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Dryadic Dragon Chapter 30: Marriage Disclosure
🕑 Added 2025-06-30 09:04:39 +0000 UTCChapter 30: Marriage Disclosure
“Young Lord,” as I was on my way to Sebastian’s office, a voice that was always pleasant to hear called out to me.
“Yo, Thora.” I smiled, turning to face House Buné’s one and only Head Maid as she went about her cleaning duties. “I don’t know what transpired yesterday, but whatever was wrong with me, I’m all better now—or at least I hope.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling better, Young Lord.” She nodded contentedly. “And while this might be a little late, congratulations on passing your awakening ceremony. You now bear the resemblance of a true Buné.” She complimented while eyeing me up and down.
“Careful now, if you keep staring at me so intently, I might get the wrong idea.” I let out a wry chuckle. As much as I don’t want to credit the old man, I do have to admit that these draconic genes are quite the boon. They’ve upped my handsome factor like crazy.
“Sigh, it’s only been a day since you awakened your Clan Trait, and you’ve already let it get to your head.” She exhaled while pinching her nose bridge. “I suppose it’s reassuring to know that your personality hasn’t changed.”
“Masseter, might I ask who thisss perssson isss?” From within my scarf, Sylvie’s long, serpentine figure crawled out—poking her head out in Thora’s direction. “I can sssense a great deal of affection for her coming from your end.”
Since these two are going to be by my side around the clock, I should probably introduce them to one another.
“That’s Thora, my maid, and the reason this house hasn’t been reduced to a pile of rubble yet.” I motioned to her. “Thora, this is Sylvie. Mother gifted her to me as a familiar, as you can see, she’s a snake.”
“A Ryuichi Sssnake,” Sylvie clarified.
“Yes, a Ryuichi Snake.” I didn’t think she’d have a complex about that, cute.
“Lady Buné—gifted her to you?” Thora repeated, her expression overflowing with warranted surprise.
“I know, I could hardly believe it myself. But she’s here now, and you two will be around each other quite often from now on, so I hope you’ll be able to get along.”
“Massster, I fail to underssstand the need for me to get along with sssomeone whom I can’t even detect a sssliver of Ki from. Are you sssure there's value in keeping sssuch a perssson beside you?”
Thora’s eyes were quick to narrow, her lower lip trembling in indignation.
“I see she’s got quite the tongue for a familiar, especially considering that she hasn’t served the Young Lord for even a fraction of the time I have.” I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it, but I could’ve sworn I saw sparks flying between them for a second there. “Senjutsu isn’t everything, little one.”
“Is that ssso? That jussst sssounds like a coping mechanisssm to me, ssseeing asss you’re the only one between usss who can’t ussse it.”
“Why you little—!”
“Alright, alright. That’s enough.” I glared at Sylvie admonishingly. “You and she are colleagues from now on, so I’d appreciate it if you'd at least make an effort to cooperate.” Good grief, it looks like she has a massive Senjutsu superiority complex as well.
“Very well massster, if that’s what you wisssh.” She “agreed”, slithering back into my robe.
“Sorry about that, I literally just got her a few minutes ago, so there’s still some kinks I’ll need to iron out.” I gestured apologetically. “Anyhow, I’ve got a meeting with the old man I need to tend to. Assuming he doesn’t eat me alive, I’ll talk to you later.”
“A meeting? Do you think it’s about that?” She inquired, her posture a little fidgety.
“Yeah, it definitely is—but don’t worry, I’ve already devised a plan. One that’ll either cause an incident between a Ranker and Satan, or result in everything going swimmingly.”
“That’s not very reassuring…”
“I know, but that’s just how life is sometimes.” I shrugged, waving her off and proceeding upwards to the second floor, where the geezer’s office was situated.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
“Come in,” his grainy voice instructed.
Not before taking a sharp breath, I opened the door and stepped inside, met with the sight of Sebastian’s attention fixated on a stack of papers resting atop his desk—the same monotonous activity that endlessly ate away at his days both during morning and night.
Honestly, I couldn’t envy the position of Patriarch any less. From my perspective, it’s a role that forces you to become a glorified pencil pusher. Hopefully, the Underworld invents a more streamlined method to deal with paperwork before it’s my turn to bear the mantle of Clan Head.
