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Don’t Pull the Sleeping Dragon’s Scales (4)
Translated by Wook
Edited by Wook
Caesar decided to take a break from sword training until his arm healed.
In the meantime, Leonard and Caesar gathered almost every day to play cards. It was Leonard’s suggestion in consideration of Caesar, but after about five days, they got bored.
Moreover, the rainy season had begun, and it was not possible to leave the house. The mood was dropping, and a heavy air wafted around the mansion.
It must have been the sixth day after the rainy season began.
Hamilton brought up the story.
“Come to think of it, it sometimes appears in the duke’s residence on a day like this.”
Afternoon with low thunder.
As always, the three of us, who were sitting in the room, raised our heads at the same time like meerkats at Hamilton’s outrageous remarks.
“What will appear?”
Caesar and I were going to ignore Hamilton’s words, but Leonard, the kindest person in the world, naively accepted Hamilton’s words.
“A ghost.”
Aha, I knew it.
He’s going to tease the children.
I snorted, but Leonard and Caesar’s eyes widened at Hamilton’s story.
“On a rainy summer night like this, a woman in blue appears in the basement.”
“T-That’s a lie.”
Caesar stuttered.
“There are a lot of witnesses.”
“Leonard, have you seen it?”
“No, Your Highness. My parents wouldn’t let me go into the basement.”
Leonard answered, shaking his head vigorously. Hamilton received those words right away.
“Look. They stopped you from going because ghosts came out.”
Perhaps it sounded quite plausible, as Caesar and Leonard froze without even breathing.
How pathetic.
They wouldn’t let you go into the basement only because it’s dangerous. It’s humid and cold, and the stone steps are slippery and dark.
“I guess the princess is not scared?”
Excited by the reaction of the two terrified boys, Hamilton looked at me and asked.
“There is no such thing as a ghost in the world.”
“It may not be.”
Hamilton sighed and took a step back. He was just trying to tease the children, and he didn’t seem to believe in ghosts.
“But it is true that there are many eyewitnesses.”
“If one or two people mistakenly say they saw a ghost, they probably saw the shadows flickering nearby which looks like a ghost.”
“No. Ghosts do exist.”
As if contradicting my words, Caesar spoke firmly. Why the hell are you so serious about this kind of useless thing?
“There is one in the Imperial Castle. When the sun goes down, the evil dragon Krusech, which Emperor Dante Renatus sealed in her youth, flies through the northern corridor.”
Oh, yeah. The dragon that I sealed. Why is he flying there? It should have rotted away with its body.
At that moment, a servant knocked on the door. Leonard and Caesar shrank at the same time with a “hiiik”.
“Excuse me, Viscount. I have something to discuss with you about the carriage repair.
.”
“Oh, right. That happened. Then excuse me for a moment.”
Hamilton quickly got up from his seat and left the room.
As the only adult left the room, the two boys looked like they didn’t know what to do. Scaredy-cats.
“Will there really be a ghost?”
Oh my, are you still going to continue the conversation on that topic? I shook my head and answered Caesar.
“The Viscount is trying to make fun of us.”
“Hamilton isn’t humorous enough to play such a trick.”
“He looked pretty humorous.”
I grumbled, and Caesar and Leonard both looked at me, their gaze tense.
“Has Leonard ever seen a ghost?”
“No. What about Your Highness?”
“Me too. It’s scary, but aren’t you curious?”
“I don’t know
 What if it’s harmful?”
“I think it’ll be okay to sneak a peek.”
“Wait, you two. I feel like I’m doing something very annoying right now.”
For some reason, the direction of the conversation seemed to be heading towards a strange place, so I, who was listening quietly, interrupted.
Surely they’re not going to say nonsense like let’s go see a ghost, are they? Yes?
“We are going to check out the ghost.”
Crap. I told you.
I clicked my tongue at Caesar’s suggestion.
“If you want to do it, you two do it. I’m not going to do it.”
“Aren’t you curious?”
“Yeah, I’m not curious. I hate annoying things.”
“Doesn’t it bother you that there’s a ghost in your house?””
“I don’t believe in ghosts. Did you not hear me?”
