Chapter 33
“Dragon…?”
“The only beings who can change their form without using magic, and never grow old no matter how many years pass, are dragons.”
For a brief moment, I could see Oel’s pupils slit vertically like a reptile’s before they disappeared again.
Good lord. There’s a dragon standing right in front of me. It felt surreal.
‘I’d heard all dragons were vicious, but I guess not all of them are.’
I stared at this extremely human-like dragon with fascination, when a sudden thought hit me and I raised my hand.
“Wait, Oel. If you were Mago, you could’ve just shown up in front of me instead of selling Valhalla’s token to my brother.”
He’d known full well I’d been desperately searching for Mago!
“Milady, I need to make money too. If gold is dangling right before my eyes, how could I possibly ignore it?”
Right. Oel was a merchant down to his bones.
“…Fine. Forget that. Just make me the medicine. I want a highly pure version that won’t ruin the effects of the millennium cactus.”
“Hm, you want medicine made from millennium cactus… Milady, you must be a Death’s Breath patient?”
“That’s right.”
If Oel was truly Mago, then his instantly recognizing my illness wasn’t a lie. He nodded knowingly.
“This is my second Death’s Breath patient. The last time, Hereis came to me demanding I hand over the cure.”
As he reminisced, a faint smile tugged at his lips.
“Thinking about how much he wrung out of me back then… even now it brings tears to my eyes.”
Not a fond memory, then—more like a nightmare.
“You’re not planning to fleece me this time… are you?”
If he said yes, I’d bolt. Quickly, I placed a pouch of coins on the desk.
“I’ll pay whatever you want. Just make it.”
“As expected of you, Milady. You’ve got a big heart.”
Oel hugged the pouch to his chest, smacking his lips with satisfaction.
“Making it won’t be difficult. I’ll produce as much as you want.”
“Thank you!”
“But that’s only if the ingredients are complete.”
“Don’t I just need the millennium cactus?”
“Of course not.”
Even Hereis seemed surprised, frowning slightly.
“But it worked last time.”
“That’s because the case wasn’t as severe back then. This time, it’s different.”
“So what else do you need?”
Oel winked and said, “Don’t be shocked—
…the Tears of the Star.”
“But that’s something that only exists in legends.”
The Tears of the Star he spoke of were said to be a legendary holy relic, with only five known to exist in the entire world. The liquid it contained—holy water—was famed for its ability to heal blighted lands and diseased bodies.
But like all legends, no one had actually seen it.
“I’ve taken every famous medicine there is, but I’ve never even laid eyes on the Tears of the Star.”
“Don’t worry. Someone recently received the Tears of the Star as a gift.”
“And who’s that?”
It didn’t matter who—if I could get it, that’s all that mattered. I asked eagerly, only for Oel’s answer to freeze me in place.
“…Who?”
“Princess Estella. She was given it by His Majesty as a present for her coming-of-age ceremony.”
“…Which means, to get it, I’d have to go to the princess…?”
“Correct.”
Ugh! I clutched the back of my neck and nearly collapsed. If Hereis hadn’t caught me, I would’ve smacked straight into the floor.
Why, of all people, did she have it?
And right after I’d had a huge fight with her, too!
Holding my spinning head, I asked desperately, “…Does it have to be the Tears of the Star? No substitutes?”
“That holy water protects the millennium cactus’s properties. Without it, the effect will be halved. If you’re okay with that, we can proceed.”
“No. It has to be a perfect medicine.”
I flopped onto the sofa and stared blankly at the ceiling.
‘I’m doomed. How am I supposed to pull this off?’
If all it took was begging on my knees, I could do that as many times as needed. I could throw away my pride if it meant surviving.
The problem was—would Estella show mercy to me, of all people?
‘Of all the ways things could get complicated…’
She hated me so much there was a bizarre rumor going around that she’d ground her teeth down to her gums just from hearing my name.
Would she really hand over such a precious relic to an enemy?
“What about you disguising yourself to steal it?”
“You think that overly cautious princess would let a stranger get anywhere near her?”
“What if you transformed into one of her attendants?”
