“Don’t worry about Rose. I’ll stop by the tower often to check on her. I’m quite popular with children, you know. You saw it earlier, didn’t you? She warmed up to me the most out of the three. Even though we just met today.”

“That’s true. It was really amazing. You’re incredible, Mieva.”

“Oh, come on—it’s nothing. So don’t worry about Rose. I can’t predict what His Highness the Crown Prince will do, but with neither you nor the Duke in the capital, he won’t be able to pull anything.”

“But still…”

Until they arrived at the Baron’s manor, Mieva encouraged Etia. She was so happy and grateful that Mieva was saying the things she had secretly hoped to hear, but her troubled mind remained. This required too big a decision for Etia.

“I hope you do what your heart wants. You might regret it someday otherwise.”

“Thank you, Mieva.”

Mieva left those final words before returning to the Baron’s manor. She seemed to understand Etia’s heart completely, which brought great comfort.

During the ride back to the ducal manor, Etia stared blankly out the window, lost in thought. Mieva’s last words kept echoing in her ears.

“Regret. Regret…”

The first proposal she’d ever received looked quite different from the adventure novels she loved to read. Her feelings about accepting it were different too.

She’d thought that if someone proposed going on a journey together like the protagonists in novels, she’d only feel joy and excitement—but that wasn’t the case at all. 

Instead, she felt afraid and anxious. Both stepping into an unknown world she knew nothing about and remaining in the capital doing nothing terrified her.

Come to think of it, Derek had also mentioned regret. What regret had he spoken of? Was he regretting something? If so, should she avoid doing something she might regret? 

Etia didn’t know.

Even after returning to the ducal manor, her thoughts didn’t stop. That night, with thoughts chasing one after another, Etia couldn’t sleep a wink.

* * *

A dizzying cliff. On a precariously balanced rock—how it got there was anyone’s guess—sat a man. The being looking down below with his chin propped up, clad in armor like a human, wore the same emotionless expression he always did.

“So you want me to sweep away those bastards. Is that it?”

“Yes. They’re still unable to put up any fight against the monsters, but more people will continue to gather. Among them will surely be numerous mages. If they’re there, it will interfere with the research.”

“Interfere with the research…”

“Humans are persistent. They’re a species that confronts opponents they could never defeat and ultimately achieves their goals. They’ve already eliminated dragons that way in the past.”

“…”

Behind the man sitting on the rock, someone in a black robe muttered in an ominous voice. In the dark dawn with only the two of them there, even that small voice carried clearly, but what bothered the man wasn’t the volume—it was the content.

“Aren’t you human too? It’s amusing how you talk like you’re a different species.”

“We are those who have received your grace, so we’re completely different. How could we dare compare ourselves to them?”

“My grace?”

“We are mages. Those who carry mana in our bodies. We have existed in the Land of Fire until now and been influenced by your mana. We can no longer dare claim to be the same as other mages. Isn’t that grace?”

The robed man’s words seemed flattering yet were extremely arrogant. The way he expressed that they were human yet not human, that this was grace received from a dragon—all of it was like that.

It would have been less presumptuous if he’d expressed pride in surviving alongside the monsters in the Land of Fire. No matter how impressive they were, they were just humans. 

Becoming a different being was merely their wishful thinking, not reality.

The man disliked their arrogant speech but let it go. They weren’t worth engaging.

“Cut the useless talk. It’s disgusting to hear. You and I just need to exchange mutual benefits, nothing more.”

“Of course. That’s why we’re asking you to grant our request. Don’t you also want to see the results of the research as soon as possible?”

He’d already said he didn’t want to hear it, but the robed man still spoke like a snake. The man knew about his cunning rhetoric, but even knowing it, he couldn’t help but fall for those last words.

Finally, the sitting man stood up. Though he merely stood, the robed man broke into a cold sweat at the overwhelming pressure, though he didn’t show it. To be looked down upon now would cost him his life.

However, the man paid no attention to such things and flew into the sky. He had already transformed into a massive black dragon and quickly disappeared into the pitch-black dawn sky.

The dragon flying so far it couldn’t be tracked by eye unleashed a roar in the middle of the sky. 

At the tremendous roar that seemed to shake the entire Land of Fire, even the robed man looking up at the sky couldn’t withstand it and collapsed with a thud. 

The sight seemed to demonstrate that the being he’d just conversed with was the last remaining dragon in the world, making every hair on his body stand on end.

“Hahaha… Ahahaha—Ahahahaha!”

However, the man was only dazed for a moment before he began laughing like a madman. His eyes still didn’t leave the pitch-black sky, but madness filled his face.

The black dragon was in his hands. That fantasy was so enormous it couldn’t possibly be shattered.

* * *

“Huk—!”

Etia, who had fallen asleep at some point, suddenly woke up like someone pulled from water.

“Haa… Ha…”

Whether much time had passed, Etia felt momentarily dizzy from the sunlight streaming through the window and caught her breath while propping herself up on her arm. She couldn’t remember anything, but somehow it felt like she’d had a nightmare.

“Yes, my lady. Did you call?”

“Bring me some water. And the room feels a bit cold.”

