~Chapter 104~
“Are you trying to push it this far?”
Why waste strength when you can’t even beat me? She must know she couldn’t possibly win here.
Yet Prenia didn’t stop. She attacked again and again, pouring out all her magic as if she wanted to burn through everything she had. It looked like her final desperate struggle.
“Guess she really means it.”
Her strikes were heavy, but none of them ever reached me—they vanished before touching.
As the fight dragged on, exhaustion began to show on her face. Sweat dripped from her chin, her lips bit hard. Still, she didn’t stop.
I simply stood under my barrier, watching. It felt less like a fight and more like watching a grand performance.
But I had no intention of letting it go on forever. There were more important things for me to do.
“It’s fun… and educational, too.”
The way she used magic was interesting. For someone like me with little real battle experience, it was good practice.
“But I’m busy.”
I snapped my fingers.
Prenia’s body froze stiff, eyes widening in shock before even that expression locked solid. Only her pupils rolled wildly in panic, darting around like trapped animals.
She stood there like a statue, straight and rigid—like she’d been sealed inside a cylinder.
I gave her one last piece of advice.
“From now on, live quietly. Stop making trouble.”
Before sending her away, I left a safeguard. I marked her ankle with a trace of my magic—like a tattoo that would never fade until death. A shackle.
“Anytime you try something strange—like coming back here, or chasing after me and Calix—I’ll know right away. It’ll send me a signal. Oh, and it tracks your location, too. So don’t worry.”
Her eyes shook with terror, but she couldn’t say a word.
‘This will be the last time.’
Unless I went looking for her, I would never see her again.
Once, I thought she was the heroine of the original story. Now, seeing her like this—pathetic, desperate—it was almost strange.
…No.
‘Feels refreshing, actually.’
I smirked.
“Thought I’d at least get a last good look at your face, but… eh, not great.”
Of course, I’d frozen her like this myself.
Anyway, nothing left to say.
This was for the best—for her and for me.
“Goodbye—”
With a wave of magic, I expelled her straight out of the basement.
At last, only Calix and I remained in the vast underground chamber.
“First, let’s rest.”
We sat side by side on the ground, shoulders touching. His fingers slipped between mine, and naturally we clasped hands. For a long while, we just sat there in silence.
Only one task remained—cutting the connection with the dragon. But for now, a short rest seemed fine.
I thought back to the very first time we came here.
“This feels like the first time we came, doesn’t it?”
“…This isn’t a picnic, you know.”
He gave a small scold, but then smiled at me anyway.
I tilted my head back, staring at the ceiling.
“So strange… it’s really almost over.”
I thought removing the Emperor and Prenia would make me feel relieved. Instead, I felt strangely calm, almost empty.
‘Maybe because I didn’t really do much.’
I hadn’t killed the Emperor—she’d gone mad on her own. That saved me from cleaning up a corpse, at least.
Suddenly, a thought struck me. I jumped to my feet.
“Wait! What if later, the prince blames us for sending the Emperor here? What if he says it’s your fault she went mad?”
Calix snorted.
“He should be rolling out a red carpet for you, not blaming you. You gave him the throne.”
“…Right. True.”
I sat back down, a little embarrassed.
Then another thought hit me. I poked his side.
“Why didn’t you tell me the Emperor was sick?”
“……”
His lips pressed shut. He didn’t forget—it was deliberate.
Finally, with a sigh, he admitted,
“I didn’t want you to worry.”
“Worry about what?”
“That if she was sick, then… maybe she had a reason to chase the dragon. Maybe you’d feel sympathy for her.”
“…Sympathy?”
I stared at him, dumbfounded. Sympathy for the Emperor? For the woman who framed and killed my parents? Who made my life miserable?
‘Absurd.’
I grabbed his face, forcing him to look at me.
“You really thought I’d pity her?”
“You’re kind.”
“I’m not! I even thought it served her right when I heard she had a disease.”
At that, pride flickered across his face.
Now I understood—when I’d said earlier “What does her sickness matter to me?” he’d been happy. Because I didn’t care at all.
He pressed a kiss to my palm.
“I just don’t want you wasting energy on things that don’t matter.”
My hand tingled, and I quickly pulled it back.
“…Still, it’s not meaningless.”
Not that the royal family’s sickness mattered to me.
But then I realized—Adrian was also royal blood.
“Shouldn’t he get the disease too?”
“He’s still young, Rena.”
“Still young”—so later, maybe.
I murmured, “Guess I’ll have to live long enough to see him fall sick.”
Calix smiled at that.
But I frowned against his shoulder.
“…Actually, thinking about it makes me angry.”
“The prince?”
“Yeah. He dumped everything on us and ran. As soon as his goal was met, he left us to deal with the rest.”
No, he wouldn’t get away with that. He owed us, and I intended to collect.
We had planned to return straight to Hertorio lands, but now we had to head to the capital first. There were still things to settle—with Adrian.
My restoration, the false charges against the Troxia family… everything.
“I’m going to threaten Adrian.”
Calix’s eyebrow twitched.
“Don’t call him by name so casually.”
“Fine. I’ll threaten the prince.”
“I’ll handle it. I’m good at threats.”
Good at threats, huh? What a talent.
I didn’t feel sorry for Adrian one bit.
As I was thinking about how best to squeeze him, my gaze drifted to the dragon.
From the start, it had overwhelmed me—so vast, terrifying, and yet beautiful. Just seeing it up close made my heart race.
“…It really is massive.”
“Yeah.”
It slept peacefully, untouched by the chaos around us, as though it belonged only half in the human world.
No wonder Prenia and the Emperor were obsessed.
Then Calix called softly,
“Rena.”
“Yes? What is it?”
But he wasn’t looking at me. I instantly knew what he meant.
Still staring at the ground, he whispered,
“Cutting the dragon’s bond… it isn’t dangerous, right?”
‘Damn.’
He lifted his head, his eyes trembling.
I seized his hand.
“Of course not! It’s not dangerous at all!”
“Then what about what she said?”
“She didn’t know what she was talking about.”
“……”
He frowned. That was his sulking face.
He stroked my hand gently with his thumb.
“Rena… I’m not as good as you, but I’ve studied magic too.”
“…And?”
“Magicians store magic in their hearts. But your heart wasn’t sealed like theirs—it stayed open. That’s why, as a baby, you drew in the dragon’s magic. Just to survive.”
“Well… yeah.”
I didn’t remember, but my parents had told me so.
He raised his gaze.
“Then… is there a way to fix your heart?”
“Uh… not exactly.”
“So there isn’t.”
“Not necessarily! It doesn’t need fixing. I can live on the natural magic in the world. It’ll just… be less comfortable.”
“Less comfortable?”
His tone sharpened.
Words wouldn’t convince him. Only action would.
I gripped his hand tightly and stood.
