Fresh out of his armor and a much-needed bath, Roran sat at the head table in the Obsidian Castle's war room. On both sides of the long table sat the administrative and military staff that were in charge of the Northern Wall's defense.

They were all silent, probably feeling the literal heat oozing out of him because of his anger. Ever since he found out the truth about the dragon blood, he had always been on the edge of losing his anger. Only the experience and control he developed in his years as Rhett allowed him to hold back from destroying a part of Azureleaf Forest.

After killing and scaring off the black mountain lions that were supposed to ambush them, they quickly dealt with two of three mages. One of them happened to be carrying the antidote to what they called the Enthrallment Potion, which allowed them to rescue the ten members of the investigation team that had accompanied them. They had been sent to the nearest temple, just to check if there was something wrong with their bodies and minds. They had been ingesting the potion on and off over the past year after all.

After which, he and Kaelan went after the final mage and confronted her. He already knew their plans and who they worked for due to reading the novels. His plan was just to kill her right away. But then he smelled the dragon blood. A smell so similar to Aleron's that he nearly lost his mind and anger and ended up torturing her more than necessary. In the end, he turned her into ash and left a message in her soul for her owner to see.

Looking at his people, he wanted to blow up and yell at them for their carelessness. But he knew that would be pointless.

The mages were there by the orders of the late Grand Duke Roano. As people loyal to Valtoria, they could not and would not question his orders. His words had been absolute.

Realizing that his anger was directed at someone already dead, he let it go. A deep sigh escaped his lips, and the rising temperature of the room cooled down. Everyone in the room visibly relaxed, but still a lot stiffer than the staff back in Valtoria Castle.

Even bored after being cooped up in that Valtoria Castle for days, he kind of missed it. Unknowingly, he had come to accept it as his home.

"I don't want an explanation for why these people had been left to do as they please," he spoke. "But I am asking that from now on, be stricter on surveillance, even if they are people that I have personally sent over, do you understand?"

"Yes, Your Grace," they chorused.

After which they proceeded to discuss proper vetting procedures and countermeasures against mind control magic and potions. They even discussed the possibility of hiring a few mages which had been vetoed by Roran himself. It would have to wait until he arrived at the capital and visited the Magic Tower.

The magic diamond sitting in a sealed box in his room was something the Grand Archmage, the leader of the Magic Tower, would covet more than anything. Roran figured that he would be given the privilege to hire a few mages from the Tower using it. He already had a few people in mind.

A while later, the discussions ended and he dismissed them all. He had, after all, awakened them in the middle of the night. It was still a few hours before dawn, so they would still have enough rest.

"Vice-Commander, stay behind," he said.

Kaelan, who stood behind Vice-Commander Bandar looked over. His hazel eyes were brimming with questions directed towards him before he left the room too. Roran could not blame him. He had witnessed Hellfire and was probably wondering why Roran had two flames. Roran believed that he was more intrigued by the notion that the white flame could burn souls.

I hope he does not misunderstand and think that my Dragon Flame is similar to the Eternal Dragon Flame.

The moment he was alone with Bandar, he directed his Dragon Eyes towards him. The mischievous look in the man's dark brown eyes changed. It turned calm and confident but retained a bit of the mischief that he always saw on the man's face.

They stared at each other in silence, no one backing down. It was quite impressive to Roran because no one other than Aleron and the imperial siblings could look him in the eye for long. After a minute more, Roran decided to end the staring match so he could get some rest.

"I passed."

A tense silence lingered in the air between them. It was quickly cut through with a cheerful smile from Vice-Commander Bandar. The large man stood and moved closer to his end of the table. Once there, he knelt on one knee and bowed deeply.

"Congratulations on passing the tests, Your Grace," he said. "As we have done for your ancestors for the last 500 years, The Shadow Talons are ready to serve once more."

The Shadow Talons were not something he read about in the novels. It was one of the many assimilated information in his mind and was consolidated by the records he managed to access in the secret library in the Grand Duke's office.

Similar to the shadow groups that worked under powerful figures, The Shadow Talons were a group of carefully chosen people who had the sole task of serving and protecting the Valtorias in the dark. The organization had existed since the first Grand Duke, Altran Valtoria, had created it together with his wife, who had been a former assassin that tried to kill him.

Not just anyone could earn their loyalty. They must prove that they had the capability to be a good leader for the sake of the Grand Duchy. Requirements for gaining their approval was the existence of dragon traits, like the Dragon Eyes. Next was the manifestation of the Dragon Flame and any other power that was passed down from their dragon ancestor. They must be capable both in mind and body, to handle all the tasks that necessitated the running and protection of the Duchy.

Roran had been working tirelessly to meet these requirements since the late Grand Duke's death, because of many reasons. One of those was the Talons' incredible information-gathering skills.

Information was something he needed to protect the North from Apex.

"You're Grace, once again I am Bandar Eldorin," Bandar said. "In the Shadow Talons, I am the vice-leader and nicknamed Hound. Happy to be at service."

