Chapter 37
“What are you doing standing here?”
“What about you—who are you looking for so intently?”
“Someone you don’t know.”
“I might be able to help.”
“No, I don’t need it.”
At my curt answer, Jeyus raised an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly, as if he’d just heard something he didn’t like.
Hmm. Come to think of it, I’d always been the one receiving help from Jeyus.
But not this time. He didn’t know Roel, and more importantly, I didn’t want the two of them to meet.
Who knew what Roel might say?
“So, are you busy right now?”
Apparently dissatisfied with my previous answer, Jeyus changed the question.
It was just past three o’clock. The party would likely go on late into the night, and thinking about how much time was left, I was actually pretty free.
“Hmm, not really?”
“Then dance one song with me.”
He phrased it like a suggestion, but there wasn’t even a hint of a question mark at the end. I couldn’t tell if he was asking me or just deciding for me.
Right then, the upbeat music switched to a slow, gentle tune—perfect timing. It was the kind of music meant for couples to take the floor and dance together.
I shook my head. Dancing had never been my thing—not in my past life, and not in this one either.
“No thanks. I don’t like dancing.”
“Really? Then—”
He trailed off as if to leave, but instead stepped closer, right beside me.
I glanced at him, silently asking what he was doing, and moved a step away. But Jeyus just met my gaze and followed me—step for step.
What on earth was this supposed to be?
“What are you doing right now?”
“Can’t you feel your friend’s eyes on us?”
Huh? What kind of nonsense—
Before I could tell him to stop talking rubbish, Jeyus jerked his chin toward a certain direction.
At the end of his gesture stood Shirea—again. This time, though, her gaze was sharper than before, almost frightening.
“Your friend looks like she wants to kill me.”
“So what?”
“I’d like you to protect me.”
“What?”
Saying something utterly absurd, Jeyus actually hid behind me. Like I could cover that huge frame of his.
And what was I supposed to do—protect him? I was smaller and weaker than he was!
Seriously, what’s gotten into this guy? Why was he suddenly acting all sly and playful? It was impossible to get used to.
I was about to tell him off when a deafening boom split the air, and the ground shook violently.
KUUUUUUNG—!
“Kyaa!”
I lost my balance, but Jeyus caught me with his strong arm—around my waist, unfortunately.
The tremor stopped soon after, but the damage was clear: the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling had all crashed down, shattering into glittering fragments across the floor.
“…What the heck? Was that an earthquake?”
“No.”
He answered firmly, without hesitation.
He knew what it was?
“Then what?”
“The head of the family is very angry.”
“The head of the family?”
“Your father.”
Huh? My dad is angry? I couldn’t even see him anywhere near here though…
In the audience chamber, Hale’s expression darkened at the sight of the middle-aged man before him.
Golden hair. Deep green eyes. The marks of imperial blood.
Hale had always preferred to avoid dealing with the royal family—and after Senika was born, that aversion had only grown stronger.
“It’s been a while,” the man greeted.
“Let’s skip the pointless pleasantries.”
Hale’s tone toward the emperor was enough to make anyone else faint in shock.
But Emperor Denian Felli Hartfilia didn’t seem to mind. He only smiled mildly, like a man of endless patience.
That gentle smile, however, couldn’t fool Hale. He knew too well what kind of cunning creature hid behind it.
“You’re as prickly as ever.”
“State your business.”
“I like that about you—straight to the point.”
Denian chuckled heartily, eyes closing for a moment. When he opened them again, they gleamed sharply, all warmth gone.
“I have a proposal for you.”
“I believe I already told you the family estate isn’t for sale.”
“Not that kind of proposal.”
Resting his arm on the throne’s armrest, Denian tilted his head and propped his chin on his palm, a faint smile curving his lips.
Hale sensed something unpleasant radiating from that smile.
“The heir of the White Dragon Clan was born with something… quite interesting, wasn’t she?”
At those words, Hale’s pheromones flared. He’d expected Senika’s name to come up.
Still, he restrained himself. Attacking without knowing what the emperor meant would be premature.
Even so, the silvery-blue aura of his pheromones shimmered visibly around his body.
Denian didn’t even flinch. As if he’d been expecting it.
