerest apologies for not recognizing you, Duchess Iridescia. I should have read up on this before coming here.”

”No worries, no worries,” Iridescia responded to Dane's apology with a light chuckle. She then replied, ”I'm not someone who wants to go through the usual pleasantries anyway.”

”Anyways, with that being said,” she soon said not long after, appearing in front of Vanadir before hugging him tightly. While doing so, she then asked Vanadir, ”What's my handsome son doing in this place? Shouldn't he be preparing for the war for the throne?”

”Mother…I can't breathe…” Vanadir said amidst the hugging, feeling like his internal organs were shifted from the hug. After being released, Vanadir took in a few deep breaths before asking in a slightly complaining tone, ”Do you really have to do something like that every time, Mother? You do know how hard it is for me to breathe when you hug me like that, right?”

”Can't your mother hug you after not seeing you for a long time?” Iridescia lightly pouted as she responded to her question. She then turned around before imitating the sound of one lightly sobbing. She then said, ”I guess my son doesn't want to see me after all…”

”…” Vanadir could not help but be at a loss for words as he soon let out a long sigh. He then looked at Dane and Valentia for a bit before sending each of them a strand of energy with a message attached. After reading the message contained within that strand of energy, the two of them lightly nodded at Vanadir before silently leaving the room, leaving Vanadir and his mother alone.

Scratching his head, Vanadir then told her, ”We're the only ones here, mom. You can stop keeping up your facade.”

”I'm glad you knew what was on my mind,” Iridescia let out a playful giggle as she turned to look at her son with a gaze of love and concern. She then asked, ”But seriously though, what made you come here to see me?”

”Can't I just come and meet you without a reason?” Vanadir said in response, prompting Iridescia to hug once more, only letting go after Vanadir tapped on her arm three times. Taking in a few deep breaths, Vanadir eventually said what was on his mind, telling her, ”After you left the royal palace to head back here, I felt quite lonely from that point onward. The only thing I could do was distract myself with other things.”

”Why'd you leave the palace, mom? Is it because you had a disagreement with dad or something?” he asked not long after, to which Iridescia shook her head and said plainly, ”Not at all. I was just bored with always being in the palace.”

”As expected,” Vanadir muttered as he let out a long sigh. He then looked at his mother with a slightly sad gaze as he said, ”You could've told me the reason why you were leaving, you know?”

”I'm sorry, I'm sorry,” Iridescia said as she let out a soft chuckle. She then went ahead and hugged Vanadir, but this time, filled with love and care. After releasing him from her grasp, she looked at him and asked, ”So, what brings you here, Vanadir?”

”I recruited Valentia to be a part of my team in the war for the throne,” Vanadir unhesitatingly replied to her question before asking, ”Do you think Valentia would be a great fit, mom?”

”I don't see why not,” Iridescia said in response to her son's question, trying to recall what she knew about Valentia. After a while, she told him, ”She's well-versed in fighting, as well as healing. Taking into consideration the other person you brought along with him, it's turning out to become a solid team as long as you have a strong tank.”

”Speaking of tanks, do you think that person from the Astelia family would be a good fit for my team?” Vanadir asked not long after, to which Iridescia tried to recall who Vanadir was talking about. Soon after, she lightly nodded her head before replying, ”If it's that guy, then I'm pretty sure he'll synergize with your skills quite well. Do you have any other members in your team?”

”I recruited another one, and she's a student of the mage I brought along with me,” Vanadir responded to his mother's question before letting out a chuckle as he continued, ”She's actually a rare type of mage, able to control two spells at once and even fuse them as one.”

”Oh?” Iridescia uttered as she raised her eyebrows, slightly surprised that her son was able to snag such a person like that. With a slightly suspicious gaze, she looked at her son and asked, ”Did you…perhaps…bribe her into joining you or something?”

”Why would I do that, mom?” Vanadir said in a way that felt like he was being wronged. He then continued, ”I recruited her the normal way, asking her if she wanted to join or not, that's all.”

”Heh…” Iridescia uttered as she looked at her son with a mischievous smile on her face. Just as she was about to ask Vanadir more about his team, a thought related to what they were talking about surfaced in her mind as she looked at her son and said, ”Ah, right. I've obtained news that your brother Arshe is secretly killing the team members of your other brothers.”

As a slight killing intent radiated from her, she then continued, ”I want to remove your brother's chance of fighting in the war for the throne so badly, but people like me can't intervene in such matters.”

”Always make sure that your allies don't die under his schemes, okay?”

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