Dragonsā Melancholic Song (Part 13)
āYou should eat a littleā¦ā
Irina sensibly knelt to one side. She wasnāt kneeling because it was a custom or something, but purely because I had destroyed the chair in my fit of anger. The only item in the room that was still intact was the one bed. I needed somewhere to sleep, after all. Camille didnāt lie to me. My body recovered a few hours later. Such wounds were indeed of no significance for dragons. That begged the question: how brutal was the internal war they fought back then?
Irina placed a plate down on the ground and fearfully looked at me. Softly, she said, āI know that you are angry, and you canāt forgive me at the momentā¦ butā¦ I hope you can feel better. At least, donāt let something happen to your body. That way, I wonāt feel so guiltyā¦ā
āI think you should feel guilty!!ā I thundered. I stomped over to Irina and grabbed herā¦ No, not collar, it should be scalesā¦ I grabbed her scales and yelled, āYou should feel guilty! You know this is wrong! You should be aware of that! This is wrong!! Do you know what your mother has done?! Your mother has practically destroyed the entire dragon race! You have to stop her! You should stop her. Not waste time here taking care of me!! If you genuinely feel guilty and have any remorse, then go and stop your mom, right now!ā
āI cannot help itā¦ I cannotā¦ Honestā¦ I cannot stop my momā¦ My mom will not change her mind. My momā¦ doesnāt care about me as much as your mom cares about youā¦ All she cares about is a child. What she wants is a child.ā
Irina softly sighed. Her eyes were brimmed with despair and agony. She mightāve knelt on the ground to express her apology the same way one may kneel to beg for forgiveness. She hesitantly pushed the plate toward me. She pursed her thin lips and quietly said, āMom is right. She is the true ruler here; we cannot oppose her. She, too, is a pure-blooded dragon. Though she is not as venerated as Queen Dowager Sylvanas, Queen Dowager Sylvanas is now no longer around, which makes Mom the strongest dragon. That is why none of us can get around her. It is absolutely impossible. King Troy, I know you will not want to accept what I tell you next, but, but, I really, really need to tell youā¦ I must remind youā¦ if you want to escape from hereā¦ we have to have a child.ā
I took a few steps back and roared, āNot happening!!ā
Irina wore a poignant look. She covered her face and let out a long sigh: āKing Troy, I know you want to leave right now. I want to let you go, and I want to let you save Queen Dowager Sylvanasā¦ However, it is not that simple. We truly cannot leave. Our only choice is to follow Momās orders. That is our only choiceā¦ā
āI donāt believe you! Even if I must leave, Iāll make sure to stomp that bitchās head to mush before leaving with my mom. I wonāt let my mom leave with shame. I wonāt let that happen!!ā
āIt is futile. It really will not work! We cannot resist against Momā¦ We really cannotā¦ Mom will not let you leaveā¦ We cannot match her, either; therefore, we have to stay here. King Troy, you are now facing a race you have never met before. If a dragon does not let you leave, it truly will be impossible for you to leave. Putting up this resistance will only cause you to get hurt. Do you not have a family? There is your wife, your children and now your mom. Your only choice is to obeyā¦ I am sure Mom will let you both leave after we have a child. I will not tell our child about you. I will personally raise our child. I will not require your help. You just need to give me a child. I will not let this affect you in the future, so pleaseā¦ I beg youā¦ Please do not hurt yourself again. We will pretend nothing happened once we have a child. This is to your benefitā¦ soā¦ please, do not try anything again. You just needā¦ to have a child with meā¦ā
Irina was in so much despair that she prostrated herself on the ground. Her voice was shaky; her eyes were teary, and her gaze showed her sincere pleas. She wasnāt lying.
Irinaās description of my predicament was spot on. After all, I couldnāt leave the place. I was in a mountain cave. There were no windows or holes for me to leave from. Iād be surrounded by danger in the forest. The other dragons were also watching me. Moreover, I couldnāt even leave the room, let alone escape.
