Chapter 08
. You’re a Warmhearted Person
Derwin, his expression turning serious, adjusted his posture and spoke.
“Lady… um…”
He hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“Do you… truly believe you’re a dragon?”
Silence fell again. But this time, it didn’t last long.
“It’s not that I believe I’m a dragon—I am a dragon. Just as it’s an undeniable fact that I’m your mate.”
I expected this, but… it’s more serious than I thought.
Derwin sighed inwardly. The woman was radiating confidence.
“But, Lady, you haven’t shown any proof that you’re a dragon.”
“Because I’m a hatchling. Ah, you probably don’t even know what a hatchling is.”
“I know that hatchling refers to a dragon’s infancy. It’s a commonly known fact about dragons. Lady, I believe you’ve simply misled yourself after reading too many stories about dragons.”
For Shanelica, this might’ve felt like a shocking wake-up call. But she didn’t seem shaken. In fact, she asked Derwin calmly,
“So from the moment I first told you I was a dragon until now, are you saying you never once believed it might be true?”
“…Lady. Right now, you may believe what you think is true. But—”
Derwin hesitated on how far to go with his words. The woman in front of him wasn’t normal. He had to tread lightly, coaxing her while minimizing shock.
“Then why didn’t you deny it earlier? Why are you only now saying I’m not a dragon? That it’s impossible?”
The conversation was uncomfortable, but unlike what Derwin expected, Shanelica didn’t become angry or hysterical.
That was odd. From her reactions, it almost felt like he was the one getting something wrong. It was a feeling similar to what he felt the last time they had dinner together.
“Did you pity me?”
Shanelica asked, smiling faintly, as Derwin stood silent.
Smiling… in this situation?
“If I hadn’t doubted your memory, you probably would’ve kept playing along with me.”
What a strange woman. Even though she knew he thought she was insane, she still smiled. It wasn’t mocking—just a gentle, pleasant smile.
“You’re a warmhearted person.”
Whoosh.
As her eyes curved beautifully and she smiled brightly, Derwin felt like his whole body stiffened.
Until now, the Shanelica he knew felt more like a naive girl than a woman.
But in this moment, the depth of her heart seemed immeasurable. Some might dismiss her thoughts as childish or naïve, but Derwin didn’t. For some reason, he was certain that she meant every word.
“It’d be nice if your real personality resembled this even halfway.”
But the depth of Shanelica’s heart wasn’t the issue now. What made Derwin frustrated was her refusal to deny their supposed connection as dragons.
“I’ve been searching for a doctor.”
“A doctor to treat my mental illness?”
Even with such a direct question, her smile lingered faintly.
“…Yes. So please rest in the mansion and receive treatment. There’s no need to feel pressured.”
“The mansion staff won’t let me leave because I’m your fiancée—but was that really the reason?”
“I won’t say it wasn’t. There are many eyes watching. While you’re undergoing treatment, please stay inside.”
“So you’re saying you’re locking me in.”
“I ask for your understanding.”
“What if I say I must go outside?”
“You asked to stay here because you had nowhere else to go. I accepted. So I’ll accommodate your requests—within reason.”
Silence.
Shanelica stared at Derwin without blinking. Then she stood.
“No. It’s fine. I don’t need a doctor or treatment.”
The next morning, Shanelica stepped out of the mansion and let out a deep sigh.
“Haah…”
Once she was far enough away, she glanced back.
Still a terrible color scheme.
Even though it was her second time seeing it, her opinion hadn’t changed.
To build a mansion like that, completely ignoring its surroundings, and still claim to be human—unbelievable.
Still, what was different now was that whenever she saw those colors, she couldn’t help but picture his pitch-black eyes as a human.
“I’ll come back in a year anyway.”
Shanelica reassured herself. That morning, she had left the mansion without saying a word.
Her conversation with Derwin the night before ended with her leaving the Cartel mansion.
Derwin had suggested she take her time to think about where she’d go next, but Shanelica couldn’t do that. She was afraid he might change his mind and lock her up during the night.
