Kayda chuckled. "You know... I almost feel bad for what you're going to do to him. Almost."
Finally, it was our turn to greet the queen. I composed myself and put on the mask of emotionless calm I'd perfected by now.
The queen appeared to be in her late forties, although this might have been enhanced by magic. Her hair was an elegant wave of raven black, and her eyes-clear blue like polished sapphire-gave away a keen mind. She wore a lavish golden-brown gown that practically shimmered with every movement.
"Aah, Kayda! You made it," the queen said warmly, drawing Kayda into an unexpected hug. "And you've grown wings-congratulations."
"Good evening, Your Majesty. It's been a while," Kayda replied with a polite smile, returning the hug.
Then the queen turned to me. Her eyes narrowed in recognition, and she smiled mischievously. "You must be the new troublemaker of the Draig family."
"New? Was there someone before me?" I asked with a playful tilt of my head.
"She doesn't even deny it," a voice said to my right.
Turning, I saw a tall Dragonoid man in a finely tailored black suit. His gold-and-brown scales shimmered faintly under the lights, and his raven-black hair matched the queen's. Must be the King.
"You must be the current king," I said, examining him.
"Indeed. I've been waiting to meet you for quite some time," he said with a worn smile.
"Eager to see your new 'weapon' in action?" I asked flatly.
"I wish it were that simple." He exhaled. "Sigh... how do you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Create three whole stacks of complaints in a single city visit?" he groaned.
"How big are the stacks?" I asked, suppressing a smirk.
"Big. Like, three-day paperwork big."
"Hun, please. We're at a banquet," the queen interrupted gently. "If you want to yell at her, do it on the balcony like a civilized man."
"Yes, Mother," the King muttered, clearly defeated. He motioned for me to follow him.
"Nice meeting you, Your Majesty," I said before turning to trail after him, already bracing myself.
Kayda walked with me for a few steps, but I waved her off. "You sure?" she asked.
"Yeah. Besides, Mom's not here," I said simply.
As we stepped onto the balcony, the crisp night air wrapped around us, and the distant hum of music faded behind the glass doors.
"When I became king," he began, his tone shifting into something heavier, "I knew I was signing up for headaches. But you-dear little Draig-are a full-blown migraine."
"Don't call me little. I'm taller than you," I retorted, glancing sideways.
"But you're younger."
"My soul isn't," I countered smugly.
He chuckled. "True. Finding out you were a reincarnate really threw our plans off."
"Original plans? Like what?"
He didn't hesitate. "We were going to rehabilitate you, assign Dean as your personal trainer, and then send a marriage proposal to make you queen."
"...What?" I blinked. "Marriage? That's... drastic."
"You suffered because of decisions the royal family made. If you joined the family, you'd be in a position to change things."
I frowned. "I could've done that anyway-by force."
"Sure," he admitted. "But I trusted the Draigs would teach you not to be an aggressive little warhead."
"...Fair."
He looked at me again, his eyes softer. "As for the soul-link thing... yeah. We argued about it a lot. We knew it risked damaging your trust, but we couldn't let you remember dying. In the end, we compromised. We made it look like you were rescued instead."
"Huh." I leaned against the railing. "Not that it matters now. But if I hadn't remembered my past, I might've accepted your plan. Though I probably would've still gone off to save my people."
"That was the ideal outcome. But then we found out you were reincarnated. My siblings just said, "Let her be. Let her have her way."
"Then Mom adopted me and dragged me to the border."
He smiled. "Exactly. We couldn't keep tabs on you after that. But it worked out. You didn't run off to another kingdom."
I gave him a look. "Let's be clear. I'm not loyal to the kingdom. I just hate the other ones more."
He didn't flinch. "I know. I won't force you into anything. But we will need to strike a deal."
I raised an eyebrow. "A deal?"
The wind tugged lightly at my scarf as the tension between us grew just slightly heavier.
"Yeah," the King said, his tone growing more serious. "This agreement will protect both of our interests and provide you with the freedom you desire."
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Chapter 70: The Deal and a lazy Queen
"That's true. We can do that, but do we have a mutual interest, though? Like, what do you want from me?" I asked, tilting my head at the king as my tail flicked lazily behind me. I wasn't trying to be rude-well, maybe a little-but I wanted to see how he'd respond.
