~ Chapter 139: The Horrors of Drakaros ~ (Part 2)

She followed the adventurer inside and closed the door behind her. As I walked past the house, I met the boy’s gaze.

He was begging me to save his mother from this fate. He was imploring me to do something to help him, just like all the gazes of the other children in these slums.

A trial... a test... a punishment for myself? I wondered as I steeled my heart and walked past him.

The deeper I went the more these sorts of scenes become common place. Women forced into selling themselves, men forced to work for little to nothing, children living in a world that robbed them of their innocence far too early.

I remembered the scene in Rank Village with the noble who killed the village chief in front of his own daughter, and I realized that even if I had managed to save him, if I did save all those I encountered today, it would still be a drop in the ocean. Then again, it wasn’t that hard for the nobles to then condemn these poor citizens to doom under their corrupt laws.

Becoming the ruler of this country and assuming the role of the savior of these people would also mean abandoning my family and Illsyore. As much as my heart begged me to do it, I couldn’t... I didn’t want to live in a world without them, it would have slowly broken me until I couldn’t feel joy or happiness anymore.

The only reason I could feel so much pain, pity, and sympathy for everyone I came across was because I knew that at the end of this adventure, I was going to come back to Illsy’s embrace. Without him there, I would grow far too cold to feel any sort of emotion and soon be no different than the nobles of this country.

A broken ruler with an empty heart was no ruler at all.

I wish to help, but I don’t wish to be a savior for them, that’s why I will remember the suffering of these draconians. I will take it to heart and make sure it won’t happen in Illsyorea. I thought as I once again steeled my resolve.

“A flower, pretty miss?” a little girl, of no more than twelve years old, asked as she showed me a blue flower, an Albastrea.

Looking down, it was strange to see this one spot of beauty among so much darkness and filth. It was so strange to see the gaze of hope in her eyes when so much desperation surrounded her. My heart felt as though it was being clenched by a claw of steel and before I knew it, I had given her a copper coin.

“Thank you, miss!” the little draconian girl with pure blue eyes matching the flower showed me a warm smile.

The girl then walked past me to try and sell her flowers to someone else. I looked back at her and noticed how dirty and skinny she was. Her clothes were made up of patched up rags, and just as it was with everyone here, the dirt hid away the color of her scales.

“A flower, kind sir?” she asked a passing adventurer.

“Beat it, you dirty brat!” he growled at her, and she pulled back in fear.

The draconian spat at her feet and then walk away grumbling curses.

I looked down at the flower in my hand and wondered Why can she smile... when she lives in a world like this? I then looked at her and saw her approaching another man.

Like that, she went from stranger to stranger, trying to sell her flowers.

It was sad and painful to look at her, and at the same time, I was overtaken by the strength and perseverance she was showing me. So young she was, so little she had, yet she continued in this harsh world to sell her fragile flowers.

I absorbed it in my Storage Crystal and decided to plant it back at Illsyorea as a testament of a draconian’s strength.

Then, after not taking more than ten steps away from that place, I witnessed another scene.

Up on top of a three-story building stood a draconian woman whose clothes were like rags that barely hanged from her willow body. There were tears streaming down her cheeks, and she held a dagger in one hand. With her gaze at the sky, it looked as though she was asking the gods for questions they would never give her an answer to.

What is she doing? I wondered, but I could not move.

Several other draconians around me spotted her and not even one showed worry about her state. A few of them were even calling out to her to jump or undress and give them a show.

I watched as she stood there, on top of the rooftop, looking into the horizon like a ghost yearning for its freedom. The sadness in her eyes, the pain in her heart screamed out at me, yet it was ignored by all those around me.

Then, she took up her dagger... and plunged it into her heart.

No... I thought, yet the shock of witnessing this scene was so great that it froze me in my spot.

With her life draining away with that last beat, she fell forward right in the middle of the street.

THUD!

That sound was one I would never forget my entire life, the sound of the lifeless body of a woman at wit’s end.

So much was the shock that I felt that I could not even take a step forward, and around me only a few draconians expressed a sign of pity for her poor soul.

“NO! Mommy!” someone called out from behind me.

