Chapter 39
A little while later, Hale, who had tucked away his smile, started walking again.
Are we really going home like this?
“Are we really going home?”
“Yes.”
“Really really?”
“Yes, really.”
He answered the same way every time I asked, so I figured he meant it.
I felt a little disappointed… more than anything, I regretted not being able to say goodbye to the kids I didn’t know when I’d see again.
I knew Hale wouldn’t be acting like this without a reason. Still, I couldn’t help feeling down.
Just as we left the palace and I thought he’d get into a carriage straight for the mansion, Hale’s steps halted again.
“Dad?”
I turned my head to check his face; he looked seriously troubled, frowning as if weighing something heavy.
“What’s wrong?”
“…I was thinking about whether to keep the promise I made back then.”
“A promise? Which one?”
There were actually quite a few promises between Hale and me. I wasn’t sure which one he intended to keep.
Hmm. Which promise could he fulfill here? The place didn’t seem particularly appropriate.
“You said you were curious about what I’d look like when I’m a dragon.”
“Oh!”
“And you said you wanted to ride.”
“Oh, right!”
That was the promise! He’d wanted it so much and I had completely forgotten.
Hale set me down on the ground, then stepped back a few paces.
“It’s been so long since I transformed, it feels strange.”
Suddenly, a column of blue pheromones shot up from Hale’s entire body and engulfed him.
The column grew and, before long, a white dragon manifested.
It was unimaginably, staggeringly huge — so grand and majestic I had no words.
“Wow…”
I’d assumed a white dragon would be purely white, but this one was white with a faint blue tint. To my eye that made it look more elegant and beautiful.
I gently stroked scales that shimmered pale-blue in the sunlight. They felt smooth, not rough, beneath my fingertips.
—Senica.
Hale’s voice rang inside my head rather than in my ears.
I looked around in bewilderment at this first-time experience, and the dragon’s lofty head lowered to sit in front of me.
—Climb on.
When the moment to actually ride came, I felt both overwhelmed and cautious.
Maybe because it gave off that sacred dragon aura I’d learned about in one of my past lives? I wondered if I was really allowed to get on.
While I hesitated, Hale nudged me lightly with the bridge of his nose, as if to urge me. The gesture felt like a gentle push to hurry.
—You can’t stay in this form here long.
So that was why he urged me.
I decided to get on and moved toward the dragon’s head.
But… how do I climb up? I needed something to hold onto, but there wasn’t anywhere obvious.
It seemed he noticed my worry; I felt something at the base of the head give me a little push.
“Ah!”
Thanks to that, I managed to get up on the head well enough…
When I turned to look at where I had climbed from, I saw a large, rough hand. It had supported me — a small me who couldn’t have climbed alone.
I really… require a lot of help, huh.
—Hold on tight.
“What should I hold?” I asked.
—Grab whatever you can see.
Whatever I can see…? All I could see above me were two ivory-colored horns and ears.
Hmm. Grabbing the horns would probably hurt less than grabbing the ears, right?
I flopped forward and grabbed one of the horns firmly.
“Got it!”
—We’ll reach home soon.
It’s a full day by carriage from here to the mansion, so calling that distance “soon” felt strange.
Before I could think more about it, a breeze started to blow — Hale was moving his wings for flight.
I felt my whole body lift into the air as Hale surged into a vertical ascent. I squeezed my eyes shut.
‘This is no joke…’
The wind was stronger than I expected. But it was only for an instant. Gradually the wind calmed.
When I opened my eyes slowly, a wide panorama spread beneath me. The buildings and nature in it looked toy-sized.
Because the sun hadn’t set yet, everything was clear and vivid.
“Whee!”
—Senica, how is it?
“I love it!”
—I’m glad you like it.
A rumbling sound came from the dragon’s body — like a cat’s purr — which meant it was pleased.
Hale, contrary to what he had said, circled around the area. He seemed to want to show me more since I was enjoying it so much.
After circling a while, Hale tilted his head downward.
My body pitched forward, but I was holding onto the horn, so I didn’t fall. Even if I had, Hale would have saved me.
—We should head back now.
“Okay, let’s go home!”
—Don’t you feel sad?
