Those heels are doing her any favors. Nor the corset.
“Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor. Dragon Princess, but more importantly for you, a Champion and Idol of Goddess Aurena. I am happy to see that your travels were safe, my lady. Considering how my sister usually acts, I do hope she didn’t prove too much of a hassle.”
“None at all, your grace. Your elder sister has been nothing but knightly. Her grace displayed the gentleness of any capable princess, but the ruthlessness one would expect from a mighty dragon. No sea serpents or merfiends were left an ounce of belief that they may trespass upon her grace’s mercy without retribution. Even on those unwelcoming waves, I felt quite safe.”
I turned to the side to see Neill celebrating her homecoming with my other siblings. I’ve already given her my greeting, but unlike the others, I had my own guest to greet and also Neill’s. As her little sister, I had to help out a bit so she could enjoy her return.
Annaheil was my guest, and Neill’s two guests were two very special people to her. However, for now, I had to take responsibility for Annaheil’s stay.
“… The mana here is very oppressive, no?” I said, prompting Annaheil’s eyes to widen, before her expression turned into a frown.
“Verily. I fear that a rank C would spawn at any time with the amount of mana. If this wasn’t the Dragon Empire, I would question the capabilities of the administration and the mage’s guild. However, this is normal, right?”
“Why fear potential rank C spawns, when true dragonkin strut everywhere. However, you do not need to worry about your safety while you remain inside the city’s borders, Lady Annaheil,” I said. “The mana concentration means your mana regeneration is heightened compared to on Altrust. Raffarson’s makes that toxic to you. Your mana paths cannot endure the influx. Thank you very much for your bravery, but I presume you agreed to my request for you to come here due to the mixture you received, correct?”
She nodded, prompting me to ask Tasianna to come forward. She had been checking in on the progress of a cure to Raffarson’s Debilitation at Clan Gueillxar’s mansion since we arrived in Coral Beard, so she hadn’t been able to enjoy the festival. We needed to reduce the risk to the patient’s life, as she was also our first “test subject,” sadly. Raffarson’s was extremely rare amongst dragonkin, and I didn’t want to ask the elves for people.
“This is Tasianna. My party’s alchemist and also the person leading the development of an antidote with the help of Clan Gueillxar and Empress Yuilengreill. I presume my sister had told you of these details.”
Tasianna pulled out a vial of liquid from her satchel. “This is a poison concocted using Princess Hestia’s corrosive obsidian. Her grace can synthesize toxins she has ingested, although at a lower potency, using her purple flames. The solidified obsidian is then used in this mixture to create a toxin that shuts a majority of your mana path openings on your skin. Essentially, this is a [Mana Repression Poison (Major)]. Please, appraise it.”
Tasianna handed the poison to Annaheil’s butler for him to appraise, before he nodded and confirmed the details.
Tasianna continued, “It will suppress your mana regeneration through the air, making it more comfortable for you. The tests will be conducted inside Princess Fargryneill’s family mansion. If you trust Princess Hestia and Princess Fargryneill, then I can assure you Clan Nordor and Gueillxar will do their best to assure your safety and, hopefully, recuperation from Raffarson’s.”
“Thank you very much, then I shall imbibe? Will that be okay, butler?”
The elderly man grimaced, but nodded in the end. “…We are already gambling by fleeing the empire, young mistress. At this point, the enemy must already know that your mother and uncle went against the deal. We cannot receive any more of the antidote. If there were any other options, I would—”
“The Goddess watches over us through my eyes and yours,” I stated to assuage the poor man’s worries. “So do Goddess Erithia and Goddess Andira.”
I then pulled out [Providence’s Will] from my storage, revealing the prized relic of the church of Aurena. The three Folschreckians quickly recognized the catalyst’s bronze casing.
“G-Goddess Erithia’s [Providence’s Will]?” the butler stammered, prompting me to nod.
“I was chosen to be this relic’s newest master by order of the Goddess, and approved by both the catalyst itself and Goddess Andira to continue using it. You have my word and the promise I gave to your uncle. The God of Oaths is my grandfather, God Kargryxmor, so I swear to protect you and your retainers while you remain on Coral Beard. Clan Gueillxar has equally given their agreement, so our clans have jointly agreed to safeguard you. I trust Tasianna with my life.”
