Chapter 204: Dralma [1]
-----
As night fell, Louis received an unexpected visitor. An elven dragon his own age landed gracefully on the rooftop terrace outside his room and greeted him with a gentle smile as she sat on the bench. "Hello, Louis. I see you were waiting for me."
Louis, who had been reading a book in silence, looked up at her with complete indifference. "No, I wasn’t really waiting for you. What do you need, Dralma?"
Dralma looked confused. "Didn’t we agree to talk?"
Louis glanced back at his book and continued reading in silence for a few seconds. "Ah, really? I must have forgotten. I tend to forget things that don’t matter."
The half-elf raised an eyebrow. It was subtle, but Louis was being deliberately dismissive, and it stung her pride more than she cared to admit. "Well... I suppose you did. But I came here so we could speak and perhaps bond. We are family, after all, right?"
"Yeah, we are," Louis nodded. "But I wonder where you were when I was younger?"
"Eh?"
"As my mother’s youngest sister, I always thought you would have come to visit me like the rest of her siblings. Until now, I had barely even known you existed," Louis said. "Frostbane went through dozens of crises, and you did nothing to let me know there was someone out there, someone in my family who cared even a little about my mother."
"..."
"If I hadn’t grown strong enough inside the Dimensional Labyrinth," Louis closed the Spirit Master Cultivation Methods book and glared at his aunt, "I wonder... if I hadn’t been able to save my kingdom, would you have let everyone die?"
Dralma fell silent and looked down.
"I suppose the same question applies to the dragons living on Earth," Louis continued. "I don’t blame your parents. Grandfather is busy in Yggdrasil and cannot leave. Your mother, the Elven Queen and goddess of nature, must care for that immense world, so I cannot blame them either. But you? Or Uncle Drakda, or Aunt Amethyst, or even my cousin Tiamat? Where were you? Nonexistent, huh?"
"Louis, no, you’re getting it all wrong. We... we would never act with such cold intentions. We were worried, but we had our own countries to protect," Dralma sighed.
"I see. So you prioritize your own countries over a family member? I understand now. Humans are more valuable than dragons to you?" Louis asked.
"No... I... I mean..." Dralma stammered. "I just didn’t know you. I never had the chance to meet you. Please don’t hold these baseless grudges against us. We are all your family, but we each have our own responsibilities. Frostbane was important, but so are Zipangu, Camelot, and Mesopotamia."
"I see. Well, that’s completely fine," Louis nodded. "I understand. We share similar ideals. I would do anything for my country too. I would even kill you right now for it."
"...?!" Dralma’s face twisted in shock as she stepped back. A dreadful energy poured from Louis’s Fantasy Heart. "W-What does that even mean?! Are you threatening me?! I am your aunt!"
"I haven’t threatened anyone. I was simply saying that if you would let me and my mother die for your country, then it is only fair if I would do the same. Relax. I am not going to do anything. I am not a monster, after all. Haha." Louis laughed with a cold sneer. "Anyway, what did you want to talk about? I am all ears."
"..." Dralma swallowed hard and shook her head. "Sorry. I... I must have been too rude to you before. Or perhaps my absence caused you to hold this unhealthy grudge. I’m truly sorry, Louis."
"Oh please, you don’t have to worry, Aunt," Louis replied. "I was worthless, talentless garbage anyway, right? You and the rest of the dragons had every justification for ignoring someone who could not inherit the dragon bloodline. It is only now that you see me as strong that you finally recognize me as ’people.’ A wonderful mindset. I hate weaklings with small, weak hearts and no determination. They remind me of my own past, which I despise. But I praise and will help the stubborn fools who keep fighting. Arthur is endearing. I look forward to his growth. He has charisma and real fire in his heart. As long as he never speaks about my mother again... I hope we can become great rivals."
"Louis... I..." Dralma had never expected to be bombarded with so many confrontational words full of deep resentment from someone the dragon family had abandoned for over a decade. Someone who had been discriminated against and mocked, yet now possessed the strength to back every single word. "I... I’m sorry..."
She knew the only thing she could do now, seeing how deeply hurt he was, was to apologize with genuine sadness in her eyes.
However...
"I don’t care about your empty apologies," Louis said in a demanding tone. "If you truly want to build a ’relationship’ with me, Aunt, you had better show it through actions from now on. Understood?"
"...I know, but don’t speak to me in such a tone—Ah?!" Her eyes widened as gray ice covered her hands, glowing with intricate runes. "W-What is this?"
"Ashen Frost. It is built from hundreds of runes. Each one can explode. I could destroy your arm right now," Louis said with a warm smile.
"...?!" Dralma gasped, finally beginning to understand the true madness and wicked heart of the Prince of Frostbane. Abandoned by all, he had risen through endless grief, despair, agony, and death. He was no longer a man, but a beast. "Are you threatening me?! Out of nowhere?! What is wrong with you?!"
Louis shrugged and sat on his bed with a calm smile. "Like you said, we are meeting for the first time. We have never truly interacted before. Since you are family, I have given you some privileges.
I have been... nice. But you come here speaking about being a good family, offering empty apologies, and pretending you ever cared. When my mother was dying—and is still dying—you and the rest of the dragons did nothing but mock me and treat us like garbage. Do you know how much I would enjoy tearing you to shreds right now? Hahaha... it is almost cathartic!"
"...?! A-Ah, wait...!" Dralma muttered. "Please wait! You don’t have to get this serious. Louis, I get it! Please calm down. What would your grandpa think?"