While Jinde and Jing He had been talking, Qiu Ling went to have his own conversation that seemed bound to be a tough one. From the moment he appeared, Min Jun had been staring at him, his body tense as if he truly didn’t know how to react and always felt as if he’d be attacked the next second.

Seeing this, Qiu Ling’s feelings were complicated as well. This was pretty much the reaction he had always feared: That people would be afraid of him once they realized that he shared some of the blood of the demon race and that they might attack him for it. Now, the current situation showed that he had been right. At the same time though, he understood.

He waited until the others had left before he walked over to the door. He didn’t want Jing He anywhere near him when this conversation happened. After all, who could say how General Min Jun would react? Even though he looked calm, it was impossible to say whether anything would set him off later on and he would never risk Jing He’s safety.

Even now that Jing He was gone, he didn’t rashly approach him either. He wasn’t weak and he wouldn’t mind a fight on an ordinary day but today was his wedding and there was only one wedding robe. Even if he only got one scratch, he couldn’t change into a backup and then his beloved would worry about him. How could he let that happen? Plus, he’d like to keep this one as a memento. The symbolic meaning was deep, after all. Taking it out every now and then to admire it was a necessity.

Looking at Min Jun from the door, Qiu Ling faintly tilted his head. The other person looked a lot calmer than before so it seemed that his advisers and the other generals had talked him down well. Now, only the final decision remained.

Qiu Ling lowered his gaze, somewhat lost. He hadn’t prepared for this day. At least not for one where everything would be almost calm. He had always thought that if he was exposed, there’d be danger everywhere and accusations from all directions. Now, even with Min Jun so tense, he still hadn’t even tried to give him a piece of his mind. It was tough to wrap his mind around this.

When Qiu Ling finally looked up, he could only sigh. “You must be confused.” In the end, this seemed to be the only way to sum up the reaction to this truth that had been uncovered after such a long time. Well, that and … “And probably afraid. I should know. I felt the same when I realized.”

Min Jun’s brows furrowed slightly. Even though the others had said so much, he still didn’t quite understand. “How could you not know?” And how could he keep this a secret for so long?

Qiu Ling finally left the spot on the door and sat down opposite Min Jun. It seemed that he was calm enough to simply have a discussion. He wouldn’t have to worry about his robe too much. “Have you ever tried whether you possess any other magic?”

Min Jun’s brows only furrowed further. “Of course not.”

“Yes, because we’re dragons, right?” Qiu Ling smiled. “That is the same idea I grew up with. Why would you try whether you can control other magic when you know that you are a dragon? Obviously, you only have two types. What’s more important is whether you can master those and then learn to change your shape.” He shook his head. “I excelled at both but I was still young. I couldn’t see any signs before it was too late.”

Min Jun didn’t know what to say to this. To be honest, even though he had lived through that war and had thus watched as their king acceded to the throne, he knew little about their king’s past. He wasn’t the only one either. His life experience was a complete mystery to everyone, even those scholars who liked to poke their noses everywhere and had clamored quite a lot to write down every last detail about their king they could find. Their endeavors hadn’t amounted to much though and knowing what he knew now … he understood.

“Your Majesty has kept quiet about this all this time. You’ve been … deliberately vague, leaving these things out so nobody would notice. And you were an adult at the time.” He could understand being overwhelmed as a child. Even though he hated the demons, he wasn’t a monster either. He wouldn’t blame a child for their parents’ sins. Even a child with demon blood was no exception. But the day their king came of age, that kind of understanding couldn’t be deployed any longer. At that time, he was starting to deliberately deceive all of them, making them accept someone as king who … wasn’t really fit to fill that position. “All of this … just for the sake of the throne?”

Qiu Ling shook his head but didn’t speak for a moment. He understood what Min Jun meant but he wouldn’t pretend that it didn’t hurt. In the past, he hadn’t had many expectations. But after Jing He finding out and only worrying about his father, instead of questioning him, and then his advisers also taking it well when they were told, and even his mother-in-law accepting him without issue … it hurt to hear someone like Min Jun who had been with him for much longer than most of the others accuse him of this.

Min Jun closely watched his expression. He didn’t know what to feel but only felt uncomfortable watching Qiu Ling look at him this way. “Isn’t it?”

Qiu Ling could only sigh. He should have expected this. He couldn’t always be lucky. “Thinking back … did I seem especially intent to you to become king? That day, did I jump at the opportunity to fill that position? Is that the impression you had?”