“Great. Gather in my room at midnight. Let’s go and check it out together.”
“Ah, whatever. I’m not going.”
I raised my voice and said.
Why do young children work so hard to satisfy such trivial curiosity?
Now, I have no motivation to keep pace with the energetic curiosity of young children.
“Do you hate it that much, Helena? I think it would be pretty fun if the three of us went together.”
Leonard looked at me with sparkling eyes and asked. Ugh, stop it. Seeing my brother’s innocent expression makes it impossible to refuse.
Caesar snorted at Leonard and attempted to stop him.
“Leave her alone. Helena must be scared of ghosts.”
“Who’s scared?”
“It’s okay, I understand. Yeah, it’s too much for a 10-year-old. These big brothers will go and check this out, so you can sleep in your nanny’s arms.”
“Ha! Big brothers?!”
When I beat up my brothers and took over the emperor’s position, these punks didn’t even exist?!
I jumped up from my seat.
“Don’t go back and cry because you’re scared later on! I won’t be bothered to take care of you!”
***
I realized too late.
‘Damn it!’
I realized how childish and foolish I was for falling to such provocation.
Oh my god, is this reality? What made me fall for the fuss of a 14-year-old boy and join this cumbersome plot?
‘Should I tell Hamilton about this so he’d stop them
 No, if I did, Caesar, that kid, would tease me for the rest of my life as a coward. I hate that!’
“My lady, are you uncomfortable?”
“Huh? No, no. Nothing. I’m going to sleep now, so you can go, Bessie.”
I waved my hand at Maid Bessie, who was worried about me, and let her go.
“Sigh. What do you mean ghost?”
I sighed as I checked the clock.
I was not impressed by the ghost story. It’s so boring.
“I’m happy for the kids. I can’t believe they can be so passionate about such trivial stories.”
After thinking about this and that, it suddenly became midnight. I left my pillow in the blanket and sneaked out of the bedroom.
When I arrived in front of Caesar’s room, Leonard and Caesar were waiting for me. Both were so motivated that on the contrary, my motivation disappeared.
We went down the stairs at the end of the hallway and stood in front of the small door leading to the basement. Naturally, the basement door was locked with a rusty padlock.
“W-What should we do? It’s locked.”
“Um, shall we break the lock?”
“Oh, that’s a good spirit, Leonard!”
Hey, wait a minute, young lord? Break what? We are not robbers.
“Sigh. Get out of my way. I will open it.”
I pulled out my hairpin and stood in front of the door.
“What? Can you pick the lock?”
“Great job, Brother! There’s nothing I can’t do!”
“I’ve done this a lot in the past
 I read a book written by someone else.”
When I was a vagrant, I was adept at stealing, pickpocketing, and miscellaneous crimes. Picking a lock is ridiculously easy.
With the respectful eyes of the two men, I opened the door.
The basement was dark from the stairs down. The smell of moisture and dust was unpleasant. Caesar, who was at the forefront, frowned.
“Whoa, it’s hot. I’m suffocating.”
“Your Highness, Helena. It’s dark, so watch your feet.”
Relying on the candle, we went down the stairs in the order of Caesar, me, and Leonard.
‘Wow, it’s a bit scary.’
I don’t believe in ghosts, but the basement has its own creepy vibe.
‘I have to pull myself together. I’m the only one who’ll take care of these kids if anything happens.’
Going down carefully, it took quite a while to get down to the end. As I went down the stairs, I found a spacious space, bars, and a tunnel that led further inward.
“I think that inside is a waterway. I can hear the sound of water.”
Caesar said, and we both nodded in agreement.
“There is nothing, Your Highness.”
“Right, I told you there’s no ghost.”
Shaking my body lightly, I grumbled. The cold air blowing from the other side of the tunnel made me shiver.
‘It was suffocatingly hot because of the air that couldn’t escape, but it’s cold here again.’
Hot air and cold air are intertwined in a small space.
Hmm, what happened in this case? I’ve heard that there’s a strange phenomenon

“Hey, t-t-that over there. What is t-t-that?”
Huh? Leonard, why are you stuttering all of a sudden?
