Chapter 523: Chapter 316: She’s Very Lazy

「Three years after the Battle of Dewensen.」

In an underground icy lair reconstructed beneath Montero City by the desert sea coast, a series of tapping sounds emerged, growing from rhythmic to seemingly impatient.

In the dim and lightless depths of the lair, Attilicia lay as still as a corpse. Finally, he struggled to turn over, as if breathing his last:

“…I’m not seeing visitors,” his voice hoarse, low, and decadent.

The visitor outside the lair did not urge him, but instead turned and asked:

“Has he been like this for the past three years?”

Another voice, somewhat helpless yet sorrowful, replied:

“Yes, Uncle Attilicia, he seems unable to accept the fact that your father is gone.” That was the voice of the Silver Dragon Princess Alicia.

Gone, not dead. Without an actual death, there could be no rebirth.

David Uthos, the Red Dragon, seemed to have completely disappeared from this world ever since he sacrificed himself to bring down that crimson star.

Even the Evil Scale Fortress could not locate any trace of him. At least, that’s what Pafila claimed.

However, the visitor scoffed at this notion:

“TCH! Just as Dad said, he’s like a woman. Forget it, useless sludge that can’t be propped up. In times like these, it’s up to me, Satilaesa, to bear the burden! By the way, where are my sisters? Bring them out for me to play with.”

Alicia had just been about to praise this young dragon for her maturity. Shaking her tail, she replied:

“…They’re all playing in the Hatchling Garden over at Lefilia’s place. They should be brought over soon. I’ll take you out.”

Attilicia, who vaguely overheard the conversation, felt his ears involuntarily perk up. The more he listened, the more he felt something was amiss.

The sheer volume of this information nearly fried his brain, which had been dormant for three years. Satilaesa? Wasn’t that his great-granddaughter, the Yellow Dragon? Had she snuck out of Dragon Island on her own? And what about the sisters she mentioned? Could it be… had that brat David actually left behind other bloodlines without my knowledge before the battle? Yes… that was definitely something he would do!

This news of new life suddenly diluted the deathly resolve that had been festering in Attilicia’s heart.

Hearing their voices fade into the distance, Attilicia instinctively wanted to get up and get some answers, or at least greet his great-granddaughter.

However, he suddenly found—perhaps due to prolonged inactivity and not having entered true hibernation—his entire body was as stiff as a block of ice. Dragon paralysis!

Ultimately, it was Niff, his Spirit Sucker child with whom he shared a telepathic link, who sensed his urgency:

“Daddy, I’ll help you.”

With Niff extending her tail from her throat, she laboriously dragged her father—who was rolling his eyes—through the gloomy, icy tunnels of the lair, much like a snake just out of hibernation.

At last, he saw a figure that was both familiar and strange to him. His mouth opened wide, but he dared not recognize her.

She was too big! Even larger than the adult Silver Dragon Alicia beside her?! It made him feel as if he were still caught in a daydream.

This shocked and bewildered stare was keenly sensed by Satilaesa, who was just about to leave. Without moving her body, her tail—so proud it practically pointed to the sky—snaked out and coiled around Attilicia’s Dragon Kiss like a python.

As Attilicia’s snout was forced shut, it clamped down like a vise on Niff’s ’vital spot.’ Niff’s entire exposed body jolted and stiffened on the spot…

Niff’s dragon-like head was teary-eyed, but she dared not cry out, paralyzed by a certain fear and worry.

“Who?!” Satilaesa, the Yellow Dragon, turned back with the haughtiness of a regal princess.

But when she saw the other dragon and Niff, who was caught in his snout, her pupils slowly dilated, then narrowed again:

“…Grandfather Attilicia? And who is she?”

She had initially thought it might be a Drow spider or a Wax-Melting Fiend dispatched by Rose.

Since the Battle of Dewensen, with the threat of The Slaying King Star no longer restraining them, the Drow had begun to regard the dragons as a growing threat.

“Daddy… I’m scared…” Never having been exposed to another’s gaze before, Niff instinctively wanted to retreat into her ’father’s’ throat. However, with her body stuck, she could only tremble against her dragon dad’s head.

“…Daddy?” Satilaesa’s tail instinctively slid off, and both she and Alicia suddenly looked at him with strange expressions.

Especially Satilaesa. Her innate pride made her disdain hiding her emotions, so she just slightly bared her teeth, looking down with a condescending and disdainful expression.

That look instantly made Attilicia feel an indescribable shame, as if he had committed some disrespectful act, betraying Pafila!

This was the greatest moral pitfall for Metal Dragons.

For a dragon like David, who flirted everywhere, leaving affection and descendants in his wake, other dragons would only enviously, jealously, and perhaps even begrudgingly praise:

“His Highness is truly a dragon of passion!”

Because he was a Red Dragon by nature, unconcerned with such matters.

But if a Silver Dragon, known for unwavering fidelity, had even the slightest indiscretion, all other dragons would scorn them with:

“Damn hypocrite! You disgrace!”

Attilicia, realizing his draconic reputation was facing its greatest crisis, instantly snapped out of his stupor. He grabbed Niff by the neck, pulled her completely out of his throat, and hastily explained:

“Listen to my explanation! She’s actually a Spirit Sucker! It was during the operation to hunt the elder brain in the Gloomy Region that we accidentally formed a symbiotic bond! So, while she might be considered my bloodline in a way, I have not betrayed your grandmother Pafila! Satilaesa, you have to believe Grandfather!”

