"Lord Akachi doesn't care about his reputation, but that doesn't mean he is what the rumors about him suggest. Make no mistake, Lord Akachi doesn't concern himself with his reputation, but there is hardly anyone as worthy as him in Bordium."
Mom and Abigail didn't say anything. They seemed indecisive about how to react to these words. I think the previous threat was enough to make them hesitate to speak lightly.
But since I'm not them, I can draw some conclusions. First, from what I understood in this conversation, Lord Akachi is known as a lazy, irresponsible vagabond with a habit of disappearing from home.
Second, he apparently let the rumors circulate because he was lazy or something similar, to try to intervene and put an end to the rumors. Probably, he was too busy traveling to care about what others were thinking.
Third, he is also the "Statera" of the Council's triad. I still don't know what this term means, but if I were to guess, I would bet it's some term to define some kind of relationship. It could be something more than that, of course, but I don't know for now.
Fourth, apparently, Lord Akachi is an excellent teacher and is widely recognized for it. But that doesn't mean he is committed to the job, so he didn't take an apprentice. But the fact is that he became interested in me in a way that hadn't happened before.
Fifth, the Triad wants to use me to try to change the situation and make Lord Akachi finally improve his reputation in society. I suspect that now that he has shown interest in me, they won't stop until we are both together, as master and disciple.
"Lady Nala, taking all this into account, I think the Triad will not stop until they get what they want. I fear that these 6 years of observation will only be to watch the child grow. As if it were a kind of observational test."
Abigail just raised a very important question. Why did the Triad choose to give Mom and me 6 years to observe? Do they just want to see me grow?
I doubt it, they must want something beyond that, probably they want to wait until I grow up to start pulling the strings.
"As much as I agree with your way of thinking, I still have to remember that the council's decision was made. Besides, it was a decision of pure mercy and took into account Lord Akachi's appeal. And this decision was extremely criticized by the other Great Dragon Ladies, especially by your immediate superiors. I won't even talk about the Dragon Ladies who also filed complaints against you."
While speaking, Nala began to get up from the chair. After standing, she walked slowly toward Mom. Upon reaching her, Nala handed me back to Mom and walked back towards the chair, but still did not sit.
"If we only consider your crimes, Inessa, believe me, the Council would have made a decision that entirely favored the other Ladies. Also, Lady Alexandra clearly stated that she has no reason to trust you to take care of this child after the incident 3 years ago."
Now that it has been mentioned again, I remember that this is a weakness of Mom; at any moment, it can be used against her. I hope that the barrier called Lord Akachi is strong enough to withstand the blows and not give in.
"How is the Triad so sure that Inessa cannot be responsible for little Apollo? Inessa has never been irresponsible and has always given her best in any task she has had. Besides, her track record of apprentices and students would be more than enough to dispel any doubts."
Abigail raised her voice a little, clearly upset. She also said some interesting things about Mom and her personality.
But Nala didn't seem to care about what Abigail said. She just grabbed a jug of juice, poured it into her glass, and started drinking.
After finishing the juice, she sat calmly at the table and began to serve herself the food that was still on the trays.
"Yes, I also agree. Our dear Inessa is someone admirable, and her academic record does justice to her title of Sage. But we also can't deny that after the incident that happened to her, everything became strangely cloudy, especially after she isolated herself from the world and neglected all responsibilities."
Save a thousand lives and you'll receive praise and some pats on the back or the title of a hero. Lose one life, and all your previous reputation won't save you from scrutiny. It seems that this reality is universal; people are selfish and wicked.
Nala continued to serve while speaking. She mainly put meat on her plate, some vegetables, rice, pasta, salad, and more meat. It was a well-filled plate and quite heavy, somewhat disproportionate to her size. Will she eat all that?
She began to eat calmly and elegantly. But strangely, her utensils never stopped, as if they were in a well-defined cycle. Fortunately, she stopped for a moment to continue the conversation and said:
"You, Inessa, should face the consequences of your actions, but Lord Akachi's appeal was enough for you to receive amnesty. But that doesn't mean your deeds were forgotten, and your reputation was restored."
After starting to speak, she said a few words and stopped again. She seems to want to say something more, but she's busy eating. We just have to wait until she pauses again. Meanwhile, I see the food on her plate starting to disappear at an alarming speed.
After 2 minutes of eating, she paused again. She took the empty glass and filled it again, then drank half of it. After catching her breath, she spoke again:
"Inessa, dear, your crimes include but are not limited to: Negligence of your duties, insubordination, non-compliance with established guidelines and goals, breach of contract, and finally, inappropriate and illegitimate seclusion. And there are several cases during the three years you were isolated."
Nala seemed to want to mention a few more crimes, but fortunately, she didn't. On the contrary, she decided to just observe the reactions of the other two.
Abigail, apparently already aware of such crimes, didn't seem surprised, just a little concerned about her friend. In Mom's case, she also didn't seem surprised; however, I think she was a little intimidated by reality.
After confirming the reactions of the two, Nala seemed satisfied and returned her attention to her food. That gave me time to reflect a bit on what she just said.
First, all the crimes mentioned are mainly due to Mom's absence in the administration of the territory.
Second, she mentioned earlier that several complaints were filed against Mom by other Dragon Ladies.
Third, it's not just Dragon Ladies who are against Mom; it seems that other superiors are also dissatisfied with the situation.
Lastly, the crimes mentioned earlier are serious and should be enough for any ruler or administrator to be removed from office. But that didn't happen, and that certainly left a lot of people discontented out there.
Moreover, there seems to be a whole social structure among the dragons, with a well-defined hierarchy. I'm not sure about the hierarchy, but apparently, they are classified by titles, such as Lady Dragon and Great Lady Dragon and Supreme Dragon Lady.
There must be more titles, but because of my current situation, it's very difficult to investigate the matter more thoroughly.
But several questions that I need answers to begin to accumulate even more. For example, how do they acquire the titles? Who grants them? What does each title mean or represent?
On the other hand, these titles also entail responsibilities that I'm not sure about, but they may be related to the territory. I suspect that each territory must be governed by someone with a certain title.
And as I've heard in this conversation, it seems that there are some superiors responsible to whom the lower titles must report. They must be the immediate superiors and likely hold the title of Great Dragon Ladies, I suppose. They are the ones who must have established the orders and guidelines sent that were not fulfilled by Mom.
Another important point is that Nala said that other Dragon Ladies also filed complaints against Mom. That is, not only do Mom's superiors seem to have problems with her, as if that weren't enough.
It seems that dragons highly respect social hierarchy, so what the superiors decide must be respected. Mom didn't do that, even though she had her reasons for it, which ended up annoying everyone.
While I was thinking more about the subject, I didn't realize when Nala paused her meal and said:
"If it were anyone else, Inessa, you would be fined, stripped of your titles and territories, or worse, you would be arrested, and all your belongings, possessions, and titles would be confiscated. I've seen this happen a few times, and I know the Triad wouldn't hesitate to do it with you if necessary."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I hope you can help me correct any spelling errors in the chapters.
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