DMHS 36

“I cannot say. Sometimes I like it, but most of the time it is troublesome. What about you, Lord Lucien?”

“I like it.”

Kian looked down at Lucien, who was a span shorter than him. Lucien held the relic high to block the rain for Kian.

“Give it to me. I will hold it now.”

“No.”

“Your arm will hurt.”

“You must have forgotten for a moment. You are my mate. A dragon protects his mate. He is not someone protected by his mate.”

Kian laughed.

“Do you think I cannot protect you?”

Realizing the words could be misunderstood, Kian quickly denied it.

“No. That is not why I laughed. It is more like… how should I say it?”

“Say it.”

Kian thought for a moment, then smiled.

“Hearing someone say they will protect me just felt unfamiliar.”

“You must have received protection from someone too.”

No. Kian had lived a long time protecting only himself.

He had no complaint about it. That was what it meant to be strong. To protect himself and to protect what he loved. That was the meaning of the strength given to him.

But because of that, he had no memories of being protected by someone else…

“At least when you were a child, your parents must have protected you. Am I wrong?”

Yes. If he reached back that far, they had. Kian agreed with Lucien’s words.

“Yes. When I was young, my parents protected me.”

“What was your childhood like?”

“I cannot even call it ordinary. My family collapsed.”

Kian thought of the owner of his identity plaque, ‘Kian Semes,’ as he answered.

“How did your family collapse?”

“Circumstances turned bad.”

“What circumstances turned so bad that it happened?”

Normally, Kian would have turned the topic away with soft words. But under the heavy rain, with the boy who said he would protect him like a strong umbrella, his heart softened.

“…I think among human emotions, ‘jealousy’ is truly frightening.”

This was something Kian had never told anyone.

“Negative emotions are destructive. For example, the phrase ‘anger explodes’ is accurate. The power that comes from anger is like an explosion.”

“That is true.”

“But do you know what is particular about jealousy? Jealousy cannot be seen. It is hard to even find a grand reason for it. But once it takes root in a person’s heart, it does not fall away easily. Someone consumed by jealousy always looks for fault in others.”

“……”

“The more you envy someone, the bigger the jealousy grows. The more you hate, the bigger it grows. When you are trapped in it, you finally commit destructive acts.”

The introduction was long. That was how little Kian knew how to explain his past. He had never thought he would have a chance to share old memories he had carried and swallowed down alone.

Kian looked at the quiet city.

“My father was an excellent knight. He had a fine character and got along well with those around him. Except for one person.”

“That person was jealous of your father.”

“You understand my scattered words. As expected, you are smart. Yes.”

This was an ordinary old tale.

Once upon a time, there lived a fine knight. He became a Sword Master at a young age and rose to the rank of captain of the knight order.

The king and the ministers trusted the young captain. The captain not only commanded the knights but also worked for the government, restoring a kingdom collapsing under corruption.

But another knight envied him. Unlike the captain, who had been a commoner, this knight was the eldest son of a powerful noble family.

Always waiting for a chance to slander, he found a good opportunity.

‘That is it.’

Behind the palace was a great forest. Inside was a cave, and the sounds made there echoed throughout the forest.

The knight went into the cave again and again and shouted.

–The captain ignores Duke Hamilton!

–The captain says Marquis Yuria only cares for money!

–The captain is a double-faced piece of trash!

No one knew where the voices came from.

Even so, the captain began to grow distant from those who had been close to him. Because of the seed of doubt quietly sprouting in their hearts.

At last, such a voice came from the forest.

–The captain plans to depose the king and take the throne for himself!

Now was the time. The corrupt nobles who had suffered under the captain’s reforms rose together under the slander of that knight.

In the end, the king sided with the nobles. The captain laid down all positions and was sent to a mountain village.

“Even then, my father did not grow angry. He tried to understand them. He should not have.”

“What happened after that?”

“The man mad with jealousy did not stop there. In the end, I lost my father, my mother, and my younger sister.”

