TDAA Ch 66

Ladie had been sitting on a rock near the entrance to the ruins since last night, staring solely at the ruins’ gate the entire time. Without the slightest movement, only with a quiet gaze.

“…Brother-in-law, do you think Sis is really mad?”

“Yes.”

Budril nodded his head calmly.

Considering the story from yesterday and Ladie’s attitude, it was clear that Ladie had been deceived by the witch. She said she heard from the Demon King that the child would return, but was it really the Demon King? Perhaps even that was a trick by the witch.

The witch had a history of committing all sorts of eccentric acts, so it wasn’t an impossible story.

“If Sis lunges at the Commander, you have to help me block her. You know that, right?”

“……”

Right, of course you would. Where would Sis’s loyal hunting dog go?

Ryufen thought sarcastically, shaking his head. He had seemed a little angry yesterday, but that was only for a moment; Budril was once again acting as Ladie’s subordinate.

Just then, the shape of a person could be seen approaching from beyond the entrance of the ruins.

Ladie shot to her feet.

“Uh… I didn’t… expect you to be waiting… here….”

Siol explained haltingly. As Siol flinched, unsure of what to do under the converging stares, Eorzen pulled him into his arms.

“Let’s go back.”

Eorzen said nonchalantly and was about to take a step when Ladie stood, blocking his path. Sensing the unusual atmosphere, Budril also came closer. Ryufen, who had been watching from a distance, also approached, looking back and forth between the two.

Eorzen seemed rather reluctant but glanced at Siol and kept his mouth shut.

“Siol.”

In a trembling voice, Ladie called out to Siol. As their eyes met, Siol knew that her soul was barely holding on, swept up in a torrent. He knew, for some reason. Siol quickly opened his mouth.

“Alliance Leader, I’m sorry about yesterday. In the end, I couldn’t protect the child….”

Ladie interrupted Siol’s apology and said.

“The reason I protected that child was because I believed the child would one day awaken.”

“Yes, I’m sorry….”

“Siol, on that day, I gathered the young children into the tower to protect them.”

Ignoring the repeated apology, the story Ladie suddenly brought up was the one she had confided to Siol the night before last. That night, Ladie had told him that she knew who the Blue Dragon’s mate was and that she had lost that child because of the witch.

Ryufen and Budril had also been with Ladie that day. But they had never brought up the story of that day again. Because Ladie had been reluctant to mention it.

Ladie herself was bringing up the story of that day, a day whose mention had been forbidden without even knowing the reason.

The tense atmosphere made Siol nervous as well. Eorzen looked down at him, asking with his eyes what to do. It was true he was a little scared, but Siol was strangely curious about Ladie. From the first time he heard about her, he somehow wanted to know more. It wasn’t just because of Ryufen’s funny reaction, being afraid of her and calling her a scary sister. A premonition, which could only be thought of as intuition, spurred Siol on.

“My knights surrounded the tower to guard the area, and I stood at the very front. I thought it would be a long and fierce battle. The animals the witch controlled were ferocious beyond measure, and their numbers were endless, so I expected a grueling fight to last all night. However, the witch disappeared after a very short visit.”

“Did the witch invade the tower in a way you couldn’t stop?”

“No, the witch didn’t even come close to the tower.”

“Then what? You said you… couldn’t protect the child?”

Ladie nodded her head. With a mournful expression.

“I couldn’t protect him. The witch came up to me, placed her hand on my stomach, said ‘Alright, I’ve chased it away,’ and left.”

“…What? Wai-wait a minute. I don’t quite understand what that means…. Chased it away? The child?”

“Yes.”

“There was a child in your womb then… I see.”

Ladie nodded.

Siol stared into her eyes and blankly nodded back. But he could tell that he wasn’t understanding the true meaning of what Ladie had said. His head was a mess. He felt as if he was failing to see the truth being pushed right in front of his face.

“You said the witch announced she would find and kill the Blue Dragon’s mate.”

“Yes.”

“And you said the Demon King told you that the child would return because he is the Blue Dragon’s mate.”

“Yes.”

“But… I’m the Blue Dragon’s mate?”

