LGT Chapter 1

This journey was doomed from the start.  

The prince was overwhelmingly depressed.  

He had gone through the entire semester in a daze, taking his exams without even realizing how it all ended. Naturally, his grades were disastrous. The professors at the academy were shocked when they saw his grades, but none of them dared to scold him.  

As soon as the academy went on break, the prince packed his things and returned to the main castle, locking himself in his room. Hearing this, the queen, the king, and his siblings all made time to visit the youngest prince, but their efforts to console the young man who had lost a friend so suddenly were in vain.  

However, when the prince showed no intention of coming out and stayed holed up in his room for several days, the queen took drastic measures. She ordered the servants to prepare the prince’s horse, and after a week of isolation, the prince was forcibly dragged out of his room. According to the queen, it was to ‘clear his head a bit’ by going for a ride.  

It was a mandatory measure for the prince, who had loved riding horses even before entering the academy. With no energy, the prince mounted the horse and headed out of the castle, following his favorite path for a leisurely ride through the kingdom.  

It was as they reached the outskirts of the city with his servant trailing behind him.  

“Come and see! Many rare goods from across the sea!”  

A merchant, leaning against the city walls, was calling out to passersby.  

His stall was filled with various items, and there was a chair placed beside it. Judging by the setup, it seemed the goods were intended for women, and the chair was likely meant for the ladies to comfortably browse.  

The merchant, spotting the boy on a fine horse with his servant behind him, called out.  

“We also have high-quality daggers!”  

The prince, thinking that he had time to spare, decided he might as well take a look around. He dismounted his horse and handed the reins to his servant. The servant, who had been standing by, tried to dissuade the prince from approaching the merchant’s stall, but the prince paid no heed and walked over to the merchant. The servant quickly ran ahead and warned the merchant.  

“That’s the prince. Mind your manners.”  

Hearing this, the merchant, who had already bowed, was startled and bowed even deeper.  

“Oh my, is that so? Goodness.”  

The prince, dismissing the fuss, told his servant, “No need to make a big deal,” and began to inspect the items on the merchant’s stall. However, the merchant, who had never had a noble, let alone a royal, visit his humble stall in this secluded corner, was sweating nervously. He couldn’t afford to treat such an important guest carelessly.  

“Please, have a seat here first.”  

The prince sat down with great dignity in the chair the merchant had pointed to. Though it was a shabby wooden chair, the moment the prince sat in it, the chair—one that could be found in any market—suddenly looked quite luxurious.  

“I have something that would suit Your Highness perfectly,” the merchant said.  

Instead of taking an item from the stall, the merchant pulled something out from a box beneath it. What he produced was a finely crafted jewelry box. The materials were luxurious, and it was adorned with elegant, antique carvings, making the box itself look quite valuable. But the merchant was eager to show what was inside.  

The man opened the lid of the jewelry box. Inside, resting on a bed of royal purple satin, was a smooth, round object that gleamed like golden opal.  

“…It’s a dragon scale.”  

Though it glittered, it seemed entirely useless. The prince gazed at it with disinterest. Then, in a voice tinged with regret, he spoke to the man holding out the jewelry box.  

“I’m sorry, but I’m not particularly interested in jewels.”  

He added, “Do you have anything else?”  

At this, the merchant scratched the back of his neck. He had nothing else worth showing. Seeing his reaction, the prince rose from his chair.  

That’s when it happened.  

The merchant smiled, a knowing grin spreading across his face.  

“However, Your Highness, there is a special legend attached to this item.”  

A special legend? The prince, with his signature indifferent expression, stared at the merchant, whose skin was darkened from long hours in the sun.  

“They say that if one with the blood of dragons rubs this scale, the owner of the scale will appear and grant them any wish they desire. Any wish at all.”  

The prince’s previously indifferent eyes suddenly showed a spark of interest. A dragon that grants wishes? Seeing that the prince was intrigued, the merchant’s voice became even more sly. There was an old legend that royals were descended from dragons, and if anyone could lay claim to this scale’s powers, it had to be royalty.  

“And, standing right before me is the perfect candidate for that legend.”  

The man silently waited for the prince to make up his mind. The prince, still seated, pondered for a moment before reaching out toward the dragon scale in the merchant’s hand. But just as the prince’s hand extended, the merchant swiftly pulled the jewelry box back as if he had been waiting for that very moment.  

