Chapter 66
Ariella’s words cleverly twisted Helene’s earlier statement.
“You spoke of progress and growth.”
But Ariella believed that true progress started with resolving the past.
“Forget the past to be free? If you do that, you’ll only be trapped by unresolved history.”
“……”
Helene hid her face behind her teacup in silence.
The four envoys sitting with her, however, all looked like they had just bitten into something sour.
They didn’t seem to have a proper counterargument either.
Ariella thought to herself, amused.
“Honestly, me quoting that line is kind of ironic.”
She had used the Hero’s words, yet hadn’t explained their original context.
After winning the decisive battle against Heidelberg, the Hero had warned:
“After countless sacrifices, we have finally repelled the Demon Army. But we must not become intoxicated by this fleeting victory and forget why this war began.”
His message was clear: Humanity must remember its bloody history and keep watch over the Demon Realm.
The human army had suffered heavily at the start of the war because of their ignorance of demons and their lands.
Yet here was Ariella, who had voluntarily moved to the Demon Realm, quoting those very words?
“If the Empire heard that, they’d have a fit. They practically worship the Hero as a saint.”
After all, the Holy Empire was founded on following the Hero Chaegen’s will.
“But so what? This is the Demon Realm. It’s not like word will ever reach them.”
With that thought, Ariella studied Helene closely again.
For the first time, the woman who had always worn a soft smile now kept a completely neutral expression.
“Strange.”
Something about her calm demeanor felt… unnatural.
And the more Helene spoke, the stronger Ariella’s unease grew.
A fleeting distortion flickered across her mask-like face. Ariella zeroed in on that tiny crack.
“That’s the look of someone who doesn’t even believe the nonsense coming out of their own mouth.”
It reminded her of the nobles she’d seen in the human world.
People who didn’t agree with their own words but repeated them like parrots because someone had ordered them to.
“A typical political puppet.”
Clearly at a disadvantage in this verbal spar, Helene chose vague words to wrap up today’s meeting.
“…It seems you need more time to consider this matter. Please take your time.”
As agreed, the delegation would stay one night in the Demon King’s castle and depart tomorrow.
Grubb had been pushing the servants mercilessly for a week, miraculously preparing bedrooms fit for their guests.
Watching Helene leave, Ariella fell deep into thought.
* * *
“Done cleaning!”
In one of the castle’s corridors, Chad, a young demon servant, wiped sweat off his forehead and small horns.
After completing his special errand—summoning the contractor outside the castle—he had returned to his usual chore: cleaning.
“This should be good enough to keep the seniors off my back. Look at this floor shine!”
The head butler had ordered the servants to keep the place spotless while the envoys stayed.
“Shame I didn’t get to see the delegation myself. Maybe next time.”
Just as Chad crossed the corridor to rinse his mop—
“Hey, Chad.”
A voice came from behind.
“Yes, hel—huh?!”
He froze.
“……!”
A golden creature stood perfectly balanced on the corridor railing, like a perched bird.
Its body was as large as a calf, yet it landed with grace.
Chad immediately threw himself face-down in a bow.
“Golden Dragon, sir!”
It was the hatchling.
They’d never been alone together like this before.
Chad wasn’t even curious how the dragon knew his name. The rumor was that the dragon remembered every resident of the Demon King’s domain.
That was just a dragon’s legendary memory at work.
“Tardy Chad.”
Chad flinched, taking it as a scolding.
His face turned bright red as he bowed even lower.
“S-sorry! It won’t happen again, I swear!”
Technically, he wasn’t apologizing to a superior, but it came out naturally.
“You were late eight days ago too. You passed through the castle gate at exactly 8:20 a.m. and Grubb scolded you. I saw it all from the sky.”
“A-ah, that day…”
There was no excuse.
His face flushed even redder.
“Tardy Chad.”
The dragon repeated himself.
Chad wondered if the dragon was teasing him.
But then—
“Tardy is a nickname.”
“Huh?”
“Tardy is just teasing. Chad is your real name.”
“Ah… yes, sir. That’s right.”
Why was the great Golden Dragon saying something so obvious?
Curious, Chad finally lifted his head… and found himself staring into a pair of large, curious eyes.
The dragon wasn’t teasing him at all.
“Tardy Chad, you’re a demon, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“But nobody says, ‘Hey, Demon,’ when talking to you.”
“Uh… no, sir?”
It was a strange question, but he answered honestly.
Then the dragon revealed his true thoughts.
