However, no matter how much I thought about it, I would have been imprisoned. They would be saying I was out of my mind, and at this point, I didnât think that Eris would die by hanging. To avoid suspicion, I had to pretend to be Eris.
What would Eris say? How did she behave? I was going to seriously think about it, but the prince couldnât stand it and tried to grab Helenaâs wrist and leave. Hence I just grabbed him with words. If I sent these two away like this, I wouldnât be able to sleep because itâs unfair.
Eris seemed to have built up her pride. At least thatâs what I read of her. A child who expects an innocent ending that she will eventually choose herself.
The Crown Prince stopped walking and turned his head at my words. He had a face full of ridicule.
âNot me, but the Imperial family? Youâre saying funny things. Didnât you say you were going to love me and marry me not too long ago? Wasnât that your real intention?â
Eris, youâve got a lot of things going on donât you? My cheeks hurt, but suddenly I felt drained. Did Eris really love the Crown Prince?
Later in the book, Helena denies that it is not love, but Helena did not know Eris. At least, thatâs what I thought. And I didnât know Eris either. Though I didnât know Eris, at least I wanted to be considerate of her feelings, if they were really so.
âI loved you. Not now.â
The Crown Prince somehow looked embarrassed when I looked straight at him and said it, Somehow his face looked young. Well, everyone here was younger than me. I sighed and added, thinking that it was only myself that I had to fight.
ââŠI mentioned the Imperial family because this is not my will either, but the marriage that my father and the Emperor are promoting. And if you want to get rid of it, donât be mad at me, ask, His Majesty. Now that Iâve made this fuss, I think it has already reached His Majestyâs ears.â
His face hardened knowing that he will have to confront his scary father.
I shook my head and went back and stood in front of the carriage, and the knight looked a little surprised when he saw my face. The knight hesitated a little and did not ask about the redness of my cheeks, but instead told me that something more tiring had happened.
âThereâs Lord Kazar inside.â
I left one, and now had to confront another. I felt like I wanted to die under the carriage,
Jason, who was trying to greet me at me, hardened his face. It seemed obvious that I was slapped by the prince. I thought he might want to kill me if I told him a joke that was uncomfortable or useless.
âNever mind. It had nothing to do with Lord Kazar.â
âIâll do as you please, lady.â
âBy the way, what brings you to this carriage?â,
Jason comfortably leaned back and clapped one foot with his legs crossed. The carriage, which I thought was quite spacious, somehow became narrow,
âThe Duke of Kazar wants to ask the Marquis about the oath ceremony of the knight. Iâm the only errand boy in the house, so I got a carriage. Horses get sick and tired of adventures. I donât want to use them for a while.â
âThe position of Lord Kazar should have been given the Imperial Household wagon.â
âBut thereâs no such beautiful lady in the royal carriage.â
It was interesting to see him talking with a constant smile even though he looked like he had a piece of dung stuck under his nose. Is that how you ask for help from the villagers and flirt with women passing by? I asked, while avoiding the greasy gaze on me,
âAre you going on your next adventure?â
âI donât know. I wanted to, but since I killed the dragon, the mother of nature, Iâm going to hide myself in the capital for a while. Because there are dragons that hate me.â
âI wantedâ? I originally asked him because I wanted him to disappear from my eyes, but an unexpected answer came back. It was described as just wanting to visit Helena and returning, but in fact, there was such an issue. This was quite interesting.
Jason was born after receiving a prophecy from the High Priest that he would become a âdragon killerâ. The Duke of Kazarâs family tree always produced generals, and because of the prophecy, Jason was raised under harsh and severe training at an early age,
The novel already started after Jason killed the dragon and returned, with Helena as a maid in the Imperial Palace. Since the book is about a love affair, it seems that he could not help it.
It was the setting where Jason fell for Helena because she looked at Jason, instead of a person who was raised as a tool for killing the dragonâŠ
âThereâs some time before we get to the Marquis, so tell me a little more about your story.â
ââŠ.. You are unexpected. I thought you werenât interested.â
With a slightly surprised look on his face, Jason quickly recovered and smiled again. I could see it slyly coated like slippery butter, so I replied more coldly.
