CH…25
Just before the dragon descended—
“Find it. Quickly!”
Barberry urged as she infiltrated the enemy camp alongside Kur.
Sniff, sniff.
Kur relied on his sharp sense of smell to locate the magic stones.
Just before Medo had come to propose, Barberry had seen Kur sniffing around. At first, given the timing, she thought he was smelling her.
But looking back, she realized that the only thing that ever triggered such a strong reaction from him was the scent of magic stones.
“That’s when my brilliant mind lit up,” Barberry bragged. “Rondar might’ve run out of magic stones, but look—our friendly enemies kindly brought some right here!”
“Quiet down,” Kur warned, his voice low.
Barberry’s volume was steadily increasing. At this rate, they’d be discovered before even finding the stones.
Once she finally calmed down, Kur refocused on the scent.
“There.”
He pointed toward a tent where the smell was strongest, then strode straight toward it.
Guards stood watch, but Kur took them out as effortlessly as brushing dust from his shoulder. Soon he had found a wooden crate.
Inside—it was full of magic stones. The scent had carried far for a reason; there were a lot of them.
“Fragrant,” he murmured.
These were B-rank. Worlds apart from the trash D-rank stones those thieves had carried, or the pitiful shards from the mercenaries’ hideout.
“Eat up,” Barberry said.
Kur frowned. “What exactly did Your Majesty do during those two years of exile to become this impatient?”
He glared when she interrupted his moment of awe. Selecting the finest-looking stone, Kur placed it in his mouth.
As the raw mana spread and melted across his tongue, he let out a satisfied sigh.
“If you take any longer, my people will all die,” Barberry grumbled.
“The only one who ever wanted to be your subject was that pie-baking human. Everyone else rejected you. Why would they want your help now?”
Kur’s tone was skeptical, but his expression softened under the gentle glow of the stone’s power.
“Whether they want it or not doesn’t matter. I’ve decided to help.”
“Amazing. What a benevolent king,” Barberry said dryly.
Once the stone dissolved, Kur reached for another. Barberry grew frustrated as he kept savoring each one individually.
“Why not just shove them all in at once? You just need to eat, right?”
“That’s such an uncivilized—mmph!”
“Stop talking and eat!”
Barberry grabbed a handful of magic stones and force-fed them to him.
“Your cheeks stretch more than I thought. Do they all fit?”
As she kept stuffing more in, Kur’s cheeks puffed up until he looked like a squirrel hoarding acorns.
Kur glared at her furiously, but Barberry showed no mercy.
“Now swallow.”
“His Majesty himself has come to save you!”
Barberry spread her arms wide before the crowd, expecting tears of gratitude, cries of joy, shouts of ‘Long live the king!’
Reality, however, differed slightly from her imagination.
“Hhh… huhhh…”
“A d-dragon?! Here? Wasn’t it dead?!”
“Oh, merciful heavens!”
People screamed, sobbed, and fainted, calling upon the gods instead of rejoicing. Barberry tilted her head thoughtfully.
“Guess you’re not exactly popular.”
“Did you really think humans would cheer and offer me food the moment they saw me?” Kur retorted.
Fair point. Still, Sharon at least should be used to Kur by now, right?
Barberry went to find her.
“Kyaaaaaaa!”
But as soon as Sharon met the dragon’s eyes, she shrieked. Her terror was so intense she nearly passed out.
Of course—she had no idea the dragon was actually Kur. The thought had never even crossed her mind.
“I won’t scold you, so just be honest,” Barberry said, like an older sister coaxing a guilty child.
“You and Sharon aren’t on good terms, are you?”
Kur stayed silent, turning his gaze away. It was hard to read expressions on a dragon’s face, but to Barberry, he somehow looked… pouty.
“Barberry Langs!”
A furious voice cut through the chaos. A royal knight in a blue uniform approached, sword in hand. Barberry took one look and smirked.
“Still wearing that tacky outfit, I see.”
Her grin widened. The knight felt a chill of foreboding.
“Though I suppose it might look better if I burn it a little.”
Kur raised his massive head, revealing the glow of red fire gathering deep within his throat beneath gleaming white scales.
“Breath attack!” someone screamed, and the knight ran without looking back.
The battlefield instantly turned into a sea of flames.
“Yes! That’s it! Burn everything! All of it!” Barberry cheered, laughing wildly. This—this was exactly what she’d been hoping for when she allied with Kur.
The knight gasped for air, trapped by the encircling inferno. The heat made it impossible to breathe.
Barberry struggled too, coughing. “Okay, maybe too much. It’s hot! Put it out already!”
She smacked Kur on the head. Harder than she meant to. Her palm stung.
“Ow!”
“You fool of a king,” Kur sighed. “What are you even doing?”
He stomped around, smothering the flames with his claws until they died down.
“Barberry Langs!”
The knight, trembling from fear moments ago, now roared in anger.
“His Majesty ordered you to slay the evil dragon, and what are you doing instead?!”
From his perspective, it looked like she was commanding the dragon rather than fighting it.