“Mother said you wanted to see me,” I remarked while closing the door behind me, approaching him with a noticeable amount of caution.
He didn’t reply, simply pointing at the chair opposite him.
Let’s hope this ends well.
I sat down, patiently awaiting his opening words as I watched him set aside the documents he had been working through and fold one hand over the other.
“I’m not sure if you recall, but some time ago, I had a conversation with you at dinner.” He began, his gaze fixated on me with its usual, overbearing sharpness and intensity. “I said that once you had passed your awakening ceremony, you’d be allotted certain—responsibilities—befitting your position.”
“I remember,” I nodded affirmatively. How could I forget that eventful evening? It was the first glimpse I got of the ongoing discourse between him and my mother. “Let me guess, you called me here to hand me one of those responsibilities.”
“Indeed,” his posture tightened. “I trust you’re familiar with the name Roygun Belphegor?”
Bingo!
“How could I not be? You had Thora constantly lecture me on that family.”
“I did, but you being told something is one matter, you actually listening is another.”
I should start a counter for the number of times I’ve heard that exact phrase since reincarnating.
“But if you really did pay attention, then I imagine you’re aware of her position?”
“Obviously, she’s the Matriarch of the Belphegor Clan and one of the Top 10 Rankers. Even if I wasn’t tutored, I was bound to find out about her eventually.”
“That’s debatable, especially coming from you.” He chuckled dryly. “Back on the subject of responsibilities, as House Buné’s Heir, I’m sure you understand the importance of having a spouse.”
I offered him an equally bleak chuckle in return, leaning closer towards him. “Hah. Old man, you could’ve at least tried to be subtle about it.”
“What would be the point of that? It’d only make this conversation take longer than it needs to, besides, you don’t appear to be nearly as shocked or bitter as I expected you to be.” He narrowed his eyes, his reptilian pupils brimming with suspicion.
I had considered feigning shock, but I quickly realized that Sebastian would see right through it—and it’d only cause even more problems for me. Which is why I’m going to use a handy little trick I learned from Martha, the power of half-truths.
“You say that as if you did a good job of concealing that arrangement,” I snickered. “Not only did you add the subject of an Extra Demon Clan to my curriculum, completely out of the blue might I add, there was also that jab mother took at you during the dinner you just mentioned.”
“Jab?” He repeated questioningly.
“Don’t recall? Then allow me to jolt your memory,” I cleared my throat, preparing my best Martha impression. “Maybe unlike some people, Lord Phenex knew that trying to marry people with such a staggering age difference, even by our society’s standards—would only lead to disaster. Does that happen to ring a bell?”
I watched in delight as his eyelids lifted, his face conveying genuine astonishment. Hehe, he’s probably flabbergasted that his spacey child managed to not only remember that, but connect the dots by adding Thora’s lessons into the equation.
“Looking past your disturbingly good impression of your mother’s voice,” he began. “I didn’t think you’d actually remember something like that… much less put two and two together. Consider me thoroughly impressed, Alduin.”
Called it, this really is the beginning of my genius era after all. Count your days Lord Beelzebub, I’ll be coming for your title as the Underworld’s greatest mind soon enough.
“Well, if you’ve already figured that out—why don’t you go ahead and give me thoughts on the matter? Or maybe even throw a tantrum about me deciding a fiancée for you without your prior knowledge? I hear that’s quite popular with the youth nowadays.”
I couldn’t help but scoff.
“Knowing you, you’ve probably already had the papers drawn up. I doubt complaining would amount to much at this point.” His lack of response sufficed as an answer. “However, I do have a few questions if you’re open to answering them—esteemed father of mine,” I said the last part mockingly.
He let out an inquisitive hum, reclining back in his office chair. “Go on then.”
“First of all, why an Extra Demon? I understand the need for procreation thanks to the dwindling pureblood population within the 72 Pillars, but Roygun isn’t a Pillar. Politically speaking, I don’t understand how this arrangement could possibly benefit our house.”
He performed a slight nod. “Typically, that logic would be sound—however, Roygun isn’t content with her house remaining an Extra Demon Clan. For quite some time now, she’s been trying to bring them into the fold of the current government, but failed to do so thanks to the opposition of the older generation within the clan.”
My mind flashed with realization.
“But once she became a Ranker, the difference in influence between them changed.”
“Precisely, she’s now in a position to oppose them properly. All she’s missing is the last part of the equation… you.”
