Talulah's stark words left the Feline woman utterly speechless. She stared blankly at the stranger, who had grown visibly agitated and lost her composure the moment a Draco was mentioned. She couldn't begin to fathom why this traveler held such deep bitter resentment toward the subject.
"It seems... your family suffered greatly under a Draco as well?" the woman stammered softly, taking an uneasy step backward. "Yet they remain our sacred legend. Nearly every Taran clings to the belief that a Draco will return to deliver us..."
"And when did this convenient belief take root?" Talulah countered coldly. "It only started circulating in recent years, didn't it? I seriously doubt anyone spoke of Tarans standing alongside a Draco before now. That is precisely why I am warning you to be wary of these tales. Someone is deliberately feeding you this romantic narrative to exploit your desperation."
Talulah knew all too well why her father had abandoned his homeland. Back then, not a single Taran stood by his side. They had wanted nothing more than to see the Artorius bloodline crumble so they could divide the crimson dragon's remaining legacy and line their own pockets.
Now, history was repeating itself. Agitators were stirring up the populace, using the specter of a dead lineage to rally a tragic crusade while pulling the strings from the shadows.
"I see..." The woman looked at Talulah with a mix of confusion and lingering doubt, shrinking back slightly. "You seem to care about this far more than an outsider should."
"In any case, we won't intrude on your home any longer," Jeanne interjected, glancing out the cracked window frame. Sensing an approaching presence, she grabbed Talulah by the arm, bade the woman a swift farewell, and pulled her out into the narrow alleyway.
"What's the rush?" Talulah asked, wincing slightly as Jeanne pulled her along. "Why the sudden exit?"
"My instincts were screaming," Jeanne said, scanning the surrounding roofs and corners. "If we stayed in that room a second longer, we would have brought sheer catastrophe down on that poor woman's head. Besides, I've rarely seen you so worked up. When she brought up the Draco, you sounded like a completely different person."
Talulah let out a heavy, tired sigh. Her gaze drifted toward the grand Victorian banner fluttering atop a distant garrison tower.
"Like it or not, this business drags my family name into the dirt," Talulah murmured, her tone dark and weary. "I never cared for titles or birthrights—they bring far more curse than blessing. But it sickens me to think that after everything was burned to ash, some power-hungry schemers are digging up our grave just to use our name as a weapon for another senseless war."
She had believed that with the disappearance of the Draco, the shadow over Victoria would fade away. Today proved how naive that hope had been. The coals were being fanned back into a flame.
"Your family history is certainly a mess," Jeanne remarked gently, before turning her head toward a northern intersection. "But here's a bit of good news: it seems someone realized we were empty-handed and decided to deliver the clues straight to our doorstep."
Even without heightened senses, the heavy, synchronized thud of marching boots was becoming impossible to ignore. A large squad was rapidly closing in on their position.
"How thoughtful," Talulah sneered, her eyes turning icy as she turned to face the oncoming march. "I've been dying to have a word with the mastermind orchestrating this movement."
A company of uniformed fighters emerged from the shadow of the brick buildings. They wore nondescript coats, but what stood out immediately was their makeup: every single soldier was a Feline. Not a single other race was present.
An army composed strictly of Tarans.
"We were just talking about you," Talulah said, assessing the well-equipped unit blocking their path. "Are you the phantom squad everyone claims is backing the Taran cause?"
"Phantom squad?" the hostile Feline leading the formation sneered, making no effort to conceal his arrogance. "We are the loyal vanguard of the great Red Dragon! Don't lump us in with cheap urban legends, girl. Our presence is beyond your feeble imagination."
Talulah ignored the loudmouth entirely. Instead, her eyes locked onto a tall figure shrouded in a heavy white cloak standing right behind him. A strange, unsettling presence radiated from that individual.
"That's a Draco," Jeanne whispered, leaning in close to Talulah's ear.
Talulah flinched, almost delivering a sharp elbow to Jeanne's ribs. "A Draco? Are you out of your mind?!"
She knew the Draco bloodlines had been practically wiped out; finding another living member here made no sense.
"You know what my Arts can do," Jeanne replied quietly, her eyes fixed on the hooded figure. "I can influence a Draco, which means I can sense your kind instantly."
Jeanne pondered whether she should use her Arts to take control of the hooded figure right now. But was this individual truly their leader? What kind of leader would march right into an open alley for a random confrontation? Unless... she was here to claim long-lost family ties with Talulah?
Jeanne instantly shook the ridiculous thought from her head. Talulah had explicitly stated that her relatives in Victoria were all dead and buried. Unless this person had crawled back from the underworld, they were nothing more than an enemy.
"We didn't come here to trade stories, Artorius," Mandragora barked aggressively, stepping forward as if addressing a helpless prisoner. Her fingers twitched around her staff, looking ready to strike at a moment's notice. "Why have you returned to Victoria?"
"I have no shared history with the likes of you," Talulah replied flatly, completely unbothered by Mandragora's hostile posture. She knew arguing with a fanatic was useless; people like Mandragora only heard what they wanted to hear.
"And since when do I need to clear my travel plans with you?" Talulah added, a cold, mocking smile touching her lips. "Don't make me laugh."
That sharp smile hit Mandragora like a physical slap. Enraged, the Feline officer channeled her Originium Arts, seeking to crush the arrogant intruder on the spot. Sand, dust, and heavy stones began to swirl wildly through the narrow alley, churning into a miniature rockstorm.
"If I were you, I wouldn't pick a fight in a tight alley like this," Talulah said, her voice dripping with ancient, suffocating pressure. Her golden eyes locked onto Mandragora's face. "In a space this small, you won't last thirty seconds against me."
An overwhelming wave of dragon aura washed over Mandragora. The violent Feline froze mid-cast, her mind instantly going blank under the terrifying weight of Talulah's gaze.
With her concentration shattered, the floating rocks and heavy earth collapsed instantly.
THUD! THUD! CRASH!
A rain of dirt and heavy stones collapsed right onto the heads of Dublinn's own soldiers, leaving the entire squad covered in embarrassing clouds of grey dust.
"You... AAAARGHHHH!!!!"
Driven mad by the humiliation, Mandragora completely lost her composure, screaming as wild, unrefined Earth Arts began tearing up the surrounding pavement and cracking nearby brick walls.
"Control yourself, Mandragora!" the white-robed figure called out sharply, her voice ringing through the dusty alleyway to halt the mindless destruction.
Mandragora whirled around, about to snap, but caught herself as her mind cleared. "I... Yes, my leader. Forgive me."
She swallowed her rage, realizing that arguing with their figurehead in front of her subordinates would ruin Dublinn's standing.
"Your authority seems rather fragile," Talulah mocked casually, aiming to drive a wedge between the two.
"Mandragora merely possesses a fiery disposition," the white-robed figure said, stepping forward. Her voice carried a heavy, imposing weight. "As for you, greedy descendant of Artorius... we demand that you leave Victoria at once. You abandoned this land long ago—never set foot in this nation again. Ever!"
The demand was absolute, yet Jeanne caught a subtle trace of faintness behind the grand declaration. The voice lacked true physical strength. Is this really their supreme leader? She sounds even softer than Talulah...
"I refuse," Talulah answered without a second thought.
In an instant, the ambient temperature in the alley began to skyrocket, the surrounding air shimmering with intense, suffocating heat.