âI donât know why the person behind the scenes is targeting me, but as long as theyâre targeting me, the tail will be caught someday, but if Iâm with them, far from catching the tail, they might hide it. In the end, the moment the Knights take charge of me, it can be counterproductive rather than effective.â
My mouth was dry after talking for a long time. I wanted to drink water, but there was no water here. I swallowed dryly and continued talking.
âAbove all, I donât want to cause any harm, Your Majesty. Of course, Your Majesty must have given orders with me in mind, but Iâm fine. As Your Majesty said, Iâm good at taking care of myself even if Iâm alone⊠âŠâ
For a moment, I recalled what the king had said and extended the end of my words. It wasnât long before I remembered them all.
âBecause Iâm like a little dragon who has high magic resistance, is strong, and dodges well.â
I laughed out loud at the end. But awkwardly, I was enveloped in silence.
I thought the king would be at a loss for words if I pointed this out, but I was a little taken aback because I hadnât expected to be engulfed in silence to this extent.
So I stopped laughing and looked around with my hands put together, and the king sighs.
âHuuâŠâŠ I see. If your position is like that, I canât force you either.â
Ooh, but she seems to listen to me.
Guys, thatâs a relief, right? The thing you feared didnât happen!
But for some reason, the childrenâs expressions were not good.
No, to be precise, it was serious faces, as if lost in thought.
âThen letâs do thatâŠâŠ.â
The king nodded and was about to say something else.
Zion cautiously opened his mouth.
âOn second thought, I think it would be more dangerous for you to be alone.â
Eh?
I beg your pardon?
Zion finished talking.
âIn a situation where the lady has already been targeted twice, there is no guarantee that it will not happen again. Rather, they will aim for more, so it would be better if you always accompany us.â
âThat would be convenient for us and the lady.â
Suddenly, Zion and Anastasiaâs opinions were right.
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Embarrassed, I refuted.
âNo, didnât you hear me just now? No, didnât you hear that? If Iâm with the Knights, they might not come even if I was coming?â
It was so absurd that my voice cracked and it wasnât even a fuss.
Itâs possible that they would look at me with pity, but Zion shook his head regardless.
âI donât think so. If they cared about us, Count Sirius wouldnât have acted that way. It was the royal palace where the banquet was held to celebrate the Knights of Hugo.â
âŠThatâs true.
But!
âI, but I can take good care of myself. I fought Bradley well aloneâŠâŠ.â
âYes, I will obey Your Majestyâs words.â
It was then. Reden cut my words, which I was protesting hard, and suddenly changed his argument as if flipping his hand.
âHooo.â
The king muttered like this was interesting.
I looked at Reden like a betrayed person, and Reden didnât even give me a glance.
How could you do this? You were all acting like you heard some crap earlier, everyone!
In fact, the kingâs order to accompany them was not unpleasant to me. But everyone seemed to hate it, so I risked my life to refute the kingâs words⊠âŠ
What do I become when things go on like this!
I was struggling alone and looked at Diwen, my last hope.
Diwen, who was not looking good today, lowered his eyes and crossed his arms.
Hey, Diwen, are you listening?
However, the words that finally came out of Diwenâs lips were truly shocking.
âI did not disobey Her Majestyâs order in the first place.â
Heeeyy, you punk. You refuted that it was an illusion when I caught the activated dragon bone, and it was a coincidence.
At this point, I felt like I didnât want to yield. Itâs time to open my mouth to refute once again.
The king raised her hand.
âNow, I think itâs better to let you know at this point. Come on, go get that.â
That?
The king suddenly began to say something else, which stopped me from protesting. Shortly thereafter, an escort knight who had gone somewhere in accordance with the kingâs order came with something.
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It was a piece of paper.
âEveryone knows, thereâs a fire in the dungeon. Thanks to the rapid extrication of prisoners, casualties are minimal.â
The king, who looked at the paper, suddenly brought up the fact that the dungeon was on fire.
âThere was such a big fire but two people died, so it was a bargain. Donât you think so?â
Die? Two people?
I couldnât manage my expression at the shocking news. The king smiled at me like that.
âOne corpse had no arms, and one corpse had intact limbs. It was so badly burned that it was hard to figure out who it was. But it looks like my wizards worked hard. Identification completed.â
I suddenly feel a chill. My lips were dry and my throat was thirsty.
âThe body without arms is Eric Bradley. Not long ago, he was famous as an organist.â
Flutte, the king waved the paper.
âIs he famous as the destroyer of Horrenne House now? Letâs move on. Who do you think the other one is?â
The king asked me.
I couldnât answer. Itâs because my mouth couldnât open. The king only smiled with a knowing face.
âHe has devoted his life to the royal palace and lived as a dungeon gatekeeper. Itâs a pity.â
ââŠâŠBradleyâŠIsnât itâŠ?â
âWhy? Did you want the Bradley brothers to die?â
I was speechless again and the king shook her head.
