The dragon's harem

TAP! Vasilissa landed back outside Arad’s keep, patting the dust off her clothes. ^Of course, some would have survived and come for Revenge for Vlad.^ She looked at Arad’s keep. ^Shall I hunt them down? No, the rest are weaklings that Arad and Gojo can handle on their own. Vlad is a slippery bastard. I should be looking for him instead.^

She walked back toward the keep. ^No, I should leave Vlad for them. I can’t interfere too much.^

CLICK! She opened the door and walked back in, looking between the guests.

“Where did you go?” Tina approached her. “Master Arad and Lady Mira looked for you after the dance,”

“Sorry, mother’s instincts. I left my son alone at home and felt as if I heard him crying, so I bolted out.”

Tina remembered her daughter asleep upstairs, “I know how you feel. Hope he was all right.”

“He was actually crying,” Vasilissa replied with a wry smile, “Really sorry for leaving like that.”

“Don’t worry about it. Feel free to stay as long as you want.” Tina turned around to lead her toward the ballroom.

^Now that vampire is dead. I can drop this body’s power to a human level without leaving any traces that Gojo might pick on. No need to put him to sleep.^

Vasilissa walked into the ballroom and looked around, taking the chance to search for a certain old man. ^Where is he? That ape is dangerous at many levels,^

“You look confused,” Aella sat beside her.

“Lady Aella!” Vasilissa gasped.

Tap! Aella touched her shoulder, “You danced with Arad, then left without notice. You have courage, don’t you?”

“Sorry, I had to check on my newborn son,” She replied with a worried smile.

Aella blinked, thinking. She lost her mother and might be one soon. ^How would I act if I had a child?^

“I hope he was fine,” Aella sighed, relaxing on her chair. “But no monster would get through the dragons guarding the village.”

“It’s not just monsters. Babies cry a lot.” She looked at Aella’s face, then at the dance party, listening to the tunes Isdis played with her band.

“I do not know much, but dragons aren’t omnipotent, are they?” She waved her hand, “Something might slip through their claws like a fly slipping past a guard.”

Aella looked at the ballroom, “A fly slipping through the cracks.” She could see a small fly going through the window. She wouldn’t have noticed it if she wasn’t actively looking for them.

“You might be right,” Aella stood, “I’ll ask Merlin to teach us how to create a massive tight barrier to block unauthorized entries to the local area. That should stop monsters, bugs, and humans alike.”

“No need to make such a drastic change because of me.”

“You brought up an important topic. It would be troublesome if anything interrupted the wedding, so I’ll try to get it done before that.” Aela smiled. 𝘳.𝑐ℴ

“I was listening,” Arad approached them.

The moment she saw him, Vasilissa bowed slightly, “Sorry for leaving suddenly earlier.”

“No need,” Arad stopped her mid-bow, “The suggestion of the people is important. I’ll make a box where people can leave their anonymous ideas. It’s Baltos’s idea, and he said that I could put it for show and ignore it, but your suggestion proves it’s worth looking through.”

“That is deceiving the people with fake hope if you don’t at least read the suggestions and give them a thought. Does it really need her idea to make you check them?” Aella stared at him.

“And what do I know?” Arad sighed, “I’m just learning, and I can’t possibly know if something is bad or good for the village unless I give it a try.”

“If a king told you it works, you’re bound to believe them,” Vasilissa giggled.

Arad looked back at Baltos, worried, “You’re right.”

“By the way,” Vasilissa smiled, “I never saw Lord Arad’s parents around,”

Arad and Aella looked at each other, “I don’t know who my father is, and my mother abandoned me at birth… No, should I say let me go about life on my own? She didn’t abandon me if she left that…” He remembered Mom in his head.

“I don’t know much about dragon kind,” Vasilissa smiled, “But I doubt she’s abandoned you like that,”

“Really?” Aella looked at her, “I doubt a powerful dragon would have trouble raising a child.”

