Chapter 55: Warden’s Will
Mia watched her master leap into the chasm, pride blooming yet a thread of awed anticipation tightened her chest. Instead of crashing into the abyss he drifted downward as though the air itself carried him.
The white suit from Eleonora’s dukedom bore him aloft as its hidden function finally awakened, conjuring winds that kept Jett suspended midair. Eleonora’s family had thoughtfully provided the garment—yet neglected any sort of manual. The oversight still made the head maid blush; she banished the memory with a quick shake of her head.
She faced the dragons still under her command. Her aim was to spread her dominion across the capital, shielding the populace and steering the dragons toward the gravest danger. Such control demanded surgical precision—and oceans of mana.
Her personal reserves were large, yet even they would not suffice. Fortunately, as head maid—and the bearer of Jett’s brand—she could draw upon the mansion’s core and channel its power through every living root in the city.
At the edge of the clearing Ewelina and Lulu timidly poked their heads around an oak.
I nearly overlooked them.
A single hero could never subdue so many elder dragons, and the fairy’s duties thus far had amounted to acting as the mansion’s battery—and resident mascot. Their usefulness seemed spent, which explained why they had slipped from Mia’s mind.
"May we assist you in any way?" Ewelina asked, her voice trembling yet sincere.
The kindness shining in her eyes softened even the dragons’ wary stares, revealing a slayer with a heart. Lulu, by contrast, revealed nothing but a pair of wide eyes peeking from behind the trunk.
"Your aid would soothe both human and draconic fears, brave hero," Mia replied, gliding toward the mansion. "Stand with the dragons and follow my guidance."
"Yes!" Ewelina answered and marched to the ranks with steady steps.