As Aurelia's lips parted from Layland's, Layland took a good look at her flustered look. It was clear to him she must have done that without thinking. The past month must have been hard for her since it pushed her to this point. He was glad that the real Aurelia was awakened but her newfound possessive tendency made him slightly uncomfortable.
Valeria was a very cool girlfriend. She had mentioned a couple of times that she wouldn't mind if Layland decided to have another woman. Despite how willing she sounded, Layland had never taken her words seriously. No matter how much you loved someone, you would still feel hurt if you had to share the one you loved.
Valeria was different from many, Layland attested to it, yet he didn't want to hurt her. Even if she would get used to it one day, he didn't feel cornering her into such a situation where she had to accept the fate of sharing him was ethical. He was well aware such practice was mainstream in this world, but his conscience made it hard for him to accept that. Therefore, Aurelia's treatment of him made the gears in his head spin like crazy.
Aurelia seemed to notice the conflict rising in Layland's head. She looked up and immediately lost her flustered look. A bitter-yet-sweet-nonetheless smile crept up her face. Layland neither looked indignant nor disappointed yet she could tell he wasn't reciprocating her feelings. When he put his hand on her shoulder, she became even more sure about it.
"Aurelia…"
"I know. You don't need to say it."
Layland smiled wryly as he saw Aurelia's defeated look. This was the reason why the whole situation made him feel conflicted. On one hand, he had a very loving girlfriend that was willing to share her love if it made him happy but he didn't want to do that since it would hurt her deep down. On the other hand, he had to hurt a lot of women who sincerely loved him if he wanted to keep Valeria free of emotional distress no matter how small it was.
Fortunately, he was a man of action. He had never hesitated to take the action that he deemed right.
"I understand. I just want to show you that I love you. I was too stupid to realize it but I am no longer the same woman I was a month ago. I have matured enough to still do that despite knowing the bitter reality. I will never capture your heart, but that's fine. My happiness is also your happiness."
"That's a lie, isn't it?"
Layland's blunt retort made Aurelia snort. "Pfft. Of course, it is. I will still feel disappointed and sad inside but those feelings don't outweigh my happiness. For that reason, I am fine."
"What makes you love me anyway? I don't take you as a superficial woman who easily falls for men with good looks," Layland asked the question he wanted to ask the women surrounding him.
"Very few can compete with your looks, but that is not the reason why I fall for you. I find comfort in your company and that is the simplest answer I can give you without having you thinking I fall for what you have."
Layland nodded his head in appreciation at Aurelia's answer before smiling softly. He had planned to explain to Aurelia that she merely admired him if she had gone along the lines of 'you are very dependable.' She understood him better than he would like to acknowledge and she managed to thwart his plan. Putting that aside, Layland was sure that she loved him the way Valeria did. Though, he was sure she didn't beat Valeria in that aspect.
Silence filled the space as none of them spoke a word. Aurelia was about to break the comfortable silence when she heard a rustle behind her. Quickly turning around, she found Albion with her hands raised in surrender. Anger flashed in her eyes as she looked at the Dragon who was looking at her guiltily but still nonchalant nonetheless.
"I am sorry for what I have done. In my defence, you can now better defend your prize because of what I did."
"Thanks, but I don't care. I am going to rid you of your scales."
"Wait. That's unfair. That's simply torture—a crime punishable by the Dragon Law!"
"Ha-Ha-Ha!" Aurelia laughed haughtily before manically declaring, "Do I look like I fucking care?"
Cold sweat ran down Albion's back as she took a few steps back. "Wait, Aurelia. Let's talk about it with clear heads!"
"You shouldn't have come back, wench!"
Boom!
Under Layland's gaze of amusement, Aurelia's punch landed on Albion's face. The impact blasted away the said Dragon. When she regained her footing, she spat out the blood in her mouth and the tooth that Aurelia knocked out. Her eyes very quickly widened as she realized that Aurelia was once again before her with her fist ready to hit her face.
