Two days had passed... While Dante and Valentina... were spending time together, which seems the best way to describe their current situation.
The scene shifted to the Imperial Garden.
"Am I the only one worried about Dante?" Sara asked. They were having tea in the Imperial Garden with some of the women Dante had gathered for himself, if we can put it that way.
"Well, after what he did to Skyla... I think it's best if we just wait," Nagasawa said. She seemed much calmer than usual, after all... she was third in line to spend time with Dante.
"Eldrax seems a bit... off, don't you think?" Nagasawa and Sara heard Velryna's voice as she observed the Black Dragon lying in the yard, who seemed quite sad and sniffled a few times.
They watched the dragon, noticing the sadness on her face, even in her true form, her state was evident.
"What could have happened? She seems so down," Velryna asked. Then they heard the footsteps of another woman approaching the dragon. The woman in question? It was none other than the serious dragoness, Voralith. She began walking towards the Black Dragon and transformed into a dragon.
A majestic dragon, slightly larger than Eldrax, and spread her wings over the girl dragon, who was surprised to see what Voralith was doing.
"W-What..." Sara stammered; she didn't expect something like this. Velryna began to approach her. "What's wrong with little Eldrax?" Velryna questioned as she sat on the grass and looked into the golden eyes of the White Dragon. They were in the sun, so Voralith's iridescent scales were shining brightly.
"She is afraid," the dragon's husky voice echoed in the minds of Velryna and the two women watching, who soon approached.
"Is it about..." Velryna started to speak, and Voralith shook her head. "Do not speak of it without protecting her ears; it is a complicated matter," Voralith said, muffling the sound with magic. "Done," she concluded the spell.
"What do you mean..." Sara asked. She still didn't know what Eldrax had gone through at the hands of the corrupt of the Empire and Ethan's Alliance. Nagasawa and Sara sat on the grass near Velryna and listened attentively to the conversation between the two.
"Eldrax lost her mother when she was very young. Unfortunately, a newborn dragon cannot live alone for long. Despite our hunger for knowledge, the initial steps are taken by our parents," Voralith explained while using her head to caress the Black Dragon, who was trembling. "It's all right, child, none of them will hurt you," she said, sharing the warmth of her wings to calm the little dragon.
"If a dragon has problems developing without its parents... Eldrax, she..." Sara murmured, and Voralith confirmed, "She couldn't develop correctly. She would have had to learn on her own like a Primordial Dragon. Fortunately...
Dante rescued her from that horrid place, and I taught her about the world." Voralith spoke with regret, despite not having a strong connection, she hated any form of torture involving a dragon. Her past life had been quite complicated in this regard, which is why she couldn't simply accept and watch it happen.
"What happened?" Nagasawa questioned, and Velryna commented, "Little Eldrax was rescued from my brother's experimental laboratory." She spoke with sorrow, feeling a slight guilt that became apparent to the point where Voralith intervened. "It's not your fault, everyone knows that, and you should too, little one," she said, then refocused on Eldrax, who was trembling.
"If this happened a while ago... why is she like this now?" Sara asked, but realized it was a foolish question, answering it herself after half a second. "Dante."
"Yes, she only feels safe when she's with him, but..." Voralith started, and Velryna concluded, "She feels threatened and sad because he left her alone." Voralith nodded, "The heart of a dragon is really complicated for mortals to understand. We are beings at the top of the food chain, but when our development is corrupted, like in Eldrax's case, we suffer consequences in many ways. Eldrax...
she became dependent on Dante. That's why she's like this now. She feels an immense fear of being abandoned and returning to that situation, so she has withdrawn and is now suffering, creating various scenarios where he might abandon her," Voralith finished her speech and heard a light laugh, turning furiously.
"D-I'm sorry, but—" It was Nagasawa's voice, already escaping through her laughter. She tried to hold it in but couldn't; she simply let go and laughed loudly, drawing everyone's attention. "Ha! Ha! Ha!" She received the furious glares of the three while continuing to laugh, and even Eldrax, with a tear-streaked face, turned to her.