Ladie’s face contorted as she smiled. With an expression that looked like she wanted to smile but couldn’t quite manage it.

“Yes.”

The moment Ladie answered once more, Siol suddenly realized.

Siol was an orphan on Earth. He was just there at some point, with no one knowing when or how he was born or how he grew up. A ridiculous thought filled his mind.

Siol trembled and barely managed to open his mouth.

“Then, could it be….”

The deliverer, the messenger of god, had said he would let Siol be born in a safe place while fleeing the witch’s pursuit. But he apologized for not being able to keep his promise because it didn’t work out well. He said he would definitely take him somewhere safe this time… And he had thanked him for returning safely.

And Ladie had lost her child at the hands of the witch. According to the Demon King, the child was chased away to another world but would one day return, so she desperately protected the child’s body, which was born without a soul and didn’t move. She probably thought that a body would be needed for the soul to reside in when it returned. Fortunately, the tower’s magic protected the child’s body from decaying. This would have had the same effect as when Siol had submerged his original body in magical water when he went to the land of humans in a homunculus’s body.

“Am I… Am I the Alliance Leader’s… child?”

“I couldn’t protect you. I lost your soul without any resistance, and with my petty vengeance, I hid the truth from the Blue Dragon, and on top of that, I made things more complicated by cherishing the body you were born in, not knowing it was meaningless. Far from protecting you, I only made things harder for you. Still… if you would consider me your mother….”

Ladie couldn’t finish her words and clenched her teeth tightly. She tried to say something more, but she ended up closing her mouth every time. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to speak, but her jaw was trembling so much that she couldn’t continue.

Siol took a step toward Ladie and said.

“It wasn’t meaningless.”

“What?”

After the homunculus died, Siol had woken up in the hut in the form of a child.

He had always thought he had no idea why that had happened, but now he understood. In this world, Siol had one soul, but there were two bodies prepared for him. One was the human body he had inhabited since Earth, and the other was the beastkin body that Ladie had preserved.

The human body of Siol was likely a fake or temporary body prepared by the deliverer so that Siol’s soul, chased away to another world, wouldn’t scatter. When Siol moved into the homunculus’s body, that body’s identity became unclear, and under the influence of the real body, it had transformed into a beastkin child.

Little by little over ten-odd years, using the original body that Ladie had so preciously protected as a model.

The reason Siol was able to withstand the dragon’s curse was because he had become a beastkin. Therefore, the body of the unawakened child that Ladie had protected was not meaningless at all. By protecting the child’s body, Ladie had saved Siol’s life.

“I can’t tell you everything right now, but… I survived thanks to you protecting the child’s body.”

“…If it was helpful, I’m truly glad.”

Ladie replied with a faint smile.

Siol now finally understood why he had been curious about Ladie, why he had wanted to get closer to her, and why he had trusted her without any reason. The reason for the instinctive pull he had felt all along.

If you would consider me your mother, she had asked? Although he had gone through various terrible things, it was all the witch’s responsibility, not Ladie’s fault.

It was just as Siol clenched his fists, about to call out to Ladie.

“Mother…, ugh…!”

Ryufen, who had sneakily approached from behind Siol, shoved his head between Siol’s legs and snapped his head up. Suddenly finding himself sitting on Ryufen’s neck, a terrified Siol grabbed onto Ryufen’s hair to keep from falling backward. As soon as Ryufen confirmed that Siol had a good grip, he leaped over to where Ladie was.

“I knew it!!”

“Ugh…! K-knew what?”

“For some reason, I hated the sight of it whenever the Commander tried to woo you!! Commander, I can’t give my nephew to you! You are too…!! Too passive when it comes to romance! How dare you try to take my nephew, you timid fool!”

What? Siol looked down at the top of Ryufen’s head, utterly dumbfounded, but Ryufen was dead serious.

“Sis, don’t give him away. Siol is our kid now. Even if we’re to marry him off, it should be when he’s all grown up, not now!”

“…For once, you’ve said something right.”