Layland stood in the vast hall silently as he enjoyed the show. Aurelia was not serious in her attacks but he was sure it was still painful for Albion. Albion deserved what she got but his respect toward her increased with this. She realized she went overboard with the psychological distress she had inflicted on Aurelia, so she received her beatings without defending herself.
Of course, it also had something to do with Aurelia's personality. If she retaliated, she would meet a more painful fate. The stronger Aurelia would not let her off easily. Fortunately, she was wise enough not to do it, so the beatings ended shortly. She was by no means graceful by the end of it, but the injuries she received were nothing that a simple Spell couldn't heal.
…
Fifteen minutes later, Layland, Albion and Aurelia were sitting in Albion's guest room civilly drinking cold liquor that burned their insides like magma. Albion had regained her graceful and regal look and Aurelia had regained her calm. The atmosphere between the two didn't reflect what had happened fifteen minutes earlier.
"In short, you haven't managed to teach Layland anything about his heritage."
"That is not what I am saying. He is already awakened as a Dragon but hasn't awakened what makes him Azhdaha's descendant."
"Doesn't that mean you are useless? You let him fight with Ddraig for days which allows him to grow stronger but you give him nothing in the end."
Albion wanted to retort but kept her mouth shut in the end. She had taught Layland a couple of Dragon Spells but it didn't help him significantly grow as a Dragon. Layland learned the better way to use his Dragon power by himself. She barely needed to teach him anything since he figured out almost everything by himself. In a sense, she was indeed useless.
"Saying she is useless will be wrong." Layland's rebuttal caused Albion's eyes to light up. She was touched by his initiative to defend her. "She gave me insights on how to use my power better."
"Layland…" she was quickly disappointed as Layland didn't portray her the way she had expected.
"Well…while it's true that you are pretty useless, I am willing to give you a chance," Aurelia stated with a pondering look. "Given that I have regained my power, I will be a better sparring partner than Ddraig. You can keep teaching Layland the way of ice and he will sometimes spar with me. Hopefully, it will produce some results soon."
Albion hummed to herself as he scrutinized the calmly drinking Layland. She knitted her eyebrows while thinking about what had happened to Aurelia. The light bulb in her head lit up and a triumphant smile quickly crept up her face. Her change in facial expression was noticed by the others, so their heads immediately turned to her.
"I think there is an easy solution to this. Dragons are beings born from battles and die from battles. Driving him to the point where he has no choice but to touch the power that lies dormant in him is the quickest way to awaken it. Therefore, I propose to—"
"No," Aurelia bluntly interjected.
"You haven't even heard what I have to say."
"There is no need. Doing what you did to me to Layland won't work. It won't drive him anywhere since his mental fortitude is something that you will admire. He will escape the illusion even before it can do anything to him. Scratch that, I am not sure it will even work on him."
"Should I tell Ddraig to get serious? Even so, that coward won't do it since he is afraid to die," Albion mumbled before clicking her tongue in irritation.
"I can push Layland to that point," Aurelia stated matter-of-factly. "That is why I need you to teach him the way of ice—something that Azhdaha is known for—so he won't lose control of his power when he awakens it."
"Oh…right."
Albion was well aware of the fact that Aurelia was strong. However, due to her long absence, she had forgotten that Aurelia was once one of the brave Dragons who managed to take down an Ancient God. She had forgotten the extent of Aurelia's power. Therefore, she didn't consider that method.
A look of pity was sent toward Layland's way, puzzling the Demon slightly. The cluelessness on Layland's face made Albion pity him even more. Aurelia was an absolute savage when it came to beating people. Even though she had an interest in him, she wouldn't hold back in the slightest; especially, when driving Layland to the corner was the goal.
Thinking that it would be a painful experience for Layland, she put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Layland looked at her as if she was mentally disabled even though he got what she was thinking.
Follow current novels on freewe(b)novel.c(o)m