No, it’s not just being difficult; it’s as if everyone is evil.

Fisher couldn’t help but think that way too.

He quietly listened to Yaril’s rebuke towards him, and finally said softly,

"It seems my actions have disappointed us all... It’s just unfortunate that what happened in the past and the problems we face now aren’t stories; they’re not that perfect.

"Aunt Yaril, I understand your dilemma, and you don’t have to shy away from it. If my actions back then weren’t so perfect, if they didn’t leave regrets for Rafael, then neither you nor she would be so conflicted now. You might even think that if I hadn’t been so perfect to Rafael at that time, it would have been better, so you might have a reason to more decisively urge Rafael to abandon me. You don’t want to think like this, but your concern for Rafael forces you to wonder if I’ve been fair to her...."

Looking at the utterly sincere Fisher before her, Yaril couldn’t help but speak again,

"Yes, it would be wonderful if you were always so perfect... Mr. Fisher, you possess all kinds of admirable qualities, but in this respect, I really cannot find it in me to commend you. Is it true that human greed is insatiable? One isn’t enough, two aren’t enough, three aren’t enough, even four aren’t enough... just how many is needed? And after that, how many more do you plan to want, Mr. Fisher?"

"I’ve reformed, Aunt Yaril..."

Though this wasn’t the first time Fisher had said this, since his return, every time he spoke these words, they came from the heart,

"But if I truly pursued perfection with Rafael to the end, it would have been a disaster for the other women I’ve known, I swear."

"A disaster? A disaster is already happening now, Fisher. If you had truly followed through with those feelings completely, they wouldn’t even be a problem to you, and such disputes wouldn’t arise now..."

Upon hearing this, Fisher merely looked at Yaril before him and spoke softly again,

"Aunt Yaril, if I had truly achieved that perfection, I wouldn’t have come to the South Continent to meet Rafael. Perhaps I would have settled down, using that perfection from start to finish to make up for past regrets, marrying the current Queen Elizabeth, healing the wounds within her heart. Doing so, she wouldn’t have killed all her family, she wouldn’t have turned into this obsessive figure she is now..."

"Eliz... Queen?"

That name was so familiar, yet as menacing as a shadow.

She was undoubtedly the most terrifying enemy in the South Continent in recent years; living in the Red Dragon Court, Yaril certainly was well aware of that.

Seeing the seriousness on Fisher’s face, after repeatedly confirming he wasn’t joking, Yaril seemed to recognize for the first time the kind of horror her daughter’s reclaimed husband was entangled with.

"She..."

"Elizabeth Gedelin... she was my first love, Aunt Yaril, also the person I once loved the most." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

For a moment, Yaril was speechless, because she quickly and astutely found the connection between Fisher and Elizabeth in the story he previously told.

First there was the matter of escaping with Moli and being wanted in Nali; she knew Elizabeth was the first empress in the history of Nali, Western Continent. Unlike the rules of the Dragon-man Tribe, where power strength and progeny were the criteria for becoming king, she might have guessed that there must be a power struggle or even a conspiracy behind this unconventional empress’s rise.

But the point was, it seemed Queen Elizabeth and Fisher were still entangled in an amorous and hateful vortex. It’s hard to say about their relationship, though Queen Elizabeth was stated to be among the number "more than the fingers on one hand."

The fundamental reason for this situation was because she was Fisher’s first love.

According to the Dragon-man’s perspective, a first love is a lifetime.

Though humans don’t have such a rule, and Fisher, a human, was especially an epitome of greed in matters of affection, it was evident his feelings for Elizabeth were extraordinary.

He wasn’t wrong; if Fisher hadn’t parted from his deeply rooted ’first love’, if he was truly as perfect as in a fairy tale, a gentleman from Nali’s upper class like him would never have come to the South Continent, nor would he have met Rafael, who was then captured and enslaved...

And that outcome, Yaril didn’t dare to imagine as a mother.

When Yaril knew Rafael was captured, when she learned that her husband was killed by humans, when she recognized that one by one her sons perished on the battlefield, the heart-wrenching agony was something she never wanted to experience again.

Yaril’s expression suddenly seemed desolate; she looked down at the teacup held tightly in her hands, yet unmoving, not knowing what exactly she was contemplating.

She was indeed a very fragile female among the Dragon-man Species; a cup like this, even young Raphael could easily crush, yet now in her old age, despite however much force applied, not even a trace of change could occur.

It seemed the cup was no longer a teacup but that capricious fate, unable to be defeated or escaped.

Like a cursed bond, making you weep and curse, yet it continued to watch you indifferently, with aloofness, allowing misery to repeatedly torture you...