Chapter 40
What does he want me to do?
Leoni tried hard to suppress the urge to reply bluntly.
A seven-year-old puppy was showing off its cuteness right in front of her. She couldn’t possibly miss such a tremendous opportunity.
“Woof!”
“Yes, yes. How’s my hand temperature for you?”
Leoni gave Priscilla’s scruff a brilliant massage while waiting for Ivan’s next words. Staring at her impassive green eyes, he looked displeased.
“Why aren’t you reacting at all?”
“Pardon?”
Leoni paused, her mind racing.
“Umm. Sir Ivan, you’re truly amazing.”
“Is that all?”
…What kind of reaction am I supposed to have here?
But she couldn’t say that out loud.
It was worth remembering over and over: her opponent was a dragon. And a very impatient dragon at that.
“Geez.”
Ivan moved one of Priscilla’s paws as if it were his own hand. Priscilla’s forepaw came to rest neatly on the bridge of Leoni’s nose. Plop.
“I, this great being, guessed this thing’s age. Don’t you know how amazing that is?”
I, the great one, have deigned to know the age of this lowly creature, so worship me. Was that what he meant?
Even if that were the case, it’s human nature to not want to play along when the other person is being so spiteful.
When Leoni deliberately stared blankly at him, Ivan wrinkled his nose.
“Fine. Then I have no choice.”
He stroked his chin, then opened his mouth with a look of firm resolution.
“This great being will guess your age too, kiddo.”
“No. You don’t have to. You’re already very amazing.”
“Shut up, and hold still.”
Leoni tried to stop him, but it was no use.
Ivan’s expression was as triumphant as someone who had lived his entire life to answer this one question.
‘Even though I said he didn’t need to…’
Ivan’s face came right up to hers. He even gripped one of Leoni’s shoulders with his hand.
His gaze, which felt almost passionate, scanned her from head to toe. Feeling self-conscious, Leoni couldn’t stand his stare and looked away.
‘So unnecessarily handsome it’s burdensome…’
For this moment, she could understand why the officials at the Cooperation Bureau would get so worked up, saying their hearts ached whenever they got involved with Ivan.
A few seconds passed like that.
She thought he had brought it up merely out of curiosity, but Ivan observed her with surprising deliberation.
Honestly, she was just a little bit hopeful.
If he really did guess her age, she was willing, with a little exaggeration, to go around the Cooperation Bureau for a week praising Ivan.
Just as Leoni made that resolution in her mind, Ivan opened his mouth with a confident face.
“Forty?”
⊹ ࣪🍰˚⊹♡
Praise him? Forget it.
Leaving the one who had given the wrong answer behind her, Leoni walked ahead, and Ivan followed her, grumbling. Thanks to this, Priscilla had a fantastic walk.
“Woof!”
After a rather long walk, Priscilla returned to her sanctuary in the hanging garden.
Watching Priscilla’s retreating figure, wagging her tail happily, Leoni thought vaguely.
‘Somehow, living as Priscilla seems more comfortable than living as a Cooperation Bureau employee.’
A free house, free food, and someone to take her for a walk on time. And on top of that, a title.
‘Nah, that’s not it.’
After finishing her comparison, Leoni quickly shook her head.
That Welsh Corgi, despite her appearance, had a record of rather brave achievements. Of course, she herself had recently experienced something similar, but a person chasing away a person and a dog chasing away a person were on completely different levels.
“Kiddo, for a human, you’re looking at her with a lot of envy.”
“You don’t know anything, Sir Ivan. Do you have any idea how much Priscilla receives each month for her dignity maintenance allowance?”
Leoni, who was quietly looking at Priscilla’s two-story house in the hanging garden, looked up at Ivan.
“…Come to think of it, that son of a bitch dog probably gets a dignity maintenance allowance too.”
Ivan clicked his tongue loud enough to make a tsk tsk sound.
“It seems you humans really need to fix that blasted title system. What, a title? Does it make sense that I’m on the same level as that son of a bitch dog?”
“If you have a complaint, please go and take it up with His Majesty the Emperor or the Prime Minister directly.”
She was just a powerless person.
Having subtly shifted the responsibility to the highest elders of the Imperial Family and the Council, Leoni gave Priscilla a wave and headed back to the corridor.
She planned to think of another way to get through the warehouse within the day.
No matter how tight the security was, judging from Dylan’s words, it didn’t seem like there was absolutely no way to get in.
The corridor leading to the reception room where Ivan was staying had a different air of authority. Unlike the corridors used by regular staff, this one was adorned with all sorts of precious paintings and sculptures on the walls.
As she walked blankly, looking at them, the sound of footsteps followed her. Clack, clack.
“…Sir Ivan, how far are you going to follow me?”
“Huh?”
What is this, has the four-legged beast that needs walking been switched?
When she turned to look at Ivan, who was trailing behind her, he nonchalantly asked about her schedule.
