“Eek.”
Startled by Sylvia’s expression, Felix opened and closed his mouth without speaking, then asked with a pained look.
“Why did you do it? Didn’t you know using all your magic power could kill you?”
Sylvia genuinely didn’t know. She had learned magic haphazardly, acquiring knowledge only through magic books without any formal training. Felix stared at her intently, pressing for an answer.
“Why don’t you know! You know everything else, why not something so crucial!”
Felix’s shouting was so loud it rang in her ears, yet Sylvia couldn’t look away as she stuttered her response.
“What do I know? I’m sorry, I really didn’t know. I’ll be careful next time…”
Then, Felix, abruptly capturing her chin, whispered in a low voice.
“You knew everything.”
Confused, Sylvia grabbed his wrist, but he didn’t budge.
“What do you mean, ‘knew everything’…?”
“From me being the crown prince of the Capitis Kingdom! The existence of the Black Dragon! Even why I didn’t eat! All of it! You knew. And yet, why didn’t you know anything about something that could cost you your life, why!”
Sylvia froze, unable to utter a word. She had never spoken or shown that she knew these things, so why were such accusations pouring out from him?
Noticing her expression, Felix explained.
“You’ve never once asked me for a reason. Not once, in any situation.”
He continued, looking into her wide turquoise eyes that seemed to know no bounds.
“It’s like you knew everything about my situation.”
He had speculated, even hoped that she didn’t know about his past. Felix had hoped she was unaware of his history. However, upon overhearing a casual comment from Eryngium, he realized she knew about the Black Dragon.
Yet, she pretended not to know.
Even after encountering the royal knights, Sylvia asked nothing. Her only question was a formal one, “Why do they call you their lord?” From then on, he could tell from all her actions. She had known about his state and situation from the beginning.
That’s why she smiled happily when she saw him eating.
Could it be that she had no interest in him? That her actions were driven merely by pity?
‘But that’s not it.’
That’s not how I saw you, Sylvia.
‘I love you!’
It was a truth he had initially intended to keep hidden, but the warmth inside him surged. Yet, he smiled back openly at her bright smiles towards him, comforting himself.
Change isn’t good.
So, staying as we are might not be so bad, right?
Perhaps Sylvia would stay by his side forever, even if her feelings stemmed from pity.
But.
I don’t want that.
I want to be loved by Sylvia.
Not out of pity, but love…
Her jaw ached. Concerned for Felix, who was intently gazing into her eyes without saying a word, Sylvia awkwardly moved her lips to speak.
It seemed like blood was pooling in Felix’s eyes, frozen as if he wasn’t even breathing.
She thought it was an illusion, but it wasn’t.
A strange mixture of blood and tears began to drip onto Sylvia’s face.
“Feri…!”
Shocked, Sylvia attempted to speak, but no further words could come out. Felix’s pupils, shining like obsidian, narrowed into vertical slits, reminiscent of a reptile’s eyes.
The dark liquid seemed to swirl within his elongated pupils, darker than the color of his irises. The chilling silence, devoid of even breathing, made Sylvia’s heart race uncontrollably.
Thump, thump, thump, thump!
It sounded as if her heart was beating in her ears. Or was that sound actually her heart? The irregular thumping made Sylvia’s head spin, and the clear red tears soaking her face stung her eyes.
Felix!
It was the moment Sylvia called out to him in her heart.
“Cough!”
Felix, who had been holding his breath, suddenly coughed up blood in agony.
“Ahk, haak.”
The hot, bright red blood dripped down but did not fall on her face. In that moment, Felix used wind magic to blow the blood away and clutched his chest, gasping for air.
“Fe, Felix…”
Worried about his condition, she reached out to touch his face. Felix, after a fit of coughing up blood, pressed his face into her palm.
“Haah…”
He sighed deeply and whispered like a passing breeze.
“Stay with me, don’t die.”
Felix lowered his body and embraced her tightly. Their hearts, meeting together, made a rough sound. While listening to the peculiarly following small heart sound, Felix slowly opened his eyes that he had closed.
Only now did he realize.
Why his father had gone mad.
