Vivian (1)

The day I rejected Garmiyu.

I tossed and turned for a long time before falling into a deep dream.

It was a terrible nightmare.

A dream about Vivian.

Memories of my second life flashed before my eyes like a revolving lantern.

“Is this truly a Dragon’s egg?”

“It is, Your Majesty.”

“Not a Wyvern’s egg?”

“Its hardness is absolutely not that of a Wyvern’s egg. If you try to scratch it with a sword, the sword will break instead.”

In my second life, my egg was said to have been discovered in a quiet rural village in the Empire.

At first, they didn’t know what it was and tried to feed it to livestock.

However, no matter what they did, it wouldn’t break. So, on a whim, they sent it to Imperial officials, and it eventually made its way to the Imperial Palace.

“Good. From now on, we shall have a time to determine the Dragon’s master. Everyone, come forward one by one.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Among all the gathered Imperial Princes and Empresses of the Empire.

One by one, they stood before the Dragon and placed their hands on my egg.

“Please, respond to me, Dragon…!”

“Damn it… Why won’t it awaken!”

But no one could awaken me.

Because there was no one I liked.

Just as Camille had in my previous life…

If they didn’t receive my acknowledgment, they couldn’t awaken me.

“I… I will try.”

“Vivian, what could a bastard like you possibly do…?”

“Preposterous. Get lost!”

Among them, the one who stepped forward was the 13th Empress, Vivian.

The other Imperial Princes raged at Vivian.

For a good-for-nothing to step forward and try what even they couldn’t accomplish.

It must have felt utterly preposterous.

“Enough.”

“Your Majesty, but…”

“I decide everything. If she is Imperial Nobility of the Empire, she should at least be given a chance.”

The Emperor gestured to Vivian with an indifferent expression.

Telling her to quickly place her hand on the egg.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Vivian placed her hand on my egg with blazing eyes.

Filled with fervent wishes, and with desire…

She awakened me, who was deeply asleep.

“Dragon, please. Respond to me…!”

And then…

CRACK!!

I responded to Vivian’s fervent wish, finally breaking through the thick eggshell and facing the outside world.

“Peep.”

And there, I met.

Vivian in her girlhood.

Of course, I had no memories of my previous life.

Because I had forgotten everything through regression.

But even so, was the bond that had continued from my previous life etched into my heart?

The moment I first saw Vivian, I felt such a longing that I cried out desperately.

“Peep…! Peep..!!”

“You really, truly awakened…”

Vivian’s attire was extremely shabby for an Empress.

Her sleeves were frayed, and her clothes looked as if they had lost their luster from being worn for too long.

Yet, despite that, I felt a brilliant light from her.

“This is impossible…!”

“How could that half-wit awaken a Dragon…!”

The other Imperial Princes and Empresses were astonished, but there was nothing they could do.

What they couldn’t accomplish, Vivian did.

Only that fact remained.

“It’s unexpected that you awakened the Dragon.”

“Your Majesty…”

“You are the Dragon’s master, Vivian.”

Once the Emperor settled the matter, no foolish person dared to object further.

Because contradicting the Emperor’s words was tantamount to challenging his absolute authority.

Thus, Vivian returned to her room, holding me in her arms.

“Truly… you really are a Dragon.”

“Peep..”

“Is it because you’re still a baby? Your claws aren’t sharp at all.”

Vivian curiously fiddled with my front paw.

Thanks to that, I remained in an awkward posture with my paw extended for a long time.

“Peep..”

“Hm? Are you tired?”

“Peep…”

“Are you hungry? Well, you haven’t eaten anything yet.”

Vivian pondered for a moment, then pulled the bell cord in the room.

Normally, the maids would have ignored her, considering her a bastard Empress, and wouldn’t have come on time…

But since the rumor had spread far and wide that I, a Dragon, had chosen her, they could no longer easily ignore Vivian.

“Bring milk. And a few easily digestible foods.”

“Yes, Empress-nim.”

“From now on, you’ll have to come faster than this.”

“I will keep that in mind…”

A moment later, Vivian offered me the food the maids had brought.

As the fragrant scent spread, my mouth watered.

“Eat up. I’m not sure if it’ll suit your taste.”

I buried my nose in the plate and devoured the milk in an instant.

Thanks to that, my muzzle was covered in milk.

“Peep!”

“You want more?”

This time, Vivian cut up a sausage and offered it to me.

Watching me devour even that in an instant, Vivian let out a hollow laugh.

“You’re so tiny, but you have a good appetite…”

“Peep..”

“Eat a lot. A lot. That way, you’ll become a magnificent Dragon later.”

Vivian gently stroked my head and smiled.

After finishing my meal to my heart’s content, it was time to sleep.

As a baby Dragon, I quickly grew tired and yawned, opening my maw wide.

“Right, it’s natural for a baby to sleep a lot.”

“Peep…”

Vivian covered me with the blanket she usually used.

“It’s shabby, isn’t it? But this is only for today. From tomorrow, everything will be new.”

“Peep…?”

“Thank you for choosing me, my cute baby Dragon.”

“Peep! Peep!”

At the time, I didn’t quite understand, but I smiled along with Vivian’s smile.

However, the words that followed, looking back on them later, were a little chilling.

“Later, I will bring the entire world and offer it to you.”

“Peep?”

