Dragon King's Harem Chapter 480. The Guardian of The New Snow Elf Crown

Dragon King's Harem Chapter 480. The Guardian of The New Snow Elf Crown

“Maria. She loves you. That’s why she came to you. Not because you’re the Dragon King. Not because you’re Igixar’s chosen king. She came because she has feelings for you.”

My throat tightened. I looked away, jaw working. “Yeah,” I said finally. “She told me that.”

“And?”

“And…” I rubbed the back of my neck, breathing out a laugh that didn’t sound like one. “You know the rules.”

Jyne tilted her head. “Rules.”

“She’s a queen,” I muttered. “And I’m a king. Marriage means one of us has to drop our title and follow the other. She can’t bring her crown to the Dragon Palace. I can’t leave mine behind to stay here.”

She raised one brow. “So?”

“So… it’s not fair,” I said, louder now. “Not for the Snow Elf Tribe. Not for Kaelen. If she gives up her title, the kingdom loses its queen. The boy loses the only parent he has left. And if I give up mine… I bring war to Igixar.”

Jyne was quiet.

Too quiet.

I didn’t look at her yet.

“She came to me because she had no one left,” I said. “And yeah, maybe because she loved me. But I can't just… take her.”

“And yet,” Jyne said softly, “Kaelen smiled at you this morning.”

I flinched.

“He didn’t look happy when he first met you,” she added. “But this morning… he looked happy.”

I didn’t answer right away.

My footsteps slowed. So did hers.

“That boy…” I said eventually, “he’s searching for a father. He searched for it in Cedric—despite everything. Despite how awful the man was. Now…”

I paused, staring out through a narrow window at the courtyard below.

“Now he’s searching for it in me.”

Jyne stepped closer. “And you look happy too. At least… I could see it.”

I laughed, a little hoarse. “Yeah. Sometimes… I think about it.”

“About?”

“Adopting him,” I said, quieter now. “Making him my son. I mean… he already has his kingdom. His tribe. His people. But maybe I can still… act as his father. So he could have the figure.”

Jyne stopped moving completely.

When I turned to her, she was staring at me. And not with judgment. Not even surprise.

Just something deeper. Sharper.

“That’s a good idea,” she said.

I blinked. “What do you mean?”

She grinned.

The kind of grin that meant scheming, not smiling.

She stepped forward, close enough for her breath to fog against my collarbone. Then she rose onto her toes, leaned in, and whispered into my ear.

“I mean,” she murmured, “you can marry Maria.”

I froze.

She continued, soft and deliberate. “But you don’t need to take her to the Dragon Palace.”

“…What?”

She pulled back enough to look me in the eye.

“If she marries you… she can’t be queen anymore. Not technically. Not with the rules as they are. But Kaelen could take the crown. He’s heir anyway.”

“Jyne—”

“No, listen,” she pressed, stepping in again, voice quickening. “Maria steps down as queen. But she stays. She helps him rule—teaches him, shapes him. Guides him. Everyone wins. No succession crisis. No nobles crying treason. No power vacuum.”

“And you,” she smiled slyly, “become Kaelen’s stepfather. And Maria’s husband. You don’t rule the tribe, but you support it. With your own title. Your own power. You can send reinforcements, military backing, economic aid—even advisors if needed. Not as a conqueror. Not as a rival king. But as a husband. As a guardian of the new Snow Elf Crown.”

I stared at her.

And for once, couldn’t find a word.

Jyne just leaned in again and patted my chest. “Besides,” she added, smirking, “you’d make a good dad. Even if your bedtime stories would probably involve decapitations and lava.”

“Excuse me—my bedtime stories are legendary,” I muttered.

Jyne laughed, those tails-flicking, bright kind of laugh that melted stone.

But then, as her smile softened, she reached for my hand and laced her fingers through mine.

“Think about it,” she said gently. “You’ve built kingdoms before. But you’ve never had a chance to build a home.”

That shut me up.

I swallowed thickly. Glanced back toward the garden where Kaelen and Sela were now pretending the ice drake was a mount for a soup monster-knight hybrid.

Maria stood nearby, arms folded, half-laughing, half-scolding, wind catching her silver hair like she belonged to the snow itself.

And maybe… she did.

But if she was willing to give up everything to be with me…

Could I really let her walk that path alone?

“…I’ll think about it,” I said.

Jyne squeezed my hand. Her fingers were warm, grounding me, reminding me I wasn’t navigating this alone—even if it felt like that sometimes.

Then, with a grin tugging at her lips, she added, “Also… you can just drop by whenever you want, you know.”

I blinked at her. “What?”

“Your portal skill,” she said like I was the world’s densest warlord. “Just pop through. Visit her. Visit Kaelen. You even can bring Sela if you want to.”

I stared.

She just shrugged one shoulder, the fur of her cloak slipping down a bit, revealing a sliver of bare collarbone. “Distance isn’t a wall anymore, Your Majesty. Not for someone like you.”

“And besides,” she cut me off with a wink, “it’d be good for the boy. If you’re serious about being in his life, don’t just say it. Show up.”

I looked down at our intertwined hands. Then back at the garden again.

Kaelen was now standing on top of the ice drake’s head, dramatically holding his drawing like it was a war banner.

Sela was clapping, trying not to fall over laughing.

Maria stood behind them, hands on her hips, doing that half-smile-half-mother-glare thing I’d only seen on queens who used to be warriors.

She did love me.

But it wasn’t just about her anymore.

It was about him too.

Kaelen.

“…You’re right,” I said quietly.

“Of course I am,” Jyne said, smug as hell.