Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons novel Chapter 400

Chapter 400: Chapter 400 - Tamers War - The Immortal (2/2)

Laura had been born with the strongest will to see the world and had inherited Selphira’s love for "living to the fullest," the philosophy the long-lived woman had developed after seeing so many people regret, at the end of their lives, not having pursued their dreams.

That philosophy, along with that innate love for exploration and adventure, had been what had finally cost Laura her life.

Selphira had been left in charge of Liora... the small three-year-old granddaughter, and Leonel had become her absolute priority. But unlike Laura, who had thirsted for adventures, Leonel thirsted for power.

And Selphira knew it. She had known it for years.

She constantly found herself in a dilemma that ate at her from within:

Give him what he wanted like Laura, respecting his autonomy and desires?

Or learn from Laura’s loss and deny him what could lead him to ruin, even though that also meant denying him the opportunity to fully experience his life?

"Help me climb the last rungs," Leonel continued, his voice taking on a more pleading tone. "Make me the new family leader. Take me to war to earn indisputable merit. When we return victorious, no one will be able to question my position."

’He’s already an adult,’ Selphira reminded herself, ’but not really.’

She had spoiled him, perhaps too much. Perhaps he had lacked a father figure, someone to set firm limits when she couldn’t do it. Perhaps he had lacked having less authority and more experience of suffering under it, of understanding what it truly meant to earn others’ respect instead of receiving it by grace of being the son of such an imposing figure.

But it was too late for him...

Leonel had already grown up, had already been formed under her influence, and the patterns were too established.

Selphira could see it clearly: the subtle arrogance in his posture, the expectation that the world would bend to his desires, the inability to understand why the "old foxes" of the family didn’t automatically recognize him as leader and why his selfish desires couldn’t be the priority every time.

And she blamed herself for it. In the end, she was responsible for this outcome.

"Leonel," she said finally, her voice loaded with the weight of centuries of experience, "leadership isn’t taken by force. It’s earned through..."

"Time?" He interrupted bitterly. "Patience? I’ve had patience for too many years, mother. I’ve worked, I’ve demonstrated my power, I’ve shown my loyalty. But while you’re here, while you’re the undisputed matriarch, no one else can truly shine."

The words hit Selphira like a physical punch. There was truth in them, a truth she had been avoiding facing.

Her longevity, her power, her dominant presence had effectively created a shadow under which her descendants struggled to define themselves... and failed.

Each generation had to live with the knowledge that they would never be truly independent while she was alive.

"It’s not your time," she said softly, though the words hurt even her.

"When will it be my time?" The desperation in his voice was palpable now. "When I’m forty? Fifty? When you’ve lived so long that even your current great-grandchildren are elderly?"

’It’s what happened with Lothar,’ Selphira thought, remembering her first son. ’He lived 240 years under my shadow, always "Selphira’s son," never really his own man.’