Vivian (19)

The Daughter of the World Tree’s body was sent to the forest.

The Daesurim was enraged, but its emotions didn’t give it the capacity to continue warring with the Empire.

The Termites’ invasion was, after all, right on their doorstep.

When the Empire promised a united front against the Termites, a peace treaty was eventually signed between the two factions.

“Helix?”

“He said he would go hunt the bugs… Your Majesty.”

“Haa, I wonder how long it will take this time.”

Since that day, the Dragon no longer paid attention to anyone.

Her warning had clearly worked.

She no longer tried to form bonds with anyone…

Nor did she give her heart away.

She focused solely on hunting bugs.

“Your Majesty, I briefly saw Helix-nim’s injuries before, they’re too severe.”

“Did he get them fighting those bugs…?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. No matter if he’s a Dragon, in that state…”

Stella, the maid, nervously fiddled with her fingers.

The Elf’s death had also burdened her with a heavy heart.

Should she have tried harder to stop her master back then?

But as long as the Elf was alive, her master’s paranoia would have only worsened day by day.

In fact, the Empress had become considerably milder since the Elf’s death.

“What the hell are you doing right now?”

“…”

“How long are you going to be tied down by that Elf…?”

The reason her Dragon was so obsessed with bug hunting was obvious.

Guilt for not being able to protect her.

And a sense of duty to protect what she had tried to protect.

But in her excessive devotion, she was being overly harsh on herself.

“I’ll have to talk to him when he gets back.”

The Elf had to die.

Vivian was still convinced.

If she had kept that Elf alive, that feeling would have continued to grow and eventually completely usurp her place.

But she never imagined the aftermath would be this severe.

“I don’t regret my choice…”

Even if she went back to the past.

Even if she had to endure Helix’s resentment.

She would have killed that Elf again.

******

A month after the Dragon began hunting bugs.

He finally returned.

His entire body was tattered.

Even a soldier who had barely survived in a battlefield hospital wouldn’t look this bad.

“What the hell is wrong with your appearance?”

“…”

“Ha, do you not even want to see my face anymore?”

At the sight of the Dragon completely ignoring her, Vivian gritted her teeth.

“Stop.”

“…”

“I told you to stop!”

Vivian grabbed Helix, who was ignoring her and walking past.

She roughly pushed him against the wall, glaring at him with blazing eyes.

“Did killing that Elf wound your heart so much?”

“…”

“But what can you do, she’s already dead. How long are you going to torment me over a woman who’s already a corpse and turned into tree fertilizer?”

Even at her insulting words, Helix’s eyes showed no change.

Like someone whose emotions were completely broken.

The Dragon’s eyes were excessively calm.

“On my way back from catching bugs, I visited the World Tree.”

“What…?”

“I actually expected resentment. The World Tree loved its daughter very much.”

“…”

“But it didn’t resent me at all. Instead, it thanked me for fighting for the forest.”

Vivian was speechless at his self-deprecating gaze.

It was serious.

More serious than she had thought.

He was collapsing even faster than she could handle.

“I was ashamed, I wanted to crawl into a hole somewhere.”

“Helix…”

“I fought the bugs all this time because I wanted to avoid responsibility. I wanted to put up a shield, so people wouldn’t blame me because I was fighting hard.”

“…”

“But now, none of that matters anymore.”

Vivian noticed the wound on Helix’s chest.

It was a stab wound that looked severe at a glance.

“You, stay still.”

When she pulled back his chest, there were countless terribly severe wounds.

His condition looked so serious that he was barely able to stand.

Moreover, he was infected with all sorts of poisons, making recovery seem difficult.

Just how many fierce battles had he fought with the bugs?

“Ha…”

Vivian tried her best to suppress the urge to scream.

Nothing would be solved by yelling at him now.

First, she had to fix her broken Dragon.

Since both his body and mind were completely tattered, it wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed at any moment.

“Come here.”

“…”

“You’re too exhausted right now. You need to rest.”

Vivian was so frustrated by the current situation.

Helix wasn’t rebellious towards her.

But he didn’t express love like before, nor did he tease her.

He just stood there, like an old man helplessly waiting for his death.

“Helix.”

“…”

“Helix, what are you thinking?”

“…”

“Are you not even going to answer me now? Do you hate me that much?”

At some point, he had lost his voice.

At first, she thought he was angry with her, but that wasn’t it.

“He was like that with you too?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. He seemed to want to speak, but couldn’t.”