“You’ve probably guessed it already. That platinum hair—something that could never come from the White Dragon bloodline.”
“…”
“It means the child carries imperial blood.”
Hale’s faint smirk vanished, replaced by an icy stillness. His pheromones turned sharp and cold, filling the room with a suffocating chill.
Denian shrank back slightly from the force of it but didn’t stop talking.
“I plan to make that fact public at tonight’s party.”
“You must have no sense of self-preservation.”
“Before that, I thought I’d offer you a tempting deal.”
In the blink of an eye, Hale appeared before the emperor, his right hand—radiating pheromones—gripping Denian’s cheeks, covering his mouth.
“Mmph!”
“That mouth wasn’t made to spout nonsense.”
A little more pressure and the emperor’s jawbone might shatter.
As Hale debated whether to kill him here or let him live, his hand suddenly burned. Reflexively, he pulled it back.
A round burn mark marred the back of his hand. It looked bad—but nothing his body couldn’t heal.
What the hell is this?
He didn’t know what caused it or how a mere human could have inflicted such damage.
Since when did humans have weapons capable of hurting dragons?
Hale stared suspiciously at Denian, who was rubbing his cheek with one hand and holding something wrapped in gold cloth with the other.
“It works better than I expected,” Denian murmured.
“What is that?”
“I can’t reveal that to my enemy.”
“Enemy? So His Majesty considers us enemies now?”
“Just a warning. Refuse my offer, and that’s what we’ll become.”
Hale couldn’t hold back a dry laugh.
What a ridiculous little scheme. He almost wanted to hear it out of curiosity.
“Let’s hear how ‘grand’ this proposal of yours is.”
“Admit that Senika carries imperial blood—and hand her over to us. In return, I’ll keep it secret from the public.”
“Again?”
“You’ll even be rewarded. For raising her all this time, I’ll make sure your prestige rises throughout the empire, and you’ll be compensated generously.”
To Hale, Denian’s offer was neither tempting nor interesting.
He didn’t care about prestige among the empire’s citizens, and as for money—he already had plenty.
And most importantly, the emperor’s premise was completely wrong.
Senika, an imperial descendant? Don’t make me laugh.
Senika had hatched from the egg of Erilyn, nourished by his pheromones.
Hale had seen it with his own eyes. There was no reason for doubt.
“I refuse.”
“You’ll be the one to regret it.”
Denian answered immediately, his tone calm but smug.
Hale clicked his tongue, turned his back, and reached for the door.
But then the emperor’s hurried voice stopped him.
“What if I tell the elders?”
Thinking he’d struck a nerve, Denian continued with a slightly excited tone.
“I hear you don’t have the best relationship with them. If they knew, do you really think it would stay quiet?”
“…”
“You’d better accept while I’m still offering.”
Hale’s jaw tightened. The way Denian kept calling the claim a fact grated on him. The imperial family had already decided it was true, it seemed.
How could they be so sure? Anyone directly involved in Senika’s birth should know she wasn’t of imperial blood.
Yes, Hale still wondered about her silver hair and her half-human nature—but he had never once doubted that she was his daughter. Nature didn’t always follow predictable patterns.
However…
The elders were a different matter. They only cared about their own interests and upheld the doctrine of “pure blood.”
They already shunned Senika for being half human. If the emperor’s words were added to the mix, things would get even worse for her.
Her position in the clan was already unstable—this would make it critical.
And since it’s the emperor saying it, no one will believe me—no matter how I insist she’s my child, born of my pheromones and Erilyn’s egg.
In the clan, even the emperor’s authority outweighed that of the patriarch.
Moreover, Hale suspected that half of the twelve elders had already been swayed by Richt.
So no, they wouldn’t take his side.
Still, it didn’t matter. Even if the situation wasn’t favorable, Hale had no intention of backing down.
If anything, this gave him more reason to ensure Senika would one day sit firmly as head of the White Dragon Clan.
The emperor and the elders had just strengthened his resolve.
“Interesting,” Hale said softly.
With a flick of his hand, the right wall of the audience chamber exploded, collapsing into rubble. Wisps of blue pheromones drifted like smoke through the wreckage.
