‘You ARE the baby. Are you insane??’

I wanted to shout and smack him, but was it because this was too absurd? I kept laughing in disbelief.

“Who is this, Nuna?”

“I said I’m the child’s father. Seems you didn’t hear, darling.”

Henry and Oscar, the two men facing each other, seemed intent on treating each other as invisible and conversing through me.

I couldn’t remain in this dumbfounded state. I needed to regain my composure right now.

I had to somehow contain the bomb that crazy Oscar had just dropped.

First, since Henry was royalty, I needed to make Oscar greet him properly before he could be dragged away for insulting royalty.

“He’s a Prince, so show proper respect.”

“Ah, excuse me.”

Oscar smiled mischievously and bowed respectfully.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness. I am the child’s father.”

The child’s father? I glared sharply at him for such an outlandish title.

“What is the child’s father’s name?”

“It’s Oscar.”

When Henry asked his name with an expressionless face, Oscar answered “Oscar” without a moment’s hesitation.

‘At least tell a lie! What’s the point of having an alias!’

And he just answered truthfully. My head was throbbing.

“So you’re Oscar, Oscar’s father?”

“Yes. I’m Oscar. The baby is Oscar Junior. Ari named him after me.”

As soon as the greeting ended, Oscar wrapped his arm around my waist again.

“You couldn’t forget me all this time.”

“……”

“I felt the same way, Ari.”

He pulled me firmly into his embrace, making me feel dizzy.

‘Stay calm. Don’t get caught up in this.’

I took a deep breath and removed Oscar’s hand from my waist.

“Your Highness, I apologize. This is also very sud-den for me. I seem to have been rude by not informing you beforehand.”

“It’s alright. How could this be your fault, Nuna?”

Henry waved his hand, reassuring me.

“Thank you for understanding.”

“I said I would understand, didn’t I? I knew I’d meet the baby’s father eventually.”

What did that mean? Henry was looking at Oscar with complete composure, showing no signs of surprise.

I had an ominous feeling. And that ominous feeling proved correct.

“I understand the situation, but what’s your intention now? You abandoned the baby for years, and now you suddenly appear.”

Henry’s expression disappeared from his face.

“Well, I heard she was going to marry the Prince, so I was going to let her go and be happy. But the marriage didn’t happen? Perhaps she couldn’t forget me.”

Oscar twisted his lips insolently.

“Isn’t that right, Ari? I won’t leave you again.”

He asked me for confirmation and ostentatiously kissed the top of my head. I pushed Oscar away and glared at him.

“Are you crazy? Don’t act as you please.”

“Sorry. My old habits came out without thinking. I’ll wait until you forgive me.”

At my warning, Oscar backed down obediently, clearly pretending to follow my words. Of course, he didn’t forget to smirk nastily at Henry.

“Excuse me, Your Highness. Are you giving that ring to the child’s mother?”

“Yes. I tend to cherish my friends greatly. I noticed her finger looked empty, so I wanted to fill it. Is there a problem?”

Though he was smiling on the surface, it was clearly a remark meant to scratch the other’s pride.

I was worried about Oscar’s state, knowing his strong sense of pride.

“Ah! In that case, please be friends with me too.”

Despite Henry’s somewhat sharp tone, Oscar acted shamelessly. Contrary to my concern, he didn’t seem affected in the slightest.

“What?”

“You’re friends with the child’s mother and with our child, so let me join in the fun too. I’m absolutely crazy about shiny things.”

Even in this situation, he coveted the sparkling ring. Instinct was frightening. Henry let out a laugh of disbelief.

“What do you do for a living? I haven’t seen your face before.”

“I told you already. I’m the child’s father.”

“Do you have a family name or occupation?”

“Is that really necessary?”

Oscar was a Black Dragon and naturally had no need for an occupation or family name. Oscar looked at Henry with contempt.

I could no longer silently watch this childish male rivalry.

“Both of you, please stop this. Please!”

When I spoke firmly, both men shut their mouths.

“……”

“……”

The heated air cooled down as if cold water had been poured over it.

For now, before Oscar could act up more, it seemed best to separate them for today.

“Your Highness, I’m truly sorry, but I have a terrible headache today and would like to rest. Could you please leave now?”

Henry was silent for a moment, then reluctantly nodded after seeing my tired eyes.

