The Wrong Dragon to Cross

Queen Aurelia of the Dragon-Flame Kingdom once scorched her way across half the continent single-handedly. For the sake of her only son, Kael, she suppressed her magical power, withdrew from the battlefield, accepted the fealty of other nations, and rejected all marriage alliances. That changed when Elara—the beloved princess of the Ice Dragon Realm—appeared at the Grand Tribunal of Nations. Heavily pregnant, she accused Kael of forcing himself upon her and branding her with the "Fire Dragon Mark", a seal only the royal dragon bloodline could inflict; a marked princess was forever barred from bonding with anyone else. Under the continent's ironclad laws, a crown prince committing such a crime faced execution. The only path to clemency was for Kael to publicly acknowledge the child, forge a soul-bond with Elara, and welcome her into the royal family. Yet, the Ice Clan demanded more: they sought to brand Aurelia with the disgrace of "indulging the crown prince and failing to raise her son properly," thereby stripping her of public support and toppling her from the throne. Alliances were shattered, military morale crumbled, and old friends turned away in disappointment. Relying not on royal authority but on hard evidence, Aurelia systematically dismantled the lies before the Sacred Flame Tribunal—until she issued the command: "Bring my son into the court." Only then did the world learn the truth: her actual son had not even hatched from his egg.