”I don’t believe it..”
“A true hybrid…the first of his kind as well.”
“A demonic dragon…”
“We haven’t seen anything like this since lady Seras was born.”
“Are we in an alliance with the demons now?”
Yara had just divulged the entirety of Exedra’s life.
From her sudden disappearance, to her meeting the love of her life and Exedra’s birth.
To put the icing on the cake she even explained why he was sick for the first seventeen years of his life.
The gazes of everyone present looked at Yara and Exedra with pity.
Especially Yara.
The way she spoke about her deceased husband, it was easy for everyone to discern how much she loved him.𝑶𝐯xt.𝗇t
Whilst Exedra noticed the pitiying gazes from the crowd, he wasn’t moved by them in the slightest.
His reasoning for asking his mother to reveal the truth was not something so simple or useless as being understood.
But that would only be something that was known much later.
“Then… how was such an illness cured?” Tiamat asked the question that was burning in the minds of everyone present.
Yara took a deep breath.
This was the part of the plan she was sure would be the hardest.
“My son… was cured by Asherah herself.”
“I-impossible!”
“What do you mean princess?”
The people were naturally in utter disbelief and it was hard to blame them.
In Dola’s million year history, not once has anyone had any contact with Asherah outside of an evolution, and even then she never said anything about herself or answered any questions.
Yara then went on to explain how Exedra fell ill for two whole days before waking up one morning in his current body.
Yara overestimated the difficulty of convincing the masses of the circumstances behind Exedra’s cure.
While some were dubious, most took one look at Exedra’s face and body and immediately believed it was crafted by their mother goddess herself.
Little did they know that his looks were simply the result of having criminally gorgeous parents.
The dragon lords frowned and looked at Exedra but he didn’t even spare them a gaze.
He was much too focused on culling certain weeds from his garden.
“The Draven family is truly blessed!”
“Indeed!”
“Cheers for another million years of prosperity for our great kingdom!”
“CHEERS!!”
News of these revelations would travel far and wide across the globe.
By this time next week, every living and unliving soul in Dola would’ve heard the tale of the crippled prince of the dragon kingdom and his miraculous cure.
Exactly as he intended.
Once everyone resumed drinking and the lively atmosphere was back, it was time to present gifts.
Exedra sat at a large table surrounded by his wives with his daughter in his lap.
The first to present a gift was Sei.
“A gift for my wonderful son in law.” She said with a smile that was warm and motherly.
Despite that, her mind was filled with impure thoughts as she handed him a thick old spell book.
“T-that’s a ancient grade magic!”
“It’s easily worth millions of gold!”
“So generous!”
“She’s such a kind mother in law.”
The crowd was immediately shocked to see the first gift of the night be something of such an extravagant nature.
“That is the ancient grade spell for teleportation magic.” She explained.
“It normally would take you a year or two to learn but I am willing to be your personal tutor and cut that time in half!”
Sei took one look at Exedra and knew that she had to have him.
Originally she’d brought this gift to humiliate her weak son in law since he would never be able to learn it and her slow daughter that would never be able to teach him.
Her new plan was to gift Exedra the book and then offer her services as a tutor so she could take the time to seduce him.
When she looked at Lisa it was obvious he liked older women so Sei was sure she could use her charms to get him into bed.
“She’s offering to tutor him personally?”
“My stars what a lucky man!”
Exedra opened the book and a brief uncomfortable look crossed his face.
‘I knew it. He probably can’t even begin to understand those spells. Don’t worry my future husband. I’ll be sure to teach you thoroughly.’
Exedra closed the book and spoke for the first time all night. “I’ve learned the spell. I don’t need any tutoring.”
Sei was so captivated by his voice entering her ears that she didn’t even hear what he said at first.
When her brain finally made the connection, she burst into a fit of laughter.
“Please don’t joke my son in law. There’s no way you could learn a spell this complicated instantly.”
“The young prince has a sense of humor!”
Fits of laughter rang out among the guests.
Exedra sighed deeply.
So these people can’t believe the truth even when they hear it huh?
Under the stupefied gazes of all present, Exedra’s body became wrapped in black and red energy before he disappeared with his daughter still in his lap.
“W-wha?”
“H-he wasn’t joking?”
“I-I didn’t even hear a chant…”
The only ones who were unsurprised by this development were Exedra’s wives and mother.
No more than ten seconds passed before shadows rose up and took the form of Exedra and Mira, only now Mira was holding a plate of cookies from the kitchen.
Sei was completely caught off guard but as a queen she’d never show it. “M-my Lailah what a talented husband you have.” She finally addressed her daughter for the first time in years.
Lailah was seated next to Exedra and stared at her mother with a disinterested gaze that carried no disdain or animosity.
“Indeed I do..” Lailah finally showed a small smile before she leaned over and gave Exedra a deep kiss.
“Gross!” Mira cried with cookie crumbs all over her mouth.
Internally, Sei was fuming. Realizing her plan had failed, she instead wished Exedra a happy birthday before quickly walking away with clenched fists. ‘That spell he used… it’s different from the one in the book. Did he alter it somehow?!’
Sei contemplated this and many things as she headed directly for the bar.
Lailah chuckled internally and was filled with a sense of pride when she saw her mothers state.
It wasn’t a huge victory, but it was a victory nonetheless.
Canis was next to give a gift and gave him a spear with a bronze tip.
Originally, Canis was planning to humiliate him just like Sei, but changed his mind entirely when he felt his aura.
Even though he was a third level evolved, he didn’t want to offend this young man in front of him.
A warriors instincts were nothing to sneeze at and his were especially sharp for years of harsh living.
The young dragon was so eerily calm that it made the hair on his tails stand up.
Exedra accepted the gift with a disinterested nod and Canis hurriedly left his sight.
He didn’t even glance at his daughter but one among his group did.
–
The gift giving continued for some time. Exedra was given just about everything from jewels to weapons and even potions.
His uncle Iori had even gifted him a katana that was quite similar to his own.
Like Sei he offered to teach him how to use it but was incredibly shocked when Exedra stood up and began executing near flawless moves.
“Just what kind of monster did you give birth to?” Iori wore a permanently surprised face that was shared by many of the guests.
Instead of responding Yara simply laughed it off as if it were a good joke but Iori was terribly serious.
‘Wasn’t he just cured last week? How can he use a sword that easily!’
The last to present a gift was Audrina and she looked… different?
While she was always naturally charming, she was now radiating an aura of seduction that could arouse even the dead.
‘You bitch you couldn’t even keep your promise for one night?’ Yara sneered inwardly as she looked at her friend’s state.
She was eyeing her son like a ravenous beast and his wives certainly noticed.
While every woman had been looking at Exedra that way tonight this one felt the most like a threat.
Lisa and Mira were the most tame. One didn’t understand all the looks her father was getting and the other didn’t feel like it would be her place to be upset. On the other hand Lailah and Bekka were both ready to cause an international incident.
“LISA!!”
Suddenly, a hate filled roar came from the entrance and everyone looked to see a young ice dragon trembling with rage.
Exedra’s eyes immediately became cold and lifeless when he heard someone refer to his wife in such a casual nature.
When Jirai realized something terrible was about to happen his blood immediately ran cold.
‘You idiot what are you doing?!’