Dragon King's Harem Chapter 514. Paper Crown
Dragon King's Harem Chapter 514. Paper Crown
His cheeks turned red. “I made it. Last night.”
He held it out with both hands.
It was…
A crown.
Made entirely of carefully folded parchment paper, painted in shaky but determined strokes. It had little horns on the sides and a messy, bold label on the front.
Dragon King.
My breath caught for a second.
I took it gently from his hands, turning it over. It was clumsy. Uneven.
And absolutely priceless.
“You made this?”
He nodded fast. “I wanted to say thank you. For… for everything. And because you’re my dad now. Officially.”
I smiled.
Big.
Slow.
Then I crouched lower and handed it back.
“Then put it on my head.”
His eyes widened. “R-really?”
“Really.”
He stood up on the bench, carefully placed the crown on my head, adjusting it until it sat just slightly crooked but perfect.
The paper crinkled against my hair.
I stood back up and gave a small dramatic spin. “How do I look?”
“Like royalty,” Jyne said, clapping slowly.
“Like a very humble and underpaid king,” Sela muttered into her cup.
Kaelen giggled again and threw his arms around my waist, hugging me tight.
I ruffled his hair, crown still perched on my head, and whispered, “Thank you, Kaelen.”
And seriously…
I meant it.
He giggled, cheeks flushing, the way kids do when pride and shyness crash into each other all at once. His hands tugged awkwardly at the edges of his tunic, and he sat back down on the bench, his small legs swinging underneath the table.
I gave him a playful nudge. “Back to your royal seat, young prince.”
Kaelen slid back to his place with a grin, his paper crown tilting a little as I leaned against the table. He stared at the handmade crown now sitting crooked on my head and squinted a bit, thoughtful.
“Dad,” he asked, “why don’t you wear a real crown?”
I raised an eyebrow. “You mean like every day?”
He nodded. “Yeah! You’re a king. Kings wear crowns, don’t they? You don't have one?”
I chuckled, sitting beside him now and adjusting the paper horns a little for effect. “I have crowns, Kaelen. A lot of them. Back at my palace. Most of them are kept in a ceremonial vault.”
“Ceremonial?” he echoed, blinking. “What’s that mean?”
“It means I wear them for fancy events. Like royal banquets. Diplomatic events. Stuffy ambassador dinners where people talk too much and eat too little.”
He tilted his head, clearly unconvinced. “But… why not wear it all the time?”
I smiled. “Because I’m a dragon, Kaelen.”
He blinked again. “So?”
I leaned closer, voice dropping playfully. “Can you imagine me trying to fight with a crown on?”
He stared.
Sela snorted into her cup.
I continued, grinning. “Every time I swing a sword, the crown would tilt. Every time I roar, it would fly off. And during aerial combat? Forget it. I’d be stopping mid-air to grab it before it falls into a volcano.”
Kaelen laughed, hands covering his mouth. “You’d have to keep fixing it while fighting!”
“Exactly,” I nodded with mock-seriousness. “Picture me holding a sword in one hand, and the other just desperately trying to adjust my royal accessories.”
Jyne leaned on her elbow, smirking. “He’s not wrong. That’s exactly what would happen.”
Kaelen was still giggling. “But… my late dad… he always wore his crown.”
I sobered slightly, offering him a softer smile. “He was an elf. And from what I know, he mostly fought using magic, right?”
Kaelen nodded solemnly.
“Which means,” I said, gesturing with my hands dramatically, “he stood still. Cast spells. Kept his hands elegant and his posture tall. Very crown friendly.”
Kaelen’s lips twitched. “Crown friendly…”
“While me?” I held up one hand, miming a sword swing. “Imagine this. A flaming blade in one hand—”
Then I mimed awkwardly holding something on my head with the other. “And the other hand is just me panicking like, ‘Wait, wait, wait, don’t fall off, don’t fall off—’ while someone tries to stab me.”
Sela lost it. “Now I want to see it.”
“I do too,” Jyne grinned. “Let’s make him wear a crown next battle.”
“Don’t you dare,” I warned.
Kaelen laughed so hard he leaned onto the table. “You’d look so funny!”
I looked at him dramatically, straight faced. “You wound me, boy.”
He wiped his eyes, still grinning.
“But…” I said, raising a finger, “also…”
I pointed to my horns, tilting my head to the side. “These are the real crowns of dragons.”
Kaelen blinked and stared. His eyes went wide. “Because they’re big? And scary?”
I nodded. “Exactly. No one forges them. No goldsmith touches them. They’re a part of us. We’re born with our crowns. We grow into them.”
“But…” Kaelen looked thoughtful again, nose scrunching. “All dragons have them.”
“They do,” I agreed.
He leaned forward, still processing. “So… doesn’t that mean you’re all kings?”
I paused.
Sela and Jyne both looked at me, waiting.
I reached out and ruffled Kaelen’s hair again, gentle this time. “No. That means we’re all capable of being kings… Of something. A territory. An area. A field. Or maybe… the king of a home. A family. The protector of their children and wife.”
He looked up, blinking. His mouth fell slightly open, like that idea hit him harder than he expected.
“Strength isn’t rare, Kaelen,” I said quietly. “But honor? Discipline? The will to protect others even when it’s not convenient? That’s what makes a real king.”
He was quiet for a moment.
Then nodded slowly, his little hands clutching the edge of the table.
“You’re a good king,” he said.
I smiled at him.
Then tapped the paper crown sitting on my head.
“And you made this crown,” I said. “So that makes you part of my royal smithing council now.”
He beamed at that, puffing his chest.
“And honestly?” I said. “This one’s my favorite.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
He looked like he might melt with joy. Then looked at Jyne and Sela. “See! I told you he’d like it!”
“You win,” Jyne smiled, raising her hands.
Sela raised her mug. “Best crown I’ve seen in years.”