Chapter 25
“You’re my mate.”
Akelans started saying that all the time—but only after defying time itself. It seemed like he returned after breaking a taboo, long after Hasollan had died. But she didn’t care to ask what had happened in between. Because everything he said felt… unbelievable.
“I’ll give you a great reward.”
He always made her expect something—only to offer her something other than becoming empress. She was too foolish to even bring up the word “empress” out loud. Yet Akelans would sometimes hold her hand, like a lover. He would catch Hasollan’s heart just when she was ready to let go. Just enough to make her stay.
“Miss, you’ll be cold if you go out like this,” said her maid, gently fussing over her.
Hasollan let the girl help her get ready, staring blankly at the ceiling.
What’s going to happen to me now?
She always thought about the future for Akelans. The economy, politics, and diplomacy. Always for him.
I should’ve taken care of myself instead. He’s way older than me. Why did I waste my life like that…?
She looked down at the silver fur-lined cloak the maid had just draped over her. It was luxurious.
“Be sure to wear this. It’s freezing now.”
“Thank you.”
She left the castle and slowly rode her horse. Five knights Akelans assigned to guard her followed, along with her maid. Her breath was visible in the cold air. Her silver cloak trailed behind her beautifully.
“This way, miss.”
A knight who knew the area well guided her.
Hasollan followed silently.
I’ll run if the chance comes. And if I can’t… then oh well.
She was slowly learning—it was impossible to escape Akelans’s grasp. So she decided to make a deal with herself. Or maybe… she was just curious.
How long will he keep holding on to me?
“…Hmph.”
He’ll get tired eventually. If she kept coldly rejecting him, Akelans would lose interest. Hasollan had been stupid enough to believe the hope he dangled in front of her, but he wasn’t like that. He was someone who always got what he wanted—never rejected, never denied.
When he finally gets bored… that’s when I’ll leave.
She knew him too well. Once he lost interest, he wouldn’t care anymore. Until then, she’d squeeze out every ounce of compensation for the 14 years she gave him. Hopefully, by the time she turned 37, she wouldn’t be crying into a noose. She wanted to grow old peacefully—with plenty of money and no regrets.
“We’re here.”
They passed through a thick pine forest and emerged into an open area. There wasn’t a single soul nearby.
“Where’s the dragon cave manager?”
“Down in that small building. Shall I call him?”
“No need.”
Hasollan shook her head. She’d heard many dragons in the south slept beneath the sea. But in the cold northern region of Roetingen, they tended to sleep deep inside caves. This was the cave closest to Roetingen Castle.
She looked at the large cave with its open courtyard.
“Nothing unusual lately?”
A knight replied softly, “No, miss. The cave keeper reports daily, and there’s been nothing special so far.”
“How long has the dragon been asleep?”
“About 20 years.”
Hasollan got off her horse.
“Miss?”
“Miss, please don’t get too close. It’s dangerous.”
She raised her hand to quiet them.
Then she walked straight into the courtyard of the dragon’s cave. The knights and maid worried—What is our lady doing? But they didn’t dare follow her. This was a sacred place. A human couldn’t just barge in.
“Is she going in?”
“She’s the dragon’s mate. Maybe she’s fine.”
“If something happens, His Highness will have our heads!”
“What should we do, drag her back?”
They panicked, but Hasollan just calmly motioned for silence.
She listened. She heard something.
She boldly stepped inside.
A faint sound echoed off the cave walls. It grew louder as she walked deeper.
“Hic… sniffle… huhh…”
To a stranger, it would’ve been a terrifying cry that made them run. But Hasollan reached toward it.
“You must’ve been scared, waking up suddenly.”
She spoke gently.
“My name is Hasollan Odair, Your Highness.”
A small girl, sniffling, looked up. She seemed even younger than Hasollan’s maid—but she was no child. She was a white dragon.
A true white dragon.
“I live in Roetingen Castle.”
The pale-blonde dragon girl sniffed the air.
“Would you like to stay in the castle until you fall back asleep?”
The girl smelled something familiar and comforting from Hasollan, another dragon’s scent. She nodded without hesitation.
“Take me with you.”
Her voice was childish, but her manner was proud. She was easily over a hundred years old.
Hasollan smiled politely.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
She took the girl’s small hand and led her out of the cave.
“Are you cold?”
The dragon girl was barefoot in a thin white dress.
“Not really.”
She lifted her chin like a proper princess, though her eyes softened at Hasollan’s warm smile.
