The Simulacrum - Chapter 98 - Part 1 (Patreon)

The shouting, audible all the way from the other end of the hallway, died down the moment we entered the Dracis mansion's spacious conference hall. This was the same room where we brokered a peace accord with Penny's group, though the interior design was completely overhauled for the occasion.

The big table in the middle was taken out, replaced by a semi-circle-shaped one at the back of the room. Around the curved side sat the most important Draconian clan heads, or their representatives. The only exceptions were the Dracises, as Emese and Elly were both seated next to Abram at the head of the table, at least as much as this concept applied here. There was also an empty seat between them, no doubt reserved for me.

Speaking of empty seats, there was another spot left empty, right between the still black-eyed grand elder and Naoren's annoying brother, currently wrapped up like an off-season mummy. The Ordo Draconis (still can't believe that this name stuck) members were seated on the side, and while everyone seemed a little unnerved by their presence, they remained unbothered. As for Morgana and Raven Boy, the two of them were sitting behind a plain table facing the fancy semi-circular one, in the company of two nondescript middle-aged Asian men.

All in all, with the bigwigs in the back, the four in the middle, and the small gaggle of miscellaneous extras seated around the four walls, the place looked closer to a courtroom than a conference hall.

But back to our arrival: Naoren and I both received a change of clothes, namely a pair of matching 'victorian aristocrat' style suits similar to the one I wore to the banquet, and came here right after putting them on. Xiao was whisked away by her bodyguards in the meantime, so it was only the two of us this time around, yet our presence still silenced the cacophony of the room in an instant.

"Welcome! Please, come and take a seat!" Abram exclaimed in his usual lack of indoor voice. "We didn't know when you two would finish, so we started without you! Sorry about that!"

"There's no need to apologize, clan head," Naoren said in a diplomatically neutral voice I couldn't imitate even if I tried. So I didn't.

"What did we miss?" I asked as I walked over to the empty seat by Elly's side without any reservations, and the Feilong patriarch soon followed my example.

"How much do you know?" Emese inquired, and I only answered after sitting down.

"Xiao told us what happened at the tournament. Did you know she was a dragon? I have to say, I didn't see that coming."

"I think none of us did," Mom-in-law commented a tad morosely, but before she could add anything more, her husband's voice filled the chamber once again.

"So, son? Who won?"

"Clan head Abram!" one of the clan head representatives, a young woman, spoke up in disapproval. "That is hardly the most important thing we must discuss right now!"

"But I'm curious! Don't tell me I'm the only one!" He glanced around, looking for approval, and there were actually a couple of people in the crowd that seemed to share his sentiment. "So? Don't keep us in suspense!"

I glanced at Naoren, and we both let out a shallow sigh, more-or-less in unison.

"If you really want to know," I began, drawing everyone's attention, "After a long and tiring fight, we both aired our grievances, argued our perspectives, and in the end reached mutual understanding and ended the duel on amicable terms."

"So it's a draw?" Abram muttered, and I nodded in turn. "So... did I win or lose the bet?"

I had no idea what he meant, and considering that mom-in-law already wedged his elbow into his side, I didn't even bother to ask.

"Impossible!" Zihao exclaimed in outrage... kind of. I mean, he probably wanted to do that, but his jaw was bandaged up, so his words ended up kind of muffled. "There's no way my brother would lose to a lowlife like you!"

"Zihao, mind your words," Naoren spoke up sternly, halting the guy before he could gather more steam. "After our duel concluded, Leonard and I swore an oath of brotherhood. As my peer, you must address him as such."

"You did what?" Zihao blurted out, and I couldn't help but let a pleased smile creep onto my face.

"Wait, does that mean that he now has to call me something fancy, like 'elder brother'? Huh. Suddenly this whole sworn brother thing sounds pretty neat."

"I'm not going to call you--!"

Before he could finish, the grand elder by the brothers' side raised a hand, and it silenced the explosive younger guy at once.

He looked me over with a critical eye, then said, "You say the two of you had crossed blades for over six hours, yet you do not appear to be any worse for wear."

"Well, we weren't just repeatedly punching each other for six hours, obviously," I responded, and Naoren picked up my slack as well.

"We contested each other in many ways. Only brutes use their fists for everything, and only fools allow themselves to be pummeled."

"Right. Exactly as he said," I concurred, only to pause for a beat and innocently ask, "But speaking of pummeling, what happened to your face, grand elder? Did you accidentally run into a lamppost... about twenty times? Or was it closer to thirty?"

