Chapter : 07
From long ago, Unni always said:
“If someone doesn’t like it, and you keep pestering them, that’s just rude. Ugh, now I’m remembering a few jerks again.”
A little while earlier, as she chased after the fleeing Rian, Lulu’s mouth dropped open in dismay.
‘Lulu… you were so happy that you ended up bothering Rian.’
Emergency! Emergency!
At this rate, instead of helping Rian, she would only end up being hated.
“C’mon, brain, work again! Bbak!”
Luckily, a good idea popped into Lulu’s head just in time.
In the fairy tale The Princess and the Baby Dragon, the princess had given a jewel to the baby dragon to become friends with it.
If that was the case, Lulu should give something she had too!
“…You’re really giving this to us?”
“Yup. Lulu’s fine with just a dress!”
And that’s how Lulu became friends with Rian’s friends!
In truth, Lulu didn’t feel the cold because she was a dragon. The fur boots and coat she wore were only because Unni had told her that people would be suspicious otherwise.
“Thanks! By the way, don’t you think this coat would fit Ally perfectly?”
“Wearing this scarf makes my body warm!”
“Look at these gloves! How about we each wear one?”
They were nothing special to Lulu, but the children looked as happy as if they had been given the world.
Apart from Rian, a warm feeling welled up in Lulu’s heart.
‘Sharing something… it’s a good thing.’
So satisfying. Extremely satisfying!
Her round cheeks lifted in a bright smile.
“Boss! Want to wear the fur boots?”
A boy called out to Rian.
“Ahem… no, give them to Ally.”
“Got it!”
Hearing Rian’s answer, the kids ran off somewhere—probably to that friend called Ally.
The problem was, this left only Lulu and Rian alone together again, and the air turned tense once more.
‘So cold! Rian looks as chilly as a snowman!’
Rian was different from his friends, who had easily opened their hearts to her.
By now, he should at least be talking to Lulu, but instead he just stared into empty space, as if lost in thought.
But Lulu had done a good deed… Lulu was a good dragon!
Glancing at him, feeling a little wronged, Lulu pretended to look elsewhere… and then stole a peek at Rian.
And then—
“…Lulu~ is a good kid~ If you befriend Lulu~ you get a present~”
She even hummed a little song to draw his attention.
But despite her pitiful attempt, Rian said nothing.
‘…Wait, is he leaving?!’
Sure enough, as if making up his mind, he started striding toward where his friends were.
Then it happened.
“Hey.”
Rian suddenly stopped and turned his head.
“…You’re trying to bribe me to lower my guard. But I’ll say it again—I’m not going to follow you.”
“That’s a shame. Lulu’s good at kidnapping.”
“…How could an idiot like you be a kidnapper…?”
“Hmm? Lulu’s an idiot…?”
Not even Unni had said such a thing before.
Far from being hurt, Lulu just stared blankly at him, not understanding.
“…Anyway, I’m going to check on Ally. If you want to come, suit yourself.”
With a sigh, Rian finally stepped back a little.
“Is that okay?”
“…Aren’t you curious who’s going to wear the coat you gave?”
His sharp gaze softened—just a little.
It was only a slight change, but it meant Rian had opened his heart to Lulu, even if just a crack!
“Oh!”
Lulu’s heart thumped in excitement.
“Okay! I’ll come too!”
At that moment, in the tower’s storage room—
Thud.
The blue rope tied around a man’s wrists finally snapped behind his back.
A shadow darkened over his still face.
But when his eyes opened, a molten-red light flared in the darkness, like lava.
Velix had escaped.
“Ally! Guess what I brought?”
“This girl named Lulu gave me a scarf and a coat! And fur boots too.”
The place the children had rushed to was where cardboard boxes were stacked up like walls.
Inside, curled up between them, was a girl as small as Lulu.
The children dressed the girl in the coat and boots.
“How is it? Not cold now?”
“Y-yeah… better than before.”
Her blue lips trembled but curved in a grateful smile.
But for a girl who already had frostbite, thick cloth alone couldn’t do much.
“Th-thank… cough, cough!”