“I’ll prepare thicker clothes for you. Are you perhaps catching a cold? You don’t look well at all.”

“I’m fine. It’s not that bad.”

“Then I’ll hurry and prepare everything. Please wait a moment.”

Etia, who had rung the bell near the bed to summon Mary, hugged the blanket as she spoke. 

Her throat was parched and she felt slightly chilly, which, combined with the nightmare she couldn’t even remember, made her feel worse.

“What would you like to do about your meal? If you’re not feeling well, shall I prepare a simple soup?”

“Please do. I have no appetite.”

Mary quickly returned to the room, gave Etia water, and helped her change clothes. As she draped a large shawl over her and spoke, Etia nodded slightly in response.

Actually, she wanted to skip the meal entirely since she had no appetite, but she’d probably need to go see Count Neiden, so she reluctantly ate a simple meal.

However, Etia couldn’t even finish half the soup and bread Mary brought, and even that made her stomach feel heavy, leaving her body more fatigued. She wondered if it was right to go see Count Neiden in this state.

“Come to think of it, I heard there was a problem with the carriage yesterday. You’re all right, aren’t you? I should have asked immediately yesterday.”

“I’m fine. They fixed it right away. It wasn’t a big problem.”

“Still, of all things, the carriage. You don’t know how shocked I was. How about going with me when you visit the western tower from now on? I’ll let the mages know in advance.”

“Yes. Let’s do that.”

“Yes, my lady. And I’ll be even more careful preparing the carriage from now on. We’d been using the ducal manor’s carriage for a long time, so we brought in an expert who works at the Imperial Palace to overhaul it, but I never expected such a problem. I’m truly sorry, my lady.”

“…The Imperial Palace?”

“Yes. When His Highness learned that you’d been in a carriage accident, he specially sent someone.”

At Mary’s words as she cleared the dishes, Etia, who had been pulling the shawl tighter, froze in place. The Crown Prince. Etia couldn’t believe it.

“I need to go to the Imperial Palace.”

“Now? Won’t you rest a bit more?”

“Prepare everything immediately. It’s urgent.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Seemingly forgetting her fatigue, Etia moved quickly, but somehow her body seemed to tremble.

‘How could this be possible? What on earth is he thinking, why would he go this far…!’

She’d only thought he’d be deeply hurt. She’d worried that, blinded by his obsession with Derek, he might act without distinguishing right from wrong, but she never thought he’d play games with people’s lives.

She’d only expected that the broken engagement with Dahlia and his resentment toward Derek might lead him to harass Sylvester and herself—she never imagined he’d stage a carriage accident. 

Throughout the preparations, Etia’s hands trembled and she could barely breathe from fear.

Etia was beginning to feel more and more afraid. Those knights Mieva had mentioned. The fact that he’d specifically selected knights and sent them elsewhere felt too suspicious. 

Was he trying to harm Derek through them? Was he planning to kill him during the chaos of war? 

Such chilling and terrifying imaginings continued to torment Etia.

Etia tried to ride a horse in her haste to meet the Crown Prince, but at Mary’s insistence, she had no choice but to travel by carriage together.

Even while riding in the carriage, Mary’s story and yesterday’s near-accident came to mind, making Etia anxiously bite her lip.

She prayed and prayed that what she imagined wasn’t happening.

* * *

Though Etia had rushed to the Imperial Palace, as she headed toward the Crown Prince’s palace, she began to worry whether she’d actually be able to meet him.

Last time during the scandal, the Emperor had preemptively blocked the Crown Prince from meeting her. While she kept pondering what to do, thinking he might still prevent them from meeting, Etia unexpectedly encountered Dahlia there.

“Dahlia? What are you doing here?”

“Sister…”

Since Etia knew the Crown Prince had been refusing to meet Dahlia all this time, she wondered why Dahlia was here. However, Dahlia’s expression—like she was about to burst into tears—meant Etia couldn’t help but know, even if she didn’t want to.

“…Did His Highness ask to break off the engagement?”

“What do I do…? What am I supposed to do now…?”

Just as she’d expected, Dahlia began sobbing with tears streaming down her face, then clung to Etia like she was in agony.

Though Etia ended up holding and comforting her, her heart felt unbearably heavy.

‘Because of me… even people who have nothing to do with this are getting hurt. In the end.’

Without caring that there were people around, Dahlia cried loudly. Etia tried to comfort her, but she didn’t think such wounds could possibly heal with just this.

The more this happened, the angrier Etia felt. 

The Crown Prince’s selfishness had crossed the line. Not content with constantly trying to drag Derek into politics when he didn’t want it, he’d used and discarded completely unrelated people through unwanted engagements and broken engagements, hurting them. 

The fact that they were all people around her filled Etia with tremendous guilt while simultaneously making her furious.

“Where is His Highness? Is he in the palace?”

“Yes… He should be in his office. Why? Are you going to see him?”

“I have to. I have far too much to say.”

Thinking everything would end once she returned to Sylvester with Derek had been a huge mistake. He would never stop, even if Derek and she returned to Sylvester. 

She was certain he wouldn’t stop until his emotions were resolved, until he got what he wanted—no matter who around him was used and hurt.