Chapter 3

3

Merrick sneered coldly, wrapping an arm around Gemma as he shoved past me.

At dinner, Merrick pampered Gemma excessively, feeding her and dabbing her lips to put on a show of marital bliss.

Seeing this, Father's lingering doubts vanished, and his mood brightened.

In our past life, Merrick never once served me like this; in his twisted mind, I was lower than him and owed him servitude.

Now, he was just staging this performance to spite me.

He wasn't the only gold dragon in existence. If needed, I could just borrow some divine seed.

Borrowing seed! That was actually a brilliant idea.

No marriage, no baggage―just a golden dragon baby to crush Merrick's ego and fulfill my dream of being a mother.

The only problem was that most gold dragons in the realm were either senile or infants. Where could I find a young, potent one?

"You want to find a young gold dragon?!"

I slapped my hand over Clover's mouth. "Can you keep your voice down?"

Clover was a magical plant spirit and my closest non-dragon friend.

"Mmmph!" She struggled until I released her.

Lowering her voice, Clover whispered, "I actually know where a legendary gold dragon lives."

"Really?"

"Rumor has it that a supreme gold dragon lives in the Golden Basin of Mount Avalon. His power is beyond rare, and even our elders bow to him."

"Is he really that formidable?" I asked, half-doubting her usual exaggerations.

"Of course! Anyone who sees him is blinded by his divine glow. But since he entered Mount Avalon, he never came down, and no one can get in. It's a forbidden zone now."

I pondered for a moment. As a child, the elders had indeed warned us never to approach that mountain.

"How do you know more about dragon lore than I do?"

"I've lived for a thousand years, girl!" Clover rolled her eyes. "Why wouldn't I know?"

"So... hypothetically speaking, what if I borrow his seed?"

"What?!" Clover shrieked again, forcing me to cover her mouth a second time.

"Quiet! Someone might hear!"

"Are you insane? Mount Avalon is sealed off, and no one knows what's inside. You want to seduce a supreme gold dragon? You're asking to be shredded into dragon snacks!"

"How do I know if I don't try? What if I get lucky? I'll use some aphrodisiac incense, spend one passionate night with him, and he'll forget the whole thing by morning."

Clover stared at me, her mouth hanging open wide enough to swallow an egg.

I knew how to break the mountain's barrier.

In my past life, Merrick searched through thousands of forbidden scrolls to find a way into Mount Avalon, desperate for the Golden Avalon Herb to turn his scales permanently golden.

According to the scrolls, a sacred rock southwest of the mountain foot held the seal, which could be opened with high-tier dragon blood and a specific rune.

I remembered the rune perfectly.

Back then, Merrick used half a bowl of my blood to enter, but he returned empty-handed and gravely wounded, refusing to explain what happened.

"You've completely lost your mind," Clover said, waving her leaves frantically. "A supreme gold dragon will rip you apart if he catches you plotting on him."

"I'm an elite amber dragon, not some peasant," I protested.

"Are you truly serious about this?"

"Dead serious."

Clover sighed, plucking her tenderest core leaf and handing it to me. "Fine. Considering how well you fertilize my soil, take this. I'm actually a fertility herb spirit. Eat this, and you're guaranteed to conceive in one shot."

"So that's your real power? You always claimed eating you would grant eternal youth!"

I chuckled, taking the glowing green leaf.

"Don't mock me! Just come back alive, or who's going to water me?"

"Got it, got it," I waved and turned toward Mount Avalon.