Chapter 61
Soldiers were swarming around the mansion. The atmosphere was far from good.
Well, it wasn’t her concern anyway.
Chel, being a dragon, had no reason to worry about the affairs of humans. Besides, this was the mansion of the so-called Dragon Lord who had emerged in this age for amusement. Instead of worrying about him, it was better to lament her own miserable state—dragging her tired, sleepy body all the way here.
Hmm. Entering quietly wasn’t going to work.
She could have used teleportation magic to enter the Cartel mansion right away, but she hadn’t. Out of courtesy. Courtesy to the dragon who had arrived first. That was also why Chel didn’t teleport Asha straight from Spicher Island to the mansion.
Suddenly appearing with overwhelming dragon energy would be discourteous to the one already present. Of course, entering an area claimed by another dragon was already problematic. But in a situation like this, at the very least, one should let their aura be sensed gradually from afar—that was etiquette toward the one who had arrived first.
I’m sorry, Lord. Those soldiers don’t look like they’ll let me through peacefully, so I have no choice.
By now, the Lord should have sensed her aura anyway, so teleportation would be acceptable.
Chel gently guided the flow of mana and recited the teleportation spell. In an instant, her surroundings shifted—from the view outside the mansion to its interior.
Her objective was simple: find Asha. All she needed was to confirm that Asha had met the Lord and was safe with him. Even a hatchling would be fine in the human world if she was by the Lord’s side.
What the—soldiers in the hallways too?
Chel slipped into the shadows, then cautiously moved down the corridor, avoiding their eyes.
Where did she go?
She couldn’t sense Asha’s aura inside the mansion. But that was fine. She could feel the Lord’s aura clearly. She only needed to see him, confirm that Asha was well, and return quickly to Spicher Island.
There.
Chel stopped before a room that radiated the Lord’s aura strongly. Several humans stood guard outside the door.
She hadn’t come officially, so trying to enter through that door would cause a commotion. With soldiers crawling all over the place already, noise was the last thing she wanted.
Twice in one day… teleportation magic again.
Gulp.
She swallowed nervously, throat dry, then set the precise coordinates and cast the teleportation spell once more.
The scenery changed to a room with walls covered in gray-toned wallpaper.
“……”
Why was there no reaction?
Cold sweat poured down Chel’s back. She had expected to be bombarded immediately with furious words like ‘How dare you—’ the moment she appeared.
But even with her sudden arrival, the presence in the room did not move. He remained seated, unchanged. There was no way the Lord hadn’t sensed her—yet no reaction came.
The silence was more terrifying than rage. Trembling, unable even to swallow anymore, Chel slowly approached the man sitting at the edge of the bed. She dropped to her knees and bowed her head.
“Lord, I—Cherpinebasis of the Green clan—have entered your domain, knowing it to be insolent. I humbly beg your forgiveness.”
Her body shook, but she steadied it and spoke in the human tongue. Even between dragons, draconic speech was to remain on Spicher Island. In the human world, while in polymorphed form, they were to use human language.
Still, no response came.
Why isn’t he saying anything?
Her clothes were already damp with sweat. How long was she supposed to stay like this? Finally, unable to endure it, Chel lifted her head.
What…? Why does he look so broken?
The Dragon Lord’s human guise—a black-haired man of striking looks—was in terrible condition. Instead of radiance, his face was filled with shadows, and his pitch-black eyes were dull and lifeless.
That alone was shocking, but what stunned Chel even more was his appearance itself—black hair and black eyes.
No way… even if he is the Lord, how could he do this? To openly reveal himself like this? If the gods find out, their wrath will be terrible…
“Um… Lord?”
He wasn’t asleep. Though blankly sitting, he was clearly staring right at her. His gaze seemed… empty, perhaps even weary.
“So, I really must be the Lord then.”
A cracked, feeble voice finally came after a long silence.
Wait—why is he using honorifics?
Chel shivered at the bizarre response.
“If you can appear without passing through the door, you cannot be human.”
“Lord…?”
“If you are truly a dragon, then I have a request.”
Chel blinked in disbelief. If I am truly a dragon? A request? Was the Lord playing some strange game out of boredom?
