Episode 20
They couldn’t move quickly.
Finding their way through the snowfields was difficult, and Leonhardt could only forge a straight path ahead. They even ended up crossing their own trail several times.
At the places where the paths overlapped, the ground wasn’t just packed snow—it had been dug deep enough that they had to be careful not to injure the horses.
“What’s that?”
When they reached their third overlapping point, Celine leaned forward, noticing something glimmering in the snow.
Partially buried, a rounded object shone brilliantly, looking almost like an enormous uncut gemstone.
Leonhardt immediately stopped the horse.
“It’s a mana stone.”
“That thing?”
Celine gasped, half shouting.
All the mana stones she had seen before were tiny, the size of small jewels. This one was the size of a human head.
“There are mana stones this big?”
“The ones you’ve seen were refined from monster horns and teeth—that’s why they’re small. Natural mana stones are often this large.”
Leonhardt jumped down, used Raschir to dig it up, and handed it to Celine.
Once fully unearthed, the mana stone gleamed a dazzling golden hue.
“Ah…”
Celine exhaled softly.
The moment she grasped it, warmth flooded her exhausted body, and mana surged into her.
“At least it works. Many natural mana stones are duds.”
Hearing that, Celine lost her earlier excitement. But this one didn’t seem like a dud. It contained so much mana that no matter how much she absorbed, it never seemed to end.
“There’s an enormous amount of mana in here.”
“That’s strange. I’ve never heard of a natural mana stone containing that much energy.”
An hour passed.
Finally, Celine had absorbed all of it. She was puzzled—she could usually drain even the best mana stones in just minutes.
“It’s done.”
She carefully dropped the stone back to the ground.
Crack!
“…?”
That wasn’t the sound of a rock hitting the ground. It was the sound of an eggshell breaking.
Both of them stiffened, eyes locked on the mana stone. Leonhardt already had Raschir raised.
The stone split cleanly in two—and something stirred inside.
“A dragon…?”
The astonished words slipped from Celine’s lips.
The creature that wriggled out from between the broken halves was small, golden, and lizard-like—but unmistakably draconic.
And it looked oddly familiar.
It resembled one of the items sold in the shop of [Celine’s Nightmare]—the kind that could be purchased with accumulated points.
‘Right… In the game, you didn’t buy the dragon itself but the egg, and had to hatch it…’
Celine stepped back. Players had called dragons “pretty garbage.”
All they did was trail after the protagonist—utterly useless—and even caused “dead endings” when bonded.
And if one imprinted on you as its master, it became a nuisance.
Just then, the dragon shot toward her.
Whoosh!
Raschir sliced through the air in a perfect arc—but the dragon clumsily dodged and landed in Celine’s hand.
“…No way.”
She groaned. Was it already recognizing her as its master?
Celine tried with all her strength to pry it off, but it wouldn’t budge.
She looked to Leonhardt for help, but he only stared blankly.
“This is my first time seeing such a thing… A dragon that attaches to a person…”
He looked more intrigued than concerned.
“But I’ve never heard of one harming anyone. You probably don’t need to worry.”
“What do you mean, ‘don’t worry’? It’s stuck to me!”
Celine shuddered, recalling all the playthroughs where players had died while doting on their dragons.
“Karl Lute might know how to deal with it.”
Leonhardt’s expression darkened slightly at that name.
They set off immediately. Now that her mana had been replenished, she could shield the horse with warmth again and ride swiftly across the snowfield.
Celine was desperate to get the dragon off her, but it had coiled around her wrist like a living bracelet, emitting a gentle warmth.
“It looks like a gold bracelet.”
“I’d rather melt it down into gold if I could!”
“Look on the bright side. In the South, dragons are worshipped as gods—you might be treated like a deity.”
“I have no reason to go South.”
“I might, on an assignment.”
Leonhardt’s tone carried faint disappointment.
“Oh…!”
Celine smiled.
“That’s true. But will it still be attached to me by then?”
“No idea. Newly hatched creatures imprint on whoever they see first.”
“Then it should’ve imprinted on Raschir!”
They spent the rest of the ride talking about the dragon. It eventually curled up on her wrist and fell asleep.
Once they reached the castle, they went straight to Karl without even reporting in.
The moment Karl saw the creature on her wrist, his eyes widened.
“What in the world happened?”
Celine quickly explained how they had found the mana stone and what had hatched from it.
Karl’s expression turned grave.
“That’s impossible.”
“But it happened.”
“I saw it myself,” Leonhardt confirmed.
Karl shook his head.
“You don’t understand. Do you know how much mana it takes to hatch a dragon egg?”
“It did feel like… a lot,” Celine admitted.
“A lot?” Karl’s voice rose. “Celine Lute, I know your mana capacity—it’s impressive. But still nowhere near enough to hatch a dragon egg! Did you, perhaps, strike it with Raschir?”
“…Ah.”
