The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

King Jaren and King Corvus met General Aquila a while later. The important question was – should General Aquila attend the banquet tonight or not?

After all, it was an important event, and General Aquila was definitely an important person…but then again, did they want to announce General Aquila's appearance to the world at large already?

General Aquila didn't have very clear memories of being cursed – it appeared that he had been attacked from the back. He had lost consciousness after falling into the sea. When he woke up, he had lost all his memories, and only knew that he had been found floating near the shore by an elderly citizen of the Emerald Kingdom who had come to the Pearl Kingdom for a vacation. The elderly gentleman had taken pity on him, had him treated and brought him home, calling him "Nemo" – and General Aquila had lived with them for ten years. It was not a particularly rich family, but they were well-to-do like the general citizens of the Emerald Kingdom, and they had treated him just like a family member over the years.

The only thing General Aquila remembered was that there was something wrong with the information he had received from Official Naja – that was Enca and Dawe's father, who was currently Minister Naja. General Aquila wasn't pleased that Crown Princess Pica had married such an incompetent man. He was quite neutral and good-tempered when he was introduced to Enca and Dawe – and while Enca had taken a shine to the big, handsome man who was worshipped as a national hero in the Obsidian Kingdom, Dawe had been rather withdrawn.

Mana and Raven suspected that General Aquila had seen through Dawe – and they had become even more suspicious of Minister Naja the moment they heard about General Aquila's confused memories. Crown Princess Pica didn't seem to have noticed it yet – but Mana, Raven, Rook and King Corvus were on the same page about this.

General Aquila was also quite appalled to learn that Head Sage Yue was hanging around and trying to win over Raven's favour these days.

Mana noticed that Raven was visibly happier and blooming under the subtle but genuine affection of General Aquila. While General Aquila wasn't as openly affectionate as King Jaren, he made his fondness for Raven and Rook known in very clear terms from every action he took and every word he spoke.

Besides, their little Azar adored General Aquila – well, not as much as he loved his favourite Grandpapa King Jaren, of course. But his affection was apparent right from the start.

General Aquila had been very impressed when he was introduced to Azar. King Jaren referred to the little dragon in his arms as the Royal Dragon Prince Azar, the royal grandchild of the Emerald Kingdom and King Jaren, and the dragon child of Prince Raven and Princess Mana.

General Aquila's eyes went wide in shock. "He is the child of Raven and Mana?" he asked in amazement. "How did that happen?"

"We hatched his egg," Mana replied, tickling the little dragon's chin with her slim fingers.

"Azar waited for Mommy and Daddy for a long time," the little dragon said, surprising everyone, for he never spoke about anything from the time before he hatched, and they all believed that he was simply dormant.

But if the little dragon was conscious of the passage of time and was waiting quietly in his egg for the right "parents" to come and fetch him…

Mana, Raven and King Jaren exchanged a horrified look and the three of them immediately cuddled up with the little dragon.

Azar preened, pleased to receive the attention and affection of his three most favourite people.

General Aquila smiled at the scene. "Well," he said. "If little Azar if Mana and Raven's child, then isn't he the royal great-grandchild of the Obsidian Kingdom as well?"

"Of course he is," King Corvus replied, without missing a beat.

Azar ignored King Corvus. Instead, he pulled the black token from Raven's pocket and started chewing on it under the utterly horrified eyes of King Corvus and Crown Princess Pica. Even General Aquila was surprised.

"Azar…he can touch the black token?" General Aquila asked.

Raven frowned. "Yes, of course. Why?" he asked.

"Does Azar have a human form, too?" General Aquila asked.

"Azar does, Grandfather Aqi," the little dragon replied. Then, without any prompting, he turned into a human baby in King Jaren's arms.

Azar's baby form was the same as last time; there was hardly any change at all. Azar blinked at everyone adorably, his human features the perfect blend of Mana's and Raven's and he looked as cute in his human baby form as he did in his dragon baby form.

The human baby Azar opened his mouth to speak and gurgled. A flash of annoyance passed his little face and he turned back into a baby dragon again.

All the royals of the Obsidian Kingdom were stunned.

"Azar looks like Big Brother Raven and Sister Mana," Rook said finally.

"Of course," Mana replied. "Azar is our good little boy, after all."

Raven nodded. "Indeed. Azar is our eldest," he said.

The little dragon preened.

The matter of the red token – which Imperial Physician Kale had called the fealty token – was never brought up again after General Aquila learnt that he would need to remain in Raven's vicinity for several weeks.

"Oh, that's good," General Aquila said. "I, too, want to catch up with my eldest son."

Raven was startled for a moment, and then his beautiful face blossomed into a smile that would put even the prettiest flowers to shame.

"Then you will be our honoured guest," King Jaren said immediately. "And, of course, Mana and Raven would love it if Rook could stay, too."

Mana resisted the urge to giggle. If only Head Sage Yue turned up here now, she was sure that they would all be able see a most entertaining scene of the three men competing over Raven's affection and the title of who was the best father figure for Raven. Mana, naturally, was in favour of her own dear Papa King Jaren – but from what she had seen so far, General Aquila wasn't too far behind.

King Jaren and General Aquila had a healthy respect for each other, and they got along pretty well.

Since the appearance of General Aquila, King Corvus had become much more relaxed, too.. It was clear that General Aquila was as dear to him as his own daughter Crown Princess Pica, and he would often watch them with fond eyes.