Kian smiled awkwardly.

“Now that I say it, it was a depressing story. But it is all in the past. I am fine now, so do not mind it.”

Lucien answered with a darker voice.

“Shall I kill him?”

“They are already dead. I killed them all myself. I finished my revenge, so I have no regret.”

“……”

“It seems I spoke needlessly. I am sorry for darkening the mood.”

Instead of answering, Lucien held Kian’s hand.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“Because it is not something pleasant for others to hear.”

“I am not ‘others,’ am I? If not me, who else would you tell?”

Kian suddenly laughed at the situation.

‘He really is my spouse.’

Even if it had not been intended, the only one who could ever be called his mate in his life would be him.

‘Maybe we really are close…’

Kian looked at the falling rain and changed the subject.

“But Lord Lucien, do you have a reason for liking rainy days?”

“Because it is raining today.”

“…What?”

“…I do not know. When I am with you, everything looks good. Right now, in my eyes, this rain looks nothing but beautiful.”

Kian blinked fast.

His palms sweated as if he had been hit with an unexpected attack. His heart thumped loudly, making its presence clear.

Kian shook his head to push away the unnecessary tension.

But when he raised his eyes, the scenery before him had changed.

Each raindrop falling from the sky was clear in shape. Like small silver beads strung in a line, the rain looked beautiful.

From the red bricks of the city, which he had only thought of as bleak, came a strange feeling of vitality. The old buildings made of clay had a quaint charm.

Kian rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. But once seen differently, the scenery did not return to how it was.

Kian said with a sigh.

“You are right. Even to me, the rain now looks quite beautiful.”

“It will remain in your memory for a long time.”

Kian swallowed the words, “For me too.”

The group soon arrived at the temple.

When Aslan opened the temple door, people were huddled together beneath the goddess’s statue. There were about six or seven of them.

As Kian entered, he noticed that everyone except himself and Lucien, the others Aslan, Frederick, and Daisy, were soaked.

“Why are you all so wet?”

Frederick shook his head like a dog shaking off water and answered.

“That is what I want to ask. How are Sir Kian and Lord Lucien completely dry?”

“The relic blocked the rain.”

“…? I have never heard that a relic could block rain.”

Daisy, passing by, added.

“I prayed to the goddess and raised the relic high, but there was no response. If I had known the temple was this far, I would have worn a raincoat.”

Daisy began removing her armor and setting it against the wall. Since it was made of iron, it needed careful drying.

Meanwhile, Kian’s mind went blank.

‘Then why didn’t I get wet earlier?’

There was only one answer.

‘Lucien used magic.’

Thinking back, the barrier that had surrounded them was like the one the dark elf Betias used to create on rainy days.

It consumed a tremendous amount of mana at every moment, which ordinary mages could never afford.

But what bothered Kian was something else.

‘Even then, the surrounding mana did not change.’

To Kian, mana was a third eye. He relied on it more than his senses. But when it came to Lucien, that method did not work.

‘Honestly, it is very frustrating.’

Only before Lucien did it feel like his eyes were blind. Kian wondered if he had acted foolishly.

‘But it pleased him. He said everything looks good when he is with me.’

When he recalled those words, his chest tightened again.

‘Ugh… dragons really are good at saying embarrassing things.’

Kian dismissed the feeling as awkwardness and looked in front of him.

Aslan was loudly reassuring the people gathered in the temple.

“Everyone, please endure a little longer! The temple has promised to send a high priest!”

“Cough!”

A man with a dry cough asked.

“Are those people priests?”

“No. They are travelers who happened to pass by. But since they carry relics of the goddess, they are clearly not ordinary.”

“Relics?”

The man’s eyes went wide. He jumped up and looked at the group standing by the entrance.

His eyes met theirs.

“Ah…”

“Uh…”

The man turned around, his face pale. It was no surprise, for he was the very bandit who had called himself the “King of the Crouching Wolves” on the mountain path days earlier.