It seemed like just a few days ago when he said ‘our kid,’ he meant on Eorzen’s side, but in that short time, the side of ‘our kid’ had switched. Annoyed, Siol smacked the bat-like wolf on the head, but Ryufen didn’t seem to even notice he’d been hit.

Because of this strange wolf, even Ladie had become strange. Ladie, who had agreed with Ryufen’s irrational statement, was sending a gentle gaze toward Siol. He hadn’t even been able to finish his sentence because of Ryufen, but it seemed she had heard what he’d started to say in the meantime. Siol’s cheeks flushed red, and he lowered his gaze.

He hadn’t said anything he shouldn’t have, nor anything embarrassing, yet he had no idea why his face was burning up like this.

“No wonder.”

Budril, who had been silent the whole time, opened his mouth.

“No wonder I kept wanting to feed him…!”

“Me too, brother-in-law! I also kept wanting to feed you for some reason, Siol. I guess it’s because we’re family!”

Why on earth is this wolf’s view of family like this?

Regardless of Siol’s complicated feelings, the two wolves began to talk passionately about feeding Siol.

Although he couldn’t agree with Budril and Ryufen’s assertions, Siol did have his own suspicions. The sense of familiarity he felt from Budril when they first met, and his voice which sounded somehow familiar. Perhaps a faint memory of hearing Budril’s voice from within Ladie’s womb had remained.

“…Siol, perhaps to me too….”

Budril was about to say something when suddenly, the knights all swarmed in.

“You mean this tiny little wolf kid was our young master?”

“That’s right! He’s my nephew!”

“Is it true, Alliance Leader?”

The knights, who had looked to Ladie for confirmation, let out a cheer of “Waaaah!” when Ladie nodded. Ryufen’s lips twitched at the knights who asked him but then didn’t believe his word, but the knights paid him no mind and started talking all at once to Siol.

“Young master, you need to eat a lot more! You’re too small.”

“We’ve waited for a long time. Both the Alliance Leader and us.”

“We’re so glad you’ve come, even if it’s now.”

“I’m not sure what happened, but it’s nice to meet you. But first, you need to get some exercise.”

“That’s right. Your arms are too thin.”

Siol was dumbfounded as he watched the knights chattering like a marketplace. Were these really the same people who, just yesterday morning, had moved with more discipline than human knights? From their expressions to their gestures, everything was different. It seemed that wolves were a beastkin race that discriminated heavily between their own pack and outsiders.

Just then, one wolf asked excitedly.

“Then will you be staying in Arteum from now on?”

A moment of silence fell.

Siol turned his head to look at Eorzen. He was standing off to one side, watching Siol. From the guilty look on his face, Siol knew that Eorzen was blaming himself for the witch’s actions. It wasn’t Eorzen’s fault.

As he held out a hand in that direction, Eorzen approached as if he had been waiting and lifted Siol from Ryufen’s back down to the ground.

“I plan to return to Lord Eorzen’s city after everything is over.”

At that declaration, a look of disappointment spread across the faces of nearly all the wolves, including Ladie and Budril. There was just one wolf who wasn’t disappointed, and that was Ryufen. He immediately stood next to Siol and Eorzen as if he were part of their group and scoffed with a snort.

“I’m fine! I’m Lord Eorzen’s subordinate, so I can just go with you!”

That was hardly something the wolf who, just a moment ago, had used ‘our kid’ to mean a child of Ladie’s side should say. Regardless of Siol glaring at him with a sigh in his eyes, Ryufen shamelessly held his ground.

What a bat-like, opportunistic wolf. Siol looked at Ryufen with dissatisfaction, his lips twitching, before turning back to Ladie.

“Even if I don’t live here, I’d like for us to be close. Would that be okay…?”

At the question that took all of his courage, Ladie approached Siol. Ladie nodded her head firmly, yet enthusiastically.

“The same goes for me, Siol.”

“I’m glad.”

“I’ve… waited for you for a very long time. There’s no way it wouldn’t be okay. If you say it’s alright, I want to do anything… anything for you.”

The words of Alliance Leader Ladie were a statement so devoted it was flustering to Siol. It wasn’t just words; the look in her eyes was desperate beyond measure.

