"Are you alright, Lady Daiyu?"

I was sitting on Meilin's bed, feeling fresh and full. I had bathed, had my bandages rebound, and had slept like the dead until morning came. I had no idea where Meilin had been the entire time I was occupying his room, but at the moment, Commander Bohai was standing at my door and watching me carefully, as if he was scared the littlest of words would break me. I gave him a warm smile, my mood great since I felt much better than I had the last couple of days. "I'm fine, thank you."

He relaxed the slightest bit. "That's good to hear."

"Yes, I have to thank Atreus for saving me. I haven't thanked him enough."

"He's happy since Meilin praised him." Bohai grinned and leaned back against the doorpost. "That kid is so easy to read."

I smiled. "I think it's sweet."

He watched me for a moment before shrugging. "Call it what you may, it's amusing at times. The other children like him are all the same, thirsting after Meilin's attention and brightening up at the mention of his name."

"Other children?"

"The kids he saved in Sanguis." He yawned loudly and scratched the back of his head. "He didn't tell you?"

"Meilin doesn't tell me anything."

"Well, Meilin was in Sanguis a while ago, and all these slaves were going to be killed during a fight—you know, that gladiator stuff that's so popular in Sanguis—and Meilin offered to fight in their place." Bohai stared at the wall, lost in thought. "It still surprises me how Sanguis is the way it is. It honestly is the kingdom of blood and violence. Slaves, gladiators—who are slaves and criminals—and all these crazy people that love sex and bloodshed. It really lives up to its name; it's a scary place, but Meilin fit in just fine, I suppose." He smiled wryly. "He could smile at blood being shed, but he couldn't stand a child dying like that. He said he couldn't watch a helpless thing die so pathetically." Bohai chuckled. "He's not a nice guy—but you probably already know that. Still, he hates seeing children suffer, most likely because he sees himself in those children."

My brows furrowed together at his words but before I could ask, he was speaking once more.

"Anyway, he offered to take the children's position and he said that if he would kill six creatures, since there were six children, he would own the children. Long story short, he won and they were his." He tapped his fingers against his thigh and watched me absentmindedly, still lost in thought. "They love him, obviously, and he practically raised them. Well, all of them are now his loyal subjects."

"He's surprisingly more human than I thought," I murmured without thinking. The things that Bohai said were humanizing the Dragon, in my head. Instead of being a scary person with blood on his hands and a wicked smile on his face, he was slowly becoming a misunderstood human.

Bohai's smile faltered. "Somewhat. He's still not the ideal human. I mean, he did kill his own family."

I froze.

Bohai's mouth hung open and his eyes widened as he realized what he said. Composing himself, he swore softly. "I wasn't supposed to say that, sorry. Just forget it, alright?"

"How can I forget that?" I said shakily. I remembered that Meilin said that he had a brother he hated, but to think that Meilin killed his own family?

I paled.

Upon seeing my reaction, the corner of Bohai's lips dipped down. "Look, Daiyu, I'm not saying he's a great person, but he's not that bad either. He's been through a lot and it's for the better that his family is dead."

That didn't make the situation any better.

"Well, um, I guess I'll just go tell Meilin that you're up," Bohai said after a moment of silence.

I swallowed and looked down at my hands. He mumbled something and then swiftly left the room, leaving me to think more about Meilin. On one hand he had warmed my heart at his concern of me, but on the other hand I was terrified of what he was capable of and his rage was immeasurable. He was someone that didn't bat an eyelash over the death of someone, and from what Bohai had just told me, he had killed his family. Regardless of the situation, it was hard to paint him in a good light when he murdered his family.

I could overlook death during a battlefield, even though it was gruesome and horrible, but killing family members? Even hatred wasn't enough to sever the ties of blood to the point that delivering death was favorable. How could anyone kill someone else? And how could someone kill their own kin?

As I contemplated on my conflicting thoughts, the door to the room swung open and Meilin stepped inside, completely taking me by surprise and scaring the living daylights out of me. I wasn't prepared for him and I was still sorting out my thoughts.

"Y-Your Majesty," I stammered, my eyes wide as I stared at him. He was dressed militarily, as usual, but this time he didn't have any weapons on him save for the dragon dagger.

He watched me for a moment and I took note of the scars on his face, my mind wandering to places as I wondered how he got those scars. Did he get them from his family?

A closer inspection at the three scars running down his jaw to his collar bone told me that it was most likely an animal attack or a creature, and the scar above his right eyebrow could've been a dagger.

"You're terrified of me," he deadpanned.

I inhaled sharply.

Was I that obvious?

When he saw my shocked expression, he smiled wryly before leaning against the wall. "It's clearly written on your face, my little rabbit. Don't worry, I'm not insulted; I've known since the first day I saw you that you were scared of me. It doesn't affect me; I'm not a nice guy, after all." His smile widened when he saw me fidget. "I'd even go so far to say I'm an enemy to all the heroes out there."

"I-Is there anything you needed?" I asked him softly, changing the subject.

He scrutinized me for a moment before lifting his shoulder. "I wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm fine."

"I also wanted to—"

"Your Majesty," I started, flustered and wary of him. "When can I go back to the palace?"

He paused. "The palace? Why would you want to go back there? It'll be easier here and—"

"I can't," I whispered. This was all becoming too much for me. I couldn't handle all the events that had transpired in the past ten days. Kidnapped, hurt, and when I finally thought that Meilin couldn't be that bad of a guy, I found out darker parts of him. My mind and heart hurt and I was frazzled.

"You can't? You can't what?"

"Be here," I said, not able to meet his gaze, for fear of what I would find there. "With you."

All time seemed to freeze as those words left my lips.

Right when I thought he would lunge forward and kill me, he did the most unexpected things. He tilted his head back and laughed. Loud and genuine, he was amused while I stood stock still in shock. When his laughter subsided, he watched me with an arrogant tilt in his lips. "My little rabbit, you're so funny and surprisingly blunt." He pushed himself off the wall and watched me with darkened eyes. "What did Bohai tell you about me? He must've said something for you to look ten times more scared than usual."

My eyes widened and his eyes darkened considerably.

"Did he tell you I was nailed to a post before?" he asked, rubbing his wrist and holding it out for me to see. There was a circular white scar on his wrist, one that was identical to his other wrist. "Or perhaps he told you about how I killed those people that thought they could cage me? Did he tell you that my brother burned my leg so I burned his? Did he tell you the rage I felt when my father died by another's hand, not mine? What exactly did he tell you?"

I was trembling and was leaning back against the bedpost.

He smiled dryly. "I'm not a nice person. Don't you ever, for even a second, think that I'm a good person. I am the Dragon that killed the royal family and took the throne. I am a villain who hurts those around him, and I am not afraid to say that I'm evil. I may do good acts here and there, but overall, I'm not afraid to state that I am by no means a good person. I'm not like those people that say they're good but kill easily. You're a good person, my little rabbit; you're someone who can never hurt another, so I want you to know that I am not."

I felt the back of my eyes burn.

"If you're going to be my wife, I don't want you to think I'm someone who I'm not," he said simply. "I'm bad and you should know that. I've killed people and I don't regret it. I'm not nice, and I can't stand the way you look at me with those eyes that tell me you're thinking I'm good. I'm not; I can care for you and other people, but at the end of the day, I am Drakkon Meilin, the feared emperor, the Dragon, and the Usurper. Don't forget the name Drakkon, my little rabbit."

At that moment, I feared him with all my being.

Drakkon Meilin was a fierce man indeed.