Kitan turned his head and met Clementina’s golden eyes.

〔I think you need to go to Diahart Island.〕

Clementina’s golden eyes began to ripple. She shook her head with difficulty. Just thinking about it made nausea rise. She never wanted to go there again.

Kitan seemed to understand Clementina’s heart and conveyed his sincerity with concern. That dragon wouldn’t leave Diahart Island. So Clementina had to go there.

〔A dragon lives there.〕

“Kitan, you must not know, but many dragons live there.”

〔Hehehe. A dragon lives there. Their chosen batum died, but that dragon hasn’t died yet. They say it’s been living for a very, very long time. You need to meet that dragon.〕

“How? I heard that when a dragon rider dies, the dragon who chose them dies soon after.”

〔They say the batum that dragon chose is half human and half dragon.〕

Clementina swallowed. Half human and half dragon? Like dragon Rakane? Like the golden people?

Clementina thought she knew what Kitan would say next.

〔Just like you.〕

“Why…… now? Too…… late.”

Jerbek breathed out the dying breath of life with difficulty in a completely hoarse voice. Sue stroked the wounds exposed on Jerbek’s bare chest with her long, thin nails.

The sharp nails dug deeply into Jerbek’s wounds.

“Ugh, urk! It hurts! Hurts!”

“It hurts? Really?”

Sue looked into Jerbek’s cloudy silver-gray eyes with pitying eyes. Jerbek had lost all his fingernails and toenails and had almost no teeth. So his pronunciation was all garbled when he spoke.

But Sue could hear every comma of his words. She’d spent her life watching what he wanted, so this wasn’t difficult.

He wished his body didn’t hurt now. How could she make him unable to feel pain?

Sue sat on the bed, put Jerbek’s skeletal arms over her shoulders, and carried him on her back. Even though he was thin, it wasn’t easy because of his original height and build.

Sue gritted her teeth. The dye house people she’d drugged to sleep would wake tomorrow morning. Not knowing why they’d slept, they’d just have sharp headaches when they woke and consider it last night’s hangover.

And the disappeared Jerbek—they’d think he left on his own. Later they’d either be killed by Umbarot Kingdom knights who came storming in, or hurriedly pack and move to another village. Either way, Sue didn’t need to care.

Sue put Jerbek’s body into the square wooden house connected between her black dragon and mud-colored dragon. It was barely big enough for Jerbek’s body to fit, but fortunately large enough not to worry about falling from the sky.

Sue climbed onto the black dragon. At Sue’s signal, the two dragons flew into the sky.

Unlike the black dragon, an amphibious dragon, the mud-colored dragon couldn’t swim, so they had to travel by sky.

She didn’t know how much she’d agonized while unable to approach Jerbek in Kentlen Palace’s prison.

But they’d returned her lover wrapped so beautifully. With Jerbek as he was now, her touch would be absolutely necessary.

Jerbek needed Sue. He was completely hers.

The orphan from the Monk Principality had finally become a woman after meeting Jerbek Sichenti. If not for him, she wouldn’t have thought to become a mage. She wouldn’t have thought to manipulate the great Akarti Kingdom.

Toter volcano appeared in the distance. Sue smiled brightly for the first time in her life, thinking she’d completely obtained Jerbek. Ecstasy washed over her.

She never looked back once because she had no lingering attachment left there.

Clementina left Custus’s teahouse again with just a single letter.

She could picture red-haired Lillian stamping her feet saying “How can you just let her go!” while tearing at her hair, and Custus rolling his eyes feeling wronged.

But Clementina had to go.

Though she’d spoken about her death as if enlightened from resignation, Clementina actually didn’t want to die.

She wanted to live and see the splendid Ronakia Empire Dion ruled for a long time. If she could really be as greedy as she wanted, she wanted to be by his side.

Was there a way for her to live? Who was the dragon Kitan spoke of?

Perhaps they knew about her mother Caroline.

‘I’m half dragon.’

Clementina hugged Kitan’s soft neck tightly. Flying through the sky after so long felt incredibly refreshing. It was an exhilarating flight where she couldn’t feel the pain spreading through her body.

She felt like she could walk into the burning sun and be fine.

Moreover, this time she wasn’t alone. Dion was with her. Dion’s embrace around her back was as warm as before.

He hadn’t changed. He’d just gained slightly broader shoulders.

The now-familiar Toter volcano appeared in the distance. The spurting lava flames no longer frightened her. Perhaps because of the warmth Dion gave.

Dion had followed without a moment’s hesitation at Clementina’s words. Clementina had naturally opposed. She was anxious about the Emperor of the Ronakia Empire going to such a place without even one accompanying dragon rider.

But Dion persuaded her that the promise to be together for a month must be kept. Clementina couldn’t stop him. Perhaps she didn’t want to stop him.

