Cold wind continued sweeping across the tower long after the conversation ended.
The night sky above the Wild Southern Mountains shimmered endlessly with silver stars while distant thunder rolled quietly through unseen valleys beyond the darkness. Below the fortress walls, scattered lanternlights illuminated portions of Duke Kael's territory like fragile flames resisting the endless wilderness surrounding them.
And standing atop the tower—
Duke Kael Draven remained silent.
His gray eyes followed the retreating figure of Heral descending the ancient stone staircase slowly beneath flickering torchlight.
Calm steps.
Unhurried.
Without fear.
The young man disappeared gradually into the darkness below until only silence remained behind.
Yet somehow—
The pressure he left behind still lingered upon the tower.
Kael slowly exhaled through his nose.
A cold breath disappearing into the night air.
"…Dangerous fellow."
The words escaped quietly.
Not insult.
Not praise.
Recognition.
For several moments, the Duke simply stood there beneath the moonlight while his thoughts replayed the earlier conversation repeatedly.
The White Lily.
The ancient scriptures.
The wilderness connected to another world.
And above all else—
Those final words.
Never say 'anything' to another person.
Kael's shoulders loosened slightly again.
Not from relaxation.
Exhaustion.
Because the more he thought about it—
The more unsettling Heral became.
Most men hearing about the White Lily would react emotionally.
Hope.
Greed.
Excitement.
But Heral immediately questioned the value of the reward.
Then afterward—
Warned Kael about desperation itself.
The Duke slowly looked toward the endless mountains again.
Dark forests stretched beyond human sight while ancient mist drifted between colossal peaks like wandering ghosts.
The wilderness felt alive tonight.
Watching.
Listening.
And somehow—
Heral resembled it.
Silent on the surface.
Yet hiding terrifying depth underneath.
Kael closed his eyes briefly.
And memories surfaced immediately.
Years ago.
His son laughing within this very castle.
Training swordsmanship beneath morning sunlight.
Arguing proudly about becoming stronger than his father someday.
Then—
The expedition.
The ruins.
The wilderness.
And afterward—
The screams.
Kael's fingers tightened faintly against the cold stone railing.
Even now—
Years later—
He still remembered the moment his son returned.
Blood-covered.
Trembling.
Laughing and crying simultaneously while muttering words no human should understand.
The servants screamed first.
Then the soldiers.
Because his son's eyes…
Had changed.
Not physically.
Something deeper.
As though he had seen something within the wilderness human minds were never meant to witness.
Kael slowly opened his eyes again.
The night wind brushed against his face quietly.
For years—
He searched desperately for answers.
Ancient ruins.
Forgotten scriptures.
Dimensional theories.
Monster studies.
Dragon records.
Anything.
Anything capable of saving his son.
And eventually—
He found fragments.
Blue Valley.
The White Lily.
Another world connected through the wilderness.
Yet despite all that knowledge…
He never once considered questioning dragons the way Heral did.
That thought unsettled him most.
Kael had spent years fearing the wilderness.
Fighting against it.
Trying to survive it.
But Heral—
Looked at the same darkness…
And sought understanding instead.
The Duke quietly remembered the earlier moment atop the tower.
"Are dragons truly monsters?"
Such a simple question.
Yet no one inside the council chamber could answer it properly.
Kael slowly rubbed his temple.
A headache forming behind exhausted eyes.
What kind of man asks questions like that calmly?
Not naive curiosity.
No.
Heral's eyes carried certainty when he spoke.
As though somewhere deep within himself—
He already possessed answers no one else understood yet.
Sairen's existence remained unknown to Kael.
Kel's countless memories from Destiny remained hidden.
His repeated experiences with death and catastrophe remained invisible.
And perhaps because of that—
The Duke could only interpret Heral through instinct.
Which made the young man even more terrifying.
Kael had met ambitious nobles before.
Countless times.
Men craving power.
Men chasing influence.
Men trying to climb higher through schemes and manipulation.
But Heral felt fundamentally different.
Because his ambition—
Did not stop at nobility.
Or wealth.
Or territory.
No.
It felt larger.
Colder.
Almost ancient.
The Duke's gray eyes darkened faintly beneath moonlight.
What exactly are you trying to build…?
The Southern Council itself already bordered absurdity.
In mere weeks, the political structure of the South began changing rapidly beneath Heral's influence.
Trade systems.
Military coordination.
Exploration initiatives.
Infrastructure planning.
Even the Exploration Unit itself—
Existed because Heral pushed the idea relentlessly.
And now—
They were preparing to enter the wilderness.
Not blindly.
Not recklessly.
Prepared.
Disciplined.
Structured.
Kael slowly realized something else then.
Something subtle.
Heral did not fear uncertainty.
Most people feared the unknown naturally.
That fear protected humanity from dangerous places.
Dangerous knowledge.
Dangerous truths.
But Heral—
Walked toward uncertainty willingly.
Almost calmly.
As though mysteries themselves attracted him.
The Duke looked toward the stone staircase where Heral disappeared moments ago.
And inwardly—
A strange thought surfaced.
Perhaps he truly has stood at death's edge countless times already.
Because no ordinary young man possessed eyes like that.
Those calm black eyes…
Sometimes felt ancient.
Not in age.
Experience.
Kael suddenly remembered another detail from earlier.
"If I bring the White Lily, what will I receive?"
At first glance, the question sounded greedy.
Cold even.
Yet afterward—
Heral immediately warned him against desperate promises.
The Duke quietly laughed once beneath his breath.
A dry exhausted sound lost within the wind.
What kind of person negotiates rewards rationally…
Then warns the other side from self-destruction afterward?
Contradictory.
Strange.
Human.
For the first time in years—
Kael felt genuine uncertainty toward another person.
Could Heral truly find the White Lily?
The thought itself sounded absurd.
Countless explorers vanished within the wilderness.
Entire expeditions disappeared without trace.
Even dragons avoided certain regions.
Yet somehow—
The Duke found himself imagining it possible.
Not because Heral was overwhelmingly powerful currently.
No.
Because he possessed something rarer.
The ability to think beyond fear.
Kael slowly lifted his gaze toward the endless mountain range again.
The stars above the wilderness shimmered beautifully while ancient forests below remained drowned in darkness.
Somewhere beyond those mountains—
Another world existed.
Unknown creatures.
Ancient ruins.
Possibly gods.
Possibly horrors.
And tomorrow—
Heral would begin walking toward it willingly.
The Duke remained silent several moments longer before finally turning toward the staircase himself.
The fortress corridors below waited in dim torchlight while distant wind echoed softly through ancient stone halls.
And as Kael descended slowly into the castle darkness—
One final thought lingered heavily within his mind.
Perhaps the most dangerous thing about Heral…
Was not his intelligence.
Nor his ambition.
Nor even his fearlessness.
It was the terrifying possibility…
That he might actually succeed.