He had figured out why, even after bringing a woman identical to his mother, he remained mad. He had heard that inheriting the dragon’s blood in high concentration leads to madness.
He had thought that madness had come to his father, driving him mad. Until now.
But now he understood.
It was not madness, but the dragon race’s imprinting.
The imprint of a dragon.
It imprints a mate onto the hidden second heart.
If the imprinted mate dies, madness inevitably comes, leading both to death. Was it said that the end of madness is to take out one’s own heart and die?
“Ha, haha.”
A laugh leaked from Felix. Aethernum, unable to step out of the country, unable to forget his mate. The foolish and stupid dragon, unable to forsake his long lifespan, taking care of her descendants.
The descendant who had inherited the most concentrated blood of that foolish dragon was…
“It was me.”
Since I have imprinted…
Having finished his thought, Felix whispered closely into Sylvia’s ear.
“Unavoidably, you must stay by my side, Sylvia.”
Wrapping his arms and legs around her like ivy, Felix smiled deeply. He licked her face, which was a mess with dried red tear stains.
Confused, Sylvia kept flickering her lips while Felix alone was at ease. After the imprinting, he felt rather refreshed. He had feared change, but eventually, he had reached a position where he had to change.
No, perhaps the change of change signifies evolution.
It wasn’t just her that changed, but also himself, so it wouldn’t matter.
Well, now, it’s too late to care about such trivial things.
“Feri, are, are you alright?”
Her voice, filled with worry, delighted him, and he nudged her soft cheek with his nose.
“Yes, as long as you are safe.”
Feeling a strange calmness in his tone, Sylvia felt a dissonance but was more relieved by his assurance that he was alright.
“That’s a relief…”
Being gently stroked by her trembling hands, Felix resolved.
He decided to end everything and live happily with her.
Not to lose his mate foolishly like his father and go mad.
★★59. Discovered★★
Located at the highest point within the castle, the Visconti ducal family enjoyed ample sunlight, yet there was a place where the atmosphere remained gloomy. In the office, where the duke spent most of his day, aides were so focused on their work that they dared not even breathe too loudly.
Only the rustling sound of papers being turned filled the office.
Normally, sunlight should have flooded in through the large windows that covered the walls of the office, but only a little light made it through the thick curtains that concealed everything.
“Are you certain that she went out with the Croban mercenary group?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Lucino was slowly reading through a thick stack of documents.
“But the Croban mercenary group appeared out of nowhere, and furthermore…”
Lucino continued, pulling out a document with a red seal and scrutinizing it.
“There’s evidence they obtained imperial certificates illegally?”
“Yes, exactly!”
The duke’s aide answered with a rigid posture.
“So, they were not imperials? A non-imperial captured monsters for the empire? Well, since they’re mercenaries, I suppose it’s understandable if it was for money.”
Muttering to himself, Lucino started to read the documents from the beginning again. Something felt off. They had barely managed to trace Sylvia’s whereabouts thanks to the director of a brokerage that provided jobs and connections to mercenaries.
Director Duclan had come to the ducal house saying he had information about Sylvia after hearing a description of her appearance. They had managed to get the information about Sylvia he had, but…
As Lucino diligently went through the documents, he sighed deeply and put them down. Rubbing his tired eyes, he leaned his head back.
He was no longer sure what he wanted to do upon finding her. His desire to eat the food she made was as strong as ever, but he found it difficult to decide whether it was right to spread her description and even offer a reward for her.
He had no appetite, and Lucino, who was becoming more haggard by the day, looked listless.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
Aaron entered hurriedly upon the duke’s permission, a rare sight as he usually never ran.
“What is it?”
“Your Grace!”
Aaron approached quickly, presenting a recently received envelope.
“A letter from the royal palace, sir. It seems you must go immediately.”
“Has His Highness the Crown Prince summoned me?”
Thinking the Crown Prince had summoned him for another vexation, Lucino was about to take the letter when Aaron replied with a voice full of panic.
“A jewel mage has appeared during these troubled times!”
“What?”
Before even breaking the seal of the wax-sealed envelope, Lucino froze at the news.
