DSMBL Chapter 47

Chapter 047

Stephanie ran as fast as she could, her breath catching in her throat. The knights, who had been searching for her after she disappeared, finally found her.

When she returned to Cassius, Charlotte, and Theo, she took a deep breath to calm herself. The black scales that had risen on her skin disappeared, and her bright yellow eyes returned to their usual golden color.

“Stephanie? Where have you been? You scared us,” Charlotte said.

“I smelled sulfur,” Stephanie replied. She snuggled into Charlotte’s arms like a child seeking comfort.

Cassius’s expression turned cold. The smell of sulfur—it was the scent of monsters.

“And? What did you see?” Cassius asked, his voice sharp.

Stephanie narrowed her eyes. “It wasn’t just two of them.”

“Then how many?”

“Five. There were five of them.”

Cassius felt his blood turn cold. Five fully grown werewolves. He shut his eyes for a moment before opening them again. These were creatures that could easily toy with humans.

His gaze met Charlotte’s, and she bit her lip.

Those five werewolves were not just wandering around. They were preparing for something terrible. With just five of them, they could destroy an entire village.

But this wasn’t supposed to happen until the next full moon—monsters do such things only on certain days.

Charlotte swallowed hard. 

What they were doing now was reconnaissance. They were gathering information and choosing the most populated places.

‘…I know something, but I can’t say it.’

Charlotte lowered her gaze. The best thing she could do for them was to leave as soon as possible. She had to make sure Lorencia could close the monster gate.

“Everything will be fine,” she said softly.

Cassius turned his eyes toward her. Charlotte gently stroked Theo’s cheek, trying to soothe his worries.

“Istheria is an unbreakable sword. We will win.”

“That’s strange,” Cassius muttered quietly. Charlotte looked at him with confusion.

For a moment, the noise around them faded. The presence of Stephanie in her arms, the sight of Theo across from them—it all seemed distant.

Then, Cassius let out a small chuckle.

“Now that you say it, it feels like we might actually win.”

“I only speak the truth. We will win,” she said firmly.

She couldn’t reveal what she knew about the future, but if her words could give them strength, she would say them as many times as needed.

Cassius pressed his lips together and stared at her.

At that moment—

Boom!

Fireworks exploded in the sky. Adults and children alike turned to watch the dazzling display. Even Cassius slowly turned his head to look.

The colorful explosions in the sky felt like they were weaving into her heart.

Somehow, she had a feeling—

She would never forget this moment.

***

Lorencia gazed out the window.

She saw Charlotte, Cassius, and those two annoying kids returning to the inn. Their faces were flushed with excitement, as if they had just enjoyed the festival.

Lorencia scowled.

“Don’t let it bother you,” Janice advised.

“…It annoys me how she acts like she owns what’s mine,” Lorencia pouted. She stepped away from the window and flopped onto the bed.

“What’s the first thing you’ll do when you become the Duchess? You’ll have a lot of money.”

“I’ll fill my dressing room with new clothes,” she said, smiling dreamily.

“Sure,” Janice responded without interest.

“And I’ll buy lots of jewelry! The ones Charlotte wears are all so ugly.”

“Do whatever you want,” Janice replied absentmindedly. She was too busy calculating time and dates in her head.

‘Still a long way to go,’ she thought, frowning slightly.

If Lorencia wanted to become the Duchess, many things needed to be arranged. The monsters that had crossed over into this world were just one of those arrangements.

Janice didn’t know what exactly had crossed over. She had just done what she was contracted to do. There were fanatical groups among humans who served monsters.

They believed true freedom was beyond the gate.

They thought they could cross the gate that the monsters did.

In exchange for teaching her how to open and close the gate, they had asked for just one thing—the King’s Scepter of Kankas.

‘…Come to think of it, that’s strange. Cassius should know the scepter is fake, but he hasn’t sent anyone after it yet.’

That meant one of three things:

1. Janice had hidden it well.
2. Cassius was secretly searching for it.
3. Cassius had given up on it.

Janice bit her lip.

Cassius had always been a mystery. Even when they were children, he had kept his distance from her, never truly opening his heart.

“What are you thinking about?” Lorencia asked.

“Nothing,” Janice replied, shaking her head.

The night grew deeper.

Tomorrow, they will arrive at the seaside villa.

It would be an enjoyable two weeks.

And on the last day…
The beach villa would be soaked in blood.

Janice smirked.
Lorencia glanced at her with a puzzled expression for a moment but soon looked away.

***

The next day, as the sun was setting, they finally arrived at the villa.

It was a large house with a cool blue roof, perfectly suited for the seaside. It was quite different from the grand and imposing atmosphere of the castle.

Stephanie and Theo seemed to love their home for the next two weeks. They immediately ran upstairs to explore, making a loud noise as they went.

Sigh.

“They’ve completely forgotten how to walk.”

Luna chuckled.

Being here made her feel more relaxed. People really did need a change of scenery sometimes.

Her complicated thoughts slowly settled down.

From upstairs, loud thumping noises and the excited voices of Theo and Stephanie echoed down.

“Charlotte! Hurry up and come see this!”

At Theo’s call, she made her way to the second floor.

Led by Theo and Stephanie, she stepped onto the balcony at the end of the hallway.

In front of them, the balcony opened up to a steep seaside cliff.

The sound of waves crashing against the rocks below echoed clearly in the air.

“Wow…”

It was a breathtaking view, one that wasn’t easy to find anywhere.

“Isn’t it amazing? I knew you’d like it, Charlotte!”

Theo grabbed her hand tightly.

Stephanie held her other hand.

“They say a lot of fish live down there.”

“I wonder what it feels like to live underwater.”

“Hah. Such a foolish thought from a lowly creature that can’t even breathe in water.”

“What?! Are you saying Spaghetti can breathe underwater?”

“Of course! If a dragon couldn’t do something as simple as that, could they even be called a dragon?”

Charlotte sighed and looked around.

Luckily, no one seemed to be paying attention to them.

It was truly miraculous that Stephanie’s true identity as a dragon had not yet been revealed. because she was so careless about it.

“Why are humans so bad at so many things?”

“Because they gave up on evolving.”

“Ev… evolution? What’s that? Is it like transforming?”

Theo’s eyes widened in confusion at the unfamiliar word.

Stephanie smiled at him.

Seriously. No matter how beautiful the view was, there was no way to enjoy it quietly with these two around.

Charlotte gazed at the endless horizon where the sea met the sky before turning back.

“Enough fighting. Who wants to go play in the water?”

“Me!”

“This mighty one as well!”

Alright, let’s go.

Water play was the best way to drain energy.