Chapter 121: I Have Something to Tell You.

Chapter 121: I Have Something to Tell You.

A protruding snout touched my arm.

At the same time, I felt hot breath and got goosebumps all over my body.

Bang!

My body was thrown backward by the impact.

Fortunately, thanks to the link with Lucy, I wasn’t seriously injured.

A loud roar erupted as a large head was embedded in the window.

“H-hiiiiiiiaaaak!!”

A scream escaped my lips without my realizing it.

“Ce, Cecil?!”

At the same time, Scarlett, who had been sleeping naked, jolted awake.

Then, her eyes widened.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

The dragon stuck in the window glared with fiery red eyes and let out a roar that made my whole body tingle.

I lay there trembling.

Its teeth, as large as my head, glistened with saliva, and smoke seeped from its nostrils.

Then, Scarlett, with wind-infused hands, charged at the dragon’s head.

“Y, Young Lady!!”

I’m going to die.

Definitely, I will die.

Charging at a dragon.

It’s madness. It’s suicide.

But Scarlett far surpassed my expectations and drove her fist into the dragon’s eye.

Kagagagag-

“Kiyaaaaaaaaaaak!!”

Then, with a sound like something being torn apart, the dragon screamed.

What in the world is going on?

A dragon, a predator called the ruler of the sky.

Is it being defeated so easily?

Before I could even ponder such questions, the dragon stuck in the window thrashed about.

Its wings flapped erratically, and its pained screams echoed painfully.

Creak-

“Young Lady! Step back!!”

Footsteps were heard from the hallway, and Euston, who rushed out, shouted.

Behind him were several knights with terrified expressions.

Euston immediately charged forward, threw a nearby blanket over Scarlett, and then,

With all his might, he landed a devastating punch on the dragon’s nose.

Kwajijik!

“Kyahahahaha! Kuryahahaha!!”

Then, with one eye crushed, the dragon let out a final, mighty roar.

With a thud, the dragon toppled backward.

It seemed the wall that had barely supported the dragon had collapsed from the impact of the punch.

“Go downstairs! Call the archers and make sure they don’t kill it, but capture it alive!!”

“Yes!”

Euston didn’t let his guard down even after the dragon fell to the ground.

With a calm expression, he fearlessly leaped down alone.

Then, there was a thud.

The knights, making a commotion, hurried downstairs.

“Ce, Cecil! Are you okay?!”

As the situation quickly resolved, Scarlett was the first to speak.

She hugged me tightly with a genuinely surprised expression.

Then, as if checking if I was injured or if anything was wrong,

Her trembling hands fumbled desperately all over my body.

“Haa, ha… Haaaaa…”

I was still unable to calm down.

I entrusted my trembling body to Scarlett,

And continued to gasp for breath, as if my breath would break.

I didn’t know what had happened.

All I could say was.

“A, a dragon… a dragon… over there…”

“Calm down, Cecil… Calm down… That’s not a dragon. It’s okay, breathe. You’re breathing too fast…”

“Hooook… Hoooop…”

Only after hearing her words did I realize I wasn’t breathing properly.

After about 5 minutes of deep breaths, my body finally stabilized somewhat.

Scarlett, who was looking at me with trembling lips and a terrified expression,

Opened her mouth.

“That… is not a dragon. Calm down.”

“Yes…?”

“It’s called a wyvern. They look similar to dragons, so many mistake them, but it’s not a dragon. If it were a real dragon… we would all have died when it collided.”

That’s not a dragon?

I recalled the scene from earlier and trembled.

Its head was bigger than my body, and its eyes glared as if to kill me.

Shiiiiiii-

Oh no. Perhaps due to extreme fear, I had wet myself out of embarrassment.

Scarlett stroked my head.

Then, she brought something to wipe with and cleaned me up below.

She summoned wind and gestured towards the wall.

As if by magic, the shattered wall and window began to repair themselves.

In the blink of an eye, the broken wall was completely restored.

“Hoo, ha…”

Only then could I finally calm down.

Lucy, who was watching me from the side,

Clenched her fists and muttered so quietly that it was barely audible.

“I was scared…”

Then, with a look of realization, she sighed.

It seemed she hadn’t meant to say it.

After all the cleanup was done, I lay back down in bed and tried to sleep.

Scarlett hugged me tightly and fell fast asleep.

Lucy also wanted to hug me, but it seemed Scarlett’s presence prevented her.