Escaping the place was mission impossible for me. As Camille locked me up, nobody could set me free. The only way I could leave was if she gave me permission to. But nonetheless, she wouldnāt let me out. I couldnāt fight; even if I did, I wouldnāt even be able to defeat Irina, let alone Camille. I wasnāt a complete dragon. I, alone, was no match for Irina and Camille. Surely, Iād have my joints snapped a second time and thrown back in here and then repeat.
What about not using force, you ask? I couldnāt persuade Camille. The only one I had hope of convincing was Irina. The problem was that she was afraid of her mom. She wouldnāt oppose her mother, while Camille wouldnāt bend to her daughterās whims. It was just as Irina said. Camille only cared about having a child.
I certainly could continue resisting. I knew Irina wouldnāt force me, but I didnāt have the luxury of time, and I couldnāt die. I had a family. I had children. Sylvanas was currently at the mercy of Camille. I didnāt even have time to devise a plan. I needed to escape as soon as possible, the sooner the better.
āAll right, then, I thinkā¦ Iā¦ Iām strongly reluctant to admit it, but Irina is right. Thatās the only wayā¦ I have to impregnate Irina. In hindsight, thatās the fastest method. I must hurry and impregnate Irina. Then, I can leave with Mom,ā I reasoned.
I couldnāt think of any plausible alternative. It was pointless for me to continue resisting. I couldnāt defeat Irina or Camille. I couldnāt rescue my mom, and I couldnāt escape the place. If I could hypothetically escape the place, I wouldnāt be able to escape the forest.
I was in the wild beastsā den. Even worse, I had been captured by the most terrifying one among them. I couldnāt send any signals out. The people outside had no idea what I could do. I couldnāt defeat the enemy, nor could I escape. Therefore, I had no choice but to submit. I had to comply with Camille; I had to impregnate Irina.
I grabbed my head and belted, āOkay, okay, okay!!!ā
Irina reacted shocked. She then lied down on the bed. I picked up the food on the ground. It was just simple grilled meat and a cup of wine. I knew the drink was spiked, but I still wanted to drink it. If I didnāt drink it, I would never be able to do the deed with Irina without guilt gnawing at me. In fact, I might not even be able to get it up. Although Irina was pretty and cute, my guilt and anger were overpowering any potential thoughts I could have for her ā besides killing her.
I shoved the meat into my mouth and aggressively chewed. The meat seemed to still be slightly raw. There was still some blood inside. That was nothing major in the grand scheme of things, though. I picked up the cup. I took in a deep breath before chugging it as if it was a farewell.
As I expected, the food was drugged. Camille took measures to prevent me disobeying. She probably knew Iād continue putting up a resistance and, thus, prepared the things. If I drank it, Iād be bound to sleep with Irina when we were alone in the room. However, I used it to avoid reality.
A hazy feeling rapidly swam throughout my body. I turned around and stared at Irina. Irina was ready. She looked at me with a sensual gaze. She was looking forward to me leaping at herā¦ After all, it was something that felt amazing and was something she grew addicted to.
Current time in the conference hall of the Imperial Palace of the North.
āAs we have decided to search for His Majesty, we, at least, need to find out where he has gone.ā
Freya looked at the map that was spread out before her. She moved her small hand along the ravine of the mountains in the Northwest. Examining the map, she mumbled to herself, āOnii-sama only said that he was heading Northwest. He, himself, said he didnāt know where specifically he was going, so the radius we need to search is too wide. We only have the letters he sent back, but there are too many possible places he was last at.ā
āThe last letter came from this town. If His Majesty continued Northwest, he would have reached the mountain area and forests. The flood has altered the landscape there quite significantly. The result of it is these dense forests.ā Pinching her chin, Nier drew a huge circle on the map using a pen.
According to the current clues on hand, that was the best inference they could make. The massive forest stretched several kilometres. The forest was akin to a sea that had immersed a large area of land. Trying to locate somebody in a dense forest where even the wind struggled to infiltrate was essentially the equivalent of sending a rescue team to the ocean. The target was basically nowhere in sightā¦