Chapter 112

In less than a second, Elise saw them – a pair of eyes with an unsettlingly vibrant mix of yellow and blue irises, shimmering like a sunlit river. Unlike human eyes, these had vertical slits in the center, elongated pupils that seemed ready to devour her whole. Undoubtedly, this belonged to a beast, something far beyond human.

Could it be a monster? Rezette had returned early from clearing the monster habitats near the Grenthern Mountains, so maybe a few stragglers remained. Panic flared. Were they drawn to my magic?

Northern monsters were twisted beings, transformed by the corrupted magic seeping from the seal of the Bright Dragon Sameshita. Her own magic, with its draconic heritage, might have inadvertently lured one.

But what if it wasn’t just a monster…? A chilling memory surfaced. Elise had seen something similar before. As a child, her brother would carry her to the Argan Royal Family’s church. There, in the catacombs beneath, a mural depicted two eyes – the very same unsettling eyes of the Bright Dragon Sameshita.

Elise hesitated, but Ivetsa, with her usual gentle touch, nudged her forward. “Come this way, Your Highness. Let me help you bathe.”

“No, I’ll manage alone.” Elise placed her fork down, a flicker of defiance crossing her face. She rose and slowly approached Ivetsa. Gazing into the maid’s kind, brown eyes, she snagged a towel from the stack.

“Eat,” Elise said. “You can go to bed first. I might be a while, so get some rest.”

“Are you sure? Won’t you collapse in the tub again?” Ivetsa’s concern was etched on her face.

“What?” Elise’s brow furrowed.

“Remember fainting several times after locking yourself in the bathroom?” Ivetsa reminded her gently.

Elise faltered, unable to form a reply. Wordlessly, she bypassed Ivetsa, a slight wobble betraying her unease as she leaned over the steaming water.

A sliver of suspicion, once dismissed, solidified into chilling certainty. No, a strangled gasp escaped her lips, hand flying to cover her mouth. That’s not Ivetsa…! Panic seized her. Her loyal maid had vanished.

***

The twins had once squabbled about Elise’s insistence on bathing alone. 

Andrei had once scolded Elise, “Why dismiss the maids, sister? You’ve fainted three times already! Can’t you tell me why?”

“I can manage on my own,” Elise had stubbornly insisted. “Enough with the healing spells, Andrei. They’re a temporary fix…”

A curse escaped his lips. “Damn it, Sameshita.”

The only ones who knew about my fainting were Andrei and the Argan servants, Elise realized with a jolt. Only a handful of maids even witnessed those episodes, and they’re all gone now.

Another inconsistency surfaced. Ivetsa lacked a money pouch. When she accepted the key from the innkeeper, she never even feigned a search within her cloak. The same held true for the bathwater. The fireplace heated it with unnatural speed, filling the sizable tub in a mere five minutes. Though her manner remained polite and kind, a subtle, unsettling authority lurked beneath the surface.

This wasn’t her Ivetsa. The imposter mimicked her perfectly, voice and mannerisms alike, yet something sinister lurked beneath. The question gnawed at her: How could this creature possess knowledge only Andrei held?

Elise feigned sleep, turning on her side. The rough bedding scratched her left cheek, but worry overshadowed the discomfort. The unseen gaze from the sofa sent shivers down her spine.

After a quick bath, she emerged to find a nightgown mysteriously laid out on the bed. Elise changed, wrapped herself in a blanket, and burrowed under the covers. Ivetsa casually wished her a goodnight before settling on the sofa. Sharing the bed, something Elise always offered before, felt unthinkable now.

Confined to her makeshift blanket cave, no solution presented itself. At least it’s not attacking, she thought with a sliver of relief.

The entity inhabiting Ivetsa’s body held Elise’s gaze all night. Elise considered using attack magic, but harming Ivetsa’s form was unimaginable. The source of this… impersonation had to be unearthed.

The connection likely lay with the strange vision – the unsettling yellow and blue eyes that appeared when she used magic.

A spark ignited in Elise’s mind. “Sameshita, Bright Dragon of Thunder! Hermit of Grenthern and Spine of the Earth, the most beautiful creation of the gods, the origin of all magic… And the great mentor of the hero Gallian. Please, respond to my call!”

A dragon. The realization struck her. The Bright Dragon Sameshita, sealed within the Grenthern Mountains by the legendary Gallian. Even the combined might of his five disciples couldn’t fully contain the omnipotent dragon’s essence, resulting in a flawed seal.

Despite entering the seal willingly, Sameshita remained a supreme being somewhere in Grenthern, its eyes forever open.

I summoned Sameshita… and that’s why it recognized me.

The magic invocation isn’t just about calling a name. The ‘true name,’ binding soul and body, represents the essence of a being. It’s the key to summoning another’s core existence.

Sameshita’s supposed words when entering the seal echoed vividly, almost real: “Whenever you use that power, remember the teacher who bestowed it. Just as I am bound, you too will be tied to me. You will never be free!”

As long as I use the dragon’s power, I’m bound to Sameshita…

Was this the price?

“Your Highness, can’t you sleep?”

A calm voice startled Elise from behind. The dragon, wearing Ivetsa’s face, sat on the bed’s edge, gazing down.

“Are you unwell?”

The maid’s hand gently touched Elise’s turned back. The dragon, stroking her waist and abdomen, offered a faint smile. The entity, its gender unclear, murmured in a pitying tone, “Poor thing, you must be in so much pain.”

The maid’s hand lingered on Elise’s abdomen, a faint life pulsing weakly beneath her slender stomach like a sparse root. Though barely detectable now, even with touch, in a few weeks the change would be undeniable. Even for an extraordinary being, it was a point of morbid curiosity – how far this shell of a mother could endure.

Elise, lost in a terrifying train of thought, missed the flicker of delight in the dragon’s eyes. The cold caress on her stomach sent shivers down her spine.

Could it intend to kill me here? No. Sameshita wouldn’t harm Gallian’s descendants, of that she was certain. Her heart pounded a frantic rhythm, but she forced herself to calm it.

“Perhaps a warm towel?” the dragon inquired kindly. “On your stomach, it might ease the discomfort.”

“…Thank you, but no need.” Elise brushed the hand away and sat up.

The dragon clearly reveled in its charade. It knew she’d noticed something amiss. Perhaps it even found amusement in the situation.

Elise found herself revisiting the founding myth. For reasons unknown, her thoughts drifted to her ex-husband of two days. She recalled how Rezette, her half-human husband, could be swayed by her.

A half-human’s root is still a dragon… perhaps there’s a way.

Dragons, with their possessiveness and insatiable desire for control, were also creatures of honesty and temptation. They were known weaknesses for Gallian. Perhaps Sameshita wouldn’t be so terrifying after all. Compared to Rezette, the half-human wildcard, the dragon was almost predictable.