[Special Chapter – For My Loyal Readers]
Thank you for your love, support, and collection!
Because of you, I'm uploading this special chapter.
Let's keep walking this journey together!
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In Zoo Entrance.
She held my hand.
Erza on my right, Elena on my left—we were walking like some perfect picture of a family out of a magazine.
Except my hand was sweating buckets, my heart was running a marathon, and I was 90% sure I looked like I was being kidnapped.
Her hand was too soft. Like, dangerously soft. Like, "am I falling in love or having a panic attack?" soft.
Meanwhile, Erza was just walking like it was Tuesday.
Why is she like this?
I glanced around.
Something felt… weird. That prickly feeling on the back of my neck. Like someone was watching us. Judging us. Planning something evil, probably.
We reached the first enclosure. Or cage. Though "cage" felt wrong—it was more like a sunken pit with reinforced glass, where a giant crocodile lazed in the water like a scaly mafia boss.
Elena smacked the glass excitedly.
"Papa! That one looks so tasty! Can we eat it, please?!"
Every tourist within earshot just froze.
Someone gasped. A kid cried. A woman pulled out her phone to film us like we were zoo animals.
I smiled nervously. "Haha! Kids, right? Always joking about cannibalism and apex predators…"
"Elena," I whispered, "we don't say things like that in public."
"But it looks crunchy!" she pouted. "Is it not food?"
"No. Not every moving thing is food."
Elena tilted her head. "Are you sure?"
…I wasn't.
Meanwhile, Erza was glaring at the crocodile like she was challenging it to a duel. Arms crossed. Chin up. Dominance radiating.
The crocodile hissed and slapped its tail across the water.
Erza squinted.
"How dare this overgrown lizard challenge my authority."
"Hey, hey, relax," I grabbed her hand, dragging her away before she could dive in and start round one of Dragon Queen vs Swamp Puppy.
"Let's look at literally any other animal. Preferably one that doesn't make me fear for everyone's lives."
As we walked away, I couldn't shake that feeling again.
Someone was still spying on us.
We'd been walking around the zoo for a while now. Elena and Erza were like kids on a sugar high—well, technically one is a kid, and the other…
well, she could flatten a tank if she felt like it. But today? Today was about peace, animals, and pretending we were a totally normal family.
"Papa! Papa look! Monkey! It has butt!"
Elena pointed at the red-butted baboon like she just discovered fire.
I sighed, already feeling my brain cells packing their bags.
"Don't point, Elena. That monkey's got more pride than I do."
"But Papa, why is its butt red? Did someone spank it too much?"
I could hear a nearby couple snort-laugh. Great. We're a public comedy act now.
Erza, meanwhile, just folded her arms and whispered, "Primitive species… loud, but agile."
Next stop: tigers.
Elena gasped. "WAH! Papa, that cat is so BIG! Do you think it can eat me?"
I blinked. "Probably not. But if it did, I will protect you my princess."
My Papa is strong.
She pressed her hands against the glass, her little dragon tail swaying excitedly.
"Tiger-chan~ You wanna come home with us? We have snacks!"
The tiger looked over lazily like it knew it was being worshipped and accepted its role.
Then came the hippos. Oh dear Zani.
"PAPA LOOK! FAT WATER PIGGIES!"
"Elena, that's a—okay. Sure. Fat water piggies."
"They so thicc! Can I ride one? Please?! I'll give it my cookie!"
A nearby zookeeper was eyeing us now like he was preparing an emergency dart gun.
"Elena, sweetie, we don't ride hippos. They're very dangerous."
"But I'm a dragon! I can beat one in sumo!"
She puffed her cheeks and stomped her little foot, which sent a crack through the pavement.
Yeah. That's my daughter.
Erza simply smiled, proud. "She's adapting well."
"I don't know if 'adapting' is the right word. I think she's domestically terrorizing us."
"Papa! Let's see the lions!" Elena chirped, tugging my hand with sparkling eyes.
"Sure, princess," I smiled—until I noticed her.
Erza wasn't moving.
She stood still like a statue carved from rage. Her fists were clenched, her back rigid. The air around her crackled, warping faintly as her aura leaked—hot and heavy like thunderclouds before a storm.
"Elena," I whispered, pushing her slightly behind me, "stay here."
Her eyes—normally a calm amber—were glowing a deep, blood-red. Her lips curled, revealing sharp canines, and her hand… her hand was halfway to a claw. I'd seen her angry before, but this wasn't anger.
This was hatred.
"Erza…?" I took a step closer.
She didn't even glance at me. Her gaze was locked across the fence, straight at the animal in the enclosure—a massive, old bear with a thick coat and a chilling, X-shaped scar slashed across its chest. she mistook Bear with something else monster.
