A weakling destined to be left behind.
The shame and disgrace of the Dragon Race.
An immature, worthless trash.
These were the words I heard from the moment I was born. As a child, I was small and weak, growing up despised by the other dragons.
By all rights, I shouldn’t have been allowed to live as a premature hatchling. But the old Dragon King at the time believed even such dragons had value, and he shared his own food with the weaklings.
However, the elders, who valued the dignity of the Dragon Race, tried every method to kill me. After all, I was their disgrace.
Once, during a hunt, I was thrown into a volcano with bubbling lava.
Another time, I was cast into a stormy sea.
I was even trapped on an island where lightning rained down like a downpour.
And once, I was thrown before a group of humans who hunted dragons.
Each time, the old King sensed my peril and saved me.
“Such actions are unbecoming of an immature child.”
“……”
“Do you still not know how to speak? Or do you simply not find it worth speaking?”
If I had to say, it was the latter.
I was a body that felt nothing. The taste of flesh and blood, the stench of death on the hunting grounds, the pain they inflicted on me—I couldn’t feel any of it.
My body couldn’t even sense the smallest discomfort, so I couldn’t feel any emotions. That was all.
“…… If even the smallest of my subjects cannot smile, then I am unworthy of being called a King.”
The old King then showed me his heart, pulling it out from within his body.
… It was beautiful. A radiance that no collection of the world’s most beautiful gems could ever compare to. A rainbow-colored jewel, his heart, seemed to contain every hue imaginable.
“I will give you a portion of the power I have accumulated.”
The Demon King tore off a pure white part of his heart and fed it to me.
“I’m not telling you to grow stronger to trample others. That would just be a repetition, and my heart wouldn’t survive it.”
“….”
“Use that power to find a companion who will make you happy.”
“….?”
I tilted my head, not understanding the old King’s words. He laughed heartily, patting my head.
“Kekeke! Such a moment will come in your life! A moment when you’ll think, ‘I don’t want anyone but this person! I don’t want to lose this lovely person! I want to be with this person!’”
The old King was strong. The old King was wise. The old King valued etiquette and law. Yet, in front of me, he was utterly frivolous.
“…”
I began to ponder what this “companion” might be as I honed the power given to me.
Someone stronger than me? The old King was stronger, but I didn’t particularly feel anything about that.
A beautiful mate? There were plenty of such dragons, but I didn’t feel anything about them either. In fact, I wanted to kill them for looking down on me.
Then, what kind of dragon would be a suitable companion? I couldn’t understand it at all.
“Someday, you’ll understand. A day will come when you’ll laugh for love, cry for love, and suffer for love.”
“……”
“Child, don’t live in fear. This power is given so you can live freely. Eat, sleep, and fight as you wish. Love comes when you live freely.”
I couldn’t fully understand the King’s words.
Yet, I clearly understood the part about fighting, so I did just that. I attacked anyone who looked down on me, regardless of their strength, size, or gender, biting their necks.
“What’s with this brat? Why’s he going all out over a little poke?”
“Hey, I was just teasing! Why’re you beating up kids younger than you like this…!”
“Did you just try to stab my eye because I glared at you? You crazy…”
At first, I lost and was beaten to a pulp. Even with a portion of the old King’s power, I was still an incomplete half-breed.
But I didn’t give up. I kept biting and tearing into others. Those who attacked me during hunts, those who picked fights, those who talked behind my back, and even those who just glanced at me—I went after them all.
Eventually, those who looked down on me began to find me annoying.
Even a small taunt could turn into a life-or-death struggle, so they stopped provoking me.
“Even if I didn’t give you this power to fight… tsk.”
The old King, who came to punish me due to the complaints of other dragons, clicked his tongue and kicked my head.
“…”
“Still keeping that mouth shut, you stubborn thing. I pray the man you’ll love in the future is even more frustrating than you.”
“……?”
“Disloyal brat, tsk tsk…”
Though the old King clicked his tongue, he didn’t punish me or take back the power.
He just watched me with frustration, hitting my head or muttering incomprehensible curses.
Of course, I took even that as an insult and attacked him, but I could never even scratch his scales.
“With that level of skill, defeating me is impossible.”
Still, I kept charging at him every time he hit my head or called me an idiot.
I couldn’t feel anything, but I attacked anyway. It wasn’t because I felt dirty like others did.
I just wanted to see his reaction when I defeated him.
But the King always overwhelmed me and then taught me about fighting.
“You really don’t get tired, do you?”
“…”
“But I’m starting to like you more. What’s your name? Did you learn to hit back when struck? You seem to have the skill to sit among the guards.”
Of course, I had no name.
Unlike other dragons born with proper parents, I was the disgrace of dragons hatched from abandoned eggs.
“… I see. You don’t have one. What a harsh treatment.”
The King tapped my head as I knelt in defeat and gave me a name.
“■■■. How’s that? A decent name, isn’t it?”
I didn’t care about names at all, but it was the old King who gave me one.
“…”
“Now that I’ve given you a name, how about letting go? My fingers are about to fall off.”
The old King’s body was tough.
