Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot-Chapter 375 - 374 - A Story.

Catherine’s golden eyes dimmed, the light within them flickering as she exhaled softly.

"To tell you what I came here to say," she murmured, "I’ll have to start with a story. One that no one in the current four-kingdom alliance knows. The truth that was buried a long time ago."

Raven tilted his head slightly, curious.

"This story," she continued, "belongs to a time when there was a five-kingdom alliance. Back then... before gods and dragons warred openly, before the balance was broken, before Velmoria was even known for the Vaise family."

Her fingers brushed absently through his hair, her gaze distant—like she was watching something only she could see. "That was the era when the black dragon first appeared in this world."

Raven blinked once. "You mean the black dragon? The one that was hiding under the Vaise ruins?"

She nodded faintly, though a touch of surprise crossed her face. "Yes. Though I didn’t expect you to already know its story."

Raven shrugged lightly. "It tried to eat me. Long story. I learned enough to know it wasn’t exactly a fan of polite conversation."

That earned him a chuckle—but only briefly. "Then," she said softly, "you must not know how it was defeated."

He paused. "...No. That part was conveniently missing."

Her eyes softened with something caught between nostalgia and sorrow. "Then let me fill in the blanks."

The room seemed to darken around them as she began.

"When the black dragon descended upon the fifth kingdom, it was already wounded—battered by both gods and its own kin. But even weakened, it was beyond comprehension. Its breath melted mountains, and its roar drowned armies. Entire cities were erased in hours. The fifth kingdom fell first, swallowed whole by fire and shadow. The other four could only watch as despair spread like a plague."

Her tone dropped to a whisper. "That was when a man rose from the ashes. A man of no noble birth, no title—just conviction. His name was Calvin Vaise."

Raven’s brow furrowed. "Vaise...?"

"Yes," she said quietly, her eyes darkening almost imperceptibly. "You could say that he was the progenitor of your family’s bloodline."

Her tone betrayed the faintest flicker of disdain, though she didn’t elaborate.

It was as if she hated saying the word "Vaise," yet she didn’t want to speak about it.

"Calvin was the spark in a world that was filled with darkness. He gathered everyone who refused to bow."

Closing her eyes for an instant, as if trying to recall everything, she continued. "A healer who could mend even dragonfire wounds, a warrior whose shield never broke, a mage who spoke the ancient tongues of mana, and a rogue whose strikes could pierce dragon scales."

Staring down at Raven, who was back on her lap, she added, "Together, they fought through the armies of corrupted beasts the black dragon commanded. Each victory cost blood, but it forged legends."

Her voice slowed, gentle but sharp. "When they finally reached the beast’s lair—where the sky burned and the air itself screamed—they fought. For seven days and nights, they fought. In the end, they won because they were there to support each other."

’Oh yeah, the power of friendship.’ Raven almost groaned as he realized how the story was clearly the hero and demon lord trope, just that the demon lord was the black dragon.

Catherine, on the other hand, went on. "The real story, however, begins after the dragon was slain."

She smiled faintly, though there was no joy in it. "Because those who killed the dragon received wishes. The black dragon slaying turned out to be a world event that granted wishes."

Her gaze softened. "One of those wishes was made by all of them together—a wish for peace among the remaining kingdoms. That became the foundation of the current alliance. That was also the reason that the barrier surrounding the four-kingdom alliance stands."

"So, the barrier is thanks to a wish?" Raven raised a brow at that, but Catherine shook her head.

"No, it was because the wish-granter knew that the situation there was bad, and because of the corruption in the air, everyone had grown weak. So, the barrier was supposed to stay up until the corruption was taken care of."

"...So, killing the dragon caused the barrier to break?" Raven groaned, making Catherine giggle as she answered.

"In a way, but you didn’t really have a choice, did you?"

"I guess so..." Raven nodded before asking another question. "So? Did the story end?"

"No, because there were two more wishes."

"Two more wishes?" Raven sat up in surprise. "What is this? Two with one offer?"

Catherine shrugged. "I don’t know, darling. I wasn’t even born at that time. All I know is based on the documents I read."

Raven hummed, lying back down as he said, "So, what happened next?"

