First Reunion (15)

That night, after being rejected by the Dragon.

Garmiyu, who had returned to the Rianpalt family, truly wept her heart out.

Except for when she was very young, she had been a stranger to tears, but this time, she cried as if the heavens would split.

“Huu… huu…”

“Lady-nim, please stop crying… If you keep this up, your beautiful face will be ruined…”

Her maids tried to comfort her, but the heartbroken Garmiyu couldn’t hear them.

The situation she faced tormented her greatly.

‘I must have committed some impropriety… That’s why Helix-nim is angry…’

For now, she wanted to believe that much.

She wanted to think of it not as her being worthless to him, but merely as retribution for acting on her own accord.

“Huu… kkeueuk… heueong….”

However, Garmiyu was not a foolish woman, despite her purity.

Even tears that flow endlessly eventually stop.

Her chaotic heart also settled to some extent as time passed.

Her head grew cold, and her reason became sharper than ever.

“He said… huu… that Saint-nim was more useful than me.”

She had clearly heard that.

That he had chosen one between the Saint and the Half-Dragon.

Of course, they had been quite far apart, but…

“He definitely said that.”

After awakening as a Half-Dragon by Helix, her physical abilities seemed to have increased to an unusual degree.

Lung capacity, speed, and even her sight and hearing…

Garmiyu’s body was already progressing towards the realm of a superhuman, even without doing anything.

“What on earth am I lacking compared to Saint-nim?”

She had never once compared herself to the Saint, nor had she ever entertained the thought of doing so.

But now that she was being compared like this, her stomach twisted.

For what reason?

What was she lacking?

That question dominated Garmiyu’s mind.

Her family?

Needless to say, she was superior.

Unlike her, who belonged to one of the five great noble families, Saint-nim was a war orphan.

Her beauty?

Saint-nim was undoubtedly a very cute girl, but she was still just a child.

It was unreasonable to compare her to Garmiyu, who was considered the greatest beauty in the Holy Dominion.

Her abilities?

Although she was a Half-Dragon, no one yet knew the extent of her power.

But the same went for Saint-nim.

Determining who was superior or not was meaningless in itself.

“Ahaha, what’s the point of all this…”

Suddenly realizing how foolish she was, Garmiyu let out a hollow laugh.

Yes, she was truly foolish.

What did family or beauty matter to a Dragon?

All those things she prided herself on…

They were utterly useless to him.

“What on earth does Saint-nim have that I don’t…?”

Thinking about it for a hundred days wouldn’t yield an answer.

Nothing was as meaningless as killing time, trapped in pointless thoughts.

Garmiyu decided to forget for a while.

About the Dragon.

And even her dream of becoming the Dragon’s Priestess.

****

Her complicated feelings were only temporary.

The day of a noble lady from a prestigious family once again flowed busily.

There were too many people looking for her to idly kill time.

“Lady-nim, are you ready?”

“Yes, for now.”

“It’s quite a long distance. Please check once more if you’ve left anything behind.”

A party held to celebrate the birthday of a close noble relative’s daughter.

Garmiyu accepted her invitation and set out on a long journey.

An estate located in the border region near the Empire.

Because of this, in the past, she would have simply sent a gift…

But this time, she readily decided to visit in person.

She wanted to get some fresh air and shake off the melancholy that had weighed on her.

“Ah, how beautiful…”

Seeing the beautiful wildflowers blooming outside, her pent-up feelings seemed to gently melt away.

Garmiyu couldn’t take her eyes off the scenery for a long time.

Amidst the tranquility, her personal maid spoke to her.

“Lady-nim, did you know? This time, special guests are coming from the Empire as well.”

“The Empire? Aren’t people from there a bit dangerous?”

“No, that’s just the military side of things; they say the people are ordinary.”

“Really…?”

In truth, Garmiyu didn’t know much about the Empire.

She only knew it as a dangerous and violent military empire.

But perhaps that was just a prejudice.

Because in this border territory, which she had only known to be hostile and share a border with the Imperial Army, guests from the Empire were arriving without issue.

“It would be nice to have a chance to talk with a guest from the Empire.”

“Yes, Lady-nim, I hope you make new friends.”

Her personal maid looked at Garmiyu with pity in her eyes.

She also roughly knew why Garmiyu had been so depressed lately.

‘The Dragon is so indifferent… even though Garmiyu-nim is so beautiful.’

In truth, no one knew Garmiyu’s true intentions.

Was it a pure desire for recognition?

Or did she truly desire the Dragon as a romantic partner?

Even Garmiyu herself didn’t yet know what her true feelings were.

****

After traveling for several days, Garmiyu finally arrived at the border territory.

Garmiyu was quite exhausted from the long journey.

“You came, Garmiyu!”

“Yes, Olivia. Happy birthday.”

“I didn’t expect you to come all this way. I’m touched.”

“Ahaha… I had to come at least once.”

Garmiyu chatted with her old friend for the first time in a while.

However, as she was the guest of honor at today’s banquet, she couldn’t dedicate her time solely to Garmiyu.

With a touch of regret, she sent her friend off, and then had nothing particular to do.

Loud and extravagant banquets were not to Garmiyu’s taste.

Instinctively seeking a quiet place, she walked and walked until she found herself on a terrace.

“Wow…”

Perhaps because it was indeed a frontier region, unlike Alesia, the night sky was incredibly clear and visible.

Garmiyu took in the radiant glow of the beautiful star clusters with her own eyes.