The butler closed his eyes, nodding even fiercely than before. “…Then, please, Champion. Please, grant the young mistress a miracle.”
Annaheil smiled weakly before her butler pulled out a single vial from his pouch. Annaheil then accepted Tasianna’s poison. “This is the last vial of the antidote given to me by the demonkin… The truth stung, but uncle has always placed our family’s safety above his. I believe him. Thank you very much for sending your retainers to exfiltrate us. I shall place my life in your hands.”
She then swallowed the poison down, almost reflexively asking her butler for something to drink, only to stop herself. “… It is tasteless. Despite the appearance.”
Tasianna frowned. “I apologize… even when it comes to this poison, I made sure to follow proper procedures to produce an effective one. Which means, it’s tasteless and odorless. I made sure to, at least, keep the color to show that it is dangerous to swallow.”
“Will the effects start immediately?” I asked.
“No, it is a good one. Disrupting her mana paths will be felt, and I did not want Lady Annaheil to feel the pain after such a long voyage. My lady, I shall excuse myself. I shall meet Princess Fargryneill later.” Tasianna bowed. “Lady Annaheil, please, the Gueillxar kirins shall guide you to their mansion.”
“W-wait! With me!” A clear, energy-filled voice interrupted the rather somber mood, pushing herself through Annaheil’s remaining entourage. A woman would green hair waved at us. “Tasianna, you can’t just leave me behind!”
One of Neill’s companions and best friends—Rita, the dryad.
“Oooh!” The happy-go-lucky, overly-curious faefolk froze in place, before she dashed over to touch Tasianna’s hands. “Y-you—I feel a lot of mana coursing through you, Tasianna. Wh-what exactly happened to you since we last met?”
Though, instead of answering her question, Tasianna quickly hugged the dryad, before releasing her, pulling on her hand to drag her along with her. “We may have a looong discussion when we reach the mansion, as much as you wish, as long as you help me and the other alchemist.”
“Naturally! The cure for Raffarson’s Debilitation… and I will be one of the alchemists who will solve that mystery? No alchemist could possibly say no!” Rita cheered, causing Annaheil to giggle at how oblivious Rita was to the mood. Or, she knew what was going on and was trying to lighten the mood. “Away we go, Lady Annaheil! To Fargryneill’s childhood home! Ahaha, Renee, we’re finally going to visit her home!”
… Nah, it’s the former. She is a faefolk at her core, no matter how much her dryad evolution ‘erased’ her faefolk-ness.
Yet, her cheerfulness did allow me to meet the last of Neill’s guest—the newest Champion of Yeostar, Rhea Renee Sealight, or just Renee to her friends.
Wearing a white-black armor scarred from numerous battle, a woman with a bob cut slowly walked around Annaheil’s retainer and bowed before me. Her face hadn’t changed much outside of her haircut change, but I could see from the openings in her armor that she had been gaining a lot of muscle. How capable was she after nearly two years of training under Yeostar’s authority?
“Champion Hestia. When news came about your health, God Yeostar’s angel assured me that you would be fine. Yet, my anxiety still remained, as it was unsure when you would wake up. Whether before or after the decisive moment,” Renee said, smiling. “Yet, those talks can wait for later. I bring news myself, but… I shall simply enjoy this festival as your father, Emperor Eltharion, had commanded. Let us meet another time for a meal to talk.”
“A fine suggestion. I, too, am curious what you have been doing. You better not have wasted our efforts.”
“Ha, with Fargryneill breathing down my neck for an entire year, dragging me to every possible monster den to hunt the monsters down; rest assured that your sister reminded Yeos and the royal family who they owed their lives to,” Renee said with a wide smile, although her face did contort as if she suddenly felt a surge of pain. “Haaa… regardless, your sister invited Rita and me here for her welcome back celebration. Furthermore, her mother did ask her to bring us here, so who are we to decline the personal invitation of an imperial dragon empress?”
Ahhh, I get it… Dragon mother asking you to bring back your friends so they can show, hehehehe. Yuilengreill did say she had been using the recorder a lot recently. Oh, my sweet sister, I hope you will enjoy the new age of ‘dragon parents embarrassing their children’ like I did.