"Leo," the princess hissed on my side, and I took a moment to breathe in a center myself. Force of habit and all that.

Instead of responding right away, the old man only glared at me, yet soon his face returned to a neutral expression and he blandly stated, "I encountered two warriors of the Brotherhood of Most Heroic Bloodlines. I'm led to believe you are well-acquainted with them."

"You mean Morgana and Agrawain over there?" I pointed at the two Knights, currently wearing what looked like surgical gowns (I admit, I forgot to prepare tracksuits for them), and waved. Morgana gave me a deferential nod, while Raven Boy remained indifferent. "You could say that, yes."

"As a matter of fact," the grand elder raised his voice and  dramatically aimed an accusatory finger at me, "I was told that you are none other than the head of the warmongers of the Brotherhood of the Most Heroic Bloodlines!"

That sudden accusation created a bit of a buzz, but much less than expected. Apparently, the information was already disseminated by this point.

"Your information is a little outdated. We're called the Ordo Draconis now."

"Do not pull the neck of the duck and call it a goose!"

"... Was that even a Chinese idiom, or something you came up with on the spot?"

"Stop avoiding the question!" the old man growled, incensed to the point his face was redder than the princess after I teased her a little. "Do you dare deny the fact that you have conspired to smuggle the members of Brotherhood of the Most Heroic Bloodlines into our ranks?"

"Ordo Draconis," Arnwald corrected him on the side, earning the old man's ire.

"Silence! You shall be dealt with in due time, after the—"

"Would you please shut up for a moment?" I cut in with a level but firm voice and my best glare, leaving the old man's mouth hanging.

"You dare!?" Zihao burst out, so instantly switched my glare at him.

"I believe what you wanted to say way, 'You dare, elder brother?', am I right?" Now it was his turn to make his best stumped-fish-impression, and since he didn't say anything, I proceeded to ignore him and focus my attention back on the old man. "But to stay on topic, I would advise against threatening my subordinate in public like that. It's not a good look, and it may cause me to point out that when it comes to vaguely nefarious conspiracies, you should be the last person accusing others." I paused here, just to let that settle down in everyone's mind, and then added, "However, to be fair, I can't deny that I am, indeed, the current leader of the Knights, and thus responsible for their presence on the island. I'm also responsible for telling my subordinates to safeguard your tournament, which is the reason why they put down the coup d'etat you set into motion, and evacuate everyone during the attack of the renegade Knights you got involved, along with an alleged Abyssal Lord you pissed off. But by all means, please do tell how it's all our fault."

"Now, now, son. Don't push so hard," Abram warned me in a rare display of normal volume levels. "We have already discussed the internal dispute within the Feilong clan, and grand elder Xinji was found to be acting with noble intentions."

"Was he?" I asked back, and this time it was one of the Eastern Draconian clan heads who spoke up.

"If I may, please allow this humble official to summarize the proceedings of the conference so far, for the benefit of clan head Naoren and... errr..."

The man was giving me an odd look, and it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize what caused his wires to get crossed and say, "Just skip the titles for now."

After a brief beat, he nodded and started again.

"For the benefit of those not present during the first half of the meeting…" He squared the notes in front of him, and only continued after looking through them. "According to the testimonies of the clan protectors of clan Feilong, grand elder Feilong Xinji was corresponding with them in secret, informing them of the progress of his plans to draw out the seditious elements among the subordinate branch-families, and he coordinated with the leadership of the loyal clans. While the timing of the rebellion was inexact, after reviewing the witnesses and the evidence presented, the clans in attendance at the summit deemed grand elder Feilong Xinji's actions appropriate and without malice, and no one pressed any claims for punishment or reimbursement. As such, any further investigation or examination was left in the hands of the Feilong clan's internal disciplinary council."

Since it appeared the man finished speaking, I looked at Naoren and asked, "You have an 'internal disciplinary council'?"

"Yes. It is led by the grand elder, though I believe in this case I would have to take over his duties until the end of the investigation."

"But that doesn't change the fact that he's going to be reviewed by his own men. That sounds like a scandal in the making."

"Don't worry, I will ensure the neutrality of the process. Please give me some face."

"Aw, dammit!" I hissed and nearly rolled my eyes. "We were this close to avoid the whole 'face' cliché, and you blew it…" The bespectacled patriarch raised a disapproving brow at my grumbles, so I added, "Yes, sure, I naturally trust your judgment and your face and whatnot, but considering this was an incident that endangered not only your extended family, but many others as well, I propose a joint investigation."

