Chapter 49
“…….”
“Are you upset? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you…”
“No, it’s fine.”
‘There must be a reason for this.’
Dahlia carefully took Khalid’s hand as it reached toward her and gently put it down. It was a soft, yet firm refusal.
Seeing Khalid stiffen at her rejection, Dahlia offered a reassuring, gentle smile.
“It’s alright, so let’s finish your story first. There’s still a long way to go.”
“Hmm…”
A groan escaped him, as if he were pondering what to do.
Dahlia lightly touched the dragon’s hair full of secrets. His soft, flowing black hair always lifted her spirits whenever she touched it.
“But soon, you’ll have to hear my story too. You’ll let me, won’t you?”
“…….”
“There’s plenty of time.”
It was a statement meant for both him and herself.
At Dahlia’s words, tugging lightly at his collar as if urging an answer, Khalid fiddled with the ends of her hair before nodding.
“Mm.”
She thought to herself how bold and courageous he was, unlike her tendency to ignore or hide things he might dislike or fear.
The stories Khalid recounted from long ago had a certain refined quality, but for a human like Dahlia, they were filled with events so vast and intriguing that understanding them fully was nearly impossible.
His tales continued from when the sun was high until the sky turned completely dark.
“Wait, you’re saying a mischievous little kid taught you that?”
“Mm.”
“Are you sure you understood it correctly? You can be a little… forgetful sometimes.”
“No, that’s not it.”
Khalid shook his head, looking genuinely indignant.
Next to them, on the stacked trays, the remnants of snacks remained from their long conversation—eaten bit by bit, paused, then piled neatly.
Roy, who had been refilling the trays while observing them, had yawned and gone to bed. Khalid’s story had now reached the time he went north to exterminate monsters, finally arriving at the part about “that child.”
“You don’t know how old the child was? How big were they?”
Khalid measured along his own leg before answering.
“The height… about this. Didn’t even reach my waist.”
“Then they were well before puberty.”
At an age too young even to learn proper manners, a small child, just starting to read and write, had taught an older dragon like Khalid about human etiquette.
Dahlia couldn’t help but wiggle her feet at the thought of how adorable that must have looked.
“Did you also learn it in such a messy way?”
“…I didn’t realize it was messy.”
Khalid brushed the hair from his face with an embarrassed look. Dahlia, momentarily lost in his picture-perfect image, quickly collected herself and nodded.
“Now that I hear your story, I understand. At that age, it’s normal to kiss an adult on the cheek and even be praised for it.”
‘Babies are surprisingly good at recognizing beauty, so they must have liked him. And because he’s endlessly lenient toward weak, young creatures, he probably accepted such bold behavior.’
Being the highest in rank, he was left uncorrected by others as well.
“You won’t do that now, right?”
“Mm. I’ll only kiss you.”
Khalid declared seriously. Dahlia laughed, wrapped her arms around his neck, and peppered his cheeks with quick kisses.
“Right. And until now, you thought these days it’s polite for nobles to kiss cheeks as a sign of familiarity… Ah.”
She laughed, realizing it really wasn’t funny.
Her face slightly pale, she asked,
“Could it be… you did that to the king or other nobles too?”
‘Khalid kissing an elderly king, full-grown counts, and rough knights on the cheek.’
It was a scene she didn’t even want to imagine.
Noble lords and royal officials in the monster-infested borderlands knew his true identity, so they must have tolerated the black dragon’s antics, though he probably appeared as a completely reckless dragon to them.
“Oh, no. No one else did that. Only that child did, so I assumed it was a custom for women.”
“That’s fortunate… Wait, even if it was only ladies, that would’ve been a problem. You’d be labeled a playboy.”
“It’s fine. That child was the only girl.”
“What? How is that possible?”
“That area was a remote border, especially dangerous with monsters and barbarians. Everyone else there was a soldier.”
“What about the maids…”
“They were all young trainees aspiring to be knights, not actual maids. And the child was the daughter of a border lord, the only girl in the fortress.”
“Oh…”
“Her mother had died in the war, so the father briefly had her with him. Being the only child there, she was quite doted on. I had only interacted with humans in monster-infested areas, so it had been a long time since I’d seen a human child. I guess that’s why I let it slide.”
