Chapter 36
Baveri gritted her teeth and muttered.
“You shouldn’t have said that so confidently — to ‘go ahead and try.’”
Kurr felt the fur all over his body stand on end in response to the killing intent radiating from her.
His instincts screamed at him to create distance, but before he could step back, Baveri grabbed his arm with a sharp snap.
“Kurr.”
Her voice was as hard as the grip that locked around him.
There was not a trace of her usual playfulness on her face.
Suddenly, Kurr recalled what had happened back in Madni —
the moment she discovered his true identity, felt betrayed, and was consumed by anger.
“I came all the way to the Almeria continent after hearing rumors about you. To find you.”
He hadn’t even had a chance to tell her that he’d known her long before that.
The two of them had fought with their lives on the line back then.
Would it be the same this time?
Kurr sharpened his senses, searching for any sign of magic stirring within her.
Nothing yet.
Just as he thought that, Baveri grasped his collar with both hands.
Kurr’s blue eyes trembled, trapped between her arms.
“What are you doing, Your Majesty?”
He tried to keep his voice calm, masking his unease.
If you don’t want to die, you’ll have to strike first. Remember what happened in Madni.
His survival instincts warned him.
But Kurr suppressed them — remembering the promise they made not to attack each other.
Baveri leaned in slightly, still holding him close.
“You’re going to keep catching my eye.”
She looked up at him, speaking in a low, husky voice.
Kurr swallowed hard — and then, suddenly, he noticed the playful glimmer returning to her eyes.
The killing aura was gone.
“Because my cute self keeps standing out to you.”
Even she seemed amused by her own words, bursting into laughter at the end.
“You should’ve seen your face! Did you think I was about to fire a ballista or something?”
Relief and exasperation hit Kurr all at once — followed by a surge of indescribable irritation.
“Your Majesty… you really are…”
He was furious — not just at her for teasing him, but at himself for being tense just because she’d acted serious for once.
“Move.”
He tried to shove past her, but Baveri blocked his way.
“Where are you going?”
“To kill Medo.”
Clearly, her terrible sense of humor had rubbed off on him.
Kurr’s eyes flashed as he scanned the deck.
“No way. Medo’s my son-in-law — and the father of my granddaughter.”
Baveri perched on the railing and draped an arm over his shoulder.
Kurr wanted to push her off, but he was afraid she’d fall straight into the sea if he did.
When he glared at her, annoyed, she chuckled and raised her hands in mock surrender.
“Alright, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t ever pull that kind of prank on me again.”
“I said I’m sorry.”
Baveri patted his shoulder lightly, as if soothing him.
“To make it up to you, I’ll let you in on my plan. Just you.”
Trying to placate him, she began to whisper her “secret.”
Apparently, she thought this would make him forgive her.
Kurr told himself he wouldn’t fall for it — but the phrase “just you” made him soften a little despite himself.
“Good plan, right?”
After explaining her idea about what she planned to do in Martu, she looked at him expectantly, waiting for praise — like a child eager for approval.
Kurr sighed.
“Why not share this plan with the others?”
“Good question. There’s a very special reason.”
Baveri’s expression turned uncharacteristically serious. She lowered her voice.
“Because it’s way more fun if they don’t know.”
Kurr exhaled heavily.
“I apologize for ever expecting anything from Your Majesty.”
He cursed himself for hoping this childish monarch might have some depth.
Baveri giggled at his sarcasm and gestured for him to hush.
“Anyway, don’t tell the others. I’m going to surprise them later.”
“I doubt they’ll be surprised, but fine.”
In truth, the only people Kurr really talked to were Sharon and Medo.
Sharon was in Londar, and considering Baveri’s wild plan to shake up Martu, it was probably best not to tell Medo.
Before they departed for Martu, Medo had quietly confessed to Kurr that he wasn’t enthusiastic about this expedition.
“I don’t know if I can sincerely help Baslui.”
When Kurr asked if that meant he wanted to aid the rebels instead, Medo had shaken his head.
“I just… don’t understand how things got this bad.”
He hadn’t said whether he pitied Baslui or found his situation satisfying —
but Kurr suspected it was the former.
“Fine. I’ll keep Her Majesty’s secret.”
“Why does it sound like my vassal is looking down on me?”
Shouldn’t it be “I’ll protect your secret, Your Majesty” instead of “I’ll keep it”?
Baveri met his eyes and grumbled.
Kurr ignored her and asked,
“You haven’t told the flour-faced guy either?”
By “flour-faced,” he meant Mark.
“Right. He looks like the quiet type, but I bet his mouth isn’t as heavy as it seems.”
At that, Kurr’s crooked mouth relaxed slightly.
He was secretly pleased that she trusted him more than Mark.
“He looks like the type who’d have no friends — yet somehow he has a ton.”
She continued, shaking her head.
“The way he picks up gossip during missions, or how he’s in touch with Babana — it’s weird.”
“What’s his secret, you think?”
Then she froze and gasped softly.
“Ah, sorry. You probably wouldn’t know — since I’m your only friend.”
Her tone was half-apologetic, half-teasing.