"You dare question my brother's judgment?" Zihao barked in, and so I only again leveled a flat look at him.

"You once again forgot to add 'esteemed elder brother' at the end of your question, so I won't dignify you with an answer until you learn your etiquette," I answered a touch snobbishly, and while I received a couple of glares for my trouble, the princess at my side had to hide her face to stifle her giggles, which was way more important to me, so I didn't mind.

So, I maintained eye-contact until Zihao finally averted his gaze, yet at the same time I subtly gestured for Naoren to go along with me. He didn't seem entirely enthusiastic, but followed my lead all the same, and the moment I looked at him, he asked, "What do you have in mind?"

"Thank you for asking." I stood up and cleared my throat. "I propose that the members of the Ordo Draconis would oversee the process as neutral observers." That earned me a round of confused, flabbergasted, and mildly outraged voices, but once I raised my hand, the confubbergastraged noises all died down, allowing me to continue. "You might wonder why I would propose to let men and women who were, until today, your mortal enemies, do that. The answer is as simple as it is harsh: you are fragmented, you are divided, and you are weak." This time I didn't let the dissenting voices gain momentum, and raised mine in advance and pointed at the four uniformed Knights on the side, then at the two by the table in the middle. "Look at them! These are the 'accursed knights' you fear and loathe! Seven, counting myself! You, descendants of mighty dragons and hoarders of wealth and prestige, had been held in check by seven people, three of them too young to even legally drink in most countries! Why do you think that is? It's because you are so busy squabbling with each other over scraps and old grudges that you completely lost track of the big picture. Look at what happened today. A single man made a fool out of all of you because you were so focused on scheming and plotting against each other, you forgot to even consider that maybe you should rather brace yourself against the Abyssal with the unknown motivation and powers."

"We didn't exactly know about him…" one of the Western Draconian clan heads noted on the side, so I pointed a finger at the grand elder.

"He did, and he chose to focus on his plan instead of telling anyone about it."

"I learned of this Bel of the Abyss's existence during my brief contact with the two warriors of the Brotherhood of the Most Heroic bloodlines," the old man stated in a dignified but tense voice. "I couldn't reveal his threat without disclosing my manipulation of the warriors of the Bro—"

"And tell me, did it even cross your mind not to do that?" I cut him off before he could repeat the Knights' unnecessarily long name for the umpteenth time. "Did you even consider that maybe your internal conflict was less important than this new threat? That maybe you should just cut your losses, explain yourself, and ask for help?" I waited for a beat, then declared, "No, of course not. This is the problem. You, we, are all too entrenched in our ways, pointlessly repeating our mistakes without ever learning from our history. Hundreds of years of fruitless feuds had already proven that. No matter the threat of violence the Knights have imposed, it couldn't make you change your ways and unite. However, despite you never changing your ways, the Knights kept using the same fruitless methods over and over again. It's an endless cycle of pointless, petty violence and strife, and it. cannot. continue."

"What is your alternative?" Naoren prompted me again, and I opened my arms wide.

"All of you have seen it already. The Brotherhood of the Most Heroic Bloodlines is no more. We have pledged ourselves to right the wrongs of the past, and some of you have experienced our determination firsthand during today's incident. The Ordo Draconis now exists to maintain peace, order, and the bare minimum of decency among all Draconian families. However, we can't do it on our own. For this to work, you have to do the same; set aside your grudges and unite under a single banner. Only when we are of one mind and vision can we avoid falling into another vicious cycle, and with new, unforeseen threats on the horizon, we cannot allow ourselves to do that."

"Are you demanding us to follow you?" a voice called out from the crowd, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"I don't care who you unite under. Follow Abram, or Naoren, or form a new federation, or do whatever you want so long as all Draconians end up united. It's not a hard choice, I think, but make it quick."

"This all sounds wonderful, but I'm sure there are going to be many who would not want to join your union," Dobry Smok spook up, sounding more than a little conflicted. "At the very least, I believe my father would not approve of this."

"You make a fair point, so let's gauge things, shall we?" I asked with a practiced showman's smile and opened my arms again. "Ladies and gentlemen, the choice is yours. Are you willing to consider my proposal, leave the past behind, and search for a better tomorrow with us?"

"This might be obvious, but the Dracis family is already prepared and eager to do so!" Abram exclaimed, and even Emese followed it up with a subdued, "That much is natural."

