Jella recalled the confessions of Yuphe and Niel.

“Much, much more than you think, that’s how much I love you.”

“I like you. I want to live as your companion, supporting you by your side for a long, long time.”

The emotions they sent were so dense and vivid that it was strange she hadn’t noticed them until now.

“It’s my mistake for misinterpreting your kindness and harboring false hopes.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, it’s all my fault, Jella. I did it because I like you. I did it because I like you too much.”

She alternately remembered Niel’s voice apologizing that it was his fault for harboring feelings on his own, and Yuphe’s voice sobbing that everything was his fault for liking her.

‘No.’

Jella closed her eyes tightly and thought.

‘How could that be a fault?’

There is no fault in the flow of one’s heart.

But just once.

She, too, had been afraid of the flow of her own heart.

Even while knowing there was no fault in it, there was a time when she tried to block it from flowing.

And now too.

Her heart was flowing.

It had been flowing all this time.

While quietly looking out the window, the shadow of a black dragon reflected in the glass caught her eye.

Jella suddenly turned her head.

Helasio, who had been watching her, was startled with a hiccup.

[I-I almost had a heart attack!]

“Now you need to explain too, don’t you?”

At Jella’s questioning, Helasio sweated profusely.

[W-w-what explanation?]

“Why you were with Cain. Why Cain is using your power.”

She was asking after roughly guessing the situation.

Realizing there was no way out, Helasio let out a deep sigh and answered.

[We made a contract.]

“A contract?”

[I lend him magic power, and Cain lends me his heart.]

At that answer, Jella burst out in anger.

“So you’re saying you’ve moved from my heart to Cain’s heart and are parasitizing him! You parasite!”

[Calling me a parasite is too harsh! I’m a parasitic dragon!]

“You’re planning to take over Cain’s body just like you tried to take over mine? You bad dragon…”

Helasio jumped up at the fuming Jella.

[What would I do with that body? My body is much cuter. And I never tried to take over your body!]

“Yeah, right. The moment my heart couldn’t withstand your power and broke, you would have gone berserk and taken over my body.”

[I don’t want to go berserk either! I’ll die too if I go berserk. Do you think I want to go berserk?]

Helasio protested with an aggrieved voice.

[If that d*mn Arne and the first Emperor hadn’t torn my physical body to shreds, I wouldn’t be living this pitiful life moving from heart to heart, and would have lived with my magnificent body!]

When Helasio, who had lost his physical form and been sealed by the first Emperor of Shunaibel, opened his eyes in Jella’s heart after hundreds of years.

Helasio had already become a being that lived by parasitizing others’ bodies as vessels.

But human hearts were too weak, and someday they would not be able to withstand his power and would break.

Then eventually he too would go berserk with his host and ultimately be annihilated.

So this was all the fault of Arne and the first Emperor who had made him, a good dragon, like this.

Helasio was genuinely aggrieved.

But Jella was not interested in Helasio’s grievances.

“Then Cain…”

She asked with a voice filled with anxiety that had been lingering in her chest.

“Will Cain eventually have his body taken over by you and go berserk, too?”

[…]

Helasio, who had been jumping up and down in the cage emphasizing his grievances, hesitated at that question.

Though he had lived parasitizing her heart since the moment Jella was born, this was the first time he had seen her so agitated.

Wasn’t she the woman who had calmly faced death even at the moment of her own death?

Helasio, who had been ostracized as a dragon for a long time, had no affection left for humans.

So his fear of going berserk was solely because of his own death that would follow, and he didn’t care whether the world was destroyed or all humans died.

That’s why, unlike Jella, who tried to achieve peace by preventing a rampage through her own death, he moved to Cain’s heart just before death to somehow survive.

It was an instinctive survival desire, and not once had he thought his choice was wrong.

But strangely, at this moment, he felt as if he had committed a very grave mistake.

So Helasio answered in a somewhat dejected voice.

[Well, eventually that will happen.]

Helasio feared his own rampage more than anyone, and thus was anxious to delay the point when Cain would go berserk.

But Cain always acted like someone who didn’t care when he died. Especially when it came to matters related to Jella.

Just a while ago, it was the same.

Even though it was to drive Arne out of Jella’s body and completely remove him…

‘He acted without a moment’s hesitation. I told him to please be careful just for today because it was dangerous.’

Cain’s condition was not very good due to overexertion while dealing with Arne, when his state was already unstable.

He had released the accumulated magical energy once, but the residue would pile up and eventually lead Cain to a rampage.

[But that won’t be today.]

At Helasio’s explanation, Jella’s eyes darkened.

After staring at Helasio for a moment, Jella opened the cage door and said.

“Take me to Cain.”

[Uh, uh…?]

Momentarily flustered, Helasio stammered.

[I-I don’t know where he is either!]

“Yeah, right.”

Seeing Helasio sweating profusely and rolling his eyes, Jella smirked and reached her hand into the cage.

Then she grabbed Helasio’s tiny body and pulled him out.

[Aaaack!]

Helasio’s body flailed in the air as he was held upside down.

“You’re just pretending not to know, you wicked dragon.”

Jella glared at Helasio with frightening eyes and tightened her grip. She was annoyed at Helasio for pretending not to know while having his main body in Cain’s heart.

[I-I can’t tell you! Please spare me, waaaah!]

Helasio screamed and whimpered.

“You can’t tell me?”

Jella tilted her head. Seeing him in such pain yet still not speaking, it seemed Cain had placed a restriction on Helasio to prevent him from revealing his location.

“Hmm.”

Jella’s brow furrowed slightly.

“It seems he’s completely hidden himself so I can’t find him.”

Cain, despite not looking like it, was secretly quite timid.

Long ago, just like today, there was a time when he got scared in advance and hid.

When was it?

Ah, yes, that time.

In the middle of a dark night, when she suddenly woke up.

A large shadow kneeling by the bedside was lowering his lips onto her hair that he had carefully grasped.

The moment those blue eyes met hers, just awakened from sleep, they froze.

“Cain? What are you…”

Just as her sleep completely vanished and she was about to ask what he was doing.

Cain, frightened, ran away and hid.

But there was no way the capable Jella couldn’t find Cain hiding somewhere within the imperial palace, her domain.

Just before dawn broke, Jella found Cain.

The empty princess palace that she had never visited since becoming Emperor.

Meow. Meow.

Following the particularly loud cries of a kitten, she found Cain crouched there, having taken over the little creature’s territory.

Jella stood before him, calming her rapid breathing from running around to find him.

At the shadow cast over him, Cain flinched, and without daring to look up, he prostrated himself at her feet.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I… dared to commit an improper act.”

“I will accept punishment.”

“Please punish me.”

“Please, kill me…”

Jella blinked slowly, recalling that memory.

Then, suddenly.

[Squawk?]

She took off the necklace she was wearing and wrapped it tightly around Helasio’s body.

[What is this? It’s suffocating! Let me go!]

Helasio shouted loudly, but it was to no avail.

[You witch! What are you doing to me! Is this some new curse ritual? Take this off right now!]

“Tell Cain when you meet him.”

Having silently completed her task despite Helasio’s resistance, Jella moved toward the window and said.

“I’m going to look for him now, and if he hides and gets caught like that day, he should be prepared.”

[What? How are you going to find someone who has hidden himself with magical barriers…]

But before Helasio could finish speaking…

[Aaaaaaack!]

Jella threw the small dragon far out the window.

[Jella Irene! You crazy woman!]

Helasio flew through the night sky, tracing a long arc.

As she quietly watched, the corners of Jella’s lips curled up into a smile.