CH 44

[Third Person POV]

At Anastasia’s answer, the twins burst into sneers as if they were dumbfounded.  However, unlike their ridicule, the hand grasping onto the red sword was full of strength.

Diwen smiled innocently as if she was correct.

“That’s right. Humans who have lost dragon bones have to live as cripples without arms, but what can we do?”

He spat out the frightful words casually, deliberately made a surprised expression, and let out a pitiful voice.

“Ah, come to think of it, you were an organist, weren’t you?”

“… …”

“All right, I understand. When you go back to being a human, you have to continue playing, so I’ll just cut one arm off, okay?”

Diwen, who was talking happily, took a few steps closer to the twins and tilted his head. The two pupils disappeared between the curved eyes.

“Don’t make that face.”

“… …”

“You’re twins, so you can play it well with one arm. Twins playing together with one arm. Even if muse or something doesn’t support you guys, you’ll become more famous. Don’t you think so?”

“…….”

“Anyway, exchanging a good arm for fame. Isn’t that a deal that’s beneficial to you?”

Diwen muttered familiar words as if he was making fun of them.

The man’s soft expression was gone. He wasn’t an idiot, so he could see what Diwen was thinking when he said that. A feeling of humiliation surged through his stomach, and he ground his teeth.

Diwen, on the other hand, took a long breath of air, not caring whether the opponent ground his teeth or not. At that moment, the air around them changed.

A creepy and strong aura that overwhelms the dragon aura that was thickly spread over the concert hall.

It was the energy of a slayer.

***

[Renée’s POV]

Chikchik.

“What.”

I turned the doorknob with the thought of going out, but what I was greeted with was a sound like something was blocked.

I couldn’t believe it, so I turned the doorknob once more, but the sound I heard was the same.

The door is locked… …?

Then I’m trapped!

After thinking that far, I slammed the door without thinking twice. Even screaming that someone is trapped.

I swear, I had no intention of breaking down the door. It was to let people know that I was here, but as soon as I hit it a few times, a hole pierced my hand and my hand went out the door.

For a moment, I naturally bent my arms and turned the doorknob as I originally intended.

Um, they made the door really weak. Did they make it weak so that one could escape easily when they were trapped like this?

When I did some kind of denial of reality,  I heard a click and the door opened. Fortunately, there seemed to be no problem with the latch.

“Then it means someone locked it. What son of a b*tch… … ”

I muttered a bloody curse and came out. There was no one in the hallway on the second floor. The only sound was the sound of the noise going down the stairs. It’s probably the audience who ran away.

I, too, tried to dash up the stairs to join the group. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my scalp as if my hair had gotten caught somewhere, and my center of gravity shifted backward. Soon after, I fell on my buttocks on the floor.

“Ouch……”

Wow, this is embarrassing……. I turned my head, thinking that Diwen would have laughed at me if he had seen it. To get rid of the hair I didn’t know where it got caught.

However, what came into view was none other than polished shoes. Yes, shoes.

…… Shoes?

On my buttocks, I was sitting on the border between the box seats and the hallway. The box seats were still dark, but the light pouring in from the hallway made it much more visible than before.

That’s why the shoes I’m looking at right now can’t be an illusion… …

I felt something cool and slowly raised my trembling eyes. Passing through the shiny shoes that receive the light as it is, and past the well-groomed trouser hem… …

I see a hand clenching my coral-colored hair. Anyone can see it’s my hair. And a familiar yet unfamiliar brooch on the chest.

The reason I’m familiar with this brooch is that I’ve seen it just a few hours ago, the reason it’s unfamiliar is… …

I’m sure it’s because it used to be bright red, but now it’s blue.

Don’t tell me…

There was only one thought in the ever-increasing heartbeat.

That you have to run away from here right now. However, as if it had frozen, the body did not move. I could only raise my head as if possessed, and soon everything came into view.

