The Dragon King's Substitute Bride

Chapter 69

CH69 Morgan

| turned away. Praying myself from his hand over my eyes. my face was heated, but heat pooled in my stomach.

"Tellwhy it matters so much that you're not a golden dragon. Maybe you won't be the most benevolent ruler,

but you certainly won't let anything happen to them."

He sighed. "The elders and the subjects know that | would defend them with my life. But they wouldn't be certain

that | could rule them."

"You're dancing around it. What's the problem?"

He sighed. "Is it typical for humans to be so straightforward?"

"No, but | don't have much tto waste. We have a court appearance to make in the morning, and I'd like to be

rested for it. | want to have breakfast with Kai, and not have to drown myself in tea. You may wake up and look

like you've slept in a pool of holy moonlight for cons and be completely well-rested after only a few minutes of

sleep, but I, being human, will have bags under my eyes and be completely useless."

He laughed. "What in the nof the dawn is holy moonlight?"

"It's just a saying. Don't worry about it. And I'm serious. If we're going to go face Ari and the Elders, who clearly

have designs against you,' | need to know why. Kai deserves the best defense we can give him, so we're both

going to have to be on our game. Out with it, Tsuneo."

"What happened to not having to talk about it if | didn't want to?"

"You're not saying you don't want to." | paused and namowed my eyes. "Unless you're saying you don't want to."

He smiled and kissed my nose. "lI want to."

He lay back down and pulleddown on top of him.

"Golden dragons are always meant to have more than one child. While Golden Dragons tend to have multiple

colors of children. Only a golden dragon can give birth to a black dragon... Black Dragons cannot have children."

1 frowned. "Is that a government mandate or a physical thing?"

His brow furrowed. "It is an instinct. It is not something that has been recorded anywhere. It is just something

that | know, like a memory that has ctofrom my previous one. | have always known that | wouldn't have

children of my own."

So, reincarnation is a thing?? I'd have to ask about that later.

"Do you think your father might know?"

"No, but | think that if | was on the throne, it would take no matter of tto figure it out. He scoffed. Besides the

elders

just assthat a black dragon can only have a black dragon. They wouldn't want another one of those anyway.

And there is the fact that | am a creature of destruction

"According to your stories, a black dragon rose from a void from which everything else came. You're a creature of

chaos and potential. There's a

difference."

He blinked. And yet again, somehow, you have surprised me. No one would have ever said that to me. No one

would ever believe it either."

"Td be happy to teach a few classes on critical thinking if you think it necessary." He chuckled as | turned the

information over in my mind. There's no one, but she knows that you can t have children, so it's not really a

usable defense when it comes to Kai.. 1 posted. Does your father have other male children?"

"I have only ever known the one."

"So your sisters are all different colors then?"

I would assso. V

assso. We don't speak much. They resent the wholeheartedly."

CH59

| winced. "I know that feeling it's not the best. The Cousins whose place | took to chere, actually still hates

me. So...

"If at any tyou wish to press charges of treason on her and her family, | will gladly do so.

"Don't be so bloodthirsty." | nudged

him. "Save it for someone who actually deserves it... Do you think his father could be reached? I'm pretty sure no

man would like his son to be claimed by another man, right? Do you all have a concept of lineage here? Outside

of nobility, that is."

"Yes, of course. As for Knis, father, I'm not entirely sure. The things Kai said about how he grew up while not very

informative, were informative enough, don't think he grew up inside the capital or even the central territories. At

least he didn't grow up somewhere where he would be able to direct us, | think. He may be able to be able to tell

us to how Ari got him into the city, but | don't have much more hope than that."

...Do you think Ari would just outright lie? About his lineage, she has to be hanking on that lineage test, saying

that this could be your child."

"My father brought that up. Honestly, so long as he is related tothrough my father, the lineage test will say

that he is of our lineage and- "Wait, the lineage test can't tell you whether or not he is your child specifically or

y or not. It just says, if he's related or not?

He shrugged. "It is a lineage test, not a father test."

| groaned. "You don't have a paternity test? Never mind. You clearly don't, because you don't even have a word

for it."

| shook my head. That cleared

things up. | was selfish and

ambitious, but there was no way

shed risk being ousted like this unless she had a very strong reason to believe that Kai would pass that lineage

test, and he would if he just had to be related to Tsuneo and she'd gotten pregnant by slong lost brother or

nephew or

something.

"A member of the royal family, who isn't talked about and probably isn't well known that Ari would have access

to... Do you have anyone like that?"

"Short of her assaultingwhile | was unconscious? No."

If Tsuneo didn't know, then his father had to know. He had to have ssort of idea about who caused actual

father was.

"Could be be Keiji's!

Tsuneo blinked. That would givean incredible amount of relief."

"Do you think Ryle's father could have been involved with your poisoning attempt? Or even the attack on your

mother?"

I've always assumed it was Keiji," he admitted, his voice love. "But now, I'm not so sure

A wave of fear washed over me. The implications of this were staggering. If Kai's father was someone other than

Keiji, it meant that there was a third party involved, someone who Ari had access to and likely had designs on

the palace.

the throne itself rather...

If Kai turned out to be a golden dragon, then whoever his father was, who for whatever reason, couldn't be in the

palace or couldn't claim the throne directly could use Kai as a puppet. He'd put Ari on the throne beside Kal and

be using them both as his puppets. "Your grandfather! Did he have multiple children?"