Chapter 72: Proposals
"They are coming out"
Right outside the portal, the guardians raised their voices in excitement as the first set of summoners began stepping through, one after another, the shimmering light behind them flickering with each passage.
They formed into loose groups almost immediately, pulling out communication tokens and relaying messages through various means back to their families, thrill unmistakable in every voice.
Some laughed. Others wiped at their eyes, months of pressure and preparation finally breaking loose now that the ritual sat safely behind them.
But no one radiated more excitement than Marie.
"She summoned an A-Ranked flying dragon. Our family is truly blessed."
One guardian turned toward Marie’s people with a trace of fawning in his tone, bowing slightly as he spoke, the words practically tumbling out of him.
Even Havo, from his own line of guardians, had summoned an A-ranked beast of his own. Not a dragon, strictly speaking, but a result strong enough to secure his future regardless, the kind of outcome that would have dominated the conversation on any other day.
"She has made us proud."
Marie’s family elders gathered close, patting her back and shoulders in turn, their expressions carrying open, unguarded pride.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Meanwhile, off to the side.
"Did you think it over?"
Hela approached Lorn, who stood alone near the treeline, his posture stiff, deliberately distant from the celebration still unfolding behind him, arms crossed loosely as though bracing against something only he could feel.
Those who had once fawned over him, trailing after his every word in the weeks leading up to this expedition, were nowhere in sight now. He had failed to summon a dragon. That single outcome had unraveled months of carefully built potential in the eyes of everyone watching.
"Yes. There’s nothing for me in the Dracontis family. I’ll join White Tower."
Lorn said it without hesitation, his voice steady despite everything sitting behind his eyes.
He didn’t bother explaining that he had, in fact, summoned an S-ranked beast. As long as it wasn’t a dragon, none of these people would ever take the achievement seriously. The bloodline obsession ran too deep, too rigid, to make room for anything that didn’t fit their narrow definition of worth.
It was easier, honestly, to let them believe what they already believed. Correcting them would have cost more energy than it was worth.
Besides, he had watched what Ethan could do to a dragon with his own eyes. Any rational person would rather stand beside someone capable of breaking dragons than someone who simply worshipped them from a distance.
"Good. I’ll let my mother know."
Hela nodded, catching the flash of quiet determination settling into Lorn’s expression.
Family politics did this to everyone eventually. It wasn’t new, not to her, not to anyone who had spent enough time inside White Tower’s walls watching similar stories play out.
"Let’s get going."
Banshee spoke up after receiving a brief report from Fin, who had remained inside the dungeon with the rest of the group throughout. An unmistakable smile stayed fixed on her face the entire time she listened, amused by something none of the others could fully see yet.
Ethan’s reputation had already begun to spread.
Sooner than any of them had expected.
.
.
.
.
In the morning, inside White Tower, a feminine figure rose from her bed in a sleepy daze, white hair a total mess as she sat up slowly, blinking against the early light filtering through the window, the quiet of the room settling around her before the day fully caught up to her.
Her feet swung over the edge of the bed, and she rose, moving toward her bathing area to freshen up before drying herself off and preparing for the day ahead.
Within five minutes, her hair was arranged, her uniform settled properly across her frame, and she stepped out of her room with the composed efficiency of someone who had done this exact routine countless times before.
"Morning, High Regent. I hope you had a great night."
Outside her door, a man dressed entirely in white stopped mid-step and bowed slightly as she emerged, his timing precise, as though he’d been waiting for the exact moment she appeared, a thin folder already tucked beneath one arm.
"Ghost."
Arian acknowledged him with a small nod, her gaze already shifting toward her office as she continued forward with clear purpose.
Beyond being one of the most powerful individuals within this base, she also carried the full weight of an administrative officer’s duties, overseeing deployments, managing relations between branches, and coordinating the missions that kept White Tower functioning smoothly day to day.
It was work most people never saw, buried beneath the more visible parts of her title, but it was the part that actually held the organization together.
Every morning found her at her desk, working through whatever matters had accumulated overnight alongside her small team of assistants.
"You’ve received quite a lot of mail overnight, High Regent. I assume it’s from the Dracontis family. The mission must have been a success."
Ghost followed her into the office as he spoke, his tone carrying genuine curiosity beneath the professional courtesy.
The mission had carried significant weight for the Dracontis family. Had it ended in failure, they likely would have descended on White Tower’s doors before the night was even through, demanding answers no one would have been prepared to give, and dragging her own standing through whatever fallout followed.
"We’ll only know once we see, won’t we?"
Arian offered a faint smile as she took her seat, reaching for the stack of letters waiting neatly on her desk, pulling the first one free.
"I hope this message finds you well, gracious elder. We are happy to inform and thank you..."
The letter read exactly as expected, filling Arian with a quiet sense of pride as she moved through the details. Her people were, without question, competent. Every risk she’d taken sending this particular group had paid off in full.
But as she continued reading, her brow slowly began to furrow.
"A marriage proposal?"
She narrowed her eyes, reading the name signed at the bottom of the letter a second time to be certain.
Ethan Algar.
They were proposing to marry Ethan into the Dracontis family?!!!
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