Chapter 308: Familiarity

One wouldn’t have been able to tell, but the odd group of six supposed adults and two stumps walking out with dignity were, in truth, in the middle of internal panic.

From the outside, they looked composed.

Lord Karion walked at the front with measured steps, posture straight and unhurried. Lady Cirila followed at his side, hands folded neatly, her expression serene and unreadable to any passerby. Behind them came the Hale couple, calm and collected, as though this were nothing more than a pleasant family outing rather than the aftermath of a legally binding union that had somehow involved far more than just two people getting their marriage certificates.

Riley and Kael walked together just behind them.

The golden dragon lord looked exactly as he always did. Regal. Unbothered. Perfectly at ease, as though the world behaved exactly as he expected it to.

Even the two waddling stumps trailing along beside them moved with surprising dignity. One of them swayed slightly as it walked, the sheet fluttering at the edges. The other adjusted its grip around its companion with careful seriousness, as though escorting something extremely precious. No one could really see their tight expressions but several people knew just what those faces probably looked like.

Because of such a dignified display, everyone else watching would have thought them impressive.

Collected.

Cool.

In reality, everyone except for one dragon lord was experiencing what could only be described as an acceptable internal meltdown.

And it all started because the only calm dragon among them had chosen that exact moment, while everyone was still basking in the relief of a successfully concluded marriage, to drop a bomb.

Riley had only meant to be a responsible adult.

A mature one.

Someone who would gently explain to the children that relationships were not something to be treated lightly. With the bright futures and faces of those two clearly ahead of them, letting them run wild without guidance felt irresponsible. If they were not careful, they might end up breaking too many hearts.

And who would want to be the adult responsible for that?

Certainly not Riley.

So he had spoken up.

Yes, he used words instead of actions. A crime, really. But admittedly, as someone who had gone out to get coffee and somehow returned married, he was not exactly the pinnacle of sound decision-making.

Unfortunately, he could only serve as the voice of reason.

But hey! At least they wouldn’t ever say he didn’t try!

He had offered advice. Calm words. Reasonable guidance.

And in return, he had been met with Kael calmly mentioning a dragon heart.

Excuse him?

Actually, no.

Excuse you?!

What did his husband just say?

Who on Eryndra had come into contact with a dragon heart?

And more importantly, why was a dragon heart involved in this conversation at all?

And last, but definitely not least, did his newly married husband really just say Liam and dragon heart in the same sentence?

“?!”

He did.

Kael actually did.

When the barrier that had expanded around them finally settled and strengthened, the golden dragon lord let go of the additional protection he had wrapped around the two little stumps.

Riley immediately felt it.

The sudden surge of mana rushed into him so fast his knees nearly buckled.

“Oh god,” Riley muttered under his breath, hand instinctively reaching for Kael’s sleeve.

Was this really how it ended?

Was he, a newly married immortal, about to meet his untimely end inside the Civil Affairs Bureau without even enjoying a moment of marital bliss?

Because just why was the mana suddenly doing that?

But just when Riley thought that surely this was the worst it could get, his husband opened his mouth again.

“He transformed after that incident,” Kael said calmly. “So it would be best to check more thoroughly once we return to the estate.”

Riley stopped walking.

“Huh?”

Transformed?

What transformed?!

WHO TRANSFORMED?!

__

Liam.

Apparently, it was his baby brother. The cutest and nicest of them all.

Apparently, this was also the same child who, after getting back to the estate with the urgency of someone in need of immediate medical attention, had left Riley finally face to face the truth of what those sheets and sunglasses had been hiding.

They barely made it through the doors before everything unraveled.

The group swept into the estate in a rush. Orders were given. Doors were closed. Even the unsuspecting insects dispersed, sensing trouble without needing explanations. The air still hummed with residual mana, thick enough to make Riley’s skin prickle.

They stopped in a wide receiving chamber.

Riley inhaled.

Then exhaled.

“All right,” he said, trying very hard to sound calm. “Let’s see.”

The sheets came off first.

Orien stood there stiff as a statue.

If guilt had a physical form, it would have looked exactly like him. His wings were tucked too tight. His posture screamed wrongdoing. His golden scales had lost their usual shine, dulled by pure dread as he stared straight ahead like a criminal awaiting sentencing.

Riley barely registered him.

Because then he looked to the side.

And froze.

That was not a drake he recognized.

That was not a child he had seen before.

That was not anything he was prepared for.

