Side Story 03
One late morning on a day when the warm spring air was gently drifting about, a letter bearing the seal of the Azure Dragon clan arrived after a long while.
“Sen, please… help me.”
The moment I opened the envelope and skimmed the contents, I couldn’t help but rise from my seat.
Sia’s letters were usually short and concise, but this was the first time she’d written something so stripped down to only the essentials.
“Help…?”
Just like the words themselves, the handwriting—hurried instead of neat—made my heart sink.
“What does it say?”
Jeius asked carefully, watching me bite my lip with a serious expression.
As if I’d been waiting for him to ask, I explained the letter’s contents. Jeius’s expression shifted subtly, in a direction quite different from mine.
It was as if he didn’t understand why I was taking this so seriously.
“She’s never once asked me for help. If anything, she’s always been the one helping me.”
“……”
“What should we do? What if something happened? No—she must’ve asked for help because something happened. Ah, seriously…”
In the past, before I inherited the position of clan head, I would’ve dropped everything and rushed over without hesitation. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option anymore.
I ran a hand through my hair, troubled.
“Do you want to go?”
“Of course! If I could, I’d already be flying there.”
“Then why don’t you go?”
“Thanks for saying that, at least.”
“I mean it.”
“…Really?”
I asked again because I couldn’t quite believe it. Jeius nodded firmly, as if to say he truly meant it.
He wouldn’t lie to me about something like this… but still.
The reason I hesitated was because no one had pushed me harder to fulfill my duties as clan head than Jeius himself.
“I’ve already wrapped up most of the urgent matters. I think I can handle things on my end for about three days.”
“Jeii!”
Seeing that I was struggling to decide, Jeius thoughtfully added more explanation.
Overwhelmed with gratitude and happiness, I pulled him into a tight hug. Then I immediately dashed to my room and packed my things to take to the Azure Dragon clan.
Once I finished packing and changed clothes, I stepped out of my room to find Jeius leaning against the wall.
There was a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes—but it wasn’t directed at me.
The moment the obstacle in front of me was cleared, I rushed out without hesitation. To him, it probably felt like he was being pushed aside in favor of Sia.
“Are you leaving right now?”
“Yeah. I’ll be back soon.”
“…Can’t you go tomorrow?”
“Sorry. Sia’s situation seems really urgent.”
Jeius fell silent and lowered his gaze, looking like a dejected puppy.
I let out a small laugh. He was doing this on purpose—I’d fallen for that act more than once before. Of course I could tell.
Still, since he’d done something commendable this time, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to give him a reward before leaving.
Smack.
“I’ll be back soon!”
After planting a brief but firm kiss on Jeius’s cheek, I grabbed my packed bag and headed for the Azure Dragon clan.
“Sen!”
I arrived at the Azure Dragon clan estate shortly after lunch. The moment I passed through the front gate, Sia came running toward me and greeted me enthusiastically.
But beneath her excitement, I could sense a shadow on her face.
The estate itself looks fine. I don’t sense any pheromones that would indicate danger.
So what on earth had happened? Maybe it wasn’t an issue with the clan, but something personal to Sia?
Whatever it was, something was definitely wrong.
“I’ve been waiting for you!”
“What happened?”
“It’s not something I can talk about here… Let’s go to my room. I’ll tell you there.”
“Oh, shouldn’t we greet the clan head first—”
“Let’s skip that.”
Sia dragged me straight to her room. I wondered if it was really okay to skip formalities, but if Sia said it was fine, then it probably was.
Once inside, she locked the door and even set up barriers to ensure no sound would leak out.
I sat on the sofa, watching her move busily around the room, and wondered—
What could possibly be serious enough for this?
“…Sen.”
After finishing her preparations, Sia sat across from me. Uncharacteristically tense, she wet her lips with her tongue.
“Take your time. What is it?”
“I think… I’ve fallen in love with a human.”
“Really? You don’t hate humans anymore?”
“No, that’s not what I mean…”
Sia frowned slightly, as if she hadn’t managed to convey her meaning properly.
Oh? So that wasn’t it?
Then maybe her feelings toward humans were connected to whatever had happened?
Deciding she needed more time, I stayed silent and waited for her to continue. She hesitated, her lips trembling as if she wanted to speak but couldn’t. I didn’t rush her.
Finally, she took a deep breath and met my gaze with determined eyes.
“There’s a man I like.”
“…Huh?”
What did I just hear? Did Sia really say man—not male? And paired with the words I like?
