~Chapter 91~
“Think about it the other way. If I tried to gamble on something uncertain, wouldn’t you stop me?”
“….”
When I couldn’t answer, Calix tilted his chin as if to say, See?
If Calix were doing something reckless, of course I would stop him.
But wasn’t this situation different?
At last, I whispered in a small voice.
“I don’t want to live my whole life in fear.”
Sadness crossed Calix’s face.
“Rena.”
“I don’t want to be tormented by the dragon anymore. I’m sick of having strange dreams every single night.”
For weeks now, I had been dreaming every night, dreams I couldn’t even remember after waking. They only grew worse.
“That… I’ll find a way somehow—”
“What are you talking about? How could you?”
I didn’t mean to blame him for lacking power. I was only pointing out the limits between possible and impossible. But Calix looked hurt, as if I had criticized him.
“…I can’t live without you.”
His voice trembled—not persuasion, but a plea.
“I know.”
“I don’t even have anyone else to run to like you might.”
“You actually believed that nonsense?”
Calix stepped close and hugged me again. I murmured in his arms:
“It really won’t be dangerous. Even if the dragon is gone, the world’s mana won’t just disappear.”
“Someday it will.”
“That’ll be in the far future. Maybe after I die, much, much later.”
Calix took a deep breath, as if holding back rising emotions. Then he pulled back and looked down at me with determined eyes.
“Then promise me. You’ll only try it once—and if you even feel it’s wrong, you’ll stop right away.”
“Alright.”
“And when you try it, I’ll be right beside you.”
“Even if you don’t want me there, I’ll go with you.”
Hearing that seemed to ease him a little. Shoulders dropping, he muttered sadly,
“I knew the dragon would be a problem one day… but not like this.”
“You could’ve told me sooner, you know.”
“You weren’t by my side then. Sorry.”
He grumbled almost sulkily. This time, I had no reply. So I gave him words I knew he’d like.
“Don’t worry too much. I’m not planning to die before I see your diamond mine with my own eyes.”
As expected, Calix chuckled.
“Then I’ll never show you.”
“Fine, then cancel my promise.”
“No take-backs, my lady.”
Shiver—
Adrian felt a sudden chill run over him.
‘What was that?’
But when he turned, nothing was there. Awkwardly, the prince rubbed the back of his neck.
It was just nerves.
Prince Adrian had left the imperial palace and was now staying in a traveler’s city. He had arrived only yesterday.
But now that he was here, he didn’t know what to do next. His next steps were the real problem.
He couldn’t go to his mother’s side. The emperor would notice him instantly—and also figure out both the reason and the goal for why he was here.
Adrian had spent the entire night thinking.
He even tried sending a magic bird to Renia, the way they used to communicate. But she didn’t reply. She was deliberately avoiding him.
‘How insolent.’
When they met again, he would punish that arrogance at once.
But could he even find her?
His impatience made his whole body restless.
Compared to the others, he was at a huge disadvantage. Regiana Troxia, who knew the land better than anyone. Duke Hertio, with his strength. Prenia, who had decent magical skill. And his own mother, who wanted the dragon most of all.
Everyone was closing in on the dragon—except him.
If this went on, the dragon would be taken right before his eyes.
Adrian clenched his jaw.
At the very least, he had to stop his mother from getting the dragon.
If the day came when she removed all obstacles and claimed the dragon for herself, Adrian knew he wouldn’t survive it either.
That would be the worst possible outcome.
Back at the palace, once she realized her son had left during her absence, she would suspect him first.
Then, Adrian suddenly remembered the words Duke Hertio had once spoken:
“For the almighty dragon, even immortality is not an impossible dream.”
‘Is that really true?’
Could the dragon truly grant such a thing?
He knew his mother’s endless desire for the throne. Even after gaining it and making it hers, she craved more. She always wanted more, and grew restless if she couldn’t secure even what she already had.
Though Adrian was the emperor’s only trueborn son, he still hadn’t been named crown prince.
What did that mean?
It meant that even the thought of someone else—her own son—taking her place on the throne filled her with rage. To her, Adrian was not a son, but a usurper waiting to take her crown.
So from childhood, she had drilled one command into him: never to covet her throne.
But the more you forbid something, the more people want it.
The constant repression had only fed Adrian’s desire.
He knew it well. He was like his mother. Their natures couldn’t change. Both would live craving power and watching every shadow for threats.
One day, the throne would be his anyway. What was so wrong with taking it a little sooner?
But if his mother truly gained immortality—
‘That can’t be allowed.’
For this day, Adrian had even allied with a lowly maid. He would claim his reward.
Just then, one of his attendants approached.
“We’ve had reports of a suspicious woman in a nearby village.”
“Bring her in.”
The man returned with an old woman. Adrian didn’t even look at her as he asked,
“They say you saw a suspicious woman.”
The old woman looked nervously at the attendant. Only when he nodded did she bow toward Adrian.
“Yes… For several days, she stayed in our village inn.”
“She stayed?”
“Well, since the day before yesterday, she hasn’t been seen.”
“I wasn’t asking you.”
Adrian’s cold tone silenced the attendant. He turned back to the woman.
“Describe her appearance.”
“Her hair was black, and her eyes were brown.”
“What else?”
“She was quite pretty.”
The old woman spoke slowly, recalling.
It was a common description—but Adrian was sure. She was talking about Renia.
Yet…
‘She disappeared the day before yesterday?’
Adrian knew Renia. She wouldn’t stop until she achieved her goal.
There was only one place she could have gone.
The old Troxia lands—the place where the dragon slept.
“Did she leave anything behind?”
“The innkeeper said she hadn’t brought any luggage in the first place…”
The woman shook her head. Adrian gestured with his chin.
“That’s enough. You may go.”
His attendant led the woman away. Adrian watched without emotion as she left smiling, clutching the gold she’d been given.
“You all leave as well.”
When the room was finally empty, Adrian fell into thought.
There was only one reason Renia had suddenly left the palace and come here.
She must have found a way to seize the dragon.
‘Did she kill the Troxia girl?’
If so, Duke Hertio wouldn’t be this quiet.
He would find out soon enough.
In any case, Adrian’s path was clear. Before his mother arrived, he had to reach Troxia and take the dragon first.
Renia’s reckless move had forced him to adjust, but the end was the same.
She would open the door to the dragon for him.
Suddenly, that same chilling feeling crept up his neck again. Adrian snapped his head up.
The window—closed before—was now open.
He approached to shut it. Whoosh. A breeze blew in.
The next instant, a black shadow appeared, perched on the window frame as if it had always been there.
“Your Highness.”
The shadow spoke.
“Are you enjoying your little outing?”
Stepping down from the frame, the shadow changed shape—into a face Adrian knew well. Renia.
She approached with an amused look. Instinctively, Adrian stepped back from the window.
“I didn’t expect you to leave the palace yourself. You must be in quite a rush.”
“You dare…”
“Oh, sorry I didn’t contact you. Things were rather hectic.”
She looked twice as confident as usual. The shift in her attitude sent warning bells in Adrian’s mind.
Had she really killed Regiana Troxia? If so, the dragon might already be hers.
“Where have you been all this time, ignoring my messages?”
“Now that I’m here, isn’t that enough?”
“You insolent…”
Adrian’s displeasure showed openly. But Renia’s expression didn’t change at all.
