5. Injury

Knock, knock, knock.

Dion sat on the floor wedged between two bookshelves with his face buried in a book.

“Not this one either. Sigh. There’s no more information. I thought there were books about dragons here.”

Dion put the book he was holding on the floor, stood up, and ran his hand over the titles of books on the shelf. At that moment, someone urgently knocked on the door.

The iron door that connected to the interior of the castle, not the iron door Clementina had passed through yesterday, opened with a heavy sound.

From the hurried footsteps, it seemed the person had easily guessed that Dion hadn’t heard the knocking.

It was Cherbest Lachman, the loyal estate manager who had watched Dion since his childhood.

Always moving through Aeskis Castle with perfect hair and attire, today for some reason his fixed hair was slightly disheveled with a strand falling onto his forehead.

“Your Grace.”

When Dion heard Cherbest’s rapid footsteps, he frowned and peeked his head out from between the bookshelves. Cherbest’s unusually flustered appearance was interesting. Who could have made him so anxious?

For twenty days, Dion had been searching for dragon-related books in the magic laboratory and conducting dozens of experiments while making magical potions with Henry. Having barely washed during that time, his beard had grown a rough stubble.

Cherbest let out a sigh at his unkempt appearance.

“You still haven’t washed?”

“What’s wrong? You seem strange today.”

“I told you today is an important day, but no! That’s not what’s important right now. Um! The Duchess has disappeared.”

Dion had an “oh no” moment. His eyebrows naturally rose, and he bit his lips tightly. After seeming lost in thought for a moment, actively turning over ideas in his head, he looked beyond the large semicircular iron door through which Arakan had entered.

“Huff.”

Dion scratched his head and exhaled deeply. With his long legs, he strode to open the iron door and went outside. Fresh air that felt like it could purify the deepest parts of his lungs greeted Dion.

The sun was rising behind his shoulders. Cherbest followed closely behind with quick steps.

The faster Dion walked, the more the cool breeze rustled his hair and shirt. Breathing the refreshing morning air that moistened his cheeks after so long, he definitely felt his mind clearing. Despite knowing this feeling, he couldn’t stop himself from searching through books.

After not moving his body for a while, his knuckles also felt itchy. Newly aware of that sensation, he thought about perhaps grabbing Berche and stretching his muscles today.

But first, he needed to deal with the troublemaker of a duchess.

‘Ah, I think Cherbest said something important was happening today. What was it?’

Unlike her seemingly docile and passive exterior, Clementina was quite stubborn. Since Dion had clearly told her not to do something, she was probably somewhere doing exactly what she shouldn’t be doing.

A red brick castle appeared before Dion’s eyes. It was where the dragon’s heart, the dragon’s nest, was located.

The Gold Dragon Knight Order is divided into five ranks. The Dragon’s Heart, evaluated as the greatest force on the battlefield, is the first rank, consisting of twelve dragons and their dragon riders.

Those who perform imperial duties related to the Emperor’s ceremonies, processions, and other imperial business are called the Dragon’s Eyes. Though under Dion’s command, they normally stay by the Emperor’s side in the capital of the Ronakia Empire.

This was the Emperor’s way of showing that Dion’s Gold Dragon Knight Order belonged to the Emperor. Despite constant criticism about this arrangement, this was precisely why the Emperor didn’t bother to have his own imperial knights under his direct command.

Below them were the Dragon’s Wings made up of senior knights, the Dragon’s Legs comprised of intermediate knights. Lower-ranking knights were called the Dragon’s Tail, and apprentice knights were the Dragon’s Horns.

Dion stood in front of the red brick castle. The thick iron door that had been closed when Clementina entered last night was already open.

A considerable number of Dragon’s Horns were cleaning around the dragon’s nest. Many of them bowed their heads toward Dion. When Dion nodded, they all quickly returned to their duties.

Dion entered without hesitation.

After slowly scanning the interior, he whistled.

“Not bad. Where did she go?”

Dion looked at the boy closest to him. The young-faced boy was replacing the bedding in the dragon’s nest.

He was patting a large cushion filled with feathers and cotton, stacking them neatly in the nest. There were at least thirty cushions in the nest, and his hand movements showed considerable familiarity.

“Hey.”

The boy responded nimbly to Dion’s call.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The boy approached Dion, clasped his hands together, and bowed his head.

“Did you find her?”

Dion placed his hands on his waist and once again scanned the inside of the nest. Indeed, there was no sign of lemon-colored hair in the dragon’s nest.

“Is there no one else here besides you all?”

The boy standing in front of Dion glanced around with a troubled expression and gestured with his eyes toward the outside.

“We do have a visitor since this morning.”

Only then did Dion look back at the boy with an interested expression.

“I doubt it’s a visitor.”

“Ah, that’s not what I meant, it’s just that I……”

Unable to finish his sentence, the boy quickly extended both hands forward and shook them from side to side.

“We told her not to do it. We definitely tried to stop her, Your Grace.”

“Where is she?”

Cherbest swiftly continued from behind Dion. The boy pointed with his hand to the back of the dragon’s nest.

“She’s outside.”

Dion quickly turned around, left the dragon’s nest, and headed around the building to the back. The bone-dry soil gently preserved Dion’s footprints.

Behind the dragon’s nest was a large pile of straw, where Clementina was either moving the straw or rummaging through it—it was impossible to tell which as she had made a complete mess.

Dion’s expression revealed his displeasure at the absurd sight. He immediately walked over and grabbed Clementina’s hand, which was plunging a trident into a bundle of straw, and pulled it behind her.

“Ack!”

“What are you doing?”

Gone was Clementina’s luxurious and heavy dress, replaced by a simple dress that looked comfortable. Where on earth had she found such clothes? Moreover, her white, clear face was covered with smudges of dirt.

Dion seemed at a loss for words as he looked her up and down in that attire.

“What in the world is this appearance?”

Clementina, her hand still caught by Dion, didn’t try to pull away and spoke calmly.

“I told you before. I need to know about dragons to do my job. First, I want to work in the dragon’s nest. Nothing good comes from just sitting still. Being close to dragons might help me figure out how to hatch the egg.”

Dion bowed his head deeply and exhaled a long breath. He wondered if anyone had ever tested his patience like this before.

He was used to His Majesty the Emperor’s whims, but this was something new.

He couldn’t understand what had gotten into her. Clementina, who had seemed so transparent until now, suddenly became a difficult puzzle.

“Ha— really. First, go and wash up. Everything has its order. This reckless approach…”

“Your Grace! Your Grace!”

Berche came running from a distance. The expression on Berche’s face, dressed in light training clothes, looked ominous.

Dion, Cherbest, and Clementina turned toward Berche, who was running from afar.

Berche stopped in front of Dion, panting and placing his hands on his knees. He had run at the fastest speed he could manage.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Dimint and Jeremiah, huff, have returned. Huff, huff.”

“Why do you look so serious?”

“Huff, huff. Now. Dimint, Jeremiah have, huff, arrived.”

Berche raised his hands that had been holding his knees and straightened his body. His eyes, which had been directed at Dion, were red and bulging with anger.

“But.”

Berche, who had been clenching his teeth, exhaled in one breath.

“Dimint has returned unconscious.”

“Why?”

“And Lili’s wings are torn.”

As soon as Berche’s words fell, Dion threw away the trident he had taken from Clementina and started running. Cherbest and Berche followed behind him.

Clementina, momentarily stunned, grabbed her skirt and began to run after them.

⁕⁕⁕

Dragons are animals with strong individuality. While there are general characteristics of the species, they are animals with such distinct personality differences that each has its own unique traits.