The Alliance Leader of Arteum, the city of wolves supported by over a dozen other cities. The mother who had cared for a child alone when everyone around her had given up. And the leader who had been the first to express support for Eorzen’s Order of Knights when no one else would.

“The reason I supported the Blue Dragon, and the reason I fought not to lose my position as Alliance Leader, was all for you.”

“For… me.”

“Yes. I had never once felt you before you left, but… the moment I knew I had lost you, I realized that I loved you. It’s a strange thing, isn’t it? To fall in love with someone you’ve never even seen. But it’s true, Siol.”

“Me….”

“I love you, Siol.”

Ladie leaned in toward Siol. Siol flinched a little but didn’t back away. Ladie gently held Siol’s cheek and kissed the other.

Siol’s cheeks flushed brightly as he fidgeted, not knowing what to do.

She loves me. She said she fell in love the moment she knew I was in her womb.

As Siol, whose eyes were darting about, not knowing where to look, carefully glanced up, Ladie, with a warm smile on her cold face, kissed the tip of his nose once more.

For some reason, laughter and tears welled up at the same time. He wanted to laugh, but tears came out. He wondered if Ladie’s expression when she had smiled with a contorted face earlier was the same as his own now.

“Me too, I feel the same.”

Budril, who had been watching for the right timing, quickly cut in.

“I wouldn’t dare compare myself to the Alliance Leader, but I already love you.”

Right now, Budril was not his usual, relaxed gentlemanly self. The man who had once impressed Siol by moving with such refined and elegant gestures was gone, and only a frightened man with trembling hands remained. He reached out his hands, afraid that Siol would refuse him. And before he could even touch Siol, he asked in a barely audible voice.

“May I, may I hold you?”

“…Go ahead. Here.”

Siol was naturally timid and passive, but he didn’t feel the need to be that way with a man trembling with anticipation, excitement, and fear. As he spread his arms slightly, the man hugged him tightly.

“I… I actually thought the Alliance Leader was making a futile effort. I thought she was paying too much attention to a child who was already dead. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Siol….”

“Um…. It’s okay. The Alliance Leader… no, M-m… Mother… didn’t tell you, right? I would have thought the same thing. Look at Ryufen. He said right in front of me, ‘that kid is dead,’ and ‘a kid who would have already died if born in an ordinary family,’ and yet he’s standing there so shamelessly.”

Hey, I was— Ryufen, who was about to say something, was kicked by Ladie and sent flying. The only person who cared about Ryufen, who flew without mercy, hit the ruins’ gate, and then fell to the ground rolling, was a startled Siol. Ryufen staggered to his feet and hung his head sullenly. It seemed he wasn’t just shameless, but had simply forgotten.

“I’m so happy you’ve returned like this, Siol.”

“Me too.”

“You said you’d be returning to the city of the Blue Dragon… but if you could stay in Arteum for just a little while, it would be really wonderful…. Please, could you give me the time to fatten you up? I want to feed you lots of delicious things.”

“…Uh… once everything is over, I’ll think about it. Actually, later on, Lord Eorzen and I were planning to go to the city of dragons to hold a wedding ceremony….”

“Wait, a wedding ceremony? You have to have one in the city of wolves too!”

Budril quickly cut in, shouting as he interrupted.

“You can’t hold the wedding ceremony in only one side’s city. If you’re not having one at all that’s one thing, but if you are, you have to have one there and one here as well.”

“R-really?”

“Of course. We-we are Siol, your parents… so please give us a chance too. Please.”

Budril pleaded, lowering his eyelashes, and Ladie also looked at Siol, full of expectation. Not only them, but all the other wolves, including Ryufen, were waiting for Siol’s answer with sparkling eyes.

Feeling pressured, Siol wanted to refuse. The truth was, he didn’t have any particular ambition for a wedding or ceremony. It made sense, as the Earth he had spent his childhood on was so terribly poor that events like weddings weren’t held. At best, gathering a few relatives for a slightly more lavish meal than usual while exchanging rings was considered a big event, and if you had nothing, you would simply share thin rings made of scrap metal.