The person holding the ends of my hair firmly, the person with gross scales growing on the nape of his neck, cheeks, and the back of his hands, and the whites of his eyes black.

The person whose eyes, which were chestnut-colored, turned murky blue and looked more blunt, with a clear vertical iris drawn in the center of the eyes.

It was one of the Bradley brothers.

‘How did you get here? Weren’t Anastasia and Diwen dealing with him?’

The thoughts didn’t last long. Because as soon as our eyes met, the man let go of my hair. Naturally, long hair couldn’t overcome gravity and fell down.

A moment passed. When that moment felt infinitely long, the man tore off the brooch.

The blue jewel brooch instantly turned into a sword.

Before I could react, he immediately swung his sword at me.

Perhaps it was a survival instinct, but only then did my hardened body move and barely avoid the blade.

“You avoid it well.”

A disparate voice flowed from the mouth of the unknown twin. I could tell right away. That’s not his voice. It must be the voice of a dragon that has encroached upon him!

I didn’t even have to think twice. I had to run away before the half-dragon swung the sword again.

But a barrier rose and blocked my way before I could even get out of the door.

This is the subspace of the dragon that Reden mentioned… …

“No, no. If you run away, it will be annoying.”

A strange, high-pitched voice broke my thoughts. Startled, I turned around and immediately felt a dull pain in the back of my neck and my vision turned upside down.

“Ugh.”

As I fell backward, a brief but intense pain came to my back and back of my head. Soon after, I was strangled and my throat tightened.

“Heugh…”

I frowned because it was difficult to breathe, but I barely opened my eyes and stared up.

Right in front of me, ‘it’ with disgusting blue scales on its cheeks was looking down at me with a delighted face. while choking me with one hand.

“Let’s go calmly. If you rebel, I’ll have to cut your arms and legs, but don’t you hate it when it hurts?”

“Wh…at.”

I barely grabbed the half-dragon’s wrist, muttering as if it was not worth listening to. And with all my might, I almost tore off his arm.

Maybe he was careless, but half-dragon’s hand fell off easily to the point of futility.

I didn’t miss the gap and kicked him fiercely. For some reason, the half-dragon was slammed on to the ground and pushed away.

What, by any chance, are you weak? No way. The strangling force was no joke.

I inadvertently touched my neck and flinched. As I removed my hand, I felt a sharp pain as if it had been scratched.

But I couldn’t stay still stupidly because I was hurt.

I hurriedly threw off my most obtrusive shoes, stood up, and tore off the hem of my skirt.

I took off my shoes and ripped off my skirt with the courage to fight right away, but… … . What now? I can’t even escape because of the subspace. But it’s too reckless to fight a half-dragon holding a sword.

“Damn the b*tch… … “

Half-dragon quickly stood up. The black tailcoat was covered in dust and looked gray.

I glanced at my surroundings. There was nothing that could be used as a weapon. At least the wine bottle on the table in the corner?

I sneakily slipped and reached out behind my back to where it was and grabbed the wine bottle upside down.

If I break his head with this, he may die, but the opponent’s spirit has already been eroded by the dragon. It’s not gonna die easily.

No, why are you doing this to me? Why did you come here?

As I vomited out a lot of questions in my mind, there was a voice that passed through my head like lightning.

‘And so rarely, the muse asked’

‘I’ll bring someone after the concert.’

Just before the lights went off, one of Bradleys was talking at length about something I wasn’t even curious about.

Yeah, that’s right. That’s what you said, right?

In other words, am I the ‘someone’ that the muse asked me to bring?

It didn’t add up, that’s right, wasn’t I the muse? Renée Blair told him to bring Renée Blair, what nonsense.

‘Two months ago, the muse I met after three years… …’

Bradley’s words came to mind again. Come to think of it, you said you met your muse two months ago. The doubt that I had felt a little while ago resurfaced.

Because, two months ago, I had a torn stomach and had been sleeping for a month, so I wouldn’t be able to meet you.

