The dragon's harem

”Do you remember the last attack on the capital? Who stopped it?” Charlie smiled, ”Even if you think the days are peaceful, I guarantee you they are not. This world of ours, it is just like our cities, a walled, protected garden. We enjoy peace, not because it’s our right or a blessing, but because someone is out there bleeding for us to enjoy it.”

He jumped to stand on the ledge of the balcony, causing many of the guards to panic. What if he falls and dies right in front of the crowd? That would be an utter disaster. But to their luck, Arad, Alcott, and many of the most powerful, fastest, and strongest people were around. Even if Charlie falls, they will catch him.

But before the guards could relax, Isdis whispered to Arad, who was standing in the dark shadows of the hallway. ”If he falls, don’t catch him. Let him break a few bones. But help if someone tried to snipe him.”

The poor guards had a lot of work on their hands, and one was already waving his hand to Charlie, begging him to get down before he could fall.

”The same way you can only enjoy peace within the city’s walls because the adventurers and knights are out there dying, bleeding, and fighting nightmarish monsters. We are able to live in this world because the emperor is out there, fighting horrors that we can’t even imagine.”

Charlie sighed, took a breath, and then gave the people a glare. ”Ok, let’s talk about my sister. Do you know how she became a goddess? How did she attain divinity? I’m sure you don’t know; otherwise, I wouldn’t be here babbling like a fool.”

Charlie threw a quick glance back at the guards. He knew they were worried and knew that they’d scold him later, but he didn’t mind. As a prince, they usually don’t come directly to him but ask a maid to do it. Getting yelled at by a beautiful maid isn’t that bad.

He smiled, ”There was this monster, this creature that we mortals cannot even start to imagine or understand. It even managed to kill the divine goddess of peace. Guess who went up to that horror and gave a hot fist of love to face?” He shook his head. ”Yep, that was the emperor. The goddess of peace died, so the emperor went to the horror that killed her and beat it up, just so we won’t lose that peace.”

Make Arad sound powerful and influential, while still making it clear that he can’t magically make people powerful. The goal here is to make sure that people don’t start asking Arad to turn them into gods, and that they won’t be seeking his wives for blood or hair for witchcraft. There are a lot of crazy people out there who would think that. A woman already tried to sleep with his father, Baltos, thinking his daughters were just born gods, and she wanted one for herself.

He took a deep breath and sighed, ”The emperor isn’t sitting his ass on some throne, letting his wives do all the work or riding on a blessed bloodline. He is a veteran, a soldier who is racking up achievements in wars we can’t even imagine, and those medals he is getting can sometimes take the form of the divine power the queens get.”

Charlie threw a fist to the sky, ”Remember, the most valuable thing in our world isn’t gold or political power; it is the raw, unadulterated, pure strength. Without the strong, without the adventurers and the knights, we would’ve been eaten and consumed by monsters ages ago; that is why we live in walled cities. The Emperor, Arad Orion, if not the strongest, is one of the strongest beings on this earth. Those who closely follow him are bound for power. His wives, servants, knights, and comrades.”

Now, making it seem that there are other ways to grow stronger by serving Arad, not just becoming one of his wives, or being granted divinity. This would kill the dreams of all nobles who imagined that their daughters could become divine goddesses just by being maids under Arad. Unless they grow stronger and become worthy of wielding that power, they won’t even get close.

He then glared down at the people. ”Have you heard? Demi-god of thunder and lightning, Zeus of the storm Titans. Jack Bertha, the Demi-god of storms and the husband of Amaterasu’s archangel Lydia. Dragon Slayer, Alcott Demorian, the man who gives the disaster dragons nightmares. All of those are people who got power after getting dragged through hell and back following the emperor to battle... Maybe except Alcott -that’s his father, and he was always this powerful.” Charlie didn’t mention everyone for many reasons: some didn’t want to be known; some were still recovering, like Mira’s father.

Alcott was watching from the castle walls, and when Charlie mentioned that he was already that strong, and the people looked toward him, he started flexing for them, taking poses, and even swung his sword a bit, only to get dragged aside by Violet for showing off too much.

”Charlie, I’ll take over.” Isdis walked onto the balcony and gave him a glare. ”You’ve done enough.”

He smiled, ”What? Are you angry? Been a while since I’ve seen those little eyebrows of yours curl up. Sometimes you look more like a porcelain doll than an actual human.” He looked back at Arad, who stood in the shadows. ”I’ve almost gone to Arad to complain. Do you think I can knock him out?” Flexing his thin arms, he looked more like a tree swaying in the wind than a human.

Isdis giggled. ”Knowing Arad, you would probably knock him out. He rarely uses any power around those he cares about.” She then blinked, ”But not all the time.”

”Yeah, I’ve heard that training with him can be rough; he doesn’t know how to hold back his punches.” As Charlie threw another stare toward Arad, Isdis laughed. ”No, believe me, he knows how to hold back his punches better than anyone. He just uses enough power to rip your guts out and bring you within an inch of death. Better cry in training than in real battle where lives are on the line.”

”So? Did he actually knock your teeth out?” Charlie smiled, and Isdis shrugged. ”He didn’t, but Eris did. Your little sister is no longer a girl playing knight because her father is the king and she can do whatever she wants.”

She walked toward him with a smile. ”It is time for me to meet the people.” And with that, she stepped to the edge of the balcony so the people could see and hear her.