Chương 120: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 120 - Wife

Elsewhere. Blissfully unaware that someone was thinking about him, Su Nian had already flown back to the Saint Augustus Royal Capital. He'd taken a wide detour on the way, deliberately avoiding the Black Beast Mercenary Group's line of march. Couldn't risk spooking them. He still planned to scoop them all up in one go. And even if the net didn't catch everyone at once, he'd left contingencies. As long as that Knight Princess had half a brain, she'd send a detachment to take over the Sacred Wall of Felinir.

That part would handle itself. There was still plenty of time before the Black Beast Mercenary Group reached the capital. Su Nian had something more important to deal with first. Anna's condition. She was his precious darling, the center of everything. He might not seem like he fussed over her health on the surface, but he hadn't missed a single daily check-up. Not one. The curse still wrapped around her was the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head, the one thing he couldn't afford to ignore.

"Great Master, you have returned?" The moment he landed, Saintess Celestine was already there to meet him. Head lowered, hands folded neatly over her abdomen, the very picture of meek submission. Her timid eyes were full of reverence. Whatever hope and anticipation stirred in her heart she kept buried deep, hidden from sight.

"Mhm." Su Nian strolled into the palace without breaking stride.

"Went to have a look around the Sacred Wall of Felinir. Ate about a quarter of his forces while I was there." He dropped onto Celestine's throne with Anna in his arms.

"Gus should be scrambling to launch his attack on your capital right about now." The poor throne groaned like a small girl pinned beneath a mountain of muscle, a shameful, structural creak of pure indignity. It was visibly shorter than before. Celestine heard all of it. The Black Beast Mercenary Group bearing down on the capital. The fraction of Gus's army already gone. And she felt... nothing. No panic. No dread. Because her great master was right here. Powerful, commanding, invincible.

He would protect her kingdom and sweep away every enemy in his path. She had nothing worthy to offer him in return. Only herself. Her humble soul, her body, her entire existence, his, forever. The thought bloomed through her, unbidden and irresistible. A flush crept up her pretty face. Her legs crossed at the knee, trembling faintly. Su Nian: "...... (? _?)" He could read every single thought passing through her head. Unfortunately, mature women did nothing for him.

He was interested in exactly one person, soft, warm, sweet, clingy, adorable, and perfectly pocket-sized Anna. So even though Celestine was essentially offering herself gift-wrapped, Su Nian sat like a monk who had achieved perfect enlightenment. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Don't go falling for me. I'm just a legend.

"Celestine!" The bark cut through the room like a thunderclap. The elven saintess, who had been drifting somewhere increasingly indecent under the pull of his dragon aura, jolted back to earth with a full-body shudder.

"Great Master, I am willing!" She was staring at him with dreamy, devoted eyes, completely missing the context. The more she looked, the more perfect he seemed, surely the finest male creature in existence. Had he finally decided he wanted her to offer herself? The thought made her flush even deeper. Her eyes went soft and wavering, her breath quickening. Willing your ass. Su Nian looked at the state of her and frowned.

"System. How long has this been going on? Is it normal? Is there a cure?" [Host, I believe this stems from the Law Sacrifice Ritual.] [Your ancestor, the one named Konrad, that great, beautiful, kind, and powerful existence, appears to have... added a few personal touches to the ceremony.]"So there's no cure." [Yes...]"Fine. Maybe one blast of dragon breath and we, " [Yes, sorry! There IS a cure, there IS a cure! Host, please stay calm! She is a special S-rank female NPC. Killing her directly would only allow you to inherit her fourth-tier magic abilities.] [Which would be negligible for you.] [But keeping her as a subordinate provides a considerably more valuable ability.]"Then tell me how to handle it." Su Nian muttered under his breath. He was a perfectly normal male dragon. Celestine was, objectively, a flawless elf by every measure. That was fine most of the time. But what if she decided to pay him a visit in the middle of the night?

If he turned her away, he'd feel like less than an animal. If he didn't, same result. To do, or not to do? The philosophical depth of that question exceeded the processing capacity of any normal male creature. Which meant the cleanest solution was to eliminate the problem before it ever got that far. [Actually, no special solution is needed. Simply refrain from bringing Celestine along when you leave.] [The contract causes your dragon aura to exert a powerful influence on your contractors.] [But at sufficient distance, that influence drops to nearly nothing. She will return to normal on her own.]"That works."

"As long as she stays normal when I'm not around." Su Nian exhaled.

"Otherwise I'll never get any sleep, her howling for me like a cat in heat every other night." He felt considerably better about the whole situation. His System-chan was shaping up to be quite the capable little secretary. With that settled, he didn't spare another thought for Celestine's condition. He cut straight to the point.

"Celestine. You're the ruler of this country, so you must have some form of medical services. Priests, healers, that sort of thing?"

"I need you to bring one here. To examine my wife."

"Eh — EH!? Wi — wi — wi, WIFE!!" The word hadn't even finished landing before Anna jolted like she'd taken a lightning bolt to the chest. She went rigid, then began to visibly, measurably turn pink, starting at her collarbone, climbing her neck, spreading across her cheeks, and finally reaching the very tips of her fluffy ears.

"Mmm... myeh~""Brother..." Both small hands flew up to press against her burning face. She curled into Su Nian's arms and pulled her big snow-white tail over her head like a blanket, transforming herself into the most flustered little rice dumpling in the kingdom. But her inner state was something else entirely. [Ahhhhh... my heart, my heart is going so fast, it's going to leap right out of my chest!!] [So... so happy... wuwuwu...] [Brother actually said, said Anna is his wife, is that, is that not a little fast...?] [Maybe... maybe not that fast. After all, Anna has already been... been seen... all of her... so, so hmph...] [Wuwuwu... Brother is so mean, saying something like that in front of everyone... so... so embarrassing... ying~]...

"So you are the master's wife." Celestine gazed down at the little bundle in Su Nian's arms with genuine warmth. Not a trace of jealousy in her eyes, only quiet admiration and something close to tenderness.

"You are truly adorable." Then she straightened and looked back up at Su Nian, her voice respectful and composed.

"Great Master, Saint Orist has no healing units of the priestly variety. However, we do have a witch, renowned throughout the entire country. If you require it, I can summon her. She may prove of use to you."

ps: [Repeating for emphasis: if the author writes a harem, the author eats dirt, if the author writes a harem, the author eats dirt. When everyone is drawn to the male lead but the male lead only loves one woman, isn't that exactly what purity looks like? The contrast is the point.] Power stones = bonus chapters! ➤ Next: Hope for a Cure