Chapter 61
There’s nothing much to worry about. Sian tried hard to calm herself, but her mind kept getting complicated with an unidentifiable anxiety.
Could it end there? Would Revenant really stop at that?
Though she couldn’t be certain, she had a feeling that Revenant’s trap, which she had underestimated, might be deeper than expected.
‘Those who deny their own existence can possess nothing.’
Encouraged by the High Priestess’s words, she had come to the capital prepared even for this situation, but when it actually became reality, she felt suddenly afraid.
The black dragon that even her parents didn’t acknowledge.
Sian’s pitiful dragon, merely having black scales with no relation to Pegadrasil, had lived for a very long time suppressing its breath without ever properly seeing light, due to the world’s prejudice.
And Sian, who had been chosen by it and joined its fate, likewise.
Could she turn it around? Could she shatter it? Through this event, which she didn’t know was an opportunity or a trial, could she truly acknowledge herself as the black dragon’s owner and stand tall? It was a frightening thing. It wasn’t easy to face it boldly.
“Lady!”
Sian, who had been too deeply absorbed in thoughts about Revenant to hear Max’s voice, snapped back to reality at his loud call near her ear.
“What are you thinking so deeply about?”
“No, it’s…”
Max was frowning hard, his face close to Sian’s. Sian was fumbling for words.
“You should take a look over there.”
Max pointed towards the main gate of the Carter mansion. Beyond the Carter family’s spacious garden, an unfamiliar carriage was parked in front of the gate.
“His Highness Prince Carlston has arrived first and is waiting.”
A Carter family servant who had come out to see them off explained, bowing politely. Sian involuntarily frowned. He wanted to escort her when she was leaving too, and in the end, he came to pick her up.
“You’re well-loved.”
Dr. Zivago said with a smiling face, but his voice was quite displeased. Sian unknowingly let out a deep sigh.
Am I being loved? Everything she was wearing from head to toe, there was nothing that Carl hadn’t given her. Who would have ever expected to enjoy such luxury in a lifetime, but…
‘It would be quite troublesome, wouldn’t it? If the owner of Idelin, Yggdrasil’s direct descendant, and the owner of the black dragon, Pegadrasil’s direct descendant and archenemy, were engaged.’
Revenant’s words stung like thorns.
Still, it’s a bit uncomfortable to see him now.
Sian thought, but there was no help for it. Clicking her tongue lightly, Sian stepped towards Carl’s carriage.
“Your expression doesn’t look good. Did something happen after all?”
“I didn’t grab anyone by the collar and get into a knife fight.”
“Well, that’s a relief…”
Sian couldn’t help but glare at Carl. It was meant to be sarcastic, but he says “that’s a relief” to that? What’s more, it seemed that those words weren’t just lip service but sincere, which made it even more unpleasant.
“But what kind of story did you hear to be in such low spirits? You said you didn’t get into a collar-grabbing fight.”
“Is collar-grabbing the only kind of fight?”
“Then did you take a hit? You definitely don’t look like someone who landed a hit.”
If he had any tact, he’d at least keep his mouth shut… Even his handsome face, which usually cheered her up just by looking at it when she was down, was useless.
It was partly because the fear deeply seated in her heart was so great, and partly because of Carl’s particularly tactless attitude.
…No, that’s not it. Come to think of it, he wasn’t really the tactful type normally either.
Sian inhaled sharply and shook her head. If she recalled carefully, there were more exchanges of banter out of annoyance than tender or heart-fluttering conversations. It’s just that his face was so much to her liking that his annoying quips took a backseat.
…I guess I should talk about it.
Sian barely held back the sigh that was rising to the tip of her tongue. Anyway, since he seemed curious, the best course was to tell the truth about everything without hiding anything.
“Revenant spread some strange stories. It seemed like she had deliberately gathered only talkative people for today’s meeting to spread those stories in all directions.”
“Strange stories?”
“Stories about… the black dragon.”
Even though Carl wouldn’t notice anyway, her voice wouldn’t come out well. Sian barely managed to squeeze out the sound.
“Tell me in detail.”
“Reva’s distant relative child supposedly saw a black dragon, a descendant of Pegadrasil. They’re suggesting that it might actually be the black dragon who assassinated the Dragon King. She was desperately trying to create an absurd rumor.”
Sian explained, summarizing the story as plainly as possible. When Pegadrasil’s name came up, Carl twitched his eyebrow.
