Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot-Chapter 105 - 104 - The Chaos.

The carriage wheels creaked to a gentle halt before the grand gates of Velmoria Academy.

"Alright, this is your stop." The driver gave a lazy salute to Raven and his group. He was one of the Red Magic Tower’s mages, clearly glad to be returning to his more predictable and significantly less explosive daily life.

"Please write a letter to the Tower Master, mentioning that I’ve fulfilled my escort duty and that I didn’t die."

He had been there with them since they started their return journey to the academy, including the stop at the tavern where he almost had multiple mini-heart attacks.

Now, with Raven and his group leaving the carriage for real, he felt more relaxed than the beasts that had been pulling the carriage.

"You want that in writing?" Raven smirked, hopping down first.

"Preferably in triplicate," the man muttered before turning the carriage around and practically fleeing.

Soon, the group reached the gates of the Velmoria Academy, feeling nostalgic.

That was until they passed through the gates because as soon as they did, something... strange happened.

Silence.

Not the normal kind, either.

This was the kind of silence you got when you walked into a room just after everyone insulted you behind your back and immediately regretted it.

Hundreds of students across the courtyard stood frozen mid-step, mid-conversation, mid-romantic confession, mid-sneeze (that poor guy), all staring at the approaching group like ghosts had just entered the building.

Then, the murmurs began.

"That’s him. He’s back."

"Raven Von Vaise..."

"Valmoria’s Monster is back."

"Did you hear? He took down a six-circle mage from the Red Magic Tower!"

"He had even defeated a layer-six knight before! What kind of monster is he?!"

"I heard he eats corrupt beasts for breakfast." freёnovelkiss.com

"...I feel like he’s the protagonist."

"No way. I heard he’s married to a ghost girl."

"Wait—isn’t she clinging to him right now?"

All eyes shifted to Siris, who was still latched onto Raven’s arm like a lovestruck octopus with boundary issues.

She blinked at the attention, tilted her head, and whispered, "They may bear witness to our love."

"They may also bear witness to your upcoming restraining order," Raven replied under his breath, attempting to shake her off with casual indifference and zero success.

For now, he didn’t want to cause misunderstandings between Clara and him, so he didn’t want Siris to cling to him like that, but she wouldn’t stop clinging to him.

Jessy shoved her hands into her coat pockets, visibly entertained. "I guess we’ll have to get used to this much attention if we want to stay with you."

Rufus looked around, brow raised. "Feels like we’re being stared at by every hormonal teenager and traumatized noble spawn within a mile."

Lia tried to walk normally, but every step was accompanied by a whisper about her being the rumored ’Royal companion of the monster of Velmoria.’

’Royal companion.’

Her eye twitched.

"Do we have a group PR manager?" She hissed at Jessy, trying to hide how much she liked that title.

"No, but I nominate Nibbles," Jessy said with a grin.

Nibbles, currently perched like a squirrelly crown on Alex’s shoulder, gave a solemn salute with a twig.

"I accept on his behalf," Alex said. "Also, I heard someone call Raven a battle god with smoldering eyes. Does that make me the comedic sidekick?"

"No," Raven said dryly. "That makes you the squirrel translator with a stick for a badge."

Alex looked down at the stick pinned to his cloak. "This is cultural diplomacy!"

The students continued murmuring as they passed, clearing a path like the tide parting for a sea monster with a better haircut.

Jake, silent as always, observed. His eyes moved from one group to the next, scanning reactions.

Some were in awe. Some were in fear. Some... were disturbingly infatuated.

One girl even fainted.

"Did she just—?" Rufus began.

"She did," Jake confirmed, opening his mouth for once.

Jessy looked smug. "That wasn’t something anyone had been able to pull off."

Lia narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure that’s even normal?"

"It’s not like we can judge," Jessy shrugged, presenting a point that silenced Lia.

Ignoring the students, he continued their walk, moving toward the Vaise mansion in the academy, but then, they noticed something.

The surroundings, usually quiet because they were some distance away from the bustling city, were somehow different today.

The silence here was different.

It wasn’t respectful or a stunned silence.

It was... unnatural.

Raven’s steps slowed. The others followed suit.

"Did anyone else notice how the birds stopped chirping?" Jessy muttered.

"There weren’t any birds to begin with," Rufus said.

"Exactly."

Raven raised a hand, halting the group.

Siris stopped mid-whisper. "...Till death do us—oh?"

Nibbles’ ears perked. His nose twitched once.

Then he launched off Alex’s shoulder like a missile.

"Hey!" Alex cried. "My emperor!"

Nibbles disappeared into a nearby bush.

A heartbeat later, five shadows dropped into the path ahead.

Clad in black, faces covered, weapons gleaming.