He gave me a long, measured look. For a brief moment, the air between us was still, heavy with expectation.
"Mutual interest? That's a good question," he said slowly, as if testing my reaction. Then his tone turned serious. "Personally, I would like you to be loyal to the kingdom for the next 1000 years."
My ears twitched. "A 1000 years?" I repeated, blinking. "I guess I will be living that long, won't I?" I gave a low chuckle and crossed my arms. "Not happening. Loyalty is too restricted for my taste."
He narrowed his eyes slightly, as if weighing my words. "How is it too restricted?"
"Being loyal to the kingdom means I can't go against anything the kingdom does," I explained, casually waving a hand in the air. "So if some dumb descendant of yours decides to do me in, I can't do anything about it. I think it's better to say, "I will protect the kingdom for 1000 years, but I am not loyal to the kingdom."
The king frowned, clearly not thrilled by the distinction. "That might work, but-"
"Good," I cut him off smoothly, smirking. "And in return, I want full immunity to all my accidents that will be happening in the future... and a safe haven for my race."
He blinked. "The paperwork," he muttered, holding up his hands and looking at them like they were already aching. "My poor hands."
"Oh, and about the 1000 years," I continued, voice light. "You guys can give me missions that I should do for you. For the money, of course. But the missions are not allowed to go against my principles-which, fair warning, are quite messed up."
He looked genuinely baffled now. "Hmm, that's not too bad. But it feels like you can do what you want, and I need to clean up your mess every time."
I grinned. "That's the point, idiot."
His brow rose. "Excuse me?"
"It's like this," I said, gesturing between us. "You guys get a primordial as protection, and I get a safe haven where I can do what I want. Mutual benefit."
He sighed, rubbing his temples. "Fine, that does sound good enough. But what do you mean by accidents that will happen in the future and a safe haven for your race? Might you give me an example?"
I gave him a lazy smile. "Hmm, let's say a furry hits someone precious to me. I might go and castrate him, or worse, make him lose his point for living."
The king flinched.
"And for my race," I went on, voice flat, "just give us a city or something where we can gather safely. Call it a sanctuary or whatever."
He stared at me, then slowly turned pale. "Furry? You mean... No, did Hugo really do something so dumb? But last I heard, he was still alive and fine. You and Stacy are planning something, aren't you?"
I said nothing. Just let my smile answer for me.
He stared. Then groaned. "Yeah, tonight's banquet is going to be so much fun," he muttered sarcastically.
I grinned wider. "You know what? I don't care. Our deal is set. We can sign the contract later, though. I need to get a drink," he grumbled, spinning on his heel.
"Hahaha, I hope your hands are ready for the paperwork," I called out after him, my laughter echoing across the balcony.
"Don't remind me!" he shouted back. "At least try not to kill him."
"Ha-ha, of course I won't kill him," I replied sweetly. "Do you think I'm a monster?"
"Yes. Yes, you are one. Giving your poor young king arthritis," he replied dryly as he disappeared into the ballroom. I could swear I heard him curse me under his breath.
I turned to lean against the railing again, letting the cool air wash over my face. "That was easier than I thought," I murmured to myself.
"Oh, my son is gone already," a voice behind me said, and I turned to see the queen stepping onto the balcony.
"Yes," I said, nodding toward the door he'd just exited through. "He went to get a drink."
The queen walked up beside me, her heels clicking lightly against the stone. "Hmm, did you guys already talk about the deal?"
"We did," I confirmed, glancing at her.
"Oh? Might I know what you decided on?" she asked, folding her hands together.
"I protected the kingdom for 1000 years. In return, I can do what I want within its borders. I'll also accept missions from the royal family, but only if they don't go against my principles," I explained.
"Not loyalty?" she said, tilting her head slightly.
"A lot can happen to a family in 1000 years," I said softly.
She nodded. "That's true. You never know what your descendants will do."
Then her expression brightened. "Let's forget about politics and things. Have you met my twins yet?"
I blinked. "No, I haven't even seen my mother since I came here."
"Oh! Here, I will show you some pictures of my genius twins!" she said excitedly, pulling out her scroll as she skipped toward me.
"Don't you need to be in the ballroom? I mean, you're the queen, and it's your birthday banquet, right?" I asked, watching her with mild disbelief.
She waved dismissively. "That's too much work."
My jaw twitched. "You're royalty."
