Explaining how the children had managed to extort their way into free food had already been one thing.

Kael hadn’t understood it at all.

Why would they even need to do that?

Of course, he wouldn’t get it as the rich guy that he was. But at the time, the children had looked so proud of themselves that Riley hadn’t had the heart to stop them.

So he let it slide.

Now, though—

Now that there was a very real chance that this man was Orien’s father, Riley felt a lot better about the whole thing.

They could just call it child support.

"Besides," Riley added, flipping another page, "if it really is this guy... and considering what he’s been doing while being forcibly kept away..."

He trailed off, then smiled faintly.

"...well, it might not be impossible to fix things between them."

"Oh?"

The dragon lord’s brow rose as he watched him.

His mate looked pleased.

A little too pleased while looking at something that had nothing to do with Kael, who was his husband.

And that soft tone?

The one Riley used when he was talking about something he liked—

Yeah. That wasn’t going unnoticed.

Without even turning his head, Riley said, "Now, now, no need to get your undies in a bunch, Honey."

Then he held the folder open, angling it toward Kael.

"I’m only saying that because of this."

Kael didn’t want to look interested.

He really didn’t.

But he also couldn’t ignore anything his mate was pointing at.

So against his better judgment, he looked.

"...?" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

His expression didn’t change.

"And what am I supposed to be looking at?"

Riley chuckled.

"A food and beverage empire," he said, grin widening as he shook his head. "Knowing Orien, he’s going to have to apologize properly, even if he’s a victim too."

A small pause.

"But if he comes prepared, with the right offerings... things might just be much easier for him."

"..."

Kael didn’t respond immediately.

He just looked at Riley and quietly filed that away.

So if one were to apologize...

They needed proper gifts.

...Did that mean he needed to acquire a coffee shop?

Thankfully, that thought didn’t get very far before Riley spoke again.

"Now," he said, closing the folder, "let’s hope I can figure out how to break that seal."

The golden dragon nodded slightly as they started walking.

"Honey, you mentioned he didn’t break through it, but that the seal was already in the process of unsealing before he started rampaging?"

"Yeah," Kael said. "And since you said we’ve met him before, then maybe that has something to do with it."

"It’s possible it started all the way from there."

Riley suddenly glanced at him.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You’ll see once you examine him," Kael said calmly.

They continued down the hall, heading toward the room where the red dragon was being held.

"The seal they used on him..." Kael added after a moment, his tone turning colder.

"...was simply insulting."

__

Well, what do you know, Kael had not been kidding about that insulting seal.

At first, Riley thought his mate was just annoyed with everything and labeled the seal as such. And it wouldn’t have been surprising considering that the situation itself was already frustrating enough.

But the moment he managed to examine the red dragon, that thought changed.

Kael had meant it literally.

Maybe it was because of the brief examination, but the man who had been regaining consciousness was now fully awake. Yet instead of asserting his presence, he looked skittish—wary, like someone who expected to be hurt the moment he let his guard down.

It didn’t sit right with the black dragon.

Riley exhaled and tilted his head back slightly, clearly trying to keep his patience in check.

"Maybe we should just exterminate the clan head and her brood," he said, his tone sounding casual, but carrying real intent.

He glanced at Kael.

"If that’s what you want, I don’t mind," Kael replied just as easily, as if they were talking about something trivial.

Now, see, that was not the kind of thing anyone would want to hear after waking up.

At the very least, Simon Mercer, a law-abiding citizen who had always followed the rules, certainly didn’t.

__

Everything hurt.

His body ached in places he didn’t even know could ache, and his head felt like it was about to split open. Even the dim light in the room felt too bright, forcing his eyes to squint.

Then came the voices.

They sounded familiar, but for some reason, he simply couldn’t place them.

However, he didn’t have time to think about that upon hearing certain things.

"...exterminate..."

"...if that’s what you want..."

The words cut through the fog in his head.

Well, Simon wasn’t exactly stupid.

Even like this, with his entire body aching like hell, he still had enough awareness to understand how dangerous those words were.

His breath hitched as he forced himself to move. Slowly, painfully, he dragged himself closer to the wall, as if that would somehow make a difference.

Of course, it didn’t—not when he’d only managed to inch toward the edge of the bed.

But he still did it.

Because doing nothing felt worse.

Then the voices shifted.

Closer.

Clearer.

And this time, they were meant for him.

"Well, hello, sir," Riley said, his tone polite, almost pleasant. "It’s good that you’re finally awake."

"...!"

He hadn’t been punched or clawed at, but for some reason, that businesslike tone worried him even more.

Simon couldn’t help but flinch, his hand immediately flying to clutch his chest as if his heart were being squeezed.

"W-who are you? A-and where am I?" he asked, his voice coming out in ragged breaths.

He had a feeling those weren’t exactly the right questions to ask, especially considering the intimidating stance of the two people in suits standing before him.

And given that his last memory was being attacked inside his own home, he didn’t feel all that safe seeing strangers.

Or were they really people he didn’t know...?