Chapter 43
“Ah, Eve, you’re here?”
When I turned my head toward the door, Eve stood there with her arms crossed and an expression that clearly said she didn’t like what she was seeing.
“You were sick, sure—but not that bad.”
“It was that bad for me.”
“I saw you yesterday, you didn’t look that bad.”
“I’m good at hiding it, remember?”
“Honestly…”
Shaking her head, Eve walked over at an unhurried pace and sat down beside my bed.
“I heard you’re skipping swordsmanship training today, young lady.”
“Yup. I’m really sick right now.”
“So, the lord said to do pheromone lessons instead.”
“Whaaat?”
That unexpected mention of a “pheromone lesson” threw me off completely.
I’d planned to just get a massage from Angela and laze around all day, but apparently fate had other plans.
“…I can’t even sit up properly right now.”
“It can be done lying down.”
Damn it… so much for resting today.
Eve waited quietly, reading a book while Angela finished the massage.
Maybe because she felt Eve’s presence, Angela finished in record time and left, leaving Eve to take her place.
“Your legs hurt the most, right?”
“Not just my legs. My head aches a bit too…”
“Young lady, don’t fake being sick to me, please?”
“…Fine, the legs hurt the most.”
All the dragons of the Yvienne family had one thing in common — they drew strict lines between business and affection.
They might pamper me endlessly, but when a line needed to be drawn, they never hesitated. My father, Rita, and Eve were all like that.
Ah! Come to think of it, Joshua’s the only one who never seems to draw that line with me…
“Alright, lie flat.”
Eve straightened my slanted position, gently placing a soft pillow under my head.
“Now close your eyes. The posture’s different, but the process is the same. You’ll get the hang of it quickly.”
I placed my hands softly over my stomach and closed my eyes. Having tried this once before, I could soon feel the flow of air.
And this time, I could even feel Eve’s pheromones.
Then—something deep within me began to stir, a lump of energy welling up and flowing through every vein in my body.
Slowly, I opened my eyes and lifted one hand, palm facing upward.
“…”
“…”
Both Eve and I held our breaths.
The scene before me was the same one I’d witnessed just before Joshua interrupted last time — white particles softly gathered in the center of my palm.
But it was forming much faster than before, so I stayed focused and carefully sat up, gathering the floating lumps of energy into my palm.
Then—flash!
A bright light filled the room, and I instinctively knew I’d successfully manifested my pheromones.
But the joy didn’t last long.
“…Is this really mine?”
Because what flickered above my palm was darker than darkness itself — black.
I had expected a pale blue or pure white glow, but… this?
I turned to look at Eve. Unlike me, she didn’t seem surprised — as if she had already known.
“Eve, did you already know?”
“Yes.”
Suddenly, I remembered the first day we met — when she’d taken my hand and infused it with her pheromones.
Ah, so that’s when she realized. No wonder her expression back then hadn’t been good.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“I thought it better to show you directly rather than tell you beforehand.”
Honestly, I was a little annoyed she hadn’t warned me, but I understood. I would have done the same in her place.
After all, it’s easier to face something yourself than to hear about it secondhand.
Though it does make the shock hit harder.
I dispelled the black mist hovering in my hand. Somehow, I couldn’t bear to keep looking at it.
But the strange thing was—before Eve even explained anything, my body was already reacting to my pheromones.
It had taken me so long to manifest them, yet now I could control them easily, almost instinctively.
“As you saw, young lady,” Eve began carefully, watching me closely, “your pheromone color is one rarely seen in the White Dragon family.”
“At least,” she continued, “the energy feels like that of the White Dragon line. Your pheromones do originate from the Lord.”
“I see…”
I knew she was telling the truth, yet I couldn’t shake the unease.
Even if my pheromones carried the right energy, the fact that they were black had to mean something.
It must have something to do with how I was reincarnated here.
The elders already disliked that I was half human, half dragon. If they learned my pheromones were black on top of that, it would only give them more reason to oppose me.
“Young lady…”
“It’s okay. Keep going.”
