Raise Me, So That I Can Eat You Up - Chapter 16

After finishing the meal, I was flipping through the Dragon Encyclopedia.

<Some individuals handle powers other than natural elements. It’s not common and is a phenomenon that appears in only a very small number of dragons.

I gazed intently at Oscar, who was sitting across from me, looking at a picture book.

‘So Oscar is a rare case.’

Powers other than natural elements. What kind of power could it be?

‘Saying it like this makes it too broad.’

As the range expanded, it became even harder to guess.

‘Isn’t there some way?’

I had hoped he would react to the spirit stones. It seemed unlikely that we’d find out easily.

Seeing that there weren’t many examples even in the ‘Dragon Encyclopedia’, is this perhaps an unknown field that hasn’t been well-researched yet?

‘This is an old book. There might be newer research not in the encyclopedia.’

At that moment, one person came to mind.

‘I wonder if Benedict would know.’

He said he researched dragons. He might know something.

‘What if I ask him indirectly, without being too obvious?’

Benedict might be able to give some clues.

‘Ah, no matter how curious I am, is it worth risking my life? I must be crazy.’

I shook my head, remembering the terrible things Leon had said.

“Ari.”

Just then, Oscar’s cute voice called me.

“Yes,  Oscar?”

“Finished book.”

Oscar closed the picture book with a thud and stacked it aside. On the table was a pile of picture books taller than Oscar’s sitting height.

“You’ve already finished all ten books?”

“Ung.”

Oscar nodded readily.

While Leon was teaching him swordsmanship, I was teaching Oscar letters.

To be honest, I didn’t have high expectations. I started it hoping he’d be able to read fairy tales someday.

‘I heard dragons were intelligent, but I didn’t expect him to learn this fast.’

Contrary to my intention to teach slowly like a game, Oscar learned the letters in just a few days.

That was just recently. Now he could easily read quite long fairy tales.

It was truly an amazing learning speed.

‘Even so, he read too quickly.’

Until yesterday, when I was reading books, I only let him read one book a day.

Today, because of the stone-choosing(?), I had a lot to look up in the ‘Dragon Encyclopedia’.

So I deliberately gave him a mountain of reading material to keep him from whining.

‘He’s already finished all those books?’

I was dumbfounded.

Oscar just blinked, looking at me as if wondering what was strange.

“You didn’t just look at the pictures, right?”

“Read all words too.”

“Even the words?”

“Ung.”

Come on, he must be joking.

Is he pretending to have read everything to get attention because reading is boring?

“Did you read this one too?”

I pulled out a book from the mountain of fairy tale books.

“Ung.”

Oscar nodded without hesitation.

See? I deliberately pulled out another random book and asked again.

“What about this one?”

“Ung.”

“You’re not joking, right?”

“Ung.”

Isn’t he just saying ‘ung’ to everything? It was cute, but I needed some time to think alone.

Besides, even small lies aren’t good, so I decided to check with Oscar directly.

“Oscar. Then can you tell me the content?”

“Ung.”

“In detail, like before bedtime.”

Oscar would read one fairy tale book every day and tell me the content before bed.

He remembered quite well, so I bought a mountain of books from the bookstore to use for studying.

If he just skimmed through them, there would be no point in buying the fairy tale books.

“Ung.”

Oscar answered confidently this time too.

“Okay, start.”

“Once upon a time, there was a king in a kingdom who had three daughters. Among the three daughters, the youngest was so…”

I opened the fairy tale book, ready to be fooled.

<Once upon a time, there was a king in a kingdom who had three daughters. Among the three daughters, the youngest was so beautiful that even the moonlight was jealous of her beauty…>

I doubted my own eyes.

For a moment, I thought I was seeing things and rubbed my eyes with my palm.

Except for the parts where his pronunciation was a bit unclear, it was exactly the same, down to every single word.

‘No way, did he memorize the entire book?’

I thought he was just telling the story’s outline. It was an unbelievable sight.

“Well done, Oscar. Then can you tell me about another book?”

“I’ll do one Ari likes. Ari choose.”

Oscar seemed confident. I picked another book while I was at it.

“Then this one.”

“Once upon a time, there was a wise prince…”

He started reciting without missing a single word again. My eyes widened.

Thinking he might have just memorized the beginning, I specified some pages, but it seemed he had memorized the entire thing.

‘Oh my! My child is really! He must be a genius!’

It was one thing to learn letters quickly, but to memorize entire fairy tales? Isn’t this a completely different level of genius??

‘I need to call Leon right away! Father too! Should I tell Jenny and Laura? Maybe I should gather all the neighbors and announce it!’

Hoo-ha, hoo-ha-hoo-ha.

My heart was pounding with excitement. I needed to let everyone know that my child was the world’s greatest genius, right away!

I was about to pull the bell cord as if in a trance, but stopped abruptly.

‘Ha, I must be crazy.’

I held my pounding heart and calmed myself down.

‘Stay calm. You’re too excited.’

It was strange. I usually didn’t get excited about anything, no matter what happened.