“Right now, my situation is such that I can’t do anything properly, but one day, I will make it so that no one dares to ignore you.”

Her red eyes gleamed chillingly, solidifying her resolve.

It was Vivian’s inferiority complex, having lived as a good-for-nothing due to her illegitimate birth.

It was then that I first glimpsed the hatred Vivian harbored for the world.

“Empress Your Highness, His Majesty is looking for you.”

“Just me?”

“He said to bring the Dragon with you.”

The next day, Vivian received an opportunity for a private audience with the Emperor.

Vivian, dressed not in her usual rags, but in a dress bestowed by the Emperor.

It was a luxurious item that seemed hundreds of times more expensive than what she usually wore.

“If you had something this nice, wouldn’t it have been better to give it to me normally?”

“Peep.”

“Yes, it means I’m still nothing without you. But let’s see if that will still be the case later.”

Thus, Vivian came to have a direct audience with the Emperor.

Even before the Emperor’s cold gaze, Vivian didn’t tremble at all.

“What an impertinent gaze.”

“Oh, I apologize if you felt that way.”

“Are you acting so impertinently, trusting in that single baby Dragon?”

“Surely not. How could I harbor such disrespectful thoughts towards His Majesty the Emperor?”

The Emperor displayed his intimidation towards Vivian.

Thinking he was trying to harm Vivian, I hissed and bared my fangs.

“Kiiiiiik…!!”

“It completely follows her like a master. How did you manage to win over the Dragon?”

“There was no winning over or anything. This child chose me directly.”

Vivian said so, holding me tightly in her arms.

The Emperor’s gaze seemed to look at me indifferently.

But within it, there was a hint of regret.

“My prestige as Emperor is insignificant. To be outdone by mere you.”

“Did Your Majesty also desire the Dragon?”

“You ask the obvious. Do you think I don’t know the significance a Dragon holds?”

The Emperor glared at Vivian as if he couldn’t understand.

“What exactly is so special about you?”

“Well, I don’t quite know myself.”

Vivian couldn’t answer readily.

Even she herself didn’t know why the Dragon had chosen her.

However, if there was one thing that set her apart from the other Imperial Nobility present…

“Longing.”

“Longing, you say…?”

“Yes. At least one thing I can be proud of is this: I desired this child more than anyone else. Because without this child, the future awaiting me would be nothing but miserable.”

Vivian declared, hugging me tightly.

“So I won’t hand it over to anyone. This child is mine. It is something only I can possess.”

“Hmph, what will you do if I take the Dragon away?”

“Then I will simply take it back.”

Her own.

Those words sounded a little suffocating, yet they strangely lingered in my ears.

However… it wasn’t a feeling of immediate repulsion or dislike.

It was the pleasant stuffiness one feels when buried in a soft pile of blankets.

Perhaps Vivian was such a presence to me.

*****

After the audience with the Emperor concluded, Vivian’s room was changed.

Finally, a splendid room befitting an Empress.

A small sense of satisfaction settled on Vivian’s lips.

“Yes, this is how it should be.”

“Peep.”

“You feel good too, don’t you?”

Vivian gently stroked me…

Then, as if another thought suddenly occurred to her, she looked at me with a strange gaze.

“Now that I think about it, I haven’t given you a name yet.”

“Peep.”

“I can’t keep calling you ‘baby Dragon’ forever… Should you choose your own name?”

After much thought, Vivian sought out a small Dragon God Temple located in the Empire’s frontier.

It was to seek advice regarding the Dragon’s name.

“A Dragon’s name holds special meaning. It will live a life befitting that name.”

“Hmm, so I can’t just name it whatever I want?”

“No, a wrong name might ruin the Dragon’s life.”

“That’s a shame. I wanted to name it something like ‘Vivian Loves You’.”

“Haha… You have a good sense of humor, Empress Your Highness.”

“I’m not joking?”

“…”

In the end, Vivian decided to receive an oracle from the temple priest.

After about a day of waiting, the exhausted priest descended from the altar with a joyful expression.

“Helix, the Dragon’s name is Helix.”

“Helix? It received a unique name.”

The name bestowed there was [Helix].

It was the continuation of the name I had received from Camille in my previous life.

“A spiral… This child will live a life like a spiral?”

“It can be interpreted in several ways.”

Continuing in one direction, yet never reaching its goal, merely circling around and around.

That was what a spiral was.

“It doesn’t seem like an entirely good name. It sounds like this child will suffer a lot.”

“If Empress-nim walks the right path with the Dragon, even that will be but a temporary trial for a better future.”

“Conversely, if I proceed down the wrong path?”

“The Dragon will also walk a painful path with you…”

Vivian returned to the Imperial Palace with a complex expression.

“Helix. You heard what the priest said, didn’t you?”

“Peep!”

“That priest talked about the ‘right path’ and all, but I don’t care about such things.”

It was then that I should have recognized the violence lurking in Vivian’s eyes.

Despite the priest’s advice, Vivian had no intention of changing the direction she sought to pursue.

“You see… I want this world to bow its head to you and me.”

“Peep…?”

“For that to happen, you might have to suffer a bit. I need your strength.”

At the time, I didn’t quite understand what Vivian’s words meant.

I merely felt that Vivian was craving power and authority even more.

But Vivian’s greed truly knew no bounds…

And the reins, once loosened, were never again placed in my hands.