I stared at her, eyes wide, and asked again.
“Sia, wait. What did you say?”
“I said there’s someone I like.”
“……”
“And… he’s human.”
“……”
I couldn’t say anything. Every word she spoke struck me like a blow to the back of my head.
Sure, Sia could fall in love. That alone wasn’t strange. But the fact that her partner was a human man—that was hard to believe.
She seemed just as confused about it herself.
A dragon and a human…
Strictly speaking, there was no law against it. The real problem lay in the unspoken customs.
After all, Sia wasn’t just any dragon—she was the future clan head of the Azure Dragon clan, part of the Four Dragon Houses.
Their elders would probably be just as stubborn as ours.
Wait… don’t tell me—
“Sia. Is the reason you kept postponing the succession ceremony because of this…?”
“…Yes.”
I pressed my fingers to my forehead, my head spinning.
Aside from the Black Dragon clan, whose successor had disappeared, our clan and the Golden Dragon clan had already undergone generational change.
I’d expected the Azure Dragon clan to do the same around that time, but it kept getting delayed. And this was the reason?!
At least now I understood—but the rest of the clan wouldn’t, unless Sia told them. No wonder things felt so stifling.
Okay. Calm down. Sia can fall in love with a human. Values can change.
Setting everything else aside, there was only one thing that mattered right now.
What kind of relationship did Sia want with this man?
Only after hearing her answer could we think about solutions.
“So… Sia. What do you want to do with him?”
“What do you mean?”
“What kind of relationship do you want? Friends? Lovers?”
Sia blinked, as if she’d never considered the question before, then fell into thought.
For someone known as a genius, this is surprising. She never even thought about something this basic.
But that was love for you. When you’re smitten, just thinking about the other person’s face is enough to occupy your mind.
No matter how intelligent someone was, objectivity vanished when it came to their own heart.
After a long pause, Sia finally spoke.
“…More than friends.”
“More than friends? So you want to be lovers?”
“Not quite that far yet…”
Good grief. This is frustrating!
If it’s more than friends, isn’t that basically lovers? Am I missing something?
“Sia, if it’s more than friends, that means you want to be closer than friends, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then wouldn’t that be lovers?”
“…I want it to be farther than friendship, but not quite love.”
What kind of nonsense was that? What even exists between friendship and love?!
I took a deep breath. Talking about this was going nowhere, so I decided to ask something else.
“How did you meet him?”
“I was at the imperial palace for work, and I saw him by chance in the capital’s busy district.”
“What did you see?”
“…He was peeling fruit for a child.”
Just recalling their first meeting made Sia’s pale cheeks flush red.
“Ever since that day, I haven’t been able to focus on my work. The way he smiled so gently at those children keeps replaying in my mind.”
“……”
“Sen, you remember that novel you recommended to me? The heroine said that if your heart pounds like it’s about to burst whenever you imagine someone, and you can’t stop wanting to see them… then that means you like them.”
She was talking about the romance novel I’d mentioned in a letter.
I’d recommended it because I enjoyed it myself—but I never thought she’d actually read it.
I’d already turned Jeius into a hopeless romantic thanks to novels, and now I’d gone and transformed Sia into a romance heroine too.
This is all my karma…
Still, this was serious for her, so I had to help—
Wait. Come to think of it, the letter she sent wasn’t an official document, but a personal one.
Now I understood Jeius’s meaningful expression. If something had really happened to the Azure Dragon clan, official envoys would’ve come with a formal notice.
Jeius must’ve realized that, yet he still let me go without protest. Such generosity—or something else entirely.
Ah, whatever! The more I think, the messier it gets. Let’s focus on what matters.
“All right. Sia—let’s go meet him!”
“Now?”
“Yeah, now! I’ll help you!”
Sia’s gloomy expression lit up instantly, as if she’d been waiting for those words.
She grabbed my hands tightly.
“Sen, you know you’re my only friend, right? That’s why I could only tell you. Without you, I’ve been suffering alone this whole time.”
She didn’t even give me time to respond before continuing.
“But when I saw your letter saying you needed help, and you came right away—I was so happy. And now you’re even helping me… I’m so happy I can’t even put it into words!”
“Tha—”
“And since the man I like is human, and you’re half-human yourself, you understand humans well, right? I really want to know how he’ll look through your eyes!”
It was the first time I’d ever heard Sia speak so quickly and so much in one breath, leaving me completely stunned.
At the same time, I felt relieved.
Relieved that Sia had fallen in love.
