Reaching that thought, Clementina frowned. How could she have brought out Jerbek, who should be locked in Kentlen Palace’s prison?

Due to the Akarti Kingdom and Umbarot Kingdom matter, Kentlen Palace was showing unprecedentedly tight security.

Yet how?

Clementina fell into deep thought, then quickly raised her head. Something was off about Dion’s expression. Clementina frowned and glared at him.

“Do you know something?”

“What would I know?”

Clementina narrowed her eyes and brought her face right up under Dion’s chin. Dion held his breath.

“Did you let him out on purpose?”

Dion stepped back with a flustered face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That man from Umbarot Kingdom is definitely in that wooden house. That wicked witch of a woman only has one person she’d show such care for.”

Clementina bit down hard on her molars when saying “wicked witch.” Though she normally didn’t have much appetite, thinking of how she couldn’t eat properly alone on Diahart Island made her stomach feel like it was still begging for food.

“Why?”

“……”

Dion caught his breath briefly. How honest should he be? If he confessed everything, Clementina might be disappointed in Dion. But if he didn’t speak honestly and that secret was revealed later, she might leave forever.

“Dion.”

Clementina called Dion’s name. Right now he wasn’t Emperor or Duke of Drasia. A man and woman stood facing each other. Clementina’s golden eyes pleaded. There should be no lies. No more hiding her heart.

“Yes, I let him out.”

“So why?”

“Because that’s how I could find that woman. Only by dealing with that woman could you be comfortable. Then I thought you might let me stay by your side.”

Dion decided to be honest. He never wanted to experience losing her again by staying silent before Clementina.

Though Clementina looked flustered, she didn’t get angry this time either. She just turned her head and quietly watched beyond the cliff.

“Can we look around? She might be experimenting with demonic beasts or dragons again.”

Though Clementina knew Sue couldn’t hear her voice from this distance, she whispered quietly. A calm voice only Dion and Kitan could hear.

Though he couldn’t know what Clementina was thinking, she clearly didn’t want to discuss this matter right now.

〔I’ll go alone. If someone’s riding the dragon, it’ll be too conspicuous.〕

Since nothing good had come from being involved with that woman, she wanted to avoid being noticed as much as possible. Moreover, Sue’s two dragons might be roaming nearby, so it was much better for Kitan to look around alone.

“Will you be okay?”

〔Hehehe. I’m a dragon. Dragons are everywhere here. Hide here and wait. Don’t get caught by other dragons. You’ll get eaten right away if you do.〕

“Hmph! I know now that dragons don’t just eat humans anytime. Stop scaring me. And what’s there to worry about with this person beside me?”

At Clementina’s words filled with firm trust, Dion and Kitan exchanged glances and smiled secretly.

They were truly relieved that Clementina didn’t seem angry. Dion kept feeling warm inside and scratched around his stomach for no reason.

“I’ll stay put, so go ahead.”

Clementina clenched both fists in front of her chest as she spoke. But Kitan shook his head with a face that somehow didn’t believe her. When Clementina nodded a few more times, Kitan turned and flew into the sky.

Very slowly circling near the wooden house where Sue seemed to be staying, he flew wider around the area. Then he flew far toward Toter volcano.

“Where’s he going?”

Even watching Kitan’s retreating figure, Clementina wasn’t afraid. She didn’t think at all that Kitan would abandon her and Dion here and run away.

That much trust existed between Clementina and Kitan.

“Come this way.”

Dion pointed to soft grass that wasn’t wet. Silence settled between them. Clementina plucked blades of grass for no reason, and Dion secretly watched her reactions. Waiting like that, Kitan flew back.

“Where did you go?”

〔If I just circled this area and came back, it might raise suspicion. Most dragons live above Toter volcano, so I went that way and came back.〕

“Oh! Really smart, huh? Completely different from your master.”

Dion inadvertently brought up Kitan’s original master. But Kitan showed no sign of discomfort.

〔Hehehe. He was smart before too. His mind was clear. Those times were good. Hehehe〕

Clementina scratched her cheek. Come to think of it, being close to Kitan, she hadn’t thought to learn about him. She’d only wondered why he didn’t return to the King of Leila, but hadn’t asked or been curious about Kitan and the king’s relationship.

Kitan had his own history too. An unusual history at that. Kitan still didn’t seek out the King of Leila.

Humans were such selfish creatures. They only knew how to measure their own pain.

〔I’ve lived quite long for a dragon. Then I met a batum. My batum was old. The princess was a late-born child. I wonder if the princess rules that cold place now? She was quite spirited. She might do better at being king than my batum. Hehehe.〕

“Are you curious too?”

