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Calix Anselm Orfeo had never experienced love.

When other young boys were beginning to develop an interest in romance, Calix was busy studying politics and strategy.

When the other teenage boys began courting, kissing, and falling in love, Calix was putting the finishing touches on his plot to take the throne.

The only girl to ever occupy his mind was the young golden-haired girl in Mevani that graced the pages of Itzae's letters.

The one with the power of a dragon.

And, that same girl constantly occupied his mind from the time he learned of her existence at seventeen years old until he had her in his clutches over a decade later. In the meantime, he hardly took notice of the women vying desperately for his attention.

But, perhaps, if he had just paid a little more attention to the sappy romance of young boys, the clumsy courtship of teenagers, or even a single one of the ladies bombarding him with silly invitations… he would have known what to do when his feelings for the golden-haired girl in Mevani suddenly became strange.

It started with the desire to see her more often. A simple desire that became so strong, his mind was exclusively filled with thoughts of her. At times he was unwell, even delirious with fever, he found himself seeking her out and clinging to her.

When she was gone, he felt full of fury and a tightness in his chest that he could only describe as pain.

He needed to keep her by his side. It was the only way to keep his mind from racing and heart from aching.

Sometimes, he took it too far and did things that even surprised himself. All because of her. Because of the anger surging through his blood that could only be tamed by her touch.

But the frustration and anger.. It was because he wanted her to love him?

"I want you to love me," Calix whispered.

Yes. That was right.

He wanted her to love him. And he lost control of his emotions every time something seemed to threaten that wish.

"If you want me to love you," Kel responded with a sigh, shaking her head, "why don't you do it the regular way?"

"The regular way?" Calix questioned.

"Yes, like buying me gifts or taking me on dates," Kel explained. "Or at the very least not isolating me, yelling at me, and deciding our engagement without even asking."

"Ah.." he paused. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Kel echoed, raising an eyebrow.

"For everything," Calix mumbled. "I acted too rashly."

"Well, it's not like you can go back in time and fix the engagement ceremony," Kel grumbled. "But you could reinstate Lucy as my only guard and maybe rub my back or something."

"Rub your back?" The Emperor immediately perked up.

"Seeing as you were the one who destroyed it," Kel rolled her eyes. "And that wasn't the main point, anyway."

"Oh. I, uh, can't promise that won't happen again," Calix quickly averted his gaze from Kel, graphic scenes flashing through his mind, "but I can reinstate Lucille, if that's what you wish."

Kel gasped at the Emperor's sudden bashful behavior, bringing her arms up to shield her chest.

"Oh my. Your twenty eight years of pent up sexual frustration are showing," she poked, feeling the tension in her jaw begin to relax.

Calix gave a smirk of his own, crawling closer to her on the bed.

"What makes you think I went without sex for twenty eight years?"

"Eh?" Kel grunted, scooting backward until she smashed into the headboard.

"I've been an emperor since I was nineteen," Calix smiled, closing in on her. "Women have never been in short supply."

"I-is that true?" Kel faltered.

"What do you think?" he chuckled, tackling her down onto the pillows.

"Ugh! Hey-" Kel began to protest before Calix cut her off.

"Go to sleep. You're exhausted, remember?"

"Fine, but let me go first," Kel huffed.

"No." Calix answered firmly.

Then, clearing his throat, he added, "I just want to be close to you… please."

He wasn't necessarily asking for permission and still refused to let her go, but Kel felt it was a step in the right direction.

The Dragon Emperor was possessive, hot headed, and entirely inexperienced with love. And even though she still felt uncertain and a bit uneasy about it all, the fact that he had listened to her and tried to understand, made her feel a little better.

A little warmer.

A little safer.

"... Did you really sleep with several women as the emperor?"

"Hmm? I can't hear you."

"I asked if you really slept with sev-Umph!"

Calix pulled Kel into his chest, smothering the rest of her question.

"Shhh. Go to sleep," he whispered, smoothing her hair.

As she drifted off, surrounded by Calix's warmth, Kel had a vague thought cross her mind.

Despite the engagement party being nearly over, not a single nation had come to surrender to the Serin Empire.

But strangely, the Dragon Emperor didn't seem bothered in the least about it.

He probably has it all calculated out already, Kel sighed to herself, feeling her consciousness slowly slip away.

But if tomorrow, the final day of the celebration, passed without any word of surrender, would he still look so unbothered?

Kel's half-asleep worries turned out to be unnecessary, however, as not just one but both remaining kingdoms sent envoys to the closing ball.

Messengers from Vitocia were the first to arrive--the westernmost kingdom full of ominous craggy mountains and predicted to be the continent's final stronghold against the empire.

The envoy, made up of high-ranking nobles who had recently overturned the royal family, bowed graciously while offering piles of precious ores and rare Western goods as tribute to the Empire.

Pandreia's group arrived hardly an hour later, led personally by the country's Crown Prince. As they knelt elegantly in front of the Dragon Emperor, displaying their own heaps of treasures, Kel recognized a face among them.

There was no mistaking it this time.

For all the time she had wondered and inquired about that face, she could finally confirm it with her own two eyes.

Among the beautifully dark-skinned and light-haired Pandreians, the familiar golden-eyed boy made brief eye contact with her.

… Taegus.