Karl looked toward Leonhardt, who seemed to realize something.
“I melted the snow with Raschir. The spot where two strikes overlapped—that’s where it was.”
“I thought so.”
Karl finally looked convinced.
“After taking two direct hits from Raschir and being drained by Celine, it’s no wonder it hatched. Congratulations.”
“Is that really something to celebrate?”
Celine decided that if Karl started talking about dragon gods again, she’d avoid him from now on.
Karl’s tone was serious.
“Do you know what dragons eat?”
“No.”
“Mana stones.”
“……!”
Celine’s eyes widened.
“They can consume endlessly. The highest recorded case was 201 stones—until the owner ran out of money.”
“And the stones just… vanish?”
“Of course not,” Leonhardt answered.
“It’s imprinted on you. Think of it as a living mana stone only you can use. If it eats a hundred or two hundred stones, it’ll store that much mana.”
“The young master is correct.”
“……”
Celine was speechless. She had thought it was a useless trinket—but it was actually a powerful artifact.
She’d never have to worry about running out of mana again.
‘Well, no wonder—it was useless in the game since Celine couldn’t use magic.’
“Will it stay attached to me?”
Karl hesitated.
“I’m not sure. I’ve only heard stories… But once it grows, it should detach on its own.”
He handed her a red mana stone.
“Feed it only one per day. Some owners overfed them and the hatchlings died from mana overload.”
As soon as she fed the dragon, Leonhardt took her hand.
“Thank you, Karl. Celine, let’s get you to rest.”
“Yes, please.”
Her head was spinning after everything that had happened.
Leonhardt guided her to Natasha’s tower.
The attendants gasped the moment they saw her.
“You look so pale! And your clothes—!”
She realized then that she was still wearing Leonhardt’s coat, and her own dress underneath was in tatters.
“You died again, didn’t you?!”
Miriam nearly burst into tears, checking Celine’s face.
“I’m fine.”
Celine smiled faintly at the cool touch of Miriam’s hand on her forehead, but Miriam only grew more alarmed.
“Fine? You have a fever!”
“Really?”
Leonhardt’s face paled. Elle glanced between the two of them and asked evenly,
“My lord, are you feeling any chills?”
“…? We did come through snow, so…”
“You still are.”
Only then did Celine notice that Leonhardt was trembling slightly, his complexion paler than usual.
Elle stepped forward.
“Excuse me.”
She took out a dried yellow leaf and pressed it to his forehead.
The leaf instantly turned red.
“This is bad. I’ll fetch Doctor Branche.”
Leonhardt’s face hardened.
“That won’t be necessary.”
“Miriam, take the lady to her room.”
“Understood.”
As Miriam stepped away, Leonhardt sighed.
“Fine. I’ll go to my chambers for treatment.”
“Leon! Celine!”
“Lady Celine!”
The last attendant, Aria, appeared—along with Natasha. Her eyes went wide.
“Why did you take so long? Not that I was worried or anything, but still…”
She stopped abruptly, noticing the red leaf on Leonhardt’s forehead, and peeled it off.
“I’m calling Doctor Branche.”
“Don’t.”
His tone was a clear warning.
Celine spoke carefully.
“If… if it’s okay, I’d like to be treated together with Leonhardt.”
His sharp expression softened instantly.
“You want me there?”
Celine nodded.
“I’m a little scared. I don’t like doctors.”
In truth, she was afraid of the medieval-style healers in this world. If they started talking about “bad blood” and brought out leeches, she planned to escape using Leonhardt’s authority.
“Alright.”
Thankfully, Doctor Branche was surprisingly modern—apart from using a strange tube instead of a stethoscope.
“I’ll prescribe something to bring down your fevers. Rest for the day, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
Leonhardt received a similar diagnosis but looked visibly displeased.
Celine soon found out why.
The fever medicine was a bubbling, suspicious liquid.
“I’d rather suffer a few days than drink this.”
Celine ignored him, squeezed her eyes shut, and downed it in one go.
“Ugh…!”
It tasted like soda mixed with wasabi.
But it worked. Her headache began to ease almost immediately.
“My lord, you must take yours too,” Elle urged.
“I won’t.”
Leonhardt slammed his cup down, nearly spilling it.
“But it helps,” Celine said, stepping closer. “Your fever’s much worse. What if something happens because you don’t—”
“Nothing will happen. Don’t worry.”
Celine thought quickly. Judging by the leaf earlier, his fever was dangerously high.
She smiled slyly.
“I didn’t think Leonhardt would be afraid of medicine.”
He stared at her.
“I’m… afraid?”
“Aren’t you?”
“……”
The next moment, Leonhardt poured the entire cup down his throat.
His handsome face contorted instantly, but he swallowed it all.
“There. Satisfied?”
“Yes.”
Celine smiled warmly at him, relieved to see the color returning to his face.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better, Leonhardt.”
