Accel14
patreon
Dryadic Dragon: Chapter 3: A Head Maid’s Wisdom
🕑 Added 2025-05-23 03:27:42 +0000 UTCChapter 3: A Head Maid’s Wisdom
Right then.
I haphazardly attempted to adjust my disheveled hair while looking at myself in the mirror. Only to realize that this ashen mane clearly has a mind of its own, and is entirely uninterested in listening to me. Ultimately forcing me just to let it do as it wished.
Thora just left my doorstep, and she’s made it clear that I don’t have a whole lot of time on my hands before I need to greet my family.
Notwithstanding, I think it’d be good to take a minute or so to get my thoughts in order. I’m going to have to act the part of Alduin Buné from now on, and I’d rather not elicit any suspicion on my first day.
First of all, my character; I’m a rough-houser who loves to butt heads as much as possible—much like my Father, Sebastian, which has led me to develop a strong martial foundation under his relentless tutelage.
Second of all, I’m terrible at academics and politicking despite my position as Clan Heir. Not because I’m incapable of basic intelligence, but because I seem to have some strange complex about my Father’s strength—urging me to prioritize physical training over the former.
Quite the personality, aren’t we Alduin? It’s a little disadvantageous, but I don’t hate it. It proves that despite being a Devil, I’m still perfectly capable of expressing human-like characteristics.
Although I should probably work to change that from this point onward, there’s too much riding on my competence, especially considering that my older half-brother—Ladora Buné, is suffering from the aftereffects of Draconic Deviation.
From my interpretation, that’s no different than fighting against death itself. Poor guy, I wonder if there’s anything I can do to help him?
Lastly, and most surprisingly of all, I’m involved in a deep-rooted rivalry, or perhaps it would be more accurate to describe it as a petty grudge, with a figure called Riser Phenex—who is an Immortal Phoenix. That explains why I have so many memories of piercing his chest with a set of roots, which should’ve killed him.
Isn’t Immortality a little bit overpowered though? Lucky bastard.
We appear to have a habit of viciously attacking one another on sight, something we’ve been doing ever since I was five, and he was about eight or nine.
And the root of all this? I broke one of his action figures when my Father brought me over to the Phenex Estate.
Granted, it was a figure of his older brother who supposedly has quite the reputation in the Underworld, but still, is that really a sound reason for us to continuously mutilate each other for over a decade?
Funnily enough, this caused the relationship between my Father and Lord Phenex to improve. His son, like most Pure Blooded High-Class Devils in the Underworld, lacked any interest in training whatsoever—until we started fighting.
We don’t even treat it as sparring when we have a go at each other, it’s basically a full on life or death battle stopped only by either Lord Phenex or my Father when it gets to a certain level of viciousness, who are forced to be present at all times when we’re within a hundred meters of one another.
The number of birthday parties ruined by both of us being invited to them cannot be exaggerated enough. Honestly, I think Alduin’s thoughts are influencing me a little. Just thinking about that rooster makes my face redden.
Wait. That came out wrong. I meant red as in anger.
But that’s besides the point, right now, I need to think about what I’m going to do from this point onwards.
All things considered, I think the answer’s obvious. I promised myself in the lake that if I ever got a second chance, I’d live a life that’d make my parents proud.
So that’s precisely what I’ll do. My family needs an exemplary Heir for the sake of their, no, for our future.
And it’s an exemplary Heir they’ll have. Besides, I seem to have a pretty good foundation to work with thanks to the gene-mixing my parents did. It’d be quite wasteful of me not to let this innate potential flourish, wouldn’t it?
Although, right now I only have access to my Dryad Clan Trait. Not that I have anything against it, it’s an exceptional ability that comes with an almost exhaustive, versatile list of powers for me to utilize. However, I won’t get my Dragonification Clan Trait until I undergo something called an awakening ceremony.
Our Ancestor, Selvaro Buné, made a rule stating that every Buné must undergo the ceremony when they’re exactly eighteen years of age—not a year before or a year later.
Do I know why? Nope. Clearly, this is one of many topics I failed to pay attention to. Good work Alduin. Good work.
If I were to make a guess, there’s probably something about a Buné's composition that makes that age the prime time for them to undertake the ceremony in terms of success rate—but I could be wrong.
I’m turning eighteen in a month’s time, so I'd better hope that my body’s adequately prepared. Otherwise, my family will need to deal with another failed Heir, and I can only imagine how devastating that’d be.
Alright, time to go meet the fam.
“WOAH!” I flinched, nearly falling on my behind upon opening my bedroom door. Greeted with the immediate sight of a dark-haired, crimson-eyed woman wearing a maid's dress standing there with her hands clasped in front of her apron. “Thora! I thought you left! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” I clutched my chest, calming my breathing.
