Chapter 13
“Didn’t you also want me to hurry up, slay the dragon, and return to the Empire? What’s with that face?”
“Well, of course it’d be good if you came back quickly… but I don’t want a war breaking out with the Tien Kingdom….”
“Who said anything about starting a war? Stop worrying and just pack your things. Tomorrow I’ll notify the Tien King, and then we’re setting sail right away.”
“You said you were going to hunt a dragon?”
“Yeah, we’re sailing to hunt a dragon.”
“Then why am I packing my things?”
“Did you already forget the contract terms? ‘As long as you’re on board,’ you’re obviously supposed to cook seafood for me, aren’t you?”
“You’re telling me… to get on the ship that’s going to hunt a dragon?”
“What’s wrong with you, Gianna? Are you refusing to fulfill your contract?”
The duke smiled at me with a face like a villain from a movie series.
“Of course you’re coming along.”
The villainous duke.
The exploitative duke, the greedy shipowner duke, the octopus duke!
Every time I felt like vomiting, I gave him a new nickname.
“Why on earth are you taking me along to hunt a dragon!”
I screamed, but it wasn’t like I could jump overboard now that the ship had already set sail.
Helpless as a lowly employee, I had no choice but to sit quietly as I was hauled aboard the Belletin and dragged toward the dragon’s sea.
“Our diver looks like she could chew through a log, but in reality she’s surprisingly delicate.”
“For heaven’s sake, can’t you just shut that mouth of yours?”
“I already said I’m sorry. And I told you I’d double your wages.”
“Duke, I’m genuinely curious—do I look like someone who has the ability to slay a dragon?”
“Not at all.”
“Then are you expecting me to go into the dragon’s waters and catch something for you to cook?”
“Not that either.”
“Then why are you taking me with you!”
“You’re my employee. Even if you do nothing, you still have to be present in your role as a worker, don’t you?”
His reasoning was so absurdly logical that I could only clutch at my hair in frustration.
“Well then, I suppose I’ll have to commission the development of a hair-growth tonic for our diver.”
The duke shrugged and patted my head like I was some kind of puppy.
“Don’t worry. We’ll kill the dragon quickly and head back to the Tien Kingdom.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever you say…”
In the end, the Tien King permitted the duke’s expedition.
What else could he do? He had no way of stopping the duke, who had already declared that he’d set sail with or without permission.
If the king had refused to the bitter end, it really might have escalated into war.
Instead, the Tien King laid down one condition: the duke had to take along the order of knights the kingdom had been secretly training.
Thus appeared the so-called Dragon-Slayer Knights.
“Hey, can’t you be more careful? Swinging a spear like that will damage the Belletin’s deck.”
When one of the duke’s soldiers scolded a knight, the knight just shot him a glance and ignored him, continuing to swing his spear.
“Didn’t you hear me?”
“Mind your own business. I’m training.”
“This ship is Duke Rupellen’s Belletin, which he treasures like his own life. I’ll say it again—put down the spear before you damage the ship.”
“Are you a duke? How dare you give me orders?”
“What did you just say?”
Every day, the Belletin echoed with the sounds of quarrels between the duke’s men and the Dragon-Slayer Knights.
The two groups’ temperaments were so different that there was no way they could work in harmony.
‘Ugh, it wasn’t like this in the original story.’
In the original, the knights were quite cooperative with the duke’s soldiers.
That was because the princess had begged the Tien King every single day to allow the duke’s expedition.
The king, having no choice, had given permission and attached the knights to the duke.
The princess, with her sweet smile, personally held the hands of each knight.
‘Please, take good care of the duke and his soldiers. I’m counting on you all.’
Naturally, the knights had no choice but to be cooperative.
But this time, since the princess wasn’t here, the proud Dragon-Slayer Knights practically ignored the duke’s soldiers.
It was a small miracle that they at least followed the orders of Duke Rupellen, who held supreme command.