“Eek.”
Startled by Sylvia’s expression, Felix opened and closed his mouth without speaking, then asked with a pained look.
“Why did you do it? Didn’t you know using all your magic power could kill you?”
Sylvia genuinely didn’t know. She had learned magic haphazardly, acquiring knowledge only through magic books without any formal training. Felix stared at her intently, pressing for an answer.
“Why don’t you know! You know everything else, why not something so crucial!”
Felix’s shouting was so loud it rang in her ears, yet Sylvia couldn’t look away as she stuttered her response.
“What do I know? I’m sorry, I really didn’t know. I’ll be careful next time…”
Then, Felix, abruptly capturing her chin, whispered in a low voice.
“You knew everything.”
Confused, Sylvia grabbed his wrist, but he didn’t budge.
“What do you mean, ‘knew everything’…?”
“From me being the crown prince of the Capitis Kingdom! The existence of the Black Dragon! Even why I didn’t eat! All of it! You knew. And yet, why didn’t you know anything about something that could cost you your life, why!”
Sylvia froze, unable to utter a word. She had never spoken or shown that she knew these things, so why were such accusations pouring out from him?
Noticing her expression, Felix explained.
“You’ve never once asked me for a reason. Not once, in any situation.”
He continued, looking into her wide turquoise eyes that seemed to know no bounds.
“It’s like you knew everything about my situation.”
He had speculated, even hoped that she didn’t know about his past. Felix had hoped she was unaware of his history. However, upon overhearing a casual comment from Eryngium, he realized she knew about the Black Dragon.
Yet, she pretended not to know.
Even after encountering the royal knights, Sylvia asked nothing. Her only question was a formal one, “Why do they call you their lord?” From then on, he could tell from all her actions. She had known about his state and situation from the beginning.
That’s why she smiled happily when she saw him eating.
Could it be that she had no interest in him? That her actions were driven merely by pity?
‘But that’s not it.’
That’s not how I saw you, Sylvia.
‘I love you!’
It was a truth he had initially intended to keep hidden, but the warmth inside him surged. Yet, he smiled back openly at her bright smiles towards him, comforting himself.
Change isn’t good.
So, staying as we are might not be so bad, right?
Perhaps Sylvia would stay by his side forever, even if her feelings stemmed from pity.
But.
I don’t want that.
I want to be loved by Sylvia.
Not out of pity, but love…
Her jaw ached. Concerned for Felix, who was intently gazing into her eyes without saying a word, Sylvia awkwardly moved her lips to speak.
It seemed like blood was pooling in Felix’s eyes, frozen as if he wasn’t even breathing.
She thought it was an illusion, but it wasn’t.
A strange mixture of blood and tears began to drip onto Sylvia’s face.
“Feri…!”
Shocked, Sylvia attempted to speak, but no further words could come out. Felix’s pupils, shining like obsidian, narrowed into vertical slits, reminiscent of a reptile’s eyes.
The dark liquid seemed to swirl within his elongated pupils, darker than the color of his irises. The chilling silence, devoid of even breathing, made Sylvia’s heart race uncontrollably.
Thump, thump, thump, thump!
It sounded as if her heart was beating in her ears. Or was that sound actually her heart? The irregular thumping made Sylvia’s head spin, and the clear red tears soaking her face stung her eyes.
Felix!
It was the moment Sylvia called out to him in her heart.
“Cough!”
Felix, who had been holding his breath, suddenly coughed up blood in agony.
“Ahk, haak.”
The hot, bright red blood dripped down but did not fall on her face. In that moment, Felix used wind magic to blow the blood away and clutched his chest, gasping for air.
“Fe, Felix…”
Worried about his condition, she reached out to touch his face. Felix, after a fit of coughing up blood, pressed his face into her palm.
“Haah…”
He sighed deeply and whispered like a passing breeze.
“Stay with me, don’t die.”
Felix lowered his body and embraced her tightly. Their hearts, meeting together, made a rough sound. While listening to the peculiarly following small heart sound, Felix slowly opened his eyes that he had closed.
Only now did he realize.
Why his father had gone mad.
