I arrived at the castle’s gates while calmly munching down on my apple. Instead of seeing two Royal Guards like before, there were six now. All of them looked rather fierce and wore powerful-looking armors. As weapons, two of them carried spears and shields, while the other swords and shields. It was an interesting combination, but I would have added a pair of archers behind the gates as well. This way, the enemy would need to dodge arrows while making sure not to get poked by spears or get cut by the swords.

“G’morning!” I said with a cheerful expression on my face.

Flying through the open sky was the best!

I could feel the air as it flowed around my wings; with each beat, giving me the power to conquer the sky. The sensation of flying so freely and unchained, without the fear of falling and with the power to control my direction at the tip of my tail and wings was absolutely exhilarating.

Although a dragon was not the most aerodynamic species of them all, having a lot of Magic Energy to help sustain their mass was an important factor in keeping them up in the air. In my case, despite having a pair of powerful wings, my weight left much to be desired when compared to a simple bird, but with the help of a large pool Magic Energy, I had nothing to worry about.

Now, when the time for my beloved Alkelios to return was just around the corner, I found myself holding Collentra’s hand while witnessing one of the many miracles of life in this world.

“Come on, just push a little more, and the egg will come out! You can do it!” Kataryna cheered as she was holding a clean towel in her hand.

“I don’t know if I should be amazed or terrified...” Kleo remarked.

“Don’t be rude, little sister. Giving birth is no easy matter for any dragoness!” I tossed a glare at her.

It was 38 years ago when I first saw Brekkar’s bright and cheerful granddaughter step up in the arena to prove her worth as a Knight.

Just like all the other Knight Masters back then, I too found the young lass who had yet to Awaken to be rather strange in the head for attempting to take on the responsibility of such a heavy role and join one of our Orders.

The reason behind this shared opinion was the simple fact that Seryanna Draketerus had yet to mature, to turn from a child into a full-fledged adult. Us dragons grew both in strength and wisdom when we Awakened, but most importantly, we knew the color of our scales and the elements best suited for us.

The journey was long and treacherous, but under my guidance and protection, we had nothing to fear! By nightfall, we would reach Drakaria, the wonderful capital of our Albeyater Kingdom. Tomorrow was going to be a glorious day for our family. My granddaughter, Seryanna, was going to take the Royal Knight exam and most certainly pass!

Why, I would be a dried-up Merion if this wasn’t going to happen!

I trained my granddaughter myself, and she had both the skill and wisdom to stand on the battlefield right by my side! This was something I often bragged about to that old lizard tail, Feryumstark!

The day I finally saw Tomeron stretching on the fields before me, a small smile formed on my face. Reaching this place was by no means easy or fast. For me, at least, this journey has been a long and difficult one, especially after I had resigned from my duty as a Paladin stationed in Pertiko. No doubt my former friends and colleagues would come to hate me. If I were to fail in my quest here, I would have nowhere to go, nowhere to return, and nowhere to hide. After all, I chose to fall in love with a black-scaled dragoness, and those attuned to the elements of Darkness and Shadows were usually a target of persecution for the Paladins.

After Alkelios left, I was laying down on my bed, with the thin blanket being the only piece of fabric covering my naked body, when a sudden headache struck me. I felt dizzy and my temples pulsed, but I thought it must have been from physical exhaustion after we did it so many times.

There was one more healing potion on the table, so I gulped it down and laid back on my bed.

My eyes felt like they were burning, and my stomach was heating up as well. I didn’t panic because I didn’t feel like I was in danger at all, however, something was definitely happening to me.

Kataryna’s words that night were not something I was going to forget any time too soon. They were spoken through tears and smiles, but also with a wisdom gathered throughout centuries. If it wasn’t for that, I might have had a hard time believing her.

When we returned to the city, Kataryna lent me a few coins to pay for another week at Brekkar’s Inn... in another room, seeing how she destroyed the previous one. I also had enough coins left to buy myself some new clothes and take a bath. As for the rest of my equipment, including a [Purse] ring and camp supplies, she promised she was going to take care of them.

Two months and several days went by since I last saw Seryanna... I haven’t seen Kataryna or Kleo either, but I knew they both dropped by this inn from time to time and asked how I was doing.

Whenever I heard Collentra inform me of this, I began to laugh at myself and returned to my room. I didn’t even stay to listen to what else the dragoness had to say, I simply ignored her.

I think it was about a week ago when Kataryna stopped by and told the innkeeper that she would stop paying for my rent. Today was the big day when I was going to get kicked out.

Seryanna was a strong dragoness. She withheld her tears with all of her might and didn’t try to let her suffering be shown to those around her. Normally, this pep-talk should have been done by her Master, a colleague she trusted, or Kleo, but I honestly didn’t believe any of them had what it took to help her out.

All of them would have just stopped at her door, not daring to go inside and just speaking with her from the other side like they would have a criminal in their cell. As for forcing their way inside the room of a noble lady who was also a Royal Knight, it was simply unthinkable.

