Vol 7. Chapter 52: Junior Valendna

"Vava, you’d better give me a damn good reason for why I had to beat you into this state."

In Isha’s bedroom, the Wind Dragon King, Valendna, stood in front of the mirror while Isha dressed her up in all kinds of pastel dresses and cutesy hair ornaments.

"Before I answer that question," Isha said solemnly, "I need to ask you one first."

Valendna widened her big, wronged eyes and replied just as seriously:

"I do."

"..."

Isha grabbed both sides of Valendna’s chubby cheeks and enunciated each word with a tug:

"Get. Serious. With. Me."

Valendna let out a muffled, ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) doughy whine through puffed cheeks:

"I get it, I get it~ Let go, let go!!"

Isha finally released her and continued:

"Since you arrived, have you had any interaction with the Nebula Dragon King, Beren? Met him, seen him, anything?"

Valendna didn’t know why Isha was suddenly asking this, but she still thought it over carefully, then nodded.

"I guess I’ve seen him. Second year after I ascended, Sky City hosted a gathering for the northern dragon clans. Back then, I had just inherited the title of Wind Dragon King, so at big events like that, I was always stuck on the edges. I just stood around far away, watching old kings like Beren and Odin chat. Nobody really introduced me to the others at the banquet. I figured I’d just nibble some food and sneak home quietly."

"Until... this super gorgeous lady came over to talk to me! She said she wanted to be my friend!"

"You’re veering off-topic."

Still, Isha couldn’t help asking out of curiosity:

"Who was this gorgeous lady?"

"You."

"...Me?"

"Oh, right, I almost forgot. That was the banquet where we met."

But—

"But I remember I never said I wanted to be your friend, did I?"

Isha flicked her nose upward. "I just asked why you were standing there all alone. Then you clung to me and begged to be friends."

"Hmph~ The details might be a little off, but the outcome’s the same~"

Valendna declared proudly, then summed it up:

"Beren probably never saw me properly back then, and he definitely wouldn’t remember me. His tribe’s one of the top dragon clans, and he never involves himself in trivial dragon affairs. He’d never waste thought on a minor king like me. So why are you asking?"

Isha crossed her arms, dropped her playful tone, and told Valendna the whole story—Beren’s relentless pestering, her borrowing a kid to escape a fake engagement, and how she got cornered.

By the end of it, Valendna’s mouth had curled up in pure scorn.

"I thought all those ancient dragon kings were cool grandpas like Odin. Who knew there’d be a shameless fossil like Beren?"

Isha sighed in defeat.

"The kid I borrowed just now slipped up and mentioned having an older sister. Normally it wouldn’t matter, but Beren picked up on it and insisted on meeting this ‘elder daughter.’"

Valendna tilted her head.

"So what’re you gonna do? He’s already at your door. Where’re you gonna go borrow another one?"

Isha silently stared at Valendna.

Valendna looked left. Looked right.

Then pointed at herself.

"You’re not seriously thinking..."

"Heh heh. So today, don’t call me ‘Isha’ anymore."

"...Then what do I call you?"

"Call me Mommy, Valendna."

Wind Dragon King: ?

...

...

Muse and Beren stared in shock at the pastel-haired “elder princess.”

Even if they were wildly curious how Aunt Isha had pulled off this “live-dragon transformation” in a matter of minutes, this elder princess—gotta say—was flawless.

Sweet and lovable. Full of charm and pep. Other than the hair color clashing with Isha’s a bit, everything else was spot on.

But hair color’s easy to explain—she’s adopted. Different eye color and hair? Totally normal~

"This is Muse’s elder sister. Also my adopted daughter. Her name is..."

"Uh..."

Valendna shot Isha a sideways look of utter speechlessness.

This woman was usually sharp as a whip. But the moment she had to lie about her, she froze up and didn’t even prep a fake name?

They couldn’t use her real name.

Beren might not remember her face, but the name Valendna—Wind Dragon King—he’d definitely have heard of.

So it had to be fake.

But Valendna hadn’t thought one up either.

Until—

"Rebecca," Muse whispered.

Isha and Valendna assumed Muse was giving them a lifeline and immediately ran with it.

"Her name’s Rebecca. Yep."

Muse blinked in confusion. She had no idea she’d just saved them. She just thought, “Auntie Rebecca’s hair is green too...”

Kids couldn’t really tell the difference between mint green and forest green, so when she saw Valendna’s hair, Muse immediately thought of Auntie Rebecca.

With Muse’s unintentional rescue, Valendna quickly followed up with a deep curtsey.

"My name is Rebecca. Greetings, Elder Beren."

The look on Beren’s face... was complicated.

No existing adjective quite captured it.

But we can sum it up with short phrases:

“Holy shit, you really do have another daughter!”

“...Two daughters? Tsk. Do I keep going? Should I pretend I’m okay with two?”

“Nope. What if they pull out a third one next?”

“...”

Which brings us back to square one.

With Muse and Valendna at her sides, Isha smiled with narrowed eyes.

"As you can see, Beren, our family is already complete. I’ve chosen my marriage partner and settled my future. I sincerely ask that you stop bringing this up. There will never be anything between us."

Final warning.

Beren sighed heavily in his heart.

"...Very well. Since you say so, Miss Isha, I won’t trouble you again. Farewell."

"Take care. Guards, see him out."

With the escort of the guards, Beren finally left.

Isha slumped into her chair like a deflated balloon, red tail flopping down limply.

"Finally... got that clingy bastard off my back."

She exhaled deeply.

"God, lying is such a pain," Isha muttered.

Muse turned to look at her.

"Auntie, it’s over already?"

"If you haven’t had enough fun, I still have at least seven matchmaking sessions scheduled. You can come along to every single one."

Leaning back in her chair, Isha stared blankly at the ceiling, all hope gone.

Her voice was barely a whisper.

But Muse seriously considered it... and nodded.

"Okay. I’m in."

Isha blinked, then snorted with laughter.

She sat up, leaned forward, and ruffled her little niece’s hair.

"Good girl. Auntie’s gonna reward you with a kiss."

She scooped Muse into her arms and gave her a big kiss on the cheek—mwah!

Off to the side, Valendna stared at them. After a moment of stunned silence, she lunged forward and hugged Isha’s tail.

Isha startled.

"What are you doing—"

"I want a kiss too! Mommy~"

Isha: ?

"Get out of character, Valendna."

"Nooo, I want a kiss too! Mommy, mommy, mommy~"

Ah. Got it.