As if I saw it all in slow motion, my head turned to the right, and I saw the little girl from before running past me. Tears streamed down her dirty cheeks, sadness and grief having taken the place of that spark of courage and strength she had left. The blue flowers she carried flew into the air, falling on the muddy road.

She ran and did not stop until she reached her mother’s side. From where I stood until there, only a trail of blue flowers of an ephemeral beauty had formed. Around her draconians gathered to watch the poor girl cry, yet no one was moved by her tears.

The little girl begged, pleaded, and asked for help with a broken voice, yet no one could offer it to her. No one wanted to help her with her pain for they themselves had suffered just as much. In a way, seeing her suffer was their own way of relieving their own pain.

In the middle of all of this, while she was crying for her mother and begging everyone to help her, she met my eyes.

My breath was cut, and that one moment felt like an eternity.

How was I supposed to answer to her call?

How was I supposed to help her?

What could I have done?

How many others felt what this poor girl had just felt?

Question after question bombarded my heart and soul, but the one that landed a most devastating blow was the last one.

I felt weak in my knees, but I forced myself to keep standing up. The little girl’s eyes were calling out for me, they were begging me.

‘Help me!’ they said.

‘Save my mother!’ they begged.

I gulped, but I did not look away, I could not allow myself to. This little girl, her cries, the death of her mother, this entire scene was something that could befall Illsyorea if I did not do something about it.

Illsy was powerful, but he was not Almighty and All-knowing, he was just my foolish perverted husband with a big dream.

Half an hour passed as she kept weeping, and no one did anything to help her. With every moment that went by, I felt like a piece of my heart broke and turned to ash, yet it was so hard to move closer to her.

I wanted to help her, but I did not know how. I did not know what I could do without raising the attention of the nobles and having them stop me. To my shame, I lacked the knowledge I once prided myself with. There was still so much I did not know and so little I had yet to try.

If I’m afraid to act, will Illsyorea end up like another Drakaros? I wondered when I finally found myself walking towards the sobbing little girl.

Unsteady on my feet, I approached the scene of the woman’s death, and as I did so, a draconian man approached the girl and grabbed her by her hair, lifting her up with one arm.

“Stop! It hurts!” she cried out.

“This little shit will pay from now on for her shikak of a mother! If anyone has a problem, they should...” at this point, his words stopped because I was right next to him, and our eyes met.

“Let her go.” I said softly.

“Huh? Who are you? Another whore?” he asked as reached his dirty hand to grab me.

“I said let her go.” I filled my glare with killing intent.

He flinched.

“She owes a debt... 2 Gold Coins. Her mother was paying us with her body. Now it’s her turn.” the draconian man showed me a smirk.

“Here’s the money. Take it and don’t bother this child ever again.” I spoke to him in a commanding tone of voice as I tossed him the money.

The man dropped the little girl and grabbed the money.

“Tch! It matters not. Sooner or letter she will come to us begging for money just like her mother did. Be it for opiates or something else, they all do.” he spat on the woman’s corpse and then walked away.

Opiates? Ah yes... there are some hallucinogens that use Magic Plants. How foolish of me... As someone in my position, I should have thought of the dark side of society as well... Did I look away out of fear? I wondered as I saw him walk away If I kill him here... then... for a moment, this thought appeared, but I stopped myself before I did the deed. Shaking my head, I thought No. Even if I kill this draconian, there will be another to take his place. I then looked down at the crying girl. These children will never be safe unless I do something about it... unless someone fights for them.

The little girl continued to cry over her mother’s body. There was nothing anyone could do about her now.

“I’m going to bury her.” I told the child.

“Mommy... she...”

“What’s your name, child?” I asked as I picked up the body of the woman. This smell she gives off... Was she forced to please a man before she took her life? I wondered.

“Ayu... Ayu Albastrea.” she said with a low voice without taking her eyes off her mother.

“Ayu? That’s an unusual name.” I remarked.

“Commoners... they aren’t allowed to give themselves the names of nobles, but mommy... she really wanted to because she once saw Princess Ayuseya at a celebration.” she sniffled “She worked as the maid of a noble back then... the same one who became my father. We ran away last year so that he wouldn’t touch me once I grew of age.” she told me through her tears.