“Not to mention, this would be an opportune time for me to also support Yeos.”
“Still helping them despite being God Yeostar’s Champion?” I teased, causing Renee to nod.
Though her face only got more serious. “Any support will help at this point.”
Ah, right. Can’t forget about the land scars that demonic hand created. It’s ravaging Middle Altrust.
After my little meeting with some old friends and my guest, Tasianna led everybody to the Gueillxar’s home while I returned to my siblings, though it seemed the meeting had already ended.
“Hey, you little skink!” Neill wrapped her arms around me, grinning so widely as if she was looking at a small pet, patting my horns with the dragon horn on the side of her head.
I knew Neill had evolved into a rank A, but her appearance hadn’t changed that much. Her hair and general appearance were the same when I last met her, but that also meant that the only big change was her horns.
Her two diminutive dragon horns used to be small enough that her black-purple mane-like hair could hide them. As proud of her lineage as she was, Neill did have her issues, especially when it came to her dragon form. Yet, those small dragon horns were not only larger, but sharper. They protruded from her skull and hair, aiming backward with nothing to hide. Her kirin horn still spiraled like usual, but a glint of red shone on it instead of its usual purple.
“So, how do I look, huh? Different, right?” Neill teased.
“You smell like usual, what do you want me to say, huh?” I replied, but before Neill could give a snarky response, somebody suddenly piled up on us, hugging Neill to the point my second sister couldn’t respond.
Who was this insolent little maniac? Why, none other than our eldest sister.
“And yet, nothing is the same any longer.” Wendriosa laughed, tears flowing down her face. “I’ve gained a new sister and my previous youngest has grown too much. Even Nongramos didn’t act so insolently before even the elder scale! Fargryneill, I thought you changed when we met through the subspace, but you truly have changed.”
“Mhmm! The three sisters are reunited! Not even our brothers can do anything to us now, kiehiehahaha!” Neill raised her hand into the air as she pulled me along, causing me to kinda wish I wasn’t here.
… I should have just stopped at the mansion. You’re bloody killing my neck here, Sis.
A very motherly sister and a sister who emphasized the word “tomboy.” Maybe I should have joined my brothers for a bit. At least, Taim and Ryra were both very easy to get along with if you wanted some peace… Actually, Kahalameet, as well. Phso and Nong were the extroverts of that group.
Though I did appreciate how casual everything was, the moment we met Neill. After Father gave his little speech, the cheers and applause were directed at him felt like the perfect background music when us siblings joined Neill and her mother at the docks. The other empresses and the emperor didn’t approach us, though, giving us the stage to greet our dear sister. Also, all of them were still recording everything.
Holy…
As I was dragged away by Neill, I accessed the streamer function on my party bracelet, letting me witness the chat going wild.
… Why do I recognize some of those names?
It seemed I had pushed Frozen Nest to become addicted to these streams. The fact I could recognize a lot of the usernames meant that the majority of the chatters were only from Frozen Nest. This made sense, since the viewer count would have exploded if it weren’t.
This is mom’s PoV. I realized, before noticing, that there were multiple streams open, each made by the other empresses. Six streams in total, with Frozen Nest’s capital and Coral Beard among them. Inferno Nest, Dusk Nest, Storm Nest, and Quake Nest were the other places the festival was streamed towards; the number of viewers was only now steadily rising. The digital media guild and the state still had a long way until over 70% of the empire had a video-watching account.
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In any case, Yuilengreill hurried us along to return to the mansion since it was almost dinner time. We siblings, now fully reunited, flew to the sky city towards the Clan Kargryxmor’s mansion, where the butlers and maids hurried us into our individual rooms so we could all get ready.
My attendants didn’t help me into any dresses like a human attendant would, as we true dragonkin were expected to weave our clothes using our shed scales. As an imperial princess attending a special family meeting where Father would appear, I was expected to show my skills in [Scale Manipulation]. My attendants were there to give me suggestions on the design and help me create anything complicated.
Knowing this was expected from me, Sieg and Pradreo had recommended me to focus on practicing the creation of two to three designs. As such, my dress was quickly formed as my scales molted, creating a copy of the red dress I wore back during my first ball in Artorias. Only now, the family emblem of Kargryx was stitched onto the hem of the dress using silver scales when Hikari switched places with me.