Siol looked up at Eorzen to ask for help, only to be dismayed. Contrary to his expectations, Eorzen’s eyes were sparkling too. Ah. I see. It didn’t matter to Eorzen whether they held the wedding on one side or both. He was just looking so expectant because he thought this was a chance to get a firm answer on going to have the wedding ceremony.

The atmosphere was simply not one where he could refuse.

“Well then… okay.”

“We will hold the wedding in the land of dragons first.”

As soon as Siol answered, Eorzen beat him to it and declared. Hearing that, Ladie asked seriously.

“How long will it take to go and come back?”

“A fortnight to get there from here. And a month to prepare for the wedding. A week for the ceremony.”

“About two months in total. Then I will concede the first turn on the condition that you stay here for two months after you return.”

“Including travel time would be troublesome.”

“Instead, I’m conceding the first turn.”

“Still, that’s….”

The Blue Dragon and the wolves were busy discussing the wedding ceremony, paying no mind to Siol’s reaction.

His head felt tired. Siol sighed with an “A휴” and shook his head, then suddenly spotted a rabbit dozing off a short distance away. He looked to be in a very bad state, so Siol ran over in surprise.

“Asios, are you okay?”

Asios, who had opened his eyes with a flinch, blinked and answered.

“Ah. Master…. No, I’m not okay….”

“Why are you in such bad shape? Is it because of the deliverer?”

“Yeah…. He says he absolutely won’t go back until Master comes…. I barely have any magic left….”

A lack of magic can cause symptoms similar to a lack of blood. Asios’s symptoms were clear.

“Then tell him to go back now.”

“He says… he’ll go after making this… deal….”

At Asios’s gesture, his deliverer proudly took something out and presented it. Siol was startled when he saw it.

And for good reason, because what Asios’s deliverer was holding was a shadow compass. And it contained Nanthaniel’s shadow!

“How did you…, when did you catch the shadow?”

Siol asked, bewildered, but there was only one answer. His deliverer, who had held on without returning even while Asios was unconscious, had snatched Nanthaniel’s shadow. He must have seized the opportunity when Ryufen was carrying Asios and the dead child’s body out of the ruins.

It was a thankful gesture, ensuring Nanthaniel couldn’t return to his physical body which might have been lurking nearby, but Siol groaned in a difficult position. Because he was now unable to pay the promised price.

“Oh, but the black fox has disappeared, so I don’t know where he went. He must have run away. I can’t give you the payment….”

Asios’s deliverer casually handed the shadow compass to Siol, then thrust his hand into Siol’s chest. The hand, which seemed to be rummaging around for something, pulled something out from within.

It was the black fox. The black fox, which came out with a “컁,” looked around dazedly before it started yelping “컁컁” and rubbing its whole body against Asios’s deliverer. It was obvious to anyone that it had met its master.

Although he had already suspected it, it seemed the deliverer really was the black fox’s master.

He could also guess, to some extent, the reason the black fox had been inside him. Surely his own deliverer, whom he had met in that strange place he was dragged to by the black fox’s power, had hidden the black fox inside Siol. So that it could return to its master, Asios’s deliverer.

My deliverer is so thoughtful. Siol shrugged his shoulders proudly.

“To use me like this and then abandon me….”

Asios grumbled after the deliverer disappeared with the fox without a backward glance.

Siol let out a small laugh, then, his pride wounded for laughing at such a strange joke, quickly composed his expression.

As he was doing so, Ryufen, who had been sitting a short distance away watching Asios and Siol, slid closer and whispered in Siol’s ear.

“Hey, Siol. Call me Uncle.”

“……”

“Hurry.”

It wasn’t something he couldn’t do, but Siol felt a sense of reluctance, and he pushed Ryufen’s face away with his hand. If you just leave me be, I’ll call you that eventually, do you really have to come and pester me like this first?

But Ryufen stood his ground and licked Siol’s face through the gaps between his fingers, urging him on.

“After all I’ve done for you, don’t tell me you can’t even do this little thing? Hurry up and say it. Hurry!”

“……”

“Uncle!”

