The next morning, there was no room to breathe at the table. Children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren... The royal bloodline was expanding at a terrifying rate. Alexia and Draconite's son looked amusing: the skin on his arms and neck resembled a mosaic of tiny white plates in places, but he had no tail. The kid ran around the hall right alongside everyone else, not the least bit embarrassed by his scales.

  We ate in a tight circle. Three days remained until the wedding, and the castle rustled with preparations. Aya and Alastor looked unusually solemn, and little Tizor quickly hit it off with the other royal children—apparently, magic and fangs were the best VIP pass in this sandbox.

  The wedding day arrived suddenly.

  The celebration was moved to a massive field outside the city—no hall could have accommodated this sea of guests. Ryan and Yara sat on the main thrones. Radiant, young, almost blinding with their happiness.

  I sat at the "old friends" table. Aya and Alastor were granted the honor of sitting next to the King—two demonic monoliths amidst human pretentiousness. Everything went off without a hitch: speeches, toasts, music. I just observed. Honestly, I only came here for Yara. I didn't want her celebration to go by without my grumbling. And I hadn't prepared a gift for nothing.

  When the guests began to disperse and the dead of night set in, I found Yara. She was standing away from the noise, looking at the stars.

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  I walked up and held out a simple ring to her.

  "Here. My contribution to your dowry."

  Yara raised an eyebrow in surprise.

  "A ring, Greg? Sorry, but I'm kind of already married. A bit late with the proposal," she joked.

  "Just take it," I pressed the ring into her palm. "Clench your fist."

  I covered her hand with mine.

  "And now, remember your best, happiest day. The moment when you felt like you could embrace the whole world."

  Yara obediently closed her eyes. I felt the mana begin to flow into the metal. The ring under her fingers flared with a warm yellow light, which eventually faded into a soft blue.

  "Why did you think of something sad at the end?" I asked, letting go of her hand.

  "It's just... I realized I'll be seeing you all less often now," she answered quietly. "So what kind of artifact is this?"

  "When truly dark times come," I said seriously, "when it seems like there is no more light and there never will be—just pour your mana into this ring. You will feel the exact same emotions you just put into it. You'll remember what makes life worth living."

  Yara smiled, and her eyes glistened suspiciously.

  "Thank you, Greg. This... this is the best gift I've gotten today."

  I gave her a skeptical side-eye.

  "Yeah, sure. I'm the tenth person you've said that to today, I was eavesdropping specifically."

  Yara let out a ringing laugh, wiping away a tear.

  "Hey! Were you really keeping track of my thank-yous?"

  "Well, obviously. I was comparing the quality of my gift to the rest. Mine definitely won on the utility scale."

  She thanked me one more time, and I ambled off to my room. The celebration was over.