Chapter 50
Chanellica felt goosebumps all over at Stern’s words.
“Commander… what did you just say?”
“You heard me.”
Her mouth went dry. Swallowing hard, Chanellica finally managed to speak.
“What… am I looking for?”
“Exactly. What could it be?”
“…….”
“You know what I mean, don’t you?”
“I don’t.”
“Or maybe you do.”
Stern chuckled calmly, just like he always did.
Seeing him like that, Chanellica felt her heart turn ice cold.
What if the Commander really knew? No, that can’t be.
Chanellica tried desperately to regain her composure. Stern couldn’t possibly know… about the Dragon Lord.
“Shall I tell you one more thing? Staying with Derwin is extremely dangerous for you.”
“Dangerous?”
“That’s also why Derwin doesn’t tell you about his past.”
What does that mean?
Chanellica frowned and said,
“I don’t understand a single thing you’re saying, Commander.”
“Well, in short, don’t stick with the wrong person. Turn back if you’ve taken the wrong path. That should answer your questions, I guess?”
“No. I still don’t get it.”
Chanellica kept repeating that she didn’t understand. In truth, she didn’t know what to say. Stern’s words were vague and lacked substance, but they aligned perfectly with the situation she had been worrying about all day. She wanted to believe otherwise, but it fit too well.
Yet she didn’t even know what more to ask. She had a terrifying feeling that if she asked the wrong question, she might end up caught in her own trap.
What should I do? What should I ask? Or… should I leave?
As Chanellica frantically tried to think through the situation, Stern spoke again.
“Nervous, aren’t you, Chanel?”
Stern seemed to find this situation quite amusing.
“You seem troubled, my lovely lady, so let me lighten your burden a bit,”
And then, pretending to ponder, he said,
“Unlike you, Derwin is just an ordinary human, my dear.”
A second bombshell.
Chanellica inhaled sharply at the even more shocking statement. Frozen, she listened as Stern delivered the final blow.
“So the ‘Lord’ you’re looking for… isn’t Derwin.”
A flawless conclusion, leaving no room for doubt.
Chanellica barely moved her stiff lips and asked,
“Who… are you?”
“Oh my. Surprised?”
“I asked who you are.”
Even as she spoke, she couldn’t believe it. The man in front of her seemed to know everything.
Chanellica’s only choices were two: feel relieved because he was of the same kind, or stay wary because he wasn’t. But even if he were the same kind, it probably wouldn’t feel pleasant. After all, he had been silent all this time, just observing her actions from the side.
“My identity is a secret.”
Stern smiled playfully.
In truth, Chanellica was less concerned about who Stern was or how he knew everything than she was about his statement that Derwin wasn’t the Dragon Lord. To judge what that meant, she first needed to know who Stern really was.
“A secret? But… are you the same as the Commander?”
“What? I didn’t hear that.”
“I mean, are you the same kind as the Commander?”
Seeing Chanellica unable to utter the word “dragon,” Stern chuckled softly.
“What do you mean, the same kind as Chanel? An elf?”
“…Is this funny to you?”
“You can’t speak properly, so it’s funny. Why can’t you just say dragon?”
Finally, the word “dragon” came out of Stern’s mouth first.
“Who are you really?!”
“I told you, it’s a secret.”
“Surely… the Commander isn’t the Lord, right?”
Chanellica’s cute deduction had Stern laughing uncontrollably.
“Ha ha ha! Chanel! The Lord? Me?”
“…I’m not amused at all.”
“Oh my, how can something be this hilariously painful?”
Stern’s eyes were unusually moist, despite his laughter. Chanellica’s cheeks were already puffed up with irritation.
“Ah, sorry. I just found your wrong guess amusing.”
“…….”
“Alright, enough. Scary. Stop glaring at me. I’ll tell you one thing.”
Stern barely stopped laughing, clearing his throat to calm down.
“I can’t tell you who I am. But I do know where the Lord is.”
“Where is he?”
“That’s a secret too. But I can take you to where the Lord is.”
He really knows where the Lord is?
Chanellica could hardly believe Stern’s words. Yet, the way he spoke suggested it wasn’t a complete lie.
Then she had to verify it.
“Let’s go right now.”
“Ah, not now. The Lord doesn’t appear just anytime.”
“Then when?”