“…Uncle.”

Ryufen jumped back dramatically.

“He called me Uncle!”

“Don’t tell me you’ve never had a nephew before?”

“No, I have plenty. How many siblings do you think I have? Still, you’re the first one like this. A real welcome back, you punk.”

How different would a life with a family be from the life he’d known? He couldn’t quite imagine it. Ryufen had changed from Ryufen to Uncle, but it didn’t seem like he’d be much different than before.

Siol looked over at Ladie, who was sending him a warm gaze from beside Eorzen and Budril, who were still in a sharp conflict over the wedding. She was looking at Siol with an expression mixed with joy and longing.

Meeting that gaze made him feel like crying for some reason.

“Siol!”

His heart felt heavy as he tried to choose his words, when someone swooped him up into an embrace. It was Eorzen, who must have run over from there to here in an instant. He wiped away Siol’s tears for him and asked in a worried tone.

“Siol, what is it? Did Ryufen say something mean to you?”

“No, what mean things would I say? I like Siol too! What nonsense are you…!”

“You can be honest, Siol.”

Eorzen ignored Ryufen with a turn of his nose and asked Siol. He was doing it to soothe Siol’s feelings, knowing full well that Ryufen wasn’t the kind of wolf to do such a thing.

Siol carefully confessed the strange fear welling up inside him.

“Being happy feels so unfamiliar and awkward. It’s a little… scary, too.”

“What is there to be scared of?”

“…I don’t know. That I’ll lose it all again…?”

“Tsk. A needless worry.”

When Siol glared at him with a sulky expression, Eorzen let out a low laugh.

“Siol, from now on, I will protect your happiness. So you can rest assured and enjoy this happiness.”

This voice is unfair. No matter what he says, if he says it in a voice like this, I have no choice but to believe him.

The voice whispered in his ear was so dependable that his fear completely vanished.

Siol smiled softly and nodded his head.

⋆୨🔮୧⋆

Afterward, the group headed for Arteum, and at some point, Siol began to nod off in Eorzen’s arms.

‘So sleepy….’

Come to think of it, he hadn’t been able to sleep properly recently. On the way to Arteum, it was because he was worried about Eorzen going berserk, and after arriving in Arteum, it was because he was shocked to hear he wasn’t the dragon’s mate, and then yesterday, it was because he had spent the night with the dragon.

“Lord Eorzen, I’m… going to sleep for a bit….”

Without even waiting for an answer, Siol let go of his consciousness.

⋆୨🔮୧⋆

When he opened his eyes again, it was the middle of the night. How long had he slept? Siol thought blankly as he looked at the moon beyond the window.

“Sleep more, Siol.”

Eorzen said, pulling Siol, who was fumbling to sit up in bed, back down into his arms.

“I’m done sleeping….”

“Even so, please sleep. The doctor said so. That you’ve accumulated a great deal of fatigue and your body has weakened. From now on, you need to sleep more and eat more. And if possible, break the curse too.”

“You called a doctor in that time?”

“Even if I hadn’t, Ladie and Budril would have.”

There’s no need for all that.

As Siol groaned in dissatisfaction, Eorzen continued.

“Starting tomorrow, you have to take medicine after your meals.”

“What medicine? There’s nothing wrong with me.”

“Ladie and Budril….”

“Ah. I think I get it.”

Those two seemed to think of Siol as a newborn baby.

“The Alliance Leader, no, Mother….”

Siol hesitated for a moment, then said, as if tattling slightly.

“She looks amazed just watching me walk.”

“She has only ever seen you lying down your entire life, so it’s understandable, isn’t it?”

That was true, too.

Having waited for so long while watching a child who wouldn’t wake, she might have developed a trauma from seeing his closed eyes.

“In Marsiga, they treated me like a weakling for not jumping from the third floor, but here, I might get applause just for walking.”

“From now on, no one will dare tease you for being weak.”

“The only one who teases me like that is Ryufen.”

“Ryufen too.”

The sound of Siol’s chuckling voice gradually trailed off.

“Okay. Then whenever Ryufen is mean… make sure you scold him….”

