historical

The dragon lords' hearts all tightened when they witnessed a dragon interrupt their meeting urgently and announce trouble.

Naturally, they immediately assumed the worse.

"The Great Devils descended? Are we under attack? No, that shouldn't be.. I would have already known if they did," Astarot frowned before asking, "What trouble?"

"It's Gryme, Lord Astarot. He challenged Lord Narvim's esteemed guest and stubbornly refused to yield when he lost. Although Senior Jergag interfered and ended the fight, Gryme's life is still in danger," the dragon reported.

"So it has nothing to do with Gehenna." Astarot sighed before he turned to the eighth and ninth dragon lords. "Lord Khaleesi, Lord Narvim. You two go and deal with it. They are your nephew and guest."

"Understood, Lord Astarot," Narvim and Khaleesi answered.

Shortly after, they took off under the informant's lead, descending to First Peak before they entered the land of fire.

Within minutes, they reached their destination and landed in the magma next to Jergag, capturing everyone's attention with their grand presence and arrival at the same time.

Along the way, the informant filled them in on the details.

"Lord Khaleesi. Lord Narvim," Jergag greeted the two dragon lords with a strange look, finding it rare to see the two together nowadays.

"Un." The two dragon lords acknowledged Jergag's greeting before Khaleesi glanced down at Gryme's condition and asked, "How is his condition?"

"I've stopped his condition from deteriorating any further, but he'll need a specialist to nurse him back to health," Jergag casually answered.

"How vicious," Khaleesi studied Gryme's condition with a frown before she nonchalantly shrugged it off. "Well, that's what he gets for being stubborn. Send him to Lord Bronte for treatment, and let us end this matter here."

"You're not going to pursue Vaan for putting your nephew in such a state?" Narvim asked with surprise.

"Hmph!" Khaleesi glanced back at her husband with a snort and said, "And why would I do that? Gryme challenged someone and lost. He reaped what he sowed. So why would I hold your guest accountable for his condition? Gryme isn't dead, and there are no rules to duels."

"Furthermore, even if I wanted to punish your guest, would you allow it?" Khaleesi added.

"No," Narvim firmly answered.

Although Khaleesi expected such an answer, her heart still trembled when she heard him say it so firmly. She was slightly hurt that her husband chose an outsider over her nephew.

"Hmph! Then why do you still need to ask?" Khaleesi coldly snorted before storming off.

"I.." Narvim was at a loss for words before he shook his head with a sigh and turned his attention to Vaan. "Although you used poison, you managed to beat Gryme. I'm impressed, Vaan."

"Never mind that. Shouldn't you go after her, Lord Narvim? It seemed like the two of you had a lot to talk about. You should settle your business first, Lord Narvim," Vaan suggested.

By studying their expressions, it wasn't hard to tell the two dragon lords shared a special yet estranged relationship.

"It's no use. My words won't reach her, and she wouldn't understand," Narvim gave up before even trying.

Vaan was a bit speechless yet amused at the same time.

"Based on my impression, Lord Narvim seemed to be a dragon full of wisdom and capable of many things. But I guess even you have something you're bad at," Vaan slightly chuckled and said, "For example, you're helpless in your relationship."

"How can you expect the other party to understand if you don't say anything? Don't you know the key to a relationship is communication? I don't know the history between you two, but nothing will change if you don't do anything about it."

"If you guys don't talk, no one will understand the other," Vaan stated.

Naturally, the ninth dragon lord understood that.

However, knowing it was one thing, and being able to do it was another. The ninth dragon lord could courage in many things except confronting his own wife.

"I didn't want to say anything since it wasn't my business, but how long do you plan to keep this up, Narvim? You've already lost your daughter once. Do you plan to lose your wife as well?" Jergag spoke up.

"Senior Jergag..?" Lord Narvim uttered with surprise before asking with a frown, "What do you mean?"

"What do you mean what do I mean? Obviously, Khaleesi is a lovely dragon. If you're not going to do anything about your relationship, another dragon might steal your wife's heart," Jergag stated.

"None of the other dragon lords are inferior to you, and even the younger dragons possess more vigor than you. Khaleesi has a lot of admirers, you know? Who knows? Maybe one of them will be bold enough to court her and win her heart."

"Who dares to court this Lord's wife?! Khaleesi isn't like that!" Lord Narvim became agitated due to Jergag's words.

"Who dares, huh? Well, your prestige is not the same as it was a thousand years ago. People change, not to mention dragons. If you don't care for your wife, others will, Narvim," Jergag stated.

"I.." Narvim's heart trembled before he quickly bid his leave, "I got to go, Senior Jergag. We'll talk another time."

Shortly after, Jergag chuckled as he watched the ninth dragon lord leave the land of fire in a panic to chase after his wife.

