“I can’t live like this anymore!”

Aya slapped the table and complained about what she’d been through, while Tiran sat beside her, nodding along in agreement.

Family meeting!

Families usually hold one when they need to make a decision about a major problem. Most families have had a similar experience—even the Elysian royal family was no exception.

As for Aya’s family… They’d never done anything like this before, not even back when Aya lived with those unreliable parents. But with Doris acting so brazenly, the problem had to be dealt with now.

“I’m talking about you! Don’t pretend you’re innocent!”

Tiran braced her left hand on the table and leaned forward, staring hard at Doris, who was pretending to whistle to change the subject.

It had been three days since Aya’s dragon dad, dragon mom, and Doris arrived… No matter how many extra seals Aya put on the doors and windows before bed, every morning she’d wake up to find Doris somehow tangled in her blankets in some bizarre position. And every time, Tiran—who was sleeping right beside her—hadn’t noticed a thing.

Eventually, Aya had almost gotten used to waking up to find a redhead curled against her chest, eyes shut and breathing evenly. Then the girl went and pulled an even bigger stunt.

When Aya woke up this morning, Doris was still lying beside her—but the whole room was also filled with an indescribable smell.

Yeah… that kind of smell. You know the one. When Luco came by as usual to pick up Doris—who, for the past few days, Tiran had usually kicked out around this time after waking up—even she couldn’t help giving Aya and Tiran a couple of extra glances. “Even if you’re young, you should take it easy on your bodies. Don’t overdo it.”

The problem was that Miss Tiran distinctly remembered spending the previous night peacefully cuddling her maid-dragon pillow. Nothing had happened at all.

So where had the smell come from?

After Princess Tiran had beaten Aya up, Aya found a bottle of something like scented oil hidden in a corner of the room. Chirp carefully compared and examined it, then concluded that it was an extract of heather flowers…

There could only be one culprit.

This time it was just a prank. Who knew if she’d try something for real next time? Who could handle that? Even if Aya said she didn’t mind, Miss Tiran couldn’t possibly accept that kind of risk. What if one day Aya got so worked up that she couldn’t take it anymore?

“Whatever happens, we’re settling this today!”

Tiran said it with such finality, she might as well have stabbed a knife into the table and declared that today, either Doris died or she herself was out of here.

Anticas and Luco exchanged a glance, then quickly started signaling to each other just like Aya and Tiran had. At last, as if they’d reached an agreement, they sighed together.

“I did warn you this wouldn’t be easy. A heavy-handed approach won’t work on my son… At least, not while you’re still so young.”

Dad leaned back against the sofa and spoke to Doris.

“Mm… Doris knows that. But that bad woman’s already here! And Doris doesn’t want to wait that long.”

The girl pouted, looking a little dejected.

“You say that right in front of me, and you still haven’t learned your lesson?”

Tiran gave her fist a languid wave. “Want to be punished by these iron fists again?”

“Doris didn’t say anything!”

The girl flipped around and hid behind Luco, cautiously peeking out with half her head.

Miss Luco clapped her hands, like an audience member who’d just finished watching a play. “So, little Doris is about ready to give up, right? Then we’ll remove the teleportation anchor in little Aya’s room.”

“A teleportation anchor… Wait, so you were helping her get in here?”

Aya and Tiran were both stunned. It wasn’t that they were surprised someone at the Holy Rank could do this—after all, these two old hands had been at that level for a century, and had gotten so creative with spatial laws that they could even set fixed anchors. No, they were stunned that these two scatterbrains had known about their relationship and still been careless enough to let Doris come in and cause trouble.

“Mom knows this was wrong. I’m sorry, little Aya.”

Miss Luco put her hands together and bowed her head sincerely. At least the family tradition of apologizing at lightning speed was alive and well.

“Actually, your dad and I made a bet with little Doris. If she couldn’t win little Aya over within the time limit, she’d give up on him and find another Dragon.”

“Find another Dragon…?”

“To lay eggs,” Doris said in a perfectly casual tone.

“…I really wish you wouldn’t talk about that like it’s the most ordinary thing in the world.”

Aya covered her face. She knew reproduction was a basic need for living things, but it was just too weird to hear a girl who looked like she was in her teens—and was actually in her teens—say something like that. Girl, watch what you say! Some pervert might hear “cute girl” and “lay eggs” in the same sentence and get excited!

“So, has the time limit run out?”

“Not yet.”

Doris’s little head drooped. She trudged over to Aya, looking utterly dejected, and said pitifully, “Doris gives up. Even if Doris used up all the time left, Aya still wouldn’t accept her. Sob… Is Doris really a girl nobody likes?”

As she spoke, the girl began to sob softly.

Her crying sent Aya into a panic. “That’s not what I meant! Doris is really cute! But marriage is something that needs a foundation of feelings. Even I couldn’t just accept everything about you right away.”

“Then you don’t have to accept everything about Doris. You can just accept her body. As long as Doris can lay eggs, that’s enough.”

Doris suddenly looked up at Aya expectantly, as if that pitiful look from a moment ago had never existed.

That girl… What a waste of talent if she didn’t become an actress.

“You’re getting ahead of yourself.”

Tiran stood up without a shred of mercy, then sat back down between Aya and Doris, physically separating them.

“Anyway, stop scheming about Aya. You’re too young to be thinking about things like this all the time.”

“You’re not that old yourself, are you?”

“Hmph.”

The princess gave a scornful laugh. Was she supposed to tell Doris that her mental age was actually around forty? There were only two years between fourteen and sixteen, but that was the difference between getting hauled in and being legal.

“All right, all right. Don’t be sad, little Doris. I’m sure there’s a way for you to get what you want.”

“You can just find another one of your kind. Besides, what’s so appealing about this brat to girls, anyway? He’s a coward with no manliness at all.”

Anticas spread his hands.

“Hey! I can’t just let you get away with saying that, you old fart!”

“Heh. That’s because Aya’s manly side is all reserved for me.”

Tiran put her hands on her hips, looking rather pleased with herself.