Chapter 47
…It felt like I’d just been insulted, but since I was the one who treated him like an unemployed bum first, I couldn’t really complain.
But—lunatic? Sedative?
“Oh, so you can’t talk, huh?”
The dragon snapped his fingers.
For a moment, I nearly collapsed to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.
Fortunately, I managed to regain my balance just in time, lifted my head, and moved my tongue.
“Who are you? Are you… a dragon?”
“I asked first.”
“I don’t know who this lunatic you’re talking about is, and I’d appreciate not being treated like some kind of sedative.”
“Ha! You’re a lunatic too, huh?”
“Think whatever you like.”
The fact that he was a dragon only made me less inclined to flatter him.
After all, even the cutest act would be useless—he could kill me on a whim.
I might as well say whatever I want—
“Interesting.”
Nice! That’s the ‘villain in a novel when deciding to spare the protagonist’ line!
But it’s still too early to relax.
“What is it you want?”
“You.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Do I need to explain?”
“Of course you do!”
“Humans are all so bothersome. Well… the lunatic I’m talking about is over there, in the northern hunting grounds, tracking bear tracks.”
“Latiger Olt Schlaeger? W-wait. You know about the bear? Don’t tell me… you’re the one who released it?”
“That’s right. Oh, don’t worry—I’ve hidden the gamekeeper somewhere safe. I’d like to have this conversation in peace.”
The dragon’s eyes narrowed with a smile.
Oh, this feels ominous.
“Kid, you’re not an ordinary human, are you?”
“I’ve been told I’m mature for my age!”
“That’s not all, though. Thanks to you, the future is getting distorted.”
“The… future?”
“That’s right.”
He lowered his head toward me. The smiling mouth spoke in a razor-edged voice.
“The Schlaeger dukedom was supposed to collapse in this generation.”
“Ah…”
“A human who holds the power of a Silver Dragon eventually reaches their limit. The current duke should’ve slowly gone mad and destroyed his house—”
His long finger pointed at me like the hand of a clock.
“But you’re keeping that duke’s sanity intact.”
“…Excuse me, but… does he look sane to you right now? He’s still a villain.”
Of course, compared to the rampaging tyrant in the original story, he’s still mild.
But if I recall his appearance at the orphanage, where he hunted people down… I still get goosebumps.
When he brazenly plundered the Marquis Godell’s estate, the phrase “shameless hypocrisy” fit him perfectly.
…Wait. Why am I defending the villain to a dragon?
The dragon narrowed his eyes, almost as if in pity.
“You’re thinking something strange right now, aren’t you?”
“…”
“Well, not my concern. All I know is—you’re not from this world.”
“Y-you can tell? Wait! Can you send me back to my original world?”
“Who knows. And even if I could, do you think I would?”
His eyes narrowed, his voice dripping with mockery.
“You might just be the antidote we need.”
“…What?”
“I already told you—the Duke of Schlaeger should’ve gone mad much faster, but he’s still in his right mind.”
“…”
“Those who receive a dragon’s power will eventually be consumed by madness. Sadly, it has nothing to do with whether the dragon likes them or not.”
Even as he said something so depressing, his expression only grew more playful.
I was certain of one thing—this guy had no “fondness” for me.
He soon got to the point.
“Will you be our stabilizer?”
It didn’t take me long to realize who “our” referred to.
The image of Kai’s eyes flashed in my mind—more precisely, those wavering green irises.
“…You went into Kai, didn’t you?”
“Not yet. I’m the type to think ahead before I act.”
“So you’re starting with me as a safety measure?”
“Exactly! Well, there’s a chance you only work on the Duke of Schlaeger, but… we won’t know until we try, right?”
The dragon took a step back, bowing elegantly like a noble. Red wings unfurled behind him.
“Let me formally introduce myself. I am the guardian dragon of Lafrande—the Cardinal Dragon. Sol, come to the Marquisate of Lafrande.”
“…”
“I can assure you—there is no land richer than Lafrande. Vast farmlands give us both beer and wine, and with the sea nearby, seafood is plentiful.”
The beer part was tempting. But the next words shook me more.
“How long do you plan to live in tension beside that ill-tempered duke? Even if you stabilize him, the original nature doesn’t change. And he’s made plenty of enemies in his wild youth.”
That was true. In his younger days, he roamed the battlefields with no blood or tears.
No matter how much I made him play the “daughter-fool” role, could a man who didn’t even cherish his own child truly change?
“In Lafrande, there’s a kind old marquis and his grandson living peacefully together. I’ll give you a warm place there—whether as a granddaughter or as a fiancée.”
…I remembered the day I was adopted into the Schlaeger house.
In reality, I’d never been adopted, but here in this romance fantasy world, I was—and into a villain’s family at that.
If the me from back then had been shown the cozy Marquis Lafrande and cute Kai, I would’ve chosen them without hesitation.
And I’d recently learned that Kai was an even better kid than I imagined.
But—
“I refuse.”
“Why? Do you think you can ‘fix’ the duke? Adults don’t change.”
