The stairs were steep. With each cold stone step she descended, relying only on a single candle, Clementina thought and thought again. She hoped that her restless heart would calm down after opening this door and going outside.
Clementina decided to move according to her own will. It was finally time to go outside. The small door opened smoothly.
Starlight poured down upon her.
The darkness that had settled on the earth was embroidered with twinkling stars, welcoming her footsteps.
She didn’t need the candle anymore. The stars were already illuminating her path.
When she discovered the dragon from the window of the library, located at the highest point of the western castle, even the tedious guidance was welcome.
After she had pressed her face against the window for a long time, Cherbest had revealed the small wooden door in the library, as if offering a sweet cake.
The spacious backyard was a fortress. To the right were the knights’ training and rest areas.
Clementina headed without hesitation toward the small castle made of red bricks, guided by the stars.
It was the only place Clementina hadn’t entered during the twenty days. It was also the place she had most wanted to visit since arriving here.
The dragon’s nest was a neat and widely spread red castle.
Clementina rolled her eyes as she looked at the massive iron door.
“How do I open this door?”
Clementina examined the area near the iron door, swaying her body back and forth. Fortunately, there was a small door almost flush with the wall to the right of the iron door.
Swish.
As she stepped into the dragon’s nest where darkness had settled, the quiet dragon’s nest awakened.
She carefully illuminated the dragon’s nest with her candle. There was no unpleasant smell typically found in places with animals. Instead, a clean and warm energy circulated.
Four dragons were sleeping quietly in their respective nests, and several empty nests were visible.
One of them was enormous—probably ‘Leon’s’ nest, Dion’s dragon. Yellow golden cords with white pearl decorations hung throughout the nest, reminiscent of Leon’s scales.
The dragons slept in various positions. Some slept with their bellies completely exposed, lying on their backs, while others curled up tightly.
Mago was in the innermost part.
Mago was sleeping with his body stretched out, resting his head on a soft spot filled with fluffy feathers. Even in sleep, he maintained his elegant appearance.
Though their flight had been brief, Mago was the dragon Clementina had felt closest to.
Clementina approached Mago’s nest quietly, muffling her footsteps. She placed the candle on the ground and raised her head to find Mago already blinking his eyes, watching her.
Mago seemed pleased to see Clementina, as he smiled slightly despite his half-open sleepy eyes. It was complete goodwill.
Mago looked quietly at Clementina’s face, which seemed about to cry, then shifted his body slightly to create a space inside his belly. Mago had no reservations when dealing with Clementina.
Rather, Clementina moved delicately and curled up as she entered the inside of Mago’s belly.
The dragon’s body with sparkling scales seemed like it would be cold, but the inside of Mago’s belly, who had just woken up, was soft and warm.
“Have you been well?”
Clementina whispered while nestled in Mago’s embrace. Mago had just folded his previously stretched body to place his face toward Clementina.
When Mago stuck out his tongue and licked Clementina’s face, she froze. This was her first such contact.
Mago smelled of peony and jasmine. The fragrance suited his elegance well and calmed Clementina’s depressed heart.
“I’ve been…… doing too well, which makes me feel like I haven’t been doing well at all.”
Drip.
A single tear rolled down Clementina’s cheek. No one asked her what was happening or how she felt.
Only this sacred animal observed her mood.
“They say Leon’s egg died. The Duke says he’ll keep his promise to me, but the collateral I brought has become useless, so I have no justification to be here.”
Mago quietly gazed at Clementina with his half-open eyes, as if sleepy.
“I feel like I’m going crazy, having returned to being the useless Clementina Sustain.”
Clementina whispered quietly, afraid of waking the other dragons.
“I haven’t seen the Duke’s face even once. I can’t just keep waiting. I need to do something.”
Mago extended his tongue to lick Clementina’s wet cheek. The part where Mago’s tongue touched felt cool. Clementina tried to calm the heat caused by her excitement.
Clementina struggled to regain her reason and reminded herself that there was something she could do.
“I think I need to speak now. I can’t hide it anymore. I need a reason to be here. I need to have value to be acknowledged.”
