Aise became aware that he was awake. He considered opening his eyes until he felt the soft hair covering his face. He moved in closer and could tell by the scent that it was Chalia, still sleeping, curled up with him.

He pulled her back against him a little tighter when he heard someone clear their throat behind him. He twitched his wings and turned his head, seeing Lazuli staring at him, a slightly less than pleased look on her face.

"Hey, Laz," He whispered.

She glared, "Don't you 'hey, Laz' me, buster. You fucked Chalia last night, didn't you? It was promised that you and I would have our first time together."

Aise chuckled, "No, I didn't fuck her. There was a lot of oral between Chalia, Ty, and I, but that was it."

Lazuli's expression softened, "Oh."

"Laz, jealousy doesn't become you, love. Trust that I wouldn't do anything to hurt you, alright? I love all of you. And just as I share you with Traza, I need to be shared with the others as well. But..."

Aise extricated himself from Chalia slowly, so as to not wake her, speaking as he made his way to Laz, "Trust me that any promises made will be kept. I promised you that we'd lose our virginity together. My cock will find no other pussy until after it's been yours."

Laz smirked as she kissed him, "How can you say something so vulgar and make it sound so romantic..."

Aise looked into her eyes, "That's the power of love, my dear."

She caressed his cheek, "So... Shall we?"

Aise kissed her forehead, "I would, but I think the others are going to be waking up here soon."

Traza sighed and rolled over, "Too late, I'm already up."

Sey grumbled and sat up, "Same."

Chalia rolled over, rolling herself into a tight bundle of naked legs and poofy warm blankets, "Too cold to get up."

Ty yawned, "Yeah, we dragons are a cold-blooded lot..."

Aise scoffed, "Perhaps the southern dragons. Northern breeds like you are just lazy."

Lazuli huffed, "It was worth a shot. Well, what's the plan for today, then, love?"

Aise shrugged, "We can go over that at breakfast. For now, let's just work out way down there."

As Sey made his way out of bed, he grumbled, "The castle had better give us each our own room... Sometimes privacy is nice... Or maybe some of us want time alone with our emperor..." He looked meaningfully between Laz and Aise as he stumbled his way out to the hall and over to the bathroom.

Ty looked over, "Hey, what's the deal with Sey?"

Aise glanced over with a shrug, "Nothing. He's just grumpy. Wolfclan tends to like sleeping in."

"Obviously, I'm the exception," Laz stood and followed her brother.

Aise cocked his eyebrow at her, "Oh, are you now? And here I thought you went to bed early so you could wake up before me today..."

Laz blushed as she left the room, knowing Aise had figured her out precisely.

***

Before long, everyone met up in the dining room. Aise smiled at Kelleece, "Sounded like you two had quite the night, eh?"

Cerrei spoke before her wife could, "Like you're one to talk. We heard you gave Chalia quite the orgasm last night."

Chalia blushed as she realized that had heard. Aise shrugged, "It was an interesting night, yes."

Sey looked between Aise and Kelleece, "So... what now?"

Kelleece stood and stretched, "Well, Aise will be leaving to finish what we started. He'll be taking Tyvan with him to the various forts and border crossings so he can finish wiping out the army. Meanwhile, the rest of you will be staying here with Cerrei and I to make sure the castle is built properly and to keep an eye on things."

Aise looked around, "Each of you has something you specialize in. You handle matters in your specialty. I'm the ultimate power in this country, but each of you is better in a specific area than I am. Divide responsibility."

They each nodded, before taking a plate and dishing breakfast.

As they sat, eating, Traza spoke, "I'm not an expert, but shouldn't we introduce him to the empire?"

Aise shook his head, "Not yet. I'm the emperor in theory, but we can't lay claim until we have the acceptance of the people. Until then, it's too touchy. It's like candy on a table. There are others around, and even if you're the one who put it there, if they want it as well, you can't take it without a fight. I have to show them that either they don't want it, that I'm the better option for it, or take the fight from them before taking the candy."

Traza nodded in understanding. Laz spoke up, "But if we don't claim it soon, someone else will."

Cerrei joined the conversation, "That's where my boy shines. If they do, HE will be the one to start the fight. But he'll be more focused on finishing the fight than keeping his title."

Aise nodded, "Exactly. This is a delicate time. If we move too slow, someone else will beat us to the punch. If we move too fast, we'll initiate a true war that could decimate the country."

"Who would put up the fight? I thought we killed all the nobles. And emperor Whats-His-Fuck was too young to have kids, so who are we concerned about?" Sey asked.

Kelleece met his gaze, "The castle didn't have EVERY noble in it. Just most. By my estimation, there should've been no more than half the nobles in the kingdom, if they were smart."