The small being standing there was warm in color, rich and earthy, his scales glowing faintly like polished amber under soft light. Tiny crystal-like protrusions caught along his back and shoulders, refracting mana in gentle sparks. His eyes were large and shone like amber, too expressive, too soft. His body was compact and definitely much smaller than his usual form.

He was adorable.

Painfully so.

But this was most definitely not the Liam he had seen this morning before he left.

Just what happened for him to suddenly transform when he had only developed the encasement of his core?

The child shifted under Riley’s stare, claws curling inward as he twiddled them together. His paws scraped lightly against the floor as he rocked on his heels, head lowered just enough to show he knew he was in trouble.

Riley stared.

Blink.

Blink.

Blink.

The child opened his mouth.

Riley raised a hand immediately.

“Wait,” he said hoarsely. “I just. I need a second.”

He pressed his fingers to his temple.

Actually, he might need to step outside. He might need to scream into the void. He might need to lie down and reconsider every life choice that had led him here.

He inhaled again.

The small dragon tilted his head.

His expression was worried. Sullen. A little scared.

“Brother,” the child said softly, voice small but steady. “It’s still me. Liam.”

Riley broke.

He made a sound that was not dignified. Not heroic. Not befitting someone who had just been married minutes ago.

“Oh my god,” Riley breathed, dropping to a crouch without even thinking about it. “You’re real. This is really happening.”

Liam’s shoulders relaxed just a little.

Orien, meanwhile, looked like he was about to faint.

Then again, how could he not faint when aside from the growing stares of the dragons pointed towards him, he couldn’t help but be certain that without the barrier that his uncle had placed on them earlier, he was relatively certain that the mana coming from the little sprite was just too familiar.

Just like his.

__

And that was exactly what Kael had realized earlier.

When he first felt the mana, it had been unfamiliar to him, and that was because he did not right away realize the reason for its oddity.

It was mixed. Or at that point beginning to mix.

Liam was only just beginning to form his own mana signature. At this stage, he didn’t yet possess a true core. What he had instead was an encasement. A seed. A fragile space where a core would eventually grow.

Because of that, his mana had no stable identity.

Until now, the child had simply been drawing on ambient mana. He’d been borrowing and passing it through himself without truly claiming it as his own.

Without a particular identity to him, it was easier to attract mana, but at the same time it really wasn’t something he could store just yet.

But that suddenly changed.

Over the course of their time in the Civil Affairs Bureau, Kael had maintained a barrier around the child. It was subtle. But solid enough to ensure that both tiny peas wouldn’t be leaking mana for everyone to notice.

But as time passed, the dragon lord noticed something unusual.

The mana he was shielding began to change.

Slowly at first.

Then unmistakably.

What had once been diffused and vague began to settle into familiarity.

“?”

And that would have been fine and all as beings would eventually grow familiar with mana signatures always around them, but how come the child’s mana was familiar when he was supposed to be developing his own?

“…”

“…”

He had a hunch. He just didn’t know how his mate would react to it.

By the time Kael finally lowered the barrier, he no longer had any room for denial.

And the moment it dropped, everyone who could sense mana turned instinctively toward Orien.

Expecting answers.

The golden dragonling stiffened, utterly unprepared. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, clearly realizing that for once, even his extensive insistence about beads was not going to help him here.

But apparently they were looking in the wrong direction.

It was Lord Karion who inhaled slowly, deeply, as if bracing himself before stepping forward.

“Child,” he said carefully, gaze settling on Orien. “You mentioned a red bead earlier. By any chance, are we speaking of something small and smooth, warm to the touch, with a glow that feels heavier than it should?”

He paused, then added, “Almost as if it carried weight far beyond its size?”

Orien’s head snapped up.

“Yes!” he exclaimed at once. “Yes, that’s it! That’s the bead! See! I told you! It really exists!”

Relief flooded his face like vindication.

Lord Karion and Lady Cirila exchanged a look.

Then the elder golden dragon sighed.

“Well,” Lord Karion said slowly, “yes. It exists. But child, that was no bead.”

“Huh?”

The word left Orien weakly.

“That,” Lord Karion continued, voice steady, “was a fragment. A very small piece of dragon heart.”

Silence slammed down.

“What?!” Orien shrieked.

“Whose?!” someone demanded at the same time.

Lord Karion did not look away from Orien as he answered.

“Yours.”

“!!!”

The room froze.

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