Aegon spent some time silently in Liliana's embrace, since he still needed time to calm his mind and relax his tensed-up body. For some weird reason, she was ice-cold, but he felt warmth.

He needed it after experiencing the panic attack. He thought he had gotten over everything from his past life, but the fifteen years of loneliness and time in the hospital left a deep trauma.

Even now, it was sitting there in his soul, completely hidden by the overwhelming happy memories he created. Aegon mistook it as gone, but he was wrong.

'Trauma doesn't go just because you experienced happiness.'

He sighed and closed his eyes as Liliana ran her fingers through his hair. The silence was welcome to him, but he felt slightly unnerved because of what he experienced just now, so he decided to talk.

"Why are you so cold?" he asked.

"It's because of my connection with the Concept of Death. I walk on its path, hence I gained its cold solace too," Liliana answered calmly.

"Death is solace, huh."

Liliana nodded. "I think of it that way. Life is full of struggle, pain, and so much cruelty. While all of this ends at death. You find peace in death."

"It depends, though," Aegon argued. "Death is solace for those dying, but what about the ones left behind? Those who feel the pain of their death."

"Hmm, I think of it differently," Liliana caressed his hair and smiled. "Do you love Xiu?"

"Is there any doubt?"

"There isn't," she chuckled softly. "Then tell me, is this love her responsibility or yours?"

"Mine. I decided to love her," Aegon stopped, then nodded. "I see."

"Yes. They feel the pain because of that love. I always wondered, are we responsible for someone loving us? Isn't it too much to think like that?" Liliana sighed. "So, death is solace. They just feel the pain because they can't part with them."

"I see. But I'll still prefer life over death," Aegon said after thinking for a bit.

"One cannot exist without the other, Aegon. Life gets its meaning from death, and death gets its meaning from life. That's why no one is truly immortal. Not even Gods," Liliana said.

"Is it because they died in the war or because they can die by aging?"

"Because they died. I do think they get that type of immortality otherwise, though I'm not sure," Liliana said. "And don't worry, this isn't forbidden knowledge."

Aegon nodded and then sat up, leaving her embrace. "I'm fine now."

"That's good," Liliana nodded with a smile and stood up. "Let's continue this sometime else then."

"No, please continue," Aegon held her hand and stopped her. "You faced your fears to tell me everything, so why can't I do the same?"

"Are you sure?" Liliana asked, turning around.

"Yes," he nodded. "Though I can guess the leftovers now."

Liliana sat back and said, her soft voice echoing in the tent.

"As you can guess, the Wind Cloud Pavilion was planning to send you to the Demon King through a Teleportation Rune Formation. But it isn't easy to teleport."

"I've always been curious about it, but Kai said I shouldn't look into it," Aegon said.

"He's right," Liliana nodded. "Teleportation includes some things that are forbidden knowledge. So, when transferring people who can't handle it, like a baby, one has to be careful they don't hear anything or see anything. Even its presence could corrupt you, so they had to make preparations."

She lingered for a while before saying evenly.

"That time was all Mom needed. She reached the Wind Cloud Pavilion in no time because of Auranyth and then proceeded to ravage it into ashes. They were strong, but against the Dragon Queen and her rider, they failed to achieve anything."

She fiddled with her fingers and said.

"She managed to rescue you just in time and sent her dragon on a secret mission immediately after. No one knows what she asked of the Dragon Queen, so perhaps only she can answer you."

"She doesn't even want to meet me," Aegon sighed.

"It's because she's recovering," Liliana said. "In any case, by then everyone important enough had gathered near the Wind Cloud Pavilion, though only three people were allowed inside to meet Mom."

"She... she died of her injuries, right?" Aegon asked, his voice choking.

Liliana nodded in response and held his hand tighter.

"That was the Demon King's plan all along. They knew they couldn't kill her head-on, so they made her give up on her Ascension at the most important time. The backlash killed her, not the Wind Cloud Pavilion."

She scoffed.

"There wasn't a single person on this continent who could kill her otherwise. Even the Emperor and Demon King couldn't achieve that feat. That was Olena Valeria, the strongest to ever live after the Divine War."

Aegon closed his eyes as his grip tightened around Liliana's hand. His breathing stopped as he thought about his grandmother's love for him.

That woman never saw him even once and didn't hesitate once in giving up everything for him. She was the reason he was alive and in good hands.

He owed her this life.

"Many speculate that she gave her life saving you because you were the last chance she had to revive the Valeria Clan. But all of it is bullshit."

Liliana turned towards him and said.

"Mom didn't know a thing about you. In fact, she had already expected to have a normal grandchild again. So she sacrificed her life to save you not because of Valerian blood. Never think of that. She did that because you were her family, her grandchild."

"I will never," Aegon said in a low voice to suppress his emotions.

Liliana smiled lightly and continued.

"When she held you, she saw the entire world in you. This increased her disappointment in Art even more, hence she asked Father to keep you away from him."

She pursed her lips and said.

"To be honest, she was like me and perhaps the other women who married into House Augustus. She was tired of seeing Augustus put the world before their own family, as she held entirely opposite beliefs."

She chuckled and added.

"For her, as long as her loved ones were fine and happy, she was ready to sacrifice the whole world for them. Once, Father was trapped inside the Nightmare Desert and she brought hundreds of dragons and decimated that God-forsaken place."

"Haha! Seems like we would have bonded well," Aegon chuckled, even as tears welled up in his eyes.

Liliana smiled.

"Yes. You would have become her best friend. She even took in a miscreant like Xiu just because Art and I asked her once. They hated each other, but she also became the reason Xiu cried for the first time in her life."

She sighed.

"But she was also very temperamental. Perhaps that's why when she saw how an innocent almost died because of how the Augustus lived, she asked for that promise from Father. She wanted you to live a life away from the Augustus legacy."

"I guess she succeeded."

Liliana raised her head and said.

"Yes. She did. You grew up so fine, and I'm proud of you. I know I lost the status of mother that day, so I will not ask for it too. Xiu earned it, and I'm happy for her. For you. But I hope you can let me enter your life."

Aegon gave her a side glance and said.

"Aren't you already in it? I don't think I would cry on just anyone's shoulder."

Then he leaned back and asked, "I've been confused about one more thing. Why didn't House Valeria take revenge if they knew everything?"

"Because they don't have a Valeria among them."

Liliana paused to look into his eyes, then continued.

"House Valeria has many dragons, but most of them just like to sleep because of their long lifespans. Only a minority of them could contract dragons, but it's different for a Valerian. They can command all those dragons at once."

"You mean, without a Valerian, House Valeria is weak?" Aegon frowned.

"Very weak," Liliana nodded. "Though there's one more reason. The Dragon Queen instructed House Valeria that it was Mom's order not to pursue revenge."

Aegon's frown deepened. "I can understand why she would ask that of Opa and Xiu, but why House Valeria? They were strong enough to cause serious damage, no?"

"Perhaps," Liliana muttered. "Mom was a mysterious person who kept lots of secrets, even from Father. I'm sure she had her reasons for keeping House Valeria out of this."

She patted Aegon's hand and said.

"When I came to my senses and began regretting what I did, I wanted to find you immediately, only to receive the news of what happened. Of the fact that Father was taking you away."

She sighed.

"Mom didn't stop me, so I could have contacted Father and reached you, but my guilt kept me away. I thought I deserved the pain of absence for what I did, but really, all of it was just a facade to cover my fear of facing reality."

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