18岁女RAPPERDISSS

"Dray is a smart person, and after all these years, he would have realized how Theron supported him in the shadows," her grandmother said. "Dray had probably long realized Theron sent him here to live with me for his own good. All those years, he made sure Dray would receive all kinds of education despite being hidden from society, allowing him to gain skills that would make him fit to fight for succession.

"I am sure you must have heard that there is an academy composed of the best knights and greatest scholars from the kingdom alliance where they trained royals and nobles from all over the continent in the way of the sword and various subjects, but only the heir of the generation of each family is allowed to be a part of it.

"At that time, there was a great controversy within Megaris. Even though Keiren was older and the rightful heir by birthright, Theron had ordered for Dray to be sent to that academy despite him not being the official Crown Prince. It showed he was preparing Dray to be the next king of Megaris.."

"Dray has good parents," Seren commented as she never experienced anything like that in her life. Rather than support, what she had was neglect. They said it was protection, but in a sense, the King of Abetha had simply thrown her into a prison in the form of the tower, never even thinking twice about how taking away her freedom had made her feel less like a human and more of an object abandoned by its owner.

The Great Lady eyed Seren for a bit before shaking her head. "Are they? Maybe they used to be, but as far as I\'m concerned, Dray had lost both his parents at the same time. Both Theron and Esther made many wrong choices. They\'re both quite a stubborn pair, and I say, that was one bad trait Dray learned from them.

"You know what a good father would have done? After Esther left, he could have stayed with his five-year-old son and been at least a present  father to him, but no, he chose to wallow in his pain and pushed away everyone that loved and cared for him."

At this point, rather than being upset, the Great Lady had an expression of discontent, like she thought her son had failed to live up to her expectations. The old lady pulled her table napkin to her lips, showing she was done eating.

On the other hand, Seren had barely touched her food. A sudden image popped in her head as she thought of the previous king. "Grandmother…does the First Prince hate Dray? From what I understood, Prince Keiren cared for Dray."

Thinking of her eldest grandson, the Great Lady felt like she\'d be having a headache.

"Hate is a strong word. I think it\'s more proper to say he felt betrayed. Alas, he used to be such a sweet, bright child," the old lady said, but there was a hint of complaint in her voice. "During their childhood, only Keiren would come to visit the Crystal Palace to play with Dray. Did you know it was Keiren who taught Dray how to ride a horse? They were such a loving pair of brothers. He truly cared for his younger brother, but after Theron made Dray the Crown Prince and sent him to the alliance academy, things went downhill…

"I am not sure how much grasp you have of the palace politics, Seren, but at that time, no one doubted that Keiren would inherit the throne. Not only was he the first born prince, but Keiren was also so much like Theron in his younger days—he had the appearance of an Ivanov and he excelled in everything a prince should learn, be it swordsmanship, horseback riding, archery, administration, commerce, history, even painting—oh that child! Not only that, he\'s even such a charmer, and in every gathering he attends, he\'s always surrounded by nobles because he\'s such a kind young man.

"It must have been a great shock to him when Theron chose to make Dray the next king. They think Theron favoured Dray because he\'s the Queen\'s son when it was supposed to go to the eldest one. His mother, Clarisa, had raised Keiren to become the next king and that became Keiren\'s dream. He had never done anything that would disappoint his father, yet his birthright was denied from him. Imagine how it would have felt to him?  It was normal for Keiren to think it was unfair to him when he didn\'t lack anything and he was the eldest one.

"The seed of injustice was born when Dray was the one to be chosen to go to that academy, and perhaps that seed had grown to something that made their brotherhood beyond repair after all these years. That child would not even visit me anymore…perhaps Keiren\'s became disappointed with the entire royal family…But then, Including Keiren, no one knows the sacrifices made by Theron and Esther to save this kingdom and what promise they had made to the Devil."

"It\'s really sad to know," Seren commented.

"Not like Drayce wanted to be a king but he knew about the promise being made with his biological father which could not be broken. If he had been given a chance, he would have left to search for his mother instead of sitting on that throne."

"Doesn\'t Dray know his mother is in that river?"

"He sure knew but he didn\'t wish to give up on her just because she left him. All these years, that same day he would search for her or more like hoping that she would show up at that river," The older lady sighed and then looked at Seren, "But because of you, now he knows his mother is out there somewhere and not in that river. You gave us hope."

"Because of me?" Seren asked.

When Esther jumped in that river, at that time you were not born. According to your birthday mentioned in your family register, you were born a few months after that particular day. That mark on your hand belonged to Esther. Other than her, no one can pass that mark to you. That means she is out there and has come across you. I am not sure the reason why she chose you to pass this sacred mark, but I believe there must be a strong reason for it."

"I only know this mark has been with me since I was born. This is what my nanny told me."

"Who knows what happened in the past but I hope one day we will get answers to all these questions."

Seren nodded, "I too wish to get answers to the questions of my own life. I wish one day I will get to see my mother as well. I want to know why she left me and why I had to live in hiding till now."

"I am sure you will," The older lady assured and said again, "Seren."

"Yes, Grandmother?"

"What Theron\'s fault was- to love Esther more than he should. All he did was to love her unconditionally despite whatever the situation they were in. For him, there was no one but her. And as we know, too much of anything always turns into a poison whether it is a food we eat of the certain emotion we have- love, hatred, jealousy- it can be anything."

Seren simply looked at the older lady to understand what she was trying to say.

"What I mean to say is, though Drayce is not Theron\'s biological son, he is still more like Theron. Maybe because he had grown up thinking of him as his father."

Seren agreed, "When I heard the past, I felt the same."

"The love Drayce has for you is the same as Theron had for Esther. Just like Theron, Drayce won\'t be able to bear it if he won\'t have you by his side. He will turn into another Theron."

"Love? Me?" Seren mumbled.

The Great Lady nodded, "That is why make sure whatever happens, stay by Dray\'s side. Don\'t make the mistakes that Theron and Esther had committed. Don\'t let him be another Theron. It would be painful for him."

"Grandmother, though I don\'t understand what exactly I should call \'love\' but I care for Dray. I won\'t leave him as long as he won\'t ask me to. I will always be with him."

A pleasant smile appeared on the older lady\'s face as she heard it. "I believe you will."

====

Bonus chapter dedicated to reader "Peaches" for gifting Dragon to the novel. Thank you so much.