"But..."
Olivia wanted to retort, but found herself tongue-tied, unable to speak.
For she realized once more that what Cassius said was the truth. She, too, had felt anger at how the Northlands treated people like "livestock," but the elders of her clan had merely instructed her to respect human customs and traditions and refrain from reckless interference.
Over time, all this oppression had come to seem natural, and even she had failed to recognize this terrible mental inertia.
The silver dragon sank back into deep, prolonged thought.
*Snap!*
Cassius snapped his fingers briskly, drawing her attention.
Following his gesture, dynamic magical illusions materialized in midair, displaying ordinary, everyday vignettes from the lives of the citizens of the Kingdom of Cinders.
Scribes sorting documents in archival chambers; guards patrolling the streets; workers toiling along assembly lines; merchants loudly hawking their wares in morning markets; researchers conducting experiments in laboratories...
They might be mentally exhausted, physically drained, or even full of grumbling, but one thing was certain—each and every one was striving with all their might to live, forging ahead toward goals of their own, exuding a vibrant sense of flourishing that even Olivia could feel.
Watching the unfolding scenes and observing the silver dragon's bewildered expression, Cassius spoke once more, gently steering her thoughts:
"This is the kingdom I built."
"It is not a binary dualism of good and evil, but a living, breathing, complex society."
"Yet here, those who were once treated as 'gray cattle' can at least survive as 'people.' They will not freeze to death in the biting wind over a sack of wheat, nor will they kneel before others like dogs begging for food, nor will they surrender their own children at a noble's command."
With another crisp snap of his fingers, the pleasant imagery abruptly shifted: emaciated serfs shivering in the freezing wind; a young boy sold to a noble, curled up in the corner of a cellar; slaves attached to the army driven like beasts to the front lines beneath the crack of whips...
None of it was maliciously exaggerated; it simply laid bare the darker underbelly of the northern realms.
Cassius knew that this line of reasoning held immense appeal for naturally benevolent silver dragons, particularly a young one whose worldview had not yet fully matured.
At the very least, his kingdom maintained a dignified veneer, keeping the predatory, exploitative elements hidden in the shadows and reaping profits by manipulating invisible chains. A young silver dragon with little experience in mortal society could never perceive such things.
The northern nobility, on the other hand, had utterly hideous table manners; their cannibalistic exploitation was naked and unvarnished, so grotesque that even an evil dragon like Cassius thought they took things a bit too far.
Sure enough, just as Cassius expected.
Olivia's eyelids lowered, her conviction beginning to waver.
*Could this... be the justice I was searching for?*
*Is this the order that truly accords with humanity?*
*Then has everything I did before been meaningless—or was I even hindering the march of history?*
Fixing his gaze intently on the silver dragon's lake-like eyes, Cassius pressed his advantage:
"Olivia, as the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Cinders, I cordially invite you to join our kingdom."
"Once the Great Anzetta Waste is unified, I will not demand that you become some so-called 'evil dragon's minion.' You could even become a councilor of the kingdom through due process, lending a voice to the weak, helping the common folk oppressed by the northern nobility, and better fulfilling your own aspirations."
The red dragon's voice echoed in Olivia's ears, seducing her like the whispers of a devil.
*Silver Tongue.*
Beneath this extraordinary, reality-bending charisma, the silver dragon was thoroughly ensorcelled, at a complete loss and sinking into a mire of hesitation and inner turmoil.
In the past, she could have relied on the shining image of "Anhel" to fortify her will.
Yet after that encounter, the truth had been laid bare, and the ideals she had clung to had dissolved into illusory bubbles.
"I don't know..."
Olivia bit her lip, stammering, no longer knowing what to say.
She had initially prepared a mental script, hoping to seize this opportunity to "save" Cassius, pull him into the fold of goodness and justice, or perhaps even convert him to Bahamut, the King of the North Wind.
Yet reality proved it was nothing more than wishful thinking; she could not even convince herself.
Throughout this conversation, Olivia had remained completely within Cassius's firm grasp, stepping into a meticulously crafted trap. Moreover, an inexplicable sense of reliance on the red dragon lingered within her, making it all the harder to pull away.
Cassius moved to her side, presenting a reason she could not refuse:
"The Kingdom of Cinders unifying Anzeta is an immutable historical trend. I am confident someone as intelligent as you understands this well. But you can use your own strength to accelerate this process, sparing more innocents from sacrifice and allowing them to live better lives under the kingdom's order."
As he spoke, reality seemed to distort before her eyes, conjuring hellish visions of a battlefield: trickling rivers of blood, mountains of corpses, and agonized wails that pierced the silver dragon's heart with sorrow. She did not want to see such things, yet this was very likely the near future.
The imagery finally shattered her last line of mental defense.
"I..."
Olivia's lips trembled faintly, her blue-gray eyes rife with conflict.
In the end, she looked up at Cassius with a conflicted expression and let out a soft sigh, as though a weight had been lifted.
"I agree."
"However, you cannot force me to kill anyone, and I will only carry out orders I believe to be right."
For reasons she could not explain, Olivia always felt so powerless before the red dragon. It was as if she were perpetually dancing in the palm of his hand without any way to resist. Those added conditions were the last vestige of her stubborn pride.
Cassius flashed a pleased smile as two claws of differing sizes and colors clasped together.
"Very good."
"Then here is to a pleasant cooperation."
"As it happens, there is already an important task concerning the fate of the kingdom, and I believe you are the best candidate for it—in fact, the only candidate."
Olivia grew instantly wary, her brow furrowing slightly.
Hard-earned experience from being duped multiple times told her that whenever Cassius smiled, trouble invariably followed.
Sure enough, Cassius's calm voice rang out.
"Your grandfather, Lord Oszedro, the 'Wings of Silver,' has already arrived in Anzeta. Unfortunately, blinded by false justice, he has chosen to support the northern rebels and will stand in my way of unifying the Northlands. Therefore..."
"Cassius! You—"
Olivia trembled with rage, her voice even tinged with a sob.
Chapter 305