“What?” I said surprised.

I could not believe that the dead woman I was carrying in my arms decided to name her child after me.

Can this pain be any worse? I wondered as I felt my heart being squeezed by needles of guilt.

“Why her and not someone else?” I asked.

“At the celebration, mommy made a mistake and spilled a drink on a noblewoman’s dress. She got mad, but Princess Ayuseya defended mommy... Mommy thought that Princess Ayuseya wasn’t like the other nobles, that she was going to help us... Princess Ayuseya didn’t help mommy, she was just like the other nobles.” she sniffled.

That... hurts... I thought, but in that situation, I doubted I could have done anything without literally blowing away my cover and causing a big scene. Besides, if this woman had become addicted to drugs and was selling her own body into prostitution, then things turned for the worse for her, and I doubt anything I could have done could have saved her.

“Do you hate her?” I asked.

“No...” the child shook her head. “Mommy told me not to hate anyone... no matter how I think they wronged me. Besides, I heard the rumors as well... The Princesses and Princes are just for decoration. They hold no power even in front of the nobles.” she said.

“That is true... Sometimes though, no matter how much someone desires to help you, they cannot, especially when a country is rotten to the core like this one. Princess Ayuseya fled Teslov, didn’t she?” I asked as I continued to make my way towards the outside of the city, where people like this girl’s mother could be buried without worrying about others disturbing her corpse.

“I don’t know...” she replied.

We walked in silence for a while, and when we got near the gates, I asked “Would you blame her for the death of your mother if you had the chance to speak with her?”

“No... I would blame the evil men who made mother do those things... who pushed her to...” she didn’t finish her words and started to sniffle again.

“Hey, you! What are you doing with that thing?” one of the guards asked when he saw me approaching the gates.

“Taking her outside for a proper burial.” I replied.

“Burial? She’s a commoner, right? Just toss her in the fertilizer pile with the rest of them. It’s to the left as you go past the gates.” he told me.

I investigated the draconian’s man and despite the curse words I wanted to toss his ways, I replied with a simple and polite “Thank you.”

After we left Drakaros, I continued to walk until we were a good distance away from the walls.

“Will this place do?” I asked.

“For what?” Ayu asked me with teary eyes.

“For your mother’s grave. It’s a wild and free land where her soul can rest. Rather than a fertilizer pile or some dark alley back there, I think this place would suit her better.” I showed her a soft smile.

Ayu looked around and noticed that we were quite a bit of a distance away from the city as well as from the nearest road, meaning that besides us, there would not be anyone else who would know that this was a grave.

“Yes... mommy would have liked it.” she nodded and then her tears started to flow down her cheeks again.

“It’s alright to cry... It’s your final goodbye, after all.” I said as I began to prepare for her burial.

Although this was the first time I ever did one, I had read in books how it was done and I also learned from Zoreya a little bit about it. Even I knew how to cast a simple purification spell to keep the body from turning into an undead.

First, I dug a hole into the ground that was 6 meters deep. At such a depth, no monster or predator could reach her. Afterwards, I prepared the woman’s body by washing it with magic and sewing up the wound in her chest. I then dressed her up in one of my dresses, and with some of the wood I had in my Storage Crystal, I made her a coffin.

While I did all of this, the little girl watched me with tears in her eyes. She did not even realize how uncommon was everything that I did or the fact that someone couldn’t dig a hole that deep that fast. All that Ayu cared about was the fact that this was the last time she was going to see her mother’s face.

After I prepared the body, I cast the purification spell on it and then placed it carefully in the coffin with her hands crossing over her chest.

“Mommy looks so pretty... the prettiest she looked in her entire life.” Ayu said with a soft smile as she gently touched the cheek of her mother. “Goodbye, mommy. Ayu promises to be a good girl and grow up to be someone you can be proud of. Ayu promises to live for you as well... no matter the pain and hardship.” then her tears flowed down her cheeks once more “Ayu... Ayu will miss you, mommy!”

I let her cry for a few minutes before I closed off the coffin.

