As the day broke, a different problem arose.

‘His whole body is like ice.’

Oscar’s body was excessively cold. Perhaps he had sweated too much. It seemed unreal that his body had been burning hot just last night.

I had the maids stoke the fireplace until the room was sweltering. I sat on a fur rug in front of it, continuously basking in the heat.

I wrapped Oscar in thick blankets and kept massaging his limbs. Though I worked until I was drenched in sweat, it was all in vain.

‘It feels like I’m holding a frozen corpse. What should I do?’

Oscar’s face was frighteningly pale and his lips were blue. Holding his cold, stiff body kept bringing terrible thoughts to mind.

Most worrying was that even after a day had passed, Oscar still hadn’t regained consciousness.

I searched through the dragon encyclopedia while holding Oscar, but couldn’t find any relevant information.

‘What if he dies…’

At this rate, I had no idea what would happen to Oscar.

I needed a different solution.

***

Late at night. The librarian on duty seemed quite startled to see me arrive at the library looking haggard.

Not only did I show up suddenly banging on the closed door, but I asked for the Grand Magician. I must have looked like a madwoman, but that didn’t matter.

The librarian, sensing this wasn’t an ordinary situation, quickly contacted Benedict.

“What’s the matter? I heard it was urgent.”

Having rushed over after being contacted, he asked with concern after seeing my already distraught face.

“Grand Magician.”

My vision blurred with tears. I grabbed him and pleaded almost desperately.

“Please… save Oscar.”

***

While hurriedly riding in the carriage, I revealed Oscar’s true identity to Benedict.

I thought he would be surprised, but he was calmer than expected. Whether he was trying to calm my anxious trembling, or if he had already suspected it, I had no mind to think deeply about it.

As soon as we arrived at the mansion, I dismissed the servants. Benedict examined Oscar’s condition while listening to my account of recent events.

“When did this start?”

“Since yesterday. At first, he was burning with fever so I gave him fever-reducing herbs. But then his temperature dropped too low…”

“It’s fortunate you provided good emergency care. First, I’ll cast a healing spell.”

“Will he be alright?”

“It will take some time, but he should gradually improve. I’ll stay by his side, so don’t worry too much.”

He reassured me while channeling power into Oscar.

***

Perhaps it was the effect of the healing magic. Oscar soon stabilized.

Though still unconscious, his temperature returned to normal and color returned to his paper-white cheeks. His labored breathing also became more comfortable.

I kept expressing my gratitude to Benedict.

“Has the dragon used excessive magic power recently?”

“Magic power?”

“Yes. Even considering he’s a hatchling, the mana flow in his body feels very unstable.”

“There hasn’t been anything unusual…”

Used magic power excessively?

I carefully recalled recent events, but nothing particular came to mind.

“There have been environmental changes though.”

“What kind of changes?”

“We’ve had consecutive visits from outsiders recently.”

Benedict and Henry had visited, and Oscar had met them both. He even went so far as to make friends with them.

‘Could that have been a factor?’

I decided to check my suspicion.

“Does a dragon use magic power when making friends?”

Perhaps it was an odd question. Benedict burst out laughing.

“Why are you laughing?”

“I’m sorry. It was just quite an adorable thought.”

“I’m asking just in case. Even I can tell Oscar isn’t very social, but he suddenly made two friends this time.”

Knowing all too well how tense the atmosphere was when he made friends, I couldn’t help but make this guess.

“To answer your question, it has nothing to do with magic power. Though it probably did cause him quite a bit of stress.”

“I thought so.”

“Yes. This one doesn’t have a particularly good temperament after all.”

Though Benedict’s words were true, hearing it from someone else’s mouth didn’t feel very good.

“One of the friends must be me. Who is the other one?”

“Ah, well. Do I have to say?”

It was something that belonged in gossip columns, certainly not something to be proud of. My face reddened with embarrassment.

“Yes. If it’s related, even small details could be helpful, so please tell me.”

After hesitating, I reluctantly answered.

“…His Highness the Prince.”

“….”

“He recently became friends with him too. Though they didn’t seem very close, they both claimed to be friends.”

“Does His Highness still visit this house?”

“Pardon?”

Perhaps it was my imagination, but Benedict’s purple eyes seemed particularly sharp.

“I read about it in the newspapers, but I thought it was just a rumor.”

“Yes. There were circumstances that led to that.”

“….”

He was silent for a moment.

‘Did I make a mistake?’

The coldness radiating from him made it difficult to speak carelessly. After a brief silence, he finally spoke.

“Such visits are not good.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s clear that excessive stress has negatively affected Oscar’s health. They’re not compatible friends.”

“Ah…”

“Please ask His Highness to refrain from visiting if possible.”

Somehow, it didn’t seem entirely credible.

If we’re talking about incompatibility, Benedict and Oscar didn’t seem much better.

“Are there other activities that might use a lot of magic power?”

“Typical examples would be attacking someone in dragon form, or something like polymorph.”

If he had transformed into a dragon and attacked someone, I would definitely have known.

No, not just me, but the entire empire would have known. Dragon attacks were said to be powerful enough to destroy an entire territory.

“Polymorph?”

“Yes.”

“You mean transformation magic?”

“Yes. That’s correct, my lady.”

Polymorph. I had briefly read about it in the dragon encyclopedia. It was magic that could change one’s appearance into various human forms or other races.

‘Has Oscar ever transformed like that?’

I carefully examined Oscar’s sleeping face.

‘Not in my memory.’

Well, Oscar had always looked like this.

When he first came to this house and when he returned late from the library.

Except for that time, he briefly transformed into a hatchling when excited.

‘…That’s all I know. Unless he did it when I wasn’t watching.’

But that seemed unlikely since I spent most of my day with Oscar.

‘We’re rarely apart, but…’

Wait. Come to think of it, there were times.

When I went out for important events, we were separated for at least half a day. Like at balls or fireworks festivals.

‘Hold on. What was Oscar’s condition like each time?’

I carefully recalled past events.

• At the Imperial ball, he was burning with fever when I returned home.
• At the fireworks festival, he was found asleep in the food storage.
• This time after the masquerade, high fever followed by hypothermia.

The common thread was that Oscar showed ‘unusual behavior’ or ‘unusual symptoms’ different from normal.

‘I can’t be certain yet, but if Oscar is secretly using polymorph and it’s causing physical problems, shouldn’t I stop him?’

Whatever the truth was, Oscar’s well-being was the most important thing.

‘When he wakes up, I’ll talk to him and reason with him properly.’

I thought I knew everything about Oscar since we were always together.

But dragons were still mysterious creatures shrouded in mystery.

“What are you thinking about so intently?”

While I was lost in thought, Benedict was staring at me with his chin resting on his hand.

“Oh, just wondering if I’ve missed something about Oscar.”

When I looked up at him with round eyes in surprise, he smiled faintly and replied.

“There’s no need to think so hard until something comes to mind.”

“Why?”

“Because the moment you fixate on a thought pattern, you might miss the surprisingly simple truth.”

He spoke rather philosophically.

‘A surprisingly simple truth.’

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand.

I tilted my head puzzled, then caught myself getting lost in thought again and shook my head.

‘Right. Let’s think about it gradually. Oscar’s recovery comes before identifying the cause.’

Since Benedict agreed to stay until Oscar fully recovered, I could ask questions about his condition right away if any doubts arose.

I might get some answers by talking directly with Oscar.

‘I hope this troublemaker wakes up soon.’

I slowly stroked Oscar’s head as he lay in bed. His long eyelashes trembled and twitched slightly.