However, she would not attend the meeting. Princess Hestia, the dragon princess born from the soul of Hikari, needed to appear. I was the one who spoke to Eltharion during our first meeting, so I had to confront him once again.
“My lady, your hands,” one of my maids stated, prompting me to look down, noticing how much my hands were shivering.
I could prevent my tail and legs from trembling, but my hands somehow felt cold. Images of Eltharion’s aura and cold-hearted eyes filled my head, reminding me of the hatred he held for me. For my existence that I had no fault in. I should feel rage at him, but knowing that he was inside this mansion, I couldn’t show any of it. My heart was held tightly by fear and trepidation.
I did not want to see that man, but I knew I had to. It would be impossible to fulfill Mom’s wish for a happy family if I ignored her one true love—her husband. I swore to become a good daughter. I made that vow for Mom, but Father had to count, as well.
Regardless of whether it was my fault or not, Eltharion’s soul was deteriorating ‘cause of his hatred for Aurena, Kramps, and me, as he believed we “killed” what should have been his real daughter. If Mom fully accepted that whoever came out of the egg was her real daughter, then Father could only accept the “original” soul growing inside the egg as his child.
Yet, as Mom told me, what if Hikari was the original soul of the egg? What if his “real” daughter was just the foundation for the birth of “Hestia?”
… Good.
I tightened my hands into fists. That thought experiment calmed my nerves. I had ammo to argue back against Eltharion if I needed to. Within the dining hall, Eltharion could not freely wield his aura unless he wanted to attract the anger of Mom. Maybe the other empress-mothers would even support me, knowing the situation.
Right. And my siblings. Just trust in the family, Hestia. Stay calm. Speak when needed. We can get through this. Eltharion can’t erupt in anger with Neill around, after everything that happened in Inferno Nest.
Heat swelled inside my solar core before I felt the fire subside, turning into a simple warm breeze. Calm. Composed. Elegant. Like a dragon. Like a princess.
Once I was done, I stepped out of my room but stopped when I saw Mom was already waiting for me, noticing… that she was wearing the same dress I was, only completely silver and white. Did Sieg or Pradreo tell her what sorta dress I would be wearing?
Mom smiled and nodded as she inspected my dress. “It can always use more improvements, but this is perfect. I was worried I was adding a bit too much to my own, since it would be good for us to coordinate our appearance. But… this is perfect. Silver and crimson. A good color match.”
With the crimson-scale necklace made from my scales adorning her neck, Mom looked absolutely breathtaking as always. Sure, her dress was simple and sleek, perfectly encapsulating how Western women of the 21st century liked their cocktail dress, but the brilliantly shining, diamond-like scales adorning her dress removed any sense of simplicity it should have.
Joining me, mother and I continued together to the dining room where we were stopped by a butler for a moment, before the doors opened up without much fanfare. There was no need for anybody to introduce us, as we dragonkin could recognize each other by scent alone.
“Hestia! Here, here!” Neill waved at us, pointing at two unoccupied seats to her left.
The dining table wasn’t the long table I was used to when I last visited this opulent, Asian-inspired mansion. Instead, the floor was arranged to create a small hole in the middle where a large circular table was placed, allowing all its members to sit down on cushions to let their feet go under the ground.
Divided like a peace sign, the left side was completely occupied by the empresses, while the right side was pretty tight since we siblings were sat there. In the lone top, only a single cushion was placed there, reserved for the last person to arrive—Father. Although as the sixth empress and eighth imperial child, respectively, we would sit at the very “end” of this table, it also meant I was sitting next to Mom!
“This style of sitting is more down over in the colony,” Mom commented when we both sat down, before Neill suddenly ruined my hairstyle by ruffling my head. “Unlike with chairs, this sitting style allows even bulkie scalekin to sit down comfortably, and the hole in the back allows our tail to rest.”
There wasn’t a hole behind us. However, it seemed there was a pressure plate, as the moment my tail laid on it, the ground tiles behind me started to sink, creating a small indentation, so my tail could lay down naturally. Very convenient.
