Chapter 4 Part 1

“……Ha.”

Alexander’s sigh, which sounded almost like a sneer, echoed behind her.

Melissa briefly looked up at him before handing him the bow.

The arrow veered off and embedded itself at Halfhar’s feet.

The half-dragon didn’t even notice, too busy licking its own scales.

Melissa cautiously approached the creature.

When she stepped into its line of sight, the half-dragon belatedly realized her presence.

With a low growl, its solitary eye glared ferociously, scales bristling in warning.

“Shh, it’s okay.”

Melissa tried to recall the sensation she had felt when attuned to Tiassat.

After falling from the tower and landing atop Tiassat, she had sensed dozens of emotions radiating from the dragon.

The only one she had been able to recognize was yearning.

The longing to soar into the true sky beyond the boundaries of this world.

A wish so elusive and powerful, much like her own desires as an illegitimate child and a hostage.

“I’m not here to hurt you. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”

She realized the half-dragon wasn’t about to attack her but was trembling in fear.

She crouched as low as she could, inching closer.

Slowly, very slowly, her outstretched hand met the dragon’s snout.

A flood of visions and intense emotions coursed through her, extending through her entire body.

She felt everything Halfhar had seen.

A tiny squirrel resting in a knothole, leaves quivering with dew, the sunset descending along a mountain ridge.

And the sky.

The one thing all dragons seemed to yearn for was the sky.

As she felt a pang of sympathy for the creature, unable to fly like other half-dragons, Halfhar pressed its forehead—its reverse scale—against her palm, rumbling affectionately.

Then it nudged its head against her side, rubbing its entire body against her.

“That tickles.”

A short laugh escaped her lips.

But then, she sensed a presence.

Alexander stood close by, looking down at her.

He, who had been smiling all this time, now wore a cold, impassive expression that seemed to radiate a deadly aura.

Melissa instinctively glanced at his hands.

But they were empty, holding neither a bow nor a sword.

“What are you doing?” he suddenly asked.

Melissa glanced around cautiously before speaking quietly.

“……I couldn’t convince myself to kill it.”

“Explain it to me so I can understand.”

He seemed both irritated and genuinely curious.

“First, Halfhar is not filth. Second, death is only mercy when the one dying wants it. Even then, it’s often uncertain.”

“And?”

He thought she might appeal to emotions, but her steady tone was far from that.

“Lastly, being incomplete and insignificant isn’t a valid reason for killing.”

“……You sound like you have more to say.”

“It’s not even incomplete, nor is it insignificant.”

Melissa unleashed her words as though she had been waiting for the moment.

Alexander’s brows furrowed handsomely.

“I can’t agree with that.”

“I can’t agree with your disagreement.”

Her confident words faltered, her face paling slightly.

“If you kill a rabbit, you get fur and food. But this half-dragon, you said its hide and bones are useless. Why kill it at all?”

Alexander had no retort.

Well, hunting is inherently like that. Cutting open a living creature to satisfy a shallow sense of conquest, turning its cries into a song to pass the time. Far more practical than the sympathy born from empathizing with a half-dragon.

But he couldn’t do anything. All he could do was stare at her as though to pierce through her.

All he could do was watch the woman who cradled a dragon with no economic value.

Melissa, turning away from him, gently scratched under the dragon’s chin. As the breeze softly blew her hair, she tucked it behind her ear. The silver strands glistened like dragon scales under the sun.

“Lord.”

After a moment’s silence, she spoke as though making a decision.

“Why are you……”

“Call me by name.”

He cut her off, speaking only his own words.

It spilled out like an uncontrollable cough.

“What?”

“Call me by name. Alexander.”

He took a step closer. As if dragon wings unfurled, his approach cast a deep shadow over her head. That was how large he was.

“By name.”

“……Alexander.”

Just the sound of his name made Alexander’s insides churn. The feeling, now familiar, tingled up from his belly, sharpening into a near-aching clarity at his fingertips. He wanted to seize her delicate arm, to pull her in. Now.

Perhaps reading something in his expression, she spoke hastily.

“I want to ask why you’re doing this to me.”

Her beautiful face, as always, was now tinged with fluster.

“If you need something, if my power threatens you, you could just act accordingly.”

“……Act accordingly how?”

His voice, deep and cracking, was unintentionally threatening, yet Melissa bit her lip and stood firm.

“Negotiate, threaten, make a deal. At least don’t… torment me like this.”

“Torment?”

“……Your actions now. They’re enough to be misinterpreted, enough to be… careless. I’m, as you said… to be your sister-in-law, and yet, the lord is…”

“Not ‘the lord.’ Alexander.”

“……Alexander… ha.”

Perhaps feeling her words falling on deaf ears, Melissa rubbed her forehead in frustration, then spoke, her voice tinged with melancholy.

“I thought you disliked me.”

“I’ve never disliked you.”

He smiled. He’d never disliked her. He only found her bothersome. A slender, tall figure with mournful eyes and a radiant smile—the hostage who always stayed put, like a beautiful flower in his space. Occasionally, like a light drizzle, she had been irritating.

But now, here she was, in his space, looking at him with countless expressions, entirely for him.

He finally realized the true nature of the fluttering within him.

It was the impulse to kiss her.

The desire to claim those lips that spoke so sweetly.

