4. Drasia

Drasia is an island located east of Setia, the capital of the Ronakia Empire. The currents of the vast Elmar Ocean change constantly, making it difficult to predict shipping routes without a proper passage.

As the base of the Gold Dragon Knight Order and occupying a militarily important position, security should be tight. However, the heroic popularity of the Gold Dragon Knight Order actually attracted people.

Moreover, the island itself is shaped like a dragon, earning it the name “where Rakane sleeps.” This was perfect material for the Emperor of the Ronakia Empire to exploit in various ways, resulting in no small number of tourists visiting the place.

Clementina gazed at Rakane swimming in the sea from atop Mago’s back. The refreshing wind tapped against her cheeks. A dazzling and peaceful land came out to welcome her.

The dragons began to descend slowly in formation. After passing over the sleeping Rakane’s head and approaching the left side of its body, they saw the massive Dicon Mountain, which resembled a dragon lying prostrate in slumber.

Halfway up Dicon Mountain stood Dion’s castle, magnificent and elegant, with the mountain as its backdrop. Several pointed blue roofs rose along the white castle walls. Its scale occupied half of the mountain’s waist.

A winding path starting from the castle’s main gate passed through Dicon Village at the foot of the mountain and extended to the clear turquoise waters of the Elmar coast.

She could see the garden newly decorated for the new mistress by Cherbest, the estate manager of Aeskis Castle, in celebration of spring.

Originally, the garden of Aeskis Castle served a different purpose than others. It wasn’t like the gardens of nobles who imported expensive flowers and trees to flaunt their luxury and status.

The open space maintained fluffy and thick green grass throughout the four seasons, making it soft and comfortable, but it was remarkably plain for a duke’s garden.

The reason was Dion himself. He wanted to enter his office immediately after landing from Leon’s back.

But today, the dragons were circling above Aeskis Castle, unable to find a place to land.

Cherbest, looking up at them from the garden, noticed they were quite perplexed.

The garden was filled with flowers.

Arakan, flying in the sky, quickly found the landing spot specially prepared by Cherbest and descended. The other dragons followed Arakan and landed smoothly.

Cherbest walked quickly to greet them, bowing his head to Dion.

“Duke of Drasia. Thank you for your return.”

Dion leaped down from Arakan’s back and looked around the unfamiliar garden surrounded by sunflowers.

The garden boasted the height of splendor, as if all the colors of the world had been gathered there.

Dion slightly narrowed his brows, but the dignified face of Cherbest standing before him exuded confidence. The estate manager’s wedding gift to welcome the new mistress was certainly magnificent.

The fact that there wasn’t a single rose showed his thoughtfulness was more than sufficient.

Moreover, the practical space for Dion remained unchanged, so Dion couldn’t find anything to complain about.

Dion’s face brightened with a satisfied smile.

“Hmm, spring has come to Aeskis Castle.”

Cherbest, with his neatly combed salt-and-pepper hair, smiled with satisfaction. Then he turned slightly and bowed politely to Clementina with a courteous expression. Clementina, who had descended from Mago’s back, approached them and stood with perfect posture.

“Pleased to meet you.”

“It’s my first time greeting you, Duchess. I am Cherbest Lachman, the estate manager. Welcome to Aeskis Castle.”

Clementina smiled gently and spoke to the elderly gentleman with ingrained manners.

“Thank you for welcoming me. I am Clementina Sustain.”

Sustain? Cherbest looked at Dion with a puzzled expression, but Dion merely scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly.

Cherbest guessed that his young master’s careless kindness must have wounded the heart of this beautiful lady.

So he drew upon all the kindness in the world and once again addressed the new mistress with courtesy.

“Pleased to meet you, Duchess of Drasia. Welcome to Aeskis Castle, the nest of the Gold Dragon, where Rakane sleeps.”

⁕⁕⁕

On her first night at Aeskis Castle, Clementina couldn’t fall asleep, unable to calm her anxious heart.

