Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot-Chapter 188 - 187 - Finally leaving?

"The Vaise family, despite being the strongest, never tried to rule the kingdom themselves."

It was something everyone knew, but they could never understand why.

Why was it that the Vaise, who could intimidate everyone in the four-kingdom alliance, never tried to take the kingdom for themselves?

Or was it that they tried but failed?

Was that even possible?

No one could imagine the Vaise losing. So, the conclusion others could come up with was that the Vaise were merely loyal to the Royals.

After all, the Royals were so weak that any ducal house could undermine them if not for the Vaise’s support.

Today, however, that imaginary loyalty of the Vaise for the Royals was shattered.

The moment the nobles saw Argon and Crisaius drawing their swords against King Lorian Velmoria, they knew that things were more complicated than they could’ve ever guessed.

Especially the ring.

The ring that Lorian raised when he warned Argon became the focus of the attention.

However, no one—except Crisaius, Argon, and Raven—knew what it was or what it did.

That ring was the reason why the Vaise never tried to fight against the Royals.

Or, more like, they did try in the past but learned their lesson.

As long as the Royals had that ring, the Vaise could never attack them.

To make things worse, the Vaise couldn’t take the ring away from the Royals, nor could they let it be taken away.

After all, that ring had the power to command everyone in the Vaise family.

As long as the commands weren’t something the Vaise didn’t want to accept, the ring could command the entirety of the Vaise family.

However, if it was something they didn’t want to do, then there was an absolute authority that the ring had.

The power of that authority was to make any one generation of the Vaise family completely loyal to the one wearing the ring.

But since it was an absolute authority, it had limited uses.

It had already been used two times in the past.

Now, only one use remained.

But no one other than the patriarchs of the Vaise family or the King knew that.

Crisaus was one of the past patriarchs, and Argon was the current patriarch, so both of them knew what that ring was.

Raven, however, wasn’t supposed to know what it was, but he did because he was someone who knew the plot.

Now, as Raven looked at the situation play out, he knew he needed to do something, or Argon would end up dying, and Raven wouldn’t even be able to change the plot.

Raven’s mind raced. He needed to come up with a plan before Crisaius and Argon moved.

Then, his eyes landed on Nibbles, their gaze locking, and both of their eyes lit up in realization.

Meanwhile, the tension in the room remained high as Crisaius slowly shook his head, the movement deliberate—disappointed, almost fatherly, if not for the deadly aura hanging off him like a nuclear cloak.

"My dear Duchess Elvarine," he began, voice rich with theatrical solemnity, "I would love nothing more than to respect your grandmother’s memory—and her crow-themed love letters. Truly, I treasure them. But..."

He spun one of his blades lazily in a circle, the tip whistling through the heavy air like a scalpel. His smile thinned.

"...this matter concerns more than just her fondness for me, more than your title, and more than even this royal cosplay club."

He raised his gaze, his eyes flashing. "So unless you plan on auditioning for the role of Corpse Number Seventeen, I suggest you step aside. I won’t ask twice."

Gasps rippled again, but Duchess Elvarine didn’t flinch. Her gaze turned toward Argon now, imploring.

She had tried once with her voice raised, so now, she tried softly.

"Argon. Please. For the sake of whatever we had in the past, stop this. You know this will lead to—"

But she was cut off.

"Duchess Ilene Elvarine," Argon said, his voice sharper than ever before—less a voice, more a sword unsheathed.

"Move. Or die."

Silence.

The kind of silence that makes the sky pause, the ground reconsider its loyalties, and nobles rethink their entire existence.

Ilene, seeing Argon’s gaze and the emotionless look in his eyes, gritted her teeth.

"So be it," she muttered under her breath.

King Lorian didn’t speak, but his glare promised divine retribution.

The Queen and Crown Prince shifted, clearly unnerved—but unaware of why.

The true weight of the ring’s presence was still a mystery to them.

Then—

"Squeak."

Everyone froze.

Crisaius blinked.

Argon furrowed his brows.

