REFDL 75

Damn.

While I gaped, Rotol bristled and clenched both fists.

“…Even Your Grace cannot act this way!”

It seemed the Academy taught more than just swordsmanship.

Rotol’s protesting attitude and tone were quite convincing. Her title for Kaelus was also precise.

……But why hadn’t she learned that you simply shouldn’t defy someone of a duke’s rank?

I thought the Academy ran on noble patronage. If so, shouldn’t social skills be a required subject?

It goes without saying they couldn’t overtly list lectures titled ‘The Evils of Noble Society’ or ‘How a Commoner Survives Against Nobles’.

They could teach it indirectly through subjects like ‘Understanding Aristocratic Society’ or ‘Basic Etiquette for Dealing with Nobles’!

……But my escapism ended there. I saw Kaelus, cold enough to grow icicles, and I spoke without thinking.

[D-don’t be too hard on Rotol…]

“……”

By the end, my voice trailed off. Kaelus just stared at me. His expressionless face was still cold.

It was the Kaelus I knew. Yet, at some point, he had become a Kaelus unfamiliar to me.

I understood perfectly the disappointment he must have felt toward me just now.

Ironically, the first thing I felt was relief. Relief that overwhelmed the disappointment. I was relieved that I wasn’t just like everyone else to him.

Kaelus spoke to Rotol.

“Stop pretending to be a child. It doesn’t suit you.”

“But I am a child?!”

“That’s true. Legally and objectively. But didn’t you dislike being treated that way yourself?”

“……”

“You hated it when others treated you that way, so I didn’t think you’d be the type to play the child only when it suited you. That’s unexpected.”

“……! Did you investigate me?”

“Why would I go to such lengths for a child? I just asked around to see how you were doing. You have an official guardian, but you know I’m effectively your backing, right? I have a right to know what kind of life you’re leading at the academy.”

“…….”

Rotol was known to be smart and bold. She would have adapted smoothly to the academy. Among peers, she’d likely be mentally mature, even among noble children.

But her opponent was a duke.

No matter how clever and bold she was, she was only fifteen. Moreover, Rotol, who hadn’t even properly experienced noble society, would find it difficult to outwit the Duke, who’d weathered every storm, with simple words.

“The conversation has gone off track. Remember this: if you want to continue down that path, you must be prepared to accept even unreasonable things without complaint.”

Then Kaelus took me from Rotol’s shoulder. The motion felt natural.

…It looked like he was taking back what was his.

Snap!

Rotol grabbed Kaelus’s wrist with both hands. Gasps erupted from all around.

I knew it. Kaelus could have easily avoided it. He deliberately let himself be caught.

It was a highly impulsive action, but Rotol didn’t get excited. She asked in a lowered voice.

“What if I don’t want to accept it?”

“You must either give up becoming a knight or rise high enough to outrank me.”

“How high must I climb to avoid unreasonable extortion like this?”

Kaelus hesitated for the first time. Yet he answered almost immediately.

“You must become Emperor. Or at least rise to be a noble powerful enough to stand against me.”

“Ahem!”

Nitan, who had been sighing instead of gasping, cleared his throat.

Derrick, who had been watching the situation, unable to interrupt without the duke’s permission, froze like a statue. His face had turned ashen, almost corpse-like.

I thought to myself.

Both are realistically impossible.

So I thought Rotol would give up around this point. …But I realized even though we hung out daily in the Forest Village, I still didn’t know Rotol well.

“Then, what about a hero?”

“…A hero?”

“A war hero.”

Kaelus’s gaze, already as vast as a mountain, and Rotol’s, just beginning to rise like a hill, met in midair.

“So, what if I becomes someone as great as Firmus from the founding myth?”

“Rotol!”

Derrick’s shout scattered into the air, reaching no one.

“Then it would be possible.”

Kaelus still spoke plainly. It was almost a mechanical response.

Thud.

Rotol let go of his hand.