He had figured out why, even after bringing a woman identical to his mother, he remained mad. He had heard that inheriting the dragon’s blood in high concentration leads to madness.
He had thought that madness had come to his father, driving him mad. Until now.
But now he understood.
It was not madness, but the dragon race’s imprinting.
The imprint of a dragon.
It imprints a mate onto the hidden second heart.
If the imprinted mate dies, madness inevitably comes, leading both to death. Was it said that the end of madness is to take out one’s own heart and die?
“Ha, haha.”
A laugh leaked from Felix. Aethernum, unable to step out of the country, unable to forget his mate. The foolish and stupid dragon, unable to forsake his long lifespan, taking care of her descendants.
The descendant who had inherited the most concentrated blood of that foolish dragon was…
“It was me.”
Since I have imprinted…
Having finished his thought, Felix whispered closely into Sylvia’s ear.
“Unavoidably, you must stay by my side, Sylvia.”
Wrapping his arms and legs around her like ivy, Felix smiled deeply. He licked her face, which was a mess with dried red tear stains.
Confused, Sylvia kept flickering her lips while Felix alone was at ease. After the imprinting, he felt rather refreshed. He had feared change, but eventually, he had reached a position where he had to change.
No, perhaps the change of change signifies evolution.
It wasn’t just her that changed, but also himself, so it wouldn’t matter.
Well, now, it’s too late to care about such trivial things.
“Feri, are, are you alright?”
Her voice, filled with worry, delighted him, and he nudged her soft cheek with his nose.
“Yes, as long as you are safe.”
Feeling a strange calmness in his tone, Sylvia felt a dissonance but was more relieved by his assurance that he was alright.
“That’s a relief…”
Being gently stroked by her trembling hands, Felix resolved.
He decided to end everything and live happily with her.
Not to lose his mate foolishly like his father and go mad.
★★59. Discovered★★
Located at the highest point within the castle, the Visconti ducal family enjoyed ample sunlight, yet there was a place where the atmosphere remained gloomy. In the office, where the duke spent most of his day, aides were so focused on their work that they dared not even breathe too loudly.
Only the rustling sound of papers being turned filled the office.
Normally, sunlight should have flooded in through the large windows that covered the walls of the office, but only a little light made it through the thick curtains that concealed everything.
“Are you certain that she went out with the Croban mercenary group?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Lucino was slowly reading through a thick stack of documents.
“But the Croban mercenary group appeared out of nowhere, and furthermore…”
Lucino continued, pulling out a document with a red seal and scrutinizing it.
“There’s evidence they obtained imperial certificates illegally?”
“Yes, exactly!”
The duke’s aide answered with a rigid posture.
“So, they were not imperials? A non-imperial captured monsters for the empire? Well, since they’re mercenaries, I suppose it’s understandable if it was for money.”
Muttering to himself, Lucino started to read the documents from the beginning again. Something felt off. They had barely managed to trace Sylvia’s whereabouts thanks to the director of a brokerage that provided jobs and connections to mercenaries.
Director Duclan had come to the ducal house saying he had information about Sylvia after hearing a description of her appearance. They had managed to get the information about Sylvia he had, but…
As Lucino diligently went through the documents, he sighed deeply and put them down. Rubbing his tired eyes, he leaned his head back.
He was no longer sure what he wanted to do upon finding her. His desire to eat the food she made was as strong as ever, but he found it difficult to decide whether it was right to spread her description and even offer a reward for her.
He had no appetite, and Lucino, who was becoming more haggard by the day, looked listless.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
Aaron entered hurriedly upon the duke’s permission, a rare sight as he usually never ran.
“What is it?”
“Your Grace!”
Aaron approached quickly, presenting a recently received envelope.
“A letter from the royal palace, sir. It seems you must go immediately.”
“Has His Highness the Crown Prince summoned me?”
Thinking the Crown Prince had summoned him for another vexation, Lucino was about to take the letter when Aaron replied with a voice full of panic.
“A jewel mage has appeared during these troubled times!”
“What?”
Before even breaking the seal of the wax-sealed envelope, Lucino froze at the news.
