NOVEL NEXT Chapter 123: Dragon
"..." My mother drags me through the halls and bursts into a room. Several maids look at us in confusion until they see my mother, and they all immediately bow.
"Leave. This is now a private space for me and my daughter," she says as the maids scramble out as fast as they can. My mother closes the door while still dragging me, finally depositing me on the bed.
"Sweetie, isn't this great?! I have so much to talk about!! And I'm so eager to hear all about you!" she says, while I just grow more nervous.
"V-Vivienne..." I call her by her name, but her face tightens into a strained half-smile.
"Call me Mother, my little gold pot!!" she says in that same tone, making me tense up even more.
"...M-Mother..." I can't bring myself to call her 'Mommy' as easily as she wants. It's strange because I barely know her.
"Hmm... I suppose that will do for now... Would you like to know more about me?" she asks. I nod. Maybe it would be nice to learn more about her.
"...Let's see... How about we start with what I know.... I know you relatively well because I requested reports on you every year. And frankly... I was very disappointed and sad."
"I used to cry every week, thinking about how my little gold pot was a complete stranger compared to me." When she says that, it feels like something cracks inside me... Seeing that my mother saw me that way is kind of painful, even though I hardly know her.
"HOWEVER!!! That changed recently!!" When she says that, a faint hope stirs within me.
"...Don't look at me like you're about to cry, child... And don't misunderstand. I wasn't sad because you were weak. Frankly, ever since you were born, I didn't expect much in terms of your strength."
"Intellectually, you're acceptable too. You lack a proper education, but at least you're clever. No, what disappointed me was your lack of... desire. You didn't have the desire for wealth that our family possesses." When she says this, I think of the dragons in this world.
'Desire?... Ah...'
"Greed..." The word escapes my lips unintentionally for a moment, and I see her gaze grow somewhat icy and even angry, as if she'd heard something repugnant.
"..."
"Greed... Is that what they call our simple desire, hmm?... We are not greedy! Don't confuse things. We merely... guard our treasures well." She speaks as if this isn't a dangerous affliction.
'Wait... greed... Didn't Eve say I've recently been becoming greedy?' I have this strange epiphany.
"Forget it! Sweetie, anyway, what made me excited to finally get to know you is that in the most recent reports, you finally expressed a desire for wealth! You've finally started to show that you're my dear little gold pot!"
"Even if the money you've saved is still little, I'm happy you've started to accumulate... and that makes me glad... because it shows you understand what truly matters in our lineage... Yes, you... you understand... You, too, cannot escape this reality..." Her tone suddenly turns sad.
"My daughter...."
"Dragons need to accumulate. It's part of our identity... and our instincts... We must keep what is ours guarded and safe!! The earlier we start, the better, and the more wealth we amass, the more influential we become!!" she says, now with a huge smile.
'It's true... dragons are absurdly acquisitive... Wait, if I'm a dragon, I... I've caught this stupid disease!!!' I'm shocked by this thought. It's not exactly a disease, since it comes with the instincts.
But dragons can't stop hoarding. It's a primal impulse that comes with them naturally, one that cannot be overcome.
"It seems you've realized it, daughter!! You have the desire of a true dragon... It's still weak and mild, but it will grow with time... This is a joyous day!!... Joyous... Well, I'm not sure if you can exactly call it joyous... But my little girl has finally started to hoard things! It's so adorable!!" she says, as if this were a good thing.
"M-Mother, I don't... I don't do that and..." She puts a finger on my lips, stopping me.
"Daughter, you needn't fear our instincts!! It's a good thing... You'll understand when you start having wealth... Okay, I admit there might be some problems... but they can be managed," she says as I get up from the bed, beginning to feel the stress of the situation.
"Mother! Th-That's not good!" I say as she pulls me into a hug, smothering my face between her breasts and holding me there.
"It seems you know relatively well what this instinct is... but it's still my duty as your mother to explain..."
"Daughter, dragons naturally need to accumulate things... It's something inherent to our race. It's culturally, socially, and fundamentally important for us..."
"I... know it's a problem... It's no use me trying to say it's a good thing when you seem to know otherwise... but there's no way to simply deal with the desire to hoard more and more things."
"But it can be controlled! The desire is slightly suppressed if we can accumulate things that visually satisfy it... That's why dragons need to accumulate not just numbers, but physical objects."
"I recommend accumulating jewels, pure gold bars, and coins, because these things are immutable, visible, and last a long time. The more of these, the better! Make mountains of wealth whose mere sight quenches your desire... because if you let this desire take over, things can get... radical." She speaks while I look into her eyes.
"...?"
"Daughter, you probably only know about dragons from what you've heard and read... but dragons have much more to this instinct... Dragons don't want wealth—get real, right? Hahaha, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."
"Dragons aren't addicted to having wealth. Dragons are addicted to accumulating things... Dragons mostly accumulate wealth because most dragons are satisfied with that... but anything will do."
