Chapter : 45
“Chase, you just realized that now?!”
Just as Lulu was about to open her mouth, excited at the thought of scolding like her older sister,
“Wait a minute!”
A light bulb flickered in Lulu’s usually trivial little mind after a long time.
“I found it! Chase’s…”
“Hmm-hmm.”
Clearing her throat, Lulu composed a serious expression.
She crossed her short arms with determination.
“Chase. If you’re the leader of the monkeys, you have to behave! The monkeys were upset because you didn’t eat the fruit!”
“Life’s something you live on your own.”
“But if you do, the monkeys will live more comfortably. So…”
Lulu snatched the pen and paper that Chase always carried.
And then she declared:
“Bucket list, item 19.1: Eat the monkeys’ fruit until the leader changes!”
Lulu had perfectly applied what she had learned from picture books.
Oh, divine intelligence of the volcano, your brilliance is erupting!
“Then, Lulu’s fangs are broken just like Wooni’s!”
Thinking that she resembled her older sister, who could draw complicated spells, Lulu couldn’t help but shrug her shoulders.
“19.1…?”
Chase squinted his eyes in displeasure, but the baby dragon’s shoulders only went higher and higher.
“Now, since you’ve eaten, hurry up and have your meal.”
“Yay!”
As soon as they grabbed a handful of Onyx bananas, the ice monkeys, their eyes sparkling, eagerly started eating.
Chase finally accepted Lulu’s suggestion.
If he didn’t play the role of leader, the area around the tower would become chaotic again.
He didn’t care what happened to the people.
‘I don’t want to hear screaming.’
Recalling a memory from the past, the young boy’s brow furrowed.
Having breakfast with Onyx bananas, Chase headed toward the tower.
These days, his goal was to observe the dragon.
More specifically, to figure out why the dragon was always so cheerful.
After observing the dragon for a week, Chase could draw a few conclusions.
First, the baby dragon loved to eat.
“I’ll eat it deliciously~ haaah!”
Chewing energetically.
“Sprinkling sugar on fried eggs makes it so much more delicious~! Chase, isn’t it amazing?!”
The dragon made such a fuss over something trivial that Chase’s face got splattered.
“…”
He quietly wiped his face with a handkerchief and nodded.
“It’s tasty.”
“…Huh? That’s it?”
“Well, what else is there?”
“If it tastes good, my mood is good.”
Suddenly, the dragon hummed a song, raising its eyebrows.
Then, with chubby, short fingers, it pointed downward as if to show off.
“When my mood is good~”
Probably indicating that Chase should follow.
“Shake your legs~ happily!”
Dangling them.
Although he didn’t really feel like it, he had no choice.
‘It’s… boiled eggs, after all.’
Muttering the dragon’s cryptic answer, he obediently shook his legs.
Once the noisy meal was over, the dragon put the dishes into the washing tub and went down to the basement.
Today, it happened to show him a compass, claiming it was its treasure.
“I got this from the picture book. It’s a compass that shows Lulu’s nest?!”
“Nest?”
“Mm. But Wooni said not to go yet because the knights’ house construction isn’t finished…”
Here’s the second feature: the dragon loved shiny things.
“Lulu wants to go to the nest with the treasure chest and make lots of jewels. But it seems she can’t now.”
The sprout, once basking in sunlight, suddenly looked withered.
The dragon gazed at the rings and hair ties in the box with delight, then put them back and closed it.
‘Does it want to live just to see shiny things?’
Unfortunately, his guess was wrong.
The dragon liked too many things.
“Here~! This is Lian. Lian really wanted to see Chase!”
After reading the picture book, the dragon would dash outside the tower to mingle with people.
The main figure was Lian.
Being the younger sibling of Duke Belix, he was a similar noble child.
“Prince Chase! Hello! I’m Lian of the Cardin Duke family!”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’ve really, really wanted to meet you! I’ve been in the forest for so long, and now I can finally formally greet you!”