“Don’t you think they’re a bit too aggressive? They seem dangerous,” I asked the duke cautiously, but he just brushed it off.
“Let them be. I’ll be the one slaying the dragon anyway. The knights are only here to fill the seats.”
“You’re going to hunt the dragon alone? Is that even possible?”
“That’s been the plan from the start. If I’d intended to rely on others to kill it, I wouldn’t have started this fight at all.”
Before I knew it, his expression had hardened into something cold as steel.
Then it happened.
From the watchtower came the panicked shout of a sailor.
“Whirlpool sighted ahead! Whirlpool sighted! We’re approaching the dragon’s waters!”
The duke’s face grew even colder at the urgent cry.
In a clipped, hard voice, he turned to me.
“Gianna, get into the cabin. The battle will be fierce.”
“Are you seriously going to fight the dragon?”
“What do you mean? Why else would I have come all the way to the Tien Kingdom and endured all this? It’s about to get dangerous, so hurry inside!”
I was practically shoved into the cabin by his hand.
“Don’t come out until I say so. Stay inside, understood?”
He shut the door with a slam after giving me that stern warning.
The ship was rocking harder and harder. Yet strangely, instead of feeling seasick, my stomach was settling down, a cool calm taking over.
I found a blanket on the floor, clutched it tightly, and curled myself into a ball in the corner.
‘I hope he just gives up halfway.’
After all, the duke wouldn’t succeed in killing the dragon.
That was how the original story went.
Duke Rupellen had fought with all his might, but the dragon’s power was insurmountable.
In the end, he and the Dragon-Slayer Knights abandoned the attempt and returned to the Tien Kingdom.
‘I just hope he doesn’t get too badly hurt.’
I closed my eyes tightly and prayed.
The reason he gave up in the original was because of injuries.
No matter how hard they attacked, the dragon wasn’t hurt at all, while the number of wounded kept increasing.
Finally, the duke himself was struck by the dragon’s tail, breaking his arm—leaving him no choice but to order a retreat.
“Kyaaaaaahh—!”
“Back off!”
“Hey, someone do something about that!”
“Damn it, it’s collapsing! Move!”
Chaos. Outside, the sounds of shouting and destruction didn’t stop.
‘Even knowing it’ll be over soon… this is unbearable.’
Being stuck in the middle of a battle with nothing to do but cover my ears was pure torment.
How much time had passed like that?
‘Why isn’t it ending?’
A creeping anxiety began to gnaw at me.
In the original, because of the overwhelming difference in power, the battle had ended quickly. Even at most, it shouldn’t have lasted longer than 30 minutes. But now, the fight was dragging on and on.
‘Did something go wrong?’
Nervous, I stood up, opened the door, and peeked outside—only to find myself staring into hell.
“Damn it, I told you to hold that tail down tight!”
Duke Rupellen shouted through clenched teeth.
The ship was already in ruins from the dragon’s rampage. One of the masts had snapped and was rolling across the deck, while huge dents marred the planks.
The dragon, its scales glimmering with the deep blue of the sea, sank its claws into the railing and ripped it off.
Then it raised its other leg and smashed the center of the ship, tilting it sharply to one side.
“Grab whoever’s nearby! Don’t let anyone fall into the sea!”
“Get the injured into the cabin! At this rate they’ll tumble straight into the ocean!”
It was a completely one-sided battle. The railings, torn away by the dragon, had long since lost their purpose.
When the beast took to the sky again and flapped its wings, the proud banner of House Rupellen was shredded in an instant, leaving only a palm-sized scrap fluttering in the wind.
The duke glared up at the dragon with eyes full of fury, grinding his teeth.
“Duke, this is impossible! You’re already wounded!”
Elliot Dustin, the duke’s adjutant and second-in-command, rushed to his side and shouted. The duke’s right arm hung bloodied and torn, his clothes ripped to shreds.
But he ignored Elliot’s words completely.
“No—it’s only my right arm. I can still fight!”
Gripping his sword with his left hand, the duke roared.
