“So you agreed to their demands?”
“As the last princess of Argan, how can we just let her be slaughtered by barbarians? We’ve agreed to their terms of beheading her in the town square and handing over her corpse.”
Whether that could truly be called an agreement was questionable.
“When is the execution scheduled to take place?” asked Rezette.
“Five days from now,” the emperor replied.
Five days. That was a longer reprieve than he had expected. He couldn’t help but think of the princess, who had been firmly by his side since they crossed the border.
The emperor clicked his tongue.
“To think that the Argan of the world would collapse in just two years… Tsk. If the young emperor hadn’t been unnecessarily stubborn, he would have been able to endure one or two more generations. He just had to scratch his useless pride. If it were me, I would have humbly begged for help.”
“The princess of Argan,” he continued, “ultimately the last royal surviving all alone in that vortex. She was known throughout the continent from the time of Empress Aseica’s reign, but this year how old is she?”
“Twenty-two.”
“Twenty two,” muttered the emperor. “Not too young to die.” Rezette did not know Elizabeth’s exact age. However, he guessed that since the emperor was nineteen three years ago, his twin sister must have been nineteen then, and twenty-two now.
Twenty-two. Isn’t twenty-two too young for the princess whom Grandel respected and Argan loved to die?
Rezette, lost in thought, missed the emperor’s summon. The shrewd emperor of Van Yela, Noyer, noticed the lapse in attention immediately. “Rezette, why are you thinking of something else in front of me?” Noyer inquired.
“I wasn’t thinking about anything else,” Rezette responded, trying to cover up his mistake.
“My wife is very honest,” Noyer continued. “That’s why it’s so noticeable when she tells a lie. Did you know that?”
“I didn’t know,” Rezette replied, feeling guilty for his own deceit.
“So, what happened between you and the princess on the way here?” Noyer asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice.
“Nothing happened,” Rezette said quickly, hoping to divert the conversation.
But as he spoke, an image of the princess flashed through his mind—the moonlight catching on her shimmering skin as they stood under a cascading waterfall, her golden eyes fixed intently on him, her silver hair flowing over her pale skin. And the curves of her slender frame, hidden beneath her clothing… Stop it.
Rezette replied calmly, “There was nothing.”
He was well aware that lying would get him into trouble, but he also knew how to tell a lie without being caught. If he had been caught every time he lied, he would not have been able to maintain his position.
Noyer’s eyes narrowed as he studied his younger brother. However, he couldn’t detect any sign of deception from Rezette this time.
“Well, in any case, go back and rest. You’ve been on the road for almost a year now. Even someone as strong as you needs a break.”
“Yes, I’ll go now,” Rezette said, bowing before taking his leave.
“And while you’re at it, take a look at that list of names piled up on your desk. You’re already thirty years old. Even if you’ve made a name for yourself, you should be thinking about producing an heir. How long do you plan on making me wait?” Noyer asked, a hint of impatience creeping into his voice.
Rezette couldn’t hide her boredom at the conversation. Again. Her husband’s obsession with having an heir, her own responsibility to produce one.
“Do you not know why I have placed you in your current position, Rezette?” Noyer asked. Rezette didn’t respond. “Do you not know why I gave you the newly conquered territory of Rotiara and the title of duke?”
Of course he knew. The name itself was given to him by Noyer. Noyer had wanted the name Rezette to be the start of a dynasty that would last for generations. In other words, he wanted to create a clan made up solely of dragons like Rezette—dragons with extraordinary abilities that surpassed the limits of humans.
These beings were not quite dragon nor human, but rather a freakish hybrid with reduced intelligence and ferocious demeanor. Such creatures were not tamed by humans, and were typically slain upon sight. Or, if they were lucky, captured and made to fight in gladiatorial games.
However, in the rarest of cases, these hybrids were born with stunning dragon forms and extraordinary hair that marked them as almost divine. Dragons with human characteristics—Rezette was one such exceptional being.
Thus, Rezette Kyrstan could be considered a purebred dragon, a rare and coveted breed that only emerges every few hundred years. His bloodline had to be maintained at all costs.
But if that were such a simple task, then why have there been so few dragons who have proven themselves to be as extraordinary as Rezette?