Shyly smiling, Lian scratched the back of his neck.
But Chase found such greetings unfamiliar.
Why did he want to see me?
Was there a request?
Since childhood, people who spoke to him usually wanted to exploit his magic or status.
“Why do you need to meet me?”
From the boy’s perspective, the unfamiliar Lian was naturally puzzling.
“Uh-uh!”
Embarrassed, Lian coughed awkwardly.
Meanwhile, the dragon, watching them in turn, pouted its lips.
“Chase!”
“Why?”
“My friend got hurt! In times like this, you greet Chase happily!”
“What does it matter to me if someone gets hurt? Lian, what do you want from me?”
“Eh? Eh? No! I would never… dare to… to the prince!”
Eventually, the dragon blurted out the “word.”
“Chase, ah, a villain!”
Villain?
The boy’s normally calm eyebrows twitched.
Here’s the third feature of the dragon:
The dragon hated villains.
“Chase, villain~! A villain who hurts friends!”
For reference, the villains the dragon identified included Conrad and mercenaries, the captain of the Del knights before they became friendly, and ruthless people who brushed past others’ shoulders in Layton small town.
‘Are you comparing me to those guys?’
“…I’m not a villain.”
Until now, Chase hadn’t cared what others said about him.
Half-prince, too powerful in magic, monstrous—none of it mattered, and he couldn’t hear it if he blocked his eyes and ears.
But the dragon was different.
…These days, even with eyes and ears blocked, he could picture the dragon’s face.
“Dragon, I’m not a villain. Take back that word.”
It was unbearable.
Seeing his intense gaze, Lian flinched in fear—
“Then apologize to Lian and accept his greeting! Lian is a good friend to Chase!”
The dragon, arms crossed boldly, glared at Chase.
Its ruby eyes pricked at his heart.
‘Villain…’
Breathing in, Chase frowned in displeasure.
But since he hated hearing “villain,” he had no choice but to extend his hand.
“Lian, sorry for saying something weird. That was wrong. Next time we meet, let’s greet properly.”
“Prince, thank you! Then later… can I introduce you to other friends too? Lulu and I are the leader and deputy of the Black Lake unit.”
The Black Lake unit.
Chase knew about it.
He had met the dragon by chance while following the kids singing the salamander song.
“Alright.”
Just a casual answer, but Lian’s face brightened.
Lulu, smiling happily beside him, jumped in.
“Lian is a leader too, right?! But Chase is a leader too!”
“Of course. You’re the prince.”
“No, not that—Chase is the ice monkeys’ leader! Last time in the village, when the monkeys were bothering the knights, Chase said ‘Stop!’ and they stopped!”
“Impressive! As expected of the prince!”
Clap clap clap clap.
A round of applause erupted.
Then Lulu, who had been glancing at Lian, smiled widely and clapped along.
“Amazing~!”
Chase glanced at the dragon with an indifferent expression.
Not hearing “villain” finally put his mind at ease.
He didn’t even notice his earlobes blushing in relief as he checked the smiling dragon.
“Then, I’m going.”
“Where? Chase, you have nowhere to go!”
“I’m going to the temporary tent.”
Even though he wasn’t touching the dragon, his throat suddenly felt itchy.
Feeling strange and unfamiliar, Chase hurriedly left.
A month had passed.
Chase’s daily life was now filled with Lulu.
That morning, he had proudly eaten Onyx bananas in front of the ice monkeys and knocked on the tower door.
But it wasn’t the dragon who opened the door—it was Angela.
“What now? Lulu’s sleeping in today.”
“Sleeping in?”
“Yeah. She was strangely stubborn about sleeping today.”
Indeed, it was unusual.
The dragon always woke up on time.
“Not doing the stretch exercises?”
“You know about that too? You’ve gotten pretty close to Lulu, haven’t you?”
Angela laughed cutely.
“Right? She didn’t do her stretches either? I was going to make breakfast and wake her up. Since you’re at the tower, could you wake Lulu up?”