“Lady Shanelica is gravely injured. I am confined here and cannot leave. Please, go to her, tend to her, and heal her.”
“…What?”
Silence stretched between them. This didn’t feel like a joke. Chel had no idea where to even begin processing this absurd situation.
“W-wait. Lord, let’s go through this step by step. Shanelica? Who is that?”
“My fiancée—who believes herself to be a dragon.”
Chel’s brows furrowed.
“You mean the young woman with light pink hair and mint-colored eyes?”
“Yes.”
Chel’s face hardened. That was Asha. She must have taken on the human name Shanelica.
“What do you mean she’s injured? She was with you—how could she get hurt? And confinement? Lord, how can you possibly be sitting here quietly if you’re imprisoned? You could just leave! No, no, this doesn’t make sense at all. What in the world is happening here?”
Something was very wrong. Chel’s earlier confusion turned into pure dread.
“Lady Shanelica calls me Lord, and so do you. But I… I don’t know why you call me that.”
“…What?”
“Am I… truly the Lord?”
The words were spoken weakly, yet their impact was overwhelming. Chel felt her entire human form harden, as if turned to stone.
Emergency. A crisis beyond anything she had imagined.
“Why did you do that!”
In the middle of the night, at the entrance of a hidden passage in the dungeons of the Campton Kingdom, Lydia hissed in anger.
“You never said you’d hurt Shanel! You only said you wanted to get closer to her, so you asked me to let you handle it!”
Stern shrugged casually.
“I could have gotten closer. If things hadn’t gone wrong midway. But really, whether she was hurt or not doesn’t matter, as long as they grew apart. Unfortunately, I failed.”
“Closer? You tried to kill her!”
“I did come close, but I never meant to kill her. It… had a deeper meaning. Anyway, it’s a shame. Things didn’t work out.”
“Are you even human?”
“Coming from Your Highness, who is secretly releasing a criminal against the king’s orders, that’s rather ironic.”
Lydia bit her lip hard. He wasn’t wrong.
She was betraying her brother, the king, by secretly freeing a prisoner.
She wondered if she was making a terrible mistake. But even just knowing that she had been aware of Shanelica and Stern leaving together would brand her an accomplice. She had even gone so far as to depart early for Larta Kingdom, ensuring Derwin couldn’t interfere between them.
Perhaps she should have simply accepted her brother’s scolding and punishment. But the one Lydia feared most wasn’t her brother. What she truly dreaded was seeing Derwin look at her with contempt. That was unbearable.
“Go. Never set foot near Campton again. Tell Ferdin the same.”
Her voice rang cold and sharp through the underground tunnel—so unlike her usual self.
She had already freed Ferdin earlier. He was just as implicated as Stern, so he needed to flee too. For Lydia’s sake, both of them had to get as far away from Campton as possible.
“Yes. Thank you for sparing my life.”
Without waiting for a reply, Stern mounted an unattended horse outside the dungeon and galloped away.
His face twisted with fury as he rode.
So Shanel went to the king for help…
The cave he had taken her to was a place where a dragon’s true form weakened—but it had no effect on humans. Even for a strong knight like Stern, there was no way to win if the king’s personal guards attacked en masse. Inevitably, he had been captured.
Hah. Lucky for me the princess is a fool.
Grinding his teeth, Stern thought back bitterly. He had invested so much into abducting Shanelica. If he could just take her, he thought he could force her into her true form and claim everything he desired. Instead, he had almost lost everything he already had.
If I want what I desire before I die… I must take Derwin.
When Stern first realized Derwin’s true identity, the Campton Kingdom had been in turmoil. Back then, both men had been members of the Kaisel Order of Knights, basking in victory after victory on the battlefield. Stern had considered Derwin his closest friend.
At least until six years ago.
That battle had been disastrous—they were vastly outnumbered, and Campton’s forces were crushed. Stern had barely survived, his body covered in wounds. But Derwin, fighting right beside him, had died instantly when an arrow pierced his throat.
Stern had mourned with the rest of the knights.
But the next day—Derwin returned, alive and well, as if he had never died.
