Dragon King's Harem Chapter 503. The Crown

Dragon King's Harem Chapter 503. The Crown

Plates were refilled. Quiet chatter trickled back into the room like thawing ice. Some nobles tried to pretend nothing had changed. Some just stared at their food like it might offer answers. And others, mostly the younger ones, looked at Kaelen with a new mix of surprise and calculation in their eyes.

The coronation happened one day after. No delay. No breath. No time to let the air cool.

The dining hall was cleared, rearranged, and by afternoon, the entire palace had shifted to full ceremonial mode.

Kaelen stood tall, barely blinking, barely breathing, as the rune-lit crown of the Snow Elves was brought forth. Maria held it herself. No priests. No regents. Just her.

She said no grand speeches. No holy rites. No ancient chants from the Archives. Just a single line.

“This crown has served my head. Now it will serve yours.”

And she placed it on her son’s brow like a final blessing. Like a closing book. Like goodbye.

He didn’t cry.

But his hands trembled when he took hers.

I didn’t say a word during the ceremony. Just stood a few steps behind them. Watching. Standing still. Letting the fire inside me stay quiet for once.

As for the wedding…

There wasn’t one.

Maria stepped down as queen. Which meant she no longer needed to follow the old royal traditions. No marriage ceremony. No public vows. No bridal procession through the heart of the city.

I offered. Of course I did. I told her we could hold a private rite, or even wait a few months and do it properly under the stars of the High Snow Temple.

But she declined.

She didn’t even hesitate.

The reason was simple. She didn’t say it with sadness. She didn’t need a poetic speech.

She just said, “No. Not now. My kingdom isn’t ready.”

And I understood.

Cedric’s betrayal was still fresh. His followers might still be out there. Some loyal. Some waiting for her to slip. A grand ceremony would be an invitation for chaos. A sign of indulgence. Weakness. A feast for spies.

She didn’t want opulence.

She wanted peace.

After all the pain… after everything Cedric had done to her, to Kaelen, to the people she had ruled and bled for—Maria didn’t want another show.

She didn’t want fanfare.

She just wanted quiet.

And I respected that. No, I admired that.

Power in restraint. Love in silence. Fire held in a breath.

So we skipped the wedding. No dance. No gown. Just her hand brushing mine that night as we stood under a half-frozen sky and whispered our promise only to the stars.

As for Kaelen?

The kid was… tense. Definitely.

Excited? Also yes.

He kept looking at me like he wasn’t sure if he should bow or ask me to help him tie his ceremonial boots. But the funniest part?

He looked more eager about calling me father than about wearing the crown.

He didn’t even say it right away. Just tested it in different ways during the second day.

“So… when I’m king… what should I call you?”

“You know, like… I mean, if I need advice. Or if I have to talk about you during meetings…”

“Do dragon kings do father-son sword training?”

Eventually, he just blurted it out in the war room.

“Father—uh, sorry. I mean… is it weird if I say that?”

I didn’t laugh. I didn’t tease him.

I just said, “You can call me whatever makes you feel safe.”

He smiled. Didn’t stop smiling for the next three hours.

And yeah. I sent word to my kingdom.

Not just a message, an official declaration. The kind carved into golden flame parchment and flown by a small firedragon straight to the Capital.

The Dragon King has taken Maria, the former Queen of the Snow Elves, as his wife.

It was bold. Immediate. Dangerous. Exactly the kind of move that would spark questions across every noble hall and royal court in the realm.

But I didn’t stop there.

I also ordered a full platoon of my royal dragon soldiers to come north. Not to march. Not to threaten.

To guard.

To help stabilize.

To stand with Maria.

She didn’t ask. She didn’t need to.

But I knew her kingdom wasn’t out of the storm yet. And I wouldn’t leave her alone in the cold without fire at her back.

“When everything’s calm… when Kaelen is steady and the traitors are gone… send me a message. I’ll recall the soldiers.”

She didn’t say yes. She didn’t say no.

She just held my hand a little tighter.

Three days.

That’s all it took.

Three days to shift a kingdom, crown a new king, and bind two rulers in a bond stronger than ceremony.

And through it all, Callum?

Neutral.

Perfectly composed. Like a marble statue pretending to blink.

His face gave me nothing. Not approval. Not spite.

Dislike? Maybe not.

Expectation? Maybe.

But understanding? Not even close.

I couldn’t read him. Which, for someone like me, was rare and extremely irritating.

He watched everything. Said very little. And left too many things unsaid.

Like a winter storm on the horizon. You knew it was coming, but not when or why.

And then there was Thiphania.

Oh, Thiphania.

If she was subtle before, she dropped the act now.

The way she watched me? Obsessive wasn’t even the word.

In modern times, we’d call her yandere.

The kind of girl who’d follow you into the woods, trap you in a cabin, and call it love while sharpening her knives.

Sweet on the outside. Deadly on the inside.

And me?

I was the dragon king. Supposedly untouchable. Ruler of the strongest realm. Guardian of the balance.

But even I wasn’t sure how to handle a princess who looked like she wanted to carve her name into my soul.

Fascinating, honestly. I almost respected the audacity.

Almost.

By the end of the third day, everything was finished.

The crown had passed.

The proposal accepted.

The future rewritten.

Now came the hard part.

Consummation.

Which sounded easy enough, except… now Kaelen was king.

And he was a child.