“At the time of the founding war, Pegadrasil was a very young dragon unlike Yggdrasil. There’s no way there could be descendants of Pegadrasil.”
As expected, someone born into the imperial family accurately pointed out the facts of the founding myth.
Sian felt a little better at this reliable rebuttal that came out immediately, without even needing proper verification.
“How would they know? For unrelated people, it just needs to be a sensational setting.”
“Is any of it true?”
“How could it be? It’s all lies. She said she was an orphan, what relatives could she have?”
“Hmm.”
Carl didn’t probe further, just hummed and folded his arms. The noise of the carriage running on the road filled the inside in place of Carl’s voice.
“But why a black dragon specifically?”
“Pardon?”
“Though there’s no definitive evidence yet, the speculation is that Revenant, who was a dragon hunter, is likely the one who assassinated Elena. I can understand the intention to cover up her crime by pinning it on someone else, but…”
…Ah. Realizing what Carl was getting at, Sian tightly clenched her fist.
“Although judgment was suspended due to the Temple’s evidence, you’re in a position of having been suspected once. It would have been better to pin it on Idelin instead. But why did she specifically choose a black dragon? If you just search through the ancient books kept in the imperial archives, evidence that Pegadrasil had no successors would pour out.”
The answer to that is clear.
It’s because Sian herself is the owner of a black dragon.
When it became impossible to pin all the blame on Idelin due to the Temple’s evidence, Revenant raised the existence of an unknown black dragon as a second-best option. While also attaching the unverified fact of it being Pegadrasil’s descendant to create an atmosphere of fear.
“…Well. Only she would know that. Maybe she needed a third entity? The authority of the Dragon’s Temple, which judged Idelin innocent, is too strong to target Idelin.”
Carl twitched his eyebrow again, letting out a short hum. Though he responded after a while with “I see,” his voice was empty. He didn’t really seem convinced.
Is it just my imagination?
Sian watched Carl’s reaction. Was her acting awkward, or was there something strange about her pretending not to know, saying only Revenant would know?
It was very irritating how Carl was vaguely affirming as if he had noticed something. Her glance, unconsciously flinching, seemed rather suspicious.
Suddenly, Sian’s eyes met Carl’s. In the narrow carriage emitting slight vibrations, they sat facing each other so close that their knees would touch if they moved just a little.
The blue-green gaze she met somehow felt strange. Was it just her imagination, flinching unnecessarily?
As Sian was wondering, her mouth suddenly felt very dry and she swallowed. Carl, who had been expressionless, suddenly pulled the corners of his mouth into a gentle smile.
“This might be sudden, but.”
As if he had read Sian’s inner turmoil of anxiety, Carl spoke softly.
“Since it’s just the two of us, may I hold your hand?”
Sian blinked.
“…Suddenly?”
Though he had said ‘This might be sudden’ himself, it really was out of the blue. Carl was already reaching out his hand as if he had received permission, even though Sian hadn’t given it.
Sian just stared blankly at Carl’s hand hovering in the air for a moment. Soon, a laugh escaped her.
“Why are you hesitating now? Back at the Temple, you suddenly grabbed my collar and even kissed…”
“Here. Do you want my foot too?”
Before Carl could finish speaking, Sian quickly reached out and placed her hand on his palm.
“I’ll pass on the foot.”
Carl burst into a small laugh.
As soon as their skin touched, Carl tightly grasped her hand. His long, firm fingers wrapped around her knuckles almost painfully. A warm, dry sensation enveloped her hand completely.
Though it was natural given their difference in build, Sian felt somewhat strange having her entire hand engulfed by Carl’s single hand.
“But really, what’s the reason? Why the hand…”
“Just because.”
Are you telling me to die of excitement?
As Sian was thinking this, Carl let out a light laugh.
“Do you need a reason for something like this?”
“I guess not, but…”
Just as she was about to look away, feeling awkward:
‘I heard Count Holland’s daughter met him three times, and there were widespread rumors about marriage…’
It was unclear why those words flashed through her mind. That woman, no. She became quite curious about what that family’s daughter had done in those three meetings. They wouldn’t have just met and had marriage talks…
“…? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s nothing…”
“Are you too happy?”
Carl pulled the corners of his mouth mischievously.
“I said it’s not that.”
Her voice suddenly lowered. Carl’s expression changed abruptly as Sian’s gaze, which had been shyly downcast, turned cold and her voice lowered.
“If it’s not, then it’s not, why so serious…”
“…”
