As usual, I was having a weird dream.
"No, baby, wait… that's not the right thing, yes, yes, suck it with mayonnaise! That's the way. That's how you eat chicken!"
Yeah. No idea what that was about. But it felt right.
Then I felt something warm and scaly on my face.
Soft. Tiny. Breathing.
"Huh? My dog?"
Wait… I don't have a dog.
I don't even like pets.
My eyes shot open, and I instinctively grabbed at whatever was on my face. It felt... weird. Long. Scaly. Kinda squishy, but strong. Like a—
"LIZARD! A FREAKING LIZARD IN MY BED!"
I flung it across the room, my survival instincts kicking in. Scrambling for the light, I flicked it on, heart pounding.
But what I saw…
Wasn't a lizard.
It was a girl. A tiny girl. No older than Four. Sitting on the floor, pouting, rubbing her eyes. She had tiny horns poking through her silver hair. Little wings. A twitchy tail.
Straight out of a fantasy novel.
I blinked.
"Okay… okay, maybe I've been studying too hard. Yeah. That's it. Need some sleep. This is a stress hallucination or something. If I keep going like this, I'll start seeing—"
"Then a low, irritated voice cut through my mental breakdown.
"You Disgusting Mortal."
I whipped my head around.
There, standing in my Bedroom doorway like a storm about to unleash, was a woman. Arms crossed, eyes cold, wrapped in a White dress with golden flowering stripes like some sort of Chinese imperial empress caught off guard. She had long, flowing silver hair, sharp features, and a look that said, "Bow or perish."
"She's your child," she declared, her voice dripping with disdain.
"...Huh, My child..?"
She sighed, rubbing her temples like this whole situation was a chore. "Of course she's our child, You Disgusting Human."
"'Our'… what?"
I blinked at her, confused. "Wait—who are you? How did you even get into my house? Is this some kind of prank?"
My voice cracked.
My heartbeat spiked.
Everything inside me screamed that this situation was way, way above my panic limit.
The woman just stared at me… then sighed, long and tired, like she had run out of vocabulary to deal with idiots.
Meanwhile I was freaking out so hard my soul nearly left my body.
Then something clicked in my brain.
A stupid, dangerous idea.
"No," I said, pointing dramatically. "I'm not falling for this."
She narrowed her eyes. "Falling for what, exactly?"
"I've seen this drama trope!" I announced proudly.
Pause.
"You're one of those single moms trying to trick innocent guys like me into marriage so I pay child support!"
WHACK!
Her fist hit my skull like a meteor.
I flew.
I fell.
I met the floor.
Violently.
"Moron," she said coldly, towering over me, "why would I need your money when I have an entire FUCKING KINGDOM IN MY HAND.?"
A kingdom?
What the hell kind of gold-digger backstory was that?
She rubbed her temples, exasperated.
"Oh gods… why did I get bound to you that night? Why did I drink that cursed alcohol? And why—of all being—did I end up sleeping with human?"
Her words hit harder than her fist.
Pain.
Sharp, real, brutally honest pain.
Not just from the punch—
but from the revelation.
"Ow…" I groaned, rolling onto my side. "That… that punch felt too real…"
Wait.
My eyes widened.
Too real.
No dream punch would hurt this much.
"This is real?" I whispered.
The pain in my skull throbbed again—confirming everything.
"Yes," she said flatly. "Unfortunately for both of us."
I slowly pushed myself up, clutching my head.
"No, no, no, no… that can't be right…"
But the truth was already sinking in.
This wasn't a dream.
And whoever this woman was—
she knew me.
I glanced around the room. The lights were on now. My posters were still crooked. My desk still had that untouched cup noodle from two nights ago. The usual mess.
But also…
A literal dragon child sitting on my bed.
And a very tall, very annoyed woman glaring down at me with arms folded, horns curling back over her snow-white hair like some high-class anime villainess.
Okay, so maybe not that usual.
I squinted at her. "...What are you doing in my apartment? And who the hell are you people?!"
She rolled her eyes like she couldn't believe she had to explain. "Tch. She's your child. I'm your wife. Try to keep up."
I froze.
Completely.
My mouth opened. Nothing came out.
A beat passed.
Then I clutched both sides of my head and sank into a full squat, rocking like my soul had left the building.
"No, no, no, no, NO. This is a prank.
This has to be a prank. Hidden cameras? Reality show? Am I being Punk'd? Is Ashton Kutcher still alive?!"
"Papa?"
I blinked.
That voice.
Soft. Fragile. Too sweet for this hellish world.
I turned my head slowly—and there she was. The little dragon girl.
Standing beside me now, eyes full of worry, little clawed hands clutching my sleeve.
"Papa, are you okay?"
My brain just…
Shut off.
My heart?
That thing exploded. Disintegrated into rainbow dust.
I had to stop myself from hugging her into another dimension.
"Ahhh… she talks. And it's adorable. I'm dying. This is how I die."
