CHAPTER 193: SECRETS OF THE FIRST BOND

Apparently, there could’ve been casualties.

Namely, one human aide who wouldn’t have made it out alive if Kael had actually pursued his original plan.

Because out of nowhere, the annoyingly tantalizing "demon" lord said, "I was planning on telling you when we got to sharing secrets."

Riley’s eye twitched so violently that even the golden lizard raised a brow. His head snapped up, face twisting in disbelief so sharp it almost looked comical.

"What do you mean? Aren’t we already sharing secrets?!" he demanded, his voice caught somewhere between outrage and panic.

Kael tilted his head slightly, gaze steady. "Are we? How could that be when there are still so many things in there?" He pointed at Riley’s head.

Riley looked personally offended. "Excuse me?! I just shared an extremely important secret earlier! Do you have any idea how mortifying that was?"

The dragon blinked slowly. "You mean the part about being a degenerate?"

"Don’t say it like that!" Riley yelped, ears burning. "And yes! That! I just confessed that I wanted to do—" His voice cracked. "Things!"

"Things," Kael repeated, tone dry. "That’s what you’re calling it."

The fragile chihuahua glared, but the giant before him only gave a look that could almost be mistaken for amusement.

"That’s not really a secret," the dragon lord said simply.

Riley’s mouth fell open. "What?! What do you mean it’s not a secret?"

"I could tell," the bastard replied without hesitation.

"!!!"

"YOU COULD TELL?!" The absolutely mortified human almost jumped out of his draconic seat. "What the hell does that mean?! Is it an ability?! Are you saying other dragons could also tell?!"

Kael’s lips curved faintly. "No."

"Then how—"

But the dragon lord’s expression gave nothing away. His silence was too deliberate, his calm too controlled.

When the poor aide realized he wasn’t getting an answer, his eye twitched again.

"Kael."

"Mn."

Riley’s cheeks puffed up, his hands gripping his knees. He was annoyed, but he felt that it was still much better than earlier. Maybe it was because he could finally breathe again, like he wasn’t being strangled anymore.

But now this? This was going to gnaw at him for the rest of his life.

If he didn’t find out about these secrets, wouldn’t he end up perishing from suspense instead?

The dragon lord exhaled softly, a faint trace of amusement and resignation in his tone. "At first, I wanted to exchange it for the secret of your identity. I wanted you to talk to either your parents or, at the very least, the guardians," he said quietly.

"What...?" Riley blinked, unsure if he heard correctly.

"But you wouldn’t like that, would you?" Kael looked at him squarely, eyes gleaming with that calm certainty that somehow felt far too invasive.

"You who value the ability to choose. You who don’t like being backed against a wall when it comes to decisions."

Riley’s lips parted slightly. He wanted to argue, but every word hit too close to home.

"I figured you’d hate it," Kael continued, leaning back slightly. "I’d get what I wanted, but you’d detest me for it. So I decided not to do it."

He paused, eyes steady on the human who looked far too rattled for his own good.

"Instead, I’ll tell you about it," the dragon lord said at last, his tone quiet but unwavering. "And you decide what you want to do with the information."

Who would’ve known that in the end, the dragon—a being most commonly known to prioritize his own interests—had gone and made the right decision?

__

Kael rested back in his seat, gaze drifting to the faint reflection on the window. "You probably heard it was a dragon when we returned for Orien’s birthday."

Riley nodded immediately. "Right. That’s what that dragonling Seris insisted on."

"Well," Kael said after a moment, "that part isn’t entirely wrong. It’s just that what the others don’t know, especially the younger ones, is that it was actually a dragon egg."

There was a lot of blinking as Riley’s brain buffered for a full second. "Your mate was an... egg?"

The dragon lord turned his head slightly, one corner of his mouth tilting as though amused. "More like an egg at that time. It’s an ancient tradition. Because it’s at that point when it’s easiest to see compatibility."

"Compatibility," Riley repeated weakly, as though trying to process the fact that dragons apparently played matchmaking with eggs.

Kael continued calmly, "The tradition comes from an ancient legend. The legend of the first dragon—who died after choosing to give up his immortality."

"Huh? He gave it up? Why?"

"It was said that he grew tired of living a lonely life for eternity," Kael replied. "His choice apparently stirred the gods. And they decided that while dragons who preferred solitude could remain so, those who wished otherwise could seek their fated mate."

Riley’s lips parted slightly, but he didn’t speak.

"It was meant to give meaning to a life that could stretch far beyond imagination," Kael said. "Someone meant just for you."

The human felt his heart still at those words.

It was as if time held its breath. He didn’t even realize that his expression must have given him away until the dragon’s golden eyes flicked toward him, watching in silence for a few seconds before continuing.

"But just because they’re meant for you doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to work," Kael said, his tone steady once more. "Two narcissists finding each other isn’t exactly a fairytale."

Riley gave a weak laugh at that. Because that actually made sense. "I guess not."

"With the personality of most dragons," Kael went on, "even fated mates can end up killing each other if they meet too late in life. That’s why the ancestors decided it was best to familiarize potential mates early. As early as eggs, in fact."

"Eggs," Riley repeated again, eyebrows scrunching.

The dragon lord nodded slightly. "They found that fated mates, even as eggs, would resonate with each other. That’s how many of our ancestral pairings began. A product of that discovery would be my parents and several of the most stable couples among our kind. When mates grow up together, they’re used to each other. The probability of rejection drops significantly."

Riley’s expression softened, though his fingers fidgeted with the hem of his pajamas sleeve. "So if the eggs don’t resonate, then what?"

"Then they’re tested against others," Kael explained. "Those who haven’t found their fated mates yet. Sometimes, one is simply meant for another clan’s offspring, or one yet to be born."

Riley tilted his head, curiosity warring with discomfort. "So... is that how you found your fated mate?"

Kael paused.

The human’s fingers tightened around the fabric of his pajamas. It was like asking for a wound to be reopened, but the curiosity had already escaped him.

He wanted to know. But at the same time, it felt like slow torture to hear about something that deep, something that sacred.

Who in their right mind would want to compete with that?

Sure, Kael had said earlier that being fated didn’t guarantee happiness—if both parties were terrible, the bond could still crumble—but it still meant something. If it worked, it could be something like Lord Karion and Lady Cirila.

Riley swallowed.

And while his first impression of his insane boss had been awful, he couldn’t deny what he was seeing now.

Just earlier, the same dragon had talked about his decision with the kind of selflessness the human aide hadn’t expected. He let go of his original plan—something that could’ve twisted Riley’s arm—and instead made a different call while taking his opinion into consideration.

How could Riley ignore that? And while it sounded like such a low bar, that would be for people who probably hadn’t met dragons.

Or at best, people who only ever met dragons like those of Kael’s parents.

So how could he ignore that, when the deeper he dug, the more he found a surprisingly decent person beneath all that fire and claws?

His thoughts, however, came to an abrupt halt when the golden presence finally spoke again.

"Not exactly," the dragon lord said. His tone was calm, almost casual. "Because I stumbled upon the egg by accident."

"???"

Riley’s head snapped up, his face a portrait of confusion. "Wait—what do you mean, you stumbled upon it?"

"Yeah, no one would’ve ever known if I hadn’t gone and escaped from the nest."

"!!!"