“Oh… In that case, can I play with Aunt Niff?” Satilaesa, who had been speechless for a good while, finally said. She then picked up Niff, who seemed to have gone limp as a noodle, and draped her around her own neck like a small white scarf.

Satilaesa’s words immediately plunged the two dragons and Niff into silence.

The two Silver Dragon elders were momentarily unsure what to say to such a blithe young one.

And Niff, the Spirit Sucker, was simply too terrified to speak.

Facing such an enormous creature that could snap her spine at any moment, Niff didn’t dare move and could only gaze helplessly at her so-called ’father’ as if pleading, ’Save me, save me.’

Attilicia remained silent for a long moment before finally voicing the question that puzzled him:

“Did I accidentally fall into a deep slumber? How have you grown so much, Satilaesa? And what about your sisters and Aunt Tania?”

Satilaesa and Alicia exchanged a glance and smiled. Satilaesa answered:

“Don’t worry, you were only in a stupor for three years. As for me? I’m still just a thirteen-year-old hatchling.”

At this, Satilaesa’s smile vanished, replaced by an expression of unprecedented pride and solemnity:

“However, my father is gone now. So, I naturally concluded it was time for me to grow up. Holding onto that conviction, when I awoke that night, I had already taken the form of an adult dragon.”

Under normal circumstances, this incredible fact would have shocked Attilicia speechless for fifty years.

But the moment he heard ’my father is gone now,’ deeply buried memories surged forth, and it seemed that nothing, no matter how shocking, could stir his already numb emotions.

Then he heard Satilaesa continue:

“Svetlana and Octavia naturally came with me. They’re sensitive to the cold, so they’re waiting outside the lair. As for Aunt Tania… she seems to have become a bit unhinged since Father’s death. She insists he isn’t dead but has traveled to another spacetime, a dimensional connection we can’t perceive. She says that once she solves certain ’problems,’ she’ll be able to summon Father back.”

Hearing this, Attilicia felt a pang like a knife to the heart. He had to tilt his head back with great effort to stop the tears from falling, but his eyes were still bloodshot.

“When I heard her say that, I believed it instantly. Unfortunately, Father still hasn’t come back… So… I have no choice but to keep believing. After all, if I believe in something strongly enough, it will definitely come true one day, right?”

Seeing Satilaesa force a smile, her lips trembling slightly despite her attempt at composure, Attilicia found it increasingly difficult to hold back his own emotions. To avoid crying in front of the young dragon, he quickly changed the subject, turning to the Silver Dragon Princess beside him:

“And what about your other sisters… Did you also have his child, Alicia?”

Alicia suddenly looked a little flustered and shy. However, as a princess, she still managed a dignified nod and replied:

“Yes. Her name is Violet. She’s a Silver Dragon. She inherited at least one of her father’s… traits. She eats a lot. Yes, a very great deal.” Although Alicia seemed somewhat troubled by this, pride was still evident in her voice.

“As for the other two who have hatched, one is a Blue Dragon named April, and the other is a Black Dragon, Dorotia.”

“Children of Silvia and Viola?”

Attilicia was incredibly conflicted. On one hand, he was happy about this new generation. On the other, he thought David was completely outrageous. Considering the timeline, Silvia and Viola might not have even reached young adulthood when they conceived… Still, at least he had watched those two grow up. They were good kids.

But Alicia’s expression turned somewhat complex as she said,

“About that… you’ve misunderstood, it’s not Viola…”

“Huh? Then who…?” This was completely outside Attilicia’s knowledge. Could it be that David had dalliances with other Black Dragons before his… departure?

“That child… was born to Lady Felicia, the Mistress of the Marshlands…”

“…Huh?” Attilicia was utterly dumbfounded.

Seeing Attilicia’s eyes still somewhat glazed over, Alicia thought he might not recall exactly who Lady Felicia was, so she added a reminder:

“This lady… um, she’s Viola’s mother…”

After a long silence, Attilicia finally squeezed out:

“WHAT—THE—ACTUAL—HELL?!”

That David! He was really something else! A true piece of work!

Attilicia smacked his lips, the implications finally dawning on him:

“Wait a minute, did you just say ’has hatched’? So, does that mean there is one that hasn’t hatched yet?”

The Silver Dragon Princess sighed before answering:

“Although the Grand Duke of Silver Wheel has kept it quiet, the secret leaked out from the Drow. Apparently, her belly started showing three years ago. Two years ago, she… laid an egg. A Dragon Egg. And three years ago, David was operating in the Saeolus region disguised as an Elf. So, it couldn’t be any other dragon’s egg.”

Attilicia felt that the shocks and emotional turmoil he’d experienced today outweighed those of the past hundred-plus years combined. He took a deep breath, composing himself for a long moment, then slowly turned his head, which felt somewhat rusty, and asked carefully:

“Who?”

“The Mistress of Saeolus City, Grand Duke of Silver Wheel, Lady Mirillian Elizabeth Scallia.”

“…Right. Right, right, right.” Attilicia’s expression was a bizarre mix of wanting to laugh and cry. After a long pause, as if he had finally processed the tumultuous emotions and his thoughts had achieved a new clarity, his mind grew sharper, and he spotted a discrepancy:

“Wait a minute! It’s been three years, hasn’t it? Why hasn’t the egg hatched?”

Even for a Dragon Egg, it should have hatched by now.

The Silver Dragon Princess and Satilaesa exchanged a look, both recognizing the resigned amusement in the other’s eyes.

Alicia said, “She’s very lazy.”

Satilaesa chimed in, “Too lazy to even hatch.”

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