At the same time, Caesar and I turned our heads toward the tunnel Leonard was pointing at.
It was dark inside. The black space made people nervous.
And in that black space.
“
 A person?”
Really, there was someone.
A woman in blue
 and only the upper body!
“I-I-It’s a ghost!”
“Uwaaaaah!”
Caesar and Leonard screamed at the same time. Oh, it’s so distracting.
“Be quiet, both of you! They will hear you!”
“Run away! Let’s run away!”
“We’ll be cursed for sure!”
“Oh, hang on. Argh!”
I wanted to slowly check the identity of the ghost, but there was no time for that. Because these two cowardly guys grabbed my hands and ran up the stairs like crazy.
I’m grateful for the kindness that takes care of me even in a situation where they’re scared to death.
“There are no ghosts in this world!”
Look at this. I told you it’d be annoying, right?
It’s really the worst night ever.
***
Even after leaving the basement, the two screamed and ran down the hallway, and unfortunately, I had no choice but to be dragged around by both hands by the crazy two men.
Eventually, the ghost disturbance ended only after waking up all the people of the mansion. The two almost cried and explained the existence of ghosts, but the adults seemed to be half-skeptical.
Rather, the three of us were punished for being caught breaking the door into a locked basement. Shamefully, we were sitting next to each other on our knees in the hallway with our hands raised.
“Cowards.”
Why on earth should I be scolded? I’m just a poor victim caught up in this frenzy of youthful vigor.
“That’s just a mirage.”
Being punished in the hallway, I explained to the two men who were still terrified.
“A mirage? Wasn’t it only seen in the desert”?
“If the temperature difference of air in one space is too sharp, a mirage can be seen.”
To my explanation, Leonard said “Oh, is that so?” and nodded with a blank face. Rather than understanding it, it seemed that he just wanted to accept that because he was afraid of ghosts.
But Caesar was still pale.
“Do you not understand Caesar?”
“I know. A mirage.”
“Then why do you still have a frightened face?”
“Helena, there is one thing you are overlooking.”
“What’s that?”
“A mirage is when a shape in another place is reflected in the air by the refraction of light.”
“I know that much. Isn’t it like a portrait?”
I frowned, and Caesar looked at me with his pupils shaking as if an earthquake had occurred.
“Do you have a portrait like that in the basement?”

 Umm.
Ummmm

Hold on a second. Because I got goosebumps on the back of my neck.
Suddenly, the atmosphere became cold. There was a heavy and uncomfortable silence. We exchanged glances with each other, and no one could say anything.
At that moment, lightning and the sound of thunder roaring at the same time could be heard from outside the window.
“Uwaaah!”
“Kyaaah!”
“Aaaah!”
The three of us trembled and hugged each other at the same time as if we had made an agreement. Honestly, I think I even shed a little tears.
I’m scared! Who the hell is that girl? What is she? I’m scared! It’s really scary!
“I hate ghosts!”
Rumble— Clap!
It is a night when the rainy season, which brought fear, passes.
***
And after a few days.
“Oh, you mean the ghost? Actually, the tiles on the waterway floor are reflected. The waterway floor is covered with white and blue mosaic tiles. Almost everyone in the duke’s residence knew it, did you really not know?”
When asked again about the ghost, Hamilton excitedly explained the ghost’s identity.
“After all, it wasn’t a ghost.”
Leonard said with a tired face.
“We only saw the waving shadows and mistook them for a human.”
Caesar also added with a blank face/
“In short
 only three of us have become idiots.”
The last thing I said was so absurd.
“Hey, did all three of you think it was a real ghost? Haha! How cute! Well, aren’t you glad that you have good memories together now?”
Good memories, your shit!
I can’t believe that I’ve made a black history in my second life!
‘I can’t live with this shame!’
Thus, the three of us had an experience that we had never wanted, building the same dark history at one time a day.
Since then, the three of us have become sharply closer. The reason was simple. This is because an unspoken pledge was signed not to disclose each other’s dark history.
Later, whenever people asked about the origin of our friendship, we would think of this day tacitly.
We only think of it, but we’ve never spoken out about it. Not even once.