‘If it weren’t for that child, Dahlia wouldn’t have misunderstood me.’
Khalid rubbed his jaw, looking a bit regretful. Dahlia gazed at him with a curious expression.
“….”
Though she didn’t know the child’s face or name, the fact she had been doted on by people including Khalid made Dahlia quietly envious.
At the same time, she felt pity for a child who had grown up alone, losing her mother, without other children or women to care for her.
“That must have been just before coming here, right? Not long ago?”
“Mm. I had a short hibernation…”
Dahlia wondered if she would ever meet that young lady in the capital. She imagined her as a very cute young lady. Khalid quickly did some calculations and replied brightly.
“She’s probably about your age.”
“Excuse me?”
Blinking several times, Dahlia repeated,
“About the same age?”
‘I thought she would’ve been much younger. What…?’
Flustered by Dahlia’s confusion, Khalid added defensively,
“I wouldn’t have sent that child, who was essentially a baby back then, to serve you.”
“What do you mean?”
“That child was originally supposed to serve you instead of Roy. She was the only human girl I knew.”
“Oh… I see then.”
He hadn’t hidden anything or lied, but the thought of Khalid having such a cute childhood memory with a girl her age felt strange to Dahlia.
Her troubled expression made Khalid lightly hold her fingers.
“Why do you always hold just my fingertips?”
“I’m afraid you’ll be scared if I grab too tightly.”
For some reason, Dahlia’s irritation grew. She interlaced her fingers firmly with his.
“Then what about me holding like this? Is it okay?”
Even in her somewhat combative stance, Khalid smiled without surprise and gently pulled her hand. Fingers intertwined, Dahlia collapsed onto him.
Khalid enveloped her, placing a careful kiss on her rounded forehead.
“You can do anything to me.”
The soft touch and warm breath tickled her skin.
His voice, low and nearly fading, was almost frighteningly deep, but instead of fear, Dahlia hugged him tighter.
‘I’m already incredibly happy, yet why do I feel this way?’
It was jealousy.
But Dahlia didn’t even recognize this new feeling as jealousy. Despite being in his comforting embrace, she felt a restless yearning, as if something was missing.
‘Even like this, I want to be closer to him.’
Khalid, below her, was experiencing a different kind of difficulty.
He could feel her fully through the thin fabric and swallowed a groan. Dahlia startled and twisted.
“What’s wrong? Am I heavy?”
Though Khalid had another reason for his difficulty, pure Dahlia had no idea.
“…No.”
He hugged her tightly. Stifling his groan and smiling as if nothing had happened, Dahlia’s worried eyes softened.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Mm. You slept soundly too.”
Though they had slept in the same bed uneventfully, Dahlia was puzzled by Khalid’s unusually haggard face.
She had lightly pouted at him for no reason, then remembered closing her eyes as his gentle hand slowly patted her back.
‘I fell asleep like that and had a vivid dream… what was it again?’
Unlike nightmares that linger unpleasantly, good dreams seem to fade immediately after waking.
Lying under the cozy blanket, Dahlia tried to recall the remnants of the dream but gave up and turned to look at Khalid.
“It’s strange, but I feel lighter after sleeping next to you, you know?”
“…That’s good.”
Khalid watched her happy smile with a complicated heart.
“Are you really fully grown?”
“…?”
Caught off guard, Dahlia wondered how to answer. Khalid, impatient for some reason, asked again.
“This is important, so I want you to answer.”
“What do you mean all of a sudden?”
She laughed, but Khalid’s serious expression showed he truly wanted an answer.
“Hmm… I don’t know why, but since you’re asking so seriously, I’ll answer properly.”
Pulling back the crisp blanket, Dahlia sat up, arms crossed, and said confidently,
“Of course, I’m a fully grown adult. From this year, I’m an independent adult woman.”
“Good.”
He exhaled with a haggard face.
‘Why do I feel such relief?’
Dahlia tilted her head, noticing a letter Roy had left on the nightstand.
As she reached for it, Khalid, watching intently, made up his mind.
“…Then, let’s hurry the wedding.”
And he felt he could devour her completely.
Not literally, but if it meant possessing even a single strand of her hair, he would rather do that.