“I’m just making sure you actually heed Lord and Lady Buné’s call. There’s no need for you to be alarmed, Young Lord.” She replied, her demeanor tranquil as a still river—unfazed by my abrupt yelp of panic. “Shall we?” She motioned for me to walk down the hallway.
“Thora… I wasn’t planning on ghosting them,” I said with a sigh. I can already tell that she doesn’t have a great deal of confidence in me. I can’t bring myself to blame her either; she’s the one responsible for handling my academics, after all. If I were in her position, I wouldn’t have much faith in me either.
“If that’s the case, then you should have no trouble walking to the dining room. Or shall I hold your hand along the way? Young Lord.” She spoke as if she were talking to an unruly toddler.
“Your ability to talk like that without batting an eye never ceases to amaze me.” I dipped my head and breathed a dry chuckle. It looks like I’m not the only interesting character in this family.
“Perhaps if you were a little more attentive during your studies, my manner of speaking would sound different to you, since there’s most certainly nothing wrong with it in the first place—you’re simply imagining that I speak with ulterior meaning… Young Lord.” She narrowed her eyes, the gleaming reflection of her sanguine irises sending a sharp chill down my spine.
I don’t think attempting to verbally best this woman is the wisest course of action.
“You know… you don’t have to refer to me as Young Lord all the time. Doesn’t it get a little tiring at a certain point?” I was never anything special in my first life, nor have I truly proved myself in this one—at least not yet. It feels—wrong, to be referred to with a title.
Especially by Thora of all people, since I haven’t exactly been a model student to her.
“Young Lord…” She blinked repeatedly, her eyes marginally widening, clearly taken by surprise. “Might I ask, where exactly is this coming from?”
“It’s just that… I’m always calling you Thora. So it should be fine for you to call me Alduin, shouldn’t it? At least within the confines of the Buné Estate since Father doesn’t particularly care for pleasantries until they’re necessary.”
She paused momentarily before firmly shaking her head.
“No, that would be improper. I’m House Buné’s Maid, and you are the Heir. Referring to you by name would be a blatant violation of boundaries. Even if it doesn’t earn Lord Sebastian’s displeasure, Lady Martha will take issue with it.”
I should’ve guessed that it wouldn’t be that easy.
“I see… I suppose you’re right.” I’d like to amend my relationship with Thora if possible, since she’s the one I’ll rely on from now on to teach me everything I need to know. However, it’s evident that words alone aren’t going to be enough. “Let’s go, I best not keep them waiting any longer.”
I’ll have to prove my betterment through my actions.
“Indeed.” She started to lead me down the intricate, almost excessively decorated dark-red hallways of the Buné Manor. Portraits of all the past clan members spanning across the walls, all of them now deceased save for myself—my Father, and my half-brother.
Gazing upon their renaissance era-esque paintings, I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of anxiety plague me. All of them, except Selvaro, died because of Draconic Deviation. Their own Clan Trait had been the one to lead to their demise.
Even if I had an awakening ceremony just as successful as my father's, I’ll still have to fight my own blood for a long time until I fully tame it like he has—if I’m even capable of such a thing.
Frankly, it’s a pretty scary notion. To know that something living inside you, at all times, is always out to get you. Lurking. Stalking. Waiting for the prime opportunity to devour you whole and end your story.
“Young Lord,” Thora began. “While I admit your academic progress… leaves much to be desired. I believe you’re the most committed Devil of your generation when it comes to your physical training. That’s a feat you should hold your head high for, one that should fill you with confidence rather than self-doubt.”
I came to an abrupt halt, stunned silence befalling me temporarily.
“Haha… it appears you’ve completely seen through me.” I’m astonished that she could decipher what I was thinking without even facing me. “Maybe you’re a little overqualified for a maid.”
“Head Maid.” She clarified. Even though I couldn’t see her face, I was confident that a smirk was tugging at her lips. “More importantly, the Young Lord that I have watched train himself tirelessly day in and day out—couldn’t possibly lose to some imaginative Dragon, of this I am certain.”
I smiled, even if it was an apparent attempt just to make me feel better—I could still appreciate the thought behind her words. Moreover, it felt nice to know that warranted another aspect of me that did warrant her approval.
“Thank you, Thora. You’re right. I shouldn’t let myself get mentally put down by a hypothetical.”
“That should’ve been obvious to you.” She stopped in front of an open door frame shaped like an arch. “Lord and Lady Buné await you inside.”
Comments
Ashenz
Nice story so far! I would have suggested making him have a crush on Ravel to piss off Riser even more but oh well, curious to see where you are going :)
Son-Of-Scorn
Still not a fan of the imaginary second personality, the rampage mode that dxd dragons have is pretty cool but I'm sure it'll be an interesting aspect of his clan trait, also it's not Skimping, it's just skipping, Skimping is basically spending less money or material than necessary