Clank.
“Who’s there?”
The heavy iron door that Clementina couldn’t open swung open.
A beam of starlight poured into the dragon’s nest. Hearing a voice after so long brought both joy and fear. Clementina held her breath and curled up as much as possible.
The sound of someone walking steadily approached. The torch in that person’s hand swayed slightly with its owner’s movements.
Clementina crumpled her entire body under Mago’s belly. Mago seemed to understand her intention and half-spread his wings to cover her body.
If discovered here, they would certainly find it strange. Her heart felt like it would burst.
Please don’t let me be discovered.
“What are you doing here?”
But it was useless.
Mago slowly lifted his wings. Clementina, who had been nestled in Mago’s embrace, raised her head to look up at the owner of the voice.
“Well……”
Dion illuminated Clementina’s face with his torch. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, and tear stains remained clearly on her cheeks.
Clementina bit the inside of her cheek, causing it to sink in. The woman who had been so confident now couldn’t meet Dion’s eyes and shrank her shoulders.
Dion glanced down at her. How could he coax her to reveal her true self? If he pressed her, she would surely try to hide.
It would be better to provoke her into revealing her true feelings.
“Can’t sleep?”
Clementina raised her head. Her pupils trembled. She moistened her lower lip with her tongue and nodded.
“Yes, I can’t sleep tonight.”
“That’s unusual. I heard you’ve been sleeping well until now.”
“What?”
“Ah, is it because you skipped dinner tonight? Why didn’t you eat? Are you having trouble sleeping because you’re hungry? Should I have something brought for you to eat?”
Clementina straightened her bent knees and watched Dion cautiously.
“How did you know that? Did Cherbest really report to Your Highness?”
“Hmm? Of course. That’s his job.”
Clementina relaxed at Dion’s nonchalant attitude. Contrary to her disadvantageous position, she felt like complaining.
“And even after hearing that, you didn’t show your face once despite my desperate pleas to meet?”
“Huh? Well, that—”
“Even for a Duke, that’s too much. How can you ignore someone like this? I must have misjudged you. I didn’t know you were this kind of person.”
“So that’s why you came looking for me.”
When Dion showed an innocent face as if wondering what he had done wrong, Clementina’s neck stiffened.
Why is he making that expression?
“Today was the first time I heard that you wanted to meet me.”
“What……?”
Clementina’s face reddened. It wasn’t anger but embarrassment that washed over her.
It was true. Only today had she first mentioned wanting to meet Dion. She had only been complaining on her bed every day.
“I thought the journey here must have been very difficult for you. You didn’t seem to have properly gone out beyond the Count’s castle before. So I also wanted to give you some time to rest.”
“I haven’t had a moment of leisurely rest since coming here.”
“Hahaha, I knew you hated being idle. So—”
“You wanted me to rest busily?”
“I also wanted you to build up your physical strength while you were at it.”
“That health talk again? I am perfectly healthy, Duke.”
“That might be true by the standards of a Count’s daughter. You only need enough strength to lift a teacup or fork.”
Dion narrowed his eyes as he looked down at Clementina.
“But that’s neither what you want nor what I want. You need the strength to not lose grip even when flying at top speed, the strength to wield a sword, the strength to draw a bow.”
“Why would I need such things? I haven’t even seen a sword or bow all this time.”
“How can you think of running when you can’t even walk? Everything has its order. If you want to run, you must first build leg strength and stand on your own.”
“All this was for my sake?”
“Yes.”
Dion crossed his arms and smiled broadly. He looked just like a five-year-old child showing off a toy he had made.
“Besides, I’ve been busy.”
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She’s acting childish really- when they were in the cave he already told her he’s going to train her now she’s acting like it’s first time hearing/ I know she needs a reason to validate her existence but Dion gave her freedom in the castle they even showed her the secret passageway and freedom is what she wants and he’s right how will she live freely after the concert if she doesn’t know how to do anything- even the part where she dressed her self previously she didn’t do it correctly because she doesn’t know how to dress her self