My Choice: A War God vs A Fake Dragon Chapter 03
Chapter 3 A Crown Built On A Lie
Finished
In my eyes, no matter how badly my sister and I had always gotten along, Cassian had still been the true offender in this matter.
But her reaction told me everything.
She had known all along.
Tears rose helplessly to my eyes as I demanded, “Selene, have you lost your mind?”
Smack.
My sister slapped her phoenix hairpin down onto the table, impatience plain on her face. “So what if I have?”
I froze.
She sneered and said, “I’ll tell you the truth, then. As long as he remains the Crown Prince, and as long as I get to become Dragon Queen, I don’t care who my husband really is.”
Then her gaze sharpened. “As for you, just be a good little widow.”
She lifted her chin. “If you behave, then once I become Dragon Queen, I won’t treat you badly. But if you dare expose this, I won’t spare you.”
A wave of cold climbed up from the bottom of my heart.
Her words were almost identical to the ones Cassian had spoken in my previous life.
In the end, neither of them had spared me.
Voices drifted in from outside the chamber.
Cassian entered with the Dragon King and Dragon Queen close behind him.
The moment they saw me, all three paused.
Cassian frowned, and guilt flickered in his eyes before he covered it with irritation. “Mira, what are you doing here?”
The Dragon Queen spoke next, her tone dripping with contempt. “Shouldn’t you be keeping your new husband company? Why have you come crawling back to the Dragon Palace?”
Before I could answer, Selene leaned weakly against Cassian and squeezed out two perfect tears. “Mira didn’t mean any harm. She’s just overwhelmed by grief over losing her husband, so she…”
Cassian immediately wrapped an arm around her shoulders and looked at me with cold anger. “No one wanted to see my brother fall in battle. And yet instead of mourning him, you rushed into remarriage, and now you’ve come here to vent your bitterness on your sister.”
I looked him straight in the eye.
Then I smiled.
“Fine.”
Not revenge denied. Just revenge delayed.
The next day, Kael and I were invited to Cassian’s coronation ceremony.
Finished
He had taken my brother-in-law’s identity and, in the eyes of the Dragon King, now stood as the appointed/
heir.
Of course, he still had to endure the succession rite and gain the recognition of the God of the Dragon clan before the crown and inheritance could truly be his.
But to everyone present-and most of all to Cassian himself-that outcome already seemed certain.
He stood in brilliant silver armor, one arm around Selene, greeting the gathered nobles with undisguised triumph.
I watched him and could not help thinking back to my previous life.
Once, the Dragon King had asked Cassian whether he resented his brother for being chosen as Crown
Prince.
Back then, Cassian had answered without hesitation, “My brother is upright, kind, gifted, and stronger than I am. Since he is better suited to lead the Dragon clan, I accept it willingly.”
And yet everything he was doing now mocked that answer completely.
Het out a quiet, humorless breath.
What a masterful hypocrite.
And somehow, in my last life, I had loved him enough not to see it.
Soon, Cassian and Selene stopped before us.
His eyes flicked toward Kael, and a shadow of jealousy crossed them before he addressed me in a tone of performative concern. “Mira, I know you still care about Cassian in your heart. But since you were the one who insisted on remarrying, you should focus on living your life properly now.”
Before I could reply, Kael spoke with easy calm. “No need for Your Highness to concern yourself. Mira treats me very well.”
Warmth spread quietly through my chest.
I looked from Cassian to Selene, both of them smug and certain of themselves, and said, “Your Highness…” I let the title linger for a beat. “Are you absolutely sure you’ll make it through the succession rite today?”
Selene’s brows drew together at once. “What does that mean? Mira, are you actually trying to curse us?”
Cassian’s gaze darkened with fury.
But under the eyes of the whole court, all he could do was stop Selene from stepping forward and murmur
gently, “Why lower yourself to argue with her? Come. Let’s go.”
I said nothing more.
Instead, I leaned lightly against Kael and watched.
The ceremony began.
Finished
Cassian ascended the steps one by one until he stood before the Dragon King, his eyes fixed greedily on the crown that symbolized supreme authority.
Beside them, the High Priest lifted his hands and began to cast the ritual.
His voice rang through the hall. “We humbly beseech God to descend and grant succession.”
Thunder rolled across the sky.
Just as the Phoenix sovereign had to endure rebirth through flame, every ruler of the Dragon clan had to pass through heavenly lightning before receiving the throne.
If God approved, both ruler and consort would emerge unharmed.
Cassian stood upon the altar with Selene beside him, their hands clasped together.
Then the first bolt struck.
I saw it clearly.
The color drained from both their faces.
A second followed.
Then a third.
Selene coughed up blood and collapsed to her knees, unable to rise.
Cassian’s face turned deathly pale.
The Dragon King and Dragon Queen shot to their feet.
The clan below broke into whispers.
“When the previous Dragon King received the rite, it was nothing like this.”
“Could it be that God doesn’t recognize either of them?”
There were eighty-one bolts in total. Under God’s blessing, they should have been a gift.
Instead, they were becoming punishment.
By the time the tenth bolt fell, even Cassian had dropped to one knee.
In desperation, the Dragon King cast up a barrier of spiritual power to shield both him and Selene.
But the moment he intervened, the rite lost all meaning.
Silence spread through the crowd.
Every gaze turned toward Cassian and my sister, waiting for an explanation.
