Chapter 7 – Trauma (Part 5)

Ellerdin squinted at the sun shining down from above. But soon, a shadow cast over, dimming the bright light.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling. Parin had spread his wings to block the sunlight.

“Thank you, Parin.”

Parin briefly looked at her before turning his head. It was an expression typical of her.

Ellerdin chuckled softly.

The fluffy bundle of fur, Fer, had already returned to his human form, Fernan.

She quietly looked at his face.

He always shone, but after acknowledging her feelings, his face seemed even more radiant.

Even though there was no sunlight, it seemed even more dazzling than before.

‘I always wonder if he’s not cold.’

Ellerdin looked at Fernan’s exposed chest.

‘Let’s close it.’

Ellerdin reached out and grabbed Fernan’s chest collar.

She pulled on the collar to close it.

‘Huh?’

But no matter how hard she tried, the open collar wouldn’t close. The more she pulled, the more his chest muscles seemed to tense.

Looking at the taut collar and firm chest, she felt like a mischievous child.

Thinking she’d give it one last try, she put more strength into pulling his clothes.

“Ellerdin…?”

A husky voice startled Ellerdin, and she looked up in surprise.

He was looking at her with a shy expression, having woken up from sleep.

“What are you trying to do… in broad daylight…?”

“What, wha, what…!”

Ellerdin, startled, let go of his collar.

“I just thought it was too loose…!”

“Why can’t you look up?”

Fernan leaned his upper body towards Ellerdin with a playful voice.

“No, no. Please don’t come closer….”

Ellerdin, trying to hide her flushed face, pushed him away.

Fernan grabbed her wrist and placed it on his chest.

‘!!!’

Through her palm, she felt his pounding heartbeat.

Fernan’s red eyes watched Ellerdin. He saw her fingertips tremble slightly.

Seeing that, he felt an urge to tease her more.

But it wasn’t right to bother her when she was exhausted from yesterday, so he released her hand with a faint smile. Ellerdin quickly withdrew her hand.

Through her hanging hair, he saw her reddened nape. He mentally repeated restraint, suppressing his rising desire.

Suddenly, he remembered what he had to do today.

“Oh, Ellerdin. Do you have time today?”

“……”

Ellerdin nodded, still unable to meet his eyes.

“I’ll explain our family in detail. There’s no reason to hide it from you anymore.”

At his words, Ellerdin looked up abruptly.

“You’ve been curious, haven’t you?”

His words carried an apology for not being able to tell her until now.

Ellerdin got up from the bed and sat properly.

She couldn’t listen to such serious and important content while lying in bed.

In fact, even sitting on the bed felt disrespectful.

“There’s no need for that. Just listen casually.”

Fernan pulled Ellerdin into his arms. She heard his breathing behind her.

“As you know, I am a demon. Of course, both my father and mother are as well. Our family originally lived together in the North. Back then, there were a few other demons, but… now our family is all that’s left.”

“…Why?”

She hesitated whether she could ask, but she wanted to know more about him.

Despite the rude question, Fernan continued without showing any displeasure.

“There was a war with the angels. At that time, my parents were all sealed. Even humans would know about that.”

“Could it be… the Great War from before?”

The Great War was something that happened before Ellerdin was born, but it was so famous that it was passed down orally, so everyone knew about it.

The Great War was announced by the temple and the Imperial Family decades ago, and it was a war of such magnitude that it devastated all the northern territories.

Every other day, monsters appeared, and the whole world was said to be engulfed in darkness and light.

The war between angels and demons took place above the sky, so humans couldn’t see them, but they could know how things were going through the temple’s announcements.

“But… the end was….”

As far as Ellerdin knew, the end was not good.

It was said that the angels defeated the demons and returned to the embrace of the gods.

“What you remember is roughly correct. The only difference is that my parents were sealed at that time, and all the angels who participated in the war died without exception.”

In the end, the only survivors were the angels and demons who didn’t participate in the war. And among them was Fernan.

“The reason why the Duke of the North is rumored to rarely show himself is because of this. If humans discover our identity, it could cause a huge stir in the world. I may look young, but I’ve actually lived quite a long time.”

‘So… that’s why he looks so young.’

In fact, things had been too busy for her to pay attention, but the story she heard from her mother as a child about the Duke not aging was a small mystery.

She never imagined the reason was because he was a demon, but now that the mystery was solved, Ellerdin nodded.

“Still, there are benefits to maintaining a youthful appearance for a long time.”

His voice was light, as if he was joking to prevent Ellerdin from feeling gloomy.

But Ellerdin couldn’t just brush it off.