So I’m not the muse Bradley met. Therefore…

So this is…

‘What… … Is that bullshit?’

No conclusions were drawn at all. I didn’t even understand.

Maybe I’m not a muse? But the letter said muse. Unless he wrote ‘muse’ as a lie in the letter, it would be right that I was a muse for Bradley.

Then what if there was not just one Renée Blair muse, but several?

Thinking that far, I shook my head right away.

No. Bradley hammered into our heads on the stage that there’s only one muse.

Then who the hell is the muse the Bradley brothers met two months ago? Renée Blair impersonator?

The curiosity did not go away in the end. If something was going to make sense, it didn’t make sense on the other end. I thought my head would split in two at this rate, so I decided to be ignorant.

“Looking at the situation… … I think the person the muse asked you to bring was me, but who is it that says to bring me?”

Yeah. If I ask you this openly, I won’t have anything to lose.

Half-dragon, who had been crumpling his face violently, suddenly giggled as if it was funny. It was an amazing level of emotional ups and downs.

“If you’re curious, you can just follow me quietly. I’m sure he wants you to follow him yourself.”

I frowned involuntarily. It wasn’t because the answer was that I couldn’t figure out who the muse was at all.

Right now, did you call the muse him?

Judging by the disparate voice and the scales covering the skin, it must be the dragon that is now in control of that body.

By the way, the dragon is using the honorific title of “him.” The person called ‘Muse’ must be a human too.

‘Yes…… it’s strange to think of it. Why does that dragon that has encroached on his body follow Bradley’s will?’

The half-dragon I saw for the first time in the palace ignored the words of the count who shouted to kill me immediately. Blinded by his own desires, he was in a hurry to find the Hugo Knights.

So why does that half-dragon want to follow the twin’s will and take me with him? Because it’s fun?

The muse who asked me to come with him just for fun… … That half-dragon calls ‘him’ in honorifics?

“As expected, it’s weird.”

“Weird?”

Half-Dragon asked back as if he had misheard. On the other hand, I looked around slowly, pretending not to hear it.

The deep blue barrier, the space that Reden described as the dragon’s subspace, is covered in all directions, and inside it, to my dismay, is the half-dragon and I.

Last time there were two dragon slayers, but now it’s just me.

So it’s normal to be scared… …  It’s normal to be terrified… …

Strangely, I wasn’t scared. Something… … It was very close to being seen.

“Tell me, what’s weird!”

The impatient half-dragon shouted. I squeezed the mouth of the wine bottle tightly as if it were a rope, then calmly opened my mouth.

“I’ve only seen a dragon once, but I’ve come to realize something painfully. It’s that dragons look down on humans.”

“Yes, humans are useless and insignificant!”

“But you… You’re following Bradley’s will to take me. Why is that? Bradley is, as you say, useless and insignificant.”

Half-dragon shut up at my question. I narrowed my eyes at the reaction.

“Of course, you may follow the will of man simply because you want to. But you’re not just…….”

I paused for a moment and looked at the floor.

Soon after, I raised my head very slowly, as if I had a realization.

“You called the person who asked Bradley to bring me with him, ‘muse’. In other words, ‘muse’ is someone that you, a dragon, can respect. Or a high-ranking person to you.”

“…….”

“No. No… No matter how hard it is, there is no way to respect him as long as he is a ‘person’….”

Looking at the half-dragon with a stupid face, I slowly corrected my words.

“Not a high-ranking ’person’…….”

“…….”

“By any chance, are you ‘Dragon’?”

TL/N: Hihi this portion is a little confusing, but my guess is that Renée is questioning why this half-dragon calling ‘Muse’ in honorifics and going with what the twins want, (as compared to the previous case with the Count) when she has found them to be extremely arrogant.

So she concludes that there’s no way that this half-dragon can address a person in honorifics since he looks down on human beings- hence she deduces that the muse(?) is a dragon.

Hope this clears up any confusion!