DMHS 115

Kian’s expression froze while Lucien held him.

“What’re you doing?”

“You’ve my scent on you.”

Kian lifted his wrist and checked for any smell. His senses were keener than most humans, but all he caught was the scent of yesterday’s bath oil.

“I don’t notice anything.”

“Yes. It’s probably like a dragon’s way of marking territory. I can’t let another dragon see my partner and feel interested. I have to prevent that.”

“Is that necessary? You’re the only dragon in the entire kingdom.”

“You never know. Something might happen that makes us meet another one.”

“That doesn’t sound like an exciting event. Anyway, can I go wash up now?”

“No.”

Lucien pressed his face into Kian’s neck next. He sniffed again like a small animal and let out a pleased sound.

“Ah……”

A question suddenly came to Kian.

“If it’s your scent, does that mean I smell like flowers too?”

“You think I smell like flowers?”

“You didn’t know?”

It was a scent that spread softly even now while he held him. Lucien lowered his head and sniffed various places on his own body, then answered casually.

“I don’t notice it, but maybe I smell like flowers to you.”

“That’s not really it……”

“Then what is it? Do you have some other comparison for me?”

Kian immediately switched his stance.

“Let’s just say it’s flowers.”

“Okay.”

Hearing his bright voice made Kian’s body relax. The rounds from last night left even him a bit tired.

Lucien had been persistent from the beginning, but the more rounds they had, the more frighteningly focused he became.

He learned fast, and that applied here too. His skill noticeably improved from the first round to the second, and even more from the second to the third.

And Kian also had a problem.

‘It’s true that dragon fluids have an aphrodisiac effect.’

He even felt it during kissing.

But unlike the small amount of saliva, the semen poured inside him had a far stronger effect. At the end, he almost lost all sense and let Lucien push him around.

Clatter, clatter.

The window shook again.

Kian snapped out of his thoughts.

“Did the servants come up and offer you breakfast?”

“I went down earlier and told them beforehand, so they wouldn’t come up. They said we can come eat whenever. If you’re hungry, do you want to go now?”

“Let’s wash first.”

“Alright.”

Kian stepped out of the bed, and Lucien stood up behind him, ready to follow him into the bathroom.

Kian frowned and blocked him.

“I didn’t mean we should wash together. I meant we should wash one at a time.”

“Oh, that’s what you meant?”

He definitely understood and pretended not to. But maybe because Lucien usually acted cautious and watched him quietly, even this shameless act didn’t feel irritating.

Kian was about to walk into the bathroom when he noticed something different.

“You’ve grown taller again.”

Standing side by side made it obvious.

“Our eye level used to be the same, but now yours is a little higher.”

He didn’t know what determined Lucien’s physical growth, but at this rate, it wouldn’t be long before Lucien had a body that matched his real age.

Lucien, on the other hand, didn’t look impressed.

“Yes.”

“Don’t you like your body growing?”

“It’s better than looking like a kid. But I don’t want to get too tall. Dragons over two meters aren’t cute.”

The serious tone made Kian laugh.

A while after the wedding, Lucien once said he never guessed Kian thought he was a dragon because he was too small and pretty. Kian meant it casually at the time, but Lucien still remembered.

“Didn’t you say you’re not the cute type?”

“But once you pass two meters, it’s hard to look pretty.”

“I think you’ll manage just fine.”

Lucien’s slightly sulky face brightened. Kian liked that look much better and tapped his cheek with his index.

“You’re already beautiful enough to me.”

“……!”

Kian slipped away from Lucien’s reaching hand and walked into the bathroom. Lucien knocked a moment later, but Kian ignored it and turned on the faucet.

Cold water poured onto his head. Kian realized he was laughing.

It was the start of a lively day.

After washing, the two headed down to the dining hall.

The long table that could seat around ten people was already filled with dishes. It was completely different from yesterday, when the courses came out one by one.

A wooden puppet servant guided Kian and Lucien to their seats.

