Chapter 300: A Dragon?!

Morning came slowly to the small cabin, carried in on the warm light filtering through the window.

Mark was still asleep in the middle of the bed, with Aria and Alice resting on either side of him. After everything that had happened during the night, the three of them remained deeply nestled together under the sheets.

Aria, however, was already awake.

She lay there watching Mark in silence, savoring the stillness of the moment as an increasingly tender smile crept across her face.

"Who knew you could look so cute when you sleep..." she murmured, careful not to make too much noise so as not to wake her Master.

Then she lifted a hand and began stroking his chest with her fingertips, slowly, before moving up to his hair and combing through it gently.

For Aria, moments like these had always been her favorites, since they let her see a different side of the man she loved so much.

"So calm and defenseless," Aria went on in a low voice, winding her fingers through his locks. "No one would ever guess you’re the fearsome Emperor of Death... you look like a—"

"What do you think you’re doing?"

Alice’s voice suddenly cut in from the other side of the bed.

Aria looked up and found herself met with Alice’s narrowed eyes, watching her with obvious disapproval.

"I’m just petting his hair," Aria replied, unbothered. "Is that a problem?"

"I’d say you’re taking way too many liberties," Alice shot back, propping herself up slightly on one elbow and pulling the sheet around her. "I’m here too, you know. You don’t get to hog him first thing in the morning."

"Then maybe you should’ve woken up sooner," Aria replied with a triumphant little smile. "Early bird gets to pet the Master... that’s always been the rule."

"You just made that rule up."

"Maybe so," she admitted, amused. "But it works in my favor, so I don’t really care."

"Not a chance." Alice reached her hand toward the other side of Mark’s chest. "I’m going to—"

"Hey, that’s my territory!"

"Your territory? He’s asleep, not a plot of land you get to claim!"

"I got here first!"

The two of them started bickering in whispers that grew steadily less quiet, fighting over the space on Mark’s chest, until, inevitably, the commotion had its effect.

Mark frowned in his sleep, and little by little, reluctantly, opened his eyes.

"...What are you two talking about?" he asked, voice thick with sleep, still half out of it.

Both of them froze instantly.

"Nothing!" they answered in unison, yanking their hands away at once.

"Morning, Master," Aria said quickly, plastering on the most innocent smile she could manage.

"How’d you sleep?" Alice added, looking away toward the window.

"Pretty well..." he replied, rubbing his eyes.

Mark eyed them both, a little puzzled.

But since he was still too groggy, he didn’t pay much attention to that sudden, glaring shift in his wives’ behavior.

"What time is it?" he said, letting out a long yawn.

"Not long since sunrise, my lord," Alice answered, glancing back at him.

Mark lay there for a moment, staring up at the ceiling, savoring the warmth of the bed and the pleasant heaviness still lingering in his body.

"Honestly, I really don’t feel like getting up yet..." he murmured, turning to look at both of them. "I feel like sleeping a bit longer."

And with that, he let himself sink back into the pillow, closing his eyes.

Then, with a lazy smile, he stretched both arms out to either side, opening them in a silent but unmistakable invitation.

Aria and Alice didn’t need to be told twice.

Delighted, and completely forgetting their squabble from a moment ago, the two of them nestled up against him, each resting her head on one of his shoulders, settling in under the warm weight of his arms.

Mark wrapped his arms around them both and drew them gently closer.

For a while there was no need to say anything; the three of them simply stayed like that, savoring the peace of the morning.

Sleep wasn’t long in returning, and he could feel his eyelids growing heavier and heavier.

But just as he was about to drift off again, a series of loud, urgent knocks rang out on the other side of the door.

"Your Majesty!"

It was the druid’s voice, so charged with alarm that all three of them snapped their eyes open at once.

"Your Majesty, forgive the intrusion, but it’s an emergency!" the druid went on, pounding insistently on the door. "You need to come out right now! We’re under attack!"

The whole atmosphere shifted in a split second, and all the sleepiness, all the warmth of the morning, evaporated at once.

Mark sat up immediately, his mind clearing instantly, drowsiness replaced by sharp alertness.

"Coming right now!" he called back, already getting out of bed and grabbing for his clothes. "Aria, Alice, get ready! Now!"

"Right!" the two answered in unison, leaping out of bed without wasting a second.

And in an instant, all three were dressed and equipped, Aria gripping her staff and Alice already in her gauntlets.

Mark threw the door open and stepped out, the two of them close behind him.

"What’s going on?" he said, looking around in every direction. "Who’s attacking us? More half-humans?"

"I wish that were the case, Your Majesty," the druid replied, his face pale, his voice tight. "It’s... it’s better if you see it for yourself."

Without another word, he raised his arm and pointed up at the sky.

Mark followed the line of his finger and felt his blood run cold the instant he saw it — an enormous silhouette soaring above them.

The thing was so massive that every time it passed in front of the sun, its shadow swept over the entire village.

Its scales gleamed in the light as if forged from metal, its huge membranous wings spread wide on either side of its body.

And from its jaws escaped thin wisps of smoke and a reddish glow that barely needed any explanation.

This wasn’t a threat like the ones before... this was something on an entirely different scale.

Mark stood frozen, his eyes locked on the massive beast.

Beside him, Aria caught her breath, her staff trembling slightly in her hands.

"It can’t be..." Alice murmured, eyes wide, unable to tear her gaze from the sky. "That’s..."

"A dragon" Mark said.