“Our clan enjoys this type of sitting, so I made sure to order the attendants to rearrange the room for today’s dinner,” Yuilengreill said. “A feast fit for us all, and the dishes will fill this room with aromatics and scents that could overwhelm even the most frightening of true dragonkin! Cuisines from the kirins and Loatryx, made in celebration of my daughter’s return.”
Family meetings never felt as nerve-racking as this one. And we’re just enjoying a meal.
Although I’ve already met the empresses in their humanoid forms, having them all here made me feel like I had to walk over glass shards. They were smiling and talking amongst each other and their children so casually, but to me, they were making it hard for me to relax. Their gazes, the way they wove their dresses, and how they all seemed so distinct from each other, using their accents and appearances, made me feel like I didn’t fit in too well.
Mentally, I was an 18-year-old adult. That didn’t matter here. I was a baby before these empresses who have lived for more than 3000 years. I was a mere child before the majority of my siblings when it came to age and experience. Sure, our relationship has blossomed, but the thought of being inside this room with all these ancient adults felt intimidating. Like a kid stuck inside a room with all their elders pinching their cheeks and talking about how much they’ve grown or how little they must be eating.
“Urgh, Father’s horns, the damn demonic scars are just spewing out mutated monsters like crazy. Dungeons are forming everywhere, so the security around Yeos made Renee work overtime. Good opportunity for dungeon cores, but I was flying around the country every other day for nearly two years.” While I was tormenting myself with my thoughts, Neill was fully enjoying the full attention of everybody as she talked about her adventures.
“A blessing in disguise, though. All that training undoubtedly did you good,” Phso said, causing Neill to nod with pride. “Not to mention, humanoids go absolutely crazy when it comes to rare monster materials since it allows their artisans to improve their equipment, so Yeos probably benefited monetarily from your support.”
“Pah, their entire capital was still reduced to rubble. Empress-Mother Melloxtressa should still remember it,” Neill waved her hand dismissively, causing Mom to giggle and agree to her statement. “See? Yeos didn’t benefit at all. The principality is still trying to recover from the damage caused by those grimgarians. So many villages got ruined; so many towns were made unlivable. Refugees swarmed the capital. The money gained from selling all the corpses was immediately sent back into the reparation effort. By the time I was allowed to leave, we barely managed to rebuild about 60% of the country.”
“Only 60%?” Taim raised his brows, prompting Forminaxtrass to squint as well.
“Didn’t you say Aleistunum sent their mages to the country? Only 60% should be an embarrassment for mages coming from the ‘Magical Capital.’ Gyadiosa alone could fix the majority of the land, leaving the architectural duties to the humans. Maybe we should ask Kel’Thun to help Yeos,” the third empress suggested, but was immediately stopped by the second empress.
“Using that as an excuse to go inspect those demonic sources, dear Forminaxtrass? The last thing that country needs is a couple of lich dragons wandering into their land with stuck-up elven researchers. Saelari elves are already hostile towards most humans, and Kel’Thuens are even worse. Far too arrogant and confident; they will only cause Fargryneill more trouble.”
The mark of a good entertainer was her ability to make a poker face. My inner turmoil was hidden behind a veil of interested nods and slightly genuine excitement. I just wasn’t able to, or brave enough, to insert myself into the conversation, unlike everybody else.
When the door finally opened, inviting a group of butlers pushing in carts full of food, I let out an internal sigh. When the food was placed on the rotating disc in the middle, the empresses and my siblings began to clap in excitement, giving thanks to Clan Gueillxar and Yuilengreill as the kirins were responsible for today’s meal.
Neill took in a deep whiff of air, enjoying the aroma of her clan’s dishes. “It’s been too long. The colony’s cooking is good, but you can’t get fresher Marsh Nest spices than on Miononbolax. The sea breeze just makes them far too salty when they reach Altrust.”
I could finally relax.
Eating without Eltharion was completely normal, as it was extremely rare for the emperor to eat with us at all. Today was an exception, but Father but would be late. I would say “as usual,” since it was normal for everybody else, but this was the first time I would be eating with him.
“My family, there is little I need to say! Enjoy the meal and eat everything up in honor of my daughter’s return!” Yuilengreill toasted, prompting all of us to raise our glasses as we began eating.