Kian checked the table setting.

‘My seat, Lucien’s, and the host’s seat are empty.’

Lucien, sitting across from him, unfolded his napkin and placed it over his thigh. Kian checked the weather through the tall windows.

‘The rain stopped.’

There were still heavy clouds, but it was brighter compared to the earlier downpour.

Then something happened. A bolt of lightning flashed across the clear sky.

Crack!

Even with the magic stones lit, the dining hall was dim, but a streak of light suddenly illuminated the hall. A moment later, thunder followed it.

Grrr, crash!

It sounded like the storm broke right beside them.

And then, over the table where only the two of them sat, an unfamiliar voice spoke.

“Hello……. I’m Rowan, the owner of this mansion……. I live together with spirits…….”

A woman with long hair was suddenly seated in the once empty host’s chair.

She looked like she was in her late twenties. Her skin was pale like blank paper, and her lips were bluish, giving her a sickly complexion, but she was beautiful.

Her large, bright eyes were framed with long lashes, and her slender neck made anyone feel protective.

Her dress clung so tightly to her body that her overly thin frame showed through clearly.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kian Semes, and this is Lucien.”

“Ahh……. Lucien…… and Kian……?”

Rowan’s eyes moved from Lucien to Kian.

Kian raised his brows a little to signal Rowan. Although Rowan looked dreamy on the surface, she was quick to notice things. She would understand that Kian didn’t want to reveal his identity as the one who brought a guest.

Rowan picked up her utensils with an unreadable expression. The fingers holding the spoon were thin like dried twigs.

“Then let’s talk while we eat……. It’s been a long time since a guest came to this house…….”

“Thank you for your hospitality.”

“Not at all……. If someone connected to an old friend visits, it’s right to welcome them warmly…….”

Lucien reacted to that.

“An old friend? Who’re you talking about?”

Kian gave Rowan a displeased look. If Rowan said something strange, he planned to knock over a cup and ruin the mood.

But Rowan smiled softly and gave an unexpected answer.

“Lucien is related by blood to Hellenos……. Hellenos’s family is like my family…… I wonder how Helli has been…… He’s a softhearted child, so I worry…….”

The Helli Rowan mentioned was the same Hellenos Kian knew.

During the Demon King subjugation, Rowan had been especially close to Hellenos. Among everyone who passed through the hero party, only Hellenos had grown that close to Rowan.

‘It made sense. Rowan only thought of things, but Hellenos actually did them.’

Whether that meant they matched well or couldn’t stand each other was debatable.

Rowan looked naive, but she had no mercy. Because she’d spent so much time merged with spirits, her human sense of morality became thin.

It was a relief she didn’t enjoy using her strength. People joked that if Rowan had rolled up her sleeves, the kingdom would’ve fallen by her hand instead of the Demon King’s.

Anyway, if Rowan smiled on the outside while cursing inside, Hellenos was the type to yell out crude insults and settle things head on.

Kian always felt the two were like a bear doing tricks and a trainer clapping from behind.

“How’d you know I’m a dragon?”

“I have many spirit friends……. But even without that, it’s hard not to notice someone connected by blood to Helli……. So why’ve you two come to my mansion……?”

Rowan, who barely touched anything except a bit of soup despite the table being full, set her spoon down.

Kian spoke to her.

“We came to find a way to return a human soul that has been separated from its body.”

“Can you explain more clearly……?”

“I believe you already know black magic that makes clay dolls. A certain dark mage went further and created dolls that carry human souls. These dolls keep the memories they had in life and act in ways similar to the people they used to be.”

Kian explained the dolls he had seen so far. The bandit in Chronos, the mages at the Magic Tower, and the dolls he saw at the academy, including Kessler.

Finally, Kian took out a pouch from his subspace bag that held the beads.

“These are the soul beads left in the place where the dolls vanished.”

The pouch rose from the table on its own and floated in front of Rowan.

Rowan brushed her hand over the inside.

“I see…….”