CHAPTER 69: ACCEPTANCE

Come to think of it, almost everyone here wore beach outfits. His mother mentioned earlier today that a party will be held at the beach, and a festival was prepared for them by the locals of Mavir Port City. The other scions went next and changed into vacation attire too.

He wore a green trenchcoat over a white long sleeve shirt and dark pants. Since he knew they would be walking on sand, he wore leather boots as well. Not exactly something that one should wear in a place like this, but Dhein had no intention of changing.

A couple more hours had passed and dinner had finally begun. Surrounded by circle tables that were occupied by the guests, a long table was placed in the middle of the hall. The two heads of the hosting families, Neral who was Axerion’s representative, and Vedis, sat at the opposite ends of the long table.

Dhein sat near Neral while Shina sat at the far end beside her father. Just like back in the imperial chamber the evening before the tournament, the other clans sat with and between them.

"So, Lord Axerion Theocheirós is expected to arrive tomorrow night, yes?" Raven Luxier asked. His snow white hair was smoothly slicked back, showing fully his sharp facial features.

Neral nodded.

"That’s correct, Lord Luxier. He’s still cleaning up the aftermath of our clan’s issues."

Damian Hemmethe spoke.

"It is a pity, truly. Raymond was the last thing I would suspect of being a traitor. He always showed great character in his services."

Dhein saw a hint of contemptuous expression across his mother’s face.

Then, Neral replied.

"I suggest that we seldom bring up gloomy matters. This is a joyous occasion after all."

Damian let out a sigh.

"Yes, you’re right. My apologies."

And with that, the grand dinner went on. They talked about how advantageous for the empire the marriage between a Theocheirós and a Venilon was. As per tradition, Dhein wouldn’t be married into Shina’s family, but instead, she will be marrying into theirs. because he didn’t have anything to gain from it. Meanwhile Shina, by bearing the name of Theocheirós, will be granted more divine gifts than she already has now.

It was the same case for Neral. Coming from the Valkin Tribe, she married into Divinity Clan and gained the power of Theocheirós family members.

This would surely propel the empire into even greater heights, cementing itself as the greatest empire to ever exist in this world.

While they were talking, Shina sneakily slipped away a giant piece of steak and threw it under the table. Dhein and Fiorelle seemed to be the only ones who noticed.

The chattering between the clan persisted for a while over their meal.

Dhein nervously observed as Shina secretly fed the dragon beneath the table.

Since Vedis had just come back from playing in the beach just before dinner, he hadn’t noticed the dragon... yet.

The princess’s shoulders jerked up in shock when someone called her name. Though, it shouldn’t be a surprise that she’ll be the center of the topic anytime soon because it was HER marriage.

"Princess Shina, will you still be continuing your work in the council now that you’re getting married? Or will you be moving over to the Theocheirós Manor?"

Without hesitation, she answered.

"Wherever I will be, I will always do my job. The council is already overworked as it is, I can’t just afford to leave them."

Suddenly, the table budged, shaking the ceramic wares and wine bottles.

Everyone stopped for a moment, wondering what caused that.

Dhein let out a cough.

"Sorry, that was me," he said.

Shina looked at him, a drop of sweat rolling down her face.

Luckily, the others believed it and shrugged it off.

Fiorelle also worriedly looked at him before continuing her meal.

As he was about to let out a sigh of relief, Dhein heard Zarria whispering.

"That was the dragon, wasn’t it?"

The people still had mixed feelings about Remi when Yuhan ordered him to be brought with them. But using her authority, they somehow managed.

However, Vedis was clearly in bad blood with the dragon. He was under the assumption that Remi was being kept captive in the capital until it was time to decide his fate.

There was also another glaring matter — Fiorelle being... a demon.

Dhein glanced at her. All this time, she had been quite distant.

Of course, that discovery they made would shock anyone. Only Dhein, Fiorelle and Thevon currently knew about it, and they still hadn’t discussed it since that day.

"During my stay in Selense, I gained new insights about the issues our empire faces," Shina answered to one of the questions. Everyone’s attention was focused on her.

"So, I’m planning to implement a regular visit to our local settlements by the higher sectors. Frequent inspections will be done to ensure that no corruption will creep its way to our organizations and public departments as well...."

She stopped speaking immediately when the facial expressions of everyone in that table changed. Dheinyrus, especially, was looking pale.

"What in the heavens?!!!" Vedis yelled. They all turned to him.

Remi was chewing a large bone behind Shina without a care in the world.

"Why is that dragon here?!" he panicked.

Raven and Damian stood up. And then, the leader of the Light Clan spoke.

"Consort Yuhan ordered the dragon to be brought with us yesterday. I thought you already knew, Your Majesty."

Vedis turned to him, his eyes full of rage.

"No, I did not!"

He then looked at Yuhan.

"What is the meaning of this? I thought I was being clear when I said I wanted this dragon locked up in a dungeon!"

Everyone in the room started to grow worried as well, watching the scene.

"Don’t you know how dangerous that was?! What if it suddenly attacked our guests?"

Before Yuhan could speak, Damian Hemmethe butted in.

"Attacked us? No, Your Majesty. Remi’s been nothing but sweet and entertaining during the whole trip, though he sure eats a lot. Plus, the servants did an excellent job handling him."

Vedis stared at him in disbelief.

"Of course, we were startled seeing a dragon for the first time, even though it’s still this small," Raven Luxier added.

"But just as Consort Yuhan had told us, Remi possessed a high degree of intelligence. He seemed to understand what we were trying to say, and he doesn’t mean any harm."

Vedis looked around, and indeed, no one seemed to be making a big deal out of a literal dragon inside this room except him.

He shook his head in disbelief.

Then, he turned to Remi who was politely staring at him.

"This is insane..." he muttered.

Shina stood up and spoke.

"It’s true, father. He helped me during the fight against demons in Selense. He’s not dangerous to humans at all!"

"But—" before Vedis could speak, the guests around him testified how they played with the dragon and that it was not only safe, but a ton of fun too!

"Am I the only sane person here?!" he asked.

Finally, Yuhan spoke.

"Vedis, please think about it. If we manage to really tame this dragon, imagine all the things that we can do once it grows stronger."

Vedis was stunned.

"We’d have a full dragon on our side," Yuhan added.

To seal the deal, Dhein also spoke up.

"Emperor Vedis, I assure you that he will not cause any problems... or at least any serious ones."

He and the emperor locked eyes.

"Please keep in mind that someone like me, a person capable of defeating a dragon, is here. Should he run amok, I will take the responsibility of controlling him. Though I am confident that Shina can raise him to be a good dragon."

There was a bit of hesitation on Vedis’ face. But with everyone cornering him, he had no choice but to give in, even as an Emperor, the highest authority in the room.

He sighed.

"Fine!"

Shina’s face lit up.

"Just make sure that he doesn’t make a mess."

Dhein celebrated in his mind, not letting his emotions show. Shina, on the other hand, couldn’t help but break her elegant act and celebrate with the others. It turned out that the adorable dragon had already captured their hearts.

After dinner, it was time to head down to the beach and participate in the festival.