I stroked my chin, carefully putting the pieces of the mental puzzle I had formed in my head together.
“I see... if she, as the Clan Head, marries an Heir from the 72 Pillars, it’ll make it exceptionally easy for our side to assist her motion to bring the Belphegor Clan under the government... she’s using the marriage as a foundation for that ambition.”
“Would you look at that? After eighteen years, the neurons in my son’s brain are finally firing. I ought to celebrate.” He made an effort to sound disinterested as per usual, but I was sure that he was starting to reconsider how he would approach me from now on.
After all, the “Alduin” he’s used to has about the same intelligence as a goldfish. He’s never seen the need to maneuver around me strategically.
Until now.
The chance might be slim, but it’s possible he’ll start rethinking how he moves from now on—and that’ll cause him to hesitate. The more he hesitates, the more time and breathing room I have.
That’s what I need more than anything, time. The deal I’ve made with Lady Leviathan and Lord Lucifer is just the first step; I need to build a foundation that’s created solely by my own two hands. If I’m serious about fixing this house, I need to be the one to do it—I can’t rely on the labour of others to make it work. That’ll just result in a half-assed job, a short-term solution at best.
“Still, won’t having a Clan Head and Heir married to one another cause problems in the future?” For instance, how would our children be allocated? They can’t succeed both the Buné and Belphegor Clan at the same time, and that’s assuming there’s more than one.
If there’s only one child between us, then there’s bound to be conflict, and don’t even get me started on the possibility of clan trait issues. A child could only have Crack, only have Dragonification, maybe have both, or perhaps neither of them by virtue of a birth defect.
And there’s also my Sallos bloodline to consider. Honestly, this seems like a disaster waiting to happen. I can’t fathom how I’d go about managing three bloodlines in one house.
“Mhm, there will definitely be a great deal of issues you’ll have to work through. But that’s not my problem, you’ll already be Patriarch by then—so it’ll be up to you to handle them. Good luck.” He grinned, somehow not even mildly perturbed by the notion of his own house going to shit.
Which I’m equal parts surprised and unsurprised by, considering how poorly he’s managed it thus far. To my knowledge, the majority of the prosperity we’re experiencing now is because of Martha’s handiwork. Not Sebastian’s.
“Old man…” I scowled, and my mood took a hasty turn for the worse. “Even for you, don’t you think this is a bit much?”
“No clue,” he shrugged, his tone chock-full of indifference. “In the first place, I’m not the one who asked for this arrangement to take place. She’s the one who sent the initial marriage proposal.”
“What…?” That most certainly wasn’t within my expectations.
Not good, I was counting on her reluctance to have to marry someone significantly weaker and far younger than her… but this revelation forces me to rethink my entire strategy. I need her to be content with me basically ditching the wedding altogether, since I’m going out of the Underworld before that happens.
After all, a marriage ceremony would put a huge wrench in the mobility Lady Leviathan and Lord Lucifer granted me. I’m willing to go the distance, but ditching my wife right after I get married to her? That’s not my style. Nor do I plan on just running away without talking to her, that wouldn’t sit right with me either.
Shit, why the hell would she willingly want this? We’ve never even met before, and there are plenty of other options if she’s looking to gain more support from the 72 Pillars, I think? I mean, Sairaorg doesn’t have a wife if I remember correctly, and he’s from the Bael Clan for crying out loud! The highest ranking Pillar there is!
Then again… this is the Bael Clan we’re talking about. I shouldn’t judge someone for not wanting to get involved with them.
“Don’t look at me, I don’t know why she chose you out of all people, nor did I ask. If it makes you feel any better, you’ll have all the time in the world to question her when the two of you meet tomorrow.” He got up from his seat, stretching his arms as they let out a satisfying crunching noise. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I haven’t had a chance to eat since morning. So I’m going to go ahead and fetch myself some grub.”
Roygun Belphegor… it appears handling her will prove to be more challenging than I thought it would.
Let’s hope she’s someone I can reason with, otherwise, the possibility of me needing to count on either Lady Leviathan or Lord Lucifer to personally intervene might end up coming true. Which I’d much rather avoid, no matter how improbable.
Comments
Accel14
Indeed ☕
Ythyryl
I’m absolutely loving Sylvie, her sass will be unmatched 😂