Aise bobbed his head in agreement, "Point is, we don't know who they are, but if they oppose us, it could be big trouble. That's why Ty and I will also be visiting the villages and any noble estate we see. we lay claim one by one. Those who fight, die. Those who accept and bow serve."

Tyvan grinned, "Oh, such a romantic soul. It's like my favorite date."

"Killing?" Laz asked.

Tyvan turned to her, "Extortion. 'Obey me or die.'"

Laz frowned, "I want an extortion date!"

Aise chuckled, "It's not a date, Laz. It's securing our foothold with noble backing. They each have more technical right to the throne than I do. So, I challenge them to single combat for the right to rule. Speaking of, it won't be an empire any longer. It'll be a kingdom."

"What's the difference?" Chalia asked.

"Simple, dear Chalia. An empire, the emperor rules with an iron fist. A kingdom, the king rules with the aid of others. Perhaps not technically, but I want to turn over a new leaf with this. Completely separate from the anti-dragon history of this nation."

Sey grew a sly smirk, "They've gone from slaying dragons to being ruled by one. I think a new system is definitely in order."

***

They finished their breakfast and Aise and Ty set off for the first fort, flying with haste. First up was the fort they had rescued Cerrei from, near the southern coast.

They kept a close eye around, searching for villages and large estates.

As the sun reached its peak, they saw the first - A massive estate surrounded by well-groomed lawns and sparse, maintained trees. Aise and Ty touched down just outside the front door.

"Any nobles present, make yourself known! If you do not, I'll shred this house!" Aise called out. He spoke to Ty from the corner of his mouth, "Fly around, make sure no one escapes the back or sides."

Ty nodded and took wing again, circling above the house. After a few minutes, A pudgy, red-faced man stepped out of the house and walked down towards Aise.

As soon as he saw the wings sprouting from Aise's back, he gasped, "You're a dragon!"

Aise smirked, "Indeed I am. But I see no dragon defenses here. I'm to be the new king of Gratia. Unless you wish to challenge me."

The man scoffed, "A dragon? The king? Suspect at best, my boy. It's well known I'm in line after-" Aise darted forward and cut him off with a sword through his throat.

"You're what? A stain on the history books?"

The man tried to gasp, instead choking as blood filled his lungs. He slumped over, dead. Aise called out, "Whose next? Or are you going to make me come in there? We dragons absolutely LOVE a good hunt, y'know!"

There was a whistle above. Aise looked and saw Ty pointing towards the back of the house. Aise held up his hands in the shape of a crown, before drawing a thumb across his throat. The message was clear to Tyvan: "If noble, kill."

The dragonnewt swooped down. Shortly after, Aise heard a loud thrum, followed by the collapse of rubble. He sighed, "Guess you guys don't have any brains, huh?"

Aise spread and beat his wings, lifting off the ground. He inhaled and prepared a breath when he saw a handful of people run from the house towards him. He released his breath and drifted down, "Who goes there?"

The group, made up of three older women and five small children stopped and looked in fear. One of the children cried out, "Why are you doing this?! You kill my daddy!"

Aise landed and walked forward, "You'll understand one day, your dad was a bad man. I'm not here to kill everyone. I'm here to rebuild this kingdom. I'm a dragon. My kind want to live too."

Another kid spoke up, "Dragons are evil!"

Aise smiled, "Oh, are we? Who says?"

The first kid spoke up, "My... My dad..."

Aise smiled and tousled the boy's hair, "I'm a dragon, but I promise you this: I'm not evil. I want to live just as much as any human. But this country, your father included, wanted to kill me simply because I'm a dragon. If you want, ladies, take the kids northwest to Pentaleven. Ty, there will accompany you. You're all welcome to join my nation. I'll address all concerns there in two weeks' time."

The ladies, still with fear plastered across their faces, bowed and quickly took off. Aise turned and watched them leave.

As Ty came down, Aise spoke to him, "Follow them to Pentaleven. Keep them safe, Ty. Meet up once they're within the town's walls."

Ty flew off after the group. Aise turned back to the house and beat his wings, lifting up. For a brief moment, he considered leaving and allowing the house to remain. What a foolish notion that was. If any other nobles were hiding, they'd seek support and be a thorn later.

He said a silent prayer of forgiveness for anyone still inside before he inhaled, held it, and expelled a great beam of fire, trailing it from one end of the rectangle to the other and back again. In the blink of an eye, the superheated stone cracked, then exploded, tearing the entire mansion to the ground. He watched as the remains crumbled under their own weight before he swooped and continued on his way.

He felt a grim weight on his heart - there were likely innocents still in the house. He grunted as he made peace that such sacrifices are required for reformation. To expect to win a war with no casualties is to lose. But to win with minimal civilian losses... That's the key.