Chapter 104

Regrettably, as she exited the opulent banquet hall, Rezette snagged a passing figure who reeked of starch and authority. “The princess,” Rezette pressed, his voice clipped, “what’s her name?”

“It’s Her Highness, Elizabeth,” the man replied curtly.

Elizabeth Aseica. The name resonated with him, a classical melody infused with lineage. The long string of titles that followed only solidified her extraordinary bloodline and noble stature.

Rezette’s carefully constructed mask couldn’t quite contain the flicker of disquiet that sparked within him. An old yearning, one he’d believed extinguished, flared back to life – a deceitful warmth. He craved her, a primal need that clawed its way to the surface.

“…But is something amiss, sir?” the steward inquired, his gaze lingering on Rezette with a hint of suspicion. There was a glint of defiance in his eyes, surprising for a mere steward, even one hailing from the South. It seemed even the palace staff weren’t easily intimidated by the notorious warlord of Grandel.

“Her Highness the Princess doesn’t usually attend such minor events. She’s not someone who easily grants requests for visits either. Even if Your Majesty were to send an invitation, it would be of no use. After all, Her Highness the Princess is not yet considering marriage.”

“Her Highness is already past the age of majority. Why isn’t marriage planned?”

“She is very frail. Even the journey to the main palace is overwhelming for her. She tends to avoid public appearances.”

“Does she suffer from an illness?”

“Something similar.”

If her time outdoors was limited, she must indeed be delicate. A melancholic air seemed to linger around her delicate features, hinting at the possibility of poor health. It was no surprise then that her attire appeared so slight. Even though the South boasted of its warmth, even sweltering in certain seasons, to Rezette, hailing from the North, her clothing appeared scant.

The steward’s voice grew sharp. “Why this sudden inquiry, Your Majesty? If it’s mere curiosity, I urge you to reconsider.” His initial caution had morphed into thinly veiled contempt, as if privy to Rezette’s ungentlemanly thoughts. 

Every Arganian, it seemed, held the princess in reverence, a fact evident even in the disdainful glance the steward cast at Rezette’s hand and sword. The implication was clear: a man of violence had no place near such purity.

Rezette found a perverse amusement in the steward’s animosity. It was a well-honed distrust. “How convenient,” he murmured. “Perhaps it’s best she remains a mystery.”

Indeed, a woman with such an aura of serenity deserved to be kept untouched. Rezette couldn’t help but recall the collection gathering dust in his storage in Rotiara. He signaled for a glass of wine.

This princess, a potential trophy, was far too valuable to be sullied. Especially if her fragility made even walking a challenge. Could she withstand his touch?

A hacking cough, sharper than usual, cut through the smoky air, extinguishing the embers of his fleeting impulse. Rezette curtly waved at the wheezing steward. “I will make sure to remember that. You are dismissed.”

With his envoy duties in Argan complete, Rezette swiftly departed for the royal palace. The captivating woman from the banquet was buried deep within him, a memory never to be revisited. Unless war engulfed Argan, their paths wouldn’t cross again.

The naive boy, ignorant of the world and his own desires, was gone. Ambition flared briefly before dying in the cold air. He rebuilt his icy walls, thicker and more impenetrable.

Emotionless, untouched by joy or sorrow, doubt or desire, Rezette embraced a sterile routine. It wasn’t happiness, but it was a hollow peace, an absence of despair and self-loathing. An artificial equilibrium.

Years blurred. The next year brought war. As Ugel’s ally in the Grandel North-South War, Rezette shattered Argan’s forces on both fronts, his resolve unwavering.

Then, fate, a wild mare charging into his stable, slammed into him on the eve of his return to Van Yela.

***

The dissipating smoke from the burning grass gradually cleared, revealing the scene to Rezette. With a clenched jaw, he tapped into his magic, causing black scales to surface on his right hand and forearm. Bones, muscles, and skin swiftly transformed as magic surged through him like lightning, dispelling the lingering remnants of the past.

As his vision sharpened, Rezette noticed the faint ember still flickering nearby, indicating that not much time had passed. His gaze locked onto the pair of yellow eyes fixed on him intently.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.

Has it been centuries since you’ve been so bored? I never knew the Great Dragon had a hobby of prying into others’ pasts at will. I didn’t expect him to take such an interest in me, let alone to this extent.”