Thus, the noisy mid-night incident quickly subsided.

Of course, that didn’t guarantee that further disturbances wouldn’t occur.

Sadly.

****

Step, step.

Scarlett’s footsteps in the hallway were very agitated.

She was biting her fingernails incessantly.

Her eyes were wide open, and her breathing was ragged.

Drops of blood fell from her fingers, but she didn’t seem to care.

She was simply ruminating on her hatred for Carlson,

And moving outside the mansion with Lucy.

“..Young Lady. You’ve arrived.”

They arrived at the heart of the forest.

There, Euston and other knights, fully armed, greeted Scarlett.

“Where is that wyvern bastard?”

“It’s over there. As you said, we preserved its condition so it wouldn’t die-“

“Lucy. Quickly. Go and translate.”

Scarlett, highly agitated, didn’t even let Euston finish his sentence.

But Euston didn’t mind.

Lucy hesitated, then stood before something covered and hissing.

It was the wyvern they had defeated yesterday.

Its entire body was bound to prevent escape, and its claws were all shattered.

Even with its eyes damaged, it wouldn’t have died,

But it must have been experiencing excruciating pain.

“Hoo..”

Lucy, with a tense expression, exhaled.

A wyvern is a mutation resulting from the crossbreeding of a dragon and a griffin.

It was originally an attempt to obtain a useful pack animal like a mule.

However, this led to a mistake, resulting in the disaster of wyverns breeding naturally.

Although they are usually not seen, hungry wyverns sometimes attack villages.

Their bodies contain a trace of dragon blood.

This means they can communicate with the dragon race, who are most closely related to dragons.

Lucy was called here for that reason.

“..Hey. Hello.”

Lucy, clenching her fists, spoke shyly.

“Purururuk..”

At first, there was no reaction at all.

But as she patiently waited, the wyvern, with half-open eyes, made a small sound.

-Who are you.

Then, a low, calm voice echoed in her mind.

Thank goodness. It can still communicate.

Lucy swallowed dryly and cleared her throat.

Wyverns cannot use magic.

This is not telepathy, but a direct mental communication using the dragon lineage.

Therefore, Lucy had to speak aloud.

“I am Lucy. As you can see… I am of the dragon race.”

-Dragon race… I see. I thought the smell was different. Dragons who have polymorphed don’t have the smell of blood.

“Have you met a dragon…?”

-Just once. It was very large and smelled of fragrant sky. It was blue and beautiful.

“..Lucy. Stop the pointless chatter.”

Seeing that the conversation was going off track, Scarlett, who was gnawing on her fingernails, warned her.

Oops. I shouldn’t do this.

Lucy took a deep breath and regained her composure.

She looked directly at the wyvern and continued speaking.

“There’s one thing… I want to ask.”

-Ask. Little dragon.

“Yesterday, the attack… no.”

As she stopped mid-sentence, the wyvern snorted.

Lucy sighed deeply.

Asking ‘Why did you do that yesterday?’ was meaningless.

For species like wyverns, interrogation is not very effective.

After all, the concept of ‘lying’ simply doesn’t exist for them.

Lying is a privilege granted only to species capable of thought and contemplation.

Therefore, she decided to change the question.

“You… were scared. I want to know why.”

-It’s simple. Because it wasn’t what I wanted.

The wyvern’s voice was calm as it said that.

Its words carried two meanings.

“..What do you mean?”

-I was ordered to attack this place by a man who smelled similar to you. After that, I don’t remember much.

The wyvern’s answer was surprisingly clear and quick.

It’s not strange. Since there’s no lying, there’s no hesitation.

‘Mind control magic… To control a species like a wyvern, ordinary magic wouldn’t be enough.’

Lucy, who had been stroking her chin for a moment, thought.

Unlike dragons or dragon-kin, wyverns have a very strong herd mentality.

They are devoted spouses, good parents, and excellent members of society.

No wyvern would ever do anything that would harm their herd or family.

This naturally includes futile deaths or solo actions.

For a wyvern, there would be no reason to do something that brings no benefit and only loss to their family or herd.

“The man who smelled similar to me… is he not human?”

-He wasn’t a dragon-kin either. He had a strange stench, a mix of dragon and dragon-kin smells.

“Half?”

-I don’t know about that either. He ordered me, ‘Bring me the woman who has no smell.’

“..Right. Is that all you know?”

-Yes.

The interrogation ended with a simple answer.