"That… thing," she growled, "he's still alive…"
My heart skipped. "What?"
"When I was a child," her voice trembled—not with fear, but fury, "tiny wings… barely the size of my arms… I was lost. And that bastard… the Garo-Horn Bear, he chased me for days. I bled, I ran, I screamed—alone."
Dark clouds began to swirl above us. Not metaphorically—real, dense clouds appeared out of nowhere. Lightning licked the sky. Erza's aura was spiraling out of control.
"Elena," I heard her tiny voice, "Mommy's scary… I-I'm scared."
She was crying.
And it hit me then—this wasn't just about Erza. If someone saw this, if anyone realized what she really was… they'd dissect her. Experiment. Destroy her. And Elena… she's just a kid. A dragon kid.
I stepped toward Erza.
"Erza. Snap out of it—please!"
Her claws fully formed. That bear stood up, sensing the threat. They were seconds away from a real battle.
I had to stop her.
But how?
How??
How Can ??
Suddenly—
Flashback –
Church Orphanage
I was small again, alone in that cold orphanage room, tears soaking my pillow.
Outside, I heard the whispers:
"Yuuta got rejected again… poor child," Why no one want him to adopt him, he is already 10 year old now who gonna adopt him.
Sister Lena murmured.
I cried more, my most of the friend were adopted but no one approach to me nor show me any type of love.
Then, soft footsteps. The door creaked open, and Sister Mary was there.
Without a word, she knelt beside me, pulling me into her arms. The warmth of her embrace was everything.
"Don't cry, Yuuta," she whispered, her voice trembling. "We're here for you. Always."
She kissed my cheek, soft as a promise.
"One day, someone will love you, just as you deserve." then you have to protect her.
Sanp out.!
Now I understood what I had to do.
"Thank you, Sister Mary... If I don't act now, I'll lose the only family I've ever truly loved."
I knelt down to Elena, brushing her hair gently.
"Stay here, sweetheart. Papa's going to bring Mama back, okay?"
She nodded, though her eyes were full of worry.
I turned and walked toward Erza—toward the storm. The dark clouds swirling above the zoo were nothing compared to the chaos in her heart.
Her eyes glowed red, her teeth sharpened, her body trembling with a rage buried for too long.
But I didn't flinch.
I wrapped my arms around her, slowly, firmly.
My hands rested against her back as I whispered near her ear.
"It's over, Erza. That nightmare… it's not today. You're not that scared little girl in the jungle anymore."
I felt her body stiffen, her breath hitch.
"You're stronger now. You have wings that can carry others. And you're not alone. I'm here. I've always been here… and I always will be."
Her claws retracted. The storm faded. Her body trembled, but for a different reason now.
Her face buried into my chest. Her voice, soft as a breath:
"Why is it… that even after knowing me for just a little while, you always say exactly what I need to hear…?""
Tears ran down her cheeks.
I gently kissed her forehead.
"Because I knew—since I'm your husband."
In that moment, time paused. Even the zoo fell silent—as if the world itself wanted to give her peace.
She slowly pulled back and wiped her tears.
Then, with that old fire in her eyes and a blush creeping up her face, she muttered:
"Idiot…
Erza murmured, voice back to its usual coldness:
"I know. I don't need a mortal bug to remind me how strong I am."
I chuckled.
"There she is… my cold-blooded fire queen."
"Papa! Mama kissed!" Elena shouted with both hands in the air like it was a wrestling victory.
Heads turned.
Tourists blinked.
One old man leaned to his friend.
"Did you see that? He kissed her in public! Kids these days got guts!"
Erza's face went redder than her dragon aura.
I awkwardly looked around, then grabbed her hand.
"Okay! Time to leave! Before someone posts this on ZooLiveStream."
She didn't say a word—just let me drag her away with her head down, steam practically rising from her ears.
Elena chased behind us, laughing like the little chaos gremlin she was.
But as we disappeared around the corner, I felt it—
Someone was still watching.
Not with awe. Not with wonder.
But with eyes burning in quiet, bitter
jealousy.
—End of Chapter—
[Loyal Readers Special Scene – Elena's Bonus Corner]
Elena: "Papa! Look! Elena got twenty collection today! Yaha! Elena is happy!"
She jumped up and down, waving the screen in my face with sparkly eyes and a proud puffed chest like she'd just saved the world.
I caught her mid-jump and spun her once before laughing.
"Good for you, Elena. Didn't I tell you? People love you. Of course they'd give you collections."
She giggled, clinging to my neck.
"Then Elena will collect more and more and more!"
"By the way… thank you for your collection," I said, looking at you—the one reading this.
That's why today, I uploaded this special chapter.
Just a little gift. From us, to you.
Elena: "Come back next time! Elena will be waiting with more sparkles!"