While saying a short prayer to the gods above for the soul of this unfortunate draconian woman, I lowered her into the ground. Ayu threw in the first fist of dirt and then I used magic to push in the rest. A slab of stone cut with the help of my sword acted as a gravestone. On it, I wrote a simple: ‘Here lies the beloved mother of Ayu. May her soul rest in peace.’

The little girl mourned for another hour and then with a final goodbye, she turned her back at her mother’s grave.

“What will I do from now on?” she asked as she clenched her fists and looked at the ground.

“What you did until now: survive.” I answered as I placed my hand on top of her head.

“But without mommy... I...” she sniffled.

“Even without your mother by your side, you can grow strong, but it is true that you might need a bit of help turning your life around.” I said and then closed my eyes for a second.

I cannot take her with me to the Pleyades Palace because the nobles there will surely use her as a hostage against me as soon as they will be given the chance. I thought.

Taking out 20 Gold Coins out of my Storage Crystal, I looked straight into her eyes and told her “I’m going to give you two choices. What you do is up to you.”

Ayu nodded.

“Your first choice is to use this money as you see fit to start a new life in this kingdom.” I showed her the money, and her eye grew of big of surprise “You can go to another town or pay for lodging in a better area until you can find yourself a good job. You could even start your own business if you think you can. Your second choice, however, is a bit more difficult.” I let her hold the money “You can use these coins to head to Illsyorea, where you can forge a new and most likely a better life than you would in Teslov.” I explained.

“Illsyorea?” she asked with a confused look on her face.

“On Illsyorea lives Princess Ayuseya together with her family. They govern the island with a gentle hand, in a way which you will not see anywhere else in the world. If you have a dream, then that’s the place where you can achieve it. Best of all, education on the island is mandatory, so even if you are a poor commoner, you will be accepted into their school and taught how to read and write at least.” I explained.

“Princess Ayuseya? So... she really did abandon us?” Ayu asked.

“No...” I shook my head “She didn’t want to abandon you, it’s just that adults have their own share of problems, especially when politics are involved. I would go so far as to say that she had no choice but to flee Teslov at that time. But do know this, that if she didn’t have the courage to leave Teslov, she wouldn’t have ever been able to help build that small heaven for people like you.” I showed her a soft smile and then patted her on the head.

After I reached the age of twelve, I had been invited to countless parties by the nobles living in Drakaros. I could attend only a handful of them every year, so my presence was always treated as something special. Looking back now, Ayu’s mother must have met me at one of those parties.

Now that I think about it, those nobles were all looking at me with disgusting lecherous eyes. They were probably thinking that they could get a taste of my innocence once I was tossed into a Ball. Back then, however, I was only told that I was attending these parties in the hope of strengthening the relationships between the Royal Family and the nobles they ruled over. Telling such a lie was far better for the young me than the disgusting truth which would have made me run away in fear. I thought.

“Ayu, think carefully about what you want to do. This decision will shape your entire future. Do what you think will be best for the future you. Once you tell me what you wish to do, I’ll take you to a nearby town and pay for a room at the inn as well as a hot bath for you. From there, you can go to the Adventurers Guild and request an escort to Port Callira or hop onto a merchant’s caravan that’s heading there.” I explained.

“It will be my choice...” the little girl looked down at her own dirty hands and furrowed her brow.

While she thought about it, I took out a table and a chair. I placed them next to us and then sat down. From within my Storage Crystal, I took out my writing tools and then began to write a letter addressed to the Deus Family. This way, no matter whom she first bumped into on the Island, they would know that she was under the protection of a Deus.

After I was done with it, I sealed the letter and handed it over to Ayu.

“Take this. When you reach Illsyorea, tell anyone there that you have a letter for a Deus and ask them to tell you where you can find the school.” I told her.

Ayu took the letter and looked at it for a long moment.

“What do you want to do?” I asked her.

Looking up at me, she then told me “I want to meet the Princess mommy looked up to. I want to go to Illsyorea.”

There was a newfound glimmer of hope and strength in her eyes.

“I’m sure you will, and she will also be happy to meet you.” I told her and then gently patted her on the head. “Now, let’s get you someplace safe.” I said and picked her up.

