“…What?”

“You said you didn’t want an attendant. But I found it too bothersome to check myself, so I told him to quickly verify if the room was warm enough.”

“…And?”

“I gave him the wrong coordinates.”

At that moment, I was completely speechless. Even though I was notorious as the empire’s most difficult person, this dragon somehow managed to leave me dumbfounded.

I opened my mouth, not knowing what to say.

Where should I even begin pointing out what went wrong?

Something seemed problematic, but I couldn’t articulate exactly what it was.

With a face full of bewilderment, I asked Lerrhagen:

“What do you mean you gave the wrong coordinates? Do you realize you were about to let a stranger into the Emperor’s chamber?”

“You were the one who let him into the room. Doesn’t this room have defensive magic that prevents just anyone from entering?”

“I was trying to capture him myself. I personally interrogate everyone who enters this room.”

“For someone who does that, you didn’t handle it very well.”

“I’ll say it again, I’m not used to this child’s body. And even if you hadn’t come, I would have won.”

My pride was hurt.

I need to practice using magical weapons more skillfully with this body. While making this resolution, I suddenly remembered what the assassin had muttered and twisted my face in displeasure.

“Wait, did you tell him about my identity?”

Lerrhagen responded to my question:

“Of course not.”

“Don’t lie. If not, how would a mere attendant know who I am?”

“He couldn’t possibly know your identity. I didn’t tell him.”

“But—”

Before I could finish speaking, a groan suddenly interrupted.

“Ugh.”

The assassin—no, the boy—who had been partially embedded in the wall opened his eyes.

Both Lerrhagen and I turned our attention to him.

Soon, seemingly regaining consciousness, the boy got to his feet.

Thud, thud, thud.

Seeing the wall fragments falling behind him, I realized Lerrhagen had truly thrown him without mercy.

“Ugh, my head.”

I continued to look suspiciously between the boy and Lerrhagen.

Just then, the boy slightly raised his head, spotted Lerrhagen, and widened his eyes.

“Master! What are you doing?”

Master? Didn’t he say attendant?

Noticing my questioning gaze, Lerrhagen indifferently muttered:

“Disciple, attendant, same thing.”

“They’re… completely different concepts.”

“What I mean—no, before that—what exactly is going on here?”

The boy was still groaning through his teeth, seemingly still feeling the impact.

His tone was quite disrespectful for addressing a Dragon Lord, but it showed he was quite familiar with Lerrhagen.

Lerrhagen continued with his indifferent expression:

“You drew your sword against a child, so I intervened, Hasis.”

“That’s because—”

His pain seemingly subsided, the boy named Hasis, now with a much calmer face, looked at me.

At that moment, he completely distorted his face and exclaimed loudly:

“That’s not a child!”

Just as I thought.

I raised my head and gave Lerrhagen a look that demanded an explanation.

Lerrhagen slightly furrowed his brow. Silence fell for a while.

After some time, Lerrhagen’s face showed realization.

“Come to think of it, he has the Eye of Truth.”

“The… Eye of Truth? That means… surely not the one possessed by the descendants of the Betrayer!”

I was horrified at that moment.

The descendants of the Betrayer referred to the offspring of King Alere, who was divinely punished for tampering with forbidden magic.

And that divine punishment was precisely the Eye of Truth.

The power to penetrate the essence of everything in the world. Whether beautiful or ugly.

A bloodline shunned by all races and now nearly extinct.

“You not only took a descendant of the Betrayer as your disciple but also brought him into my room?”

“The latter was my mistake, but is the former also a problem?”

“Of course—”

It’s a huge problem!

I was about to speak, but Lerrhagen’s relaxed expression left me speechless.

Finally, I took a deep breath to calm myself and continued:

“Fine. I’ll concede that who you take as a disciple is your choice.”

“You’ll concede, huh.”

“But he knows my identity. This isn’t something we can just overlook.”

How Hasis realized I wasn’t really a child didn’t matter.

What mattered was that it was only a matter of time before he figured out my true identity.

I couldn’t let someone like him go—he was a ticking time bomb.

At the very least, I needed to keep him close for monitoring. No, even if not monitoring, I needed something to ‘restrict’ him until I returned to my adult form.

I became lost in thought.

Currently, I’m an imperial princess, Lerrhagen is my father, so what would be the most natural excuse to keep this guy by my side?

A ‘position’ that nobles wouldn’t dare mess with, and at the same time, one where any misconduct in the imperial palace would be immediately noticed.

