No matter how strong Leon was, surely he couldn’t take on two Dragon Kings at once, could he? Fio was sure that if her mother stood by her, Leon would pay dearly for bullying her.

Fio gazed at Feilin with pleading eyes.

Feilin touched Fio’s collar. “This collar… Is Fio being controlled by someone right now?”

“Mm-hmm, Mom! The human Sword Saint, Leon, came all the way to the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain and defeated me. Then he dragged me away and wanted to do all sorts of awful things to me. You have to help me!”

“Awful things?”

“Yeah, awful things… Anyway, really awful things.”

Fio hesitated for a moment. Remembering all the things Leon had done, she flushed with shame and indignation.

Feilin naturally caught that expression. She walked over to the bed, crossed her legs, rested her chin on one hand, and gazed at her daughter.

“Tell me. Just how awful were they?”

“Huh?”

“Go on. How did a mere human mistreat you, the mighty Ice Dragon King?”

Feilin seemed a little strange. She wasn’t indignant, as Fio had imagined. Instead, she was remarkably calm, as though she’d expected this all along.

“Well… I’ll tell you, then.”

Though she was terribly embarrassed, Fio recounted everything honestly: how Leon had bullied her, and how he’d gradually tried to turn her into his woman.

Then something even more baffling happened. Feilin didn’t get angry at all. Instead, a pleased smile slowly spread across her face.

“Mom, a-aren’t you angry?”

Feilin’s words took Fio completely by surprise.

“A daughter with such unusual tastes—at last, there’s hope of marrying her off.”

Wait, what was her mother talking about? Fio’s mouth fell open. Feilin’s reaction was just too over the top.

It was almost as if… she approved of Leon.

That made no sense! How could her mother approve of that womanizing jerk?

“Mom, wait. I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Date Leon.”

“—???”

Date him?

Had her ears stopped working? Fio tilted her head, her expression frozen.

The only hope she had of defeating Leon and saving herself—what was he talking about?

“Fio, that look on your face… Did you not hear me? I mean, become Leon’s lover, then marry him.”

“Why?!”

“How dare you ask why? Look at what you’ve done to the Ice Dragon Clan while I was gone! The clan is in decline and needs to be revitalized. That means we need powerful fighters, and Leon is an excellent candidate.”

So she had to become his… wife? No way. Absolutely not! With a man like him…?

Fio hurriedly shook her head and raised both hands in a big X. “Mom, I don’t want to! Even if every man in the world died, I still wouldn’t do that with Leon. Give it up.”

“…”

“Mom, I want to be your sweet, devoted daughter. I never want to get married. I want to go back to the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain and just—”

Feilin stopped swinging her leg. Her expression turned flat as she casually picked up one of the little notebooks scattered across Fio’s bed and flipped through it.

“Honestly, you’re even more talented than I am, so how did you turn out to be such an idiot? Oh, right, Fio. Have you learned how to take care of yourself?”

“I-I have.”

Fio turned her head away, sweating as she remembered the stupid things she’d done earlier.

“Good. Now, how did you do with the task I gave you?”

“Huh? Oh! You… y-you gave me a task?!”

Fio’s acting was painfully obvious. She knew perfectly well what her mother had told her to do: manage the Ice Dragon Clan.

But after her mother was sealed away, Fio had put all that out of her mind and started living each day doing nothing but eating and waiting to die. She’d run the Ice Dragon Clan straight into the ground.

“I remember the humans used to be very loyal to our Ice Dragon Clan. Why are they trying to overthrow the Ice Dragon King now?”

“Mm, mm… Well, you see… I think… Yeah, why is that?! Ha ha… ha…”

Fio scratched her head and laughed stupidly, but if she could, she would’ve burst into tears right then.

“You stupid daughter!”

Feilin sprang up, startling Fio into backing away step by step. Then Feilin pinned her against the wall.

“Fio, as the Ice Dragon King, you have to shoulder the responsibilities that come with the position…!”

“I-I…” Fio was completely at a loss.

“This human kingdom is rebelling against the Ice Dragon Clan and defying the rule of the Dragon Clan. That means it’s opposing the Dragon God! If the Dragon God finds out, the consequences will be severe.”

The continent Fio lived on was ruled by the Dragon Clan. The four Dragon Kings each governed their own territories in their own way, while the four Dragon Kings of the Dragon Clan all served the Dragon God, who held the continent’s lifeline in their hands—the Central World Tree.

But ever since Fio took over, the Ice Dragon Clan had been in constant decline. Now, the humans within its territory no longer accepted the Ice Dragon King’s rule.

Fio chickened out and couldn’t meet Feilin’s eyes.

“If the Dragon God learns about the Ice Dragon Clan’s situation, it’ll mean this branch of the Dragon Clan no longer has any reason to exist.”

Feilin was completely serious. She wasn’t joking at all.

“So, Fio, take responsibility as a member of the royal family. I’ve accepted that my inheritance failed. I can’t take on the role of Ice Dragon King.”

What Feilin meant, of course, was that Fio should win over Leon, the man who was practically cheating his way through life.

Well, it was true that Leon was incredibly strong. With his help, restoring the Ice Dragon Clan might be a lot easier.

But Fio didn’t like Leon one bit. Being told to do this out of nowhere was something she just couldn’t accept!

“Mom, please spare me! I only love beautiful girls. I’ll never marry a man!”

“Fio, from the way you described what happened earlier, didn’t you seem to be enjoying yourself? And Leon’s actually a really good person.”

“Who’d be interested in that womanizing jerk?! You’re pushing me straight into a fire pit!”

Feilin ignored her protests, grabbed Fio, and forced her down.

Every dragon had a reverse scale, a weak spot. Feilin knew exactly where Fio’s was, and now she was using it to threaten her.

Fio’s little face turned deathly pale. She began to tremble, repeating, “No, no…”

“Mm-hm. Fio, you have five seconds to make your choice.”

To Fio, Feilin’s smile looked… a little scary.