DMHS 22

Kian got up and left the dining hall. Ignoring Ibrahim’s voice calling after him, he went straight to the Freesia Palace. That was how urgent it was.

It was evening, and the gates were closed. Forgetting courtesy, he pounded on them.

“This is Kian Semes! I came to see Lord Lucien!”

The butler he had seen before opened the door. He spoke in a reproachful tone.

“It is late. A man to be wed tomorrow should not be wandering around.”

“I came because of that wedding. I must see Lord Lucien right now.”

“Lord Lucien has already gone to bed. If you wish to speak, do so tomorrow morning, at the wedding.”

Before he could even plead, the butler shut the door. Left outside, Kian paced in circles.

‘I can’t just say yes and go back.’

Soon he was behind the palace. He leapt the man-high wall and began scaling the outer wall.

At the second-floor balcony, he hid and looked inside. The darkened room was empty.

‘When I looked earlier, the lights were on the third floor.’

He climbed higher. Usually, the master of the house stayed on the top floor. If that held true here, then the lit room must be Lucien’s.

Fortunately, his guess was right.

On the third-floor balcony, Kian saw Lucien through the window. The boy, so young and pretty, sat at a desk by the window, writing something.

Tap tap tap.

Kian rapped lightly on the glass. Lucien put down his pen and looked up.

How to describe the shift in expression in that brief moment? His eyes widened in surprise at the sound, then softened instantly when he saw Kian outside. Even to Kian, who knew nothing of love, it looked lovely.

‘Lovely? Get a grip.’

He reminded himself why he was there.

‘I have something to say.’

He gestured at his lips and mouthed,

‘Open the window.’

He pointed at the window, then spread his hands before his chest.

But Lucien misunderstood. He covered his mouth with both hands, his expression moved as though he was touched. He seemed to think Kian was serenading him at the window.

‘No more misunderstandings!’

In desperation, Kian drew an X over his chest. He pointed to himself and Lucien, then made another X.

Even so, Lucien’s expression didn’t change. Instead, his eyes filled with tears.

‘What does he think this time?!’

Kian felt like his insides were about to explode from not being able to read that boy’s mind. In the meantime, Lucien finally came to the window and opened it.

Kian climbed in without hesitation. Lucien’s face was filled with such emotion that it was praiseworthy he wasn’t screaming.

“I came because I have urgent words, forgive me for intruding.”

Kian immediately lowered his head to the floor. Lucien bent down and hugged him.

“I wanted to see you too.”

Kian’s body stiffened like stone.

“You too, right? You couldn’t wait until tomorrow, so you came to see me?”

Once again, Kian had lived his whole life as a swordsman. He was weak to those younger and frailer than himself. If a woman cried before him, he accepted her words as right. If a child whined, he bought whatever they wanted without hesitation. This wasn’t something he could solve with reason. It was an instinct carved into his body.

“But hold on just a little. After tomorrow you’ll come to the Freesia Palace.”

…Or maybe not.

Kian immediately came back to his senses at the words “Freesia Palace”.

“I came here because I have something else to say. I am sorry, but I cannot…”

“Sit and talk. It’s uncomfortable like that.”

Lucien cut him off. The two sat across from each other on the sofa in the room.

“What is it you want to say to me so late at night?”

Feeling something was wrong, Lucien’s presence now carried icy edge. He might have already guessed the words Kian hadn’t yet said. Kian regretted it when he saw his expression, so unlike when he smiled, regret rushed over Kian.

‘I should have finished my words with my head still on the floor.’

Looking at the boy’s clear face, his tongue stiffened and words would not come. He didn’t want to see the look of certain disappointment.

“You’re not about to say the engagement should be void, are you?”

That was exactly right. It was precisely what Kian wanted to say. While the unsaid words hovered at his lips, Lucien continued.

“Is it because I look young, because I seem easy, that you played with my heart?”

Though his head told him to agree, his mouth moved on its own.

“No.”

“You said you were fine with it. You said you’d marry me. You said it wasn’t a hard thing to do.”

“…”

He had no answer even if he had two mouths. A swordsman was supposed to put pride in his word, and taking it back was an obvious disgrace.