“They do look like birds,” Vasilissa said, touching her lips as she thought, “I heard some drop their chicks from the nest to teach them to fly. Even if one looked young, and struggling on the ground alone. Its mother is always watching from above the trees.” She smiled, “If they called for help, or a predator appeared she’ll swoop down and deal with it without the chick even noticing.”

Aella looked at her, “Black raptors and giant eagles do that. Some inexperienced adventurers get carried away and try to catch the defenseless chick, only for them to get snatched by the mother before they could even approach the little bird.”

Arad looked at Vasilissa, thinking, “It’s a bit strange, but I guess different creatures act differently.”

Vasilissa smiled inside.

“But what about the father?” Aella asked. “I mean, did he leave and never got back? Or are they like lions where a new alpha kills the previous one with his spawns?”

Vasilissa looked at Aella. ^I’m sure I dropped him here right before Alcott arrived. Mother’s instinct in humans aside, fathers can also have it, and I’m sure Alcott is one of them.^

“I don’t know,” She replied, “Couldn’t she be a lone mother? Like tigers?”

“I’m the son of a dragon and a human. That I know.” Arad looked at her, “She once almost killed her brother. I doubt with her strength she’d lose to anyone, even the dragon slayer Alcott.”

^I was trying to kill that ape… Gojo shouldn’t be harmed by me slapping a fly off his hand. It might stink, but that’s all it is.^ Vasilissa looked at Arad. “I heard the dragon slayer can beat any dragon.” Vasilissa replied, “He’s a respected middleman between the dragons and humanoids. Can she win against him?”

“No doubt,” Arad sat on a chair, “But I wish I’d at least met one of them.”

“Arad,” Mira approached and pointed back with her thumb, her mother, Lyla Belethor, standing behind her.

“Didn’t I say it before?” Lyla approached Arad, sitting beside him, “If your mother isn’t around, you can always come back to me. If you’re marrying my daughter, then you’re my son. That’s why we call them son-in-law.” She pulled Arad’s head toward her chest, patting his hair.

“The strong, we care,” Nina approached alongside her grandmother, “She also likes to have a word,”

“That’s ours,” Grandma Shir said with a smile, “The tribe’s son,”

^[-I hear you!-]^ A telepathic message rang through their heads. Claug was listening from the outside.

^[-A dragon is better for him. I’ll be his mother.-]^

Zephyr flew from Aella’s head and sat on Arad’s, trying to push Lyla away with her hand, “He’s mine. I’m the oldest.”

“You, small,” Shir stared at her.

“Shut up, Speedy grandma. You’ll be his grandma, so don’t fight on the mother role.” She instantly growled at her then looked down at Arad, “I’ve more experience and a lot of things to teach you.”

“I can’t have that,” Out of everyone, Kinryuu approached, “Letting a chromatic dragon raise him, or a spirit could be bad.” He looked back at two women[Silver and Gold dragons morphed into humans.]

“When metallic dragons reach the wyrm stage they lose the ability to have children so they focus on nurturing and teaching the next generation. Any of those two is happy to be his mother,”

The two approached, “We can’t let him grow learning from the chromatic or spirits, can we?”

The two smiled, approaching Arad.

Merlin watched from the back, “Ara. How many single moms are there? Can’t they find something else to do rather than to flock around my Arad?”

Vasilissa stared at them, annoyed. Her eyes glared at Arad and the countless women flapping their wings around him, “Can’t leave him be?”

Lyla stared at her, “Well, he’s ours until his mother shows up,”

“She’s going to get an earful,” Zephyr stared at her.

“Smack!” Shir swings her fist, “Bad mother, we smack.”

Nina looked at them, “Grandma says she’ll beat her with a cane for abandoning a child. Such behaviors are extremely hated by us barbarians who live in tribes.”

“It’s also that way among us dragons.” The two metallic dragons added, “Leaving your children for no reason is one of the highest crimes. The father is just as responsible.”

Kinryuu nodded, “If they are cognitive enough to decide to a make a child. It’s their responsibility to care for it. That’s why we marry for life, unlike them.” He glared at the window where Claug sat outside.

^[-To us, it’s better to let them experience the world on their own. Once they grow enough to hunt, they can leave the nest.-]^

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