"Senior Jergag sure has a way with words," Vaan commented with a smile.

"Hahaha, sometimes true courage comes from one's fears. A bit of goading does wonders sometimes," Jergag chuckled before saying, "Nevertheless, I'm sure you had something similar in mind. This old dragon apologizes for stealing your credit, Vaan."

"Never mind that," Vaan shook his head before asking, "Will any more issues arise due to this incident?"

"No, this was just a small matter. You don't have to worry about anything, Vaan. As I said before, as long as no one died in the duel, it doesn't matter what methods you use to win," Jergag stated before adding, "Other dragons just like to make a big deal out of a small matter because it happened between a dragon and a human this time."

"I see. That's reassuring to hear," Vaan nodded.

"This old dragon doubts any more dragons will find trouble with you after this incident. You have already proven your strength and viciousness. I'm sure they don't want to end up like Gryme," Jergag guessed before asking, "Will you continue to train or..?"

"I'll head back for today and check on the others, Senior Jergag," Vaan decided.

"Alright," Jergag acknowledged with a nod.

Shortly after, the elderly dragon offered Vaan a ride back to Ninth Peak's guest building.

..

..

..

Eight Peak

"Khaleesi, wait for me! Let us have a proper talk!" Narvim hollered.

After chasing his wife all the way to her mountain peak, Khaleesi finally stopped and turned her head around to confront him.

"After several hundred years of silence, you finally want to have a proper talk? Why now, of all times? What about the time you got our daughter killed, huh? Why didn't you try to talk to me then?"

"I.." Narvim was immediately at a loss for words after hearing Khaleesi's string of questions. Even so, he gritted his teeth to force out a reply, "I was in grief and didn't know how to face you."

"In grief and didn't know how to face me? So that's your excuse?" Khaleesi glared at him, full of emotions, and said, "You wanted a son, but I gave you a daughter. So you raised her like a son and pushed her too hard that it got her killed in Gehenna!"

"However, I've never blamed you for the way you raised her or how you got her killed in Gehenna! I understand Chaos is unpredictable, and anything could happen. I just hate the fact that you never had the courage to face me after everything that had happened, so we could go through our sorrows together!"

"You're our daughter's father, but am I not her mother?! Do you think you were the only one grieving for the loss of our daughter?! And yet, you left me to endure the sadness alone for hundreds of years, you damn coward!" Khaleesi cried as she poured out her bottled-up emotions in the form of tears.

"I.." Narvim admitted that he was wrong. Thus, he couldn't refute her words. "I'm sorry.."

"Sorry? Now, you're sorry?!" Khaleesi gritted her teeth and shouted, "What good is your sorry?!"

"Do you think your sorry will make up for all the tears I've shed alone?! All the disappointment I felt while waiting for you to come and console me?! Would your damn sorry bring our daughter back?!"

"What good is your damn sorry now, Narvim?! Tell me.."

Khaleesi still loved her husband and wanted to forgive him for finally taking the step forward, but all the indignance she felt over the years didn't allow it to happen so easily.

"No, it wouldn't.." Narvim lowered his head with a sad look, too ashamed to face his wife. But then, his eyes suddenly flickered before he looked up with a firm look. "Come with me, Khaleesi. I have a place to show you."

"And why should I follow you just because you said so? Why does the place you want to show me even matter?" Khaleesi asked with a shaky voice due to her overwhelming emotions.

"Because it is related and important to both of us. You will know once you get there. Please, just let me show you, Khaleesi," Narvim pleaded.

Seeing his resolute eyes, Khaleesi eventually consented.

Shortly after, she followed Narvim back to Ninth Peak before they hovered in the sky high above the clouds and out of sight but directly above the guest building.

"What did you want to show me, Narvim?" Khaleesi asked with a glum expression.

"This."

Narvim conjured a screen with magic, revealing a guest room with a person sleeping inside. Khaleesi was baffled by his intention, but she couldn't keep her eyes off the person for some reason.

"I can't bring our daughter back," Narvim firmly stated with a sad look before continuing, "And it might be a coincidence, but I would like to think she found her way back to us instead."

"She is..?" Khaleesi's heart trembled as she understood his implication.

"Eniwse's reincarnation, reborn as a witch among humans," Narvim answered before mentioning, "You know I have special eyes. Thus, it was fairly easy to recognize her."

"Furthermore, I've once cast a forbidden ancient spell on our daughter before she passed away, so she managed to retain her name in the next life. Thanks to that, I was absolutely certain that she was our daughter."

"However, she came to me as an Abomination writhing in pain. I did a lot of research to find the perfect treatment to restore her, but ultimately it was Vaan who treated her by sacrificing his soul force," Narvim explained.

Khaleesi's eyes flickered with understanding before she quietly uttered, "No wonder you treat that human so well.."