Dragon King's Harem Chapter 576. The Bride Betrayal II
Dragon King's Harem Chapter 576. The Bride Betrayal II
The poison wasn’t meant to simply kill him.
It was meant to make sure he couldn’t resist while the roots finished the work.
Seranaya grinned while watching him suffer.
Like every scream proved a point she had been waiting years to say.
I stayed where I was, one hand on Nightmare, body still pretending weakness, while my wives held me like I might collapse at any second.
Because the moment mattered.
The hall needed to see.
The nobles needed to see.
The dwarves needed to see who held the root.
Who smiled.
Who lied.
Who made their king kneel under wedding flowers.
Still… Yeah.
Good thing I was already married.
Because if I were single and watched this scene? I might never want a wife.
“Marriage is terrifying,” I muttered under my breath.
Evelina squeezed my arm harder.
Okay.
Not the time.
Around us, guests watched in pure horror. Some tried to stand. Dwarven nobles pushed themselves up from chairs, faces pale, limbs shaking from poison and obedience toxin. A few warriors staggered forward with desperate rage, trying to reach their king.
“Your Majesty!”
“Protect the king!”
“Stop her!”
But their bodies betrayed them.
Their knees weakened.
Their hands trembled.
And from the side halls, Nymph soldiers moved.
Fast.
They entered through side doors, from behind curtains, from positions that should have belonged to dwarven security. Green armor. Vine-wrapped weapons. Faces calm. Prepared.
The dwarves who tried to move were knocked down easily. A noble swung a ceremonial dagger and got slammed into a table. Another guard tried to raise his shield, only for roots to wrap around his wrist and yank him sideways.
The hall fully broke into panic now.
Servants screamed.
Fairy attendants huddled together.
The Phoenix delegation rose, but Seraphel lifted one hand, stopping them from acting too soon.
Smart.
Everyone was measuring.
Waiting.
And Queen Elowen Vireth stepped forward.
No more pretending sickness.
She stood tall, elegant, smiling faintly like the ceremony had finally reached the part she cared about.
“My soldiers already surround this place,” she announced calmly.
Her voice carried across the hall, smooth and merciless.
“And each one of you…”
Her gaze swept over the guests.
“…better not do anything else.”
A pause.
Then her eyes landed on me.
“Especially you, Dragon King.”
Finally.
Direct threat.
I clutched my chest harder and staggered slightly, letting Evelina support my weight. “You…” I rasped, forcing anger and weakness into my voice. “You manipulated him…”
My gaze flicked toward Durharn, who was choking through blood and root.
“…and threw the dirt on my face.”
Elowen smiled. “Actually,” she said, almost conversationally, “the plan was not like this.”
Oh?
Confession time?
Wonderful.
Sela’s crystal was eating so well today.
Elowen stepped closer, though still wise enough not to enter Nightmare’s reach. “But this one is better.” Her eyes glinted. “I intended to borrow your hand to kill this stupid king.”
Durharn trembled at the words, eyes wide with agony.
Poor idiot.
Even now, hearing it probably hurt more than the roots.
“But,” Elowen continued, tilting her head slightly, “it seems you can’t do much now, Dragon King.”
Her gaze drifted over my fake trembling body, my wives holding me, Al still dramatically useless on the floor behind us.
“So we decided to end him ourselves.”
Seranaya’s fingers curled, and Durharn groaned as more roots spread beneath his skin.
Elowen’s smile softened. “And since you are in trouble too…”
The hall seemed to hold its breath.
“Maybe we can end this as well.”
She looked directly into my eyes.
“Your curse.”
A pause.
“And your life.”
Wow. Bold.
If I weren’t pretending to be one cough away from dramatic collapse, I might have clapped.
Instead, I coughed again, rough and ugly, letting dark mana flicker around my shoulders.
Please continue saying incredibly incriminating things in front of the entire hall and a recording crystal.
Durharn suddenly moved.
Everyone’s attention snapped back to him.
With one last burst of strength, he grabbed the root protruding from his chest with both hands. His muscles bulged. Blood poured between his fingers. His teeth clenched so hard I heard something crack.
“Seranaya…” he rasped.
For a heartbeat, his old strength returned.
The dwarven king.
The man beneath the fool.
He pulled.
The root tore slightly.
Seranaya’s eyes widened. “My king—”
Durharn roared.
A raw, broken sound.
He ripped himself forward, trying to free his body from the root impaling him. The hall shook with the force of his rage. Stone beneath his boots cracked.
For one second, I thought he might actually do it.
Stubborn bastard.
But then the smaller roots tightened.
Under his skin.
Around his organs.
Through his mana channels.
His roar broke into a strangled gasp.
The poison pulsed green through his veins, visible beneath his skin like glowing cracks in dying stone.
[Target Resistance Spike Detected]
[Root Parasite Reinforcement Active]
Durharn dropped to one knee.The sound of his armor hitting stone echoed through the whole hall.
Seranaya stepped closer behind him and placed one delicate hand on his shoulder.
It almost looked tender.
Then she leaned down near his ear.
“You should have listened to your nobles,” she whispered.
Durharn’s eyes widened.
Too late.
Far too late.
And the king finally understood that everyone had warned him.
And he had killed loyalty to protect betrayal.
That expression?
That was the real death.
I watched it settle over his face.
The shock.
The pain.
The regret.
Then rage.
But rage had no strength left to carry it.
His hand twitched toward his fallen axe.
Didn’t reach.
The hall watched their king kneel.
Queen Elowen lifted her chin.
“From this moment,” she declared, “the Dwarven Kingdom will be guided by Queen Seranaya until order is restored.”
The bracelet on Seranaya’s wrist pulsed softly.
Oh, hell no.
I smiled.
Just a little.
Because now?
They had stepped deep enough.
Deep, deep enough.
And everyone had seen the roots.
Everyone had heard the confession.
Everyone had watched the bride betray the groom.
I slowly tightened my hand around Nightmare.
The act was almost over.
Almost.