Chapter 01
I Came to Find My Missing Mate
01. Because I’m His Fiancée
“Paradise on earth!”
Rustle, rustle.
A soft spring breeze tickled her heart, and her pastel-pink hair fluttered like dancing petals. Her sweet voice carried through the air, drawing passing strangers to glance back at her.
But their curiosity soon turned to disappointment—they couldn’t see her face clearly, hidden beneath the wide brim of a large white hat.
Whether anyone looked or not didn’t matter to her; she was all smiles. For the first time in 199 years, she was happy.
Finally… I’ve escaped that damned dragon’s lair—Speecher Island! After… a hundred—no, two hundred—haah, I can’t even count it properly in my head, it’s been that miserable. After 199 years, I’m free!
She’d lost track of how many times she’d cheered inwardly. Controlling the corners of her lips was a battle she’d already surrendered. If she could, she’d grab a stranger and dance with them in the street.
Breathing in the air full of overlapping noises, she turned her head this way and that. Though the plaza was quite large, it was packed so full of humans that moving through was a chore.
Under normal circumstances, being squashed between countless humans would be unpleasant, but she loved it. Who cared? Just watching them was a feast for her eyes.
So many upright-walking life forms, each dressed differently, moving in their own unique ways—her chest swelled at the sight.
Not a single human looked the same. Not a single one acted the same.
Goodness. Just looking at them makes me this happy.
Hoooh.
She took a deep breath again.
The smell of baking bread, melting butter, sizzling meat—it all teased her nose. The scents seemed to drift from a marketplace beyond the plaza. Her heart pounded at the thought of such delicious aromas, ones she hadn’t smelled in ages.
She liked these artificial smells far more than any natural scent. She’d lived on Speecher Island for 199 years, where the mountains were high and the waters pure. She’d stared at drifting glaciers from afar and, sometimes, taken volcanic ash to the face when a volcano erupted. Nature? She was sick of it.
“Ah, this is so wonderful!”
Each step felt as light as air. Simply walking on human legs was a joy in itself.
Heading east across the crowded plaza, she saw a row of carriage drivers shouting to attract customers.
“You there, miss! Looking for a ride? I’ll take you cheap, real cheap!”
Before the short coachman could even finish running toward her, she smiled brightly.
“Please take me to the Cartel estate.”
Her smile made the man’s cheeks flush red. Even with most of her face shaded by the large hat, what he saw was dazzlingly beautiful.
“Yes, right away, miss.”
She climbed into the carriage with practiced ease.
Being out in the human world for the first time felt exhilarating, but she couldn’t forget why she came here in the first place.
Click.
The door closed, and the carriage jolted into motion.
As she watched the lively streets pass by, her mind wandered back—199 years into the past.
It hadn’t taken her long to realize, after first opening her eyes, that she had become a dragon.
The problem was, she wasn’t like any ordinary dragon. For starters, she could think from the moment she was born.
I… was a god. So why am I a dragon?
She stared at her own body, covered in gleaming white scales, in stunned silence. Her memories as a god had been wiped clean, as if someone had erased them without a trace. All she knew with certainty was that she had been a god once.
But a dragon? Why?
Her mind went blank from the shock. She couldn’t remember anything, but deep in her consciousness was a set of instincts—like knowing you have to eat when you’re hungry.
Gods reign supreme over their worlds, wielding authority over all that exists within them. Gods are incomparably powerful beings.
But among gods themselves, that power means nothing. Their divine authority doesn’t work on each other. Among their own kind, all gods are equals. Which, of course, led to disputes—and some gods began causing trouble.
With no higher power above them, the gods devised a way to punish wrongdoing:
They would exile the offender’s soul by sealing it inside a specific living creature.
Thus was created a being not quite a god, but possessing mysterious powers rivaling the divine—a creature with immense strength, yet cursed with a monstrous form that offended the gods’ love of beauty.
A dragon.
I… I’m a dragon?! What unforgivable crime did I commit?!
She agonized over it endlessly, but no answer came.
What made it worse was that, for days after gaining consciousness, she was completely alone.
I don’t even have parents? Where am I? Why am I by myself?
Though her eyes were open, her body wouldn’t move. Only her head could twitch slightly, just enough to glimpse her own form.
Three days passed like that, in utter panic—until she met him.
“We’ve arrived, miss.”
