Chapter 49
“Oh my, Lady Cherry. After a proper wash, your beauty shines even brighter!”
König had summoned Ria, and… I ended up enduring the most thorough bath of my life.
“Chut.”
But two and a half hours? I almost turned into squirrel sous-vide!
I turned away with a sulky flick of my tail, only for Ria to follow me with a hand mirror.
“Still, isn’t it nice to be clean? I worried the ink might stain your fur. But… hm, you seem strangely whiter than before.”
“Chuuh?”
Startled, I hurried to look in the mirror.
My fur, once a warm golden brown—like freshly baked madeleines—now shimmered closer to ivory. A shade between pale yellow and cream.
‘This isn’t “strangely”—I’m definitely paler!’
I gawked at Ria, who flipped through the instructions on the luxury pet shampoo again with an increasingly grim face.
“Hm. It says there’s no bleaching effect…”
The more she checked, the more serious she looked.
“D-did I scrub you too hard? Does your skin sting? Do you feel feverish?”
She lifted me into her palm, inspecting me from every angle as if she were the culprit. Then her face twisted—into that dangerous expression she wore right before hurting herself.
And then—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Her forehead slammed into the tiled wall.
“Chuuut?!”
Why again?!
“This is all my fault, Lady Cherry! And yet… while I worried, I thought you looked even cuter, like a soft mochi! I don’t deserve to serve you!”
Was this the Black Dragon Fortress way… or just Ria’s way? I wasn’t sure anymore.
“Chut-chut!”
Ria, stop! This isn’t your fault—it’s natural!
I clung desperately to her arm, chittering protests she couldn’t possibly understand. Words only got through sometimes; most of the time, we relied on gestures.
So, I changed tactics.
“Chuuh?”
I pressed my face close to the mirror, pretending to be mesmerized by my reflection.
Then—turning slightly, I pressed a tiny paw to my cheek, widening my eyes dramatically at Ria.
‘Ugh, I look like a narcissistic squirrel…’
But it worked.
“Kyaaa!”
She froze mid-headbutt, shrieking with joy.
“Lady Cherry, you’re so cute I could nosebleed! I can’t breathe! I need to fetch a painter! No—the Duke himself! Or maybe… no, I want to keep this just for me!”
“Chut…”
Fine, fine. Just breathe first.
***
After drying off to a perfect fluff, Ria and I left the bath and strolled across the grand hall toward the garden for a rare breath of fresh air.
But then—
“Chut?”
What’s that sound?
The usually quiet fortress echoed with voices, growing louder as we neared the gates.
“Visitors? I wasn’t told of any…” Ria frowned.
Sensing something amiss, she tucked me carefully into her breast pocket, slipping one hand behind her back.
I couldn’t see well from inside, but I knew the gesture.
‘She’s preparing… in case they’re hostile.’
Ria, after all, was one of the fortress’s deadliest assassins.
“Chuut…”
I held my breath as she walked toward the gates.
“Careful with those crates! Especially that one—the master’s treasure is inside!”
Strangely, the strangers passed through the gates without question.
A long line of black carriages and wagons rolled in, guarded by more than thirty men.
‘A merchant caravan?’
I poked my head out. Every carriage bore the same sigil: a crimson rose.
‘Red roses… ah, the Rose Company?’
Yes—one of the most powerful trading groups in the empire, famed for their wealth. They even dealt beyond Yggdnia to the western continent.
‘They say they’re richer than some noble houses… so the Kreutz Duke does business with them too?’
The scale dwarfed any caravan I’d seen in the mountains.
And there was something else—
‘Isn’t their master said to be… shrouded in mystery?’
Rumors whispered that anyone who saw the company’s leader’s face never lived to tell the tale.
I narrowed my eyes at the lead carriage, ornate and heavily guarded.
‘If the master’s anywhere, it’s there.’
“Chut.”
Ria, stay sharp. Let’s go.
But then—creak.
The door of the first carriage swung open.
And—
“Honestly. Nothing ever changes here, does it?”
A woman stepped down, her hair blazing crimson like fire.
She flicked back the brim of her wide hat with a sharp gesture. Jewels glittered on her shoes, her gown flowed in elegant lines that showed her figure.
Like a rose in full bloom—dazzling, dangerous.
“Chut…”
That’s her. The master of the Rose Company.
I knew it instinctively.
But the real shock came when Ria’s voice trembled.
“Welcome back, Lady Eloise.”
My eyes widened.
‘L-Lady… Eloise?!’
The name chilled me.
Eloise Kreutz.
The only titled lady of Yggdnia. A dragon of infamy, feared even across continents.
They called her the Mad Dragon Princess. Stories told of her lopping off a thug’s head just for blocking her path.
Was that true? I didn’t know. But dangerous—definitely.
Proof enough: Ria’s hand shook as she held me tighter, then tapped my back twice.
Our private signal.
Danger.
I curled small inside the pocket.
Meanwhile, the tap of jeweled heels drew closer.
“Yes. Long time indeed, Ria.”
“It has been four years, my lady. Forgive me for asking, but what brings you without warning…?”
“…Do I need permission to come to my own house?”
“You know that’s not what I meant. You dislike visiting this fortress, so I was simply concerned.”
“Hmph. True. This castle is always… so dull.”
Eloise sighed, acknowledging it.
Then her eyes glittered.
“But I heard an amusing rumor lately. That a little mouse has crept into the Black Dragon Fortress.”