Kian only sighed again and again, as if his throat were being strangled. The heavy mood pressed down on his shoulders. Then something happened.

Tears began to drop from Lucien’s large eyes. Caught off guard by the sudden tears, Kian’s mind went blank. Lucien said to him,

“I like you.”

At that moment, moonlight poured through the cleared clouds. The quietly seeping light made the tears sparkle like stars.

Kian couldn’t speak, only stare at the sight of those tears flowing down Lucien’s white cheeks. Lucien’s reddened lips moved again.

“I can’t be with anyone but you.”

Lucien’s voice carried a bitter resignation.

“I am sorry… but it is already too late. You must become my mate.”

Maybe it was because of the endless stream of tears. The words sounded forceful, but the voice itself did not feel like coercion. At that moment, Kian came to his senses.

It would be better to say that his head, cleared as if cold water had splashed on him, he finally understood Lucien’s words.

‘Yes. Even if it wasn’t today, it was already too late.’

Why had he forgotten that fact?

In the past, Hellenos fell in love at first sight when he met his mate. The funny thing was, the one who became Hellenos’s mate did not have pale skin, nor black hair, nor a strong fruit scent.

When Kian attended his wedding, he had no choice but to ask the question.

–Why that person?

Hellenos’s answer was simple.

–I knew the moment I saw them. That person was my mate.

That was how simple the way dragons chose their mates was. The boy who looked delicate in front of Kian would chosen his mate in the same way a dragon would. The moment he first saw Kian, he must have thought Kian was his mate.

The moment Lucien saw Kian in the garden where evening primroses bloomed, everything was already decided. As Lucien said, it was all “already too late.”

Perhaps because his memories had opened up, the other conversation he once had with Hellenos came back to him without effort. At that time Kian had asked with light curiosity,

–But what if the person you choose as your mate does not choose you?

Looking at the mate in their wedding outfit, Hellenos answered,

–Then someone will die.

–You mean you will kill?

–No. I mean I will die. A dragon who cannot gain love suffers from heartbreak and dies. As time passes, his body and heart dry up until he finally stops breathing.

At the time, Kian felt no particular emotion at those words.

–You are lucky. Live the rest of your life thankful to your mate.

–I already intend to, even if you don’t tell me.

The sight of Hellenos climbing the platform with an annoying smile was as vivid as if it were yesterday. Now that he understood the situation, there was no meaning in blaming himself any further.

With his personality, there was no way he could bear to see this small boy wither and die in front of him. Kian gave a short, empty laugh and stood up. Lucien, who was still crying, looked up at him.

“Do you hate me for this?”

Kian had no thought of blaming Lucien. It was not as if he chose Kian because he liked him.

It was Cupid, who oversaw the fates of dragons, who had shot the wrong arrow. Lucien was as blameless as Kian. Kian lifted the corners of his lips and smiled.

“Of course not. Rest well tonight. I will see you tomorrow.”

“You will come to the wedding tomorrow, right?”

Two clear eyes fixed on Kian. He answered without hesitation.

“Yes. I will go.”

“You really will marry me?”

“I will.”

“…Thank you.”

Lucien wiped the tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. Some color returned to his face that had been pale and drained.

“See you tomorrow.”

Kian went out through the window he had come in.

Ssshhh.

The wind blew hard again that night. The flags planted on the fortress walls shook violently. The trees in the garden looked like they were dancing.

Only Kian’s eyes, as he walked toward the palace where he stayed, held no wavering.

‘There is only one way left.’

The only way a dragon could separate from a mate once the bond had been made. Kian had once heard this method from Hellenos.

To use it, preparation was required. Time was also needed to wait for the right opportunity. That was not all.

Someone who knew of this method might call Kian cruel. They might condemn him, saying he would be punished for carelessly breaking the heart of a person, no, of a dragon. Even so, this was the only way left for Kian.

Ssshhh.

The wind blew again. Kian raised his head to look at the dimly glowing moon hidden by clouds.

‘Poor dragon…’

At least tonight, Kian truly thought dragons were a pitiful race. To stake their lives on something as worthless as love, only pitiful and foolish beings would do such a thing.

***