“I will. Sweet dreams, Siol.”

“…Okay….”

⋆୨🔮୧⋆

Siol blinked blankly, looking at the bright room. Really, how long did I sleep?

“Siol, did you sleep well?”

Eorzen swooped him up into his arms. Siol complained even as he was held obediently.

“If you keep holding me like this all the time, I’m going to get spoiled.”

“Oh my. How did you know that was my intention?”

“Ah, really?”

Come to think of it, from a dragon’s perspective, it might be better for their mate to be a little spoiled. In that case, I’ll have to get spoiled from now on.

While Siol was making this bizarre resolution, Eorzen moved him to a table and sat him down. In front of him, a sandwich, Evelet juice, pumpkin soup, and a salad were prepared. Surprisingly, the sandwich and pumpkin soup were warm, and the juice was cold.

“How did you know I would wake up right now and have this ready just in time?”

“I didn’t. It wasn’t prepared just in time; I was maintaining the temperature with magic.”

“Magic….”

Eorzen cut the sandwich in half with a knife and fed it to Siol, smiling gently.

Although his expression was casual, it wasn’t an easy spell. Magic that maintains a steady state for such a long time requires a constant supply of magic power while the spell is being implemented. An attack spell would be easier, in fact.

As Siol happily chewed on the sandwich, he thought that he should make an alchemical tool for Eorzen later that would produce the same result. Saying he didn’t have to do this wouldn’t work on him anyway.

“Lord Eorzen, are all dragons this gentle?”

“Well, I wonder. Why are you curious about other dragons? To make me jealous?”

At those words, Siol giggled. If Ronia had been here, she would have covered her mouth and said, “Oh my.”

“You get jealous even when I’m just asking out of curiosity?”

“Of course.”

As Siol chuckled at the coy reply, Eorzen placed his hand on top of Siol’s on the back of his hand and said seriously.

“Siol, really.”

“…Uh…, even though we’re dating now?”

“What does dating have to do with being jealous?”

Hearing that, it was true. Even on Earth, there were countless couples who broke up after one of them cheated after they started dating. It even happened after marriage.

“We’re a dragon and a dragon’s mate. So, we’re destined for each other….”

As Siol confessed in a soft voice, his cheeks flushing, Eorzen’s expression softened.

“I still get jealous. Even if we have a very good relationship, others won’t necessarily take that into account.”

Eorzen leaned his upper body forward slightly and whispered as if confiding a secret.

“Especially wolves. They are a race that originally doesn’t even know the meaning of the word ‘chastity’.”

“What?”

“When I was waiting for you in front of the ice lake, Ryufen told me. To go meet you, greet you, eat, have a drink, and then go to bed. He said all wolves are like that.”

Siol was at a loss for what to say to Eorzen, who seemed to be forgetting that Siol himself was a wolf.

“So who knows if the countless wolves here in Arteum will fall for you and try to sneak into your bed?”

Come to think of it, Siol too had jumped into Eorzen’s bed when they were nothing to each other. Of course, at first, it was just for guiding….

A mischievous urge rose in Siol, and he flipped the hand Eorzen was holding to tickle his palm and whispered.

“Lord Eorzen, I’m a wolf too. Hearing that makes me want to jump into some dragon’s bed today.”

“Siol….”

It was at that moment.

“Really, it’s so cheesy I can’t even watch!!”

Ryufen shouted as he burst into the room. It seemed he had been watching from the hallway, waiting for a chance to come in.

“Siol, you’re not even married yet, what kind of…!! Anyway, is that so?!”

“Ryufen, you told Lord Eorzen to take me to bed, didn’t you?”

“That was when I didn’t know you were my nephew!”

“I can’t do that because I’m your nephew?”

“No!!”

I’ve thought this before, but he’s a really selfish wolf. Fickle and changing his mind as easily as boiling porridge.

“Aish, whatever. What brings you here so early in the morning?”

Siol asked, shaking his head. Ryufen answered Siol, pointedly ignoring the chilly glare Eorzen was shooting at him.

“Sis told me to come and ask what happened to the shadow compass.”

