Legend of the Great Dragon Read Online Free Page B

respected that you wanted to take care of yourself on your own, but the opportunity to come here was always present. I don't want you to think you had been forgotten about in your time of pain.”
    â€œI never did,” he said quietly. It was the truth. He knew better than to make such an assumption. “I'm glad he respected that I wanted to be on my own. There were a lot of things I needed to learn, and it would have been too much to completely leave my home for here.” He looked up at the city around him. “It's beautiful here, and I'm eager to explore it for a while, but I'm not sure it could ever be my home.”
    The Lady Oceina continued to look up at him. “Where do you go then when you're not at your home?”
    â€œI camp in the wilderness a lot,” he explained. “I have a tent and other supplies I bring with me, and I live in freedom. Every couple of weeks I return to the cabin to maintain it, but since it's just me who lives there now, there is little to do in that department. A little bit of cleaning here and there. If I didn't move around a lot, I would be worse off. Hunting isn't as easy as it used to be. The people from the neighboring village have expanded their borders significantly. It'll only be a matter of time before they move into the valley where my home is.”
    She nodded as if she understood. “I would imagine it difficult to live in a home you shared with your family and have them no longer be there.”
    That was the biggest reason he didn't like staying at the cabin. She'd hit the nail on the head. “There's no point to staying anymore, but I have a hard time saying goodbye. My father built that home himself, and there are some things I want to keep from it too. At the same time , it's time to move on. I'm not sure where to move on to.”
    â€œYou could try reaching out to the rest of your family,” she said.
    Ichi shook his head. “No, I don't think that's a good idea. I wouldn't know where to look, first of all. My uncles from my father's side are probably all dead. I know little to nothing about my mother's family. From the stories I've heard, I'm not sure I want to get close to them.”
    â€œWhat story had you heard?”
    â€œThat my father was to marry another woman, but then he met my mom and would rather be with her instead. The union wasn't blessed by my grandfather, and my parents were disowned and fled because they were afraid my grandfather would retaliate. My mother said she had a sister, but they were enemies because of a great sin my mother committed against her. Apparently my aunt never got over whatever it was.”
    The Lady Oceina nodded with a slight smile. “Your father was betrothed to your mother's sister. Don't think of your mother poorly for that, however. Your aunt wanted to deceive him into loving her and it worked against her. They were identical twins, you see. I don't think they regretted the decision once. We never met, so I can't say anything from first-hand knowledge, but Darien spoke of them often. Your father was a lot happier away from his family than he ever was with them, or so he always said. He also spoke highly of his older brothers, so I was curious about if you would try to find them and your cousins.”
    Rubbing his arms slowly, Ichi took in all of her words. It was a lot of new information to process. His father had always said to never dwell on the past, and talking about it was a form of dwelling. At the same time, that seemed like an important story for him to know. It explained the bad blood between his family so much better than “I loved the wrong woman”. No wonder his mother always said that her marriage was always her favorite sin.
    With a sigh, Ichi risked a glance at the Lady Oceina again. “My cousins probably don't know I exist. I think it's best to keep it that way. Complicating things is never a good idea. Regardless of if my parents were on good terms