THHAAWMF

Chapter 163

"What?"

The atmosphere shifted in an instant, and it wasn't El who shook her head, but Knox, who was still gripping his temples.

"My sister has reached adulthood. In Eldorado, you find a lifelong partner at your coming-of-age ceremony."

"Partner..."

Absulekti mumbled in a frozen tone. Yes, humans had something called a partner, and he had heard that once they found one, they wouldn't even spare a glance for other members of the opposite sex. So, the moment El found her partner, she wouldn't spare him a glance.

... As he envisioned El with another man, a peculiar fluttering churned in his stomach.

His throat felt parched, an unquenchable thirst gnawing at him no matter how much he swallowed.

Clutching El's hand so tightly that it bordered on pain, he managed to utter, his voice cracking,

"Is there a human... you wish to choose as your partner?"

His pupils dilated vertically like reptiles, ready to tear whoever it was apart if she answered in the affirmative.

El's eyes narrowed and she blurted out an embarrassed denial.

"No, I don't."

"But-"

Knox, who had been studying Absulekti's countenance in, interrupted.

"There are no guarantees, though. El is quite popular, after all."

"Oh, it's just that there are many people who flatter me because of you, Letty."

But nothing registered in the already confused ears of Absulekti. Or rather, it was the fact that so many people were flattering her that pricked at his nerves.

Without further ado, he declared,

"I'll attend."

"What? You don't have to come."

"You don't want me to?"

"No, it's not that I dislike the idea, I just thought you might not enjoy the crowd."

"As long as it's not that I don't enjoy your company."

His typically impassive golden eyes flickered with possessiveness and a deep yearning.

"I'll go regardless, just so you're aware."

***

Some time later, the royal court of Eldorado held a grand coming-of-age banquet for the twins born to the 37th concubine.

And on that eventful day, the polymorphic dragon Absulekti graced the banquet hall in his human form.

"Greetings to the Great One!"

"Greetings to the Great One!"

The royalty and nobles, who had never anticipated his personal presence, having always received his precious gifts for Princess El's birthday, were left in astonishment.

Even the king, the most authoritative figure in the kingdom, shared the same reaction.

Yet, El alone stood on her own two feet to confront the dragon.

Though she had initially knelt, Absulekti halted her descent.

Bringing his forehead gently against hers, he whispered in a soft tone,

"I told you never to say I was the greatest."

Trapped in his embrace, El blinked rapidly. She wished to affirm his words with a nod, but the proximity was so intimate that the slightest error might lead to their lips brushing.