When they exited, the knights and maid gasped in shock and quickly bowed.
“Let’s ride back. Roetingen Castle is cozy enough.”
“You smell like the East.”
“Me?”
The dragon girl got help mounting Hasollan’s white horse.
“Yeah. You’ve been drenched in it. Even stamped with it.”
The knights quickly looked away, embarrassed.
“It must be my uncle, huh?”
The girl huffed and turned her head. Hasollan climbed on behind her.
“Why is your uncle, who lives in the East, here?”
“I wonder that too…”
Hasollan sighed. She wasn’t sure where it all went wrong.
As soon as Akelans sensed another dragon inside the castle, he stormed outside.
Who dares to stay with my mate?
His fierce energy made the white dragon, still on the horse, shrink in fear. She clung tightly to Hasollan’s silver cloak.
“It was you.”
Akelans sighed when he saw the little white dragon’s face peek out from Hasollan’s cloak.
Once his aura calmed, the girl lifted her head a little more.
“Hi, Uncle…”
Even if she acted proud in front of others, she knew better than to be rude to a black dragon—her senior.
“What are you doing here?”
Seriously? Hasollan glared at him. This dragon was practically a baby. Newborn dragons woke up all the time.
“I just woke up…”
“And cried, huh.”
No wonder Hasollan sensed it first. Akelans helped her down from the horse, then gently lifted the girl down too.
“Still sleepy?”
She shook her head.
“Then stay until you are.”
As he turned to leave, she grabbed his cloak.
“Uncle, where’s Mom?”
Her sibling was still asleep, but what about her mother?
Akelans, tall and massive, looked down at the tiny girl.
“Mom…”
Dragons know everything, even in sleep. She must’ve known that her mother, the late Queen Rowella, was dead.
Akelans gently stroked her head.
The girl’s eyes filled with tears.
“Don’t cry.”
He sighed and picked her up easily. She gasped at the sudden lift.
“Barefoot, messy hair…”
He said as he reached out and grabbed Hasollan’s hand.
Startled, she looked at his large hand holding hers tightly.
“Let’s go. It’s cold.”
She tried to pull away, but he didn’t let go.
Together, they looked like a small family walking into the castle.
“Princess?”
Sir Vitaly, who managed Roetingen Castle, gasped and bowed.
“You’re still around.”
The white dragon smirked.
“You got old.”
“Well, it’s been 20 years. It’s good to see you awake.”
“Yeah.”
She nodded.
“I’ll stay here.”
Sir Vitaly looked nervously at Akelans.
Shouldn’t a dragon princess go to Impel? Could she stay here?
“Not going to Impel?”
“I don’t like it there.”
Even after 100 years as a royal, she replied coldly.
“…There’s no Mom or Dad there…”
She clung to Akelans’s cloak like it was her only anchor.
“Then enjoy your time here. It’s still cold, but there are books and games.”
Sir Vitaly smiled. The dragon girl looked up at Akelans.
“You said I could stay until I’m sleepy.”
Akelans nodded, as if it was nothing, and walked off holding her.
The princess, Denys—the daughter of Queen Rowella—had briefly awakened.
“When did you realize the princess woke up?”
Akelans asked after giving orders for Denys’ room to be prepared.
“Maybe let go of my hand before we talk,” Hasollan replied.
He quickly released her.
“Please don’t grab me again.”
“Can I hold it gently instead?”
He asked cautiously.
But her glare was cold. Almost hateful.
“Don’t do what you used to do.”
Her voice shook, but she pushed through.
“I know it was just a game to you.”
She couldn’t meet his eyes. She didn’t want to see whether she was right.
She used to think, He’s only holding my hand, and get butterflies.
But it was just another tactic. No meaning.
“Do you think I’m a barmaid? I told you—I’m not your mate or anything else. It’s disgusting. Don’t do it again.”
Her words were firm. She closed her eyes and opened them again, only to find Akelans looking stunned—genuinely hurt.
“No… it wasn’t a joke. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
He stepped back, looking shaken. This huge, powerful man looked like a wall retreating.
He bent slightly to meet her eyes.
“It wasn’t for fun… and it wasn’t to hurt you.”
Just like her, he was remembering the past.
She used to smile and blush when he touched her hand. Her heart would race. As a dragon, he saw it all. Hasollan was easy to manage that way.
But now? He kept reaching for her without thinking. He just wanted to be near her.
Yet she called herself a barmaid. The pain hit him deep in the chest.
“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
And the dragon, quietly, let go.
