Dragon King's Harem Chapter 508. Just to Feel Wanted
Dragon King's Harem Chapter 508. Just to Feel Wanted
"You hate them," I said, quieter now. "I get it. You have every right. But that doesn’t mean you get to treat diplomacy like a battlefield just because it stirs your memory."
His eyes flicked away.
His jaw tightened.
I could almost hear the old metal clanking in his mind. The past rising. And the battle not fought with blades, but with scars he still carried under the armor.
"She’s dangerous," he said finally. Voice lower. Controlled. But shaking at the edges. "I’ve seen her before, you know. She was younger. But even then… she had that look."
"What look?"
"The one that says she’ll burn a kingdom just to feel wanted."
I didn’t answer right away.
Because honestly?
He might be right.
But I also remembered how her voice trembled. How her mask cracked. How… just maybe… there was still something inside that wasn’t her father.
Something scared.
Something… real.
"And still," I said quietly, "we are in snow elven territory. They just ended a civil war. Their new king is sleeping. And my wife is their former queen. We are trying not to set fire to our entire alliance in one goddamn night."
He gritted his teeth. "So you’re protecting her?"
"No. I’m protecting the peace we barely stitched together."
"She doesn’t care about peace."
"And I don’t care about her intentions, Al," I said, voice finally rising. "I care about the results. Tonight, she left without a fight. She left without bloodshed. That’s a win. For now."
He stared at me.
Breathing hard.
Then looked away. Shoulders rising and falling.
The fire crackled between us.
The stone walls of my chamber, carved with draconic motifs and veined with glowing enchantments, didn’t echo the way most rooms did. It was too heavy. Too quiet. Too thick with history.
"I don’t trust her," Al said again. But this time, there was no edge to it. Just truth.
"I don’t either," I replied. "But I’m not ruling with a sword drawn every second."
He nodded slowly. Still tense. But quieter now.
"She’s going to try again."
"Probably," I said.
"You going to let her?"
"No," I said. "Next time she crosses the line, there won’t be a door. There’ll be a wall. And she won’t walk through it."
He exhaled. Ran a hand down his face.
"Just… don’t let her trick you, my king. You’re better than that."
I smirked faintly. "You think she could seduce me?"
He gave me a look. "You are the one who built a harem on accident, remember?"
I rolled my eyes. "Accident is a strong word."
"You're a tactical mind. Don't flatter yourself."
I laughed. A real laugh. Short. But it shook something loose in my chest.
Then.
A knock.
Both of us stilled.
It was soft. Almost hesitant.
Then the door cracked open just slightly.
Maria’s voice floated in.
"...Should I come back later?"
She stood in the doorway, wrapped in a snow-silk robe. Her eyes caught on Al first, then flicked to me.
I straightened.
"No," I said. "Come in."
Her gaze lingered.
And behind that royal calm…
I saw it.
The confusion.
The questions.
Her brows were slightly drawn, eyes flicking between me and Al with the careful composure of a woman trained for court, but the twitch at the edge of her mouth, the faint rise of tension in her shoulders… she wasn’t here for court. She was here for me.
And she was trying to figure out what exactly she had just walked into.
Al, to his credit, didn't react with his usual bluntness. He just raised a brow, then looked at me as if expecting me to explain.
“Okay…” he muttered under his breath. “Is she the real one?”
I turned my head to Maria.
No hesitation.
I felt her.
The mana around her pulsed like soft, controlled snowfall. Sharp edges hidden under layers of discipline. Her scent hit me a second later, light but distinct, clean snow, faint frostwine, and something faintly herbal from her bath oils. Her presence wrapped around the space like cold silk… steady, grounded, deliberate.
Yeah.
This was Maria.
I deadpanned. “She’s real.”
“You sure?” Al said flatly, arms crossing again.
I stared at him, giving him a long look. The kind of look that said: really? Right now?
“You don’t believe me?”
He rolled his eyes, already backing off. “Just checking. Your brain’s been through a minor enchantment crisis in the last twenty minutes. Thought I’d make sure your eyes are still connected to your soul.”
I gave a low grunt that might’ve been a laugh.
He glanced at Maria again, then gave her a half-apologetic nod. “Your bride has come,” he said dryly. “Guess I’ll take my leave.”
“Try to sleep,” I told him.
He scoffed, already walking toward the door. “I’ll try. No promises. Especially not with the local spellcasters playing dress-up.”
He opened the door and vanished without another word, cloak trailing behind him.
Then it was just me.
And her.
She lingered at the doorway for another second, fingers lightly brushing the edge of the carved wood.
Her voice came low. “What just happened?”
I rubbed my temple, exhaled, then walked over and offered my hand wordlessly. She took it. Her palm was warm. Her fingers cold.
I closed the door behind her, slow and quiet. Then turned and let the silence hold for a moment.
“She came,” I said. “Thiphania. The Witch King’s daughter.”
Maria’s expression didn’t change immediately, but I felt the shift in her breath. The sudden stillness. Like she was holding something back.
“She wore your face,” I added. “Your voice. She walked straight in. Tried to play a game.”
“A seduction game?”
“She offered a threesome,” I said, tone flat. “Said it’d be a win-win. Then tried to argue she was just showing loyalty.”
Maria closed her eyes for a moment. Then opened them again. “I assume you didn’t entertain it?”
“Do you really have to ask?”
“No,” she said, walking further into the room. Her voice had dropped to that private tone, the one she only used when the court wasn’t listening and the walls weren’t full of judgment. “But I wanted to hear you say it.”
I nodded. “I sent her away. No violence. No threat. Not tonight. But it’s not over.”