“You have to try this!” Mom said before her scales moved towards the dishes like the others, forming into a large bowl and fork that picked up bits of rice, meat, sauced vegetable, and many more for me to enjoy.
While the rotating disc could be turned normally with your hand, with the size of the table and the number of true dragonkin here, it was far more efficient to grab everything with your scales. We were all dragonkin, at the end of the day, and that meant our appetite couldn’t be compared to a normal human’s. The size of a single one of these dishes might be enough to satisfy a five-headed family, but they were barely enough to act as an appetizer for us. There were so many dishes on the table, but they were quickly emptied before the butlers replaced them with something new.
None of us made too much of a mess of the table as we used utensils to eat like humanoids, but the speed everybody was eating was frightening. Even the foodie tour I had with Kahalameet, Wendriosa, and Nong took a while to devour the legion of dishes we bought. I was surprised the kitchen could even keep up with us!
This is delish!
“Hestia, Hestia! This!”
While Mom was already dragging food over for herself and me, my siblings couldn’t help to spoil me as well. Scale bowls fitting the colors of all seven of my siblings were levitating around me like the planets of a solar system, putting down soups, stir-fried, and even pastries to fatten myself up. Father hadn’t even arrived yet, and I was already starting to feel full.
However, this feasting did not last too long when a bell suddenly rang. The empresses and my siblings quickly cleaned themselves up with napkins. Understanding it was time, I copied them and stood up with them, before the bell rang again as the door opened up. We lowered our tails and heads, greeting the new guest loudly.
“We lower our tail to the Emperor of Miononbolax and the Empire of Dragons!”
Silence filled the formerly jubilant dining room, only interrupted by the slow steps of the newcomer. Everybody else had their heads down, but I couldn’t help but stare as I saw my dragon father for the first time in his humanoid form.
… And I couldn’t help but let my jaw fall.
Oh, gosh.
The appearances of the empresses and elder scales of Frozen Nest were inaccurate to their actual age, since our humanoid forms were influenced by our personal image of ourselves. When I heard that nearly two years had passed since the attack on the Prince of Envy, my humanoid form showed the changes. I thought of myself as 18, and my dragonewt form grew to display it. Although the empresses were all over 3000 years old, none of them looked like aged grannies.
However, Eltharion’s elven-dragonewt form was different… Although his scales and hair were sleek black, his wrinkled face and tired eyes told a different story. His build was bulky like Kahalameet’s and Phso’s, showing where they got their inspiration from, but Father… looked and walked like he was on death’s door. The smell of death might not exist on him, but the lack of focus you could see in his eyes nearly broke my heart.
When our eyes met, I snapped my head down, controlling my beating heart to hide what I thought of him.
“Sit, my family,” he said as he sat down, letting the winged arms, acting like a cape, relax. He picked up a pair of chopsticks to start eating, although the rest of us simply remained silent when we sat down. “Delicious, Yuilengreill.”
“I am happy to hear that, Husband. There is plenty to soothe your appetite and tongue, so, please,” the empress said, almost looking as if she was begging him to continue, hoping her clan’s food could invigorate this aged man.
“Yes, I will,” he replied, but he placed his chopsticks down and turned to Neill. “My little kirin, I hope my pompous display did not mask your accomplishments.”
“Not at all, Father. It was good to see you remind everybody who the top dragon is!” Neill stated, trying to act energetic, but I could see from her twitching smile that she felt as nervous as I was.
“Then I am glad that my appearance helped your homecoming. Tomorrow will be your time to fully shine, so allow yourself enough rest. Eat well and refuel yourself, for you must protect the image you created today,” he said. “But, that is for tomorrow’s tournament. I would like to first hear about your stories. It seemed I missed much.”
“Ha, I saved the most interesting things just for you, Father!” Neill said as she began to retell her story.
Yet, my siblings and empress-mothers all gave Neill an expectant look. From Yuilengreill’s attitude, I could already guess that all of this was also an attempt by the family to prolong Eltharion’s lifespan. They were all trying to excite his soul.