“So why does everyone only call me ‘Hatchling’?”
Chad blinked.
“…Now that you mention it…”
“Human Ariella. Kobold Grubb. Demon Chad. But me? Just Hatchling. No name. Why is that?”
Chad had never considered this. He scrambled for an answer.
“M-maybe… because you’re so great and mighty, sir?”
“I am great, but what’s that got to do with it?”
If Ariella had been here, she would have rolled her eyes and muttered about how spoiled the dragon had become thanks to the Ents treating him like royalty.
Still, the praise seemed to please him, and he pressed Chad for another answer.
“When we address the Demon King, we don’t dare speak his name either. We just bow and say, ‘Great Demon King!’ He’s that important.”
“That guy, the Demon King? He still has a name. Ludvig. You just don’t say it. Me? I don’t even have one.”
Chad was stumped.
“Or maybe… it’s because you’re the only dragon around here, sir?”
“That actually makes some sense.”
“Right? Like, one of my coworkers is also a demon, his name’s Roy. If our senior said, ‘Hey, Demon,’ we wouldn’t know who he meant.”
“True. You’re all demons.”
“So we need names to tell us apart. But you don’t need one, because you’re the only dragon here.”
That logic actually made sense.
“That’s the reason?”
“…I guess?”
“I get it, but I don’t care.”
“Why not?”
“Because I want a name!”
Chad had no idea why this was such a big deal to him. He’d never been nameless before.
“Tardy Chad, this is a serious problem.”
The dragon leapt down into the hallway.
Chad braced for a heavy thud, but there was no sound at all, no shaking floor.
Despite his size, the dragon landed gracefully.
Then—
“…?”
He clasped his arms behind his back and began pacing in circles.
He was imitating Grubb’s habit of pacing when deep in thought.
But with his odd proportions, the hatchling’s arms didn’t even reach his waist, making him look clumsy from behind.
Chad stood there awkwardly, unsure if he should just watch.
Then, without realizing it, he started following the dragon in circles.
“Hmm… hmmmmm!”
“……”
The bizarre scene of a great golden dragon pacing in circles, followed by a confused demon boy, continued until the dragon stopped.
“Tardy Chad.”
“Yes, sir!”
“You seem kind of smart, based on what you just said.”
“Me? Haha…”
Chad blushed at the unexpected compliment.
Then the Golden Dragon made a bold declaration.
“You’re my subordinate now.”
“Your… your subordinate? Me?”
Chad’s eyes widened.
A dragon’s personal servant?!
All his friends would be jealous.
But then a worry hit him.
“But I’m already a citizen of Lord Ludwig. Is it okay for me to serve you too?”
“Being a citizen and being a subordinate are different. Look at the soldiers out there. They’re citizens of the Demon King but also serve Ulken.”
“Oh, you’re right! My mom’s like that too. You’re so wise, Golden Dragon!”
“Of course. I’m the great Golden Dragon.”
Recruiting him was surprisingly easy.
“Subordinate Number One, Chad.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Here’s your first order.”
“Yes, sir!”
Chad’s eyes sparkled as the dragon gave his command.
“Find me a name. One that’s cool, beautiful, and worthy of my greatness!”
That night.
Ariella sat on her bed, reading a book as usual.
She had developed a nightly habit of either finishing an old book or practicing a new spell before sleep.
“Life feels so much more relaxed now.”
Her quality of life had skyrocketed.
She couldn’t spend her whole day on hobbies as she’d once dreamed, but she had carved out precious time for books and magic.
Tonight’s book was particularly fascinating.
“If I brought this to the human world, chaos would erupt. The church would lose its mind.”
The more she read, the more she realized how little her homeland truly knew about the Demon Realm.
Some of what she found here outright contradicted the church’s teachings.
“If I shared this, I’d be branded a heretic instantly.”
They’d execute her just for learning magic—denying church doctrine would only seal her fate.
“Not that it matters. I’m not going back anyway.”
That was almost a certainty.
By human standards, she was already dead.
Revealing she was alive would only complicate things and put her in grave danger.
“I wonder what’s happened to the Empire. By now, even the Emperor must’ve given up on me.”
She could barely recall his face anymore.
All that remained was the memory of a cold, cunning man she could never approach.
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll never see him again.”
Her fleeting thoughts of the human world quickly faded.
That life was now more distant than a mirage.
She returned her focus to the book in her hands, vowing to protect this peaceful life at all costs.
But her focus was soon interrupted.
Knock, knock.
“Who is it?”