The King’s eye twitched.

All of them saw Raven taking a step forward from the front of the Vaise line, holding up Nibbles like a prophet presenting the holy squirrel.

"I come bearing truth!" Raven declared, eyes blazing with fake grandeur. "And fur!"

Alex, as Nibbles’s official translator, followed. "He says, ’Hear, hear, hear, allow me to drop some explosive lore.’"

"What... is happening?" Muttered the queen.

Raven cleared his throat dramatically. "Allow me to educate the court. Nibbles, the great and knowledgeable, has sensed the presence of..." He pointed toward the King with a mock gasp. "The Ring of Vaise’s Binding."

Crisaius staggered. "How the HELL do you know about that?!"

Argon’s sword lowered an inch, his eyes narrowing in question.

But Raven just raised one finger and lip-synced silently toward them with perfect enunciation: "Trust. Me."

Crisaius blinked. "Did he just mime ’trust me’?"

Argon’s frown only deepened.

"Squeak!" Nibbles declared again, saluting with a tiny paw.

Alex, with utmost seriousness, translated, "He says, ’Brace yourselves, I’m about to drop court-altering truth bombs.’"

Raven grinned at the stunned nobles.

"That ring..." He pointed again, deadly serious now. "...has the ability to force the entire Vaise bloodline to obey a command."

Horrified murmurs broke out.

"It can only be used three times. Ever. And it’s already been used twice." Raven held up two fingers. "What that means is—if the King uses it now..."

He turned toward the Crown Prince, his grin fading into a look of pure, calculated intent.

"...he will never get to."

The Prince blinked. "What?"

"Think about it," Raven said calmly. "If your father uses that ring’s last command now—then when he dies, and you inherit the throne, you’ll have no way to control the Vaise family."

The Prince flinched.

Raven turned toward the Queen next, locking eyes. "Is that the future you want for your son? A crown without fangs? A kingdom where the strongest house is no longer bound by anything?"

The Queen visibly paled.

Even Crisaius now understood Raven’s game.

The court, already a battlefield of clashing auras, now boiled with political tension.

Honestly, Raven was ready to kill the king using his soul power, but he didn’t because the king himself was hesitant about using the ring.

He seemed to be trying to assert dominance. That was all.

So, Raven decided to solve this matter in a better way.

Ilene whispered, "Wait... that’s what the ring does...?"

Argon, however, withdrew his blade slowly by an inch more, understanding Raven’s intent.

Then—

The Queen stepped forward.

"Lorian," she said, her voice quiet but firm. "Put the ring down."

The King turned his eyes toward her. "You dare—"

But then the Prince stepped beside her.

"No," he said coldly, eyes sharper than they’d ever seen. "If you use that ring now... I swear, I will take the crown with your blood."

The court froze again.

Now that was a plot twist.

Raven, who had returned to petting Nibbles like an evil mastermind stroking a hairball of justice, whispered, "Boom."

The pressure in the room suddenly shifted.

The King—King Lorian, the ruler of Velmoria, the ring-bearer himself—slowly lowered his hand.

His eyes flicked toward Raven, burning with rage and confusion.

"You... you always mess things up," he growled.

Raven shrugged. "Yeah, well, that’s what every protagonist does. Plot’s always been messy."

Crisaius let out a bark of laughter. "Oh, that’s my boy."

Argon said nothing, but the faintest twitch at the corner of his lips suggested... amusement?

Maybe?

Probably gas.

Raven turned toward his group. "Right then, where were we? Ah, yes. Leaving."

He began walking again.

No one stopped him this time.

Not even the King.

Even the guards parted instinctively as if afraid Nibbles would sue them for obstruction.

As the Vaise group filed out once more, Crisaius looked back at the nobles.

"Class dismissed," he said, bowing. "Try not to summon any more apocalypse-level events until dinner."

However, Raven’s eyes met Nibbles’s, and a glint passed through their eyes.

This wasn’t over yet.

One thing remained—something Raven and Nibbles had to do.