The day after the duel between Alkelios and Draejan, I went to visit the Third Princess. She expressed her thanks for my desire to support her through these tough times. Those were the honey-filled words any noble or royal would have said in her position.

“Just to be clear, with me, you drop the political act.” I warned her, cutting through her mask before it annoyed me too much.

She gulped and then nodded.

There was no reason to restrain myself against this dragon. He was trying to get his filthy hands on Seryanna and chase me away from her, and I was going to make sure that Hell would freeze over before I would let it happen.

My grip on the hilt of my sword tightened. My muscles tensed and my senses were focused only on taking down the target before me, the dragon by the name of Draejan Andrakaryus Doesya. To me, his golden scales meant nothing, so I saw no reason to hesitate, I held no desire to hold back.

With a jump powerful enough to lift the dust off the ground, I moved in close and swung the sharp blade of my sword at his stomach.

Broken and confused, lost in my own thoughts and pain, I let my steps lead me away from the Princess’ room. I didn’t answer any calls nor looked at the guards that passed by me. I didn’t even fear the possibility of being pointed at as an intruder and slain on the spot.

There was no more strength in my limbs, no more desire to fight. With Seryanna’s answer, I had lost everything... at least as far as I was concerned. Even the fight for Earth didn’t seem like a good enough reason to keep on struggling in this painful life.

I wasn’t able to sleep properly that night. I turned and twisted in my bed, while I kept thinking about that soldier’s words and my upcoming visit to the Palace. What was to come? Who was I going to meet? What was I going to say? How should I act? What was I going to do if...?

It wasn’t excitement or anticipation what I felt... but fear.

After all, I was a human and they were dragons. I was weak and they were strong. Without my friends, I was even weaker. Without my friends, I would die, yet together with them, my life would be under constant threat. I was a human, therefore different, so the other dragons sought to eliminate me. I was weak and different, so it was natural for them to try and attack those like me.

When Seryanna left, I didn’t put too much thought in her hasty departure. I knew she had her own things to deal with, including knightly duties of which I had no right to stick my nose into. I wanted to be there for her, to help her if she needed me, but even if at heart I had good intentions, meddling in her work wasn’t the way to show it.

After we made ourselves comfortable at the inn, I realized I didn’t have much to do in my room. Not having a computer to play games or browse the internet was a killer, so I went to check up on Kataryna and Kleo. With a [Purse] ring at hand, it was quite easy to make herself at home, so the silver-scaled dragoness’ room was already looking slightly different, the bed especially, it was a king-sized one.

When I closed the door after I stepped out of the Princess’ chamber, I felt as though all strength had left me, turning me into a weak husk, feeble and easy to shatter at the slightest touch. Even standing proved to be a difficult thing to do. My knees were weak, my hands were shaking, and my breath trembled, but as a knight, I wasn’t allowed to show such weakness, so I endured and put on a brave front, waiting there, in front of the door, trying to recover.

The Royal Knight of the Third Princess Elleyzabelle Sojourn Seyendraugher had to show to everyone that she was not someone who could be brought down so easily.

As soon as Alkelios mentioned the possibility of a plot, I rushed out of the inn and headed to the Seyendraugher Palace. A dark thought formed in the back of my mind, and the only one who could help me disperse it was her Highness Elleyzabelle Sojourn Seyendraugher the Third Princess of the Albeyater Kingdom. There were far too many signs pointing in this direction, and I couldn’t help but worry for her safety.

Currently, grandfather’s army, the Brekkar Army was the ace up her sleeve, but with their General in a presumed critical condition for more than thirty years now, there was a high chance that his majesty, the King, would make a move to restore it to its former glory.

Two days after we left the inn at the edge of the Great Chasm, we finally saw the giant walls of Drakaria.

This moment strongly reminded me of a Fantasy movie where the hero arrived at the top of the hill and in the far reaches saw the dazzling city which marked the end of his long journey. A few streaks of sunlight passed through the clouded sky, offering a beautiful touch, while the cold wind rustled our clothes. A single neigh escaped the tired Khosinni, and Kataryna stretched her back.

I messed up...

No, I didn’t just mess up... I failed completely!

And I had no idea why in the first place. Looking back, there shouldn’t have been ANY reason why I couldn’t get it up? It was like my body simply rejected the very thought and idea of being together with Seryanna... or was this an excuse as well?

I couldn’t figure it out, I couldn’t understand why that happened... and no matter how hard I tried to think about it, there were less and less reasons on account of which I could have ended up in that situation. The more I tried to, the more I saw myself as nothing but a pathetic loser.

Thanks to Alkelios, I was already feeling a lot better. My fever went down, and my coughing stopped. After just one night, I felt like I wasn’t sick anymore. I don’t know if he wished for me to be cured this fast or if he knew exactly what to do to help me, but I was already feeling in top shape and ready to head out. Yet, the man refused to let me leave the bed.

“I said I’m feeling fine.” I glared at him.

“Yes! Yes! We’ll leave tomorrow. After I am 100% sure you are!” he retorted while carefully working with some vials at his alchemy lab.