The Dragon King's Substitute Bride

Chapter 104

CH104 Tsuneo

I blinked at that, trying to keep my surprise off my face. Hope filled me. Was my mother really coming back?

You mean... You mean she's coming back?

Of course. Why would think that she wouldn'

I shook my head. A staff member, a new girl, came to me and filled my water cup. I thanked and a drained it quickly. People came in, pushing carts full of food with them. I started to eat, trying not to be saddened by Morgan's absence and savoring the quiet that hung over the room. The tension didn't bother me. It never had. Let them fear me. Fear was useful-it kept people obedient, kept them from crossing lines they shouldn't.

If more people had feared my father, I doubted that Kai would even exist.....

"You started eating without me?" I looked up as Kai came in. His little feet rushing toward me. chuckled as he pouted up at me.

"I thought you were taking a nap."

He rubbed his eyes. I picked him up and set him in Keiji's seat. Someone gasped in horror, but 1 ignored it and waved a servant over to fill his plate. Kai swung his feet under his chair, his small hands gripping the edges of his plate as he stared at me with wide, curious eyes.

"I was, but still." He pouted. "I was looking forward to eating

"Well, I havent taken a bite yet."

With you."

"We should have fruit first," he said. His small face lit up with an innocent smile. "Do you like peaches?"

"I do. Would you like some?"

He nodded. "They're my favorite. They're really good!... But aren't they out of season?"

"Not quite," I said. "There's a farm that supplies the palace that grows peaches year round thanks to the fairies."

so awesome,"

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the new girl over. She brought a

cut up,

should they

you've got to do it in halves

peach for him. His bright little voice cut through the awkward silence that filled the hall. I couldn't help the slight twitch at the corner of my lips. Kai was the only one who talked to me like this, unafraid, oblivious to the weight of everything surrounding us. It was probably strange

as he instru We drank tea, then I picked one up to taste,

or had.

his legs even faster. "See! I told you they were the

I reached for one of the slices, holding it between my cks. "Thank you

proudly. "Lady Morgan says that even crown princes can learn

chuckled. "My wife's

murmur of servants. No one else dared speak. They avoided my gaze, each of them too wrapped up in their

remained heavy with silence

one of them had to say something. It didn't surprise me who it

I heard, not that it was hard. "After all your talk and that farce, to be acting like this? He's not even trying to hide that it was all a rouse for that human..... "Care to speak up a bit louder?" Tarofu asked, taking over before I had a chance to even think about it. It seemed he enjoyed these sorts of reaction. "I don't think everyone can hear

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CH104

is more

"You

foolishness is well

Turning Ari haman was cruel! I don't how you did it. We've always known there was something off about

term is exemplary.

"You're just-

I leaned on the

are many in this world like him. Consider it practice for

you've been dealt. They do not see you as their brother. They do not see you as anything more than an oddity. A favorite. Disarming them requires them to see a different

Toward what?

eyes into whatever schemes they