“…Alright, Nuna. See you next time.”

“Thank you.”

I hadn’t intended to treat Henry this way. I felt sorry for him, but there was no choice.

“Are you in pain, darling? Let’s go inside and lie down.”

My mood was already terrible, and tactless Oscar smirked.

“What are you doing, Oscar? You leave too.”

“Huh?”

“I want to be alone.”

When I firmly ordered him to leave, Oscar’s face turned deathly pale.

***

After seeing Henry off, I was returning to my room. My body and head felt heavy. I felt like I might collapse from having no energy at all.

Oscar seemed anxious about something. He followed me around like a puppy needing to relieve itself after I returned from seeing Henry off, but I ignored him.

“Master, are you very angry?”

After fidgeting for a while, he carefully grabbed my wrist while checking my mood, so I slapped his hand away.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“……”

When I answered irritably, Oscar looked like he was about to cry.

Another act of playing the victim. I was sick of pretending to give in to these cheap attempts to evoke sympathy.

“Don’t follow me. Go to your room.”

“But Ari……”

“Don’t call me by my name.”

“Master.”

“Please leave me alone, even if just for a moment.”

Having reached my room, I pushed Oscar away and slammed the door shut.

***

It was another exhausting day. I was completely drained from the unexpected events.

As soon as I entered my room, I flopped onto the bed and took a nap. When I woke up groggily, the lowered sun was stained red.

‘It seems the sun will set soon.’

I must have slept for two or three hours. I stretched my arms up toward the sky.

After sleeping, my head felt a bit clearer.

Of course, when I recalled what happened earlier, my head started to hurt again.

‘Why do they all growl at each other over me without caring about my wishes?’

I was still not fully appeased. No, the more I thought about it, the more vexed I felt.

One guy thrusting a diamond ring in my face without permission.

Another claiming to be the child’s father while wrapping his arm around my waist without my consent.

They were no different to me.

‘Do I look that easy? Am I a born pushover?’

I looked into the hand mirror on the bedside table. Despite just waking up, my beauty was perfect without any dishevelment.

Even when I tried to make a frightening expression, I didn’t look scary at all—just terribly pretty.

‘No matter how I think about it, a pretty face isn’t a crime. That’s right.’

I was being generous with myself to this extent.

‘Right. It’s not because of my appearance but because of my awkward actions.’

Having raised him since he was a baby and nursed him through several illnesses, I was particularly lenient with Oscar.

Now Oscar was fully grown and needed to become independent. I needed to step back and be more detached.

‘But even so, suddenly claiming to be the child’s father? Isn’t that crazy?’

Since he had already committed such an outrageous act in front of Henry, I needed to come up with some countermeasure.

‘I should probably seek Oscar’s cooperation?’

When he was young, I had raised him in hiding, but in the end, it was impossible to keep him hidden.

When he was a hatchling, I couldn’t tell him for fear he might go berserk if hurt, but now he was an adult dragon.

Compared to his hatchling period, he could control his emotions better now. I should explain properly to Oscar that his dragon identity must not be discovered.

‘Sigh, I thought he wouldn’t act so impulsively now that he’s an adult.’

He had been so docile lately that I trusted him, but I must have been crazy.

Who could I blame? My biggest mistake was believing Oscar’s promise to wait patiently without any suspicion.

I deeply regretted it, but dwelling on it wouldn’t help.

‘Should I call him and talk to him sternly? No, no. Let’s endure a bit longer.’

Today, for some reason, I didn’t want to give in easily.

He acted so recklessly because I always forgave him quickly whenever he apologized for his mistakes.

I had been lenient because dragons are notoriously proud creatures. But if he was this unreasonable, I needed to be more firm.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

If my guess was correct, it would be the Black Dragon who somehow knew I had woken up.

“…Master. Are you asleep…?”

It was Oscar, as expected. He was probably trying to apologize casually and move on.

I steeled my resolve and approached the door.

“No, I’m not.”

“Can Oscar come in?”

“No.”

With my answer, I locked the door with a click.

“I want to be alone today. Go back to your room.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll stand here with my hands up.”

“I’ll call you when I’m ready to talk. Go to your room until then.”

“Ariiii-.”

His plaintive voice weakened my resolve, but if I gave in now, he would act on his own again.

“I made myself clear.”

This time, I firmly ignored Oscar and returned to my bed.