She hoped Diahart Island would be the last time.

Kitan didn’t circle Diahart Island very far. The destination was clear. He headed north toward the place with the most dragons. Then he turned slightly west and approached the flowing water, slowing down.

After dismounting from Kitan’s back, Clementina looked around. The scenery differed from both the southern jungle she’d visited with Dion and the desolate west full of rocks where Sue had dragged her.

Dion felt the same. After helping Clementina down, he was busy surveying the surroundings. He’d prided himself on traveling around the world, but this place had more unique plants than anywhere he’d been—unfamiliar yet beautiful.

Toter volcano’s scorching heat remained, but the earth held moisture. Blue trees draped down like curtains. This was where the Elmar Ocean’s lifeline flowed in and out, so fish swimming in the water were visible at a glance.

“Kitan, how did you know about this place?”

〔This is the dragons’ homeland. I wanted to visit once. So I came. There are many stupid ones, but they’re not bad.〕

“Haha! You mean wild dragons?”

〔Right, there are ignorant ones who show off their strength, but many naive ones too. This way.〕

“Watch your step. Many plants hold moisture, so the ground might suddenly cave in.”

For safety, Dion walked ahead of Clementina. The ground was squishy as Dion said. She thought this might be what walking on clouds felt like.

After pushing through hanging vines and relatively green leaves, the sound of water came from afar. Could Diahart Island, however large, contain such diverse landscapes within one island?

Clementina felt somewhat wronged by this place’s hard-to-believe appearance. She thought if she’d been confined in a place like this, it wouldn’t have been so desperate. No matter the herbs, she surely wouldn’t have lost her mind to that degree.

The place where Sue had abandoned Clementina had been physically difficult, but she’d suffered greatly mentally.

Dion looked back at Clementina’s face several times. Her words about hating Diahart Island kept coming to mind, making his heart ache. To have left her in such a place for so long—now he could finally understand why Clementina didn’t want to be with him.

Still, how could he regain her trust? Only such selfish thoughts filled his mind.

Dion and Clementina followed Kitan down the narrow path for quite a while.

“How far are we going? What do dragons eat here?”

〔They catch and eat demonic beasts, and catch and eat fish.〕

At Kitan’s answer, Clementina finally recalled that demonic beasts also lived on this island. The moment that thought struck her, her body naturally shrank. All she had was the bow and arrows Lillian had given her.

Of course, with Dion by her side she didn’t need to worry much, but if demonic beasts attacked in groups, that was another matter.

And above all, Clementina shouldn’t rely on Dion going forward. Just like she’d done for the past year.

So Clementina gripped the bowstring slung over her shoulder with both hands. She’d come to find a way to live—wouldn’t it be too futile to die for another reason?

Kitan seemed to misunderstand Clementina’s attitude as she stroked her arms with her hands.

〔Cold? This island can’t be that cold. Should we go near the volcano if you’re cold? Or are you feeling unwell somewhere?〕

Kitan shook his head once and pointed at Toter volcano with his chin. He thought an island with bubbling lava flowing couldn’t be cold. But since Clementina’s body wasn’t healthy, he worried in his own way whether sudden temperature changes had caused something wrong.

“No, I’m not cold. I’m just steeling myself. My body’s trembling a bit thinking demonic beasts might appear.”

〔Hehehe. I’m here, and your batum is there too—you worry about that?〕

Kitan laughed at Clementina’s words, but Dion’s face hardened. He was shocked that Clementina worried when he was by her side.

His face nearly turned red from embarrassment at having built up his body thinking he’d look impressive.

“Not even knowing what the problem is. How stupid.”

“What? What did you say?”

At Dion’s low muttering, Clementina’s eyes widened as she asked back. Kitan just giggled mockingly from ahead.

“Why are you laughing? Kitan?”

〔Don’t worry even if demonic beasts appear. Hehe〕

“Will you save me if demonic beasts appear?”

〔Of course.〕

“Why? You’re not even my dragon. We haven’t chosen each other.”

〔Will you only save people you’ve chosen?〕

Kitan stopped walking and looked down at Clementina intently. His clear, pale ice-colored eyes felt particularly affectionate today.

“No. But I thought dragons were like that.”

〔I’m a dragon with wisdom. I’ll save you if you’re in danger. Because you’re my friend.〕

“Friend? Dragons have the concept of friendship?”

〔Probably not.〕

“What? Haha. What’s that? Do you know what a friend is?”

〔Of course I know. I learned it from you.〕

At Kitan’s affectionate words, Clementina smiled brightly for the first time in ages. It was a smile like spring sunshine. Following her smile, Kitan also smiled with narrowed eyes.

Only Dion couldn’t smile at Clementina’s bright face. He hadn’t created that smile. At some point, Clementina had stopped smiling because of Dion. That made him miserably sad.