Chapter : 25
“Uh, what should I do? I need to see Chase’s reaction.”
Maybe this time he’d say it was delicious.
He might even—heaven forbid—crack a smile on that icy face of his?!
“Hm, what do I dooo… what do I dooo…”
After pacing in circles, Lulu finally made up her mind.
“Sorry! Lulu will come back later!”
She had messed up a lot lately, so she had to be extra obedient!
Because if she wasn’t, the ultra-super punishment was waiting for her.
“Unnieee—!”
Without waiting for Chase’s reply, Lulu yanked open the door and ran outside.
Meanwhile, outside the tower.
Someone was wandering aimlessly around the tower, carrying a rattan basket.
It was Del.
“…What’s this basket?”
The reason it was Del out here instead of Chase was simple.
Chase had eaten a piece of bread from Lulu’s drawer—bread that had been blessed with a generous serving of moldy love. He hadn’t realized it himself, but his face had gone deathly pale.
“Your Highness!”
The knights quickly noticed the bite marks from the horned rabbit as well as his unhealthy complexion. Before he knew it, Chase was forced into a tent with a dose of medicine, lying down against his will.
I was just keeping an eye on the little white-haired brat, since she was acting suspicious…
Del’s narrow eyes went wide.
To his astonishment, the basket was full of succulent meat.
“…Don’t tell me… this was meant for us?”
Incredulous, he looked up at the tower.
That strange little white-haired child, whom he had thought so suspicious before, suddenly looked like an angel.
“…A child, pitying her enemy…! Sniff. I must repay this kindness someday. Boys! A feast!”
Del and the knights, faces wet with tears, devoured the meat.
It was the first real meal they’d had in ages.
Chapter 1: Baby Dragons Aren’t Scary!
Making Friends with People (7.5 / 00 people)
“Ooh?”
After finishing a simple errand for her sister, Lulu tilted her head.
Boseok had told her to check the fairy-tale book, and sure enough—something had changed.
There used to be 7 people. Now it said 7.5.
Hmm. Something was different.
“There’s a little mouth between the numbers!”
That’s right. Lulu had no idea what decimals were.
Boseok chuckled softly, indulging the child’s creativity, and gently explained.
—It looks like someone has started to like you.
“Huuh?”
—Imaginative little sprout of endless possibility. It may look like a mouth, but right now you should understand it as a dot.
“Dot?”
—It means it isn’t quite a one yet, but it isn’t zero either. Someone who dislikes dragons has begun to feel some affection because of you.
“Whaat!”
That was good news. But who on earth could it be?
—In any case, to turn that vague number into a full 8, you’ll need to find that person and show them that dragons can be kind!
Not quite a one, but not zero…
“…Hoooh.”
Lulu nodded sagely, as if she understood.
“Lulu doesn’t get it!”
Of course, she was only pretending.
“But Lulu will find out who likes her!”
Having sort of grasped Boseok’s words, Lulu returned to her room—first to check whether Chase had eaten the food.
But.
Inside the basket she retrieved was something else.
“This… this is…!”
It was a simple note.
[White-haired child, your food was delicious. Thank you. I will repay this kindness someday.]
“Eep!”
Startled, Lulu plopped onto her backside. She scrambled up and reread the note, her round eyes trembling in disbelief.
“T-they thanked Lulu! This isn’t Chase!”
Chase would never say such a thing.
And since they’d called her a “kid,” it meant the writer was an adult!
Because Chase was a kid too!
Could it be… the knights Chase said were prisoners?
Whoever it was, Lulu always welcomed new friends!
“Hm~ hmm-hm~.”
Excited, she grabbed a crayon and scrawled a reply on the back of the note.
The worm-like writing was faithfully delivered to Del.
[Helo, but um. Are you really prisoners, Mr. Knight?]
“…Why would I be a prisoner…?”
Del tilted his head in confusion.
Lydia’s capital, the Great Square.
The massive clocktower loomed as always, while the square bustled with activity.
Nobles chatted at terrace cafés, a common boy hawked newspapers, and a shy knight lingered while waiting for his lover.
People of every class gathered here, trading gossip and rumor.
“…What’s that?”
“Looks like a royal carriage?”
Naturally, nothing stirred more excitement than the royal family’s appearance.
A white carriage embossed with golden angels stopped before the square, escorted by dozens of guards.
At the head, a knight blew his trumpet to command attention.
Bwooong—!
“Make way and kneel in reverence! Here arrives His Majesty Drische, King of Lydia, Sun of the Kingdom, and Holy Pontiff of Benevra!”
At the sudden arrival of the king, the people froze and dropped to their knees.
Drische, current king of Lydia, wielded authority rare even among foreign rulers.
He was the first monarch to unify both crown and church.
Born of royal blood, chosen by divine oracle.
At first, people feared a king holding both worldly and spiritual power. They worried the crown would trample religion.
But then…
“I—I saw God after receiving His Majesty’s blessing! It’s true!”
“I felt the presence of God by my side. The king himself showed me!”
As more people claimed visions after his blessings, followers of Benevra rapidly spread through Lydia, cementing his rule.
“Perhaps I startled you all, arriving without warning. Raise your heads.”
With gentle voice, King Drische descended from his carriage.
Despite being in his fifties, he looked impossibly youthful.
Porcelain skin.
Platinum hair falling over his forehead.
Royal blue eyes.
A youthfulness that could only be maintained by divine favor.
“The reason I came so suddenly is to personally post a notice here in the square.”
At his cryptic words, question marks rose over the crowd—
“Kyahhh!”
—and screams followed as knights unfurled a massive illustration in the square’s center.
“Why… why is there a demon up there?!”
“Mommy, I’m scared! Waaaah!”
Cruel eyes, horned wings, sharp fangs and claws.
Yes.
It was a dragon.
King Drische nodded gravely, as if to affirm their fear.
“People of Lydia. One year ago, our kingdom endured an unprecedented disaster—a dragon raid. Though our brave knights and mages repelled the threat…”
He paused for breath.
“…It has now come to light that one young dragon survived—and has kidnapped the princess.”
“Gasp!”
The princess’s disappearance was already common knowledge. But now, chaos erupted.
“Thus, I have dispatched knights across the kingdom to search for the dragon. Yet as a father, each day is agony.”
The king’s sudden speech spread like wildfire through Lydia.
“Extra! Extra! The princess was kidnapped by a dragon! Read all about it!”
Paperboys sprinted through cities and villages alike.
“But didn’t they kill them all in the raid?!”
“What’s going to happen to us now? Do we have to live trembling in fear again?”
Everywhere, people lost sleep, shivering with dread.
Soon after, in the royal audience chamber—
“Your Majesty, in the southwest, young men are forming expeditions to find the dragon and rescue the princess.”
“In the east, it’s the same. Even nobles have joined the craze, reading books on how to fight dragons.”
“Only the north remains neutral… likely because our church’s influence is weaker there.”
The advisors gave their reports.
Then—
“So, everyone except the north is hunting the dragon? Everyone?”
The chair by the window spun around.
“Ahahahahaha—!”
It was King Drische, laughing like a madman.
“The north has the Third Knight Order! That means east, west, south, and north—everyone is searching for the dragon!”
He leapt up, snatched a wine glass from the table, and raised it high.
“To my soon-returning daughter—and the little lizard brat!”
Downing the wine in a single gulp, he collapsed back into his chair, flushed and giddy.
Thus did the royal household carry on.
