Chapter 598: In Her Handwriting

Lucan carefully unrolled a fragile, yellowed vellum scroll preserved inside a lead cylinder from the lowest archive vault.

Lucan weighed the curling corners of the vellum beneath two clean brass weights so the child could read the charcoal script without touching it.

Unlike the pompous royal edicts written in gilded ink, this document was inscribed in delicate, flowing charcoal script.

The child stood on tiptoe beside the desk, her eyes widening as she gazed upon the faded handwriting.

"This is not a proclamation from the royal chancery," the scholar whispered reverently, examining the fiber with his magnifying lens.

"This text was written by the first dragon-daughter herself, penned in her own hand five hundred years ago."

"What does it say, scholar?" Ferra asked, leaning over the table while holding a fresh mug of morning coffee.

"It is a legal covenant of formal refusal," Hajin translated, his sovereign perception tracing the faded strokes of charcoal ink.

"She wrote this document on the eve of her departure from the royal palace, after she discovered the true cost of their dragon bloodline."

"She learned that the crown used dragon daughters as living conduits to extract life energy from provincial settlements."

"And the moment she understood that bloody truth... she laid down her coronet and walked out the gate!"

The girl reached out a small, trembling finger, touching the delicate charcoal strokes with profound, instinctive reverence.

"She refused to help them hurt people," the young girl murmured softly, her heart aching for her distant ancestor.

The young lord drew a chair beside the little girl, resting his hand gently upon the edge of the parchment.

"A shallow refusal is easy when you have nothing to lose, little one," the summoner explained with deep, steady wisdom.

"Anyone can say no when they are comfortable and safe."

"The ancestor’s refusal was magnificent for the reason that she said no after she understood the full, terrifying cost of her choice!"

"What did she give up when she walked away?" Vella asked softly, brushing a stray lock of hair from the girl’s forehead.

"She gave up silk gowns, palace banquets, royal guards, and an empire of wealth," Lucan answered, pointing to the marginal notations.

"She chose poverty, cold winters, and hiding in mountain villages rather than becoming an accomplice to slaughter."

"She knew she would die in obscurity, and she chose that path with open eyes."

The girl looked at the elegant handwriting, feeling a deep wave of warmth wash through her trembling chest.

"She was brave," the little dragon whispered, her eyes shining with fierce pride.

"She was the bravest daughter this kingdom ever produced," the young lord agreed, smiling warmly at her.

"And she wrote this covenant so her future daughters would know that freedom is always worth the price."

As the scholar smoothed out the bottom edge of the ancient vellum, his brow furrowed in sudden frustration.

"Three critical sections of this covenant were deliberately torn out of the manuscript!" the scholar announced, showing the jagged parchment edges.

"The royal censors excised three crucial truths before burying the scroll in the archive vault."

"What did the crown try to hide from the world?" Ferra demanded, crossing her arms with an indignant grunt.

"First missing piece: her True Name," the summoner answered, his celestial mana illuminating the severed fibers of the parchment.

"The crown erased her name so history would only remember her as an anonymous title, stripping away her individual humanity."

"Second missing piece: the Node Network," Lucan added, pointing to a severed geometric diagram in the margin.

"She established a secret network of hidden sanctuaries across the provinces where her descendants could live without royal surveillance."

"And third missing piece: her Death Memory," the young lord revealed, his voice darkening with solemn fury.

"The record of how she died resisting the tyrant King’s final demand for complete submission."

"The King could not break her spirit in life, so he tried to erase her defiance from the historical record!"

"They wanted future daughters to believe that obedience was the only possible future," the girl concluded with remarkable insight.

"Precisely," the summoner affirmed, nodding in deep respect.

"And we will restore every single word that tyrant tried to burn."

Lucan turned to the surviving legal codicil at the base of the parchment, his expression turning intensely grave.

"There is an ancient statutory clause embedded within this covenant that we must understand completely," the scholar warned.

"The royal law of the founding era established a horrifying precedent regarding bloodline claims."

"What does the clause state, scholar?" the smith asked, leaning closer with a grim scowl.

"The doctrine of Refusal-Failure Equals Ownership," Lucan recited, his finger tracing the archaic legal glyphs.

"If a descendant formally attempts to refuse the royal bloodline, but flinches, hesitates, or fails to uphold the refusal under pressure... the crown claims absolute legal ownership over their body and soul!"

"It is a legal trap designed by royal jurists," the young lord analyzed, his sovereign rings rotating with sharp, authority.

"The law treats a failed refusal as an admission that the individual lacks the sovereign will to exist outside the crown."

"If you waver for even a fraction of a second, the state declares you sovereign property forever."

The girl took a sharp, trembling breath, her little fingers tightening around the edge of the cedar table.

"So if I try to say no... but I get scared... they can take me away?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"They will never take you away!" he promised fiercely, looking directly into her wide eyes.

"That is why genuine refusal must hold fast after every cost is understood."

"We will never let you face that trial alone, and no tyrant will ever claim ownership over your life!"

The young lord placed his palm over the ancient parchment, channeling a gentle thread of celestial mana into the vellum.

The torn edges of the scroll ceased their decay, preserved permanently beneath a soothing ward of sovereign starlight.

"We will track down every missing piece," the summoner declared to the room, his voice filled with unshakable purpose.

"We will find her true name, map her hidden sanctuaries, and record her final victory over the tyrant King."

"Your ancestor did not run away in shame, little one... she laid the foundation for your freedom."

The little girl smiled through her tears, resting her small hand directly over his palm on the vellum.

"I am not afraid anymore, summoner," she confessed, her voice ringing with newfound clarity.

"When I look at her handwriting, I know who I want to be."

"I want to be someone who says no to bullies, just like she did."

Vella wrapped her arms around the girl’s shoulders, pressing a tender kiss against her braided hair.

"You already have her courage in your blood, little one," the healer whispered with overflowing maternal affection.

"And you have an entire army of brothers and sisters standing right beside you."

Ferra clapped her leather-clad hands together, a broad, triumphant grin spreading across her soot-stained cheeks.

"Then the plan is set!" the smith cheered.

"We honor the ancestor, smash the royal traps, and protect our little dragon’s freedom at all costs!"

High above the sunny provincial estate, the celestial stream broadcast flared with righteous fury and profound emotional support.

[ Seoul_Tactician: "The ancestor’s handwritten compact! Refusal after cost is understood... true sovereign philosophy!" ]

[ StarlightScholar: "Three missing pieces: True Name, Node Network, Death Memory! The crown’s cowardly redactions exposed!" ]

[ IronVanguard: "That vile clause: Refusal-Failure Equals Ownership! Disgusting royal jurists creating legal traps for children!" ]

[ HearthKeeper: "Master Hajin will never let them claim her! The child is protected by sovereign love!" ]

[ VoidWatcher_42: "Record unchanged! 74,435 credits, Hajin holds 630 million EXP, and fragment recovery stands at fifty percent!" ]

[ BattleMage_Jin: "Seven ordinary days are all she asked for! Seven limits of consent and the request for simple life!" ]

The young lord rolled the ancient parchment scroll with supreme reverence, securing it safely within a velvet-lined case.

"The status record holds steady across all metrics," the summoner reported to the team.

"Host experience remains at 630 million points toward the seventh ring, fragment recovery holds firm at fifty percent, and our credit reserves hold at seventy-four thousand four hundred thirty-five."

"We understand the rules of the battlefield, and we will not stumble into their legal snares."

Ahead lay the delicate question of full consent and the realities of living together as an authentic family.

The child folded the copied page into her blanket, then asked Vella whether they could eat together before reading any more.