Dion’s wavering eyes found their place again at Clementina’s comical male voice. He straightened his posture and leaned back comfortably in his chair.

“I made a mistake.”

“You promised. That you would help me escape Sustain. Please don’t make me feel like I’ve only changed locations.”

Clementina glared at Dion without moving a muscle.

“After Leon died, they became quite sensitive. Even I had trouble approaching them. That’s why I said it. It was for your sake, but I made a mistake.”

The corners of Clementina’s mouth relaxed, forming a slight smile as she straightened her posture and sat upright. She knew that Dion was different from Count Sustain. His concerned expression, at least, seemed genuine.

“I’ll be careful.”

Only after hearing Clementina’s answer did Dion exhale briefly in relief. Clementina couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

Just then, a sharp cry shook the sky. Clementina turned and opened the window.

One dragon was breathing fire at another dragon.

A deep purple dragon breathed fire toward a red dragon. The red dragon skillfully avoided the flames, spun once in the air, and quickly flew to attack from behind the purple dragon.

Just as the red dragon tried to grab the purple dragon’s back with its claws, the purple dragon turned and breathed fire. The red dragon flapped its wings mischievously and moved away.

“The red dragon is Arakan, and the purple one is Magoya. They belong to Sir Berche and Sir Lillian. Those two don’t get along well. They don’t fight often, but it’s not a rare occurrence either.”

“They don’t get along…… well?”

Clementina raised one eyebrow and looked up at the dragons, muttering to herself.

“That’s not what it looks like……”

“Hmm?”

Pretending not to hear Dion’s words, Clementina dusted off her skirt and adjusted her posture. Since this was her first time leaving Sustain Castle alone, she had shifted excitedly in her seat several times, causing her once elegant dress to become disheveled.

“Doesn’t the Gold Dragon Order have more dragons?”

Clementina followed the dragons with her eyes as they played around setting off fireworks beyond the window, her expression intrigued. The red dragon still seemed to be watching the purple dragon’s back.

This Gold Dragon Order was precisely why the people of the Ronakia Empire showed such extraordinary love for Dion. Being the Emperor’s younger brother or the wealthiest Duke in the Empire were merely additional honors.

The Akarti Kingdom, Ronakia Empire’s greatest enemy, had six dragons, and even two of those belonged to the Monk Principality, which was practically a vassal state of Akarti.

There was one in Umbarot, Ronakia Empire’s longtime ally, and one in Leila, a neutral country, but otherwise there were no dragons that resonated with human masters.

The rest were wild dragons that couldn’t be handled by human power.

Therefore, the Gold Dragon Order with its twelve dragons was essentially Ronakia Empire’s ultimate weapon.

“The rest are on missions. Since we’re getting married in such a hurry, not all of them could come. You’ll be able to see them all soon enough.”

“We’re going to Ankart where the Siara Mine is now, right? Does it take about two weeks by carriage?”

“Well, I think four days should be enough.”

From Sustain in the central part of the Ronakia Empire to northern Ankart beyond the Kingdom of Leila—taking only four days seemed like an absurd calculation no matter how she thought about it.

“Four days?”

“We’ll ride dragons. Going directly would take only three days, but we’ll rest in Halia on the way. Do you know Halia?”

“Halia?”

“It’s a place right below the glacial region of the Kingdom of Leila. There’s a place there that dragons love. You’ll be surprised when you see it. It’s a completely unexpected place. And since we’re going anyway, it would be good for us to rest for a day too. After all, we are newlyweds.”

Though their marriage was real, they weren’t actually a true couple, so there was no reason to be embarrassed, yet Clementina’s face grew hot anyway.

“If it’s right below the Kingdom of Leila, does that mean we’ll pass through rather than go around? Will we use a transit permit?”

The Kingdom of Leila stretches across about half of the northern territory of the Ronakia Empire. So to reach Ankart in the north of the Ronakia Empire, one must either go around the Kingdom of Leila or obtain an entry permit to pass through.

Currently, many countries were taking sides in the long war between the Ronakia Empire and the Akarti Kingdom, but uniquely, the Kingdom of Leila maintained neutrality.

This was partly due to their weak military power, but above all, they were a tribe that hated fighting and had nomadic habits of wandering from place to place, never staying in one location, which had helped them skillfully avoid pressure from the Ronakia Empire so far.

The transit permit to pass through the Kingdom of Leila had to be obtained directly from the King of Leila, but since the King rarely showed himself, obtaining a transit permit was difficult in itself.

This was because the King of Leila was the dragon rider who resonated with the Kingdom of Leila’s only dragon.

For the Ronakia imperial family, obtaining a transit permit itself was easy, but having to search for the King of Leila made it a troublesome task.

“Once we leave Sustain, we’ll ride dragons. Since we’re not traveling by land, we don’t need a transit permit. It would be troublesome if we met the King of Leila in the sky, though.”

The scenery outside gradually changed, and the number of villagers celebrating the wedding gradually decreased. The carriage stopped just as they passed the border of Sustain territory and the guard post disappeared behind a hill.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Duke.”

Someone called for Dion from outside the carriage. It was Sir Berche Ritzberry, the vice-commander of the Gold Dragon Order. His brown hair was messily tangled, and his eyes were bloodshot. This was the result of drinking and partying with the other knights for the past four nights since arriving at Sustain Castle.

“Are we there?”

“We’ve just left Sustain. We should start preparing for flight now.”

“Good, I’ll be out shortly.”

Dion nodded lightly.

“Yes, understood, Duke.”

Berche bowed his head slightly to Dion and then looked up at Clementina with a smile. His gentle eyes gave a soft impression, but his sturdy body and the scars scattered across it made it easy to imagine a knight who wielded swords and flew on dragons.

“Duchess. It’s truly an honor to meet you. You’re as beautiful as they say.”

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, it would be better for you to leave.”

Dion spoke playfully, as if scolding a childish youngest sibling.

“Our Duke may appear very kind on the outside, but in reality, he’s very cold—”

Slam!

Dion closed the wooden shutter of the window with a sour expression, completely blocking Berche’s face.

“He has very cold aspects! But in reality! He’s truly! A good person!”

Berche’s loud voice made the wooden shutter that Dion had deliberately closed fail to serve its purpose.

“Which is the truth? That you’re kind? Or cold?”

Clementina looked at Dion, who was leaning back on the plush cushion, with eyes full of interest.

Dion raised one eyebrow and leaned forward again, narrowing the distance between himself and Clementina.

“Which would you prefer? Kind? Cold? Which do you think would be more helpful for our relationship?”

Clementina lifted her head slightly and made a thoughtful expression. She wrinkled her straight nose once.

“Hmm. Neither.”

Dion raised both eyebrows and stared at Clementina with a curious expression.

“Then?”

Clementina finally looked at Dion’s face and spoke seriously.

“I want honesty. I sincerely hope there will be no more lies of any kind. If you can keep that promise, I’ll cooperate with you in any way.”

Clementina smiled widely.

It was a face quite distant from the arrogant Miss of the count’s family.