I couldn’t bite through his hands or ankles no matter how hard I tried.
I didn’t care about other dragons. At that time, I just wanted to defeat the old King. So, I challenged him every day. Every day, I lost and received his teachings.
I couldn’t feel taste, smell, or even pain. But when I fought the King, I felt something boiling in my chest.
I was bored and needed an outlet, and the King was more than suitable.
And so, for over 500 years, I challenged him every day. Countless defeats and teachings followed, and with each one, my desire to defeat him grew.
Losing every day and nurturing that desire became my daily routine, and defeating me while laughing heartily became the King’s small joy.
Then, change came suddenly.
The Demon King. A man I had never paid attention to before. He was the leader of all demon forces, but I only saw him as a boring man who disliked fighting.
But the old King greeted him with a stern face I had never seen before.
“Is that really the Demon King…?”
“From what I remember, he was just a guy who followed women around picking flowers…”
“That’s not a demon, that’s a vengeful spirit.”
Even the elders, who had lived long lives, shrank back at the sight of the Demon King.
I couldn’t understand it, but it seemed all the other dragons felt deep fear as well.
He wore tattered clothes with no semblance of dignity, his bloodshot eyes streaming with tears of blood, and he radiated curses and killing intent toward everything in this world.
“Sigh… I heard he lost his companion, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.”
The old King approached the Demon King with a sorrowful expression and bowed his head.
It was shocking. No one, including me, expected the old King to bow to anyone.
“Demon King, what brings you to this humble dragon?”
“…… War.”
The Demon King gripped his disheveled hair and answered.
“Prepare for war.”
The King’s anger was fierce.
The Demon King sought to destroy not only the Empire but all humans and the other races that interacted with them.
Even I, who felt nothing, and everyone present thought the same thing.
Would eliminating them really extinguish that raging anger?
“I regret my foolishness… I will lead the charge and use this sword to strike down those hateful humans…!”
“Wise King, who ruled without dominating.”
The old King couldn’t hide his pity as he looked at the Demon King.
“Wise King, the love that made you who you are has now blinded you. That emotion is no longer love.”
“What did you just say?”
“That is not love but obsession and anger, wise King. If this war were only to destroy the Empire, I would whip this old, worthless body to destroy it myself.”
The old King sharply criticized the Demon King.
“But to destroy all those connected to them, and to lead the charge yourself… Isn’t that just proof that you’ve become a beast blinded by rage?”
“Even if you are my advisor, if you speak further…”
“Wise King, breaking the arrow in your body won’t heal the wound. Washing blood with blood will only dirty your hands. What difference is there between you, who seeks to trample others with your emotions, and the human Emperor?”
The old dragon didn’t stop his counsel, even with a sword at his throat.
Both metaphorically and physically.
In the end, the Demon King couldn’t contain his anger and drew his sword.
Many dragons rushed to protect the old King, and the old King fought to protect them.
It was like two snakes biting each other’s tails. The warriors fought to protect the King, and the King fought to protect the warriors. Who was really protecting whom?
Trying to define it seemed meaningless, so I just watched the battle.
It was a spectacle. The Demon King, with just one sword, slaughtered strong warriors and elders, and fought the old King to a standstill, both covered in blood.
“Wise King, who loved all life. Please realize that this madness is not love.”
“Silence. Anyone can spout pretty words.”
“Wise King… please…!”
Their battle continued for days.
The Demon King, being a living being, seemed to reach his limit. He gasped for breath as he looked at the old King, who also struggled to steady his tired body and glared back.
“If my old head can quell your anger, I offer it willingly. Wise King, please look to the future, not the present.”
“A future without rain. It’s no different from this painful present.”
“What a lamentable state, wise King. Then, as your servant, I shall…”
The old King was willing to sacrifice his life to take the Demon King down with him.
If that happened, the war would end, and an uneasy peace filled with small conflicts would continue.
Days would pass as if nothing happened, waiting for death in tranquility, enjoying only peaceful routines.
I knew that was the old King’s wish, so I stopped watching and charged from behind, piercing the back of the stubborn, foolish, and insane King.
Not the Demon King’s back, but the old King’s.
“… Cough.”
He was a King who forced his dogma of unnecessary slaughter.
A foolish King who didn’t know how to wield his immense power.
A King insane for a boring, uneventful peace.
“Long live the old King.”
“… Indeed.”
Yet, the old King didn’t die.
If he didn’t die, then I would be the one to die.
I didn’t feel any regret.
I only thought I would die soon since I failed.
But the old King laughed and said,
“So that’s what your voice sounds like.”
I didn’t hate or despise him.
In fact, I was grateful for the power he gave me.
But I found the peace he wanted to create boring.
The war the Demon King desired seemed to hold something I desperately wanted.
I was just tired of fighting him and wanted new stimulation.
“Take the spoils, Queen.”
And so, I devoured the old dragon’s heart and flesh,
And with the power I gained, I became the Queen of the Dragon Race.
“……”
Even as Queen, I didn’t feel anything special.
As always, I couldn’t feel anything.
I only looked forward to the war that would bring me joy.