Chapter 69
Chapter 69
“It’s a plant called ‘Lady Bell.’ I haven’t found it in this forest yet, but among the more easily obtainable ones, it’s known to have the best detoxifying effect.”
True to its name, Lady Bell was a beautiful plant with pink bell-shaped flowers. Erina memorized the plant’s appearance. Since it wasn’t said to be difficult to find, she might be able to get it today if she was lucky.
“Thank you. I’ll definitely try to find it!”
“Alright. If I see it, I’ll let you know right away.”
“Okay!”
While they chatted peacefully, the dragon family who had scattered earlier returned, each carrying a large bundle of something.
Most were weeds with little medicinal effect, but Erina didn’t hold back her praise. Her compliments made not only the children, but even Dylan, twitch his lips in delight.
The only one struggling to adapt to the bizarre situation, where dragons smiled gleefully at a human’s praise, was Meian.
“Mr. Dylan.”
“Yes, Miss Erina. Are you feeling unwell?”
“No, I’m fine! Here, this.”
Walking side by side with Dylan, Erina handed him the pocket watch she had forgotten to return due to the hectic events of the day before.
“Why are you giving this back?”
“It feels too valuable for me to carry around. I meant to return it last night, but I forgot…”
“Hmph, I refuse. I gave it to you, so it’s yours now.”
“Even if you say that, it really does look priceless!”
Erina looked at Dylan, who stood with his hands behind his back and a sulky expression.
She regretted not giving it back the previous day, the timing was now all off.
“That’s exactly why. Because it’s so precious, it suits you perfectly. No matter how I look at it, the rightful owner of this watch is clearly you, Miss Erina.”
“Ah…! You—You can’t just say things like that!”
“Say things like what? I’m just stating a simple fact.”
It wasn’t the kind of line one would say casually unless they were used to it, like something out of a romance novel.
Was it because he was a dragon?!
Dylan’s flirting came as naturally as breathing. Erina flushed but couldn’t help letting out a slightly incredulous laugh.
Well, he was kind and affectionate. No wonder he had so much love for his niece and nephews.
Erina decided that the awkwardness between uncle and niblings was simply due to shyness. She was already deeply charmed by the dragons.
Had she been more objective, she might have noticed that Dylan’s flirtatious behavior was strictly reserved for her, he didn’t show even a hint of gentleness to anyone else. But when it came to Dylan and the triplets, Erina always judged with heavy personal bias.
“Well then, I’ll take it back, but I’ll return it to you for now! I’m too scared to carry it around in case I lose it in the forest!”
“Very well. I’ll keep it for now and give it back later.”
“Please, I’m counting on you.”
The watch sparkled in the morning sunlight—it was the very definition of luxury.
Erina, as if handling a hot potato, carefully placed it into Dylan’s hand. He tucked it into a subspace and smiled brightly.
“If we go just a bit further, there’s a wide field inside the forest. Let’s go there.”
“Okay. Kids, Meian! This way!”
Erina called to the children and Meian, who were once again busy digging in the dirt. They came running, mushrooms and tree roots in hand, and joined Dylan and Erina.
Following a narrow path deeper into the forest, they arrived at a wide field—just as Dylan had said.
The field was filled with multicolored flowers and short trees, stretching so far that one had to squint to see its end. In the center of the field was a small lake, surrounded by plants that only bloomed near water.
“Erina! It feels like we’re on a picnic!”
“It looks like that place where we painted with Erina!”
The children jumped around, reminded of their past outing with Erina. Since she was thinking the same, Erina agreed with their excitement while exploring the area.
Meian, too, moved around busily, curious about the unfamiliar plants. Only Dylan looked around with a bored expression.
From birth, he had lived far removed from anything gentle or peaceful. Now he was just playing the part, pretending for Erina’s sake.
In the past, he’d have passed the time hunting monsters the moment he saw this kind of open field. Even now, he could sense the presence of beasts and monsters nearby, and his fingers twitched with the urge to move.
After warming up yesterday by working Mitzu and Hael hard, his body was itching to go wild.
“Mr. Dylan, I’m going to check the far side real quick! Can you watch the kids?”
“It could be dangerous alone. Let me come with you.”
“No, it’s not far—I’ll stay within sight, so it’s fine.”
Brushing off Dylan’s concern with a laugh, Erina quickly set off. She wanted to find the herb Meian had told her about. It wasn’t supposed to be hard to find, so it might be growing somewhere in this vast field.
But contrary to her expectations, she reached the far edge of the field without spotting a single pink flower bud.
‘Meian said they’d be blooming right about now.’
Erina searched thoroughly even behind the rocks, but had no luck. Thinking the others might be waiting, she decided to give up for now and head back…when she saw it.
“Huh?!”
At the end of the path behind a boulder, she glimpsed a cluster of pink flowers. The color was unlike anything she’d seen so far—definitely a different plant. With hope in her heart, Erina hurried toward the path behind the rock.
The closer she got to the pink flowers, the more certain she became: they looked almost identical to the picture Meian had shown her.
“It must be the real Lady Bell!”
Erina ran forward in excitement…
Crunch!
Something crumbled beneath her feet. The ground gave way, and Erina fell into a pit before she could even scream.
“…!!”
She tumbled down, hitting the rough walls repeatedly before coming to a stop.
“Ow… that hurt…”
It seemed she’d twisted her wrist during the fall. What kind of creature were they trying to trap with a pit like this?
Sighing, Erina gauged the depth of the pit, it was deeper than her arm span.
Back in the duchy, she’d seen traps hunters laid, but this was her first time being caught in one herself. Then again, she had been walking without watching her step, completely focused on the flowers.
Blaming her own carelessness, Erina gathered her strength and shouted,
“Mr. Dylan! Meian! Help!!”
If she were with ordinary humans, her cries would have been in vain. But thankfully, she was surrounded by dragons. Their senses were far keener than any human’s, so surely they could hear her.
And just as she hoped, her voice reached the children and Meian, who were playing near the lakeside with reed sticks.
“Mama?”
Poi, who had been crouched and making flower bundles with the reeds, suddenly stood up. Resen, Lia, and Meian followed suit, scanning their surroundings.
“That was Erina’s voice, right?”
“She said to help her!”
“M-Mama!!”
Poi immediately transformed into a dragon and charged toward the direction of Erina’s voice.
But he was stopped by Dylan, who grabbed his wing firmly.
“Mnghh!! Mama!!”
“Calm down. What would you do if you got there? Could you even save her?”
“Mmph!!”
“Enough. Wait here. I’ll go.”
Ignoring Poi’s angry noises, Dylan threw the child toward Meian—not handed over, but threw, like a ball.
Startled, Meian caught the flying Poi in her arms and stared at Dylan with wide eyes.
“Hold on to him.”
Unlike the gentle tone he used with Erina, Dylan now radiated an icy, chilling presence.
Meian, realizing this was Dylan’s true self, froze and clutched Poi tightly in her arms.
