The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

Back in the imperial palace, Mana and Raven narrated everything to King Jaren, Jules and Bella. The three of them sat on chairs and listened attentively, occasionally cursing.

Azar, on the other hand, was stretched out in a feline fashion, with his heads and front legs on Mana's lap and his hind legs and tail on Raven's lap. Mana and Raven had to sit really close together with their legs touching so that the little dragon could relax comfortably.

The little dragon wasn't really all that little anymore, Mana thought, stroking his head softly. Azar was happily eating a lollipop especially gifted to him by a citizen while King Jaren and others were waiting outside the Phoenix Restaurant for Mana and Raven to come out.

Mana had been a little appalled that their baby dragon had accepted food from a stranger, but Papa assured her that it was perfectly safe and Raven assured her that no poison or toxin worked on Azar anyway. They had realised this accidentally when one day Azar had eaten up almost a third of Raven's meticulously grown black poison lily in the secret space. Both Mana and Raven had panicked for an entire day, but absolutely nothing had happened to Azar. On the contrary, his eyes had become brighter and his scales had become smoother.

Still, after that incident, Raven had made a separate garden especially for growing a huge quantity of fruits and flowers which had medicinal value for dragons, based on the little information he was able to find so far. Azar had been delighted. He'd often toss in the seeds of fruits he liked to eat in this garden, and thanks to the magic of the secret space, they would grow into trees in a matter of days.

Right now, Azar was quite displeased with his paternal grandparents. He hadn't liked them when he'd seen them earlier today, and after hearing about how they had badmouthed his beloved Papa, the little dragon was quite indignant.

"Daddy's Father and Mother bad people," Azar grumbled. "Not nice like Grandpapa."

Everyone agreed with the baby of their family.

In fact, King Jaren, Jules and Bella had been reining in their anger and kept their cursing to a minimum because they didn't want Azar, Mana and Raven to learn bad words. Especially King Jaren.

When King Jaren had heard the words spoken by Head Sage Yue about Raven being a taint on his flawless life, he had nearly barged out of the room to go and beat up the other man and was ready to end all trade relationships with the Pearl Kingdom!

It had taken the combined efforts of Raven, Mana, Bella and Jules to hold him back.

"I'd better not hear a single word of slander against our Raven when we go to the Pearl Kingdom later," he said, gnashing his teeth. "Or I will buy out the entire Pearl Kingdom and convert the Moon Temple into a Dragon Temple and make those sanctimonious hypocrites pray eight times a day to Azar and bow to Raven as the Dragon Father every time he passes by!"

Azar perked up at the sound of that. "Dragon Temple?" he asked. "Azar will get gifts?" His tail twitched happily at the thought.

Mana tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I like the idea, Papa," she said with a smirk worthy of the biggest evil villain of an epic.

Raven laughed and shook his head. That might be a little too excessive, he thought. But his heart was warm as he looked at his new family, standing up for him so fiercely.

He looked at Mana sitting next to him and thanked the heavens that he had met her. If it hadn't been for her fierce defence of him today, could he have emerged unscathed from his encounter with his parents? Not only was he fine now…he even felt much better, and no longer afraid of either Head Sage Yue or Crown Princess Pica. It was as if a barrier in his heart and mind had been removed.

He knew now that it wasn't his fault his parents had treated him so badly all these years – it was theirs…they may have had their own problems, but it wasn't right of them to take it out on him. If they had been even a fraction of the parent that King Jaren was…how different their life would have been. But now, the most they would get from Raven and Mana was tolerance, never the affection and respect that King Jaren had. And Head Sage Yue and Crown Princess Pica had no one to blame but themselves for this situation. Raven even thought they were a little pitiful, but he wouldn't dare to say that aloud to Mana; she'd scold him for being too kind-hearted, probably!

King Jaren was so angry when he heard about Crown Princess Pica trying to whip Raven that his chair disintegrated with a loud boom, leaving him on the ground.