〔Hehehe. Of course. It’s where I lived. I just don’t have any lingering attachment to that place anymore.〕

Clementina caught on Kitan’s words. Lingering attachment? Did she have any attachment to where she’d lived? Naturally, none to Sustain.

Drasia? Though she thought of it sometimes, she didn’t really want to return and live there again.

However, she’d constantly longed for Dion’s embrace. Being with him now only confirmed that longing more painfully.

If this was lingering attachment, she had to admit it now. That’s why it hurt.

Then Kitan lowered his head. His face held no trace of laughter.

〔That woman is raising dragons.〕

“What? She’s raising dragons again? No, how many eggs do wild dragons even lay? How is she getting eggs and making dragons again!”

This news made Clementina briefly forget her sympathy for Kitan.

〔At first I was confused whether they were dragons.〕

“What does that mean? Confused? How is that possible? Are your eyes going bad?”

Dion snapped branches blocking Clementina’s view with his hands and spoke sarcastically. He seemed displeased that Kitan and Clementina were so close.

〔Hmph! Eyes going bad. You’d be confused too if you saw them. The wings are strange. Too small. Similar to dragons but also different. Not that they’re small in size either. Human-sized dragons wander around the pen unable to fly.〕

“What else? Were there no other dragons? I mean dragons being experimented on. Like rock dragons or swamp dragons.”

Though Clementina’s voice was full of worry, her hands waved around dramatically in contrast. Dust rose from the branches Dion had broken, making her feel like sneezing.

〔Not around here. The dragons in the pen are all there are.〕

“Good if there aren’t more. What color? What shape? Any distinguishing features?”

〔Hmm…… Let’s see.〕

Kitan sat like a person and scratched under his chin with his front claw.

〔Right! Just like ostriches.〕

“Are they really dragons?”

〔No matter how strange they look, I can tell if they’re dragons. They look strange, but those creatures are dragons. Dragons with very small wings.〕

“Then they can’t fly. Right? Do they run around?”

Dion stared seriously beyond the cliff. He seemed to have some idea.

〔Right, running here and there, moving around frantically.〕

“Do you know something?”

Clementina stood on tiptoe and turned her head beyond the cliff like Dion. But no matter how hard she tried, the gray fence blocked her view inside.

“Not really. I just let Jerbek go. I couldn’t find that mage no matter how hard I tried. Like you.”

“……”

“Come to think of it, impressive. No matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t find you. Ah! I’m not criticizing. I really think it’s impressive. Hiding from my eyes isn’t easy at all.”

Dion nodded with genuine admiration. Clementina scratched her cheek awkwardly.

“I received a lot of help. It wasn’t something I could do alone.”

“That makes it even more impressive. They must have been quite resolved to help you, defying the Emperor’s orders. Right? If they helped you while evading an Emperor blinded by a woman, they’re impressive too. Tell me who they are later.”

“Why? To punish them?”

“Why would I punish them? I should reward them. If not for them, you would have been lonely. I made you lonely even while beside you, so I should give them rewards.”

“……I wasn’t lonely. Really.”

“Thank you. For saying that.”

When Dion proposed the one-month period, he’d intended to stay by Clementina’s side by any means necessary. But now he didn’t know. He kept losing confidence in whether he deserved to be by her side.

Life without Clementina was painful, but he’d breathed and lived. But what about Clementina? She’d left because being by Dion’s side was painful. Yet was it okay to force her to stay beside him?

What should he do?

He didn’t want to decide yet. He wasn’t ready to let her go. Now was the time to focus on Jerbek and Sue. If this wasn’t resolved, the fear Clementina held wouldn’t be resolved. Even if they decided to part like this, he’d never thought of living without seeing Clementina. Then he couldn’t watch her live with that fear.

“I have an idea. That mage creates all kinds of dragons. How is that possible? No matter how many wild dragon eggs she finds, having that many dragons doesn’t make sense.”

“I didn’t understand that either. Even if dragons changed midway, there are too many. And if she transformed somewhat grown wild dragons, how could she bring dragons there?”

“The initial guess is probably right. She does something from when the dragons are still eggs.”

“Where do those eggs come from? Does she search for them one by one?”

“Why would she? If dragons laid eggs directly in my yard, it would be easily solved.”

“Dr, dragons laying eggs in the yard? Dragons aren’t chickens. They can’t lay eggs that easily. Gerard was the first time too.”

“So if she modified just one dragon that lays eggs well, things would get easier after that. Right?”

“A dragon that lays eggs well?”

“Yeah.”

“Then are the dragons in that gray pen egg-laying dragons?”

“Isn’t that most plausible? If it’s true, that mage doesn’t have to go around struggling to get eggs. Right?”