Roran raised a brow. Bandar Eldorin was the only person that the late Grand Duke had given the Blessing of the Dragon Flame to. That was why, he was the strongest knight in their Order, with his level being at the peak of Master. He only needed a bit of push to reach Grandmaster. If someone like him was the second in command, then who was the first?

It did not take him long to realize.

"Herard is the leader, isn't he?" Roran said.

"What makes you say that, Your Grace?"

Roran smiled. "Herard handles the castle affairs, and I am sure there are Talons among the staff," he said. "You use your gossipy nature as a cover to hide the truth of your correspondence with them."

"I could have just really heard it from the maids, Your Grace."

"The people who knew that Herard begged Aleron to convince me to rest were composed of only three other people. You have never interacted with Marsha and Ira, so it leaves Herard."

There was silence between them again. It was quickly broken by Bandar's laugh.

"Our Grand Duke is as clever and quick-witted as I'd hoped. I apologize for testing you again," he said. "Rest assured that Herard would give me the appropriate punishment in return."

Roran only shook his head and sighed at his behavior. "Enough of that and stand. Introduce me to the two hanging out on the ceiling and by the window."

As soon as he said that, two figures darted into the room and positioned themselves behind Bandar as the man stood. They were clad in dark blue long jackets, hoods covering their heads. A completely black mask without any holes covered their face. In Roran's eyes, he easily saw the enchantments on the mask. He did not know what the runes meant, but they probably helped with seeing and breathing through the mask. They also kneeled and bowed their heads. "Good evening, Your Grace," they said. It was a man and a woman. "It is an honor to meet the fire and shield of the North."

"I am Fang," said the woman.

"I am Claw," said the man.

He planted his elbow on the armrest of his chair and leaned his chin on the back of his hand. "Stand. Your real names?"

The two newcomers looked confused for a moment before Bandar clasped their shoulders and pulled them to stand. They looked at Bandar, and Roran could see from their body language how confused they were.

"Something wrong?"

Bandar remained smiling at him. "They a little surprised, Your Grace," he said. "It's unusual for the Grand Duke to ask for real names of the lower ranking Shadow Talons. Even the previous Grand Duke never asked."

"In case it's not obvious enough, I'm nothing like my father."

The Vice-Commander gave a small smile. The mischief was gone from his eyes and was replaced by anger, sadness, and nostalgia. "Yes, you are nothing like him."

It was the first time someone who was close to the previous Grand Duke tried to talk about him to Roran. He made it known that he did not want to talk about the late Grand Duke, by gesturing back to the two Shadow Talon members.

"Names?" he said.

At his short words, the two quickly took off their masks and lowered their hoods. Two familiar people stood before him, though he did not know their names. They were so ordinary looking, with brown hair and brown eyes that they would escape most people's notice.

"I am Aika, Your Grace," said the woman in her 30s.

"I am Jae, Your Grace. It's an honor," said a man around the woman's age.

Roran looked at them and realized why they looked familiar. "You're one of the maids who cleaned up my office when I first manifested Dragon Flames," he said to the woman.

"It's an honor to be remembered by you, Your Grace."

He then turned to the man. "You're one of the Warrior-level knights under the First Squadron of Captain Kaelan's company," he said.

A small smile formed on the man's lips. "It has been my great pleasure and honor to witness your feats during this subjugation, Your Grace."

Roran sighed, getting tired of the "honor" and "your grace" thing. "Enough of that. Keep the responses short and to the point."

All three of them looked amused for a moment before they answered in uniform. "Yes, sir!"

He nodded in approval.

Now that he knew who they were and assessed their loyalty and trustworthiness, it was time to utilize the second benefit of having the Talons under his command.

"Do either of you have experience caring and protecting children?" he asked.

Instead of the confused look he expected from the unusual question, their eyes showed excitement and anticipation. When he looked at Bandar, the older man had a triumphant smile on his face like he just won a bet. Roran's eyes narrowed.

"You already know what I'm going to say next, do you?"

He received nods from both of them.

"Then answer the question."

"I have two teenage boys, sir," Aika said.

"I have three younger siblings that I helped my mother raise, Your Grace," said Jae.

Roran got straight to the point. "You, Aika, will be Aleron's new nanny, while Jae will be his escort knight. Can you swear that you will care for him and keep him safe?"

"With our life!" After their enthusiastic answer, Roran waved his hand and dismissed the two. They left as quickly and as quietly as they entered.

He had a suspicion that Herard knew that he had planned to have Talons serve as Aleron's nanny and escort. It could not be a coincidence that the first two members he met were good with children. The two also seemed to know what task he was going to assign them to, like someone had told them.

Either Herard was quite formidable or he was just easy to read when it came to matters regarding Aleron. Or maybe both.

Roran stood, stretching his back and letting out a big yawn. He then made his way out of the war room, Bandar falling a few steps behind him. As they walked down the quiet obsidian halls that were illuminated by magic lights, Bandar spoke.

"You will need your own escort knight, Your Grace. Even if you don't need one for protection, it is a formality."