Lucy then looked at Scarlett and explained everything she had learned.

Scarlett listened, nodding her head for a moment.

“You did well, Lucy. Lastly… could you ask that thing how far away it was from its herd?”

“Yes? Why is that…”

“Hurry.”

Lucy didn’t know why Scarlett was asking this.

However, she couldn’t disobey Scarlett’s words.

Lucy, tense, opened her mouth.

“Um… how far away were you from your herd?”

-About a week. I was quite far away, so I should return soon. I’d appreciate it if you released me as quickly as possible.

“What did it say?”

“It said it was about a week away. It needs to go back quickly-“

Sereok-

Her mouth, which had been speaking cautiously, stopped abruptly.

Lucy’s eyes widened, and she stared at the wyvern, whose neck was cut about halfway through.

It happened in an instant.

Scarlett then retracted the wind-infused blade from her hand.

“A, Young Lady… Wh-what…!”

“Kuurk, Krurururu… Grururu…”

Scarlett, with a sweet smile, gazed at the convulsing wyvern, frothing at the mouth.

As the smell of blood spread and a suffocating silence filled the air,

Lucy’s voice trembled as she spoke.

“You didn’t have to kill it…”

Scarlett looked at her with an expression of bewilderment.

She stared at the wyvern with cold eyes,

And gave a chilling sneer.

“It attacked Young Lady. If I let it live, I’d have a bad feeling about it. If a week has passed… its herd won’t be looking for it.”

“B-but…”

“Lucy… who exactly are you on the side of?”

Scarlett asked coldly, suppressing her emotions, as Lucy protested.

Lucy could no longer say anything.

“…I apologize. I overstepped.”

She simply bowed her head and apologized.

Only then did a smile appear on Scarlett’s face.

She gently hugged Lucy,

“Yes, Lucy. That’s right. That damned wyvern attacked Young Lady…”

She whispered in a voice mixed with hatred and relief.

Then Scarlett stood up and pointed at the now silent wyvern’s carcass.

“Euston. Disassemble that appropriately and bring it to the mansion. Make the meat into preserved food, and keep the teeth and claws.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

Euston quickly mobilized his knights at Scarlett’s command.

Amidst the smell of blood, Lucy turned away silently.

And then, with a dark expression, she trudged back to the mansion.

‘It’s no good to get caught up in unnecessary chatter.’

Lucy didn’t know why she had said that.

Come to think of it, how long has it been since she met a creature of a similar species outside?

…It’s the first time.

“Hoo..”

A sigh escaped her lips.

Had she been feeling lonely without realizing it?

Or perhaps longing for parents she couldn’t remember?

Whatever it was.

Lucy thought today would be a truly terrible day.

****

“Haaahm..”

I opened my eyes and yawned widely, as usual.

A week had passed since that incident.

No major incidents had occurred since the wyvern incident.

Instead, it had been strangely peaceful.

Scarlett, who had been suffering from anxiety, constantly worrying that ‘Cecil can never be taken away,’ had deteriorated even further in contrast.

“Cecil. Cecil… Look at me… Kiss me…”

After waking up, Scarlett’s routine began with hugging me tightly and begging for kisses.

But if I kissed her once, she’d beg for twice,

And if I kissed her twice, she’d beg for thrice.

No matter how many kisses I gave her, Scarlett showed no signs of letting go.

Could it be because the King’s birthday is approaching?

Numerous letters were being delivered to Scarlett’s mansion.

And she burned most of those letters using magic.

Saying, ‘It could be dangerous.’

“..Young Lady. Let’s go eat breakfast.”

“Let’s stay like this a little longer… Okay..? Just a little…”

“If you keep doing this, we’ll be late. Skipping meals is not good.”

At my firm words, Scarlett got up with a sullen expression.

With Lucy’s help, I got into the wheelchair and went downstairs.

Lately, Scarlett had become very spoiled.

Her mood swings had also become more severe, and sometimes she would cry inexplicably.

Because of that, taking care of Scarlett became my responsibility.

Even though I couldn’t move in front of her.

“..Scarlett Young Lady. I have something to tell you.”

As soon as we arrived at the kitchen, Euston greeted us.

Scarlett’s expression hardened rapidly at the words ‘I have something to tell you.’

I also showed a surprised expression and stared intently at Euston’s hand.

After all, in his hand was a letter wrapped in very luxurious gold thread.

And it bore the royal seal.