It was clear that they were assassins.

One of them—tall, slender, and clearly the leader—spoke in a calm, chilling tone.

"Raven Von Vaise. You’ve been quite troublesome."

Raven blinked. "Is this a group evaluation? Did I pass?"

"No," the assassin said. "You die here."

"See, that’s what they all say." He cracked his neck. "But at least buy me dinner before you try to kill me."

The leader made a signal.

The assassins charged.

Or rather, tried to.

Because the moment the assassins leaped forward, time seemed to slow.

Siris took a step forward, latching away from Raven, although reluctantly, but then, she didn’t move.

Not right away.

Instead, her glowing blue eyes turned toward Raven.

She didn’t speak. She didn’t need to.

There was an almost unnatural restraint in her posture, like a predator on a leash made of sheer willpower and mild obsession.

Her bone dagger gleamed, thirsty, ready. But she wouldn’t take a step until he allowed it.

She had already seen what happened when she didn’t follow his order.

She had injured Raven because of that, so now, she had decided not to move until he allowed her.

Raven glanced at her.

Then, he gave the smallest nod.

As if that was all she needed, she vanished.

The air cracked.

In a blink, Siris was in front of one of the assassins—midair, her bone dagger arcing down toward his exposed neck with deadly grace and all the unhinged glee of a sociopath told she was finally allowed to play.

But—

CLANG!

The strike was intercepted.

The dagger met steel.

The leader of the assassins had moved so fast it was like he teleported, catching Siris’s blow on the edge of a single narrow blade, held at such a lazy angle it almost seemed disrespectful.

The sound echoed like a starting bell.

Siris’s eyes changed.

The faint madness in her eyes flickered... and something cold took its place.

Her feet touched the ground without a sound. Her stance shifted.

Now, she was serious.

But just as she moved to strike again, something... shifted.

The assassin leader’s form twitched.

He straightened, his aura changing from icy calm to mildly theatrical smugness.

His height suddenly decreased, his posture loosened, and then—

The black mask covering his face came off.

A familiar mane of white hair exploded out like a dramatic curtain reveal.

Raven’s group blinked.

Jessy squinted. "Is that..."

"Oh no," Rufus muttered. "Not him."

"Wait, who’s that again?" Lia whispered in confusion.

Alex just looked betrayed. "I thought we left this chaos behind."

It was Crisaius Von Vaise.

Because he had vanished without a word, going off to kill some corrupted beasts with Argon, they had thought that he would never return.

But seeing him now, they felt like they could never get rid of him.

The old man stood before them, his robes now clearly visible beneath the assassin’s cloak, grinning as if he’d just pranked an entire kingdom.

"Well," he announced grandly, "you passed!"

Everyone stared at him.

Even the actual assassins—revealed now to be Vaises—lowered their weapons in mutual relief and slight embarrassment.

"What," Raven said flatly, "was that?"

"A surprise assassination practical," Crisaius replied as if he were announcing the next act at a circus. "Do you know how many future lords and nobles die from surprise attacks? We must simulate them, dear boy!"

Jessy crossed her arms. "Simulate? You nearly got one of your people decapitated."

Crisaius grinned. "But it didn’t happen. He’s still here. Living! Vibrant! Spry!"

"Insufferable," Raven muttered.

"You love it."

Siris still had her dagger out.

She looked like she wasn’t sure whether to feel proud, disappointed, or stabby.

Probably all three. But then she noticed Crisaius step closer to Raven.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

Crisaius clapped once, startling several birds that did exist, apparently. "Everyone else, go on. Raven and I must have a heart-to-heart."

"No," Siris said immediately, inching closer to Raven. "Denied."

"It wasn’t a request, bone bunny," Crisaius said cheerfully, now completely unbothered by her hostile aura.

Siris glared.

But Raven raised a hand. "Go ahead."

Siris flinched. Her fingers twitched. But she stepped back.

Reluctantly.

Very reluctantly.

She shot Crisaius with a final death glare, the kind of glare that promised one hundred and eight ways to bury a body in an academy garden without magical detection.

Then she walked off—slowly, dramatically, like an octopus retreating after being denied emotional cuddles.

Alex patted her shoulder awkwardly. "You’ll see him again in, like, five minutes."

"Five minutes is a lifetime in heartbreak," she replied flatly.

Jessy was grinning like a fox. "This academy’s going to explode the moment we settle in."

"Can’t wait," Rufus muttered, hands in his pockets.

"Royal companion," someone whispered as Lia passed again.

Her face turned red.

"I swear if someone prints that on a school banner—"

They left, murmurs trailing behind them, while Crisaius turned to Raven with a much more serious expression.

"Well, Raven," he said, tone shifting. "Let’s talk."

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