"The Lohikäärme family will follow the Dracis patriarch's lead," the middle-aged woman on the far right spoke up next.

"So do the Lotans," the man seated by her also agreed.

These two were the families closest to ours, so this much was to be expected. However, the next voice joining the fray seemingly surprised even my in-laws.

"As the representative of House Albion, I wish to express my interest in joining this new union," the tall, pale woman with a beehive hairdo declared, leaving a stunned silence in her wake.

"The empire, long united, must divide; long divided, must unite," Naoren spoke softly, yet audibly, and before anyone else could get a word in, he also stood up and proclaimed, "Clan Feilong will fully support Leonard Dunning's proposal for a peaceful tomorrow."

"Clan head, you can't—!"

Before he could get any further than that, the grand elder's voice was drowned out by the many other family heads and representatives speaking up at once. By the looks of it, Naoren's backing broke the proverbial dam, and all the smaller families were doing their best to out-shout the others in their attempt to proclaim their support.

That… went smoother than expected. However, while all of these declarations sounded great, I was keenly aware that this wasn't something we could decide in one sitting, so it was time to take a step back, if only for the sake of appearances.

"Please, everyone! Calm down! While this is definitely a milestone event in our history, we cannot blindly rush into it." I could see a couple of people nodding in the crowd, and after waiting for a little, I added, "We have many other pressing issues to discuss today, so after we're finished with them, let us appoint a date for a new conference, where the details can be ironed out to everyone's satisfaction. Do you agree?"

"Naturally!" dad-in-law exclaimed, and Naoren nodded along as well.

So far, everything proceeded more or less how I envisioned it. I really wished we could just ride the hype train and get everyone to agree on forming a new Global Draconic Federation or what have you, but something as grand as this required solid foundations. That said, Rome wasn't built in one day either, and with how the plan received the support of over ninety percent of the major families and clans, I had a good feeling about this.

So, I sat down, and the moment I did that, the princess grabbed my hand to get my attention.

"Hey, Leo?"

"Yes?"

"Did you come up with that speech on the spot?"

"What? No, of course not. We wrote it with Naoren. Most of the evocative stuff came from him."

"Really?"

For some reason, she seemed almost disappointed, so I hastily added, "Well, to be honest, I had to improvise quite a bit around the middle."

That was enough to turn her frown upside down and make her look impressed again. Was she prejudiced against pre-written scripts, or was I missing something else? In any case, I had no time to ask her, as the commotion in the room finally quieted down and we all moved on to the next topic.

"Since we decided to leave the discussion about Leonard's proposal for another day, I believe it's time to discuss the so-called elephant in the room," Naoren said, drawing everyone's attention. "What do we know about this 'Bel of the Abyss'?"

All right! This is what I was waiting for. I knew I left a strong impression on the people present at the amphitheatre, but that didn't mean there was no need to reinforce Bel's image even further. After all, I was planning to shape him into a greater-scope villain, so I wanted to make sure everyone understood how dangerous, unpredictable, and unfathomable he was. The fact that doing so also made my argument for uniting in the face of new threats more credible was just a bonus.

"I've only met the man today for the first time, but I believe it's safe to say he's a villainous madman!" Abram responded, and I could barely stop myself from clapping. That's it! We just started the discussion, and we already used the 'v-word', and without any prompting to boot. Things were going great.

"Maybe we should ask someone who had more experience with this strange man," Emese added and glanced at the knightly quartet sitting on the sidelines. "Roland?"

"Yes, ma'am?" Mr. Griffon responded and jumped to his feet at once.

"I think out of everyone present here, you're the one who interacted the most with this Bel person. What can you tell us about him?"

I'm not going to lie, I was almost flabbergasted by this development. This went exactly how I planned, except originally I was going to call Roland to testify about Bel. However, since mom-in-law did it for me, it worked out even more smoothly than I could ever hope for.

In the meantime, Mr. Griffon walked over to the side of the semi-circular table, so that he could see both the people being it and the rest of the crowd, and after a few seconds of consideration, he stated, "I have met Bel of the Abyss three times in total. On the surface, his behavior is erratic, his motives are shrouded in mystery, and his powers are both exotic and overwhelming."

Yep. Leave it up to good old Uncle Roland to perfectly set the stage. We were on the right track.

"However, I disagree with the notion that he's a madman."

Yes, Bel's not a… Wait, what?

"In fact, I would argue that when all of his actions are taken into consideration, the picture they paint is far from that of a villain."

Um… Houston? We have a problem.