"Stop that, you venomous bitch!" Sara quickly said, as the virtue of humility, this was unacceptable! "I'm sorry, but it's so funny that you think so little of that man," Nagasawa said, smiling and approaching Eldrax, whose eyes were filled with tears.
She placed her hand on Eldrax's head; compared to Nagasawa, she was really huge, so she got closer and touched her own head to Eldrax's, closing her eyes to try to connect more with the dragoness.
Sara, Voralith, and Velryna watched the scene, especially Sara, who knew Nagasawa well and didn't know this woman could be... "Eldrax, listen to me carefully," Nagasawa said, creating a connection between her and the trembling dragoness. Voralith gave them some space.
"The world has been cruel to you; I understand that well. I didn't have a good family either, and I was always stained by that," she said. "Many times, the world is cruel, dark, and it hurts us, but there is always a path for every living being in this world." She continued to stroke Eldrax's head. "I understand your fear.
I was also afraid of losing Dante when I finally thought my life could get better, but soon... I lost him." She revealed, and Sara felt her heart ache slightly. Despite loving the man, she had already lost him once when he wasn't even hers, when he hadn't even sworn to love her. Sara... trembled just thinking about what Nagasawa had already been through.
Velryna, at the same time, couldn't consider herself different from Eldrax; since Dante appeared, she has been afraid of losing him because he is the best thing in her life.
"You... already lost Daddy?" Eldrax murmured with a tearful voice, and Nagasawa laughed softly, "Yes, ten years ago... Dante was killed by a group of people who worship a demonic god," she recounted the story of how Dante died. "Even losing Dante to death, he came back, after ten years," Nagasawa said with a smile. "Dante is a complicated man, I understand you.
I know your insecurity is hurting you, but if there's one thing Dante would never do, it's abandon his family, even if it meant coming back to life for them." Nagasawa concluded.
"If they knew he was resurrected because of me... I think there would be a war," Voralith thought with a chuckle. She was genuinely entertained, something that rarely happened. "At the same time, he still looks like that man..." she murmured. Her thoughts had been completely shattered for a while, but she still didn't know how to face the problem head-on.
She had two men in her mind and couldn't forget Dante... much less "him."
The women, however, seemed happy, and she decided to stay quiet. After all, she still didn't know about the current Dante, the Progenitor of Hell; she only knew up to the point when he was resurrected. She no longer pried into his secrets because, as she thought, it was better for her to leave and let him live. If she only knew what Dante really was now...
she would know he would never abandon anyone ever again, even if it meant killing them to bring them to Hell with him.
Eldrax, hearing the woman's story, calmed down a bit, but she was still very insecure. Seeing this, Nagasawa commented something that made everyone look at her. "If you're still insecure about this, why not dedicate yourself to being Dante's? If he says you're his, it's better than being a jealous daughter, and you're not really his daughter; you can be his wife."
Voralith's eyes turned fierce, Velryna's face turned red with anger, and Sara clenched her fists in fury. "NAGASAWA!" they shouted, making everything tremble. Nagasawa turned to them. "What crime have I committed?" she questioned. "What are you telling her?!" Sara demanded furiously. Velryna and Voralith shared the sentiment.
"You talk as if it's something surreal; even your aunt should be claimed!" she said, looking at Velryna, then turned to Sara. "Your mother too! I wouldn't be surprised if she's interested in Darling, after hearing for ten years how amazing he is!" Nagasawa said, and lastly, she turned to Voralith.
"Don't look at me like that, I'm not anyone's," she said seriously. However, "Shut up, old lady, you know very well that men like him, when they have a goal in front of them, they go after it. And I know very well he won't let a beautiful woman like you go! And that irritates me! Damn cheap charmer!
He started collecting women, and now he has so many that even I, jealous as I am, am considering letting him have more! Damn man!" Nagasawa shouted... she was...
"Hahahahaha," the once sad Eldrax was now laughing heartily, watching how the women were talking. "See, I'll be a good mother," Nagasawa said. "YOU'RE CRAZY!" they said in unison, reprimanding her, while the not-so-little Eldrax smiled happily, watching the girls play among themselves.