“Ah! Right, I need to send that to Ladie!”

Although they had succeeded in killing Nanthaniel’s main body, it didn’t mean they had completely resolved the threat of Nanthaniel. Nanthaniel had prepared numerous clones, so he would awaken again. Though since the shadow containing his memories was here with them, he wouldn’t be as threatening.

“I have already sent the shadow compass to Princess Ladie, Siol.”

“To my pouch?”

“Yes. She said she would immediately have Asios track him, so do not worry.”

“…I can trust Asios.”

Siol, who had half-risen, leaned back in his chair again.

Asios was a fast and diligent knight who wanted to repay his debt to Eorzen and himself. He would surely find Nanthaniel’s clones quickly and without fail.

“Lord Eorzen, could you give me the pouch? I need to ask Ladie when we might know the king’s location.”

“I have already asked about that as well. She said he took over a nearby city last night. It usually takes the king about seven days to take over the next city, so we have to wait a little.”

“You already… asked?”

Siol asked blankly, and Eorzen grinned.

“You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to handle your affairs for you until now.”

He was clearly talking about what happened in the Meric territory.

Ah, why did I think back then that I had to solve everything by myself? Siol felt like he wanted to punch his past self for being so foolish. It was a time when he couldn’t trust anything, couldn’t rely on anything.

But now, he didn’t feel uncomfortable even when relying on Eorzen like this.

Siol shyly leaned toward Eorzen. Eorzen also leaned toward Siol.

“Ah, I said it’s cheesy!”

The two ignored Ryufen, who was shouting his head off, and kissed tenderly.

I want to kiss him right now, so what does it matter if Ryufen finds it cheesy or whatever.

⋆୨🔮୧⋆

“Siol. Are you, are you okay?”

Ladie, who had been sitting at the dining table, shot up and asked.

“You’re not sick anywhere, are you?”

“I’m fine. I was just a little tired.”

“That’s a relief. You weren’t waking up, so….”

Ladie continued in a somewhat awkward tone. As if it were the first time she had said such affectionate words.

“I was very worried, baby.”

This time, Siol’s expression became awkward. ‘Baby’. No matter how he thought about it, he was long past the age to be called that. Still, Siol decided not to tell her to stop. If he did, Ladie, who was already awkward from trying to speak affectionately, would probably become even stiffer.

“W-well, I’m not as healthy as a normal beastkin, but I’m not so weak that I get sick easily.”

“Right.”

Her expression didn’t believe him at all. Siol felt it was quite unfair that no one in the dining room believed he was healthy, but he could only shut his mouth sullenly. There was nothing he could do since their standards were different.

“Sit down. Budril is bringing the meal….”

Before she could finish, the door opened and Budril entered pushing a large wagon.

“Siol! Were you waiting?”

The mountain of large plates stacked in layers was so high it made him doubt his eyes. Budril skillfully began to take down the stacked plates and place them on the table.

From a whole roasted pig, to a scored and grilled rhinoceros thigh, to a stir-fry of some unknown bird, to a whole grilled fish slathered in sauce, a truly diverse array of dishes was laid out one after another. The only saving grace was that, unlike Ryufen, there weren’t a complete lack of vegetables. Siol breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of salads placed here and there.

“I told you, Siol. That I wanted to fatten you up. I’ve worked hard to prepare this, so please eat a lot.”

He looked absolutely determined, so Siol nodded, watching him cautiously. Then Eorzen, who had been following quietly behind, pulled out Siol’s chair and warned sharply.

“Don’t think about force-feeding him. Siol gets an upset stomach if he eats the wrong food, and he gets an upset stomach if he eats too much.”

“An upset stomach… what is that?”

“It’s an illness where if he eats the wrong meal, he collapses and can only have things like honey water for a few days.”

Ladie shot a strange look at Siol as he went to sit in his chair. She was clearly thinking about what he had said just a moment ago about not being weak enough to get sick easily. Budril, who seemed not to have known what an upset stomach was, looked shocked, though he didn’t say anything.

Siol made an excuse in a sullen voice.

“…An upset stomach isn’t an illness.”