Kaelus, who had me close to his side, nodded to Nitan. The latter wore an expression that screamed ‘I want this mess over as soon as possible,’ and handed Rotol a few thin sheets of paper.

The back of the paper was faintly visible in the light. On the left was a rectangular section, and inside it, a row of rounded illustrations was lined up.

“Take a look.”

“What is this?”

“It’s a list of newly acquired eggs from the breeding pens and partner dragons. Normally, priority is given to those formally joining the Dragon Knights, but by the captain’s authority, you’re seeing it first.”

Even if you scoured every breeding facility across the entire empire, surprisingly few eggs actually hatch.

This is because dragon reproduction is separate from mating. They reproduce asexually and lay eggs whenever they choose.

Once an egg is discovered in a dragon’s nest, the breeder risks his life to steal it away and store it in an artifact similar to a magical incubator.

This allows hatching to be delayed for up to a year. Longer delays are possible, but not recommended due to safety concerns.

Note: If your partner dragon lays an egg, you must promptly report it to the authorities and safely transfer it to the nearest breeding facility according to protocol. (There have been cases where individuals secretly hid and raised their partner dragon’s egg, only to be caught.)

Rotol immediately understood the document’s meaning.

She could have thrown herself on the floor demanding her rights over me, but she didn’t.

Instead, she looked at me in the eye for a moment. I suddenly realized: since Kaelus’s arrival, this was the first time Rotol and I had exchanged such a look.

I couldn’t tell what expression I wore.

Yet, as if she saw something on my face, Rotol sighed and focused on the documents.

Her brow was furrowed, and her gaze grew cautious. She meticulously read the explanation written beside the illustration.

“Once chosen, there is no turning back. You must become a dragon knight, and if you fail to do so, you must be prepared for severe punishment equivalent to a capital crime…”

Kaelus’s explanation fell on deaf ears.

After examining every page, Rotol pointed directly at the illustration at the very bottom of the last page, the only egg with a different color and shape, and asked.

“Is this one a Pensilta?”

“Ah.”

Nitan unconsciously exclaimed in dismay before closing his mouth.

Rotol’s eyes narrowed at that reaction. Kaelus answered.

“It’s a Lloyd.”

“A Lloyd?”

“A combat-type specimen. Winged species. Similar in build to a Pensilta, but its temperament is twice as violent. Put nicely, it’s unique; put bluntly, it’s hard to raise. As you’ll see in the description, its defining feature is poison at the tips of its claws. Its flight skills are also excellent, and if tamed well, it’s considered more lethal than a Pensilta. It’s been less than ten years since breeding it successfully, and there’s only one in Firmus, so information is… 

“I’ll take this one.”

“…That’s very few. This egg was the only one we got in eight years.”

“I’ll take this one.”

“……”

For a brief moment, Kaelus’s expression turned strange.

It was a look of regret, thinking ‘Maybe I should have shown it to her when she was a bit older,’ mixed with resignation, wondering ‘Would that have changed anything?’

It passed in an extremely brief moment, so I was probably the only one who noticed.

Smack.

Nitan slapped his own face.

…Correction. One more person noticed.

“It will be difficult to raise. And once a partner dragon is chosen, all matters concerning that dragon become the responsibility of its owner.”

“I understand.”

Kaelus didn’t ask again. He looked into Rotol’s eyes, which were shining like dark brown stars, and nodded once.

Nitan looked like he had much to say, but instead sighed and took back the documents.

* * *

Once the arrangements were complete, Kaelus excused himself, saying he needed to unwind, leaving only me and the children behind.

Even if the Emperor himself came and ordered him to leave, Kaelus wouldn’t budge. Yet, when Rotol chose her dragon, though he seemed slightly hesitant, he withdrew without protest. That hesitation was something only I, sitting in Kaelus’s palm, could sense.

Before leaving, he placed me on the white table. Not handing me back to Rotol’s hands.