“If I ride again later, it’ll be fine!”
—…Alright. Next time I’ll take you somewhere even more wonderful.
Hale turned and began flying toward the mansion.
It didn’t take long for me to understand why he’d said we’d arrive “soon.” The speed… was unreal.
If he hadn’t wrapped me in pheromones for protection, I would have been left far behind — he flew that fast.
After what felt like five? Ten? minutes, the familiar mansion came into view.
“Master!” Theo’s voice called out clearly.
I searched around, thinking he might be nearby, but I couldn’t see him. Still, the voice continued.
“Is something wrong?”
It sounded urgent. I realized he had sent his voice wrapped in pheromones. I saw pheromones riding on the wind from the mansion’s large front yard.
Yet Hale didn’t reply once to that urgent message.
We landed in the mansion’s front yard. The atmosphere was odd. I thought Theo would be the only one out, but more people were gathered than I expected.
‘Are they here to greet us?’
But it didn’t feel like a welcome; people were quietly whispering amongst themselves.
What on earth was happening?
“Master!” Hale set me down on the soft grass and reverted to human form at once.
At that moment, Theo — face pale as if he’d been struck — pushed through the crowd and urgently called to Hale.
But Hale, unlike me, didn’t look particularly flustered.
He just looked at Theo calmly, as if he already knew why they were acting like that.
My father and I were dragged straight into Hale’s office.
From the moment we met until we sat down in the office, Theo’s presence had been unusually intense.
So I clamped my mouth shut and watched carefully.
“Sigh…”
Theo’s deep exhale made me flinch.
I glanced sideways at Hale, who sat right next to me. He looked bored with the situation.
No — then hurry and resolve it already! I’m being dragged here without even knowing why, feeling like I’d done something wrong!
“From what I can see—”
Finally Theo spoke. It was better than him just glaring at us in silence.
“I don’t think it’s the situation I feared… but—”
A situation he feared? Why? What was there to worry about? I’d just ridden on my dad’s back and sat on top.
Oh no — could the problem be that I came riding on him? Rita’s reaction had been odd when this was mentioned before.
Putting that together with what happened then, I figured Theo was about to scold me.
“You’ll have to explain this,” he said.
But Theo’s gaze was directed at Hale, not me.
Ah, am I too young to be interrogated? So they’re asking the guardian who consented to this — Hale — for an explanation?
Fine. That’s better. I hadn’t asked to ride; he’d offered to take me. So Hale should explain.
“What explanation are you asking for?” Hale replied, surprisingly confident — almost shameless.
If anyone was at fault, it felt like us… but could he really be that brazen? Is it because he’s the master?
It is a strange sight to see the mansion’s head so unbothered by his steward, but surely he could at least show some remorse?
‘Hmm, nothing’s different here — the higher the rank, the more shameless they are.’
Theo clenched his hands on his thighs so hard veins stood out on the backs of his knuckles. I could see him holding back a burst of anger.
‘If you prod him a little more he’ll explode.’
The Theo I’d seen before could be summed up in one word: worker-ant. He looked busier than anyone in the mansion.
We rarely had conversations, so I didn’t know he and Hale were acquainted like this.
Honestly, how many people here could openly yell at Hale or speak ill of him?
“Phew, master.” Theo inhaled sharply.
“Yes. Speak.”
Maybe because of that closeness, Hale could behave this way.
“Who goes to the palace and manifests in their true form in front of everyone? It looked like war had broken out with the royal family!” Theo finally exploded. When he started he’d been calm enough, but by the end his voice had grown heated.
His voice had grown so loud I was startled, but I could understand. If he’d thought it was a war, it was serious.
“Miss, I’m sorry my tone startled you.”
“I’m fine.”
“Was it the master who suggested this earlier?”
“I’d said I wanted to ride before, but today Dad said he’d take me first.”
It might have sounded like I was tattling to Theo, but I was only telling the truth.
Lies aren’t good, after all.
Theo pressed his lips together and put a hand to his forehead.
“You could be excused for not knowing, Miss, but why on earth would the master—sigh.”
I felt pity for Theo a little. If I were him, and Hale was my boss… I’d have quit already!