The girl kept coughing, then choked, hitting her chest in pain.
In this state, giving her the coat and boots didn’t mean much.
Seeing the pitiful sight, Lulu’s chest tightened in panic.
Rian, noticing Lulu trembling in distress, spoke calmly.
“She’s caught a cold. Normally, resting somewhere warm and eating well would fix it quickly. But in this environment, it only gets worse.”
His expression looked faintly complicated, tinged with both longing and resentment.
Lulu asked,
“It’s because she doesn’t have a warm bed or food?”
“Yeah. Still, your coat and boots should help her a little.”
He was right—wrapping up in fur clothes was much better than blocking the wind with cardboard alone.
But that wasn’t what Lulu had been asking.
“What about you? Are you okay?”
“Why would I not be?”
“Because you also caught a cold, and the environment—mmph!”
Suddenly, an ice-cold palm clamped over her mouth.
Wide-eyed in surprise, Lulu saw that Rian looked even more startled than she did.
“H-how did you… ahem.”
Lowering his hand, Lulu smiled gently.
“Because I’m your kidnapper.”
“Don’t say scary things like that!”
Of course, there was a real reason—Rian had been making odd little coughs for a while now.
‘At first, I thought it was just part of the way he talks. Like how Bosuk always says “small dragon” to me.’
“…How is that girl not tired from chasing me around, kuh-hem?”
“Rian! I have something to say, can we talk?!”
“How do you… kuh-hem… know my name?”
But this wasn’t about speaking style—it was clearly a cough he was trying to hide.
Lulu knew exactly what it was.
‘Lulu doesn’t want to do a flame sneeze either, but when it comes, it comes.’
“You can’t help coughing. You’re just making weird noises to hide it—kuh-hem, kuh-hem!”
When she mimicked him, covering her mouth with a tiny fist, Rian glanced around in alarm.
“You—you. Come with me for a sec.”
He moved them away from where the other kids were.
“Kuh-hem. Don’t tell the others.”
“Why?”
“Here, the kids follow me as their leader. I’m the oldest, and I was the one who gathered them all.”
Wow. So cool.
“You really are the boss…”
“Yeah. And as the boss, if I get sick, the kids will panic—kuh!—panic.”
He shrugged, as if to say it was no big deal.
“Compared to Ally, this is nothing. I’m the oldest, so I can handle it.”
But Lulu noticed the red, chapped fingers he was clenching.
She frowned.
If you’re sick, you should ask those around you for help.
When Lulu had lost her parents, she’d cried her heart out—and that was how her sister had found her.
“When you’re sick, you should be taken care of by Unni in a warm place.”
“This is the weight of being the boss. I’ve been used to leading people since I was little.”
“…Being the boss is hard, huh.”
“Four years ago, I lived in a proper house too.”
Cough, cough.
Rian’s coughing worsened. Now that it was out in the open, he seemed unable to keep holding it back.
“Back then, I didn’t realize how precious warm weather and meat for every meal were—cough!”
Then—
“Rian, are you okay?!”
“It’s nothing—kuh!—cough, cough!”
He staggered, coughing violently, and then collapsed.
“Rian!”
“J-just a bit cold—kuh!”
Even then, he tried to push himself up from the floor…
“…Hah… so cold… wish there was… a fireplace…”
Had he reached his limit?
With that pitiful admission, he curled up like a pill bug.
His breathing came in shallow bursts, like a fish thrown out of water.
“Fireplace? Warm? You mean… fire?”
Lulu knelt beside him, pale with fear, but he didn’t answer.
Still, she knew.
If there was just a little fire, enough to warm him even slightly, maybe the problem could be solved.
But—
‘What if I do a flame sneeze and they start treating me like a monster?’
Fear crept over her.
“Lulu. No flame sneezes. No tail popping out either. Got it?”
She knew all too well from Unni’s warnings that people would hate her if they knew she was a dragon.
Even the knight had tried to kill her on the spot when he’d found out.
‘I promised Unni. If they find out I’m a dragon, they’ll all hate me…’
But without fire, Rian…
Big tears welled up in her wide eyes as she looked at her friend.