“Where are you going now, kiddo?”
“…Where do you think I’m going? I have to go to work.”
Ivan tilted his head, one hand in his pocket.
“You’re not attending the meeting with the snake and the old kids?”
“Ah…”
It seemed Ivan had also been invited to the party Claude was attending.
Leoni shook her head.
“I’m not going. Sir Claude decided to go alone.”
“Hmm.”
Ivan looked into the distance. His face looked as if his excitement had waned.
“Are you attending today, Sir Ivan?”
“I have to. At the end.”
This meant that all imperial events would conclude with Ivan making an appearance at the very end. There were no exceptions, whether it was the Founding Festival in the spring or the Thanksgiving Festival in the fall.
“Are you planning to just pop in at the end of the party today as well?”
“Yeah, that’s what makes it fun.”
He answered casually with his hands stuck in his pockets.
He looked like he would find human events bothersome, but surprisingly, he was the type to enjoy people’s attention.
That was the very point Leoni could not understand. It would be one thing if it were just looks, but many people clung to Ivan.
If even an official who simply assists a dragon gets so many people attaching themselves to them, it was needless to say for him.
Everyone was afraid of Ivan, yet they were all frantic to get on his good side. It would be no different at this Thanksgiving Festival.
However, Ivan seemed to pay no mind, as if such under-the-surface power struggles were none of his business.
“If you enter at the end, Sir Ivan, does that mean His Majesty the Emperor will also make his appearance at the end?”
“I guess so. He and the kid will clean up after me.”
Irreverently, ‘he’ referred to the current emperor. ‘The kid’ must have meant Dylan.
He cracked his neck, making a crack sound.
“It’s a pain, but it gets even more annoying if I don’t go. Anyway, they all love their formalities so much.”
Although the Imperial Family had now taken a step back and no longer ruled the empire, it was still useful for displaying the empire’s honor and authority.
To borrow someone’s words, ‘a group of clowns carrying on tradition.’
But they were still treated as guests of honor at official events.
The imperial elders always entered such events accompanied by a dragon.
It was a ploy to emphasize that the empire was once a country ruled by an emperor and that it was a nation blessed by dragons.
Among them, Ivan’s influence was even greater as he was a dragon who had been present since the founding of the empire.
‘Well, at that level, he is in a position to act as he pleases.’
With a little exaggeration, the de facto emperor of the empire was as good as Ivan.
Even Philippa, the head of the executive branch, watched his moods and groveled. So there was no one to correct him even if he acted a little arrogant.
One would think he would be feared, but the general citizens of the empire, far from finding him difficult, actually liked him.
Inside the Cooperation Bureau, everyone walked on eggshells around Ivan, but he wasn’t like that outside.
‘He is quite popular outside. With women, too.’
“Ah.”
Suddenly, something came to mind. Leoni snapped her fingers. Snap.
“If you’re going to enter at the end, that means you’ll be outside until the Thanksgiving Festival is over, Sir Ivan?”
“Well, I guess so?”
For a rare moment, Ivan felt a sense of foreboding.
There were few beings under the sky that could make him feel anxious, but for a moment, the woman whose eyes were sparkling in front of him felt frightening.
For one thing, Leoni’s gaze didn’t seem like she was looking at a dragon at all.
Unaware of Ivan’s thoughts, Leoni turned her steps back towards the path to the warehouse.
“What are you doing? Hurry up. You were going to follow me around and annoy me anyway, right?”
“…What is it, all of a sudden.”
Leoni grinned.
⊹ ࣪🍰˚⊹♡
Leoni brought Ivan back to the front of the warehouse.
On the massive golden door, the empire’s symbol, a large dragon crest, was carved.
Ivan, who had been dragged along by the hand of a woman a head shorter than him, thought.
‘What am I doing right now.’
Although the difference in strength was obvious, he had been helplessly overpowered by the small hand leading him.
But the opponent had used neither the common threat nor seduction, so while the word was ‘dragged,’ it was no different from Ivan having followed of his own volition.
‘It’s not like I’m a hatchling, getting swayed by a woman’s hand…’
He didn’t even have time to finish the thought.
Just as he was thinking how pathetic he was, he had to face another human.
“Ah, good day, Sir Ivan!”
“Uh, yeah…”
The guard who had been dozing off in front of the warehouse shuddered and snapped into a salute.
From the guard’s perspective, it was a bolt from the blue.
The Thanksgiving Festival was customarily a festive atmosphere, so security tended to be lax. It was a golden opportunity to slack off, but then a dragon appeared.
Even Ivan’s awkward gait, as he inwardly agonized over what he was doing, looked majestic to the drowsy guard.
“What brings you here at this hour…?”
Cold sweat trickled down the hesitant guard’s forehead.
“Sir Ivan.”
Just then, Leoni whispered in Ivan’s ear.
“Do you happen to have any money?”