"Ah, sorry," the monarch of the Emerald Kingdom muttered sheepishly as Jules and Bella pulled him to his feet. "I haven't lost control of my magic like that for a long time."

"I feel you, Papa," Mana told him. She had been as enraged as King Jaren. Burning down the whip had been an instinctive move rather than a calculated one.

"Good thing you burnt down the whip," Jules said.

"Next time someone tried to hit our Raven, you may as well burn down their arm along with the instrument," Bella added viciously.

Mana had agreed whole heartedly and Raven simply chuckled helplessly. He wouldn't let anyone raise a hand against him, he decided. He didn't want Mana to get her hands dirty, dealing with such scumbags!

"Daddy will be big emperor?" Azar said cutely, poking Raven with his tail after Mana and Raven finished their narrative. The baby dragon didn't seem to dislike the idea.

On the other hand, King Jaren, Jules and Bella were rendered speechless.

Finally, King Jaren sighed. "This can be a good thing…or a bad thing," he murmured. "But Mana is right, Raven. You choose what you want, and no matter what it is, we shall support you."

Jules nodded. "We've got your back, bro," he said. "The most important thing here is for you to do what makes you happy." He smiled slightly. "That aside, I think you'd be an amazing king."

"I think Mana did well, buying time," Bella said. "Decisions like this can't be taken in a hurry."

Raven nodded listlessly. His mind was in a turmoil. Part of him wanted to simply hide away from the power and the accompanying responsibilities, and spend a quiet, peaceful life with Mana and Azar…and part of him wanted to become a powerful king that made his family proud. He loved the proud look in the eyes of King Jaren, Mana, Big Brother and Azar whenever he achieved something…this family was never stingy with their affection or appreciation, and it gave Raven a heady, giddy feeling as if a fountain of joy was bubbling up within him.

Wouldn't they be even prouder of him if he became a good king…? And wouldn't everyone in the world acknowledge how great the royal family of the Emerald Kingdom was…picking up an abandoned piece of rubble and polishing it into a diamond…?

King Jaren walked over and ruffled his hair. "I say this not just as your Papa, but also as the monarch of the Emerald Kingdom – we will support your decision. If you're the king of the Obsidian Kingdom, we'll support the Obsidian Kingdom as well. And if they're causing you trouble, we'll be your shield."

"And as the heir to the throne of the Emerald Kingdom, I promise you the same," Jules said.

Bella nodded. "Take your time and choose, and just like the Emerald Kingdom, the Sapphire Kingdom will support you as well," she said.

Raven looked down at his shoes, overwhelmed.

"Besides, even if you accept your inheritance, there's no way we're going to send you back to the Obsidian Kingdom by yourself," King Jaren said. "At most, I'll send you and Mana there for a couple of times a year until you come of age."

"I don't want to cause any trouble for the Emerald Kingdom," Raven said in a small voice. "I…" he stopped and looked down again.

King Jaren knelt in front of him and peered at the young boy's face. "Do you want to go back to the Obsidian Kingdom right now?" he asked seriously.

Raven shook his head violently.

"Then let your old Papa handle the rest, all right?" King Jaren patted his shoulder and stood up. "We'll see the situation in the Obsidian Kingdom when we go there for the banquet. If they treat you well, and if you feel like visiting them in the coming years, you and Mana can work out a schedule. Perhaps you can take Jules and Bella along sometimes. But Emerald Kingdom will always be your home, and you will always be welcome here, even if you become an emperor of another nation."

"Or a penniless vagrant," Mana added. "Although, with Raven's talents, I can't imagine him being like that."

"I was a penniless vagrant when Big Brother found me," Raven murmured.

"That was just temporary," Jules said. "But I'm glad I found you."

"Indeed," King Jaren said. "You and Azar, you're my family's blessing."

"And IMARI's, too," Bella piped up. "We'd never have been able to finish the communication device without you, even in a hundred years."

Raven's fair cheeks turned rosy.

"All right, it's getting late," King Jaren announced. "Off to bed now, all of you!"