"The addiction dragons feel is the urge to accumulate. There are dragons who accumulate pretty stones even if they're worthless, dragons who collect objects, and there are even dragons who gather wood as 'treasure' to keep."
"Dragons just need to feel they are accumulating things, and monetary wealth is one of the most effective methods... However, you will marry, daughter, and I tell you, you need to be careful with marriage." She speaks with a serious tone, one of importance.
"Marriage for a dragon is a refuge... Think of the hoarding addiction as the part that satisfies the desire to have."
"But there's still the desire to protect... Dragons need to guard what matters. It's not just about accumulating, but accumulating in a safe place where it can't be stolen... Hence the stories of dragons hiding gold in caves."
"Dragons naturally hide their 'treasure' in places that are emotionally 'safe' for them."
"Evelyn... marriage is a cave for a dragon. It's the safe place where we can accumulate something... And what do we accumulate in marriage? It's love!! However... dragons need more... we need more and more."
"Love is a dragon's worst treasure... You can't see love. You can't touch love. You can't measure love. Love is invisible, intangible, mutable, and ephemeral—which is maddening for a dragon."
"That's why love turns to jealousy, jealousy turns to obsession, and obsession becomes a sickness that quickly makes you a prisoner of 'love.' That's why you must never, ever let that marriage become the cave that keeps you 'safe,' because hoarding love is the worst way to control the urge to accumulate."
"If you start loving the partner you married, you will quickly become trapped by crumbs of affection. You will constantly need words, actions, and proofs of love that will never truly satisfy you."
"Because since love isn't tangible, dragons can't see the love and will need to feel it through actions. But actions don't accumulate... Dragons cannot live without being able to see what they've accumulated grow."
"Love breeds insecurity. You will never know if the love has grown or diminished. So, if you one day love that girl, you won't be able to let go of her, because the hoarding addiction cannot be sated since it can't see the love growing."
"Do you understand?" she asks, after saying all this.
"W-What?" I'm shocked by what I've heard. I didn't know it was this bad. I only knew that dragons had problems with greed and that they accumulated too much wealth.
But what she described is like an absurdly powerful and dangerous psychological disease that only grows, with no cure whatsoever.
"I-I don't love Esther!!" I say quickly, realizing this.
"You don't love her yet, but what about after you're married? You are a dragon... if you let it happen, love will arise from the need. You must never let your need for accumulation reach dangerous levels."
"B-But..."
"Evelyn, now that your desire has started to appear, you must begin gathering gold, jewels, or any other source of wealth you can see. Ask that girl to build a vault for you and start forming piles of money so large you can't see the end of them."
"Choose gold above all! Because gold is durable and doesn't change easily, lasting for millennia! Also choose jewels because they are hard and don't change regardless of time!"
"And never choose something that lasts only a short time! I'm serious! Choose wealth! Because if you choose something transient, you will never have the accumulation needed to live a stable life."
"Do this, just like all your relatives have. Do you understand, my little gold pot?... Or, if the desire for wealth reaches critical levels, you might lose control... and dragons who lose control make the stupidest decisions possible."
"I've seen it happen. Dragons who thought they could overcome the desire and accumulated nothing, until they exploded into insanity and sold their very souls just to have something accumulated."
"Accumulating things is an art form that requires time. You can't do it all at once. That's why I'm telling you to start accumulating now, while you have time. And I've also seen dragons destroy themselves with jealousy."
"For a dragon, your partner is also a possession, and dragons NEVER share what is theirs. Are you understanding me? When dragons own something, they do not let it go."
"I've seen dragons kill each other over a mere rusty sword simply because it was an object they considered of personal value."
"Partners are also our personal objects. The sooner you accept this fact, the better you'll be able to protect what is yours."
"I myself never loved the Demon King and never tried to form a bond with him, because I knew the jealousy would destroy me. So, I just had you with him and didn't seek a deeper connection."
"That's why dragon marriages are also rare—precisely to avoid the unpleasant attachment and jealousy..." She speaks as I pull away from her.
"W-Why are you telling me all this? I-I thought we were having a mother-daughter chat, not that..." I try to sound somewhat angry, but she gives me a strange look that makes me quiet down.
"When daughters get their first period, it's the mother's duty to inform them, don't you think? Think of this as similar. You are my daughter, so I am... teaching you an important point about our race."
"I can assure you, you wouldn't want to marry without knowing these 'weak points' beforehand. It would be truly terrible. Now that you know, you can prepare to deal with the problem before it grows." She says this with a smile.
"...I-I need time..." I say, my heart racing, somewhat terrified by everything I've heard. It was so abrupt and absurd, and the content affects me in so many dangerous ways that it feels like with every second my life is crumbling more and more.
"Sit here, daughter. We can have... a normal chat now... I'll save further explanations for later, now that I've told you the most important thing." She says this with a sweet smile.