Legacy of the Dark Sage

"Now that we got that out of the way, let's move on to another important matter," Aillos said while turning his attention back to Kyran.

"I understand that leaving the Blade Dancers by themselves while they are still adjusting to the new arrangement is less risky than when they already have, but how will you manage them moving forward? The rest of your clan will be arriving soon, and supervising their training will fall under your responsibility. That is not something you can do half-heartedly."

Aillos did not elaborate on his point, but Kyran pretty much got it.

Kyran could not spare even a moment to check on matters regarding the Blade Dancer Clan. Like Aillos said, leaving them to their own devices at this point in time was still less risky because what The Emperor did to their clan was still fresh in their memories. Thus, their gratitude toward Kyran was still running high.

However, once they got used to their current situation and realized that the restriction Kyran had over them was only limited to the house leaders, Shiloh, and Uilleam, those with lingering attachment to what the Blade Dancer Clan used to be might do something that could lead to the formation of other factions that harbored ill-intent to the current arrangement.

"I spoke with Zigor, and he has good control over all the elders," Kyran explained. "I won't say that all those elders will not change their attitude, but the way I see it, they will only do so if a very convincing third party influences them."

"So you already made sure to secure the elders' side."

Kyran nodded, "Yes. I know their influence over the new generations exceeds that of their House Leaders or Clan Head. I deemed it necessary to have them understand that I don't plan on putting them on a tight leash."

"That is true," Aillos agreed. "If the elders are aware of your intentions, the new generation will eventually be influenced by their positive insight about you. The Blade Dancer Clan are known for their upright attitude when it comes to respecting their predecessors."

Alta subconsciously nodded her head in agreement.

What Aillos said was correct. The Blade Dancer Clan values its predecessors' insights and decides its course of action accordingly. If Kyran's relationship with the elders was good, then the new generation would notice this and see him in a good light.

Geir accepted and even supported Kyran's decision to appoint Uilleam as the Overseer without voicing any discontent because he knew Kyran never planned to become head of the clan. If not, there was no point placing another Blade Dancer as the Overseer, even if that person could be considered one of his people.

Moreover, Geir's positive assessment of Kyran further increased when he managed to get Zigor to trust him. It went without saying that Zigor was far more experienced when dealing with the people inside and outside their clan, so for him to have a positive view of Kyran meant a great deal.

"Rather than being upright about respecting their elders, I believe the real reason behind their respect is that the new generation is aware that the elders will never support something that could endanger their clan's future— meaning the current, new, and future generations."

Alta looked at Kyran in surprise. She did not expect him to say something like that.

In fact, even when the elders continued to spout things about bowing their heads and apologizing to The Emperor when he first met them, Kyran knew they only said that because they were afraid their clan's future would be doomed if they did not pacify His anger.

Their actions might appear cowardly to others, but Kyran could not really detest them. In fact, he knew that they could only resort to that because they were aware that their clan's current strength could not defy the Emperor. They could only grit their teeth and endure being mocked and seen as weak to ensure that their clan would live to see the future.

"Hm..." Aillos leaned back and studied Kyran in silence. He more or less had the same thoughts about why the Blade Dancer Clan continued to support and do The Emperor's bidding even if they no longer possessed the strength they used to have. Nevertheless, Aillos was surprised that Kyran managed to understand their situation after only staying with them for less than three weeks.

Of course, Aillos knew Kyran did not understand all of that after meeting the Blade Dancer Clan. More likely, Kyran already knew the gist of their current dilemma, which was why he was able to devise a plan that would allow him to win them over.

'As for where he got his intel...' Aillos's eyes shifted over to Leif, who remained silent while listening to their conversation.

"Looks like before you decided on how to tackle the matter with the Blade Dancer Clan, you already won over Oceanus," he remarked while looking back at Kyran.

"I never got to explain why Lady Leif was with us when I arrived, but yes... you could say that Overlord Oceanus and I had an agreement."

Aillos ignored the subtle hint of sarcasm in Kyran's words when he mentioned being unable to explain anything to them when he arrived in the Dragon Plane because it was his, Aillos' fault.

If Aillos did not attack Kyran at first sight, he could have explained everything.

"I hope that does not include marriage."

"!"

"..."

Leif almost choked in surprise. How the hell did AIllos think of that? Was her father's intentions of marrying her off that obvious to the other Overlords?

Then again, compared to Ames, who was in the same generation, Leif was still unmarried.

Wait.

Apart from Ames, the other female mages in their generation were still unmarried!

"Though you are only part dragon, I hope you will honor our belief of having only one mate," Aillos told Kyran with a stern look. "Your grandmother honored it, even after your grandfather had been gone for such a long time."

"I know. The Regis Clan has the same belief."

"Hm," Aillos nodded, satisfied with Kyran's steady response.

Kyran remained indifferent. However, he was inwardly surprised at how protective Aillos was acting when it came to Cyneah's interest. He did not mind it, but his curiosity over what happened during his absence only increased because of the huge change.

"Going back on topic," Aillos diverted their conversation back on track. "Since there is no immediate risk of letting the Blade Dancer Clan operate by themselves, and it seems you have also employed the assistance of the Ogen Clan, what do you intend to do from now on?"

"I want to create a new force," Kyran replied at once.

Aillos did not respond. In fact, he was not surprised because he more or less guessed that that would be Kyran's objective for winning over the Blade Dancer Clan.

"Having three clans is not enough."

Aillos already included the Regis Clan in the new force Kyran wanted to make; they made up three clans, including the Blade Dancer Clan and the Ogen Clan.

"...I know."

"Do you have other prospects?"

"Geir mentioned about a rebel group," Kyran replied, recalling one of the topics he had with Geir and the rest of the executives of the Blade Dancer Clan.

"Did Ames also tell you anything about them?"

Kyran frowned at the strange question and replied, "No. Should she have mentioned them?"

"Ames decided to return after receiving a tip about the rebel group's movement."

"This is the first time I've heard this."

It was not just Kyran; Alta and Leif were also perplexed by this news. In fact, they were surprised that the Dragon Clan was aware of the movement of the rebel group.

Could it be that they were already in contact with them?

No. If that were the case, The Emperor's spies would have already known about it.

Aillos was somewhat surprised about Alta's confusion. Leif's reaction was understandable because her clan belonged to the neutral faction, and they would have steered clear of any news about the rebel group for fear of being seen as part of them.

But Alta was different. After all, the one who told Ames about the rebel group's movement was Raelia, a member of the Blade Dancer Clan.

"I'll let you hear more about them from Ames."

In the end, Aillos decided not to say more and have Ames explain it to Kyran.

"Alright."

"You don't really plan on taking in the rebel group to your new force, do you?"

"No."

"You only wanted to confirm which clans and tribes are already part of them."

"Yes. Well, I also wanted to let them know that I have no intentions of interfering with their plans."

"The rebel group itself can be a double-edged sword. If you want to contact them, you have to be careful."

It went without saying that The Emperor would have already planted spies inside the rebel group. As a matter of fact, Aillos started to think that Raelia had infiltrated the rebel group according to the Emperor's orders. However, the reason she told Ames about their movement was still up for debate.

Aillos had a few ideas in mind, but since he lacked information, he did not want to come to any conclusions.

"I understand."

"What's your backup plan in case you fail to confirm the clans and tribes already under the rebel group?"

"I want to meet with the group behind the underground auction."

Aillos raised his brow in surprise.

"That group is neutral," he paused for a brief moment before adding, "No. Instead of saying they are neutral, they can be called a 'free' faction. Meeting the one in charge will not be easy."

"I know. But I have my way."