It took me only half an hour to reach Milatana Village. There, I looked for the inn and after talking with the innkeeper for a bit, I was told that there was indeed a caravan that was going to leave in two days for Mendrakar City. I got Ayu a spot on the caravan and paid the innkeeper a few extra coins to watch over the girl and teach her anything she might need to know to survive her long journey ahead.

The next thing I did was to go and buy a new set of clothes from the local tailor. After a warm bath, Ayu looked like a completely different draconian girl. Her hair was apparently blond, but the dirt and grime in it made it impossible for me to see it. The color of her scales was of a pale blue and not brown as I had initially thought. Ayu’s fair beauty shined like a newly polished gem, and her smile was absolutely adorable. For a moment, she made me forget about the loss she went through today.

I left Ayu with a clear set of instruction on how to reach Illsyorea and then returned to the capital. From here on out, the little girl’s luck would determine her fate. I entered Drakaros knowing full well that she could end up encountering vile bandits on the way or end up being cheated by merchants and adventurers. There were a lot of things that could happen to her on the way, but it was not my job or my duty to watch over her every step on the way.

I did my part, and for the peace of my soul I did end up helping someone in that accursed city today.

Before I returned to the Pleyades Palace, I decided to make a visit to the Guard’s Room on the Second Wall. I walked down the main road until I saw the armored guards defending the line that separated the nobles from the commoners, at which point I entered a nearby alley and jumped on top of the roof. Taking the high road, I reached the wall and kept my ears perked for what the guards were talking about.

“Captain Borgis hasn’t left the Guard’s Room, has he?” one of the guards said at one point.

“Nah, he was too busy gulping down the mead he got from that fat merchant. He’s gonna give us a taste of his spare bottles later, and all we have to do is turn a blind eye when he brings in the ‘goods’ into the noble’s area.” he replied.

“Oh! Is someone throwing a party again? I have to say, I wouldn’t mind taking one of those women to my bed.” he smirked.

Their conversation degenerated into a painfully long description about their sexual fantasies. In my eyes, these men already dropped to a status lower than that of disposable garbage. In case I encountered them as enemies from now on, I wasn’t going to feel any regret about taking their lives.

It took me another ten minutes or so until I got the opportunity to slip inside the Guard’s Room unnoticed. After locking the door behind me, I went in to search for the draconian who dared to bring shame to my former maid, Soleya.

Soon enough, the wretched draconian made his presence known.

“Valus? Is that you? Did you bring me the meat as I ordered you to?”

He had dark-brown scales and was a bit on the chubby side. The armor he wore barely fit all of his lard inside, and it felt as though it was going to snap loose in some places. Even though he had a good face, the rest of him ruined it.

“Are you per chance, Captain Borgis?” I asked.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m Borgis. Who are you?” he furrowed his brow and gave me an ugly look.

“Me? I am the former master of one Soleya, a former maid at the Pleyades Palace. Does the name ring a bell?” I asked him with a gentle smile on my lips.

“Huh? Why should I? Is she someone you knew?” he raised an eyebrow and then showed me a wicked smile “Was she good in bed?”

“She was the draconian woman you raped in her cell.” I told him without erasing the smile on my lips.

“Raped? Which one of them? I got my hands on every broad I could back then, besides, what’s it to you? Are you here for seconds?” he laughed.

“You speak as though no one can touch you even if you confess to your crimes?”

I was a bit puzzled by his blunt honesty.

“Of course! I only touched those lowly commoners. I’m a noble by blood, so it was my right to do as I pleased with them! Kuhahaha!”

“I see...” I nodded and then cast a barrier spell around this room to keep unwanted guests from coming in.

“So, why are you asking me about...” his words were cut short when he saw me casting a small [Fireball].

“Let’s see if you survive this.” I said and then tossed it in front of him.

The spell generated a powerful explosion of which I was protected by my Magic Armor. His, however, was cracked, but not shattered. It was also quite loud and destroyed his desk as well as a shattered a good number of the bottles he had laying around.

“You dare raise...” once more he tried to talk, but I moved in front of him a slapped him.

