Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot-Chapter 47 - 46 - The Plan.

That night.

The capital city of Velmoria was divided into two parts: the royal city and the academy city.

It was so that the future of the kingdom, the children, and the present of the kingdom, the royals, could be protected together.

The academy city was where the students and the teachers from the academy lived.

And right now, outside the Principal’s secluded mansion—an imposing estate where students were restricted from entering—stood a group of young elites, each cloaked in dark combat garb, their expressions a blend of tension and determination.

"...Are we really doing this?" Rufus asked, his voice barely a whisper but still shaking. "Like, really breaking into the Principal’s mansion?"

Raven stood at the head of the group, arms crossed, his black cloak gently swaying in the night breeze. "The fuck you mean, ’really?’ We are already here."

Even in this tension, he couldn’t help but bully Rufus.

’His face is too bully-worthy.’

That was his reasoning.

"But..." Jessy’s sharp eyes darted around the mansion perimeter, noting the runic barriers laced subtly into the stone walls.

"Are you sure the person you’re looking for is even here? And more importantly—" she narrowed her eyes at Raven, "—who exactly are we rescuing?"

Jake said nothing, standing behind Raven like a phantom, eyes locked on the mansion gates.

He hadn’t spoken once since arriving, but everyone knew he’d already memorized every movement in the area.

"You still haven’t told us anything, Raven," Clara added, her arms folded. Her tone was neutral, but her eyes were keen and calculating, holding an edge. "Why did you not tell anyone, even me, about anything?"

Raven smirked at her but gave no answer, which made Clara suspicious.

"...Is it a girl?" Clara asked after a moment, narrowing her eyes further.

"Wow, straight to the point, huh?" Raven muttered, chuckling and pretending not to notice the sudden spike of curiosity in Jessy’s gaze.

"Just answer her," Alex whispered nervously. "It’ll save your life."

"Well, hear me out first," Raven said, raising a hand before Clara could snap again. "It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you guys that I didn’t tell you anything... but because I didn’t want to risk someone overhearing earlier. Now that we’re here? I’ll tell you."

He turned to face them, his eyes more serious than any of them had seen before.

"The person we’re rescuing... is a Vaise."

Everyone froze.

"...What?" Jessy asked quietly.

"T-They’re from our family?" Rufus stammered, stunned.

Raven nodded. "They are someone who’s being used and experimented on... And no one came to help them." His tone turned bitter. "Even now, most of the family doesn’t know they exist."

A moment of silence fell upon the group.

"Well, damn," Alex muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "That’s heavy..."

"But it’s all we need to know," Clara cut in, her voice steely. "We’re Vaises. If one of us is being tortured like that, we rescue them. No further questions."

Even Alex, known for blurting whatever came to mind, closed his mouth and nodded.

"So what’s the plan?" Jessy asked, stepping forward. "You said this all hinges on the Principal leaving. How do you know he will?"

Raven looked at Jake.

Everyone followed his gaze.

Jake gave a silent nod. "I watched the mansion all day," he said flatly. "He didn’t leave. Not once."

Alex frowned. "So... he’s just a shut-in?"

"No," Raven said. "It’s because he didn’t leave the whole day that he will leave during the night."

Seeing Alex still confused, Clara sighed, picking up where Raven left off. "Because if he’s connected to someone in the Vaise family—as we suspect—then after today’s events, he’ll have to report in person."

Jessy crossed her arms, her voice sharp. "Right. Whoever was behind the test must be expecting a report. The Principal, as a subordinate, wouldn’t use normal means for something this sensitive. He’ll leave tonight."

Rufus blinked. "Wait... so you’re saying he stayed in all day just to make the report in person at night? But wouldn’t it make more sense to go right away?"

"No," Raven replied. "He couldn’t leave our target unattended during the day. They’re too unstable."

For the first time, Raven didn’t berate Rufus, and for some reason, Rufus found it strange.

"Then..." Jessy’s eyes narrowed. "You’re sure they’re still inside?"

"I am," Raven answered, voice firm.

"Because you know," Clara said softly, her gaze locked on him. "You confirmed it, didn’t you?"

Raven didn’t respond, but his slight nod was all the confirmation she needed.

His mind, however, went back to the conversation he had with Gerax.

.............................

After Raven’s surrender.

"You. Are. INSANE," Gerax had hissed after a long silence, his grey eyes sharp enough to pierce steel. "You walk into the arena, say two sentences, and surrender before a single spell is cast—you think this is a game?!"

Raven, however, had leaned against a pillar with one hand in his pocket, yawning.

Gerax’s vein twitched.

"You don’t want to fight, you say," Gerax growled, pacing like a lion barely caged. "Without a fight, you’ll be disqualified!"

After all, things weren’t supposed to go that way.

Raven was supposed to die at the hands of their test subject, and he had to ensure that happened.

But it didn’t.

"Oh, but I did fight," Raven had replied casually.

