Chapter 52
The next day, Derwin left for the Larta Kingdom with Princess Lydia. Chanelica went to work alone, carried out her duties as usual, and returned home by herself.
“Are you really not going to take anything with you?”
The day before leaving for the countryside with Stern, the butler Cuddles and maid Mari were bustling about. They had already heard about Chanelica’s travel plans from Derwin. They didn’t know exactly who she would be going with, but they did their best to prepare as their master had instructed. Yet Chanelica acted as if she didn’t need their help.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Still, I prepared some extra clothes and snacks for you. Please take them.”
“It’s fine. I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”
She intended to go lightly, carrying only herself. After finishing dinner, Chanelica lay down early in bed.
She didn’t know where she was going or how long it would take. All she knew was that it would take about two days, so it wasn’t a short journey.
Extra clothes and food didn’t matter to Chanelica. Neither did the fact that she was going with Stern. The only thing that mattered was confirming whether the person she would meet tomorrow was truly the Dragon Lord.
“…I want to see him.”
Hugging the large rabbit plush beside her, Chanelica muttered to herself.
It had only been two days since she had lived alone in the masterless mansion, yet she already missed the presence that was always by her side.
Even before Derwin’s confession, there had been times when he left the mansion or came home late, and she couldn’t see him.
But that was different from now. She had grown used to being constantly together, sharing daily life, and feeling her heart race. So even just two days without Derwin felt unbearably empty.
“You must have felt really disappointed, huh?”
She asked the black eyes of the rabbit plush.
On the day she told Derwin she would be going out for the weekend, she had actually been more focused on the truth of Lord’s existence that Stern mentioned than on Derwin himself. Yet it seemed Derwin had felt more hurt than she realized. Words he had spoken in a choked voice kept coming back to her—the desire to love freely with someone he liked, and the exclamation that he hated the very thought of her being with another man.
How much must he have held back before saying that?
Guilt surged in her chest. Considering the time Chanelica had spent with Eleusis and Stern, she could imagine how hard Derwin had tried to appear okay. She also realized just how much he cared for her.
Chanelica touched her lips. Even though it was brief, during the time she had been with Derwin, she had felt how precious and tenderly he regarded her. It was a confession delivered in a different way than words.
“When I get back, I’ll treat him better.”
Chanelica seriously considered quitting her translator job. The pay was good, and the work was enjoyable, but was it worth continuing if it risked hurting Derwin, whom she liked?
She’d be leaving soon anyway… wouldn’t it be better to focus on him?
Her mood sank.
Their relationship had been destined to end from the start. But now that she had grown fond of human Derwin, it was different. Even if he delayed becoming the dragon, she wanted to spend more time with him—she liked human Derwin too much.
“Phew.”
Chanelica rustled the blanket and got out of bed. It was late at night, but she couldn’t sleep.
Even knowing she had to leave early in the morning, Chanelica began wandering around the Kartel mansion. Thoughts of Derwin and curiosity about the being she would meet tomorrow weighed heavily on her.
Click.
After checking every room from the library onward, Chanelica arrived at Derwin’s bedroom and confirmed no one was inside. Wanting even a trace of his scent, she entered the room.
At midnight, the masterless room was dark. Chanelica lit a glass lantern placed by the door and began moving about with it in hand.
The room was tidy as always. Nothing in particular stood out. Then Chanelica noticed a door at the far end of the room. Turning the handle, it opened smoothly.
The new space she stepped into was a small study.
“Consistent as ever.”
Chanelica chuckled softly at the familiar color of the bookshelves.
Derwin’s bedroom was ordinary except for the gray-toned wallpaper, but the study was different. While the mansion’s library had wooden shelves in natural tones, Derwin’s study was entirely black. Yet the black gave it a neat, luxurious appearance, like a dragon’s scales.
How could this not be the Lord’s?
Chanelica smiled faintly and looked around. The bedroom and study were separated by a single door, yet they felt like completely different spaces. She realized it could be described as follows: the bedroom was human Derwin’s space, the study was Dragon Lord Derwin’s.
The study had a large bookshelf, a desk, a chair, and a big map on the wall. That was about it. The bookshelf contained only about ten books; the rest of it was empty.