“The Dragon-nim was also flustered. Because his voice suddenly wouldn’t come out.”

“…”

A few times, he had shown signs of wanting to say something to the maids.

But his voice wouldn’t come out, and he himself was reportedly quite flustered.

When they hastily took him to the Imperial Physicians later, they all said the same thing.

“There is no problem with his vocal cords. It is merely a sickness of the heart.”

“Ha…”

“For now, it would be best to observe him with care. Forcing him to speak in his current state could have adverse effects.”

Helix always stayed in his place.

He would just stare blankly, as if longing for something.

Each time, Vivian’s mood soured.

She knew he was probably thinking of the dead Elf.

That Elf had taken the Dragon from her, even in death.

“Ha, do you miss that Elf so much?”

“…”

“If you do, why don’t you just die and follow her?”

“…!”

Those words, truly thrown out on impulse.

Vivian herself was surprised after uttering them and immediately tried to apologize, but…

“…”

At that, Helix’s emotionless eyes widened for a moment…

Soon, his eyes turned bloodshot and welled up with tears.

He, who hadn’t reacted to anything she said until now, was finally showing emotion.

Vivian realized it at that moment.

‘It was a wounded look…’

How could you do this to me?

At least you shouldn’t say such things.

Helix seemed to want to say that.

“Ha, are you upset because I suddenly said something like this?”

“…”

“Then speak up, you idiot. How long are you going to keep me in suspense like this?”

“Get lost…”

“What?”

“I said, get lost…”

Only then was Helix able to utter words for the first time.

They were by no means pleasant words to hear, but Vivian was glad even for that.

Ah, I need to provoke him.

That’s how Helix’s emotions move.

Vivian’s misguided method of communication began that way.

“Do you think I’m being too much?”

“…”

“But you’re the one who’s truly too much. What’s so special about that Elf? To make me suffer like this.”

“…”

“I’ve already killed millions of people. Yet you loved me, and now you act like this just because I killed one Elf?”

“Get lost, you devilish bitch…”

“Ahahaha..!! Yes, that’s the reaction I wanted. Yes, say it like that. Good, it’s nice to hear your voice after a long time.”

Vivian would subtly provoke Helix whenever she had the chance.

Especially when he seemed to be thinking of the Elf.

Of course, Vivian didn’t use vulgar insults like a common street ruffian.

She was more accustomed to a type of speech that subtly dug into the heart.

“You are truly the worst husband.”

“…”

“You look at other women, and then you torment me because you killed her.”

“If it was going to be like this, I shouldn’t have married someone like you.”

Vivian blurted it out thoughtlessly, then immediately regretted it.

How could that be true?

Even if it was painful right now, he was definitely her salvation.

How could she forget that?

The baby Dragon who chose her, who was nothing, was clearly this man before her.

“Do you regret it?”

“What?”

“Do you regret meeting me?”

Rarely, Helix spoke to her first.

Helix stared at her with empty eyes.

At his short but heavy words, Vivian’s heart sank.

“I regret it. Meeting you.”

At that, Vivian couldn’t hide her emotions, and her face contorted.

She had blurted out her words thoughtlessly, but…

Helix hadn’t.

He was truly regretting it now.

The choice he made as a baby Dragon in the past.

“Ha… So what do you want me to do?”

The inferiority complex she had buried resurfaced.

“You’ve already chosen me, haven’t you? You chose me yourself. So what can you do now?”

“…”

“You can’t escape. You’re mine anyway.”

Vivian reassured herself that way.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have the confidence to overcome the surging fear.

“I can escape.”

“What…?”

“I didn’t escape, I chose not to.”

“Ha, how are you going to escape…?”

Helix didn’t answer.

He merely remained silent, as if to say, “Just you wait.”

*****

Another month passed.

Contrary to his warning, Helix didn’t do anything special.

“Was it just talk?”

Could she finally feel a little relieved?

All this time, Vivian had lost sleep every night out of fear.

Fearing that he might disappear from her side forever and never return.

Looking out at the dark night, Vivian drank strong liquor.

“Can’t sleep…”

No matter how much she drank, sleep wouldn’t come.

Her chest felt incredibly stuffy, as if she had indigestion.

She knew well what the cause was.

Only, there was no solution.

“It burns…”

Had she drunk too much?

Now her stomach burned.

Vivian hastily took out the stomach medicine she kept in her drawer.

But it wasn’t there.

The pistol she always kept in her desk in her office.

The pistol he had made from his own bones as her birthday gift.

“Where did it go?”

