Dragon King's Harem Chapter 528. Clearing The Stage
Dragon King's Harem Chapter 528. Clearing The Stage
I looked at them both. These women. These broken, dangerous, brilliant women.
One from the mountains. One from the forest.
Both discarded. Both scarred.
Sela huffed a long, tired breath. “Sela… Sela will calm down.”
I reached out and gently touched her shoulder. Not commanding. Just steady. Grounding.
“Good,” I said. “Because we’ll only get one shot at this. And when the moment comes…”
“…We’ll be ready,” Marissa finished without missing a beat.
Sela didn’t speak again.
But I saw it in her eyes.
She would be.
Even if it killed her.
I let the silence rest for another breath, then exhaled slowly and stepped back.
“Take a rest, Sela,” I said, voice quieter now. “We’re done here for now. I’ll head back to my office.” I gave her a small smirk, tired but sharp. “Back to the other battlefield. Paperwork. I need to get ready.”
Sela looked at me, brow raised. “We’re going on another trip, then?”
I nodded. “Yeah. And if we’re going to travel again in the near future… But I need to conquer the mountain of documents in my office before I’m swallowed whole. Contracts, reports, bribes, I’m legally not allowed to call bribes, whatever they are, they need a signature.”
Marissa chuckled. “You’re finally giving in, huh?”
I shook my head. “Not giving in. Just clearing the stage.”
I started to turn, but added, “Besides… our chance is going to come to my office anyway.”
Marissa blinked. “You mean the wedding invitation?”
She leaned forward, arms folded against her knees. “I mean… they could technically marry without sending you anything. A private ceremony. No guests. Maybe even in secret. You wouldn’t even know until it's done.”
I smirked, slowly. The kind of smirk that pulled from the dragon part of me. The part that already lit the match.
“They could,” I said, dragging out the word with purpose. “But I already made my move.”
Sela glanced at me. “What do you mean?”
I leaned slightly toward her. “I already put spies in place.”
“Dwarven ones. Nymph ones,” I said flatly. “The goal is simple. I want an invitation. Not to the wedding, specifically, but to whatever celebration the King or the Queen intends to make. Because if she’s planning to use the poison… it’ll be at a public event. Where it makes the most impact. Where it leaves the least evidence.”
Sela frowned. “And you think the wedding is that?”
“Exactly,” I said. “The rumors have already started. My agents have made sure of it. Whispers that the King’s new bride is beautiful beyond words. That he should show her off. That the marriage should mark a new alliance.”
Marissa smirked, catching on. “And because he’s high on love drugs, he’ll believe it’s his idea to throw a grand wedding.”
I snapped my fingers. “There you go. Make him think it’s his brilliance. The glory of his reign.”
Sela crossed her arms, muttering, “True. He was always prideful. Now he’s just… blind.”
“Exactly. And when the event comes…” I shrugged. “All the other tribe leaders will be there. The elves, the beastkin, maybe even a few ancient elders if I push it.”
Marissa nodded slowly. “You’re gathering witnesses.”
“Not just witnesses,” I said. “Leverage.”
Sela gave a faint exhale. “Sela hope you’re right. Sela hope… it works.”
“It will,” I said. “But only if we’re ready.”
They both nodded.
I gave one last glance at the horizon, then turned back toward the disaster that was her workshop.
And help me.
I stepped back through the door and into the cluttered mess of Sela’s creation-zone. The moment I entered, I could feel the difference again, like the mana in the air didn’t know whether to welcome or warn me. Wires, gears, crystals, scattered rune shards, and coils of enchanted thread surrounded me like a dragon’s hoard if the dragon had severe crafting ADHD.
My foot caught on something small and sharp.
It clicked.
A sound I didn’t like.
“Sela?” I called over my shoulder.
She didn’t respond in time.
The sound escalated. Gears grinding. Crystals humming. A quick whistle of air pressure shifting.
I summoned my barrier instantly, casting a full-body ward as fast as breath.
But I was too late.
The thing exploded.
But not with fire. Not with ice. Not even a teleportation burst.
No.
Glitter.
An explosion of glitter.
Pink. Gold. Silver. It covered me from head to toe. My uniform, my cape, my hair, my horns. Even my tail got a generous dusting. It shimmered in the ambient light, twinkling like cursed festival confetti.
The worst part?
It sparkled with mana.
Self-replicating mana.
I was now a walking, breathing disco ball of doom.
Behind me, I heard a cough.
“Sela,” I said slowly, turning my glitter-soaked face toward her. “What. Was. That.”
She was trying not to laugh. Failing. Badly. She pressed her palm to her mouth and turned around, her shoulders shaking.
“…Oops,” she said, her voice muffled.
Marissa burst into laughter. “Oh gods, you’re sparkling! Your Majesty, you look like a drunk fairy queen!”
I stared at them both.
“I am the Dragon King,” I said flatly.
“You were,” Marissa said, nearly falling over. “Now you’re the Shiny King.”
I didn’t move.
Sela finally turned back around, still fighting her grin. “Sela… may have… tested a glitter-burst rune mix. For children. It wasn’t meant to detonate like that.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Sela.”
She coughed again. “Sela sorry?”
“Show me the way out of this room. Safely,” I growled, spreading my arms and watching glitter cascade from my sleeves like starfall.
Marissa wheezed beside her. “Or he’ll sparkle his way back to war.”
Sela tried to look serious, failed again, and pointed. “Step over the ribbon. Avoid the blue cloth. Don’t touch the wooden owl. Then jump past the mana loop and roll under the fabric rack.”
I blinked.
“That’s not a path,” I muttered. “That’s a survival dungeon.”
“You’ll be fine,” she said sweetly. “Just don’t sparkle near the resonance crystals. They tend to detonate when exposed to joy.”
I swore under my breath and started moving, one careful, glittery step at a time.
This was going to be a long, sparkling day.