Chapter 68
As Revenant had predicted, the rumor of Dragon Knight Antonio Carter’s dragon Brita being attacked by a black dragon spread throughout the Empire in an instant.
What stirred the Empire wasn’t Brita’s attack itself. Rather, it was the emergence of a black dragon—never before mentioned and whose existence had been unknown.
No one knew whether it had a master or was wild, and there weren’t even any witnesses to how it had attacked Brita’s nest. The mysterious existence in these unverifiable rumors only served to inflate people’s fears of the unknown.
The conflict between the Crown Prince and Prince over the Prince’s alleged assassination of the Dragon King was instantly forgotten in people’s minds due to the black dragon.
Everyone acted as if they didn’t know that the accusations of the Dragon King’s assassination had started with Idelin’s scales found on the Dragon King’s corpse.
Though the Imperial family had made no official announcement, rumors had already established the black dragon as the definitive killer of the Dragon King.
“We’ll need to stay apart for a while. The atmosphere is unsettling.”
‘But moving won’t be easy. The rumors about the black dragon have spread too far.’
“We have no choice. Move little by little at night, staying out of sight. Far away, so far that even I would have trouble reaching you.”
The Imperial Palace’s maze garden was exceptionally beautiful. Befitting a palace with over 1,500 years of history, it was filled with flowers Sian had never seen before in her life, all blooming magnificently.
Flowers bloomed in abundance despite it not being spring. This was likely due to careful calculation in planting different species to bloom in different seasons.
In one corner of the maze garden, which showed the touch of skilled gardeners, Sian was enjoying tea time alone in a pergola.
Though she sat on the pergola bench pretending to enjoy the wind and flower fragrance like an elegant noblewoman, what she was actually experiencing was the dragon’s consciousness.
‘As much as I’d like to do that, there’s a limit to how far I can fly in one night. If someone happens to spot me, it would only add fuel to the already unstable situation.’
Sian lifted her teacup and heaved a deep sigh at the dragon’s words.
“…That’s true. Better to stay completely confined in the nest than risk danger.”
‘…I’m sorry about this.’
Just as Sian was about to bring the teacup to her lips, the dragon muttered dejectedly. A dragon’s master can communicate with their dragon through thoughts rather than speech, even when far apart. This was possible through the magical power shared between master and dragon from the moment of being chosen.
It was part of the dragon’s magic called “Synchronization.” Usually, it only allowed for basic communication, but now, even without deliberately amplifying the magical power, the dragon’s emotions were being transmitted clearly to Sian.
This indicated how strong the dragon’s bitter emotions were. Guilt, sadness, various lonely feelings swept over her as if they were her own.
Feeling as though she might cry from emotions that weren’t her own, Sian lowered her barely-touched teacup and bowed her head.
“You shouldn’t feel guilty. You’re not the one at fault.”
‘…I shouldn’t have chosen you.’
“That wasn’t even your choice to make, was it? It’s already in the past. Let’s stop blaming and grieving over something that’s no one’s fault.”
Sian spoke while looking up at the sky. While the entire Empire was in upheaval over rumors of the black dragon that had attacked Antonio Carter’s dragon Brita, the sky remained obliviously clear and pristine.
“…Well, I expected Reva, who knows of your existence, would eventually make an issue of it. Though I didn’t think it would be this way.”
‘You were planning to expose Reva’s past as a dragon hunter when revealing my existence?’
“That was the plan… But as Carl said, we’ve been completely outmaneuvered.”
Sian rested her chin on her hand and sighed deeply again.
‘What about exposing Reva’s identity now?’
“On what grounds? To reveal that Reva is a dragon hunter, I’d have to reveal that I’m a dragon’s master. Black dragon’s master versus former dragon hunter—it’s obvious which one people would find more frightening.”
The dragon fell silent.
“…Besides, in the current situation, even if we exposed Reva’s identity, she could just leave. Dragon hunters are only despised by the Imperial family—they don’t have the same impact as black dragons.”
Another wave of bitter feelings swept over her. Once again, they weren’t Sian’s emotions.
“Maybe I should have revealed my identity earlier. It would have caused a stir, but at least you wouldn’t have been misunderstood as an evil dragon like now.”
Sian clicked her tongue. She had fully anticipated that Reva, knowing the secret of her being a black dragon’s master, might use it. If so, she should have made the first move to prevent the worst-case scenario, but her hesitation out of fear of revealing it to Carl, the silver dragon’s master, had been the root of the problem.
Fear that Carl might react the same way as her parents, who had abandoned their only daughter declaring the black dragon ominous.
‘The Imperial family and Temple can prove I have no connection to Pegadrasil. But how can we prove I’m not involved with the Dragon King’s death and Brita’s attack?’
“Proof doesn’t matter anymore—the rumors have spread too far. From what I hear, it’s practically accepted as fact…”
Sian’s voice trailed off. She had heard the sound of rustling grass from somewhere beyond the quiet garden.
She skillfully lifted her teacup to hide her expression. What she had first thought might be her imagination was definitely the presence of someone approaching. The sound of footsteps drew closer.
“What are you doing here?”
“Oh my, Carl.”
Though she had fully expected it would be him, Sian pretended to be startled as she greeted Carl.
“I came out here to think about some things.”
“Alone?”
Carl looked at the teapot and cup in front of Sian. His gaze checked whether she might have been with someone.
“You’ve been going out alone quite often lately.”
“My mind has been rather complicated.”
At Sian’s clumsy excuse, Carl sat down in the chair opposite her without pressing further.
“Is your troubled mind due to Mrs. Carter?”
“Well, various things…”
“Or is it because of the black dragon?”
Carl followed up with questions as Sian equivocated. Having just been discussing that very topic with her dragon, Sian almost showed a startled expression without meaning to.
Carl’s questions seemed incredibly natural, as if he knew everything.
What does he mean by asking like that? Sian felt her mouth going dry as she considered this.
“A noble assembly has been called regarding Brita’s attack. Though personally, I don’t think it’s worth such a fuss.”
“…Someone must be stirring things up. Making it seem like an enormous issue.”
Carl nodded.
“If it’s true, the appearance of an unknown dragon isn’t something to overlook.”
“…I heard His Highness the Crown Prince sent word to the Dragon Temple.”
“There’s been no response yet.”
Carl answered and looked at Sian. She wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or anxious that there had been no confirmation from the Temple yet. As she tried to hide her increasingly unstable expression by pretending to drink tea, she felt his gaze and looked up at Carl.
“Are you worried?”
As their eyes met, Carl asked with a smile. Though it undoubtedly felt that way because she had something to hide, it was quite a meaningful question to be asked so casually.
Officially, Sian had no connection to the black dragon. Not knowing why he would ask if she was worried or what she would have to be worried about, Sian took her time studying Carl.
“Lies always come to light one way or another.”
Who was that meant for? For Revenant? Or for herself, who was hesitating to reveal the truth?
Puzzled, Sian suppressed a sigh as she set down her teacup.
“Brita’s attack is surely a lie. The truth will come out somehow, so you needn’t worry too much.”
“…What would I have to worry about?”
“True enough. And yet, Sister, you’ve seemed that way ever since the black dragon stories began.”
At Carl’s smiling face, Sian slightly frowned.
