The reason was unknown; I could only ask her myself. But having just hatched, she hadn’t even eaten her eggshell yet, so without any nutritional replenishment, her mind was muddled and she wasn’t capable of thinking for now.
I watched her sway twice, flip over the eggshell, and struggle to crawl out. Dragging her weak limbs, she grinned widely as she made her way toward Genasar.
“Hey? No, you should eat the eggshell first. You can’t even walk yet.”
“Mm-gaa～”
Genasar carefully nudged her back toward the eggshell, but she crawled over again.
Just as Genasar was at a loss, Bartok came closer and reached out, intending to pick her up.
The moment she saw his soft pink body, the child clearly froze.
Suddenly, she burst into tears, scrambling and crawling as she wailed and made her way toward Genasar, hiding behind his front paw.
This left Bartok bewildered.
“Uh… Am I really that scary?”
Three seconds of silence…
Genasar and Gori turned away in unison, their bodies trembling slightly.
Hold it in, don’t laugh, I have to keep up my dragon persona…
Laughing would deduct merit points, hold it in.
Bartok’s face remained utterly confused.
After a while, he closed his eyes to let the potion’s effects settle, and his pink scales instantly returned to normal. His expression returned to a poker face; it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
“Looks like not all dragons like this color.”
You could tell he really, really liked this color…
Returning to his original, dazzling golden form, Genasar spent a moment gently coaxing Karu. Only then did she dare poke her head out again, prompting Genasar to say:
“She seems in good shape—if she has the strength to cry, why did she fail to break out of the shell? Was the eggshell too thick?”
Puzzled, Genasar walked over and examined the eggshell carefully. It was indeed rather thick; his first guess was that this was the cause.
Behind him, Karu, with her tiny sniffling nose, wobbled along.
But her relatively large, round head made her top-heavy. Lacking the strength, she stumbled and fell, but quickly got back up.
“Uh…”
Speechless, Genasar pushed the eggshell in front of her and even placed a piece on her head.
“Silly girl, hurry up and eat.”
Only then did hunger finally hit her, her stomach protesting loudly. She dove back into the eggshell, chomping away at it like a pancake, bite by bite.
Off to the side, Bartok let out a long sigh.
“Seems like everything’s going smoothly. Now I can rest easy.”
He was about to leave when Genasar, noticing, called out to stop him.
“Hey, aren’t you going to take her back? Are you really leaving her with us?”
I was just joking about stealing your daughter, but you’re actually giving her away?
But at Genasar’s words, Bartok’s presence became even more subdued.
“To be honest, the clan is very sensitive about her existence. Or rather, her existence is… awkward. While no one will reject her… leaving her with you is really the best outcome. Besides, we’d already agreed with Gori she’d stay with you. We don’t know when her curse will manifest, so… I’ll have to trouble you all.”
Karu was the product of a marriage not of her parents’ free will. It seemed to have caused a lot of unhappiness, not just among the parents but throughout the entire clan.
If she had been born normal, it would have been fine, but no one expected that the incredibly rare curse would befall her.
Bartok had mentioned before that the Golden Dragon King felt extremely guilty—Karu was practically a stain on his otherwise spotless reputation.
And perhaps not just the Golden Dragon King; quite a few golden dragon elders who had forced Bartok into the marriage felt the same. While they wouldn’t blame Karu directly, it was hard for things not to feel awkward.
Some of their offspring as well—who knows what kind of looks they’d give Karu. Even if their kind nature kept them from doing anything excessive, there would inevitably be some resistance and ridicule.
Genasar hesitated, scratching his head in frustration, but finally sighed and said helplessly:
“Forget it, I can’t be bothered with your mess. Leave her here if you want. Like I said before, if you don’t raise her, I will. No big deal.”
Since he had interfered in fate, taking responsibility was only natural. Genasar accepted it as a matter of course.
Hearing Genasar agree to take care of her, Bartok’s lips curled into a grateful smile.
“You really are an interesting little red dragon. I’ll leave her to you, then.”
With that, he walked over to Karu, who was busy eating her eggshell.
He reached out and gently petted her. Seeing that Karu didn’t resist, he froze for a moment, then warmth overflowed in his eyes.
He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, no words came out.
From his chest, he pulled out a gleaming golden bracelet engraved with floral patterns—obviously prepared for her.
Carefully, he took Karu’s tiny dragon claw and slipped it on.
Just like Genasar’s necklace, the bracelet merged with her scales and flesh, forming a small floral pattern.
Straightening up, he bid them farewell.
“I’ll come to visit often. Goodbye.”
Watching him step away, Genasar could see how reluctant he was to leave.
Of course, even if this child made him uneasy, she was still his flesh and blood.
“Hmm… Such a stubborn guy. Well, I guess I’ll do what I can.”
He leaned in close to Karu, pointing a claw at Bartok.
“Come on, call him father.”
“Ga? Father~”
She was still a bit confused, but she followed along, sweetly calling out to Bartok.
At the sound, Bartok paused mid-step, his whole body trembling.
He turned back, his face filled with a gentle smile, and waved at her.
Then, with satisfaction, he turned his gaze to Genasar. He didn’t say anything—he just looked at him.
Genasar, startled, hurriedly spoke:
“What are you looking at me for? I’m not going to call you that.”
“……”
Bartok didn’t stop walking; after saying goodbye, he slowly moved farther away.
But the smile on his face never faded.
“Hmph, that brat…”
After Bartok left through the door, Gori finally let out a breath.
“That was close, I almost lost it just now. I didn’t dare say a word—afraid I’d slip up.”
“Hmm? Were you holding in pee or something?”
With a ‘bonk,’ Gori knocked Genasar on the forehead.
“This is all your fault, you little troublemaker. Oh well, hehe~ Little one, I’m your teacher from now on~”
She hopped over to Karu, bent down, and poked her little head with a finger.
“Yep, that’s that. I’ll go prepare a little gift for her now. La la la~”
Humming, she skipped away. Only then did Aishi, who had been silent the whole time, finally walk over from the side.
“So, it’s really over just like that?”
“Yeah, what else?”
“I thought the curse would be something really powerful. I was looking forward to seeing it in action.”
Aishi looked a little disappointed, making Genasar a bit speechless.
“Of course it’s better if that kind of thing never happens. Hey, what do you think golden dragon eggshell tastes like?”
“Hmm?”
Seeing Genasar’s greedy look as he eyed the unfinished eggshell in Karu’s mouth, Aishi seemed a bit helpless.
“Why don’t you ask her if she’s willing to let you try?”
As soon as she spoke, Karu—who had already developed some basic thinking—understood what they were saying.
She grabbed the piece of eggshell on her head and handed it to Genasar.
“For you to eat.”
“Oh ho~ Well, don’t mind if I do. Aishi, want to try?”
“No thanks.”
Genasar didn’t fuss, just pinched off a small piece.
“I’ll just taste it, the rest is yours.”
“Oh.”
Karu pulled the eggshell back and stuffed it in her mouth, flashing Genasar a fatherly grin.
“As expected, golden dragons really are different. Hehe~ But Aishi, don’t you feel like she gives us a sort of… soft, squishy vibe?”