Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot-Chapter 87 - 86 - The Red Magic Tower.

Magic towers.

They were organizations within the kingdoms that were never disturbed until a huge war that could threaten the kingdom was happening.

They had enough power to clash with a ducal house, but since the magic towers worked on the Ringed Throne Rule, they were never involved in any conflict.

[The Ringed Throne Rule is a rule where the throne (the tower master) can’t make any weighty decision until the Ring (the elder council) agrees to it.]

However, the magic towers still came under the king’s jurisdiction. The elders of the towers were also politically active.

Thus, they needed to treat royal guests with the utmost respect.

Now, the Velmoria Kingdom, unlike other kingdoms that had one magic tower each, had two magic towers.

One was Red Magic Tower, known for fostering genius fire mages.

The other was White Tower, known for housing exceptional ice mages.

Once in a while, the mages from the magic towers would also visit the Velmoria Royal Academy to recruit talents.

Raven and his group were going to one of those towers—the Red Magic Tower—as it was quite close to them, located on the lands of the Vaise Dukedom.

And since they had Lio Hector, a royal guest, with them, even the magic tower, which usually didn’t let anyone in, had to open their gates for them.

After all, Lio’s wish to visit the Red Tower was already conveyed to the king by Selena. She had said that it was a visit out of curiosity, and since Hector and Velmoria were on good terms, the king had agreed to it, especially with the Vaises acting as the guards.

So, now, their group stood before the Red Magic Tower, the scent of ash and wildflowers drifting on the breeze.

Raven stood just past the treeline, gazing at the looming Red Flame Magic Tower that stretched high into the sky like a jagged lance of crimson stone.

Ember sigils glowed faintly along its surface, and heat shimmered in the air around it, warping the ground like a desert mirage.

"Damn thing looks like it’s trying too hard," Raven muttered, shading his eyes.

Beside him, "Prince Lio Hector" adjusted his golden cuffs with regal nonchalance. "It’s the pride of Velmoria’s Fire Mages. The place is warded tighter than the Hector treasury."

Raven glanced sideways at the young man—tall, pretty-faced, and too graceful for his own good.

The way he moved, the way he talked... It was seamless.

If Raven didn’t already know the truth, he’d never have guessed "Lio" was Princess Lia Hector, perfectly disguised.

And she kept the act so natural, even Jessy hadn’t raised an eyebrow.

That made her dangerous.

But right now, Raven had bigger problems—like the girl behind him.

Siris stood unnaturally still. Too still.

She wasn’t smiling.

She wasn’t humming.

She wasn’t chasing invisible fairies or sniffing random rocks.

She was just... watching.

She stared at the Red Tower, the guards, and the elegant woman approaching from the entrance path.

Only Raven noticed the way Siris’s hand twitched over the edge of her sleeve, where she kept her poisoned pins.

Subtle, silent, and deadly.

A single flick of her eyes told him everything: ’She didn’t trust the newcomer.’

Frankly, neither did he—but not for the same reason.

"Guests of the tower, I presume?" The woman called out, her heels clicking softly on the paved stone.

She was tall and radiant, with long, wine-red hair coiled into a twist and robes embroidered with blazing phoenixes. Her eyes scanned the group with polite curiosity.

Then they locked onto Raven.

And her poise faltered.

"...Oh," she said.

Raven blinked. "Oh?"

"I-I mean—Prince Lio," she turned to Lia with a swift recovery, "we are honored to receive you at the Red Flame Tower. I am Ilzara, assigned to be your escort today."

Lia gave a courteous nod, her voice calm and firm. "Your hospitality is appreciated."

Ilzara smiled, but her eyes kept flicking back to Raven. "And these must be..."

"My traveling companions," Lia said smoothly. "Fellow students, adventurers, and the Vaise children."

Looking at Lia acting all gracefully, Raven wondered if she was the same girl he was using as a footrest.

His attention, however, was pulled toward Ilzara as she spoke again.

"And that one?" Ilzara gestured subtly to Raven, though her voice betrayed a waver.

Before anyone else could respond, Jessy drawled, "That’s Raven Von Vaise. I have friendly advice, though: don’t stare too long, or you’ll start writing poetry."

Jessy, better than anyone, knew how deadly Raven’s charm was.

On his first day in the academy, despite having defeated a layer-six knight and setting a scary image for everyone who saw that fight, Raven received at least twenty love letters.

