Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons novel Chapter 259

"They really did that?" Selphira couldn't contain her laughter, her slender but elegant shoulders trembling with each burst. "You're telling me Larissa also jumped into the middle of the courtyard while the guards watched open-mouthed?"

Liora nodded, trying to maintain her composure, but her grandmother's laughter was contagious.

"And seriously..." Selphira continued between laughs, bringing a hand to her chest as if she needed to contain herself, "little Luna jumped from the shadows trying to stop an imaginary immoral act? Oh, by all the dragons, I would give half my fortune to have seen everyone's faces... even those of the castle guards when they saw you both appear in front of them and next to the poor boy, Taro you said his name was?"

"It was quite dramatic," Liora admitted, allowing herself a smile. "Especially because Larissa convinced them that everything was part of an elaborate prank."

"That girl!" Selphira exclaimed, wiping a tear of laughter. "She has more of my Ashenway in her than many who bear our surname just for show."

The Ashenway matriarch finally regained her composure, though amusement still shone in her eyes, identical to Liora's. The family resemblance was striking despite the decades between them, the same sharp cheekbones, the same gaze, though Selphira's was tempered by years of political maneuvering.

The two were seated in one of the private rooms for noble guests, where the afternoon light filtered through ornate windows, projecting patterns of colors on the polished floor.

The incident of the disappearance and the decoy in the courtyard had caused more commotion than necessary. Within hours, news of their "disappearance" and dramatic reappearance had reached their families.

Poor Julius had lost more time from his already busy routine due to the accumulated work, Selphira had taken the opportunity to escape her problems and present herself at the academy (telling her granddaughter that her son was driving her crazy, as always), and even Luna's father, Sirius, had made another rare appearance.

All for nothing.

"And Julius really thought it was a security matter?" Selphira asked, serving herself more tea with a fluid movement that betrayed decades of refinement.

"At first, yes," Liora responded. "With the recent attacks on the academy, any unusual behavior triggers all the alarms. The new guards thought we had been really kidnapped and overreacted in their reports."

"Understandable, I suppose," Selphira conceded. "Though excessive. As usual."

Since she had asked Liora to keep her informed about Ren, she wasn't entirely uninformed about the most interesting events. Liora carefully filtered what she shared, of course, but she provided enough to keep her grandmother entertained. The latest developments in the exams, being already public knowledge, were a free topic of discussion. Especially Zhao's one.

Selphira took a sip of tea, studying her granddaughter over the rim of the cup. Her eyes missed nothing, analyzing every micro-expression, every subtle shift in posture.

"So, this Patinder boy... He has really suggested a different cultivation to you?"

Liora nodded slowly, aware of treading on thin ice. The subject of Ren's methods was one she approached with calculated caution, even with her grandmother.

"His knowledge is... extraordinary. Assuming it's true, but I believe it is... We saw it in his eyes."

"Interesting," Selphira murmured, her eyes shining with that calculating intensity that had made many council members think twice before opposing her. "A common child with an apparently useless mushroom who turns out to have such talent for understanding beasts. Perhaps we should be more concerned with adding him to our family than Luna, don't you think? Life has a curious sense of humor, doesn't it?"

"Grandmother..." Liora's tone changed, becoming more serious. The shift was subtle but unmistakable.

"Why do we have to do that with Luna?"

Although she didn't specify what she meant by "that," Selphira immediately understood. The playful expression abandoned her face, replaced by a mask of political pragmatism.

"Ah," Selphira set down her cup with a sigh. "I suppose it was my fault for mentioning it... Now we're talking about marriages."

She looked toward the window, as if she could see beyond the academy grounds, toward the future she was trying to weave.