His Magic Armor shattered, and his body crashed into the nearby crates. The flames that licked the wood were quickly caught by his clothes. When he felt the burn, he jumped up and screamed while thrashing around, trying to put them out.

“Oh, my. How noisy you are.” I said and then kicked him in his bowls.

With puke flying out of his mouth, his body hit the wall and then fell on the ground with a groan. A long time ago, I would have felt revolted by such a sight, but now it felt as though I wasn’t doing enough.

Walking up to him, I said “You know, today I’ve seen quite a few nasty things, and I am quite stressed out.” I took out a short dagger from my Storage Crystal. “I’ve seen children cry in pain, mothers being abused, and poor people begging for their lives.” I stopped when I was next to him.

Borgis looked up at me, and his eyes were filled with fear.

“Oh, the things I saw and heard made my heart scream in pain...” I let out a sigh and then stabbed the dagger in his leg.

“GYAAA!” he let out a terrible shout.

“I’ve seen so many terrible things, and just as I was about to return to the Palace, I remembered about poor Soleya. I wanted to keep my promise with her, so I came to visit you. Besides, there are so many other poor souls out there you wronged that I feel as though the gods would curse me if I didn’t properly punish you.” I showed him a smile.

“W-Who are you?” he asked in fear as he tried to fight back against me, but his strength was nothing compared to mine.

“Me? Didn’t I tell you?” I showed him a kind smile as I pulled the dagger out of his thigh. “I’m Soleya’s former master, that silly weak little Princess you all talked about behind her back. The one all of you greedy and corrupt nobles wanted to have a go with at the Ball.” I said with a smile and then stabbed him in his side.

“GAH! Y-You... you are Princess A-Ayuseya? P-Please... m-mercy!” he begged.

Two minutes later, the draconian died in pain, and the guards were knocking on the barrier, trying to get inside. Their Captain’s screams had alerted them.

“I guess I should be on my way.” I said and then looked back at this poor excuse of a draconian man. “I wonder if I should have left you intact. Hm, maybe not.” I shook my head and then jumped up, smashing through the ceiling just as I canceled the barrier.

While the guards were busy to rush inside, I slipped through their defenses and walked away. Fortunately, I was still close enough to hear their reactions upon discovering Borgis’ remains. Three of them vomited on the spot.

As I slipped back into the Pleyades Palace, I noticed that the commotion I caused at the Second Wall caught the attention of all the guards in the area. This made my return a bit more difficult, but nothing I could not handle with my speed and agility.

What I witnessed today was something that the former me could not have handled. It was beyond horrible, it was sickening. The amount of abuse, destruction, and torture the poor innocent draconians of this city suffered through was too much. But in a way, it was good because I saw what I should never allow Illsyorea to become. No matter what, when I returned home, I had to make sure nothing of sort was going to happen there even in the absence of the Deus family.

Just as I entered one of the empty corridors, I noticed a strange wooden door which seemed a bit out of place. There were two draconians standing guard right in front of it, and they appeared to be far more powerful than the regular ones. No matter how much I combed through my memories, I couldn’t remember seeing something like this before. While it was true that I didn’t took this path to leave the Palace earlier, what were the chances of me discovering something like this here?

I need to see what’s behind that door. I thought and then looked around for something to cause a distraction. That vase should do it. I thought and then picked it up with one hand and then smashed it into the wall.

The sound was loud enough to have been heard by the two guards, so I quickly hid nearby.

“Go check it out.” one of the guards told the other.

I waited there until the draconian walked around the corner to investigate the noise. Once I was sure he was far enough, I rushed behind him and grabbed him in a chokehold. His Magic Armor shattered and no matter how much he struggled, he was not able to free himself.

After he fainted, I released him and then dragged him to the corner. I pushed him up the wall and waved his arm so the other guard could see it. I then tossed this draconian to the side and hid myself once again.

The other guard walked up over here just as I had hoped. When he saw his friend, he rushed over to him, and I used this moment to grab him in a chokehold as well.

Once I took care of this guard, I pulled them back to the wooden door and leaned them against the wall in a way that made it look as though they just decided to take a comfy nap. As for the shattered vase, I decided to clean it up.

Now, let’s see what’s behind this door. I thought.