“More importantly, are you finally willing to accept my date request?”
Is now really the time for that? Chanellica gave a baffled expression, and Stern couldn’t hide his laughter.
“I kept asking you out, suggesting a date. I wanted to meet you because I thought you were misjudging me too much.”
“You mean… all that was to meet the Lord?”
“Half yes, half I genuinely want to go on a date with you. It’s fun being with you.”
Behind his playful smile was a serious undertone.
“So… will you accept my date, or not?”
Chanellica bit her lip unconsciously. Her belief that Derwin was the Lord hadn’t changed, but too many variables had arisen challenging that idea.
She needed confirmation.
From the start, her friend Chel told her to go to the Cartel Mansion, and there she met someone who seemed like the Lord. If Derwin wasn’t the Lord, both Chel and her judgments as dragons would be wrong. So confirmation was essential.
“Do I have to go on a date to meet him?”
“He doesn’t want to reveal his identity in the city.”
“So he’s in the city now?”
“Who knows. Either way, you can’t meet the Lord here.”
Chanellica wanted to argue, but Stern’s firm tone made her calm down.
“So we have to go to the outskirts?”
“Yes. But you’ll need two days for the round trip. It’s impossible in one day.”
“What the—”
“If you don’t want to, refuse. Can’t be helped.”
“Two days is too much.”
“Oh, because of your human fiancé?”
Referring to Derwin, the phrase made him seem almost trivial.
“That’s a problem. Not only can you not distinguish important matters from trivial ones,”
Stern clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“But you can’t even tell who to be wary of and who to stay close to.”
“…….”
Chanellica eyed Stern suspiciously, then made a decision.
“Alright. I’ll go on the date. So take me to the Lord.”
Stern’s face lit up. A date agreement had been very hard-earned.
“…….”
Derwin quietly watched Chanellica, who was half-heartedly eating.
Three days had passed since their sharp conversation. On the first day, they didn’t speak at all.
Derwin felt deep self-reproach that first day. The next day, he decided he had to speak first. He was the one who needed to hold onto Chanellica.
Why should a miserable past keep them apart?
He simply didn’t want to bring up the horrible memories of his childhood. Speaking of it felt hopeless. He also didn’t want to reveal such a past to someone important. He wanted to bury it inside himself.
But that day, Chanellica gave him no consideration. The fact that she was still seeking someone other than him lingered in his mind, yet she seemed obsessed only with her own memories. He hated it. He felt she saw him only as the Dragon Lord, not as himself.
He shouldn’t feel that way.
If Chanellica really were a dragon, and her destined Dragon Lord appeared, Derwin was determined to hold onto her with all his strength. A past shouldn’t drive them apart.
So on the second day, Derwin decided to speak first.
But Chanellica’s mood had changed. Very seriously.
Was she planning to leave suddenly?
Derwin panicked. He couldn’t speak, afraid any word might give her an excuse to leave. Moreover, Chanellica seemed indifferent to him. His heart sank. Had he already fallen out of her favor?
Thus, another meaningless day passed.
Derwin grew anxious. He had a foreign trip scheduled for a week starting tomorrow. Princess Lydia was visiting the Kingdom of Larta, an event initially planned a month later but suddenly moved up to today.
Today, he had to talk to her.
Derwin resolved. He couldn’t be away for a week with their relationship in such a state. Besides, many men were interested in Chanellica.
A few days ago, after their argument, he heard the king had taken Chanellica to the Chamber of Melody. Hearing this felt like a splash of cold water.
Unknown to anyone else, it felt like Eleusis was declaring war on Derwin.
When Derwin had been the commander of the Kaysle Knights, Eleusis once said he would play his music for any girl he liked—she would be as beloved as the music itself.
Until then, no one had entered the Chamber of Melody. Yet the first woman to do so was Chanellica.
Not only that, she hadn’t gone home late that day but visited the Kaysle Knights personally to meet Stern.
All this made Derwin uneasy. He had to ensure Chanellica remained safely by his side.
“Lady Chanellica.”
In the silent dining hall, Derwin’s low voice resonated. A name uttered with care reached Chanellica’s ears softly.
Lost in thought, she looked up and met Derwin’s eyes.
“Duke, I have something to say.”
As if she had been waiting for it, Chanellica spoke.
