The Devil's Cursed Witch novel Chapter 279

Aureus had a sumptuous meal inside the guest room, finding himself enjoying the food tailored to the taste of a shapeshifter like him. While he ate, Erlos used that time to befriend him, telling him about various facts about the people of Agartha. Listening to Erlos make idle talk about Agartha and its residents, the young eagle started to look forward to exploring the kingdom where his mother grew up.

"Would you like to stroll around the palace?" Erlos offered him after he finished his food.

"Sure!" Aureus agreed immediately as he didn't want to simply stay sitting inside the room.

At first, he was not expecting much, merely agreeing for the sake of having something to pass the time. However, the more he saw, the more impressed he became.

The Divine Eagle could not help but find himself awed by the sight around him. Elves, shapeshifters, fairies, and witches. The palace servants he saw along the way were all non-humans, and he could see some of them using their elemental magic on the simplest tasks, like dusting furniture or watering plants.

And the palace itself...

It wasn't that the building was more extravagant than the Royal Palace of Megaris--it was that the architecture of the palace itself spoke of a design so ancient, one couldn't find an intact building like it in any of the current human kingdoms. Not to mention, even the simplest items and articles littered around the palace boasted of great history hundreds if not thousands of years old.

The garden in particular was a work of art, a perfect representation of the beauty and wildness in nature, and Erlos took that chance to brag about it being the combined effort of the fairies and elves working in the palace.

"You say you come from a human kingdom called Megaris, right? Do they treat supernatural beings the same as before?" Erlos asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You ought to know. Witchhunts and the like?" Erlos said. "There is a reason why our kind chose to isolate ourselves from greedy humans."

"Can't say if it is the same because nobody is aware of my existence. Only the King of Megaris and his knight knows about my existence. People think I am an ordinary bird."

"Hmm! But the King of Megaris is a supernatural being. Does he hide the fact that he has magic?"

"No. In fact, many people have seen him use his powers."

Erlos was surprised. "How do they treat their king then? All I know is humans hate everything supernatural."

"They don't know the true form of the King, only that he is extraordinary and blessed by the Black Dragon--"

"Black Dragon? Wait, wait, stop. I think I misheard. You said Black Dragon?"

"You heard right. The Black Dragon is the god said to be protecting the Ivanov Royal Family."

"There is only one Black Dragon, and that is my king, King Draven Aramis. Do those humans worship our king as a god?" Erlos asked, his voice still thick with surprise. In his head, he could not help but imagine a statue of the cold-faced Draven clad in ceremonial robes while having priests burning incense for him. He shivered, but as for the reason why, nobody knew.

"They don't actually worship it outside of the temple, but it is used as a symbol of the power of the king. I don't know how it happened but maybe they must have heard something about the Black Dragon centuries ago..."

Erlos had a thoughtful look. "Hmm. That can be possible. Or maybe Sire visited that part of the continent in the early days? Maybe I should ask...oh well, for those humans to treat their king equal to the Black Dragon shows the might and authority of your king."

"I believe there is probably a more personal reason. Megaris is one of the oldest kingdoms on the continent. I don't think the founder of the Ivanov Royal Family would make it a symbol of the king if there wasn't a strong connection between the two."

"Maybe you are right. I hope we will get to know it." Erlos then changed the subject. "By the way, what race does the King of Megaris belong to? From what I heard, the scouts got scared of him. He ought to be a divine beast..."

"A Red Dragon, to be exact."

Erlos' eyes widened. He never expected that there would be another Dragon other than Draven Aramis. His curiosity peaked. "How was Dragon born in a human family? Wait, if it's only one of his parents, hmm, shouldn't that make him half-human?"