"I-Is Papa sick…?"
Her wings drooped.
"NO! No, no—Papa is okay!" I said quickly, holding up a thumb with trembling confidence.
"Your Papa is a strong man, you see! Mentally stable! Emotionally grounded! Possibly hallucinating, but still hanging on!"
The woman behind me groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You're an idiot," she muttered.
I turned to her, a thousand questions racing through my head, each one more panicked than the last.
Wait a second.
"Okay, okay, hold up! This is a scam, right? A setup! There's no way! I've never even... I haven't even had a girlfriend! I'm still a virgin! How the hell do I have a four-year-old child when I'm only twenty?!"
?!"
The woman rolled her eyes like I was the dumbest creature in the room—and considering my daughter just tried to eat a pillow, that was rude.
"Ugh," she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. "What cosmic mistake did I make to end up marrying you? My pride… my dignity… The Dragon Queen, reduced to this… dumbo."
Frost gathered in her palm—clean, sharp, deadly.
"It's better if I kill you and become a widow. At least then I can live in peace and salvage my legacy."
I froze.
My mouth snapped shut on instinct.
Even my breathing stopped.
My soul left my body.
This can't be real.
Dragons don't exist.
Queens don't appear in your apartment.
This isn't a manga.
This isn't some isekai dream.
This is a nightmare.
A very, very bad, please-let-me-wake-up nightmare.
She flicked her wrist.
A spear of ice shot toward me—fast, merciless, impossible to dodge.
For a split second, I saw death.
I didn't think.
My body moved on its own.
Glass exploded behind me as I dove through the small bedroom window.
The shock rang in my ears. Cold air whipped across my back.
But she didn't give me a moment.
Her hand clamped around my throat before I could inhale, lifting me off the floor effortlessly.
"Killing you," she said, voice calm in a terrifying way, "would be easier than enduring a lifetime with you."
My fingers clawed weakly at her grip.
I could barely speak.
"At… least tell me… what sin I committed… before I die…" I croaked, tears blurring my vision.
One of them slipped down my cheek.
With it, my contact lens fell—rolling across the floor.
Her eyes widened.
Because she saw what I never wanted anyone to see.
My real eyes.
Crimson.
Glowing faintly under the light.
Her grip vanished instantly.
I crashed to the ground, coughing.
"Ow…" I muttered, rubbing my neck.
She stepped back, staring at me with something I hadn't seen in her yet—fear.
"Who… are you?" she whispered. "Are you the son of Disaster?"
"Son of… what?" I managed.
But before she could say more—
Suddenly—
Knock, knock, knock.
I froze.
The door.
I turned slowly. The door. Someone was at the door.
I shuffled over in a daze and cracked it open just a little.
Standing outside: Ms. Kano, my nosy, sweet-but-meddling, definitely-always-listening neighbor. Holding a tray of rice crackers like a weapon of peace.
"…I heard something. Everything alright, dear?"
Before I could mumble out a lie—
"Papa~! Someone's here!"
The little girl zipped past me and pulled the door wide open.
I lunged. "WAIT—!"
Too late.
Ms. Kano blinked down at the child who now stood proudly in the doorway.
"…Oh," she said slowly. "I didn't know you had a Younger sister here."
"I—I don't—!" I stammered.
I slammed the door shut.
Locked it.
Pressed my back against it and slid down like I was in a soap opera.
"No way… No way. How is this happening to me?"
My voice cracked as I clutched my hair, drowning in panic.
Then—
Tap.
I looked up.
The door creaked open again.
What—?! I locked it!
Ms. Kano was holding the door with one hand, effortlessly pushing it back open with the calm fury of a retired teacher who'd seen too much.
She glanced down at the girl. "Child, we need to talk."
"E-eh?" I stammered from the floor.
Then—
Click. Click.
The sound of heels. Sharp, regal.
Behind me, Ms. Kano saw stood a tall, drop-dead gorgeous woman—mature, elegant, with silver hair cascading down her back and sharp violet eyes that screamed danger.
She radiated queen energy.
Ms. Kano turned to me. "And who… is this?"
The girl beamed and pointed. "That's Mama! She's my mama! And he's my papa!"
Ms. Kano didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
I watched her soul leave her body.
"You're… married?" she whispered.
"WHAT—NO—I'M NOT—THIS IS A KIDNAPPING—I MEAN—I'M THE ONE BEING KIDNAPPED—!"
I slammed the door.
________
(Few moments later..)
I sat curled in the corner of my room, my back pressed against the cold wall, trying to calm the violent trembling in my legs. The terror refused to leave my chest. A real dragon—an actual monster out of forgotten myths—was inside my home. And she had come within seconds of killing me.
I wasn't ready to die.
Not before I found out what happened to my mother.
Not before I even understood why my life had been so cursed from the beginning.
A small voice cut through the suffocating silence.
"Mama… is Papa sick?"
Elena stood in the doorway, her tiny hands gripping the edge of the wall. The worry in her eyes felt too pure for this nightmarish scene.
