Chapter 10
This was a dream. I realized it instantly.
Because my brother—no, someone I didn’t even want to call my brother—appeared before me.
My nightmares always began the same way: Aldimong Fontine chasing me.
Even on the day of my coming-of-age ceremony, the moment I transformed into a cat, he bared his teeth in a smile filled with murderous intent.
And the one who tore into my flesh with a magic arrow just before I stepped into the portal—was him.
“Marianne. You’re going to die on your coming-of-age day anyway, so why not die now?”
Ever since coming here, I hadn’t dreamed of Aldimong even once, so my anxiety had eased.
But in the end, he appeared in my dreams again.
Throwing stones at me—stones heavy enough to leave deep wounds—on some forgotten day from my past.
It was hard to believe we shared the same blood, given how cruel he was to me.
He tormented me whenever he had the chance, and no one in the family ever stopped him. As the days passed, the abuse only grew worse.
It was behavior that couldn’t possibly be called familial.
The Fontine count’s family believed that in order for the house to survive, abilities had to manifest aggressively.
Everything within the family operated on the principle of survival of the fittest, so they’d always fought like animals tearing at each other—
But…
Maybe he was convinced I wasn’t truly a Fontine.
In the dream, Aldimong Fontine’s hair was vividly orange.
In contrast, my own hair, whipping in the wind, was an unnatural mix—half silver, half black.
Anyone could see it. Like an ugly stone jutting out on its own. An appearance that clearly didn’t belong to the Fontines.
Still, the me in that dream wanted to live.
Even as I was losing consciousness after being struck in the back of the head by a stone imbued with mana, I desperately crawled up the hill.
“I’m going to live. I’ll survive, no matter what.”
I remembered nothing—but there must have been a reason I climbed that hill, even as my lungs burned and my breath reached my throat.
“…Because they said they’d protect me.”
And when I finally reached the top of the hill—
Thunder and lightning crashed across the sky, and heavy rain poured down, just like it had not long ago.
Through the thick fog that obscured everything, I saw something.
A massive figure covered in black scales.
And gleaming golden eyes—
Tap. Tap.
I woke up to the unmistakable sensation of my jelly-like paws being shamelessly touched.
In my field of vision, flustered golden eyes darted back and forth.
A dragon?
Still half-asleep, I blinked sluggishly.
“…Mari, sorry. I woke you? You were wriggling so cutely that I couldn’t help myself…”
Tionis rambled out excuses.
When I’d fallen asleep after playing to my heart’s content, it had been daytime—but now the window outside was pitch dark.
For once, he wasn’t slacking off from work. The documents that had once been stacked with blank signature lines were now filled with signatures and neatly organized to the right.
I thought of the black-scaled creature with golden eyes from my dream.
The restless man in front of me had black hair and golden eyes as well.
…Can the Cabellug Grand Ducal family transform into dragons?
But dragons were sacred beasts that protected the imperial family, weren’t they?
The Fontine family library, which I’d frequented as easily as eating meals, was filled with books praising the imperial family—and they stated firmly:
[Dragons are sacred beasts uniquely bestowed upon the imperial family as protectors.]
…So it must be an error in my memory.
I remembered nothing of that day, as if it had been cleanly carved out, and Aldimong never spoke of it either.
Maybe because I’d been spending so much time with Tionis lately, I subconsciously summoned him in my nightmares as the one who would execute Aldimong for me.
Yes. That explanation made more sense.
Broad shoulders. A cold, intimidating appearance.
A Grand Duke whose heart held an immense amount of mana, even if it was tangled.
Had I unconsciously cast him as my prince on a white horse?
After all, Tionis had saved me on the day I was dying—both physically and mentally.
To me, he was practically a savior.
…Though I don’t know if he’d treat me the same after learning I’m human.
Completely unaware of my inner thoughts, Tionis continued to watch my reactions anxiously, completely out of proportion to his size.
Then suddenly—he started stroking my head.
Honestly, he thinks eye contact means ‘please pet me.’
That wasn’t all.
Without warning, he picked me up and carried me to the bed.
“Ah… I’m exhausted.”
Lying down beside me, he said something he’d never said before.
“I had so much to do, but I guess playing with you wore me out, Mari.”
As if blaming me on purpose—poking at my conscience.
I froze, unable to even lie down properly, staring at him.
Tionis cracked one eye open, then hurriedly shut both.
Everything about this was unnatural—no, abrupt.
“Good night, Mari.”
…Tionis. Aren’t you going to turn off the light?
Even when I pointed at the lamp cord with my front paw, the moment he closed his eyes, he fell asleep with soft breathing sounds.
Leaving me sitting there awkwardly.
He must’ve been really tired.
I wrapped my tail around the cord and pulled. The room was swallowed by darkness.
At this point, things like this were easy enough to handle in a cat’s body.
Still suspicious, I circled him.
I deliberately puffed up my tail and brushed my fur against his face—but he didn’t even frown.
He’s really asleep.
If he were pretending, he would’ve jumped up already, spitting out fur.
Just to be safe, I covered myself with the blanket and carefully returned to my human form.
I placed my hand over Tionis’s heart, watching closely for any sign of him waking, and finally opened my mouth.
…This is the first time I’ve sung since I secretly did it in front of Becky years ago.
Even though no one was listening, my voice trembled.
Ahem.
I cleared my throat and began to sing.
As my voice flowed, the mana tangled around Tionis’s heart slowly loosened, stretching out like a melody.
I touched the glowing—almost blinding—white mana with my fingertip, returning each strand to its proper place.
The mana I wove slowly began to settle where it belonged.
Still, it was impossible to completely restore mana that had been tangled for years like a massive ball of yarn in a single attempt.
I finished the song, thinking I’d need to keep doing this—
When—
…Huh?
A melody I had never sung before began to flow through my mind.
My own voice was singing a lullaby-like tune, soft and whispering.
And then I saw a scene—someone resting their head on my lap.
My head throbbed painfully.
Was this another forgotten memory from the past? Or something my mind fabricated?
No—too vivid to be imagined.
Before I could even clutch my head, my body swayed and collapsed onto the bed.
My hair spilled across my face, obscuring my vision.
Through the strands, I could vaguely see Tionis sleeping peacefully.
Ah… I need to turn back into a cat…
It seemed I’d overused my ability after so long, and my body couldn’t take it.
I’d transform anyway due to self-healing. Surely Tionis wouldn’t wake up in the meantime.
My eyelids were too heavy to lift.
I closed my eyes.
Marianne’s body collapsed limply onto the bed.
She was so light that the mattress didn’t even shift—but Tionis, who had seemed asleep, opened his eyes as if he’d been waiting.
“…Mari. Marianne.”
His voice trembled as he carefully spoke her name.
This was the first time he had seen her up close as an adult since years ago.
The same delicate features as back then. Long eyelashes shading her eyes. Cheeks still slightly chubby, not yet fully grown out of their baby fat.
He stared at the unconscious Marianne for a long time, then slowly brought his hand to her cheek.
No—he hesitated, stopping short, and instead gently brushed aside a handful of her hair.
The silver strands he’d once praised as radiant compared to the idiots’ dull orange hair of the Fontine family.
And beneath it, the black strands she’d shyly said resembled his own.
Memories surfaced, and a smile spread across his face.
But they were memories she didn’t remember.
The moment that thought returned, his smile fell.
For a split second, his eyes looked as though they might spill tears—but soon, something else filled them entirely.
“I’ll protect you, Mari. So…”
You can’t leave me.
Tionis pulled Marianne—now transformed into a cat small enough to fit in both his palms—into a tight embrace.