âIâm not interested. Itâs because I donât like Lord Kazar asking me questions. At least you wonât ask me a question while you are talking.â
âBe coldâŠâŠâŠ All right. Whatever the intention, I canât refuse the ladyâs request.â
âWhere should I start? As for the prophecy, there are rumors outside the Empire, so I donât have to tell you. I was trained to kill the dragon. I had to hold the sword as soon as I walked, and since then, could never take a day offâŠâ,
I used to resent my parents, but I didnât knowâŠâŠâŠ Now that I think about it, they did it to protect me. If it werenât for Helena, I wouldnât have realized it until itâs too late and would have regretted
I knew I was going to be a dragon killer, but I didnât know when or how I was going to kill it. The family wanted to turn me into a knight, but I⊠I saw it differently.
I felt threatened by the prophecy and feared that dragons might attack wherever I am. So I wandered around. I didnât know if there was a reason to be stronger.
Now that I think about it, I think there was another reason. There was uncertainty and I might have given up. Maybe I thought I could dieâŠ.But in my heart, I had to come back alive.
I met a lot of friends while I was wandering. It was a good time. The best relationship among them was, by far, the dragon. Haha, you looked a bit surprised.
âŠâŠ You thought she was a princess? No, where did the rumor stop⊠Hmmm, like a fairy tale, across swamps and mountains, across rivers and fields, the dragon was huge.
I wondered if I would ever see such a big creature in my life again. Iâll let you know that I found out later, as they say, the perception of size differs in proportion to the fear and pressure one
has.
I realized it for the first time. I was actually scared. I wanted to run away because I wanted to live and I thought this whole situation was absurd.
Why was I the only one training when other kids were running around? Actually, I wanted to stay at home, but why should I be the only one wandering around? Yes, itâs funny, but I couldnât complain until I faced the dragon. Maybe it was because I thought it was really my last day. Even if you beat the dragon, you canât go back to normal.
However, the dragon somehow spoke in a sad and calm voice,
âEven though it would have been a moment for you, the time I waited for you was too long.
âDid you know I was coming?â
I asked him without pointing the knife. The dragon said that it was not God that gave the revelation, but the dragon, for he manipulated the priest in order to die.
The dragon was not allowed to die by natural causality, because he told me that he was the best product of nature and that it was possible because he paid enough for it. And then the dragon shut its mouth.
What I saw wasnât a dragon, and the person afraid of dragons disappeared without a trace. Instead, I had to find and stab his heart,
When I finally poked itâs heart, the earth shook.
And I got life.
⊠It was a good story, but I didnât really sympathize with it. Well, there was no part to sympathize with, and no, I was not interested in Jason enough to sympathize with him.
Rather, I paid attention to other parts. Instead of his stupid family history, I was worried about the fact that the dragon had to manipulate the priest in order to die. Not allowed to die by natural causality. That part too.
Somehow, it seemed to be a clue. I was sorry for Jason, who was in a wistful mood, but I tapped him on the hand and asked.
âDo you happen to know who the manipulated priest was? And what do you mean by not being allowed to die by natural causality?â,
âI heard that Priest Prometheus was old and passed away in his hometownâŠâŠ I donât know much about natural causality. The dragon only gave the answer, not explaining it to me. Well, I think you can understand it from the eyes of a trivial human beingâŠâ
I thought he would be suspicious if I asked any more, so I roughly nodded. I wanted to find out more. One of the great things about the Empire was that it had a culture for good information agencies, and that it wasnât illegal.
Jason, glancing at me, asked after thinking about it.
âYouâre not talking informally to meâŠâ
âThatâs because weâre not in such a friendly relationship. Therefore, itâs not a relationship that can be treated as such.â
When I deliberately said it colder on purpose in case a friend request came out again, he shut his mouth, with an expression resembling a scolded puppy. He wasnât even a real dog, so it didnât have the same effect.
When I arrived at the mansion, Jason got off first and reached out to me. I didnât really want to hold it, but since the proper etiquette demanded it, I just tried to put my hands on top of his and get out. But Jason held my hand tightly
âDonât blame them too much. Being only in the Imperial Palace, even Iâm awkward because Iâve never met my peers.â
âI know itâs past the age to be forgiven for being awkward.â
With my arm bent inward, once again, Jasonâs affection fell with defending Helena and the Crown Prince.
There arenât many people who can strike the Marquisâ daughter, it was even more so when he said that to me, the victim, even though he knew who hit me in the face.
Even if it was a small child, youâd be scolded by your friend for not doing this, but instead youâre protecting an adult to this extent.
âMy father will be in his study. Then I wish you all the best.â
As if to shake off the hand I was holding, I bowed slightly with my legs. I said goodbye properly, so you should too?
Fortunately, Jason was rather tactful. He bowed bitterly and bent his arms.