So she walked and walked with no destination. She simply strolled wherever her feet took her, watching people pass by.
This isn’t so bad.
There was one reason why she decided to leave the Cartel mansion:
“I can’t be trapped again.”
For 199 years, she had been confined to Spicher Island—more specifically, to her lair—for her own “safety.” It was a boring and suffocating life. Even if she had only one year left before becoming a full-fledged dragon, staying in that mansion felt like the worst possible outcome.
It was shocking to learn that Derwin was spending his time as a human without his memories. She couldn’t understand why he was doing that. But what could she do? It’s not like she could force answers from someone who didn’t remember.
Memory.
Come to think of it, she had lost her memory too. The difference was, he had forgotten even his identity as a dragon, while she at least remembered being a god.
Still, Derwin fully believed he was human now. From that perspective, it was natural for him to think someone talking about dragons was crazy. Even so, he pretended to believe her, listened to her, and even tried to arrange treatment. That had deeply moved her.
“Pfft. Thinking about that makes me laugh.”
Are we really the same beings?
What moved her even more was the contrast between their first meeting when he was a dragon and their meeting as humans.
Could it be that losing one’s memory also changes one’s personality?
“Still, the result was the same.”
A smile tugged at her lips. Though his initial reaction had been different, in the end, he protected her just the same. And that feeling of being protected… wasn’t bad at all.
But being confined was a different matter. If he thought she was mentally ill, then in his mind, she was someone who shouldn’t be allowed outside. And since she had no way to prove she was a dragon, the only choice left was to leave.
That said, she didn’t leave with nothing. She looked down at the small brown bag in her left hand.
“I’ll repay you when I return in a year. Please lend me some money.”
Last night, she asked Derwin to lend her just enough to cover a day’s treatment. He said it was fine, since the money was originally intended for her treatment anyway.
“I’ll pay you back. And please forget everything I said about being a dragon. I’ll never say I’m your fiancée again, either.”
Since he believed he was human, she felt she had to treat and respect him as such. If he had known he was the Dragon Lord, she wouldn’t have bothered to make promises about repaying him.
Just in case, she wrote a note and even left her fingerprint on it. If she spread false information about being his fiancée again, she agreed to accept any punishment. Since he saw her as mentally unstable, he could lock her up at any moment, and she needed to build trust.
“Whew. Let’s just think of this year as an adventure! Better than being locked up, anyway.”
She spoke aloud cheerfully to herself. As a dragon destined to live thousands more years, one year confined would feel like an eternity. But in the complex human world, she believed a year would pass in the blink of an eye.
So, even if it meant being apart from someone she wanted to be with, she accepted it.
She hadn’t met the gods as she’d originally planned, but she still had a whole year ahead. A year to live as an ordinary human, freely.
Until the day she became a true dragon.
harbaragi_syk
199 years ago, three days after the White Dragon Asha-Nerbikirael first opened her eyes—
[I am a god.]
It was a magical phrase that answered all the questions—where are your parents, how are you here without an eggshell, how can you speak already?
Just a few days after awakening, the newborn hatchling Asha-Nerbikirael spoke frankly in front of a massive Black Dragon.
[A god, you say?]
[Yup. That’s why I don’t have parents and can already talk like this.]
Despite being a mere speck compared to the massive Dragon Lord Derchebioneurf, Asha’s eyes sparkled brightly.
[…Ha.]
A brief silence. Then—
[…Insane. A mad dragon.]
As the chilling aura burst out, Asha trembled.
[But… I am a god.]
Still adjusting to the light, Asha blinked several times as the Dragon Lord emitted a murderous aura.
[Mad dragons must be eliminated.]
Every word came out cold enough to kill.
[No one will object if I kill you here. Even if you’re a hatchling.]
Thud.
Unable to withstand the immense pressure, hatchling Asha collapsed.
[Die.]
The last thing she heard at their first meeting was that word.
And with that, she blacked out.