Everyone in the group knew him enough not to tell him that, lest he started roaming around smugly, calling others ugly for his satisfaction.

Ilzara, however, didn’t know him like the girls from the academy and was probably imagining him as a Prince Charming.

Ilzara cleared her throat. "Ah. Duly noted."

Raven sighed internally.

Unlike what others thought, he knew about his deadly charm. In the plot, this same charm had made so many women fall.

But, unlike the Raven from the story, he didn’t know how he could use this look of his, so it was like handing a tank to a child.

If the child hit the right button by mistake, then the tank would do what it was supposed to do, but if the child pressed the wrong switch, it could cause devastating results.

That was what his situation was.

Soon, Ilzara led the group toward the tower, and as they moved forward, Alex skipped along behind them, Nibbles perched comfortably on his head like a royal fur hat.

Every now and then, Nibbles would squeak, and Alex would nod dramatically.

"They’re watching us," he whispered to Raven.

Raven glanced back.

Scattered across the trees, along the nearby rooftops, and even tucked into flowerpots, the Clawtail Recon Squad and Nutfang Rapid Strike Unit had activated full stealth mode.

To the casual observer, they looked like ordinary, adorable squirrels—nibbling nuts, cleaning tails, or playing with pebbles.

But Raven knew better.

Every tail flick was a signal. Every chirp a report.

They were tracking anything suspicious, watching for threats, and ready to blow acorn-sized smoke bombs if needed.

Ilzara didn’t notice a thing. But Raven caught the bead of sweat forming at her temple every time she glanced at him.

’Man... Why’s she falling? I didn’t even speak to her!’

He could tell what was going on, but he didn’t know what he could say here.

’I’m not interested in you?’

She hadn’t even said anything to him, making it a brainless statement.

’I don’t like older women?’

Raven didn’t want to lie, so it was out of the question.

’Fuck off?’

Yeah, right. He should be ready to have a fireball launched at him if he said that.

’Whatever, man.’

Finally, he shook his head, not wanting to think hard about it.

He would let fate decide what would happen.

’I can’t do anything about my handsomeness now, can I?’

At the tower gates, Siris fell into step beside him, and he noticed something.

Her eyes were cold, locked on Ilzara’s back.

Once in a while, she kept stroking her dagger, as if she were telling it to be ready.

Raven gulped.

"...what’s wrong, Siris?" Raven asked in a low voice.

"If she tries anything funny... I’ll eat her fingers," Siris replied without turning.

"...Eat?"

Siris looked at him, eyes wide and serious. "With salt."

Raven coughed and inched away.

Jake, walking silently behind them, gave Raven a single nod of camaraderie.

He, too, had seen the twitch in Siris’s aura.

Jessy, ignoring the conversation, stepped closer to Ilzara. "So, what’s your position in the Magic Tower?"

Everyone’s ears perked, except Raven’s, as he already knew the answer.

After all, Ilzara was one of the heroines who would help the protagonist win over the Red Magic Tower.

"Oh," Ilzara turned toward Jessy. "I’m one of the elders of the tower."

As she spoke, she glanced at Raven, wanting to see his reaction, but he didn’t seem surprised.

"Damn," Alex rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You must be pretty powerful, then?"

"I’m strong enough not to hold anyone back," Ilzara replied with a polite smile, and Alex nodded like a sage, Nibbles mimicking his actions.

’I wonder how they’d react if they knew she was the Tower Master’s daughter,’ Raven wondered curiously, knowing who Ilzara was.

Soon, the group stepped through the gates of the Red Flame Tower, surrounded by ancient wards and smoldering statues, and the atmosphere shifted.

It was warm and heavy; the air was thick with magic.

Ilzara turned to them once more, face composed. "We have rooms prepared for the prince and his companions. Please rest, and if there is anything you need... anything at all... don’t hesitate to ask, Raven."

There it was again.

That extra softness in her voice.

Siris twitched.

Raven smiled tightly. "Noted."

As they were led into the tower’s heart, the squirrel army melted into shadows, blending into the flora, stonework, and decor—silent guardians of fluff, forever vigilant.

Raven sighed.

’This was supposed to be a secret investigation, not a harem recruitment drive.’

He didn’t even want to think about what Clara would say when she found out.

Or worse—what she’d do.

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