There was no reason for it to suddenly disappear.

No one in their right mind would steal her pistol.

Moreover, it was an item with a security spell on it.

Anyone who dared to take it would be hit with a powerful electric shock.

The only exception would be the weapon’s creator.

“Could it be, Helix?”

What would he do with her pistol?

Try to commit suicide?

Impossible.

Hadn’t he said it himself?

That a Dragon couldn’t be killed by a mere pistol.

That a Dragon could only be killed by a weapon made from the body of another Dragon.

“A Dragon’s body…?”

Vivian briefly recalled what her pistol was made of.

Bone, it was made from his bone.

Then what about the ammunition?

What was the ammunition made of?

She had never fired it herself, so she didn’t know.

“Crazy.”

Vivian immediately rummaged through the pouch containing the bullets.

There had been plenty, but now less than half remained.

Only then did Vivian realize what Helix intended to do.

“No… Absolutely not…!”

“Your Majesty…?”

Vivian burst out of her office like a madwoman.

The maids and guards were startled.

Vivian shouted at them with a trembling voice.

“Immediately…! Find Helix immediately! Immediately!”

“Yes…? Yes, understood, Your Majesty!”

“Mobilize all knights and maids! We must find him right away!”

Vivian’s expression was so urgent and haggard.

The knights, realizing the gravity of the situation, hastily began their search.

“Find the Dragon!!”

“Wake everyone up, off-duty or not!! It’s an emergency!!”

The Imperial Palace suddenly became a chaotic mess.

Vivian ran frantically, recalling the places Helix often frequented.

“I was wrong… I was wrong, so please…!”

Tears blurred her vision.

Had he felt this way too?

When she tried to kill the Elf…

Had such despair clouded his vision?

Kwadang!!

Vivian finally tripped and fell.

The throbbing pain in her ankle made it impossible to walk, but…

Nevertheless, Vivian got up again.

Dragging her injured ankle, Vivian wandered alone, aimlessly searching for the Dragon.

“Hmph… Don’t abandon me… Don’t leave me alone…”

Her beloved baby Dragon who had chosen her.

The vow she had made to give him the whole world.

But she had given him nothing.

The only thing she had given was suffering.

Yes, this transaction could never have been established without one side’s unilateral sacrifice from the start.

“Hmph… Hmph… Helix, where are you…?”

Vivian finally stopped walking in despair.

Then she leaned against the Imperial Palace wall and sank to the ground, clenching her hands.

Vivian, who had always scoffed at and despised God, now prayed with all her heart.

“I was wrong… I was all wrong, so please…”

Please don’t take him away from her.

Please give her one more chance.

Vivian begged and begged.

Hoping for a miracle.

Taang!!

“Oh…?”

A single gunshot rang out.

Firing a gun in the Imperial Palace was strictly forbidden for any reason.

Only two individuals could fire a gun here and expect to be safe.

Herself and Helix.

“Haha…”

Vivian realized that everything was already too late.

In the end, God had not answered her prayers.

“Give him back…!”

Vivian screamed at God.

With bloodshot eyes, she shrieked until her voice gave out.

She punched the wall, pounding it until her knuckles felt like they would shatter.

“Give him back, give him back…!!”

Give me my Dragon back.

Give him back to me.

Vivian repeated it endlessly, as if chanting a spell.

“Give me my Dragon back…”

At that moment, her vision spun.

It was already a dark night, but beyond that, her sight completely blacked out.

In a terrible dizziness, Vivian fell into a dark abyss.

Falling endlessly, falling.

In that vast darkness, Vivian sank endlessly.

‘Am I being punished…?’

Was God punishing her for tormenting the Dragon who had chosen her?

For ultimately driving him to an extreme choice?

Well, it didn’t matter anymore.

She had long ago given up on the idea of going to heaven anyway.

Flash!!

Suddenly, light burst before her eyes.

The curtain of darkness lifted, and the stage was revealed once more.

Unable to withstand the dazzling light, Vivian stumbled back.

“What is it? Get out of the way, you worm.”

“Oh…?”

A young child’s face appeared.

Perhaps only thirteen years old.

It was a familiar face.

“Why…?”

“Have you finally gone mad?”

Despite the Imperial Prince’s snarling attitude, Vivian merely blinked.

Why was he before her?

The First Imperial Prince of the Empire.

The one who had tormented her in the past, but later met his end on the execution ground by her blade of revenge.

His presence here meant…

“Ah.”

Vivian understood.

God had given her another chance.