TEB Ch 27

“Ummm…” 

The first to react was Reinhart. Breaking the solemn silence, he spoke. 

“It seems there’s some misunderstanding. We certainly didn’t call you here with that intention. In fact, we believed you were a lover he left behind in his hometown. 

What kind of nonsense is this again? Liev raised his eyebrows, doubting his ears. 

“What?” 

As if he were a clueless person who couldn’t understand what was being said, he furrowed his brows and asked again, causing not only Reinhart but all the other colleagues to look bewildered. It wasn’t just because Liev had made a sharp, pointed remark, but rather because his reaction was so different from what they had expected. Liev’s head throbbed, unable to comprehend the situation.

“Therefore, it seems we’re misunderstanding something. What relationship do you two have?” 

The woman with short hair tilted her head in confusion, and her nearby colleague also showed interest. 

“I just thought he was a childhood friend Renard knew from when he was young. Something like that.” 

“Didn’t he just say there was someone he needed to find?” 

“Yeah, that’s right. He had to find someone important.” 

No, the reason for finding me is not because we were childhood friends, but because he wants revenge. Liev thought for a moment and then decided to tell the whole truth. Since the incident had already happened, Liev’s identity was exposed, and being dragged here meant there was no way to return to the institute without their help.

Even if he managed to escape somehow, returning to the place where he was found was not an option unless he wanted to be captured again. Moreover, evading the pursuit of the search team was impossible, given that his face and identification had been revealed, and escaping while avoiding the dragon flying in the sky was an impossible task.

“Hah…” 

With a long sigh, Liev began to tell the story that he had kept to himself. 

“Ten years ago, I was imprisoned with Renard in the Count’s mansion.” 

“The Count kidnapped children from across the country to hatch Renard’s egg to avoid magic addiction. Most of the children died because they were incompatible with the egg. I survived but suffered severe abuse from the Count and was forced to undergo experiments to turn Renard into a berserk.” As he spoke calmly, silence fell upon the entire conference room. 

“I, too, was sold to the Count at a young age and couldn’t leave the mansion, so Renard was my only companion and practically my family. I lacked the ability to take care of Renard, so I had to entrust him to someone who could.” 

The figure for this role was the legendary existence known as the Divine Dragon Mahatra. Although the dragon, tired of humans, chose to draw a line from humans and isolate himself, Liev believed that he might show mercy to a fellow dragon. Liev explained that he had decided to approach Mahatra after preparing for his escape for quite some time. 

“The one problem is that Renard followed me more than just as a caregiver.” 

As Liev explained this much, everyone’s expressions showed even more confusion. The first to voice his thoughts was a small-sized male knight. 

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but wouldn’t it still be a good thing that you two met again?” 

Liev responded with a light chuckle. 

“Do you know what you do when you treat an injured wild animal and release it back into the habitat where it belongs?”

The knight, still with a puzzled expression on his face, responded to the unexpected question.

“Uh? Well, um, perhaps by scattering plenty of food in the habitat or…” 

Liev scoffed lightly at the knight’s response. 

“No. You need to scare them off so they remain wary of humans. If you don’t, they’ll remember that humans cared for them and try to depend on people again, not knowing that a hunter might try to kill them or a traveler might catch them out of curiosity.

The knight’s face suddenly lit up as he realized why Liev had brought this up.

“It was the same with Renard. He suffered at the hands of humans who tried to take advantage of him. Nevertheless, since he was born, he has been under my care and does not want to let go. As those who’ve set foot across the Impassable Forest know, humans can’t survive for long where the divine dragon lives.”

“……” 

“I had neither the time nor the ability to logically persuade Renard, so I had no choice but to resort to harsh methods to separate Renard from me. For Renard, the only emotion left toward me is likely resentment. He just wants revenge against the one who threatened, hurt, and finally drove him away.” 

The knight immediately objected to Liev’s conclusion. 

“But if that’s the case, there are plenty of other ways.” 

However, Liev boldly interrupted. Since the cat was already out of the bag, there was nothing to be cautious about now. 

“He said it himself. He mentioned keeping me by his side to torment me until he got bored. The last words I said to him at that moment were agonizing and painful, so that’s why he is throwing such a tantrum, not because he really needs me or wants me. 

Once again, a long silence followed Liev’s story, which was not easy to digest. Liev’s whole body started to feel chills from the wet, cold saliva running down his body. Now that everyone somewhat understood, he hoped they would let him rest for a while. His entire body was sticky and wet, and even breathing was a challenge due to the thick dust in the air. Amidst the silence, Reinhart was the one to break it again.

“There was such a story…” 

He, too, seemed to have a headache. If Liev had simply accepted the role of a dragon knight as a good thing, everything could have been easily resolved without any issues. However, due to Liev’s firm rejection and assertive attitude, saying, ‘I don’t want it,’ things got complicated. Whether he said anything or not, dealing with people desperate to use Renard was a headache. Liev was only a fly’s life that should have died early in the story, so he wished they would negotiate without him and let him out of it…That’s exactly how Liev felt.

It wasn’t that he had no feelings left for Renat. He just hoped that someday, even from a distance, he could witness a moment when Renard was doing well. These were just simple sentiments. Liev spoke again. 

“If you truly care for Renard, instead of sacrificing me to take out his anger, it would be better to broaden your perspective and not obsess over me. If Renard makes the wrong demands and walks the wrong path, it would be better to guide him to grow with the right values.” 

It was a philosophical statement that no one could refute. In the midst of another silence, the small knight cautiously raised his hand. 

“Albert!” 

The mage with long hair yelled out, and Albert cried out as if he felt unjustly treated. 

“No, wait a minute. Aren’t you just being unnecessary, Rowena? So calm down or something.” 

Before he could ask his question, the mage stomped on his foot as if to silence him. Albert was a young knight known for making blunt and straightforward remarks that often caused trouble among his colleagues. 

“Wait…!” 

Speaking of that, Liev also had something to say. 

“If he were an average human, it would be understandable for him to some extent.” 

“……” 

“But he is a dragon.” 

Was it right to sacrifice an individual to appease a tantrum-throwing dragon? It was necessary to carefully judge whether it was beneficial in the long run to keep him as a stable ally. Once he becomes unreasonable, what happens next? This time, it was an ordinary person with no connections and no protection, but who knows what demands might be made next time? It seemed like everyone was having similar thoughts. The silence continued.