“I know he won’t change. But…”
I thought of Benen. The fifteen-year-old budding villain who’d begun to truly care for me after we drove out Madam Gracia.
Then I thought of Elber. That boy who always spoke like an angel—
A boy who, according to the original story, would soon have his mental state shattered.
In a few years, the saintly heroine would save him. But I couldn’t exactly tell him, ‘You have a happy ending, so just suffer for now.’
Therefore—
“There are people I need to protect, not people I need to fix.”
…And as I said that, not only those two boys, but even the Duke of Schlaeger’s face appeared in my mind.
He was still a villain now, and would still be one later.
But when he’d spoken about his late wife, he had looked somehow pitiful—like a dented old tin pot.
Either way—
“I’m not going to Lafrande!”
“…Ha. Ahahahahaha!”
The Cardinal Dragon burst out laughing, clutching his stomach. The sound was so loud it threatened to burst my eardrums, but his eyes never smiled—they glared at me.
“Kid, you dream big.”
“You have to dream big. That way, when you fail, it’s easier to make excuses.”
“You sure talk nonsense well.”
The Cardinal Dragon stepped back. His wings folded against his body, and his clothes shifted into the uniform of a bodyguard—specifically, one of Kai’s guards.
“I’ll take my leave. If you ever change your mind, send a letter to Alkaïos.”
“Oh? So you were the one who edited Kai’s letter!”
“I merely guided him. Alkaïos writes well even without my edits. Don’t assume everyone your age is on your level.”
Wow. He’s lived this long just to master the art of being annoying?
“Yes, yes, I understand. Take care! And never come back!”
“Grow well.”
With that farewell, the Cardinal Dragon vanished, and the world began to move again.
The first thing I noticed was the noisy chatter. The sky was the same color as before, and the people were still enjoying the festival.
But… Kai, why would you accept a dragon’s power?
Could it be that by changing the villain’s fate, I’m making Kai into one?
But no—that was impossible. Kai was not the type of character to become a hidden mastermind. That would be a total setting and character collapse.
I’d have to dig into his thoughts later.
…But wait. Where am I?
Before, I’d been on my way to buy juice, following the Cardinal Dragon disguised as a bodyguard.
Obviously, this was a place I’d never seen before—and there was no guide.
Hey, Cardinal Dragon! If you’re going to pretend to be a bodyguard, you should provide after-sales service too!
Well, first, let’s get to the main road.
Because everyone around me was dressed in fancy clothes, my expensive outfit didn’t stand out much.
Thank goodness. The Duke of Schlaeger surely had many enemies, and to people like that, I’d be the perfect kidnapping target.
…But I guess thoughts have a way of becoming reality.
Someone grabbed my shoulder. A large, rough hand.
“That silk dress is real pretty, missy. Must be expensive, huh?”
Anyone who opens a conversation by evaluating your clothes is never a decent person.
I opened my mouth to scream, but the man was faster.
A dirt-smelling hand clamped over my mouth—
And before I could let out a single cry, I was dragged into a side alley.
The sack covering my face was pulled off.
All I could see in front of me was a grimy mud-brick wall. I was literally sitting with the wall right in front of my nose.
A man’s voice came from behind me.
“Little lady, just keep looking straight ahead. This’ll be over quick. If you turn around…”
“Yes, I won’t look at your faces. Please guarantee my safety.”
“…”
The kidnapper was at a loss for words, so I helpfully finished his sentence for him.
“I won’t cry, and I won’t scream.”
“…What kind of kid are you?”
“Didn’t you know who you were kidnapping?”
“W-well, yeah. The duke’s adopted kid!”
“That’s right. I’m Sol Schlaeger. Please proceed with your plan as you see fit.”
“…”
The kidnappers muttered among themselves in disbelief.
“What’s with her? Is she really that adopted daughter?”
“Of course she is. I saw her riding in the duke’s carriage earlier.”
“Still, she’s weird. Looks like a kid, but talks like an adult.”
Ah, right. The duke told me not to do things that make me seem like an adult.
I quickly racked my brain and acted childish.
“I’m not a kid—I’m all grown up! I even know how to wear heels and dance!”
The two kidnappers sighed in relief.
“She’s a kid.”
“Yeah, a kid.”
Good.
…And honestly, I wasn’t too worried about the situation.
First, these kidnappers were clumsily kind.
When they tied me to the chair, they wrapped cloth around my ankles so the rope wouldn’t chafe.
Which, by the way, makes it way easier to struggle free—
These overly delicate people were definitely not professional villains.
And besides—
“They won’t find this place right away, will they?”
“It’ll be fine. We took her while the young masters were busy playing games, and there were no guards around!”
Wrong.
I touched the pendant hanging under my clothes—the lupé-shaped magic detector.
It was a mana pearl detector the duke had stolen from the Marquis Godell’s estate and given to me.
With this, the duke would be able to find me.
“Gentlemen, please—let me give you just one piece of advice.”
…The only thing I was worried about was—
“Is this building sturdy?”
Because if the duke decided to keep up his “daughter-fool” act, he just might bring the whole place down.