"...Excuse me?" Gerax’s eye twitched.

"I fought the system," Raven smirked, crossing his arms. "And I won."

That smirk.

That goddamned smirk.

It was like a slap in the face, dressed in sarcasm.

Gerax had stopped pacing. "Why are you grinning like that? What are you so smug about?"

"I’m exercising my rights," Raven had said, straightening up.

"...What?" Gerax had asked, frowning deeply.

"The same kind you used," Raven had said smoothly, walking a lazy circle around him. "You decided where I’d fight. You decided who I’d fight. That’s your right as the Principal, I suppose."

"And?" Gerax asked warily.

"But when I fight?" Raven stopped and turned, golden eyes glinting mischievously. "That’s my right as a student."

Gerax blinked. "What?"

"You never asked me when I wanted to fight," Raven grinned wider. "So I came to tell you I won’t fight today. I’m not in my optimum condition."

"...You came here just to say that?" Gerax’s voice had dropped an octave.

"Yup."

"You came into the arena... just to refuse to fight?!"

"Exactly." ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Gerax had inhaled sharply, his teeth grinding. "Why... why didn’t you say that before?!"

"You never asked," Raven shrugged.

"I never asked—?!" Gerax looked like he was about to combust. "What do you mean I never asked?!"

Raven tilted his head in mock thought. "Well, let’s see. Did anyone ask me if I was ready? No. Did anyone ask me if I agreed to the fight? Nope. You just threw me in. So, tell me, sir, when exactly was I supposed to say something?"

Gerax had opened his mouth to respond, then closed it.

He genuinely had no idea.

"Then why say you surrender?!" He had barked instead, grasping for sanity.

"You saw that girl." Raven had pointed toward Siris. "She would’ve killed me if I didn’t surrender!"

Gerax’s eyes twitched again. His fists clenched.

"...You little snake."

"Hey, hey," Raven had held up his hands in mock innocence. "I followed the rules. You said fight or surrender. I chose to surrender."

"... when do you want to fight?" Gerax, suppressing his rage, had asked, as that would decide how drastic a step he needed to take.

"Tomorrow," Raven had replied, and Gerax had inadvertently sighed in relief.

’One day is good,’ he had thought. ’I can keep her here for that long, ensuring that this bastard dies at her hand.’

"It’s decided, then."

With those words of Gerax, the date was fixed, but the guy didn’t know that Raven never wanted to fight.

He had just been stalling for time.

He had said one day exactly because he had known that Gerax wouldn’t send Siris away if the difference in the fight date was one day.

So, he was sure that Siris was still here—a place where he could keep an eye on her.

............................

"You’re really going through with this. Even though the Principal’s a seven-star mage?"

Jessy’s voice broke Raven out of his thoughts. She looked at him with some doubt, her voice quieter this time.

She knew Raven was strong, but dealing with a seven-circle mage wasn’t possible.

From the sixth level onward, the power difference increases by a margin.

Hearing her words, Raven shook his head.

"We’re not fighting him," he said. "We’re avoiding him."

"And if he doesn’t leave?" Rufus whispered.

"We pull back," Jake answered before Raven could. "We can’t fight him."

Turning toward Raven, his gaze turned serious. "I won’t let you fight him."

His words surprised everyone, especially Alex, Clara, and Raven, as they knew Jake had never been so assertive.

But looking at the situation, and knowing Jake’s personality, they could guess the reason.

The guy cared for his comrades, so if he saw them walking down the path that would mean death, he would stop them—that’s how he was.

So, after a brief pause, others nodded.

But Raven just shook his head again. ’Man, where is he getting the courage? Does he think he can stop me?’

He didn’t say it out loud, though.

"What’s the infiltration route?" Clara asked, already thinking two steps ahead.

"There’s a side gate to the east," Jake answered, drawing a diagram on the ground. "No direct line of sight from the main road. Three windows. One of them is a dead zone for detection spells."

"Perfect," Raven said, his eyes gleaming.

Jessy nodded, taking the stick from Jake’s hand and drawing another map, guessing the inside of the mansion, but before she could—

"He’s out!" Rufus exclaimed, seeing Gerax walk out of the main door, moving sneakily.

Everyone froze for a second before hiding behind a bush.

"We don’t have time for plans," Raven muttered, his gaze locked on Gerax, waiting for him to leave the mansion gates. "Knock everyone you see unconscious, and if pressed hard, kill them. If we can rescue our target, we can easily prove our innocence."

The group nodded, waiting for the Principal to leave.

The moment he stepped out of the gate, they moved.

As the group dispersed toward different doors, Raven remained still for a heartbeat, gazing at the looming mansion.

Inside, behind those walls, was a girl who had never been given the chance to live.

A girl who had every reason to destroy the world.

And tonight, Raven would be her first reason not to.

"Hold on, Siris," he whispered under his breath. "This big brother’s coming."