On the back of Tiassat, when she had spouted those foolish defenses of the half-dragon—no, truthfully, from the moment he brought her here, he had felt this impulse more than once.

What would it take to kiss her?

What sweet words could ensnare her?

He had rarely been sincere, and most of his words were carefully chosen lies to suit his needs. He felt no guilt, no responsibility.

As long as he achieved his desired outcome.

What arrow would pierce her, as she had so naively let her guard down?

The answer surfaced in an instant.

“Sister-in-law.”

His hand brushed Melissa’s cheek, the hard ridge of his knuckles tracing her skin, slow and gentle, like how she had stroked the dragon’s scales.

Melissa felt her breath catch.

When his gaze followed the path of his hand and landed on her lips, when his breath mingled with hers—he spoke.

“I like you.”

A gasp escaped from Melissa, her brow furrowed in disbelief, her eyes brimming with tears.

“That kind of joke… it’s not funny at all.”

“Does it sound like a joke to you?”

For every step she took back, he advanced closer. When he tilted his head and leaned down, their gazes and breaths merged.

Her back touched the dragon’s wing. She had nowhere left to retreat.

Melissa, trembling like a frightened animal, whispered,

“Is it because of the… power I possess?”

“I won’t deny it. You must already know.”

His lips, now so close that they brushed hers with every word, moved.

“The power you hold is anything but insignificant. And the courage to leap into danger to save those seed carriers—it’s not some cheap pretense.”

“……”

“How could I not fall for that?”

His words were so sweet they could melt on the tongue.

Melissa scrutinized him desperately, trying to discern the truth.

His golden eyes shone brilliantly under the sunlight, the dark pupils gleaming sharply.

They were like those of a predator.

Her heart thumped with a mix of fear and excitement.

“I want you.”

Melissa tightly shut her eyes and turned away, but her chin was immediately caught.

When she opened her eyes in surprise, all she could see was Alexander.

Please, I can’t handle this anymore.

“So come to me.”

He was sincere.

He wanted her to abandon all her worries and doubts and come to him.

Melissa trembled as he held her chin, unable to reject or escape.

Her long lashes brushed against his skin, trembling like a bird caught in the rain.

Their lips and breaths were just about to meet.

Halfhar chirped softly, unfurling its half-broken wing and raising its scales.

A presence approached from behind Alexander.

Melissa, too, startled as if locking eyes with someone, broke free from his grasp.

“…I, I wasn’t trying to…”

“Melissa.”

“I don’t think this is right. I’ll go now.”

Soaked in shame and embarrassment, she fled like a bird with its wings spread.

Her long hair fluttered, revealing her flushed ears and neck, yet he couldn’t bring himself to hold her back.

The reason was the approaching Boris.

“Lord.”

Her tone was bitter and dry.

Alexander felt a surge of displeasure, surprised but irritated at not having noticed his approach and at being forced to watch her slip away.

Only after Melissa completely disappeared did Alexander slowly turn to Boris.

With a face full of simmering discontent, Boris asked,

“What were you doing with Melissa?”

“Do I have to explain?””

Alexander approached Boris. Boris did not flinch as he observed Alexander’s actions.

With a chilling sound, the blade slid out of its sheath.

Alexander had drawn the sword hanging from his waist.

He raised the sword.

Not long after, a cracking sound echoed through the mountain, the sound of bones shattering and flesh being torn apart.

The head of the half-dragon rolled between Boris and Alexander.

Alexander, now soaked in hot blood, stared expressionlessly at the dead half-dragon.

Strictly speaking, the half-dragon was nothing more than an artificial creation made by fusing dragon scales and magic stones.

It was a being that greatly defied the laws of nature to even be called life.

Even its animal-like behaviors were forcibly implanted.

And yet, this half-dragon had shown submissive behavior toward Melissa.

It was special.

The desire to possess that power surged within him more than ever.

No, as a hostage, she was already his possession.

But even more…

“Forgive me, but I need an explanation.”

Boris, who had always been playful and addressed him as “Lord,” now changed the title.

She did not seem particularly surprised, as if she was familiar with the brutal Alexander.

Alexander’s golden eyes locked onto him.

At that moment, he wanted to kill Boris.

Even though they had been together for over ten years and Boris was his swordsmanship teacher, it didn’t matter much to him.

Boris’s presence was because he deserved it, not because of any deep bond.

Even if such a bond existed, it could easily change with circumstances.

Boris raised both hands as if he understood.

“Melissa sends a letter to her grandfather, Baron Gallandia, every week. Since she was young, she has never missed a single one.”

His eyebrow arched, a familiar gesture. As always, he thought Boris would tell him to calm down. He didn’t understand why Boris was stating something he already knew. Even after coming to Tavalon, Melissa continued sending letters to Gallandia, which were sealed only after being checked by the clerk, and the contents were mostly reported to him. So, he had no choice but to know.

“And Baron Gallandia, except for the first one or two times, never replied.” Boris continued, his face heavy. “The first reply was brief: ‘It’s dangerous, so never write to me again. Behave yourself and be useful to the family.’”

When Melissa first received that letter, she had sent a couple more, asking, almost pleading, if she could at least write letters. But all that came back were cold rejections. Boris ran his hands over his face multiple times. Traces of blood that had splattered on his face smudged onto his hands.

“I mean, I grew up in a wealthy family and hate complicated matters… but that poor child.”