Only then did she realize where the occasional emptiness she felt from him stemmed from.

‘Such a long time alone….’

Is that why he likes sleeping together?

His ease with physical affection and playful nature might be his way of overcoming loneliness.

‘If I’m okay, I want to stay by his side.’

Ellerdin turned around and hugged him tightly. More than any thought, she wanted to hold him.

She hoped he wouldn’t feel lonely anymore.

“E-Ellerdin?”

Fernan looked down at her in surprise.

“You must have been very lonely.”

At her words, Fernan was taken aback.

Lonely? Not at all.

Of course, it was difficult trying to find a way to break the seal on his parents, but he never felt lonely.

Though he unintentionally caused a misunderstanding, he didn’t feel the urge to clear it immediately.

If he could gain her attention, he was willing to use anything.

“Yes, I was very lonely. So please stay by my side.”

Fernan hugged her, pretending to be sad.

His voice was earnest, but a satisfied smile was on his face.

However, Ellerdin, who had her face buried in his chest, could only hug him tighter at his earnest voice. After holding each other for a while, Ellerdin spoke in a small voice.

“In fact… I have something to say too.”

She had made up her mind, but the words wouldn’t come out. Since he had shared such a truth, she too had to talk about what she had been hiding. Fernan silently patted her back as he waited. After hesitating for a long time, Ellerdin asked in a small voice.

“Do you know about mermaids?”

“I know they are a mysterious race.”

“…What would you think if such a race were nearby?”

She tried to speak as calmly as possible, but her voice trembled. Fernan thought for a moment at her words and then smiled brightly.

“I think I would be really happy to share the same secret as a comrade. After all, I am a demon.”

“Ah…”

It was an unexpected response. She thought he would find it disgusting or look at her strangely. His words gave her courage. Ellerdin lifted her head.

Warm eyes were looking at her.

“In fact… my mother was a mermaid…”

“I see. So you’re a half-blood?”

“Yes… Mermaid blood has healing power. That’s why I was trying to break your curse with it…”

As soon as she started speaking, Fernan’s gaze turned to her arm. At his distressed expression, Ellerdin averted her eyes slightly. He gently stroked Ellerdin’s cheek.

“Thank you for going to such lengths for me. But I still wish you wouldn’t get hurt. Just as you are very precious to me, I hope you think of yourself as precious too.”

“…”

When Ellerdin didn’t answer easily, he continued.

“Ellerdin, I am a demon. There are hardly any who can harm me. So no matter what situation arises, I hope you don’t sacrifice yourself to save me. It would be much better if you used that power to protect yourself.”

Fernan smiled brightly.

She wanted to respond with a smile to that smile, but forcing a smile was the best she could do. She wasn’t as strong a person as he thought.

“…Alright… I’ll try.”

Ellerdin nodded with a faint smile.

Fernan gently stroked the scars on Ellerdin’s body with a somber look.

“…Could this have something to do with your lineage?”

“Ah…”

Ellerdin’s pupils shook violently. She was embarrassed to tell him about the memories of abuse.

‘No… We decided not to hide anything.’

Ellerdin swallowed hard. She slowly and carefully opened her mouth.

“That’s right… My mother was a mermaid, so my father abused her… After my mother passed away… I…”

Her arm trembled slightly.

“It’s okay if you stop. Thank you for telling me even though it must have been hard.”

Fernan hugged Ellerdin tightly.

Ellerdin nodded silently. A moment of silence passed.

“Um… How about stopping the affection display now?”

At that moment, Parin moved his wings aside and spoke. Bright sunlight shone down on them.

“Oh, the sun is already up like this. Let’s change clothes and go eat.”

Fernan smiled and extended his hand. His eyes glanced at Parin.

Initially, he was suspicious of what that dragon was thinking by being in this duchy, but now he felt fortunate that the dragon was there.

Knowing how much Parin cherished Ellerdin, Fernan didn’t say anything to Parin.

At his words, Ellerdin looked at her clothes in surprise. There was a faint red stain on them.

As the two got up from the bed with a smile, Parin spoke again.

“I unintentionally heard your conversation… I’m a dragon specialized in combat, so it’s hard to lend wisdom. However, I have many items I took from the previous dragons, so if you need anything, just say so. I’ll take you there.”

Ellerdin’s eyes widened at Parin’s words.

A legacy collected by a dragon. It was impossible not to be intrigued.

In fact, she hadn’t thought of asking Parin for help, thinking she had to solve this herself, but she was grateful that Parin extended his hand first.

“Thank you, Parin.”

Ellerdin smiled brightly.