Her eyes shone brilliantly, as if they held the stars.

“It’s a shame I don’t have a telescope. It’s so clear here.”

Garmiyu personally enjoyed astronomy.

Not just superficially, but to the extent of purchasing and reading specialized books.

The Rianpalt family even had her own telescope specially prepared.

However, it was largely useless in the capital, Alesia, due to the consistently poor weather.

“The Dragon Constellation…”

While observing the constellations idly, one constellation caught her eye.

The Dragon Constellation.

The King of Constellations.

A massive celestial axis formed by the most brilliantly shining stars.

“Why even in a place like this…”

Garmiyu’s gaze darkened, settling like the night sky’s gloom.

Why did he have to come to mind even here?

Suddenly feeling a little resentful towards him, Garmiyu let out a hollow laugh.

“Ahaha… This makes me completely disqualified as a Dragon’s Priestess. Though it doesn’t matter now…”

She had thought that coming all this way would help her shake it off completely, but…

It wasn’t easy after all.

She was still trapped by the memory of being rejected by the Dragon.

“Why am I so obsessed with Helix-nim…?”

Garmiyu asked herself again.

In truth, there were many reasons if she thought about it.

To begin with, he was a Dragon.

The pinnacle of faith and a central figure.

It was only natural for a citizen of the Holy Dominion to want to be acknowledged by such a being.

“No, honestly, I’m not that deeply religious…”

Of course, that wasn’t entirely absent.

But Garmiyu wanted to be a little more honest with herself.

She didn’t want to deceive her own heart.

“I just…”

Garmiyu briefly searched through her memories of the past.

In truth, the first place she saw the Dragon in person was not the temple.

It was the day the Dragon had just arrived in the Holy Dominion with the Saint.

That place where numerous nobles and priests, along with the Archbishops of the Holy Dominion, had gathered to witness.

Garmiyu had been there too.

“A fearless being.”

Garmiyu remembered clearly.

The sight of the baby Dragon fighting against a giant bug monster.

The moment that monster rampaged and charged madly towards where she was…

The Dragon, who instantly transformed into a man and cut down the monster.

That image was so powerful that she still couldn’t forget it.

“Haa…”

Garmiyu sighed, facing the cold wind.

Just then, a sweet, childish voice came from beside her.

“You seem to have a lot on your mind, unnie?”

“Who are you…?”

A tiny girl who only reached about her chest.

With pure white silver hair, her eyes shone vividly with a blood-red color.

“Well, I wonder~?”

The girl exuded an eerie yet mysterious aura.

She instinctively felt it.

That this tiny girl was no ordinary noble lady.

“You must be a person of high standing.”

“Oh my, you’re quite observant, aren’t you?”

“Not really. It’s just a feeling.”

The tiny girl smiled brightly, grabbed the terrace railing with both hands, and then..

She leaped right over.

“That’s dangerous!!”

“Oh.”

Garmiyu was startled by her sudden action.

She quickly rushed to the girl and firmly grabbed her waist.

She was so surprised her heart nearly dropped.

“It’s dangerous, isn’t it?! What if you fall?!”

“Wow, your movements are incredibly fast, aren’t they?”

“…”

“You seem even faster than most knights-nim.”

Was that the explosive movement of a Half-Dragon that had just manifested?

Garmiyu took a step back from the girl and scolded her.

“Anyway, you shouldn’t jump over dangerously.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Are you really… listening properly?”

“Of course.”

The girl sat perched on the railing, swinging her legs as if kicking in water.

This girl, so full of composure, unlike herself.

“Unnie.”

“Yes.”

“You seem to have a lot on your mind?”

“…”

Not wanting to answer, Garmiyu remained silent.

“I have a lot on my mind too.”

“At that age, you already have worries?”

“Many, and quite significant ones at that.”

For a moment, countless emotions flickered in the girl’s red eyes.

At that heavy gaze, which was impossible to attribute to a child…

Garmiyu gasped.

“Unnie, actually, I am walking the path of atonement.”

“Atonement? That’s too heavy a word for a child to use.”

“But it’s a matter heavy enough to warrant such a word.”

“Did you bully a friend or something?”

“They’re not my friend anymore, but… yes, I tormented them a lot. They suffered to the point of death…”

The girl’s smile seemed to hold a bitter taste.

Perhaps she had tormented someone she liked?

It might have gone too far and caused a great wound.

“May I ask for the little Lady-nim’s name?”

“Me? Hmm… I don’t usually tell others.”

“It’s fine if it’s difficult to answer.”

“Hmm… It is difficult, but what should I do~?”

In truth, Garmiyu wasn’t particularly curious about the girl’s name.

She merely wanted to exchange names out of courtesy, seeing it as fate.

She had no intention of forcing her if she didn’t want to answer.

“Alright then. Since Unnie is also a Half-Dragon, I’ll tell you specially.”

“…!!”

Garmiyu’s eyes widened, as if she had never dreamed the girl would know about her.

Of course, it was already known that she was a Half-Dragon.

So, it was possible she knew somehow, but…

“You’re saying… we’re both Half-Dragons?

“Yes, we’re both Half-Dragons, aren’t we?”

“…”

The girl’s red eyes glowed.

Somehow, if she kept staring at them, she felt like she would be enchanted…

Garmiyu instinctively averted her gaze.

Her Half-Dragon instincts seemed to be warning her.

That being was extremely sinister.

“I am Vivian.”

“…”

“My name is Vivian. Nice to meet you, pretty Unnie.”