Chapter 1732: Chapter 1732

Before anyone could arrive, Jenkins fled into the distance, leaping through the dense canopy of branches, not daring to stop for a second.

He wanted nothing to do with the silver dragon's appearance. It wasn't something that could be easily explained away, especially since he was so reluctant to lie.

"But... a Primeval Amber Stone... an artifact that can transform non-humans into humans..."

He slipped the birthday gift from the young silver dragon into his pocket. As he continued his escape, leaping from branch to branch, his mind drifted, imagining all the potential uses for the stone.

The cat, clutched in one of Jenkins's hands, immediately let out an exceptionally docile meow.

In his mind, Jenkins was already eagerly wondering if his unicorn would gain the ability to speak with him if it wore the stone.

Unwilling to be associated with the silver dragon in any way, Jenkins didn't linger in the Evergreen Forest and left in a hurry. Unfortunately, Papa Oliver hadn't departed yet. When the commotion started and everyone heard and saw the beautiful, elegant silver dragon, he too had witnessed the massive creature.

So when Jenkins ran into Papa Oliver at the valley entrance, just as the old man was having a carriage prepared, Papa Oliver sized him up with a probing gaze. The look made Jenkins's skin crawl, but he knew his connection to the incident was impossible to explain away.

Papa Oliver finally remarked after a long silence.

Jenkins was unwilling to lie to Papa Oliver, but he didn't want to tell the truth either, so he simply held his gaze. Unaccustomed to being stared at so intently, and seeing Jenkins's reluctance to speak, Papa Oliver seemed to grasp the situation:

"Well, no one knows why we came to the Evergreen Forest today anyway, so I'll just pretend I know nothing about this. But if you're planning on pulling another stunt of this magnitude... give me a heads-up. I'll make sure to stay far away."

With that, he clapped Jenkins on the shoulder, a gesture that seemed to convey his weary resignation. Jenkins nodded quickly. Hearing Papa Oliver's words, he felt too guilty to keep him completely in the dark:

"Actually... that dragon... well... she gave me this."

He decided to reveal a small, harmless piece of the truth. He took out the amber pendant and placed it in his palm for Papa Oliver to see. He was just about to explain its function when, to his surprise, the old man recognized it at once:

"Oh, it's one of these? I never thought I'd see a piece this large."

"Of course. Years ago, before I came to Nolan, I worked with Old Jack. We didn't just recover antiques and herbs for the Church—we also handled rare stones. The Primeval Amber Stone is rare in the material world these days, but a stone that allows adult supernatural creatures to take human form is still quite famous. Some say it's the origin of transformation magic. Of course, others argue that transformation magic is the origin of the stone."

Jenkins had no interest in transformation magic; it brought back unpleasant memories of being turned into a mouse. He seized on the key phrase in Papa Oliver's explanation, and the old man nodded:

"That's right. The amber stone's effect isn't an illusion; it's a complete physical transformation. That's why it can only be used by supernatural animals or creatures that have passed their juvenile stage. Otherwise, it can cause irreversible damage to their development... You aren't..."

Papa Oliver glanced at the cat clutched in Jenkins's hand.

"You aren't planning to use it on your cat, are you? That's out of the question. No matter how you look at it, your cat is still just a kitten."

"No, no! Why would you think I'd do that?"

Jenkins felt personally insulted. He had absolutely no intention of turning Chocolate into a person. He only wanted to turn his unicorn into one... But based on what the old elf had taught him about judging the age of unicorns, his own mount didn't seem to be an adult either.

"Alright, stop worrying about all that nonsense. Have you handled things with those ladies of yours? Weren't they supposed to meet today? You'd be better off focusing on that."

With that, he ushered Jenkins toward the carriage. Jenkins glanced regretfully at the stone in his hand, mentally calculating how many centuries it would take for his mount to reach adulthood.

Once they were back in the city, Jenkins parted ways with Papa Oliver. Since it was on his way, he changed his plans and headed to Maidenhaven Road first. It was Saturday, so his family was home. He spent some time talking with his mother, Mary, who seemed a little down, and promised he would bring home his intended bride soon. Only then did he leave, just before lunch.

Next on his agenda was a visit to Queen Isabella to get an update on the aftermath of yesterday's incident.

As expected, the area around the residence was cordoned off. It was a form of soft quarantine; anyone could enter, but leaving was strictly restricted. Captain Bincy's squad was still on patrol outside. Before heading in, Jenkins made some inquiries and learned that of the dukes who had arrived yesterday, only two had left to represent the Queen at a meeting today. The rest had remained inside the residence, and none had requested to leave.

The residence's courtyard was quiet today, with no sign of the usual gardeners tending the lawn or servants hurrying about. The royal guards, however, were still stationed at the main entrance. As Jenkins was also a member of the royal family, the two men at the door opened it for him as he strode across the manicured lawn.

"Where is Her Majesty at the moment?"

he asked abruptly. The man on the left answered, his voice muffled from within an ornate iron helmet:

"Her Majesty should be in her study at this hour. However, with several 'guests' still present today, we can't be certain she's keeping to her usual routine."

Besides the regular servants, the most numerous group in the house now were the Church's Enchanters. Believing the residence might still hide other horrifying rituals or traps, the Orthodox Church had dispatched its most trusted occult specialists to go over every inch of the place with a fine-toothed comb.

Jenkins ran into Duke Douglas at the landing between the first and second floors. The duke merely shook his head at him, and they exchanged no words. Then, on the second-floor terrace, Jenkins saw the two demigods from the Church of All Things and Nature and the Church of the Storm Lord in conversation. He overheard them mention the terms of compromise proposed by Queen Isabella, but he didn't interrupt. He simply greeted them and continued on his way upstairs. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ noⅴelfire.net

Finally, on the third floor, he saw an acquaintance from the Church and, after a brief inquiry, confirmed that Queen Isabella was indeed in her study.