Shaking her head at Raven’s antics, Catherine answered, "What happened next was Calvin making his wish, which was to make it so that all of his descendants would have dragonic bodies."

Raven’s eyes widened slightly. "So that’s how—"

She nodded. "That’s how the Vaise bloodline gained its draconic affinity. But then came the prince of Valmoria—one of the major contributors to the war effort and also a member of Calvin’s party. His wish was darker. He wished for absolute control over the Vaise bloodline—to ensure no commoner would ever rise above royalty again."

A bitter edge crept into her voice. "Of course, there is no such thing as absolute. The wish-granter gave him seven chances of complete obedience—one for each generation."

Raven’s lips parted slightly, his expression hardening. "That... explains a lot."

Catherine’s smile was sad, almost knowing. "Power always comes with chains, Raven. Some hide theirs better. After all, even Vaise’s power had a drawback, and that was mana poisoning."

Raven was silent for a long moment, watching the way her gaze drifted off.

She clearly held no fondness for the Vaise lineage—and though he could feel the weight of her words, he didn’t pry.

Not because he didn’t want to know, but because he could guess why she hated the Vaise family, or Argon, his father, to be exact.

Ignoring everything, he finally asked, "So... what’s the point of all this?"

Her eyes returned to him—warm, proud, but steady. "When the black dragon dies, all who contributed to its defeat are granted wishes."

Raven blinked. "Wait—so me?"

She smiled softly, brushing a thumb across his cheek. "Yes, my son. You’re entitled to the same reward. The right to make a wish."

He frowned slightly. "And who exactly grants that? Because last I checked, the dragon’s corpse didn’t come with a genie."

Catherine’s gaze deepened—almost reverent, almost fearful.

"Not a genie," she whispered. "The Wish Dragon. The ruler of all dragons. The oldest, most mysterious being in existence. It is said that when one slays a true black dragon, the Wish Dragon appears before them—neither bound by time nor space—to offer all those who contributed a reward depending on their contribution."

Raven leaned back slightly, his mind already racing. "...A reward depending on our contribution, huh?"

Her smile softened again as she nodded. "Yes."

But then, her gaze turned serious as she said. "Now, the main thing I wanted to say..."

Raven’s focus returned to her words as he shifted in his spot, wondering what it could be.

Catherine, as if building up the suspense, didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Raven could even hear suspenseful music playing in the background until she finally spoke.

"You should use your wish to make the wish dragon strengthen the barrier around the four kingdoms. Tell them that they should help you guys stay protected for longer until you are strong enough to face the beings outside."

Before Raven could say anything, she raised her hand. "You are not strong enough to face the outer world, if that’s what you want to know. You all need to be way stronger."

"Can I speak now?" Raven asked like a child waiting for his turn to give a speech.

"Yes," Catherine nodded, her fingers combing through his hair again.

"I was going to wish for that anyway," Raven said, making her fingers pause for a second before a smile bloomed on her face.

"I knew my child was smart enough to think about that," she muttered.

Raven, however, wasn’t done yet, so he asked another question. "What if the wish dragon denied the wish? Like, the last time, there was a legit reason for them to agree, as the air was corrupted, but now it isn’t, so why would they agree?"

Catherine’s eyes sharpened at that, as she didn’t think of that, but no matter what she thought about, she couldn’t think of a way out of the situation.

She replied, "Son, you HAVE to make them agree to that wish. Because you really aren’t ready to face the outside world."

For a while, none of them said anything until Raven, meeting her gaze without flinching, muttered, "Guess I’ll make sure my wallet’s full then."

Hearing his words, a laugh escaped Catherine’s lips as she ruffled his hair with the care only a mother could show.

Another silence, warmer this time, followed as the mother and son stared into each other’s eyes.

No words left their lips, but their eyes spoke.

"Your time’s up, isn’t it?" Raven muttered, his lips quivering.

In response, Catherine just gave a wistful smile. "I’m already wondering if it’s really a good thing that you are so smart."

Both of them chuckled again, holding hands, as their grip on each other tightened instinctively.

"Mother—" Raven began, but before he could finish his words—

Knock Knock.

Another series of knocks was heard from the other side of Raven’s door.