Night had fully descended upon the Dragon Realm.
Beyond the shattered windows of the Crimson Dragon Mansion, the heavens burned beneath endless crimson clouds while volcanic rivers illuminated the distant mountains like glowing veins beneath the skin of the world itself. Ancient dragon cries echoed far across the skies while storm winds drifted through the broken upper chamber where the ritual had destroyed half the ceiling.
Yet despite the destruction—
The atmosphere inside the room felt strangely peaceful now.
The violent curse pressure had vanished entirely.
No black mana lingered anymore.
No deathly coldness remained wrapped around the Crimson Princess's body.
Only soft lantern light flickered gently against ancient stone walls while volcanic winds carried the scent of ash and distant fire into the chamber.
Kel quietly sat upon the edge of the massive crimson bed, still recovering from mana exhaustion.
His human appearance remained exposed now.
Black hair slightly disordered.
Dark eyes calmer than the storm outside.
Bandages wrapped around parts of his arms where elemental overload had damaged his mana veins during the ritual.
The disguise was gone completely.
And strangely—
No one inside the chamber seemed to care anymore.
Meanwhile—
Velor stood beside the windows silently.
The crimson-haired heir had remained unusually quiet since Kel awakened earlier.
Not because of suspicion.
Because his thoughts had become complicated.
The future Dragon Emperor slowly looked toward his elder sister standing nearby.
Alive.
Healthy.
Even now—
Part of him still struggled believing it.
The Crimson Princess herself quietly observed the human before her beneath the lantern light.
Her crimson eyes held intelligence.
Grace.
Ancient nobility.
Unlike Velor's violent burning gaze—
Her eyes resembled calm crimson moonlight.
Soft.
Yet deep enough to hide sorrow beneath elegance.
For years she had slept endlessly beneath curses and poisoned mana.
Trapped between life and death.
Aware enough to hear fragments of voices sometimes.
Aware enough to feel her younger brother breaking apart slowly.
And then—
A human entered the Dragon Realm.
The thought itself felt surreal.
Kel calmly looked toward the burning skies beyond the shattered ceiling while silence lingered naturally between them.
Then eventually—
Velor finally turned around.
The crimson-haired heir slowly walked toward the center of the chamber beneath flickering lantern light.
And for the first time since they met—
The hostility completely vanished from his posture.
No guarded distance.
No restrained hatred.
Only quiet sincerity.
Then calmly—
Velor spoke.
"Let me properly introduce you."
Kel slightly raised an eyebrow.
The Crimson heir stopped beside his elder sister afterward.
Volcanic winds softly moved through his crimson hair while stormlight reflected faintly across his eyes.
"My elder sister…"
A faint pause followed.
"… Vistara Drekhar."
The Crimson Princess gently lowered her head slightly toward Kel afterward.
Her movements looked elegant despite lingering weakness.
Ancient royal grace naturally surrounded her presence.
"It is an honor meeting the one who saved my life."
Her voice sounded soft.
Clear.
Yet beneath that softness—
Kel sensed intelligence immediately.
This woman was not weak.
Only broken by circumstances.
Sairen quietly whispered through the soul-link.
"…She's dangerous intellectually."
Kel internally agreed silently.
Because unlike Velor—
Whose emotions burned visibly—
Vistara concealed everything beneath elegance.
Those kinds of people were often more terrifying politically.
The Crimson Princess quietly observed Kel now with careful curiosity.
Not because he was human.
Not because he was strong.
Because his existence itself contradicted common sense.
A human entering the Dragon Realm alone.
Disguising himself successfully among dragons.
Healing impossible curses.
Defeating succession candidates.
And somehow—
Still remaining calm afterward.
Kel slowly stood from the bedside despite lingering exhaustion.
The room grew quieter instinctively.
Then softly—
He spoke.
"…Then it would be inappropriate if I didn't introduce myself properly too."
Velor's crimson eyes narrowed slightly with interest.
Vistara silently listened as well.
Because until now—
They only knew him as Vael.
The mysterious black dragon.
The human beneath the disguise.
But not truly him.
Kel calmly looked toward them beneath the lantern light.
His posture straightened slightly.
Not arrogantly.
Naturally.
And suddenly—
The atmosphere around him shifted subtly.
Not into pressure.
Into nobility.
Ancient.
Refined.
Dangerous.
Because no matter how casually Kel behaved—
He had still been raised among imperial nobility.
That refinement existed within his bones naturally.
Then quietly—
He spoke his real name.
"My name…"
A faint pause followed.
"…my real name…"
His dark eyes met Velor's directly.
"…is Kel Von Rosenforld."
Silence spread softly across the chamber.
The name itself carried weight.
Not within the Dragon Realm perhaps.
But the manner he spoke it—
Did.
Then calmly—
Kel finished.
"I am the eldest son of the Northern Duke of the Aurelia Empire."
The volcanic winds howled softly outside afterward.
Velor remained silent briefly.
The Crimson Princess too.
Because suddenly—
Many things made sense.
His refinement.
His combat training.
His understanding of politics.
His calmness around nobility.
This human had not merely been some wandering traveler.
He was nobility himself.
And not minor nobility either.
The eldest son of a ducal household.
One of the future pillars of an empire.
Vistara's crimson eyes sharpened faintly now.
Because the meaning behind this revelation ran deeper than simple identity.
A high-ranking human noble had entered the Dragon Realm alone.
Voluntarily.
Without army.
Without diplomacy.
Without fear.
That alone required terrifying confidence.
Meanwhile—
Velor quietly stared at Kel.
Then eventually—
A faint almost invisible smile appeared briefly at the corner of his mouth.
"…So even your fake identity carried noble blood."
Kel softly laughed beneath his breath.
"Only partially fake."
The future Dragon Emperor slowly crossed his arms afterward.
The atmosphere between them felt entirely different now.
Not strangers anymore.
Something closer.
Dangerously closer.
Then quietly—
Velor asked another question.
"Does your empire know where you are?"
Kel calmly looked toward the burning skies beyond the shattered ceiling.
"No."
Vistara slightly narrowed her crimson eyes.
"You entered another realm alone without informing anyone?"
Kel answered simply.
"Yes."
Silence.
Then unexpectedly—
The Crimson Princess softly laughed.
Gentle.
Elegant.
Not mocking.
"…You truly are insane."
Sairen immediately muttered through the soul-link.
"…Finally someone says it directly."
Kel ignored her again.
Meanwhile—
Velor quietly looked toward the human standing beneath the crimson stormlight.
Kel Von Rosenforld.
A human noble.
A healer.
A monster.
And perhaps—
The first person Velor had ever genuinely respected.