Chapter 17: Wings of the Dragonlord (1)

His Gladiator levels did not travel back in time.

Checking his status screen was the first thing Simon did when Lauriane left his room to check on Father’s corpse. He was met with thirteen Overlord levels, and nothing else.

His theory had been confirmed. The reason why his predecessors didn’t bother with other Classes was that leveling up in them did not carry forward from one reign to another. They were only good for strengthening the Overlord through the Devour Crestone Perk.

That Vouivre was right about one thing: borrowed power is worthless, Simon thought with bitter annoyance. Relying on Crestones was a huge waste of time, and putting his faith in slave marks was an outright liability. How did the backdoor in Firewand’s enchantment slip through the cracks?

Simon couldn’t believe Father would have missed something like this… but then again, Father wasn’t omniscient even with the foresight that multiple reigns granted him. Everyone believed the Overlord’s slave brands were faultless, an assumption so strong it led to everyone writing Firewand off the suspect list for Balzam Magnos’ murder.

The knowledge of how to subvert the marks had to be something Gargauth kept close to his chest, and something he only taught his secret descendants that had managed to hide from Father’s wrath. Vouivre and her cohorts might have chosen to activate their secret weapon in Balzam Magnos’ last reign, and it turned out to be the one assassination plot that succeeded in killing him.

When you threw enough knives at somebody’s back, one of them was bound to stick.

Alternatively, Father could have kept Firewand alive for the explicit purpose of killing her later for experience, like a pig fattened up for the slaughter. Or perhaps he intended to use her in some other way. Everything was plausible when dealing with Balzam the Cruel.

Belzemine… that word has to be some kind of magical command ingrained into the slave mark, Simon thought as he tried to piece everything together. Does it allow anyone to command Firewand, or does it simply cause her to perceive Gargauth’s children as the Overlord and the Magnos bloodline as enemies?

Simon risked instant death if that was the latter, and he had no wish to waste one of his precious lives on it. He had to play it smart.

Simon wanted nothing more than to wash his hands of the dynastic dispute, but he lacked the strength to beat his assassins into submission or the resources to vanish somewhere else. Not to mention that he still couldn’t let Casval assassinate Anna. He had to dismantle the dragon conspiracy before he could rest easy, or at least learn enough to stymie the murder attempts.

I could go to Lauriane and Louis, then tell them about Gargauth’s heirs and Firewand’s sabotaged mark, but that will lead to messy questions. Simon risked being put under house arrest even if he managed to hide his Overlord Class, not to mention that it would inform the conspiracy that he was on to them. Vouivre murdered her own brother to cover her tracks.

Something was up in Telluria, too. Vouivre called herself its Overlord, and ordered everyone at the camp except for Eole to be killed, so Casval’s interest in the kish likely went beyond the academic. She also had connections to a tribe of scalefolk raiding caravans and imperial supplies.

“Are all of Magnos’ children so unbearable? You must hate them, too.”

Simon stared at a wall upon recalling Casval’s question, and the disappointing look the traitor sent him after hearing the answer was ‘no.’

He was testing me. That snake was checking my allegiance, and he took my lackluster response for ‘misplaced loyalty.’ Simon cursed himself for misreading those signals. I’m a resentful bastard so loathed by a trueborn prince of blood that he threatened to have me killed in public. Of course I would make an obvious recruit.

A plan soon formed in Simon’s mind. It wasn’t because he avoided the game of cloak and daggers like the plague that he never learned how to play it.

He would find a way in.

When the Keeper of the Throne came to read Father’s testament, Simon once more named Laurent Linconnu as the heir of the Overlord Class and sent the entire empire on a wild cockatrice chase.

However, he also included the clause allowing him to pick his share of slaves. Simon didn’t stake a claim on Agnes Firewand this time. Besides the fact that it would put a dagger to his throat, it would also cause Casval to become suspicious. Eole would be sufficient, and Lorimor could be put to work on the archive.

Besides, he wasn’t sure yet whether Agnes Firewand was a willing participant in the conspiracy, or simply bound to obey whoever subverted her slave marking. If it was the latter, then she was only a tool to be pitied; if it was the former… then Simon could look forward to a large gain in experience in a future reign.

Events at Frightwall proceeded like they did two reigns back. Louis didn’t summon Simon to interrogate him about his dreams, which meant Casval remained at large and beneath notice.

Not all went well, however. Simon had planned to summon the Keeper of the Throne and interrogate him about his predecessors’ Class choices, but the fear of someone magically tracking him down that way had stayed his hand.

“So you are keeping the Keeper under surveillance?” Simon asked Lauriane when he was about to leave for Telluria.

“Our mages are monitoring its movements at any given time,” his sister confirmed. “It has remained inactive since Father’s death, but we’ll be able to scry on the Keeper should the new Overlord summon it. Unlike its master, that creature has no innate protection against divination.”

Good thing Simon didn’t summon it inside the castle then. His gut feeling was right; it would have blown up his cover.

Simon was feeling like those cursed days when he had to keep his head down so he wouldn’t call attention to himself, and he hated that.

“Where is your sudden interest in dragons coming from, by the way?” Lauriane asked Simon. “You’ve pilfered every book on wyrms from the library. Don’t tell me you wish to follow in Father’s footsteps and fancy yourself a dragonslayer?”

“Is there any dragon left to slay?” Simon half-joked.