“Ah, the tournaments were all too easy, really. All those knights with their large weapons, and the mages confident in their magic, were nothing before these two fists!” Neill recalled her time on Altrust. Her tone felt so similar to an adventurer boasting about their achievements. “Sure, it got dicey here and there, and managing my pouch was more annoying than I initially thought, but it got far easier when I met my companions. Renee and Rita! Good friends, Father. I really hope you’ll greet them tomorrow.”
“I’ll be watching you, so, of course. Haha, your Yeosian friend will probably want something. I might not be able to fulfill every wish, but we do have to grant her a reward for helping you after you met with those dragonslayers,” Eltharion said, looking happy, but his eyes still felt almost lifeless, as if he were blind. “Adversity does help in your control of envy, and defeat opens the way to control one’s pride. Yet, you went beyond that.”
“Mhmm, I guess so… then again, if it wasn’t for a little someone, I probably wouldn’t have been able to see past my pride.” Neill nudged me with her elbow, causing the mood in the room to suddenly turn cold. Neill, though, shrugged it off. “… Which brings me to a pretty important point: I heard you call Hestia your ‘youngest daughter.’”
Neill’s smile waned, and so did Eltharion’s. The unfocused look in his eyes started to fade.
N-Neill?
“I presume our little talk when I met you through her subspace helped you think things through, Father? You might be an ancient elder scale, but that doesn’t mean I can’t criticize you, right?” she provoked him, causing Yuilengreill to shoot up from her seat, but Eltharion stopped her from speaking by raising his hand. “So, I want to ask you, Father. Have you and Hestia finally made peace? … Or is this another stunt to simply maintain the status quo?”
“… Going forth, the unity within the imperial family must be preserved,” he answered, though his tone suggested annoyance. “To prevent a civil war, the imperial family must show that it is not splintered due to my lack of presence.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” Neill interrupted him. “So, I’ll make the question clearer—do you acknowledge Hestia as your daughter? As part of your family beyond just the title of the ‘eighth imperial child?’”
Eltharion sighed, turning to me this time. “Hestia, for how long you have lived on Miononbolax, I presume you understand my history with my father, with my mother, and about my role in the wars just after the descent of the Origin Gods. You know about me and how it has come to this. You have been trained as a dragon princess by your clan’s subject, and have acted as befitted your imperial lineage and privilege. Furthermore, you have grown into your role, yet still maintain your sense of self. As a ‘dragon princess,’ I can see no fault in the reports I have read and listened to.”
“… Thank you very much.”
“Yet… your mother had told me how you broke a law made to protect fledglings—you are not allowed to leave Miononbolax. In your case, entry into the subspace was forbidden. I have relayed to you my words,” he said, as I looked to the side to Mother, who did not share my gaze. “Laws should not be ironbound. They must be flexible. It is expected of a member of the imperial family to judge, within the context of the situation, whether it is a crime or unavoidable. However, laws are made to make all equal under the eyes of justice—even the emperor and empresses must not break the faith in the law.”
“… I did it to preserve my life.”
“That makes your crime forgivable,” he answered, causing a small weight from my chest to disappear. “Your life is not yours alone. Life is a collection of bonds one makes within one’s lifetime. Whether allies or foes, these bonds keep your journey towards death exciting and worth living for. In this case, your death would have broken the hearts of many. You did well to judge a law’s usefulness null. Surviving prevented grief from binding your mother’s soul and heart from becoming earthbound.”
… What is this? Am I actually having a moment with Eltharion?
“So, I shall impose on you a question. Use your experience to give me an opinion on your ideal, Princess Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor, eighth princess of the Dragon Empire of Kargryx.” Eltharion paused, drinking his tea. “The civil war rages on with those clear candidates promoted by their factions. Yet, it is the wish of these candidates to prevent the inevitable bloodshed of war, fearing the history passed down through generations. They have concluded that this war is impossible to end, so they agreed upon a solution. They will grant the voice of the people more rights over the ancient traditions of the elders. Yet, the culture of the land must be upheld, for breaking it would only incite the elders even further. The people may choose their new ruler, yet the candidates must prove their might by taking the heads of these squabbling elders… What is your opinion on this?”
I remained silent as I looked at Kahalameet and Wendriosa, but I could feel my nose flaring up. I didn’t need much time to understand who Eltharion was talking about.
“… That Kargryx—no, the dragon culture of power should die out first!”
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