âHe canât die. Heâs the one who started the fire, and heâs the one who killed his brother. Itâs just a trick. He wants you to believe that the Bradley brothers are all dead.â
â⊠âŠWhy⊠âŠâ
Why? I asked the obvious.
Trying to ignore the ominous beating of my heart, I remembered what had happened at Horrenne House.
The one who strangled me, laughed grotesquely, and said he wondered what his muse would look like if my arm were cut off.
He set fire to the dungeon himself. It is said that he used his brother and an innocent guard as bait to escape.
TL/N: Korean slang/idiom for fearless, perhaps recklessly so
The kingâs voice fell infinitely lower.
âNevertheless, the plague trembled here. They dared to open fire, and they dared to run out of my sight. But do you really think they will care that you are with them*?â
TL/N: The knights and wizards.
The king crumpled the paper in her hand.
âAbsolutely not. Rather, they will turn their eyes upside down*.â
TL/N: Korean idiom for to be mad, insane
Tuk, the crumpled paper fell to the floor. And crunch, the king stepped on it.
âItâs a royal order, six of you, whatever you do.â
Bright blonde hair, in contrast, dark gray eyes that looked different from before.
âCatch those that have been unruly three times in my district.â
TL/N: Iâm not very sure but Iâm assuming 1- The banquet, 2- Horrenne House, 3- Dungeon fire.
***
[Esolaâs POV]
âI donât feel good. Itâs no different than half-threatening.â
After sending everyone out, Esola muttered while sitting on her throne. Then, like a shadow, the escort knight next to Esola thought.
âYou just threatened.â
âOho, you. I can hear everything in your mind.â
âAhaha! Did you hear what I thought about how many laps Iâd do today at the gymnasium? Iâm sorry, Your Majesty. I have been nosy.â
âEhh tch. Why is everyone not cute. Shouldnât you be so scared that you stutter a lot when that happens?â
Esola muttered disapprovingly. The escort knight sighed inwardly.
âCause if you donât do this, your throat will be cut off.â
It was simply a way of survival.
Esola tilted her head after saying for a while that she didnât have any cute kids.
âNo. Our Lady Blair is so cute. Ahaha! If I only had a son, I would arrange it!â
It was Esola who had been cursing at her for not responding to her invitation just a few days ago.
The escort knight remembered every detail of it but wisely kept quiet.
It was a conversation that would have been absurd if the parties had heard.
After several absurd conversations between Esola and the escort knight, the escort managed to spit out the questions he had been feeling a few hours ago.
However, I couldnât utter those words in this situation, so I sighed instead.
âBut just talk with me. How do you want me to be with you all?â
As I was grumbling, I muttered no way.
âYou really want me to join the Knights?â
âNo. It means not making time to be alone.â
Zion said.
âThe problem is, in a few days, when weâre goneâŠâŠ.â
âAre you going away?â
âI found it when you had an accident at Horrenne House.â
It was Reden, not Zion, who answered. Reden, who was sitting alone in a single seat, was back with a blunt face.
âWhat?â
âDragon Lair.â
âOh!â
âWhat appears to be.â
âOhâŠ?â
If itâs Dragon Lair, itâs Dragon Lair. What does a Dragon Lair look like?
As if realizing the meaning of my gaze, Reden wrinkled his brow.
âThatâs why Iâm going to make sure itâs Dragon Lair.â
âAha. Thatâs why youâre leaving. Only the Knights?â
ââŠâŠWizards go, too.â
Wizards?
I looked at Reden and Anastasia with a question mark above my head.
Anastasia fiddled with her fingers as if she was in trouble before finally opening her mouth.
âYou didnât know when we deceived Her Majestyâs eyes, but now that Her Majesty knows, thereâs no need to do it secretly. Originally, I was going to take turns searching with Sir RedenâŠâ
âSo youâre all going away?â
In a place that looks like Dragon Lair?
âNo way!â
I jumped up and down without realizing it. Anastasiaâs eyes widened.
âWhat if itâs really Dragon Lair? Itâs too dangerous. I heard the wizardsâ job was to find Dragon Lairs. You found a place that looks like Lair, so youâre done. So donât go.â
At that point, I mumbled because I thought I was too hard on the two knights.
âOf course, Iâm not saying itâs okay if you two are in dangerâŠâŠ. But still, these two are dragon slayers.âŠ.â
At my words, Zion just stared blankly as always, and Diwen surprisingly didnât respond.
âNo, whatâs really wrong with him?â
I decided to move on for now and looked at Anastasia again.
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âAnd why on earth did the wizards get involved in this?â
Come to think of it, it was. Itâs understandable to help retrieve the lost dragon bones. The king said that it was dangerous.
Not only the Hugo Knights in charge but also the wizards had no choice but to roll up their sleeves and step out.
But finding a dragon lair? If itâs the Hugo Knights who are obsessed with eradicating dragons, I understand, but why are the wizardsâŠ