The coachman’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts as the carriage door creaked open.
“…”
Stepping down, she blinked in disbelief. Then, turning to the driver, she asked:
“Mister… this is the Cartel estate, right?”
“Yes, it is, miss. Is this your first visit?”
“Yes.”
She answered, still staring in shock.
What… is this?
On the way here, the carriage had passed one grand, dazzling mansion after another, leaving her wide-eyed.
But the Cartel estate? It wasn’t nearly as big. Sure, it was larger and finer than common houses, but compared to the other palatial estates, it seemed modest—and more importantly, its color was downright bizarre.
What kind of atrocious taste is this? How do you paint an entire mansion pitch-black, from one end to the other?!
In short, it was hideous.
The lush green garden in front only made the gloomy building look worse. Most mansions were bright—white, gold, yellow, sky blue. And here was this inky-black monstrosity.
The only consolation was that, on its own, the mansion wasn’t ugly. It was elegant, even luxurious—just jarringly out of place.
Soon, two people emerged from the dark mansion: a short, elderly man with cropped white hair, and a young woman with light brown hair tied high.
“I am Curdles, butler of House Cartel,” said the old man with a polite smile.
“Oh, hello.”
He wore the classic butler’s uniform, a black vest and suit, while the young woman beside him was dressed as a maid.
“May I ask your name, miss, and the reason for your visit?”
The butler sounded formal, but the maid looked openly curious, as if such a visitor was extremely rare.
“Ah, I…”
She froze. She’d charged into the human world without even picking a name.
I can’t give them my real one… What do I do?
“I came to see the master of this house!” she declared, setting aside the name problem for now.
It was all she could say. The only thing she knew was that he was the master of this estate. She didn’t even know what human name he went by.
“Our master?”
The maid—Marie, judging by the butler’s glance—stared at her in disbelief, as if to say, Impossible.
“Yes. Can I see him now?”
“He is away at the moment. He should return late this evening.”
“Then I’ll wait inside.”
“Please identify yourself first,” the butler said politely, though his words were firm.
“I’d rather not say. But I can tell you this—when he sees me, he’ll be very happy.”
“I’m afraid that is not enough to grant you entry.”
Still smiling, still refusing. Her way forward was completely blocked.
Fine. Time to push harder.
“Curdles, was it? You’d better not make a mistake you’ll regret. Just let me in.”
“If denying you means I face punishment from my master, so be it. For now, I will uphold the rules.”
Stubborn as stone, even with that eternal smile. It was unsettling.
She thought fast. She needed something—anything—to get inside.
First, she needed a name for her human guise. Dragons always take new names when they visit the human world. That’s why she didn’t know his human name. Her dragon friend Chel had only told her that he was in the Cartel estate of the Campton Kingdom.
All right… a name… what should it be?
“Fine. My name is…” She paused dramatically, then blurted out the first thing that popped into her head:
“Chanellica.”
Whatever happens, happens.
Close enough, right? Not identical to her true name. She’d simply shortened “Shaner” and jumbled “Kira,” and honestly, it sounded pretty good.
But Curdles would surely want more than a name. He’d want her status, too—something humans found very important.
“I’m a foreigner. Came here by ship from the Western Continent.”
Another improvised lie. All she knew was that Campton Kingdom was in the southern part of the Eastern Continent. So “Western Continent” sounded safe enough.
“A foreigner?” Marie’s mouth dropped open.
“You speak our language too well for that,” the butler remarked.
“I learned it,” she said smoothly.
“From your master.”
“Whaaaaat?!”
Of course, that was made up. She just wanted this over with.
“Learned from the master… that’s absurd…”
“You mean you’ve never heard of me?” she cut in quickly, trying to sound casual.
“What…?”
“Oh, he must’ve been too shy to mention it.”
With that, she removed her wide-brimmed hat.
Her stunning face gleamed in the sunlight. That radiant beauty, paired with her shy smile, stole the words from their mouths.
“I didn’t plan to say this here… but if it’ll get me inside, so be it.”
Their faces, frozen in awe, suddenly tightened with tension, sensing a storm coming.
“I’m his fiancée.”
The woman’s true identity: Ashanerbekirael, the White Dragon—and the bonded mate of Dershevionerf, the Dragon Lord.
The very mate who had broken their promise and slipped away to play in the human world.
And now, she had come to find him herself.
