Grind-to-Cash System: Buy SSS Skills to Spam them Infinitely with Cash-Chapter 36- A hope

As their tears fell, Vex raised his hand, catching one of Maira’s droplets mid-air.

It landed in his palm like a whisper—and the moment it touched his skin, he stilled.

Warm. Familiar.

Not just a tear. Not just grief.

His golden eyes slowly lifted to her face.

Maira blinked, eyes misty, confused by the shift in his gaze. "What...?"

Vex said nothing. He simply looked at her.

No—he took her in.

Her lower lip trembled, a thin line of tears slipping down her cheek. Her eyes were wide, filled with pain, but the skin around them held faint lines—marks left behind by too many sleepless nights and too much pent-up pain.

She wasn’t fragile. Her body had strength in it. The kind built from struggle, not comfort.

Her blouse clung to her chest, the fabric slightly stretched by the weight of her breasts—round, full, moving gently with each shaky breath. Her waist narrowed before easing into soft, wide hips, the kind that came with age and quiet suffering.

She didn’t look like a woman in her 20s.

She looked like a mature woman.

Someone who had been through hell... and was still standing.

Beautiful. Raw. Real.

It stirred something in him.

He stepped closer, reaching out—not rushed, not hesitant, but drawn. His thumb brushed the tear trailing down her cheek, lingering on her skin longer than necessary.

"So that’s why..." he murmured to himself. "You’re okay near me." freewēbnoveℓ.com

Maira frowned slightly, her voice soft. "What?"

He didn’t answer.

But something shifted behind his eyes. An understanding. A recognition.

Then he turned to Asperia.

"How do I imprint her?"

The moment dropped like a stone.

"...What?" Asperia’s voice cracked, stunned.

She stared at him—and then at Maira.

She tilted her head, confused at first. But then, slowly, her expression began to shift as she pieced together his words—’why you’re okay near me’—and the fact that he emerged from that egg.

Her mouth parted.

And then trembled.

Her eyes widened in a jolt of realization.

Without hesitation, she stepped forward—grabbing his wrist with both hands.

Everyone stilled.

She shut her eyes, channeling her mana. It surged toward him like a ripple... and instantly hit something.

And bounced back.

Asperia’s eyes flew open.

That wasn’t natural.

Something in him... repelled her. Not violently, but primally. Like the body recognized something other.

She stumbled back with no support, her eyes widening.

"Hey—!" Vex caught her by the elbow as she stumbled from the feedback.

"What happened?" he asked.

Her breath shuddered.

She looked up into his face—really looked.

His pupils were no longer round.

They’d narrowed.

Slit, vertical.

Beneath the gold, something ancient stirred.

Her lips parted, barely a whisper escaping.

"...Are you a dragon?"

Vex blinked slowly, as if the question hadn’t caught him off guard—but rather, amused him.

His head tilted slightly.

Then, with a lazy grin tugging at one corner of his lips, he replied, "Kinda, yeah."

Silence crashed down like thunder.

Asperia’s breath caught. Her pupils shrank. Her lips parted slightly—but not to speak. No words came out. Only the faintest twitch of disbelief.

She hadn’t expected that.

A dragon?

Her body stilled, her jaw tightening as if holding back a thousand questions. Her mouth opened—but closed again, the muscles in her face betraying an internal war between reason and shock.

Finally, her voice strained but measured, she asked, "Are you... half-breed too?"

The way she said it—it wasn’t cruel, but hesitant. Tense.

As if the very word had been baked into her from birth.

A word laced with centuries of quiet judgment and whispered prejudice. Royal upbringing had taught her who was considered "lesser."

Vex let out a dry laugh, low and raw. "Why does that even matter?" His eyes sparkled—not with anger, but with something deeper. "Isn’t it us who matter, my dear princess?"

For a moment, the world held its breath.

Asperia’s gaze faltered.

Those words—so simple, yet they hit like a stone in her chest.

Her throat tightened, and she turned her head slightly, as if trying to hide the way her brows furrowed, the way guilt crept across her features.

That line... it stripped her clean. Revealed her silent bias.

She looked at Maira.

Then Mirea.

The two sisters hadn’t spoken yet, still frozen from the moment he said it—dragon.

Their eyes were wide, lips parted in disbelief.

Maira held her hand over her mouth at not only the revelation that Vex was a dragon, but just now the identity of the blonde-haired woman was revealed.

Mirea’s palm slammed against the ground, her voice bursting out in shock. "Wait—wait! Princess?!"

She stared at Asperia like she’d just seen a ghost.

"You’re a princess?!"

’Eh?’ Asperia blinked, caught off guard.

Maira’s gaze snapped to her as well, her eyes even wider now. "What—what do you mean... princess?!"

The blonde-haired woman inhaled slowly, visibly gathering herself. And then... she lowered her head.

A soft bow.

"I apologize," Asperia said gently. "For my earlier reaction. I should not have let my birth or teachings cloud my view of who you are."

Her tone wasn’t stiff. It wasn’t rehearsed.

It was humble. Earnest.

The kind of apology you didn’t expect from royalty.

Vex watched her for a moment, then gave a soft snort. "Damn. You never apologized to me, though."

"Let me greet you all again," she replied softly, straightening her spine while ignoring Vex. She just made her nerve on the forehead twitch as if clearly making her want to give him a punch, but controlling herself, she held the hem of her simple dress. "I’m the fifth princess of the Excovian Empire."

Another wave of silence rolled over them.

Mirea’s mouth fell open again, her eyes flicking between Vex, Asperia, and her sister like the pieces didn’t fit anymore, then she just rubbed her forehead and took her seat, mumbling, "I just want some sleep now, haah...."

’!’

"Wait... didn’t you say a stronger dragon might help Maira?" Mirea suddenly sat upright, blinking hard. "And you—" she turned to Vex, "—you said she calms down near you?"

Her eyes widened as she realized there was a way to heal her sister.

"That... that’s real, isn’t it?"