Clementina lay on the bed in the splendid duchess’s room. On the ceiling above the bed, an embossed dragon looked down at her with arrogant eyes.

The collateral was gone. A new duchess in place of the dead egg. She had lost confidence in her own value.

A fair contractual relationship, not love. That fair relationship had collapsed. The axis had tilted, and what she thought was a fair payment had become useless.

Her freedom couldn’t have been more important to him than Leon’s egg. It might have been a profitable deal for him, but not for her. She wanted freedom more than that egg. He knew this and made the deal because he considered her freedom to be of equal value.

This time, she glared at the dragon on the ceiling.

To her father, she had been a tool for self-punishment. To Dion, she would become a constant reminder of Leon’s death. He too would feel despair, guilt, and loss when looking at her.

She thought that perhaps only the place had changed, but the context remained the same. Not knowing Dion’s true feelings made her more anxious. She wanted to open that door right now, wake up the sleeping Dion across the corridor, and demand he tell her his honest feelings.

Had she known she wouldn’t see even a strand of Dion’s hair for a full twenty days, she certainly would have done so.

⁕⁕⁕

From the day after their arrival, the gentle but firm estate manager Cherbest began kindly guiding the new mistress through the enormous Aeskis Castle.

“For the Duchess—”

“Prepared for the Duchess—”

“Duchess, this is—”

Because Cherbest dragged her around, addressing her as “Duchess” at every turn, Clementina would collapse into bed each night, falling asleep before her head even touched the pillow.

After traversing this vast castle from east to south, then north, and west again, by the twentieth day, she no longer panted when climbing up and down the stairs.

But every night, her legs would swell and the soles of her feet would become raw. She would close her eyes, losing herself as the maids massaged her legs.

Thanks to this, she had no chance to confront Dion. She was too overwhelmed by her first experience of a duchess’s duties.

Today too, while inwardly cursing Cherbest, she smiled without showing her true feelings as she listened to how many excellent horses the Gold Dragon Knight Order owned.

“This one here is named Stan. A fine horse from Jihelona.”

Cherbest naturally moved to the next stable, pointing.

“This is Romance! A horse from the Leila region. This fellow is a stud with a lineage as splendid as his name.”

When Clementina showed interest in the horses in the stable, Cherbest’s eyebrows twitched on both sides.

“Now, this is Espin.”

This time, the stable keeper opened the stable door. Espin was in the back corner of the stable.

When Clementina tilted her head and made eye contact with Espin, the horse suddenly raised its front legs and jumped. Then it began to rear up repeatedly.

“Oh my, dear.”

The white-haired stable keeper quickly closed the door.

“What’s going on? Espin is usually docile.”

“Yes, indeed. Though full of vigor, he’s not a violent one.”

Cherbest smiled and guided Clementina elsewhere.

But even at night, Clementina couldn’t forget Espin’s intense gaze that had shone so clearly in the dark stable.

Espin had a light brown mane and glossy brown fur covering its entire body, with white fur in a diamond shape on all four ankles and the middle of its face.

The horse had clearly been wary of her. Being intelligent, it might have sensed something special about her.

Just thinking about Espin made her heart race. Espin was definitely an attractive horse.

‘Could I ride it?’

As soon as this thought crossed her mind, her eyes flew open. Her drowsiness vanished completely.

‘Did they show me the horses on purpose? To capture my interest?’

It seemed too absurd to be a duchess’s duty.

Was she merely a figurehead duchess, given fake duties to keep her busy? Were the proper responsibilities of a duchess considered inapplicable to her?

Dion’s loyal servant wouldn’t have acted independently. This meant all these fake duchess duties were proceeding with Dion’s permission.

She needed to confront Dion’s beautiful smile, which she hadn’t seen once. What exactly did he want her to do?

She hoped his smiling face would contort into an embarrassed expression, as if caught in the act.

⁕⁕⁕