“…I need to check if it’s real before I decide to buy it, don’t I?”  

“Your Highness, it can only be used after payment has been made.”  

The merchant didn’t know if the legend was true. After all, aren’t there always such items in any marketplace? A branch from a tree struck by lightning said to help pass exams, or a coin that brings good luck. The chances of this particular item being genuine were exceedingly slim. It was rare, if ever, for a merchant like him, a commoner, to encounter someone with the blood of dragons.  

The prince’s deliberation was brief.  

With a glance, he signaled to the servant who had been standing at a distance for security. The servant, upon hearing the amount the merchant requested, was utterly shocked. But he obeyed the prince’s wishes and paid the full price. Without any negotiation, they handed over an amount that would be several years’ wages for a commoner. The prince then gently closed the lid of the jewelry box and lifted it with care. When the servant approached, saying, “Allow me to carry it,” the prince waved him off and walked toward his horse.  

He had no intention of making a wish in a marketplace like this. Once the prince and his servant mounted their horses, the merchant, still marveling at the amount of money he’d received, quickly bowed.  

“Safe travels, Your Highness.”  

As the merchant mentally listed all the things he needed to pack, he couldn’t help but imagine the prince returning in a fury, accusing him of fraud. The very thought sent a shiver down his spine, and he hurriedly began packing up his stall.  

***  

The prince, initially planning to go for a ride, abruptly turned back to the castle and rushed to his room.  

In his arms, the prince held the exquisitely crafted jewelry box.  

He told the servant, who was about to follow him into the room, that he wanted to be alone for a moment, and then shut the door.  

The jewelry box matched perfectly with the spacious and lavish room.  

The prince placed it on his bed and opened the lid once more. Inside, the golden dragon scale glittered brightly.  

Taking a deep breath, the prince slowly ran his delicate hand over the scale in the box.  

He then turned his head from side to side, checking for any changes.  

But nothing happened in his opulent room.  

The prince muttered a low curse under his breath.  

It was indeed a scam. Grief over losing his friend must have clouded his judgment. Without any of the previous care, the prince roughly grabbed the item inside the box. He was just about to hurl it out the glass window when—  

“Put that down.”  

Suddenly, a voice echoed in the room, where he had been alone. It came from behind him. The prince slowly lowered his hand, still clutching the dragon scale. The voice was oddly familiar. It belonged to a friend he had spent every day with at the academy until a month ago.  

The prince turned around in shock.  

“…Adrian?”  

Standing before him was a man with bright blonde hair.  

The prince was bewildered. The merchant had said the scale belonged to a dragon, yet the person in front of him was Adrian Heather, the friend who had died at the academy.  

The prince was stunned, but no one in the castle was more shocked than Adrian Heather himself.  

***  

The dragon, who had been leisurely pulling weeds in his lair, was suddenly summoned to the main castle. And just as he was called forth, the first thing he had to do was stop a madman from throwing the precious summoning object out the window. When the lunatic turned around, the Gold Dragon was internally aghast.  

It was the same human he had met during their last game. If it weren’t for the fact that he had faked his death in front of this very prince last month, he would’ve greeted him warmly.  

“I will grant you one wish, summoner,” said the dragon, who had taken on the form of Adrian Heather. He quickly composed himself, adopting the dignified tone and expression typical of a dragon.  

The prince, still bewildered, asked in confusion,  

“…Why do you look like that? You look just like Adrian Heather.”  

“I merely appeared in the form desired by the summoner.”  

The Gold Dragon decided to stick with this explanation.  

“My appearance has no bearing on the wish I will grant.”  

The face, which fit seamlessly into the prince’s grand chamber, was strikingly handsome. With hair that shone like molten gold and golden eyes gleaming beneath it, the features unmistakably belonged to the Gold Dragon. They were clearly different from the soft, honey-colored eyes that Adrian Heather had possessed.  

The Gold Dragon’s gaze lingered on the scale in the prince’s hand.  

He vaguely recalled a time, so long ago that he couldn’t even remember when – when a human had taken the dragon scale as if it were rightfully theirs.  

A faint smirk formed on his perfectly shaped lips. Such was the nature of human greed. Tell them you’ll grant a single wish, and they’ll come up with hundreds!  

There wasn’t a single thing wrong with the old saying.