Leah went to see Master and showed him the tablet copies and ancient documents she had brought from the desert tribe.

“This is an ancient language. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it.”

Master’s face, which had been looking through the copies with interest, gradually hardened.

“So after all…”

He slowly raised his head toward Leah.

“So you were the Dragon’s Holy Maiden all along?”

Leah’s eyes widened.

“You suspected I was the Dragon’s Holy Maiden?”

“I had my doubts. The Guardian kept denying it, but…”

So that’s why Helix reacted that way.

‘You? After all?’

She clutched her chest. She couldn’t forget Helix’s expression when he said those words.

“What is the Dragon’s Holy Maiden? What is it that made Helix…”

“I think I can explain that after decoding these documents.”

Master sighed and explained.

Azura had made plans for the eggs that would be left without adult dragons after the day of destruction.

A barrier to block the fragments of calamity spreading from the contaminated lands in the north. To power it, he betrayed his old friend, Guardian Helix, sealing and exploiting him as an energy source for the barrier.

And a Holy Maiden to awaken and care for the eggs.

“…It says here that they needed a soul that, unlike the intelligent beings of this world, would not unconditionally obey dragons, which is not easy to find.”

“…”

Leah’s eyes wavered.

‘So that’s why they chose me, a vessel from another world…?’

Master watched her closely and said:

“It seems you have some idea about this.”

“…”

“Honestly, I’m not sure if I should tell you all of this. If you are the Dragon’s Holy Maiden, then you are the enemy of the Guardian.”

“It doesn’t have to be that way.”

“You are enemies. Dragons are the Guardian’s enemies, and you are the Holy Maiden who will care for those dragons.”

Master spoke firmly and cut the matter short.

“Don’t entertain futile thoughts. Have you considered the Guardian’s position? How painful must it be to have the object of his revenge right beside him?”

“…What if I don’t act as the Dragon’s Holy Maiden? What if I don’t awaken the dragons? Even then?”

Leah spoke desperately. A brief look of pity crossed Master’s previously cold face.

“Azura has been planning and arranging this for a long time. You said Azura appeared to you as an herb gatherer and guided you to awaken the Guardian, right?”

Leah nodded. Master continued.

“The area below the Hel Mountains remained safe from the calamity, just as Dragonlord Azura intended. But do you know why the dragon eggs couldn’t hatch for hundreds of years?”

“…”

“I think I understand now. It was due to the lack of mana. Without adult dragons, there wasn’t enough mana for the dragon eggs to hatch.”

Master stood up.

“The contamination must have almost disappeared by now, so there’s no need for the Guardian to continue maintaining the barrier. By using you, the Dragon’s Holy Maiden, to awaken the Guardian, more mana would return to the world. And you…”

He came in front of Leah and bent down. Master’s eyes stared directly at her from up close.

“…were expected to restrain the Guardian from killing the dragons.”

Leah opened her mouth but then closed it. She feared what might come out.

‘So I’m just a tool to make Helix follow Azura’s will?’

She had wanted to be his shackles.

She wanted to be the loving leash that would bind him wherever he wandered in this world, allowing him to live with a smile.

But not like this.

“That’s why I’m uncomfortable with you, the Dragon’s Holy Maiden, looking for the Guardian.”

Master said bitterly.

“In the end, both of you… have been walking the path laid out by the most powerful Dragonlord. Can you escape that fate?”

***

“Catch him! An intruder!”

“A dragon attacker! Don’t let him escape!”

The voices of the pursuit squad echoed close by.

“Huff, huff.”

Ruyan hid in a corner of the imperial palace wall, breathing heavily. The situation looked grim.

‘Damn it, that cut on my back earlier…’

He felt inside his thin leather armor. It was damp. The bleeding worsened.

‘…I knew those Oken bastards would do this. Damn it.’

The faction supporting the second imperial princess of Oken had cooperated fully in attacking the Crown Prince’s dragon. They provided all necessary information, such as maps of the imperial palace, shortcuts, and guard shift times, and even helped him infiltrate the palace secretly.

But that was it.

They generously supported Ruyan’s attack on the dragon, but they didn’t care about his escape afterward. They figured it would be less troublesome if he died.

‘If only I could use my sword energy.’

Ruyan was the only Sword Master on the entire continent. Using sword energy would advertise who the attacker was, so he had to hide his skills and fight through countless guards and pursuit squads.

Covered in countless wounds from head to toe, Ruyan had barely managed to escape the imperial palace when:

“This way.”

A low voice spoke as a tall man grabbed and pulled him.

The voice of the person who suddenly appeared to help him sounded too familiar. Ruyan looked up.

“…Helix?”

