Chapter 62
She couldn’t bring herself to ask if he had done this with that Holland or whatever count’s daughter too. Sian hurriedly composed her voice.
“By the way, your hand is really big.”
“Isn’t it just that your hand is small?”
Is that so? Sian tilted her head without much thought.
“Come to think of it, I’ve seen you carrying a sword, but I’ve never seen you use it. How do you with such small hands…”
He was about to ask how she uses a sword, but Carl recalled the memory of being hit in the side by that seemingly small fist one day. Size wasn’t something to judge by.
“It’s just that there hasn’t been a chance to show my skills, but I’m good at fighting.”
“…Yeah… I’m in the process of understanding…”
Recalling the power that could rival most men, Carl nodded and let out a groan.
“Your hand is rougher than I thought.”
Finally stroking her palm strangely, Carl let go of her hand. It seemed like a meaningful touch, but it wasn’t unpleasant or creepy.
“Are you disappointed that my hands are rough?”
What could it be? Sian asked casually, wondering. Carl just smiled slightly instead of answering.
Then Carl silently turned his gaze to the window. Though there was nothing particularly strange to see, Sian stared intently at Carl’s profile as he looked out the window, feeling oddly uncomfortable.
Is it because of the anxiety caused by Revenant? Her heart wouldn’t calm down to a normal state. The sculpture-like profile she had seen for quite a long time now somehow made her endlessly anxious, as if it might disappear if she touched it.
Aren’t you going to ask more about the black dragon?
Suddenly, Sian was overwhelmed by the urge to ask Carl, who wasn’t looking at her. In the silence that subtly made her heart uneasy, she felt both reassured and extremely anxious.
Should I tell him? That the reason Revenant brought up the story of the black dragon is because I am actually the owner of a black dragon.
“…When we return, I should renovate the roads.”
Either knowing or not knowing Sian’s downcast feelings, Carl suddenly spoke while still gazing out the carriage window at the passing city scenery.
Sian raised her head to look at him again. Carl wasn’t looking at Sian. His gaze was still fixed outside.
It must have been a muttered thought to himself. Just as Sian was about to dismiss it as unimportant, Carl looked at her.
“The capital’s roads are pleasant, aren’t they? It’s certainly a city with a long history… The roads in Ivarid aren’t in bad condition since they were renovated not too long ago, but they’re not wide enough for carriages to freely come and go like this. I should discuss it with Alfred.”
“…?”
What a random thing to say.
Sian just stared blankly at Carl, who was suddenly talking about roads. Was he talking to the wrong person, or was he just bored? She couldn’t understand why he was telling her such things.
“What, do you need manpower? I could lend you our team members. Though I’m a bit too high-class for manual labor.”
“Huh?”
This time Carl looked bewildered. It was very clear that he meant ‘What a random thing to say’. After a moment of confused silence, Sian realized she had misunderstood something.
“Wasn’t that what you meant? You suddenly started talking about road construction.”
“What?”
Carl made a dumbfounded face, then soon burst into laughter.
“Did you think I was asking you to do construction work?”
Then, Carl frowned while trying to hold back his laughter.
“Just laugh outright instead.”
“…Sorry.”
Even after apologizing, Carl made a strange groaning sound trying to hold back his laughter. Sian’s expression turned sulky.
“Then why are you suddenly talking about such things?”
“Why, you ask? Because now you need to listen to such stories too. City maintenance, diplomatic issues, various other things.”
“…What?”
Sian’s eyes widened. Carl smiled faintly, resting his arm on the window frame and propping his chin.
“Did you think you’d go back to being a mercenary after finishing things here?”
Sian belatedly realized that Carl intended for her to return to Ivarid with him. Ah, Sian covered her mouth and blushed.
She was just as tactless. Falling into sudden self-reflection, Sian awkwardly scratched around her neck.
“That’s not it… I just haven’t really thought about what comes after.”
“You don’t need to think about it. I’ll think for you.”
Sian pressed her lips together at Carl’s words. It felt strange. It was almost like receiving a proposal.
No, since it means being together continuously from now on, is it not much different?
Beneath the confused thoughts of excitement and heart-fluttering, anxiety began to creep up again from deep inside.
…I should probably tell him after all.
Sian changed her mind. Sian’s dragon had no relation to Pegadrasil. Nevertheless, because the black dragon in the founding myth was a symbol of evil, black dragons were unconditionally considered ominous and evil.
Sian’s parents, the Count and Countess Chandler, mercilessly abandoned both the dragon and their only daughter on the day Sian received the black dragon’s choice.
Whether Sian’s dragon with black scales was related to Pegadrasil or not wasn’t the main issue. The reason for being abandoned was simply because it was a black dragon.
Carl, the owner of a silver dragon that was a descendant of Yggdrasil and the same as the founding dragon, was completely opposite to Sian, who had to be abandoned simply because her chosen dragon was black.
So she was jealous, admired him, and he was an object of envy.
She couldn’t even dare to imagine how such a person would accept a black dragon that even her parents had abandoned. Since Carl had asserted that there were no descendants of Pegadrasil, he probably wouldn’t misunderstand like others…
But it didn’t seem like he would accept it readily either. More precisely, she couldn’t even imagine what kind of reaction he would show.
Because of that fear, she hadn’t been able to muster the courage to speak, but at the same time, there was clearly a desire in a corner of her heart to confess everything and feel at ease.
It would probably be better to tell him first rather than him finding out later through someone else. Gathering her courage, Sian carefully opened her mouth.
“…You know, Carl.”
Carl looked at Sian. His innocent blue-green eyes held her image just as they were.
Seeing that, despite having steeled her heart countless times already, it felt like her heart was dropping with a thud.
Could a black dragon be together beside a noble silver dragon?
It was a more realistic question than she had vaguely thought. Even if Carl accepted it, what about the Crown Prince? What about others?
Could the world accept a black dragon? Maybe it would even drag down the nobility of the silver dragon.
The moment of confession that she had vaguely imagined was far more suffocating fear than she had prepared for.
Her mouth wouldn’t move as if it had been glued shut. Far from opening her lips to speak the words she needed to say, Sian ended up biting them tightly.
“Looks like we’ve arrived already.”
While Sian was frozen, unable to do anything with her lips that wouldn’t part like an idiot, the carriage passed through the main gate of the Imperial Palace and crossed the garden. A maze garden of incomparable scale to the Carter family’s garden spread out on both sides of the road.
“Weren’t you about to say something?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
The place isn’t right. Sian thought so as if making an excuse, even while clearly knowing she was making excuses to herself.
No matter how vast the Imperial Palace was, they had already passed the main gate, so they would soon arrive at the detached palace.
They would have to get out of the carriage soon, and such an important story couldn’t be blurted out hastily. Moreover, she couldn’t possibly speak about an ominous black dragon in the Imperial Palace where traces of Yggdrasil remained.
“…Will you hold my hand once more?”
Feeling very unstable, Sian carefully opened her mouth. Carl’s eyes widened for a moment at the sudden request, but soon he silently reached out his hand.
This time, Sian tightly grasped the hand offered without ulterior motives. Carl’s firm hand was warm as before.
…I must definitely tell him next time an opportunity arises.
Sian tried hard to compose her unsettled heart.
Until then, just a little longer. She wanted to enjoy this luxury that might shatter at any moment, even if just a little more.
Sian grasped Carl’s hand, larger than her own, with all her might as if regretful.