“Even then, she wouldn’t share something so rare.”
I sighed deeply.
‘In the end, I’m the only one who can approach her directly.’
“…I’ll try to figure something out.”
What else could I do? If I wanted to live, I had to try everything.
“And…”
“There’s more?”
Just meeting Estella was going to be hard enough!
Seeing my pale face, Oel seemed to decide not to push it further and waved his hand.
“No, forget it. I can handle this other part myself. You just bring me the Tears of the Star.”
“You make it sound easy, when you’re dumping the hardest part on me!”
“As it happens, the princess’s coming-of-age is in a week. Perfect chance—don’t waste it.”
“Hey!”
“Well then, dear customer, let’s meet again after the ceremony.”
I honestly don’t know how I made it back.
As I stepped blankly out of the carriage, Noah greeted me.
“Sienna. Back already?”
“…Yeah. As expected, Valhalla. I found Mago right away.”
It was good news, but seeing my expressionless face, Noah looked puzzled.
“Something happened? You don’t look happy.”
“…He said we need another ingredient.”
“Ingredient? What kind, to make you look like that?”
I hesitated, then let it out like a sigh.
“…The Tears of the Star.”
Noah’s face stiffened.
“That holy relic His Majesty gifted the princess?”
“You knew Princess Estella got the Tears of the Star?”
“The whole empire was talking about it—how could I not?”
“So I’m the only one who didn’t know…”
Muttering hollowly, I buried my face in my hands.
“Noah, what do I do? If I go to her coming-of-age ceremony, she’ll probably try to kill me. You know… because of that incident.”
“You mean the dress incident…”
The moment Noah brought it up, the atmosphere turned grim—so much so that even the coachman, the knights, and Rina nearby all fell silent.
“What incident?”
Hereis, clueless, asked, and the mood sank even further.
“It was… at a certain ball last year…”
As always, the cause was none other than that damn Daphne.
Seeing her with the princess had irritated me so much that I’d brushed past them with only a half-hearted greeting. Then, out of nowhere, the princess chased after me.
‘At first, I thought she wanted to scold me for the lackluster greeting.’
But she claimed I’d torn her dress with my heel and demanded an apology.
It was unfair. I might have stepped on her if it had been during the greeting, but I hadn’t even touched her dress.
I tried explaining, but—
‘So you’re saying Lady Daphne Roxy framed you?’
Once again, Daphne was the problem!
She seemed born to ruin my life.
It was a misunderstanding that could’ve been resolved with calm explanation… but the moment I heard her name, I lost my temper. Acting all arrogant only made the princess slap me—
We’ll stop my embarrassing history there.
The point is, the princess and I were basically mortal enemies.
“Noah, do you think Father could get it if we asked? Maybe through the Emperor?”
That seemed the most likely route.
‘If Father asked through His Majesty, maybe we could get it…’
But Noah’s answer crushed that hope.
“That won’t work. Father said he won’t be attending the ceremony. You probably won’t be able to reach him for a while.”
“Why? There’s nothing more important than the princess’s coming-of-age.”
“It seems monsters have appeared again near the territory.”
Of course. Perfect timing. I sighed heavily.
While I slumped in defeat, a large hand patted my head.
“I’ll ask the princess myself.”
“Will that really work…?”
“We’ll just have to bring a gift that will please her.”
“A gift?”
It was her coming-of-age, so a gift was a given…
Then, an idea struck me. Maybe—just maybe—that could soften her heart.
“Noah, you’re a genius.”
I grabbed his hands and bounced up and down.
“Thank you, Noah!”
With a light step, I bounded up the stairs.
Back in my room, I waited for Hereis.
Before coming upstairs, I’d signaled him with my eyes—he was sharp enough to know to come.
“Sisi. It’s me.”
As expected, he knocked lightly and opened the door.
I grabbed his arm and pulled him inside the moment he stepped in.
Thunk.
Ignoring the door slamming shut, I pushed him up against the wall.
He blinked in surprise at being trapped between the wall and me—then, just for a moment—
“You’re awfully forward today.”
His smooth voice whispered in my ear like velvet.
