Dragons' Melancholic Song (Part 13)

"You should eat a little…"

Irina sensibly knelt to one side. She wasn't 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 didn't 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, "I know that you are angry, and you can't forgive me at the moment… but… I hope you can feel better. At least, don't let something happen to your body. That way, I won't feel so guilty…"

"I think you should feel guilty!!" I thundered. I stomped over to Irina and grabbed her… No, not collar, it should be scales… I grabbed her scales and yelled, "You 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!"

"I cannot help it… I cannot… Honest… I cannot stop my mom… My mom will not change her mind. My mom… doesn't care about me as much as your mom cares about you… All she cares about is a child. What she wants is a child."

Irina softly sighed. Her eyes were brimmed with despair and agony. She might've 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, "Mom 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 you… I must remind you… if you want to escape from here… we have to have a child."

I took a few steps back and roared, "Not happening!!"

Irina wore a poignant look. She covered her face and let out a long sigh: "King Troy, I know you want to leave right now. I want to let you go, and I want to let you save Queen Dowager Sylvanas… However, it is not that simple. We truly cannot leave. Our only choice is to follow Mom's orders. That is our only choice…"

"I don't believe you! Even if I must leave, I'll make sure to stomp that b.i.t.c.h's head to mush before leaving with my mom. I won't let my mom leave with shame. I won't let that happen!!"

"It is futile. It really will not work! We cannot resist against Mom… We really cannot… Mom will not let you leave… 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 obey… 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 please… I beg you… Please do not hurt yourself again. We will pretend nothing happened once we have a child. This is to your benefit… so… please, do not try anything again. You just need… to have a child with me…"

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 wasn't lying.

Irina's description of my predicament was spot on. After all, I couldn't leave the place. I was in a mountain cave. There were no windows or holes for me to leave from. I'd be surrounded by danger in the forest. The other dragons were also watching me. Moreover, I couldn't even leave the room, let alone escape.

Escaping the place was mission impossible for me. As Camille locked me up, n.o.body could set me free. The only way I could leave was if she gave me permission to. But nonetheless, she wouldn't let me out. I couldn't fight; even if I did, I wouldn't even be able to defeat Irina, let alone Camille. I wasn't a complete dragon. I, alone, was no match for Irina and Camille. Surely, I'd have my joints snapped a second time and thrown back in here and then repeat.

What about not using force, you ask? I couldn't persuade Camille. The only one I had hope of convincing was Irina. The problem was that she was afraid of her mom. She wouldn't oppose her mother, while Camille wouldn't bend to her daughter's whims. It was just as Irina said. Camille only cared about having a child.

I certainly could continue resisting. I knew Irina wouldn't force me, but I didn't have the luxury of time, and I couldn't die. I had a family. I had children. Sylvanas was currently at the mercy of Camille. I didn't even have time to devise a plan. I needed to escape as soon as possible, the sooner the better.

"All right, then, I think… I… I'm strongly reluctant to admit it, but Irina is right. That's the only way… I have to impregnate Irina. In hindsight, that's the fastest method. I must hurry and impregnate Irina. Then, I can leave with Mom," I reasoned.

I couldn't think of any plausible alternative. It was pointless for me to continue resisting. I couldn't defeat Irina or Camille. I couldn't rescue my mom, and I couldn't escape the place. If I could hypothetically escape the place, I wouldn't be able to escape the forest.

I was in the wild beasts' den. Even worse, I had been captured by the most terrifying one among them. I couldn't send any signals out. The people outside had no idea what I could do. I couldn't 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, "Okay, okay, okay!!!"

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 didn't 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 - 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 I'd continue putting up a resistance and, thus, prepared the things. If I drank it, I'd 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 her… 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.

"As we have decided to search for His Majesty, we, at least, need to find out where he has gone."

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, "Onii-sama only said that he was heading Northwest. He, himself, said he didn't 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."

"The 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." 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 ma.s.sive 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 sight…

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