Cough.
When she pulled out a few books, the dust on them invaded her nose. Holding her breath to avoid coughing, Chanelica flipped through the books.
They were nothing unusual, just the kind of books Derwin would read: Camton Kingdom law codes, military tactics, knight training manuals.
Losing interest, she put the books back. It was enough just to know the space existed.
Looking around for anything else, her eyes landed on a black three-tiered drawer under the desk. She didn’t particularly want to open it; the thick layer of dust on the handles was visible even in the dark.
But curiosity won. Surely there was nothing of interest, but she wanted to see anything she could, hoping to learn more about human Derwin.
Steeling herself against the dust, Chanelica opened the first drawer. It was empty. Disappointed, she opened the second; also just dust. Even the deepest third drawer was empty.
Her neck stung… why did I even open them?
Chanelica coughed violently from inhaling dust and, regretting her actions, closed the drawers one by one.
Clack, clack, clatter.
Huh?
As she was closing the third drawer, she noticed something. A light object had moved inside.
She reopened it. Crouching and bringing the lantern closer, she saw something gleaming at the very back of the drawer that had been invisible in the dark.
She reached out and felt something hard.
“What’s this?”
It was a small metallic cube, slightly larger than her palm.
Chanelica inspected the strange box, turning it, scraping its surface, and tugging at it. It didn’t open—just scattered dust. The box seemed like a meaningless decoration, a cube of metal.
“Huh?”
As she tried to put it back, she noticed something tiny engraved on the bottom. She hadn’t seen it before.
Holding the lantern closer to read it, she saw the letters.
…The gears have begun to turn…
It was a normal sentence. But her skin crawled—not because of the content, but because it was written not in human language, but in the Dragon language, the Draconic tongue.
What… why is this in Draconic?
Thunk.
“Ah!”
The top of the metallic box suddenly detached in her hands, startling her.
Phew. That scared me.
She lifted the detached lid and saw the inside of the box. Several small notes were inside.
Picking one up carefully, she set the box aside.
A note inside an object engraved in Draconic… it might contain something important.
Her heart raced with a mix of tension and excitement. Carefully unfolding a note that had been folded about five times, she read it.
Her face fell, a shadow darker than the study’s darkness spreading over it.
ㅎㅂㄹㄱ
“Good morning, Chanel!”
Stern greeted her warmly, unusually bright-faced today.
Early in the morning, after being seen off by the Kartel mansion servants, Chanelica met Stern at the agreed location.
“Good morning, Captain. Should I transfer to the carriage?”
“Yes. Take my carriage. But you don’t have any luggage?”
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Ah.”
Stern gave a faint smile.
The carriage they transferred to began moving. Crossing the capital of Camton Kingdom, it gradually left the city behind and headed for the countryside.
“How long will it take?”
“By evening, we should arrive. Let’s go at a relaxed pace.”
Stern, lightly dressed, was full of joy. Observing him, Chanelica asked:
“You seem happy.”
“Of course. I’ve been looking forward to this day.”
“The day you tell me who the Lord is?”
“No, Chanel. The day I go on a date with you.”
“A date without even telling me the destination?”
“You’ll find out when we get there.”
The carriage continued its journey, stopping only briefly at intervals. The destination seemed very far. After a lunch stop in a small village, Chanelica had to sit in the carriage without rest again.
The hot summer weather and her first long carriage journey left her physically fatigued. Her eyelids grew heavy. Resolving not to sleep, she struggled, but sleep mocked her determination and overwhelmed her.
“If you’re sleepy, take a nap.”
“How much longer?”
Struggling to keep her eyes open, Chanelica asked.
“In a few hours, we’ll arrive.”
How could she be this sleepy without a full lunch?
The sun was still high. In the end, she surrendered to sleep, thinking, It’ll be fine for a little while…
Her eyes slowly closed.
Several hours later, her eyes snapped open.
“Awake?”
Stern’s gentle voice reached her, but the surroundings were unfamiliar.
“Where… am I?”
A dark, cool place that sent a chill through her bones. Resembling the Rare Island of Spicher, it was a massive cave.