Erza knelt beside her daughter and gently brushed her silver hair away from her face. For a moment, her expression softened—so quietly, so naturally that it almost felt unreal.
"No, sweet one," she whispered. "Your papa is just… overwhelmed. Mama will take care of him."
Elena nodded firmly, accepting her mother's words as absolute truth.
Then Erza rose and turned toward me.
The warmth vanished instantly.
Her voice returned to the cold, heavy tone that made my bones stiffen.
"You… How can you be afraid of a little ice magic?" she asked, stepping closer. "I held back ninety percent of my strength. You weren't in danger."
I swallowed hard, my breath shaky.
"I'm human," I said, my voice breaking. "A normal human. What did you expect? That I would block an ice spear that shattered a window like it was nothing?"
My eyes burned—the crimson glow flickering again, uncontrolled, responding to fear.
Her gaze sharpened.
"I still don't understand," she muttered. "How a creature this weak could have possibly impregnated me. You are the most fragile being I have ever encountered."
Her words froze me.
Not because of the insult.
But because of what she implied.
For the first time since she arrived, the trembling in my hands paused.
"I'm not your husband," I said quietly, my voice strained. "And I don't understand any of this. How did I… how could I impregnate you? What is Atlantis? Why are you calling me that?"
I forced myself to look up at her.
"Nothing you're saying makes sense."
"You, mortal." Her eyes narrowed like twin amethysts of judgment. "Let me explain how you're not a virgin, and why this child is yours. Listen carefully."
I looked up at her with trembling eyes. "I-I'm listening…"
She folded her arms, dramatic as ever. "It happened a year ago. I was resting peacefully in my royal chamber. After my coronation party. I may have been… slightly intoxicated." She coughed, clearly trying to downplay it.
"And *you* appeared. Out of thin air. Like some awkward human raccoon."
"What?!"
"Yes. You were mumbling something like 'Best dream ever' and then—bam! You crawled into my bed, made dragon history for three straight hours, and passed out with a stupid grin."
I blinked.
My brain connected the dots in slow motion.
"…Wait. That was you? The girl from my dream? I thought I made you up after watching too much fantasy anime!"
Erza tossed her hair. "I *am* that girl. Except it wasn't a dream, you reality-challenged fool. After you disappeared, I laid two Egg. My kingdom freaked out.
There were rumors. Scandals. Tabloids. I had to find the father. You."
I stared at her like I was watching a horror movie in 4K.
"So… so you came here to… bring me back?"
"I came here to collect my runaway husband," she said, voice low and royal. "I'm the Queen of the White Dragon Kingdom. I have a reputation to uphold."
My soul was already halfway to heaven.
"W–wait… does this mean I…?"
My voice trembled before I could steady it. A cold, sick weight formed in my stomach.
"Did I… force myself on you? I… I thought it was only a dream. I never meant—"
Erza didn't speak at first.
She simply watched me, icy eyes unblinking, as if measuring the truth in my fear. The silence between us grew sharp—sharp enough to cut through my chest.
When she finally moved, it wasn't anger that crossed her expression.
It was disappointment… and something darker hidden beneath.
"I see," she murmured, her voice quiet but colder than any winter.
"So you truly have no understanding of what you've done."
My throat tightened.
"I–I'm sorry. I didn't know. Tell me… what do you want me to do now?"
Her answer came without hesitation.
The air behind her shimmered. A sudden crack echoed through the room—
A chain of solid ice shot forward, coiling around my neck.
The touch of it was brutal—biting, freezing, absolute.
My body stiffened. Every instinct screamed, but I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe right.
Erza stepped closer.
Her presence felt overwhelming, ancient, and merciless. A force that belonged to a world far beyond my own.
"You will come with me," she said.
"To my kingdom. There, your actions—and your existence—will be judged."
A cold pulse traveled through the chain, locking deeper into my skin.
My heartbeat hammered painfully against my ribs.
"Please…" I whispered, barely holding my voice steady.
"I don't belong in your world. I don't even understand what I've done."
Her gaze softened for only a fraction of a second—almost human—before turning hard again.
"Understanding does not erase the consequences," she said quietly.
"And your fate is no longer in your hands."
The floor beneath us began to glow with a pale, ancient light.
And for the first time in my life, I felt truly powerless.
Truly afraid.
To be continue....
[End of chapter].
Author's Note
Hello everyone, thank you for giving my novel a chance.
I want to share something honestly with you.
The story, the characters, and the plot are all completely mine—I created everything from my own imagination. However, since English is not my first language (actually, it's my fourth!), I sometimes use AI tools for small assistance in grammar or polishing sentences.
This doesn't change the heart of the story at all. Every emotion, every twist, every piece of worldbuilding comes from me. I simply use tools to make sure the reading experience is smoother and easier for you.
I hope you'll enjoy the journey, and thank you so much for supporting my work—it truly means a lot to me.