Despite being pushed out of the memories he was probing, Sameshita showed no signs of anger, speaking casually. “I was curious about the situation, as the power I bestowed upon my disciple seems to be fully ingrained in you.”

As Rezette caught his breath, returning his forearm to its original state, he grimaced. Sameshita only referred to Gallian as his disciple. There was only one conceivable reason for Gallian’s power to linger in Rezette: Elise.

The dragon was aware of Elise’s existence.

“How do you know about my wife?” Rezette demanded.

“Her scent resonates throughout your entire being,” the dragon replied, a fleeting, sinister greed passing through its elongated pupils.

Sameshita’s irises swirled with possessive desire tainted with affection. To the dragon, Gallian being a human male and Elise a woman seemed inconsequential. Dragons were enigmatic beings, fundamentally asexual and capable of altering their appearance at will. Thus, their concept of “love” transcended conventional notions of sexuality or romance; it was a yearning for existence itself.

Surely, the dragon wouldn’t equate the student who had betrayed him with Elise?

“What did her bloodline look like?” 

As Rezetted openly displayed his animosity, the dragon burst into laughter, the booming sound echoing through the mountainside. “Wasn’t she adorable, Rezette?”

“Stop speaking nonsense.”

“Wasn’t she irresistibly adorable from the moment you first saw her?” the dragon persisted. “You must have been driven to madness with desire.”

Rezette fell silent, taken aback, as the dragon continued, “You could hardly resist looking back. When you came to your senses, you must have been bewitched. After all, you were born as part of me, so it’s only natural.”

Struggling to find a response, Rezette watched as the dragon occasionally concealed ancient memories that surfaced.

The dragon, an entity akin to a god, saw the happy times spent with the five disciples as nothing more than a fleeting twenty years. Among them was a faintly scented, naive boy who approached without fear, even to one almost divine. Cheeky and endlessly arrogant, he was therefore even more adorable.

But swiftly, the boy matured, and the carefree laughter that once filled the air vanished in an instant. “I will no longer stay by your side. It’s all your doing, Master,” he declared, becoming the cruel human who had pushed him into a trap and then turned his back on him.

“Rezette. Shall I tell you something that might help you?” the dragon suddenly spoke, its eyes glowing with meaning. “Don’t trust humans. Especially those with Gallian’s bloodline.”

The statement seemed to penetrate Rezette’s situation, the dragon’s eyes holding a significant weight. “Those who have grown by consuming my power inevitably become ensnared by those bloodlines. But the moment they take their eyes off, they soon slip away. Just when they think they have everything!”

As if lightning had struck, Rezette’s vision flashed. The cheerful laughter from moments before was replaced by Sameshita’s fierce rage. With the dragon’s ever-changing attitude, Rezette’s head began to throb as if it would shatter.

“How do I break free from these shackles? I have to kill her! Or let me die! Rezette, what about you? Do you want me to release your bond?” 

“It’s unnecessary, so don’t meddle…” Rezette replied, his tone firm.

“Meddling? No, no, Rezette. It may not be now, but someday, you’ll want to kill your wife too. Whether it’s because she’s overly adorable or because you’re burning with unbearable betrayal. It’s just a façade; humans are nothing more than ungrateful leeches,” the dragon insisted.

“When that time comes, you will inevitably come to me. I’ll be waiting, so come anytime. I’ll welcome you warmly.”

Suddenly, the dragon’s pupils shifted to the sky above without warning, revealing the blue expanse. “But she’s truly beautiful… Like being buried in the middle of a field of blooming flowers…” the dragon mused softly, his gaze wandering aimlessly.

“Rezette, your wife often calls out to me,” the dragon added, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Rezette furrowed his brow uncomfortably, finding the dragon’s words increasingly absurd. However, as he dismissed the ramblings of the insane dragon, the yellow pupils narrowed into slits, and the dragon smiled with satisfaction once again.

“I cannot kill Gallian. But I can know where he is, what he’s doing, where his bloodline originates, and what he does with my power, and how he lives.”

“What do you mean?” 

“The moment they call out my name,” Rezette explained, referring to Gallian and his descendants’ use of Sameshita’s power.

The dragon, previously coiled like a snake, now stood tall, its long and ancient body pointing towards the sky. Lightning struck the dry sky, and the mountainside, once occupied by the dragon, turned into black ashes, swirling like volcanic ash in all directions.

“It means that the path for me is open,” Sameshita concluded, his last words drowned out by the sound of the wind, barely audible.