Just as Rafael and Fischer stepped into the flower-filled courtyard, an extrely rich fragrance of flowers imdiately invaded Fischer’s nose. This structure seed more like a primitive garden rather than a man-made building. Looking around, there were all sorts of colorful flowers everywhere.
The brightly colored petals blood freely, but to Fischer, it did not appear chaotic. From sowhere far off, sounds of children playing could be heard, suggesting the presence of many children despite the distance.
After arriving in this flower-dominated world, Rafael and Fischer did not move forward rashly. Once Fischer had taken in the surroundings, a female Dragon-man clad in red erged from the flowers. She appeared to be a servant within the flower-filled courtyard,
"Lord Rafael."
"Where is my mother? I need to see her now."
The attendant gave a barely noticeable glance at Fischer behind Rafael, revealing little surprise in her eyes, and simply replied to Rafael,
"Lady Yaril is in the Ancestral Court, she has been waiting for you for a long ti."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Rafael showed a faint look of surprise, then took a deep breath, paused for a second, and then turned to Fischer and said,
"Co with , Fischer..."
"Okay."
The attendant did not follow them but instead headed in another direction after reporting Lady Yaril’s instructions.
"After my father was killed by humans, my mother beca the closest person to . She is a wise and gentle Dragon-man who supported during difficult and helpless tis. I am her only female child; because of this, I was trained and hunted with my brothers since childhood... It was she who taught the gentleness and kindness of being a woman."
Watching the attendant leave, Rafael led Fischer through gaps in the flower beds in another direction. As they walked, she gazed at the flowers around and began to reminisce, sharing mories of her mother with Fischer.
In fact, humans have pondered more than once about the true aning of a "companion."
To Fischer, the wonder of two lives joining lies in the fact that it binds two originally separate and distanced trajectories together at a point of contact. After that point, their life paths gradually align, transforming into a whole, supporting, trusting, and accompanying each other.
Their previously separated pasts will be re-examined in a third-person manner; when you hear her past, that too will beco your past.
In Kado, a traditional nation, the word "marriage" is actually polysemous, encompassing another aning: "to rge into one."
In Kado, the parents of your partner beco your parents, and her siblings beco your siblings.
Hearing Rafael speak of her mother, Fischer also gained so novel insights.
Although this was not his first marriage, due to Valentina’s family situation, such a normal experience was lacking during their Holy Marriage, sothing that was unexpectedly filled in at the Dragon Court...
Why call it a "normal experience"?
Because, thinking carefully, apart from Rafael, the families of the other Ladies associated with Fischer either had no relatives or most were deceased (Elizabeth especially so), and there were others like Moli... well, every ti they et, Fischer is certain to get into trouble.
"What about your brothers?"
"Two are still alive; the others all died in battle... Those who died were quite close to and believed in my ideals, willing to fight for ... but I couldn’t protect them."
ntioning this, Rafael’s tone grew slightly somber. She continued,
"When my father was around, my mother had thirteen children; after he passed away, I led our tribe to migrate and establish the Dragon Court in Sunset Valley, and my mother still had eight children. But over the past few years, including myself, she now has only three children left. I feel very... guilty about this, so for a long ti, I didn’t dare to et my mother, fearing she might bla .
"She rarely gets involved in Dragon Court’s affairs now, focusing instead on nurturing the court’s offspring and handling various symbolic rituals, remaining in the flower courtyard most of the ti. I also dare not burden her with the difficulties and dangers faced by the court, worrying she might worry... Fischer, when you et my mother later, please don’t ntion the upcoming war to trouble her, let her rest well here, okay?"
Fischer held her hand and apologized to her,
"Okay... Sorry, I shouldn’t have ntioned it."
She shook her head, smiled, and said,
"You didn’t know, it’s okay... it’s war, and if I fail, I will also die, it’s no big deal."
Fischer keenly sensed the unease in Rafael’s words, a discomfort regarding the impending army of Barbatos. She had faced Barbatos before and was defeated, the mory still vivid in her mind. Failure had transford into fear, lurking in the shadows of her heart she was unwilling to confront.
But she concealed these emotions well, even as Fischer captured them for just a second.
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