The Dragon King's Substitute Bride

Chapter 99

CH99

Tarofu

The Elders looked terrified. I almost laughed.

Good. It was better to have them running scared. It was only a matter of time before Keiji rose

again.

What? Tsuneo roared from the back of my mind.

You have much to learn about being a celestial.

"The Convening won't take place for several weeks.

"How can you be so sure of that?" An Elder asked, his nose wrinkled. "You have no idea when they will arrive."

Jilted my head looking at him. "I suppose neither do you."

He flushed.

"The turtles will travel by ocean from their island, but their travel across land will be slow. The tigers move quickly in bursts, but they will require frequent stops and they are much further away. There is a mountain range between us after all. With the size of the caravans they will come with- guards, nobles, women, servants-it will take several weeks from the time they leave."

They stammered and I pointed to the ceiling. "And the Alignment always falls on the first day of the Convening. It is several weeks out."

Hayato frowned, then he lifted his head, leading the Elders to lift their heads to the giant star compass in the ceiling. They had likely never noticed that it was more like a clock because they weren't keeping track of things as needed. They all looked back at me and I smiled.

"Should I go on?" I asked. "Or you need me to explain how it works?"

Hayato smiled. "Your proposition, Tsuneo?"

"You should take a break."

My father looked at me, his eyes filled with surprise. "A break?"

"Yes, a long, restful break. I smirked. "You need rest. I can handle the preparations."

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CH99

Hayato's eve

he glanced at the Elders with a question

I'm sure the king welcomes your concern,

if the Elders and the Crown Prince are doing their jobs properly." I cocked an eyebrow. Are you telling

They sputtered.

said, her voice filled

never experienced a

""That's beside the point.

heir and his

your wife? You should be focusing on her. You have not been married for long. You have a duty there that should come

fists, my anger rising. "My wife will be fine," I

"She is strong, she is resilient. And if the Elders had not allowed the monitoring of trade to become so lax, taking kickbacks or whatever else you've done, she would not be

but fear. They didn't care what happened to Morgan, but they

of the Elders insisted. "She needs

for healing," I

"Son."

I looked at him.

""Is she?"

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CH99

a spark. She will wake soon I leaned toward him, meeting his gaze. "But you need rest. You have lost two children in to my hand and another to her own greed. You have born the brunt of all of this for years, father. The Convening will be

together. I glanced toward the scales on his neck and worked my jaw. The golden

A week at least?" Hayato hesitated. "I promise

"I would

exhausted," I said. "And things...

frowned at

your Crown Prince, aren't I? I am more than capable of leading this meeting.

Elders were clearly against it, but Hayato's eyes seemed to fill with

"Okay.

"Your Majesty-

is irrefutable," he said. "He will have his own part to play in the Convening, and if I cannot trust my heir with... planning a meeting, then the future of the kingdom is

"I will check in with you