Unlike herself, who had colors like the dark depths of the ocean, he was someone with brightly shining colors.

He was a savior. A savior who created a place for her when she had nowhere to go, and willingly walked alongside her so she could create her own worth.

“I chose this because I wanted to. Father and my sister also willingly stepped in because they wanted to solve this with you. You’re a member of the ducal household too, and helping is naturally what we should do.”

‘Radelica cherishes its own people.’

This was the family motto, and all members—including not just the descendants of the Duchy of Radelica but also the servants and knights—were educated to carry on this spirit.

So they could live helping and respecting each other.

“So you should cherish yourself too. That’s an order.”

“……Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Evolaine nodded. Her voice trembled faintly, like she was holding back tears.

Cardel waited for her slowly.

Until her tears stopped flowing, if she shed them.

So the heavy burden could be lifted, even a little.

It was a summer night with unusually heavy air.

* * *

Everyone began walking on a thorny path with a common goal.

Though it was uncertain whether they’d succeed or fail, they endured, overcoming hardship in their own ways.

Seven years passed like that.

Today was the auspicious 500th anniversary of the founding of the Vesasium Empire.

A grand festival was held to commemorate the founding day.

Merchants headed to the imperial palace carrying various luxury goods imported from other countries, and major cities including the empire’s capital bustled with delicious food and children running around energetically.

Evolaine, wearing a black robe pulled deep over her head, watched girls and boys who looked about twelve or thirteen playing tag.

“Ahahahaha—!”

“Run quick! He’s chasing you!”

“Stop right there!”

“……”

The children’s innocent laughter pricked one corner of her heart.

If she’d had an ordinary family too, she might have had a time when she ran around like that.

Just, that thought occurred to her.

That’s when it happened.

“Dame.”

“……Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

Astrian approached Evolaine, who’d been waiting in the alley. His solid build and tall height emanated an aura that couldn’t be hidden even by a robe.

He now had the complete appearance of an adult.

“It’s been a while.”

“You too, Dame. Have you been well?”

“I don’t think I can give you empty pleasantries.”

“Oh dear, I wanted to hear them even if they were empty.”

Since she’d been going to battlefields like eating meals to awaken Kelic, how could she have anything good to say?

Astrian, who knew Evolaine’s situation very well, smiled awkwardly.

“How is the marquis’s condition?”

“Doesn’t look like he’ll last much longer. We administered the antidote through the young marquis, but it’s just a stopgap measure. Seems like he’s built up resistance—the medicine doesn’t work anymore.”

“…I see.”

She’d expected the antidote wouldn’t work well since he’d been supplied with monster blood for such a long time, but to this extent…

Evolaine’s face hardened at the more serious situation than expected.

“Dame, have you awakened Kelic?”

“I’ve only succeeded up to the first awakening. The second isn’t done yet.”

“You’re really tenacious, Dame. How do you manage that alone?”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

When Evolaine answered matter-of-factly, Astrian shook his head.

The first awakening Evolaine had achieved was the stage in Kelic’s awakening process that took the longest and where the psychology of wanting to give up worked most strongly.

In the ‘family secret book’ barely obtained from Hesion seven years ago, it was written that Kelic’s awakening consisted of three total stages.

[Stage 1. Kelic’s Manifestation.

In most cases, Kelic manifests naturally and the Kelic pattern is engraved on specific body parts like the wrist or collarbone.

Stage 2. First Awakening.

As a Kelic swordsman, most abilities are awakened at this time.

The average age is adolescence, and one must accumulate experience by participating in various battles such as battlefields or monster subjugations and master Kelic’s power.

The fastest method at this time is receiving help from the previous generation’s Kelic swordsman, but without help, this is the longest training stage, potentially taking over 10 years.

Stage 3. Second Awakening.

The final stage—one must go through this stage to be completely reborn as a Kelic swordsman.

Generally, the previous generation’s Kelic swordsman, meaning the parent, begins intensive training so the child can fully handle Kelic’s power, and then one must pass through the final gateway called the ‘trial.’]

There was only one way to pass this final gateway, also called the ‘Trial of Kelic.’ Reaching Basilica’s temple.

However, the problem here was that accompanying the previous generation’s Kelic swordsman was a condition for entering inside the temple.

In other words, since the marquis couldn’t accompany her, Evolaine was in an unavoidable situation where she couldn’t even begin the second awakening.

Even so, getting right up to achieving that condition was itself remarkable.

Without the marquis’s help, she’d rolled around on battlefields alone for seven years and achieved Kelic’s first awakening.

The way she desperately endured the danger of going berserk with Cardel’s help was incredibly tenacious.

“More importantly, where did Cardel go? I thought you two would be together.”

“……”

When Cardel’s name came up, Evolaine closed her mouth.

“Did you two fight? Your expression doesn’t look good, Dame.”

“No. He just couldn’t come because he had something to do.”

“What thing? Is there something more important than coming here?”

“……I don’t know.”

Noticing she didn’t want to talk about it, Astrian didn’t ask further.

Well, it was ‘that’ Cardel. He’d surely come on his own.

‘Nothing serious, probably.’

“I hope you reconcile soon. They say a quarrel between husband and wife is like cutting water with a knife.”

“……”

Evolaine’s head dropped. Though it was hard to see clearly because of the robe, her raised lips and reddened cheeks were plainly visible.

‘Simple, so simple.’

Astrian earnestly prayed that Cardel wouldn’t do anything to make Evolaine cry.

* * *

Meanwhile, contrary to Astrian’s concerns, Cardel was doing something truly important.

Specifically, investigating where the monster blood supplied to the Marquis of La Voletta had been obtained.

The monster blood the marquis received through transfusion wasn’t from an ordinary monster.

The black scales that appeared as monsterization progressed and the hardened skin that had transformed to a strength incomparable to most metals—these were things never seen in existing monsters.

Then what were these? Unknown life forms? Or newly discovered monsters?

The most likely possibility was just one.

Dragons.

Dragon characteristics varied by species, but typically they were covered in scales all over their bodies and had very hard skin.

The composition wouldn’t differ much either, so if they could examine even the scales, they could confirm whether the monster blood the marquis received was dragon blood.

For this reason, he’d come with Heron to find the dragon’s tomb in the Asdelica territory.

“It’s been a while.”

Seven years. The tomb of Yutinne, the dragon who’d breathed her last in Asdelica.

The place where her final traces lay sleeping.

“I wonder if any scales remain here.”

“We have to hope they do. They absolutely must be here.”

Without scales, they couldn’t accurately diagnose the marquis’s condition, let alone create an antidote.

The antidote Astrian had currently provided was truly just a light, stopgap medicine like fever reducer.

To make an antidote that could solve the fundamental cause, scales were absolutely necessary.

“Then call me if you find any. I’ll investigate the inside of the tomb.”

“Understood.”

Since it was a place untouched by human feet, grass grew abundantly at Yutinne’s tomb.

Near the entrance where one could enter the tomb, grass as tall as a person had densely taken root, requiring them to cut it with swords to secure space.

‘Will there be any inside?’

If she was a dragon who loved humans, wouldn’t she have left something behind?

Cardel, who normally scoffed at superstitions, was more earnest than anyone in this moment.