Kurr felt his mouth twitch again — this time with irritation.
“You’ll keep catching my eye.”
It had sounded ridiculous at the time.
But now, something even more ridiculous was happening.
Whenever Kurr zoned out, her face popped into his mind.
“Kurr!”
And worse — she appeared prettier in his imagination.
Baveri had never smiled at him so sweetly before, and yet that was how he pictured her.
“Once I see her in person, I’ll realize it’s just my imagination.”
But whenever he did look at her, a new problem arose.
When she napped, drooling like an idiot — that should’ve looked pathetic, even disgusting.
Yet, somehow, it didn’t.
In fact, it was… kind of cute.
“No. She’s not cute. Not at all. Not even a little.”
Kurr firmly denied the thought.
But the more he denied it, the more he started noticing little things about her that were cute.
“Hey, Kurr~”
The way she grinned playfully sometimes, or—
“What’re you staring at? Bored?”
—how she’d toss out words like a punk, so casually.
He used to hate that, but now he thought maybe it was because she felt comfortable around him.
“I must be losing my mind from mana deficiency.”
He concluded that his mental state was abnormal.
He decided to ignore her until he was “back to normal.”
But when he deliberately avoided her, he grew restless — like a starving man denied food.
“This won’t do.”
After two days of trying to ignore her, he gave up and just let his gaze wander naturally.
And naturally, his eyes always found her.
He felt both relieved and insulted by his own weakness.
Meanwhile, Baveri remained blissfully unaware of the turmoil she’d caused —
satisfied that she’d teased him once, and having completely forgotten about it.
It wasn’t like he could confront her about it, either.
What would he even say?
“After all that denial, you do think I’m cute, huh?”
She’d smirk and never let him live it down.
He couldn’t bear the thought.
“This is all Medo’s fault. He’s the one who rubbed off on her.”
Since he couldn’t get angry at Baveri, his frustration turned toward Medo.
How was he supposed to unrub that influence?
Leaning against the ship’s railing, Kurr brooded.
“Maybe I should just sew Medo’s mouth shut so Baveri can’t imitate him again.”
But then, Sharon probably wouldn’t bake him any more pies until she fixed it —
and that would be a disaster.
“Unless… since Sharon’s not here right now…”
He seriously considered it.
But just as he did, an unpleasant smell hit his nose.
Kurr immediately recognized the source and frowned as he turned.
Sure enough — Mark was standing there.
“What is it?”
Kurr asked irritably. The man rarely approached him, so the fact that he had now made Kurr wary.
“I’d like to talk with you for a moment, if that’s alright.”
Mark’s face was pale. He led Kurr to his quarters and set a box on the table.
Kurr sniffed.
Even without opening it, he knew the box was filled with magic stones.
“You refused to hand these over even if it killed you — what’s this about?”
Kurr’s tone was suspicious.
Mark hesitated, then spoke quietly, as if broaching something dangerous.
“Why is everyone so ready to accept the existence of a dragon?”
Kurr’s eyes narrowed, sharp as blades.
Mark dropped his gaze but continued.
“Do they really think a dragon can be our ally?”
“…”
“Maybe they’re just too afraid of you to say otherwise. Has that thought never crossed your mind?”
Kurr’s gaze thinned dangerously.
He didn’t like the mix of fear and hostility behind Mark’s trembling voice.
“If you’re trying to provoke me, it’s useless. I don’t care what insignificant humans think of me.”
“Does that include Her Majesty, too?”
“If you have something to say, stop circling around it.”
Kurr was visibly annoyed now.
Mark lifted his eyes from the table and met Kurr’s directly.
“You broke our agreement.”
“…”
“You promised that when Glook summoned Her Majesty back from exile, you would come to me.
But you and she both vanished instead.”
Mark’s voice was calm, but accusatory.
Kurr crossed his arms, raising one brow, unimpressed.
“All I agreed to was showing myself in Pony Canyon.
I never said I’d come to you.”
He smirked faintly.
“Still, if Her Majesty had wanted to see you, I would’ve gone with her.”
In other words — the reason he didn’t was because she hadn’t wanted to.
He didn’t need to spell it out. Mark understood.
Mark bit his lip, staring hard at Kurr.
Usually his eyes were dull and lifeless, but now they burned with emotion — jealousy.
Kurr caught it and sneered.
“What is it that you want from Baveri?”
Sharon had someone to protect.
Medo had someone to serve.
So what did Mark want?
Mark stayed silent, just as Kurr expected.
“I don’t trust you.”
Mark was far too suspicious — probably because he had too many things to hide.
Unsavory things, most likely.
Kurr’s expression said as much.
“You’re one to talk,” Mark replied coolly.
“Is the Desert’s Heart really your goal?”
“If I had an S-rank mana stone, I wouldn’t need to keep consuming these inferior ones.”
Kurr said it without hesitation — there was no lie in it.
But Mark pressed further.
“Then why must it specifically be the Desert’s Heart?”
Kurr’s brow twitched.
Mark’s conviction grew. He’d hit a nerve.
“You know where the other S-rank stones are… don’t you?”