That’s it.

With a sudden thought crossing my mind, I raised my head. At that moment, Hasis, who had been looking at me strangely, flinched at my gaze.

“Why are you staring at me like that? Look away right now!”

Hasis waved his hands, seemingly startled. Ignoring his reaction, I coldly asked him:

“How old are you?”

“Why are you asking?”

“Well, it doesn’t matter. As long as you look like my older brother to others.”

“Older brother?”

As soon as I finished speaking, Hasis gaped and shouted loudly, seemingly dumbfounded:

“What are you talking about?!”

“Exactly what I said. From now on, you’re Lerrhagen’s son and my half-brother.”

“Nonsense. Why should I become your brother?”

“If you don’t accept, I’ll have no choice but to kill you. I have no intention of letting someone who knows my identity roam free.”

A descendant of the Betrayer, no less. How could I possibly leave such a dangerous being unchecked?

I was sparing him only because he was Lerrhagen’s disciple. Even I would find it difficult to deal with a Dragon Lord’s disciple carelessly.

Hasis snorted at my words, seemingly incredulous.

“Ha, kill me? As if Master would allow—”

“…”

“…though he probably would.”

He glanced at Lerrhagen while speaking, and seemingly judging that his master wouldn’t help him, he clicked his tongue and turned his head away.

I coldly stared at him.

Surprisingly, Lerrhagen didn’t object to my words. I thought this was his way of making up for his mistake.

Eventually, Hasis grabbed his head in solitary anguish before speaking irritably:

“Damn it, I was just doing an errand quietly. This is my fault.”

“Just accept it as your fate.”

“Does it have to be brother? Can’t I just be a disciple?”

“No.”

“Why not!”

“You need to be Lerrhagen’s son so the nobles will truly fear you and not think about investigating your background or trying to use you.”

I glanced at Lerrhagen.

“Is that okay with you? Since you carelessly brought this person into my room, you should accept having a sudden son.”

“Do as you please.”

Hasis’s face darkened even more.

After much deliberation, he finally spoke with a resolute expression:

“Fine.”

“Smart choice.”

“But I have a condition too. Don’t be annoying about me being your brother.”

“Well, I’ll try.”

Try, as if. With him being my brother, his peaceful life was already over.

“Then let’s make a simple covenant.”

A covenant is a kind of forced promise.

A covenant not to reveal the other’s secret. If this covenant is broken, I, as the one who established it, can ‘judge’ Hasis.

Of course, it was a rarely used magic since judging would be useless once a secret was already revealed, but it was suitable for binding him.

I snapped my fingers.

Soon, a bright white light and strong wind enveloped us. And when I snapped my fingers again, everything vanished without a trace.

“It’s done.”

Contrary to my triumphant voice, Hasis looked desperate, like someone who had sold his soul to a witch.

Glancing at him, I turned my head toward Lerrhagen. Despite being the root cause of all this trouble, he remained completely nonchalant.

Even if humans are amusing beings to a Dragon Lord, this was too much. Somehow, I felt annoyed with him.

“Hasis’s situation has been resolved, but that doesn’t mean I’ve completely forgiven you, Lerrhagen.”

“So what do you intend to do about it?”

Lerrhagen narrowed his eyes, seemingly asking what I wanted. I raised an eyebrow at the deep annoyance evident in his expression.

In truth, I didn’t particularly want anything from Lerrhagen. But having caught him in a mistake, it wouldn’t be proper to just let it go.

With that thought, I murmured:

“From now on, grant me one request. Whatever it may be.”

“Always looking to take advantage, aren’t you?”

“That’s just my nature.”

“Fine, do as you please. But I’m tired now, so I’ll be going.”

After finishing his words, Lerrhagen immediately activated his magic. I didn’t try to stop him and indifferently muttered:

“You’re so carefree. If you hadn’t given the wrong coordinates in the first place, none of this would have happened. Sending an attendant to check if a room is warm is ridiculous enough, but making such a mistake—”

As I was speaking, a hypothesis suddenly crossed my mind, making me frown.

“Wait, did you do this deliberately?”

“Who knows.”

Lerrhagen left only this ambiguous answer before disappearing.

As soon as he vanished, the room was restored to its original state, as if no battle had ever taken place.

I twisted my face.

‘Did he deliberately give the wrong coordinates to bring Hasis to my room?’

To prevent me from bringing an attendant? To make me bind him to my side like this?

I gaped in disbelief. I couldn’t know for sure, but if it were true—