“…”

He wore a perfect disguise, dressed as an Oken citizen with his silver hair hidden under a hat. Ruyan asked in bewilderment:

“Why are you here? Where’s Leah?”

“Shh.”

Helix said quietly.

“We’re still close to the imperial palace. Can you walk?”

“Of course I can walk.”

“Then follow me.”

Helix led Ruyan through dark alleys to an old inn. He sat him down on a creaking chair and immediately began healing him without saying much.

“No need for detoxification. Fortunately, there’s almost no internal damage.”

As mana circulated through Ruyan’s body, his injuries began to heal. Ruyan gaped at Helix’s ability, which he witnessed for the first time.

“Wow! Leah was always bragging about your abilities.”

“…”

“But really, why are you here? What about Leah?”

“…The treatment is done. Rest for ten minutes and you’ll be able to move right away.”

Helix’s fingers pressed on his acupuncture points.

“Huh? What’s this? Are you trying to keep me from moving for ten minutes?”

“…”

“Hey, Helix! Hey?”

He pretended not to hear Ruyan calling him and turned away.

‘It’s over now.’

He had helped because he knew about it. Helix thought with a hardened face.

He no longer needed to dwell on his connection with that woman. Because she was the Dragon’s Holy Maiden.

So watching from a distance to make sure Ruyan safely escaped through the alley stemmed merely from concern, nothing more. It definitely wasn’t because Ruyan’s platinum hair reminded him of Leah’s.

‘Dragon’s Holy Maiden…’

He thought he should kill her. That he would kill her.

But wouldn’t it be unfair for someone who couldn’t even kill dragon eggs to only kill the Dragon’s Holy Maiden?

‘That’s why I couldn’t kill her. It has nothing to do with me anymore.’

Helix ran. He ran until he left the imperial capital of Oken, crossed the border of Oken, and reached the northern part of Peiren where the cold winds blew.

‘Dragonlord Azura.’

To remind himself of what that creature had done to him, he went to the lair and glared at the traces of the seal. He desperately tried to recall the memory of the final betrayal.

‘You are a failed Guardian, Helix.’

‘You don’t know what it truly means to protect.’

It was brief.

The memories remained too short and blurry.

In contrast, how vivid were the other memories that came to him whenever he looked around the sealing formation.

‘There must be another way besides sacrificing you, Helix.’

Leah’s confident blue eyes as she rescued him.

‘…Is it done? Is it over? So you don’t have to go in there, Helix?’

Her tense, trembling figure resembled someone whose own fate hung in the balance.

How playful and stubborn her lips were when she insisted on giving compliments during “compliment time.”

‘I’m saying you’re handsome because you are handsome.’

How lovely she looked pretending to casually shower him with compliments while sometimes her earlobes would turn bright red.

Helix closed his eyes and opened them again.

The chilling memory of Azura’s betrayal remained hazy. Whether his eyes were closed or open, Leah appeared everywhere around him.

It was truly maddening.

“She is the Holy Maiden of my enemies.”

He muttered.

“It was a trap set by Azura. From our first meeting, everything was a deception arranged by Azura for his eggs…”

Despite repeating this and gritting his teeth, the Guardian’s heart, which unlike a human’s should have remained calm, ached seemingly squeezed by an invisible hand.

‘…She must be worried.’

The last image of Leah flickered before his eyes.

Would she be crying?

When he recalled Leah dropping tears, he couldn’t bear it anymore.

Step.

Leah grabbing his collar with her reddened, swollen eyes.

Step.

Leah with teardrops hanging from her eyelashes while growling that she would put a leash on him.

Step.

Leah looking up at him with her injured lips parted.

Step, step, step.

Helix paced around the artificial cave before leaning his head against the wall. Once they started appearing, his mind overflowed with images of Leah.

“Leah, why…”

He sighed deeply.

“Why did you have to be the Dragon’s Holy Maiden?”

***

“Archaik is severely injured?”

Viscount Paipers blinked momentarily at the Crown Prince’s surprised exclamation.

“Pardon? Your Highness, what did you just say?”

“…The dragon is severely injured, you say?”

Is this how it works between those who have made pacts? Viscount Paipers felt puzzled but accepted it with pleasure. That wasn’t what mattered right now.

“Yes. There was an attack when the security was light.”

Such a thing happening in the imperial palace—it must have involved the second imperial princess. The Crown Prince bit his lip.

“We will return to the empire urgently. Leave the delegation behind and move with minimal personnel.”

“I will arrange it.”

After urgently returning to the empire, the Crown Prince rushed to the underground chamber of the abandoned palace where they kept the dragon.

His pact partner, already growing weaker day by day, had collapsed with a sword wound across its body. Archaik exploded with rage.

“Who dares to harm a dragon’s body…!”