“Not on this continent, since Gargauth chased off all of his kind… but they do not call the ocean separating us from the western continent the Dragonsea for nothing,” Lauriane mused. “Their kind still prospers there, though you would be a fool to challenge one at your level. Even Father needed Euphemia’s assistance to slay Gargauth.”

Oh, right, Euphemia was present for Gargauth’s defeat. The empress was one of the few people this side of the world who had witnessed a dragonslaying with her own eyes. Simon wasn’t on good enough terms with her to ask, but he retained the information for the future.

“I’m serious though, Simon,” Lauriane said. “The first thing you asked me on the night of Father’s death was how to kill a dragon, and now you seem intent on researching them. Is this about your dreams?”

As always, his sister was sharply inquisitive. “Yeah, it is,” Simon replied, since he knew Lauriane believed his dreams to be prophetic. “They’re a bit unclear, but I keep having dreams of a dragon threatening me. I just have the feeling I need to be prepared.”

“I see…” Lauriane appraised him for a moment, but kept her thoughts to herself. “There’s something different about you, Simon. You seem more… determined. More confident.”

Dying five times did that to a man. “I have a goal in mind, and I will see it done,” he replied. “Still, is there any way I could contact you in a pinch?”

Lauriane squinted at him. “What’s bothering you?”

“I fear whoever killed Father won’t stop with his life alone,” Simon replied. “My dreams are unclear, yet I sense danger.”

Lauriane hesitated for a moment, before searching her pockets and bringing out a small, orange quartz crystal. “Take this transfer stone. It will immediately teleport the user to a designated area when shattered. This one will send you to one of my safehouses near the capital.”

That was new. Amazing how a single conversation could yield so many different results. “Thank you, my sister. I hope I won’t have to use it.”

“You are going to do something dangerous, aren’t you?” Lauriane’s eyes widened slightly. “Do you have a lead on Father’s murderer?”

“Maybe, but I don’t want to throw around accusations without proof.” This time at least. “Can I count on your help if I do find one?”

“Yes, but please don’t take unnecessary risks,” she insisted. “You are dear to me and have yet to receive a Class.”

If only she knew. “I promise.”

Afterwards, Lauriane bade him goodbye, and Simon boarded the airship with his retinue. The first thing he did was to summon Leonard and Meredith for a private meeting in the salon. The sight of the former tugged at Simon’s heartstrings after watching him sacrifice himself for his employer’s sake.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Simon finally understood why Father picked these two–or at least Leonard–to protect him: they were true knights ready to lay down their lives for him should the situation call for it. He would see that their devotion would be rewarded.

“I can tell what you’re thinking,” Simon said. “You’re wondering why Father chose the two of you to serve a no-name bastard. You suspect that there is a higher purpose behind his decision.”

Leonard raised an eyebrow. “There is one, Your Highness?”

Simon nodded sharply. “What I am about to tell you is a state secret that shall not leave this room.”

Both his retainers straightened in their seats, suddenly all ears.

“My father suspects the existence of a loyalist conspiracy of disenfranchised pro-Gargauth nobles plotting against House Magnos,” Simon explained. “One of their agents has infiltrated the military academy’s student body, probably with the intention of assassinating Princess Anna Paimon.”

“What?!” Meredith gasped in shock while Leonard simply scowled in concern. His sister Tiella was Anna’s handmaiden, so an assassination attempt would put her in direct danger as well.

“Unfortunately, we do not know the exact reach of this organization,” Simon said. “My role will be to serve as a lure for our enemies; someone who will seem like the perfect recruit for their plot on the outside.”

“A spy then,” Leonard summarized. “I assume we are here to protect you and help apprehend the culprit?”

“If we receive the go-ahead, yes.” Fighting a dragon like Vouivre was likely far above these two’s abilities, but Casval didn’t seem as strong as his sister, considering Simon manhandled him during their last physical encounter. “You may see me take actions that seem against my father’s interests, and receive orders that may sound baffling at first glance, but those will be necessary to maintain our cover.” He glanced at both of his retainers. “Can I count on your assistance?”

“Yes, of course,” Leonard replied, a hand on his chest. “My sword is yours.”

“As is mine,” Meredith added with determination.

“Then your first task upon arrival in Telluria will be to investigate a string of incidents we believe are connected to this conspiracy,” Simon said. He particularly wanted to find the connection between the Ashmodai and the Redhand scalefolk tribe. “Remember that the mission’s success relies on its secrecy. You are not to discuss your findings with anyone but me.”

Once he had informed his retainers about their targets, Simon then called upon Eole for a private meeting. He immediately noticed that the kish seemed a lot more subdued than in his last reign, probably because Simon didn’t play the kind and naive kish culture enthusiast this time. She was a lot more socially aware than she looked.

“Does the name ‘Vouivre’ mean anything to you, Eole?” he immediately asked the moment she sat at his table, using the Overlord Perk to translate his inquiry into the kish tongue.

Her shocked, spooked expression confirmed that she did.

“A familiar name?” Simon mused, legs crossed. “A frightening name?”

Eole bit her lip and said nothing. Simon could tell she was weighing whether to tell him more or hold her tongue, which he found curious. She had been a lot more defensive about her culture.

“I can see in your eyes that you loathe me and all that I represent, which is fair,” Simon said. “However, it would be in your best interests not to lie to me. Cooperate with me, and I will grant you your freedom.”