I first checked the door for any extra Magic Traps. There were none, so I opened the door.

What was hidden on the other side was a staircase leading down to some underground level.

That’s strange, I don’t remember anything like this being here. Was this built recently? I wondered.

All the basement entrances were usually outside not inside the Palace.

While being careful of where I stepped, I moved down the staircase until I reached the bottom. I was more than fifty meters underground now. In front of me was a big and long corridor with metal doors to my left and right leading somewhere. Rather than giving off the impression that it was built recently, it felt more as though it was quite ancient.

There was definitely something strange happening here, and it made my skin crawl.

Up ahead, I saw two guards patrolling the corridor. They were walking away from me, so I walked over to the first door on the right. It was made from a metal and showed signs of aged rust.

With a gulp, I pushed the handle down and then opened the door. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. What I saw here could only be described as something monstrous.

Both to my left and right were naked draconian women trapped in pillories like some common criminals. They were of different ages from teenagers to adults, but all of them had golden scales and displayed signs of pregnancy. A strange purple crystal was hanging in front of their heads, shining a purple light on their foreheads. All of these women were looking out into the empty space as though they didn’t or rather couldn’t think of anything.

What in the name of the gods is this? I thought as I moved closer to one of these poor souls.

With one glance, I could tell that she was a beautiful draconian woman, who would have attracted the gazes of many men, but I could not think of any reason why she was trapped like this.

She was six months pregnant and there was a name tag on her pillory.

Given Name: 2224... Family Name: Pleyades... Breeder: The King... After I read this, I stepped back and nearly stumbled on my own feet. This cannot be possible... I thought and then looked at the other women.

All of them had as a given name a number and their family name was stated as Pleyades. All of them had been impregnated by the same draconian... The King.

Braydan did this? How? Why? When?! I thought as I tried to get my head around what was going on.

This... this is so strange... It almost looks as though this is a... farm. I looked at all the other women.

All of them resembled each other quite a lot. It was almost ridiculous how much they resembled one another, almost as if they were all related.

A Pleyades child farm? But... but why? I thought and then I remembered mother’s letter.

I could still remember those words of hers. They hurt like poisoned daggers and made me realize the cold brutal truth about my own mother. They made me realized that all this time I was only considered to be a tool by the entire Pleyades family and the nobility who supported them.

My dear daughter, I’m sorry… You were born into a cursed family, one believed to be without future or hope. I left this letter knowing that you will read it after you got married to a Supreme and hopefully did not attend a ball. By now, you probably noticed that your name is a bit different than that of the first prince. The name Drekar passes by unnoticed to many ears, but it is not I who gave it to you, but your father. It is his name, and he was a True Dragon.

When the time comes, my daughter, know that after your first child is born, you will be sacrificed to our gods and with your life, the curse on the family shall be cut in half.

I write these words to warn you, but I pray and wish you will not do the foolish thing of running away from this great responsibility! Your child and his or her child will bear the blood of a True Dragon and like you, they too shall be sacrificed when the time is right. This way, your great grandchildren will be able to free us of this terrible curse, and they shall ascend to the throne as the rightful rulers they should be! Ayuseya Drekar Pleyades, you have been granted a great honor, my child! So, fear not your death and embrace it! Bear a child or more and know that through their deaths, they shall greatly honor our royal bloodline!

My daughter, with great sadness I write the next words for you, and I pray this shall never be the case!

If you fled from this responsibility… may the gods damn you with their eternal wrath! For ruining this chance for us, for destroying the only hope this family had! I pray that you shall suffer the pain of a thousand deaths!

Up until now, however, I thought that the part about sacrificing was just some crazy talk, but now that I looked at this ‘farm’, I realized that my own mother and family might be crazier than I had initially thought.

They let me reach adulthood and looked for a Supreme willing to impregnate me so that my blood, which was stronger than theirs, could help them get rid of this curse faster. This farm, however, was certainly not the product of just a couple of years of work, it was ancient.

“How many innocent lives have they... Urk!” my stomach turned, and I spilled the contents of my stomach there.

Those madmen... How could they? HOW COULD THEY! I thought as anger and fury gathered in my heart.