“Do you mean to disgrace the honor of being the kingdom’s Dragon Slayer?!”
Barberry clutched her stinging hand and looked down at him coolly.
“If you thought it was such an honor, maybe you shouldn’t have banished me! And who ever heard of a bald-headed Dragon Slayer anyway?”
Really, the title had never fit her. She’d been called that for “slaying” Kur—but Kur wasn’t dead.
“I’m not a Dragon Slayer,” she said proudly. “I’ve decided to be a Dragon Rider.”
Barberry Langs, the Dragon Rider.
It even sounded better. The “rider” part had a nice ring to it—and the ride itself wasn’t half bad either.
“Dragon Rider? You think you’ll be forgiven for this treachery?”
“You say that like forgiveness was ever on the table,” she scoffed.
She jumped lightly from Kur’s head and advanced toward the knight.
He flinched at the murderous aura radiating from her, his earlier bravado shriveling away.
“Afraid I’ll kill you?” she asked sweetly. “Relax. I won’t. I still need you for something.”
Grabbing him by the collar, she pulled him close until he could see the vengeance burning in her red eyes.
“Go tell that bald king of yours—Barberry Langs has rebelled again!”
She shouted loud enough to rattle his eardrums, then kicked him hard in the rear.
The knight fled for his life. Barberry folded her arms, watching him run off in satisfaction. She snorted, then coughed violently from the lingering smoke.
“Cough, cough—ugh, disgusting.”
Kur, now back in human form, watched her with exasperation. “What a pathetic-looking king.”
Medo swallowed nervously, glancing back and forth between Barberry and Kur, who sat perched on a windowsill eating pie.
After defeating Robb, Keidel, and Glock’s allied army, Barberry had entered Rondar Castle as its new ruler.
See? I told them she’d survive no matter what! her comrades thought, relieved to be alive.
But Medo couldn’t fully relax.
Because that thing over there—was a dragon. The very monster that had brought hell upon them two years ago.
A demon.
As if reading his thoughts, Kur turned to stare at him. Medo froze, holding his breath.
“Not going to ask who I am this time?” Kur asked.
“I—I…”
“You know what I am now, don’t you? Care to answer?”
Cold sweat trickled down Medo’s back. If he could, he’d go back in time and sew his own mouth shut.
“I—I was wrong, my lord! I spoke out of ignorance and insanity! I deeply apologize—!”
“Do it again and I’ll fold you in half,” Kur said flatly.
Medo nodded frantically, promising never to repeat his mistake.
“Dragons,” Barberry muttered from her cushy lord’s chair, “always thinking of violent solutions.”
Medo found her equally terrifying. Just remembering her riding that dragon sent shivers down his spine.
Maybe this was what awe felt like. Hard to believe he’d once envied her—or even fought against her.
“So,” Barberry asked, “how does it feel? From mercenary captain to knight commander. Pretty great, huh?”
Her teasing tone relaxed him a little.
“Y-yes, it’s an honor.”
“That all? You don’t sound very grateful.”
“S-sorry! I’m so thankful my tongue froze up!”
Even when she joked, she was still his liege. Medo bowed deeply in apology.
‘Sharon’s mine. And since Sharon’s man is you, you’re mine too. Which means your whole mercenary band is mine.’
It was absurd logic, but somehow, that’s how Barberry had formed the Dragonas Order—her new knight order composed of surviving mercenaries.
It was the very future Medo had once dreamed of.
“It’s everything I’ve ever wanted,” he admitted. “I just… didn’t expect to become commander so suddenly.”
“You don’t want it? Should I give it to someone else?”
“N-no! Absolutely not!”
He shook his head so fast it was a blur. Sure, it was overwhelming—but after losing his chance once, he’d never give it up again.
“Your Majesty,” he asked cautiously, “may I ask why you chose me as commander?”
He waited anxiously for her reply.
She was the master he’d finally regained after all this time. Even if she said she despised him, he was ready to serve her for life.
But still, a small part of him hoped—maybe she trusted him, just a little.
“You fight well,” she said simply. “Even when everyone else dies, you manage to survive.”
“I wasn’t trying to—!” Kur interjected hotly.
Barberry smirked. “I was talking about Robb, not you. Why so defensive?”
Kur scowled, jaw tightening as he glared at her.
“Honestly,” she added, “I just like you. Is that so wrong?”
Medo’s heart swelled with warmth.
“Not at all. Thank you, Your Majesty. I’ll serve you with everything I have.”
He tried to hide his smile, forcing his mouth into a straight line—only to make his upper lip look ridiculously long.
“So when’s the wedding?” Barberry asked casually.
“The wedding, Your Majesty?”
“Yes. I want a party. A proper royal feast!”
“I was actually hoping to ask Your Majesty’s permission for that,” Medo said.
“Permission? For what? You’re the ones getting married.”
She tilted her head, then realization dawned.
“Ohhh right. I’m your queen. So unless I approve it, you can’t marry, huh? No matter how badly you want to.”
Her grin turned mischievous. Kur gave Medo a pitying look.
The poor man had no idea what he’d just walked into.