Eve hesitated at my muted reaction, biting her lip before continuing.
Maybe she regretted telling me?
Still, it was better to know now than to keep secrets. I’d have found out eventually anyway.
“We’ve never encountered a case like this before,” she said. “But one thing is certain — your pheromones are hindering your growth.”
“Ah, so that’s why I’ve been growing so slowly?”
“Yes. Being half human is part of it, but the main reason your growth rate is slower than expected is that your pheromones can’t purify themselves within your body.”
I remembered when Rita once brought me clothes that were way too big. I’d been surprised — I really thought they’d fit.
So even back then, my growth had already been affected by my pheromones.
“I think it’s because your human half rejects them,” Eve explained. “For dragons, pheromones are like life itself, but humans don’t need them at all.”
“So… what happens to me now? Does that mean I can’t become a full-grown dragon?”
“Not exactly. You can — but it will likely come with unimaginable pain.”
Angela’s words about begging to die from the pain suddenly felt very real — and terrifying.
I didn’t usually worry about things before they happened, but this? I couldn’t just brush it off.
Tap, tap—
“You’ll hurt your nails.”
I hadn’t realized I’d started biting them out of anxiety until Eve gently held my hand.
“It might pass quickly, just like with the rest of us,” she said softly. “And if not, we can ask the Black Dragon family for help.”
“The Black Dragons? Why them?”
“You remember what matters most about pheromones — color, energy, and scent?”
“Yeah.”
“Since your color is closest to theirs, we plan to seek their guidance. That way, we’ll be prepared for anything.”
So in short — someone from the Black Dragon family would be coming because of me.
Probably someone high-ranking, to ensure secrecy.
Could it be Zeios?
I quickly shook my head. No way. He was about to undergo his adult transformation soon, and he must be busy with succession training and preparations.
Still… if someone has to come, I wouldn’t mind it being a familiar face.
Whatever. I’ll think about that later. Right now, what mattered was my upcoming transformation.
Please, let the growing pains pass quickly — and not hurt too much!
A week passed since my successful pheromone manifestation, and I’d received more congratulations than I could count.
From Hale, of course, to Rita, Joshua, even the knights.
Some timid elders even dropped off small gifts instead of visiting personally.
And one thing had changed drastically—
“Ow…”
I had started to grow rapidly. Apparently, manifesting pheromones had triggered it. Along with that came sharp, electric growing pains.
Every night around dawn, I’d wake up because of them — like now.
It hurt, sure, but I was happy. Pain meant growth.
According to Angela, I now looked about fifteen in human years.
Stretching out my newly lengthened arms and legs, I got out of bed.
“I guess I’ll go early.”
There was still an hour and a half before sword training, but I wasn’t getting back to sleep anyway.
Funny how I’d already gotten used to these early morning lessons. It had only been a week.
When I arrived at the indoor training hall, I picked up my custom-forged sword — a reward for graduating from wooden practice blades.
“Young lady, you’re early!”
“You’re even more diligent than us!”
Some of the knights I’d gotten close to during training greeted me warmly.
At first, I’d been too shy to talk to them, but now I saw them as comrades under Hale’s command, and conversation came naturally.
So much for practicing alone before class — they’d ruined my plan with good company and delicious snacks.
“Looks like you all have time to chat, huh?”
A chilling voice cut through our laughter.
In an instant, the knights scattered at lightning speed, leaving me to let out an awkward chuckle.
Guess my father really was scary.
Turning around, I saw Hale. Even though I’d seen him just yesterday, I still felt genuinely happy to see him.
“Dad!”
“Senica.”
He called my name with a frown, while I, smiling brightly, tilted my head in confusion and brushed off my clothes.
‘Wow, now that I think about it, I really have grown a lot.’
Before, I’d had to crane my neck to even see his face, but now I could meet his eyes by just tilting my head slightly.
My head now reached his chest — impressive progress.
“So, Dad? Why the scary face?”
“Do you even realize how pretty you’ve become?”
