The Dragon King's Substitute Bride

Chapter 88

CH88

Tsuneo

I woke feeling oddly calm. The fury that had been burning in me had eased. If I closed my eyes, I could see it. A small, glimmering light, a beacon of hope in the midst of the darkness. It was Morgan, as she was called in this life. It was so odd to think of it that way. To know that I am Tsuneo and not. I had never felt so grounded as I had before. Now.

Before.

Did it matter?

The weight of my current anxieties drifted from my shoulders. I looked at Hayato, Tsuneo's father, he looked as though he had not slept. The events of the past few days had left him exhausted. I could sense the whirlwind of emotions storming through him. I swung my feet over the edge of the bed and stood to stretch. Perhaps I should continue to refer to him as father, it seems. right? He cares so much for me. Though that is just part of his nature. The golden dragon always cared so much for all.

"Tell the guards I have no plans to kill them or anyone else today." I pause, tilting my head. The air felt different, as if time had passed, significant time had passed. "And I apologize for worrying you for the past few days. Though Doctor Shang, as always, has shown himself to be a brilliant. man. I feel... rested." I stretched, noting how the shadows seemed to ebb and flow around the room. The sunlight streamed through the window casting long shadows across the room. I felt the urge to move, to fly, and luxuriate in the darkness, yet the feeling of the sunlight on my skin was as warm and as new as it had been the first time.

Morgan..

off the outer

walk. And I'm going to speak to my

one side. I chuckled as I walked on, whistling. People stared

sunlight. The way the shadows seemed so dark I could slip into them. I remembered playing hide and seek with my wife in

the cold floor. In my mind's eye, I saw the palace as it had once been, a bustling hub of activity, filled with the laughter and chatter of servants and courtiers. It had been just as treacherous then, too, but I had none of the restrictions as I had then. None of these people were my children. And I was certain that she would agree with me. My love while kind could be vicious and she was not nearly as benevolent as our sons and daughters had been-as benevolent as a golden dragon could be. I laughed, pushing open a door. We'd have a bit of work to do to

about the state of her garden. The gardens were lush and vibrant for mortal gardens. The fountains sparkled in the sunlight barely drooling water. It was also terribly overgrown as if no one had been attending

thank her when

around, pushing vegetation to the side as I walked and tutting. I cutt some of the overgrown weeds and pulled others up, making it decay in my hands and plunging it back into the grown. The flowers were fading from lack of care. She'd be said. I cleared off the walking p path and

to the pool,

river that used to be

had our descendants been

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CH88

light swept through the garden and around me like a warm cloak. I kneeled beside the pool, peering down at her. I reached out, feeling the warmth emanating from the pool and shook. my head. "How do you like Morgan?" I asked. A playful little glint of light drifted beneath

looked back at the pool. I reached into the pool, my hand dipping bath the surface. A strange, tingling sensation, as if the

no need to flirt, you'll be