"Exactly! It's exhausting," she said, giggling. She handed me the scroll. "Now, look how cute they were when they just hatched."
"...Hatched?" I repeated slowly. "Aren't you human? How did you lay eggs?"
"Yes, I am human. They used a spell on me so I could lay eggs," she replied matter-of-factly.
I stared. "Woah. That had to hurt."
"Yeah, it hurt like a bitch, but it was worth it. Those two are wonderful children," she said fondly, swiping through the images.
Now curious, I frowned. "Wait, how did you take pictures when scrolls weren't created back then?"
"Oh, they used picture magic. Most royals have someone with that kind of magic in their court," she explained.
"Never heard of it," I muttered.
"You won't. It's not important to most people, so they forget it exists," she said with a shrug. Then she offered me another image. "Here, look at them when they were five-just when they woke up their memories of their past life."
I raised a brow. "They remember everything back then?"
"No, they didn't."
"I see..." I said awkwardly.
"Don't give me that look. I already accepted them as mine way back then," she said firmly.
"But how? I mean... they actually aren't your children anymore, are they?" I asked quietly.
"They are," she said without hesitation. "We did a lot of tests. It's just-they forgot five years of their life in exchange for their past. But I raised them. They're mine."
I didn't respond. Just nodded slowly. 'That makes zero sense, but hey-if everyone's happy, who am I to argue?' I thought.
"See? They're so smart! In eight years, they moved us up in tech so fast we can now travel in the air!" she said proudly.
I raised a brow. "They are smart. Not gonna lie. I never knew we had someone like them in our class."
She gave me a sidelong glance. "Yeah... what was your name before Kitsune?"
I stiffened slightly. "I think we should go back to the banquet. They'll realize you're missing, Your Majesty," I said, pivoting.
"Nooo! I don't want to go greet boring nobles!" She whined like a teenager.
"You can't leave everything to your son," I chided, turning back to her.
"He's doing all the work anyway. The nobles just don't get it-I don't care about being queen. It's a position, not a dream. My husband understood that and never pressured me. Why can't my son do the same?" She grumbled, pouting.
"Wow... never thought we had a queen who hates her job," I said with a grin.
"What? You want to become queen?"
"Hell no. Way too tedious for my taste."
"My point exactly," she said, jabbing a finger at me triumphantly.
"I'm still going back. I want to get myself some food," I said, heading toward the ballroom.
"That's fine. I'm still hiding out here," she said, waving cheerfully.
'Kayda wasn't joking... These people are blunt as hell, I thought, navigating through the crowd toward the food tables.
As I passed through the ballroom, something caught my eye-a flash of black fur, a tail. Familiar.
I made a note to follow up on that after grabbing food.
"Oh wow, now that is high-class food," I muttered, taking in the spread of dishes piled high across several tables. Delicate aromas of roasted meat, sweet fruits, and exotic spices drifted through the air.
I snagged a big plate and began building a mountain of food on it.
"I see you found the food, Kitsuna," Mom's voice said behind me.
"Yeah, and I might've spotted the Foxy," I replied, not even pausing my eating.
"Kitsuna," she groaned, placing a hand on her face. "How many times do I have to tell you-not to talk with food in your mouth, and don't eat the bones. You're going to weird people out."
"Not happening. These bones are done to my taste," I said with a contented crunch.
"Whatever. Where did you see the fox?" she asked, her tone shifting to serious.
"Let me get my food first," I said, stuffing a piece of meat into my mouth.
"...Fine," she sighed.
After I finished stacking my plate like a fortress, Mom and I began weaving through the crowd, searching.
Didn't take long.
There, near the far end of the ballroom, stood Hugo.
With. His. Entire. Harem.
"To think they brought their entire harem to the banquet," I whispered to Mom.
"Twelve women... for a plus-one event," she hissed. "Who do they think they are?"
"Who cares? Do you see the demon fox or not?" I murmured, scanning the crowd of girls behind Hugo.
Then-I felt a small tug at my arm.
Looking down, I saw a little girl, no more than chest height to me. Black hair. Fox ears. Eyes like polished silver, brimming with tears.
"My Queen," she said, her voice trembling.
And my world came to a sudden halt.
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Chapter 71: It All Starts
"Queen?" I said, puzzled, blinking at the demon fox who had just whispered that title like a prayer.