"Then ask Kaelan if he still wants to quit being Captain. Offer him a spot as my escort."

"Understood."

They fell into silence once more, turning to climb the stairs where the high-ranking people's quarters were. As Roran neared his quarters, he paused in the middle of the hallway, turning his head to regard Bandar with scrutinizing eyes.

The older man paused on his steps, looking a bit apprehensive. "What is it, Your Grace?"

"Regarding Aleron," Roran said. "Is he really my father's?"

Bandar visibly stiffened, before he tried to immediately hide the reaction. If he was any other knight from another family, he would have lied right there. But he was a knight of Valtoria. The only options were, to tell the truth or evade.

And evade he did.

"I...believe Leader would be the best person to ask of this," he said. "He...was present when the young master was born."

The way he answered only strengthened the speculation he had been having all week. Ever since he recognized the intense feelings of sorrow, regret, and longing when he looked at Aleron, he tried to look deeper into his background. It was not simply a feeling one would have for their sibling no matter how much he thought about it.

But every time he tried, Herard would be there like a ghost and dump something for him to do. Hearing Bandar say that he should ask Herard only made him believe further that Aleron...was Roran's child.

My child.

A fierce possessiveness erupted from inside him. He instinctively felt that it was the dragon blood burning inside. He had to clutch a hand to his chest to calm down.

He needed to remain calm. Nothing has been confirmed as of yet. And if it was true, then how on all the Gods and Fairies above did Roran sire a child? He barely interacted with anyone and preferred his solitude. More importantly, why would the previous Grand Duke claim Aleron as his?

Seeing Bandar starting to sweat, he turned back around and continued on his way to his rooms.

When he returned, he would pull out every piece of information from Herard.

For now, he had to complete the subjugation mission. The Shield Battalion had scouted two new Prime Tier monsters in the inner region of the Monster Forest. Each had already tried to attack Obsidian Castle. They would leave them alone otherwise, just to not disrupt the balance of the Azureleaf too much. But now that they had shown hostility, they had to be eliminated before they caused problems. It would be dangerous for an Alpha Tier monster to be born so close to the Northern Wall. Even he could not handle one just yet.

Entering his room, his eyes immediately landed on the young creature curled up on the foot of his bed. It resembled a black wolf, but through his dragon eyes, he saw the raging cold winds that were supposedly its true form.

An Amaroka was a creature Valtarion had recognized as an equal. He even formed a pact with them. They were not to be treated like animals, no matter how much they took on the form of a black wolf. For centuries, Amarokas would seek aid from the Valtorias whenever a huge threat appeared in the forest. In turn, when a Valtoria is lost or injured inside the Azureleaf Forest, an Amaroka is asked to help find them. They were spirits that embodied the winter winds and did not have permanent physical forms.

The situation of the little one on his bed was different. After being born, Amarokas were forced to live on their own, only relying on the instincts engraved into their being. Using some special potions made by the Alchemist of Apex, they lured this newly born Amaroka and infused it with the flesh and blood of monsters. Doing so gave it a physical form, allowing them to cast a binding and control spell to create a Monster King that they could command. In some ways, Monster Kings were more dangerous than Alpha Tiers for they could unite monsters of different species.

In the novel they had succeeded, and the baby Amaroka had gradually gone insane from the anger and resentment from the energy of the knights it absorbed. It grew so strong that only the leader of Apex had been able to control it. Roran did not get to finish the novel, so he did not know what its final fate had been.

He felt nothing but pity for the creature. It did not even get to enjoy the world it was born into before its freedom and life were taken away.

"Hey..." he called softly. "I know you're awake, little one."

The ball of fur squirmed and turned to regard him. Its eyes were as blue as his and also had vertical pupils. The flesh of monsters and dragon blood had forever altered the baby Amaroka. Roran was worried that it would not be able to get used to the new situation...and it would end its own misery. He only hoped that its young age would allow it to adapt quickly to the changes in its form.

He knelt on the floor at the foot of his bed, resting his head on the arms he had planted on the soft mattress. "How are you feeling?"

When the little thing had woken up, it had clawed at Kaelan, nearly sending the knight back with a strong gust of wind. He only calmed down when Roran had held him in his arms. He guessed that it had something to do with the dragon blood. It must recognize Roran as its kin.

The creature only nudged his arm with its cute button nose. Using his dragon eyes, he recognized how calm and at ease it was. It felt safe.

Reaching a hand forward, he carefully ran it through the soft black fur. "I apologize that this happened to you," he said. "You're an Amaroka, the winter winds itself. You're not meant to be trapped in a physical body."

A little yip escaped the baby as it relaxed at his touch. "You are free to stay under my protection until you get used to your new body, or for as long as you decide to stay. I swear this on the pact made between my ancestor and yours."

The dragon blood inside him stirred at the expression of an old magic. Said old magic manifested itself as a small glowing magic circle between them, before slowly fading away.

The Amaroka fell asleep.

------

New baby acquired!