Ever since I started raising Oscar, I found myself getting excited over little things.

The fact that my child is extraordinary is too precious to keep to myself, but since Oscar being a dragon is still top secret, I had to hold back.

“Ari. You okay?”

Oscar worriedly looked at me as I placed my hand on my left chest, breathing heavily.

“Ah, I’m fine, Oscar.”

“Ari’s face red. Why like that? Want water?”

How can I handle this cuteness? I wish he’d never grow up.

After such a pointless thought, I gently stroked Oscar’s hair.

***

It was a lavish party where all the influential figures of high society had gathered. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on Prince Henry, who had been jilted.

“I’m grateful for that day, Your Highness.”

Lady Floris expressed her gratitude with a blushing face.

“It was nothing.”

She had expected him to ask if her injured ankle was better if it didn’t hurt anymore.

Henry’s expression was somehow indifferent.

“Really, if it weren’t for Your Highness, I could have been in big trouble. You’re my savior.”

Flustered by the unexpectedly dry response, Lady Floris spoke as if to confirm.

“Yes.”

Henry seemed like someone whose mind was elsewhere. Lady Floris, embarrassed, started speaking faster.

“The court physician said to be careful for a while until it gets better…”

“Seeing those shoes you’re wearing.”

“…Pardon?”

“It seems you’re fine now.”

Henry’s gaze turned to her high heels.

“Ah, yes. Th-thanks to you.”

“Well then. Don’t overexert yourself in the future.”

It seemed like the corners of his mouth were twisting. Or was it just her imagination?

Lady Floris, her face bright red, left the spot. Seeing her walk quickly and well in high heels, Henry’s guess seemed to be accurate.

He smiled faintly and looked around.

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

This time, Princess Charlotte offered a polite greeting. Her face, full of smiles, looked like someone with a lot to say.

“Nice to see you, Princess Charlotte.”

Henry’s manner of greeting with a slight nod of his head was strangely perfunctory.

Even with her in front of him, his gaze was directed elsewhere.

Princess Charlotte laughed awkwardly.

“That night was really…”

It seems she wanted to talk about that night in the cabin.

“Thanks are unnecessary. I’m glad to see you arrived on time today.”

Henry cut off the end of her sentence as if he didn’t need to hear it.

“Th-that…”

“In the future, if you have any business, use a letter. I’ll review it and respond through my aide.”

“…”

“I’ll take my leave now, Princess.”

Princess Charlotte’s face stiffened. Regardless, Henry brushed past her.

“Is it alright to treat them like that?”

The aide asked with a nervous expression. Henry smirked as if the aide was worrying needlessly.

“What does it matter?”

“I’m asking because the atmosphere is so different from usual.”

“They all probably have their own fiancés anyway. It was just a relationship for fun on both sides, wasn’t it?”

“His Majesty is not in a good mood. Wouldn’t it be better to act as usual rather than stand out?”

The aide was worried about Henry’s behavior, which was different from usual.

The Emperor was capricious and hot-tempered. In fact, it was a miracle that he had kept his nephew Henry alive until now.

So, for Henry to survive, it was right for him to act like a fool as usual.

“I’ve just become a different kind of playboy. Why?”

Even as he answered sarcastically, his eyes were still searching for something else.

“It’s useless to look for her.”

“She didn’t come?”

“No. Why are you looking for her in the first place? I thought you broke off the engagement.”

“To be precise, I didn’t break it off, I was jilted.”

“I’ll look for a similar match, so forget about it.”

There were many unremarkable nobles besides the daughter of Viscount Hayworth.

Whether he broke it off or was jilted, they just needed to find a similar match from a rank that wouldn’t offend the Emperor.

“Give me time to enjoy the pain of heartbreak, won’t you?”

“Is it because she’s beautiful?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about Lady Hayworth.”

Ariella Hayworth was the most beautiful woman in Perdian.

While not of a rank that would threaten the Emperor, she was an appropriate match for Henry’s character as a playboy.

That’s why the engagement was made. Fortunately, Ariella also thought favorably of Henry.

Although Viscount Hayworth didn’t seem too pleased, the engagement was realized due to Ariella’s strong will.

‘Well, is there even a woman in the empire who doesn’t admire His Highness?’

Perhaps that’s why. The aide never dreamed she would be the first woman not to admire Henry.

Although his political position was unstable, every woman wanted to make Henry their man.

Of course, not officially, but unofficially. Henry was undoubtedly an attractive man.

But for some reason, Ariella had a change of heart. He heard she took issue with his behavior.

Henry had been a playboy for quite some time.

It was strange that she cited this as a reason for breaking off the engagement.

It wasn’t an engagement made out of love in the first place. Why was he so obsessed?

The aide couldn’t understand Henry’s eccentric behavior.

“Well, she is pretty. But with a nasty temper.”

“Why are you acting like this?”

“I guess I’m growing up.”

“Anyway, forget about it.”

The aide said firmly.

“…If I could forget.”

Henry wore a faint smile.