~Chapter 90~
When Rena said she wanted to go to Troxia, Calix sighed without realizing it.
In the end, it had come to this. Even though he had led things this way, the taste in his mouth turned bitter.
As long as the dragon existed, Rena would always be tied to that land. That fact scratched endlessly at Calix’s nerves.
From outside came the sound of raindrops. At some point, the rain had begun to fall. Calix looked out the window and sighed.
“Rena doesn’t like the rain…”
‘It’s raining.’
From morning, I glared at the gloomy window. They had said it was just a passing shower during the night, but it showed no sign of stopping. Instead, the rain only grew heavier.
‘I wanted to go out today and look for Prenia.’
We had come closer to Troxia, so I thought it would be easier to find her. At this distance, if I stretched my mana thinly, I could cover as far as Troxia.
‘But I didn’t think it would rain.’
As I stared at the window sulkily, a calm voice came from behind me.
“Rena, no matter how much you glare, the rain won’t stop.”
“I know that.”
Still, I turned away from the window.
Calix was sitting in a chair, reading a book. He looked at me.
“Want to play a board game if you’re bored?”
“No. Forget it.”
The emperor would be coming here soon, and yet—how could Calix stay so calm?
He answered my thoughts.
“There are still about ten days left. Until then, we should rest.”
My heart grew anxious, thinking we had only ten days left.
‘As expected of the male lead.’
I shook my head. Just as I was about to go back to bed, I froze. Something strange flashed at the edge of my sight.
‘What was that?’
Beside me was only the window.
‘Did I see something outside?’
I went closer, pressing my face so near the glass that my breath fogged it. But there was nothing unusual. Besides, with the heavy downpour, I couldn’t see anything clearly anyway.
Calix noticed me standing at the window for a while and asked,
“Do you see something?”
“No, I just saw something strange…”
“What kind of strange?”
“I don’t know either.”
Even if it was just for a moment, something foreign had caught my eye. Probably nothing important—but still, it nagged at me.
Before I knew it, I opened the window. Calix jumped up in shock.
“Rena! The rain will come in!”
Sure enough, the moment I opened it, a fierce wind and rain rushed inside. Curtains flew up to the ceiling, and the floor quickly became wet.
Ignoring it, I leaned out, one hand on the window frame. The rain whipped my face mercilessly, making me squint.
Within seconds, I was soaked through. Water streamed endlessly down my face like from a faucet.
Calix rushed to me, trying to shield me with his arm.
“Rena, you’ll catch a cold again!”
“Wait!”
I really had seen something strange. It had to be real.
I narrowed my eyes, leaning out further—almost falling.
“Rena…!”
Just as my feet lifted off the ground, Calix grabbed my waist and pulled me back in.
‘Did I really just imagine it?’
As I tried to recall the feeling, Calix hurriedly closed the window and fetched a large towel.
“Come here, you’ll catch cold.”
He wrapped the towel over me. He himself was drenched, but he didn’t seem to notice. I quietly watched him as he carefully dried me. I could have used magic, but I liked his warm touch.
“…You know.”
The words slipped out before I realized.
“Mm?”
Calix paused, looking at me.
“…”
“…”
But then I couldn’t think of what to say next. Like a child hiding candy, I clamped my mouth shut.
‘What should I say?’
Calix waited patiently.
After struggling inside, I finally closed my eyes tightly.
“You know.”
“…Yes?”
“Don’t get angry, just listen.”
“What are you going to say now?”
I carefully began, stacking up cushions around my words. My voice sounded uncertain even to me.
“I want to destroy the dragon.”
In that instant, Calix’s body froze in shock. I avoided his gaze.
When I glanced up, our eyes met—and in his, I saw fear. Before I could speak again, he pulled me tightly into his arms.
“No.”
His voice was firm.
“Absolutely not.”
“Don’t be like that…”
“No matter what you say, the answer is no.”
He held me even tighter.
“You won’t even hear me out?”
“No. I won’t. It’s not allowed.”
Both of us were still wet, yet thanks to Calix, I didn’t feel cold. I wanted to tell him.
“You’re really warm.”
“Don’t say things like that.”
It was just an honest thought, but Calix answered through clenched teeth.
“No matter what you say, it’s not allowed.”
“…I was just complimenting you.”
I muttered weakly.
“Rena.”
He pulled back slightly, holding my shoulders and looking into my eyes.
“If the dragon disappears, you’ll be in danger.”
“….”
“You could even die.”
His tone left no room for argument. I carefully tried to object.
“But we won’t know unless we try.”
“Do we really need to try to find out?”
His words bit sharply through his teeth.
“The dragon’s mana fills part of you. And you want to destroy it? Are you insane?”
It was the first time Calix had ever spoken so harshly to me.
‘Well… he has a reason.’
Water dripped from his jaw to the floor, leaving dark circles. Watching that, I suddenly asked,
“Aren’t you cold?”
“…What?”
He looked at me as if he couldn’t believe what he heard.
“I said, aren’t you going to wash?”
When I asked again, ignoring his glare, his face grew darker.
“You’re planning to sneak off and destroy the dragon while I wash?”
What nonsense!
He acted as if I would leave right this moment.
“We promised each other. Never to leave. Did you forget already?”
“I didn’t forget. And I never said I’d leave. You just look cold, so I said go wash.”
Calix snapped loudly,
“I’m not cold!”
“You’re dripping wet all over!”
“You’re the same!”
“I can dry myself with magic.”
“….”
“….”
We both glared at each other stubbornly. Then—
“Achoo!”
Calix sneezed first.
“A-achoo!”
Then me.
“Go wash if you’re cold.”
“You go first.”
“I’m not cold.”
“Neither am I.”
We fell silent again, staring at each other. Suddenly, seeing how childish we looked, the corners of my mouth twitched.
“…Pfft.”
“Funny?”
“You don’t think so too?”
“Ha…”
Our eyes met again.
“…Kek.”
“Pfft.”
We burst into laughter at the same time. No matter how grown-up, with each other we became like children.
Still giggling, I waved my hand. Instantly, both of us returned to a fresh, dry state as if the rain never touched us.
“Thanks.”
“It’s nothing.”
I winked back at him and took his hand, standing up. I used magic to clean the rainwater from the room. Calix stood with folded arms, watching.
“So.”
“Hm?”
He finally spoke.
“What was that about the dragon?”
“Oh, now you want to listen?”
When I looked back, our eyes met. He unfolded his arms and nodded slightly.
“No. I just need to know what you’re planning so I can stop you.”
‘Fair point.’
After neatly fixing the curtains, I turned to him and said calmly:
“It won’t be dangerous.”
“….”
His brow immediately furrowed. He realized then that I had already made up my mind long ago. He closed the distance quickly, afraid I might vanish.
“It’s just the body. I’ll destroy only that, so it’s fine.”
“Whether it’s fine or not—I’ll decide that.”
“Why should you decide?”
Before I could argue further, he hugged me tightly again.
‘Hmm.’
Lately, Calix was holding me far too often. Whatever I was doing, he wanted me within reach of his hands.
‘Not that I dislike it…’
After thinking for a bit, I spoke softly.
“The emperor and princes all want the dragon. Wouldn’t it be better to erase it?”
“I’ll just get rid of those people.”
“And what if others appear? Someone else, someday, who learns about the dragon?”
Calix stayed silent. Inside his arms, I made my best argument.
“It really won’t be dangerous. The dragon’s mana is already part of the world. Even if I melt and erase the body underground, the mana won’t vanish right away.”
“And if you’re wrong? If it really is dangerous?”
“You won’t know without trying.”
“I don’t want to risk you just to find out.”
