Chapter 104 …
Verdandi, as always, wore a gentle smile, but his green eyes seemed oddly subdued.
“You crazy person… no, dragon…! What are you doing all of a sudden? Let go right now! I said let go!”
Before I could even ask why, a scream, almost like a shriek, came from right beside me.
Only then did I notice that Verdandi had grabbed Pepper’s wrist.
“Verdandi, what are you doing! Let go of that immediately.”
Worried that the Knight of the Western Empire might see, I quickly tried to restrain Verdandi.
“…….”
For a moment, his lips moved as if he had something to say, but Verdandi soon released Pepper’s wrist obediently.
I couldn’t help but look at him with a puzzled expression at his uncharacteristic behavior.
“Why would Verdandi do that? Since the promise in front of Chichi-unnie, he’s never touched anyone else recklessly…”
A short silence fell between him and me for the first time.
Glancing at me subtly, Pepper then grabbed the spot where Verdandi had held him and exaggeratedly began groaning in pain.
“Ouch, little sister! I think my wrist is broken.”
…Such an act. And who even calls you “brother”?
Swallowing the words that threatened to spill out, I let out a dry sigh and checked his wrist.
“Are you okay? Let me see.”
After all, it was our child(?) who had caused the trouble.
Fortunately—or rather, as expected—there didn’t seem to be any serious injury.
Still, Pepper kept whining until I blew gently on the area twice, after which he stepped back with a satisfied expression.
With Pepper taken care of, the next concern was…
“Verdandi.”
With the feeling of tidying up after a mischievous child, I tugged at Verdandi’s sleeve, who was still frozen in place.
“You can’t touch other people without permission. Especially in a way that scares them. I said you could do as you like, but hurting someone without reason is not allowed.”
Even though I spoke calmly, Verdandi, for some reason, looked frightened and nodded repeatedly, joint by joint.
“……I’m sorry.”
“You should apologize to Pepper, not me. Say you’re sorry for grabbing him recklessly.”
“I’m sorry for grabbing you recklessly.”
Hearing Verdandi’s apology, Pepper puffed out his chest like a victor in battle.
“I’ll let it slide just this once. No next time. I don’t make exceptions just because you’re a dragon.”
Despite the bravado in his words, he nervously stared intently at Verdandi’s right hand, as if expecting something to pop out.
“Hey, that thing that came out of your hand last time…”
“Master, could you come over and help with some sewing!”
“Oh, oh! Hey, dragon! If you mess around one more time, you’ll really get scolded!”
Pepper seemed like he had something to say, but as soon as Jekyll called, he dashed toward him as if he had been waiting for the opportunity.
Watching Pepper settle beside Jekyll, I calmly asked Verdandi.
“I don’t think you grabbed Pepper without reason. Why did you do that earlier?”
“That’s because….”
“That’s because?”
Verdandi hesitated for a moment, then, perhaps thinking not to make me wait too long, continued.
“I didn’t like seeing Lira make a promise with someone else.”
“…Huh?”
I widened my eyes at the unexpected answer, and his beautiful green eyes rolled around, seemingly confused.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t follow the order. But my body moved first, so I couldn’t help it. Because the promise… did you end up disliking me?”
Disliked him?
Ah, that explains why he had looked so scared all throughout my scolding earlier.
“No way! Lira likes Verdandi. I like you, so I just want you not to scare others.”
“Do you understand Lira’s feelings?” Verdandi asked, slightly relieved, nodding.
“I really didn’t mean to scare anyone. I just…”
Finally, looking embarrassed, Verdandi lowered his gaze, rubbing his pinky finger and murmuring.
“I thought the pinky promise, the magic on the heart, was only meant for me. So…”
Yikes.
A simple pinky promise, without any real meaning, had unintentionally made Verdandi feel left out.
Seeing his saddened face, I almost felt like I should be the one apologizing.
“Um… well, then.”
Verdandi folded his knees and met my eye level, watching my unsure expression carefully.
“I promise to follow every order from Lira faithfully from now on. Could you make pinky promises only with me?”
“Eh?” I looked gently at Verdandi, who gazed at me with desperate eyes.
…For a moment, his eyes seemed to sparkle. Must be my imagination.
How could anyone refuse such a heartfelt request with that earnest gaze?
‘But I learned not to make promises I can’t keep. If I make a pinky promise and fail, Verdandi might be even more disappointed.’
Making pinky promises had been an old habit of mine.
Even if not with others, it might be with Klein, Senya, or Zeucia.
…What now?
Luckily, I didn’t dwell long on the worry and thought of a good alternative, clapping my hands as I said.
“How about this? Even if I make a pinky promise with someone else, the pinky promise song is only sung with Verdandi.”
“Song?”
Verdandi blinked slowly, recalling the song we had sung, then finally smiled brightly.
I could tell without asking that he really liked my suggestion.
For a moment, I was dazed watching his unusually radiant smile, then I laughed along with him.
“Since we’re at it, shall we promise right now? From now on, we’ll sing the pinky promise song only with Verdandi.”
I extended my pinky, and he locked his with mine as if spellbound.
Though singing loudly in front of so many people was a bit much for me…
I leaned slightly forward and sang in a small voice, just for Verdandi.
“Pinky on your hand, tightly, tightly promise.”
For some reason, Verdandi laughed delightedly, like a child receiving the gift they’ve wanted.
“But Verdandi, where did you go yesterday? The doctor said you went to the forest.”
He looked slightly troubled at my question, then nodded shortly.
“Why did you go so far?”
“When my emotions get turbulent, it’s a bit hard to maintain my current form. I hid for a while so others wouldn’t notice the change.”
He told the same story Uld had explained yesterday.
“I’ve never had trouble maintaining my form before, but yesterday… seeing Lira crying, I felt sad and couldn’t bear it.”
Recalling yesterday, Verdandi’s eyes started to glisten, as if tears were about to form.
With such a delicate heart, how could I have mistaken him for someone who could only fake a smile when we first met?
He was just clumsy at expressing himself—there was no doubt that our Verdandi is…
“Verdandi is really kind.”
“Eh?”
He widened his eyes as if hearing the word “kind” for the first time in his life.
“Thank you for sharing my sadness. Crying for someone else is a kind heart.”
“A kind heart?”
“Yes! And next time, even if your form changes, don’t go far. Stay close. If you worry about others seeing, you can stay in the bedroom with me.”
“But if you see that form, Lira might be scared of me.”
“Not at all! Like I said before, Lira likes dragons.”
Again, Verdandi looked astonished as if hearing something for the first time.
Then, with a faint smile, he slowly nodded.
“I like Lira too.”
