“Duke, you like knitting dolls, don’t you?”
At the soft, gentle voice, Dante’s red eyes turned toward Yvonne, who was seated in front of him.
With fairy blood running through her veins, Yvonne possessed a calm beauty laced with an air of mystery.
Her curly, soft hair framed her pale face, so delicate it almost revealed her veins. Her lips curved in a subtle smile, tinted a light pink. Amid all the soft, muted tones of her appearance, only her cheeks stood out, rosy and red like blooming roses.
‘What should I say?’
Dante, lost in thought for a moment, finally gave a small nod. At that, Yvonne broke into a wide smile and let out a soft laugh.
“I knew it. You’re still a bit slow, but you’ve been sticking with it.”
Like a flower blooming in spring, her smile was utterly lovely.
Dante, caught off guard by her expression, said nothing and simply stared. Realizing belatedly that he might have been displeased by her teasing tone, Yvonne gave a small shrug.
“Bu-but you’ll get better soon! That’s how everyone learns.”
“…”
‘That’s not what my look meant, though.’
Dante let out a quiet sigh. The knitted doll, resting its round head on Yvonne’s shoulder, turned to grin mockingly at him.
‘That little brat.’
When Dante shot it a glare, the doll instantly returned to its innocent, unmoving state. Dante subtly pouted, resisting the urge to crush that tiny head with just his index finger.
Just then, Yvonne, noticing the silent exchange, widened her eyes and exclaimed as if they were mid-duel.
“Ah! If you pull the yarn too tightly, the loops won’t come out evenly. Try relaxing your fingers a bit. Yes, like that—just a little gentler.”
As she spoke, she lightly tapped the back of Dante’s hand with her slender finger. At the unexpected touch, a deep blush quickly spread across Dante’s dark, serious face.
‘Hehe’.
The knitted Pepe doll laughed at Dante again. A vein twitched at the corner of his forehead. The more he looked at it, the more irritated he became, so he lowered his head and busied his thick fingers with the yarn, doing his best to keep the annoying thing out of sight.
He felt pathetic, though his face didn’t show it.
‘Why am I even doing this?’
Originally, he’d only pretended to be interested in knitting to lure this innocent, clueless woman out of her shell.
‘I can’t tell her the truth.’
So, without saying a word—not that he disliked knitting or wanted to quit—Dante silently looped another thread onto the needle.
As Yvonne had said, the results from his hands were sloppy at best. Another sigh escaped his lips.
Duke Dante Christopher.
The Empire’s Black Wings. Commander of the Imperial Knights. Master of the vast Northern Territory.
The man who had never even imagined touching yarn started knitting just three months ago.
* * *
It wasn’t my parents who appeared in the earliest memory I can recall, but the great dragon, Petuanis, with enormous, deep-water-colored wings.
Petuanis flew away with me on his back, while countless people shouted and gave chase from below.
⟨Catch it!⟩
⟨The princess is on his back! Don’t miss it!⟩
⟨You can kill it! So shoot the arrows!⟩
The deep darkness. The thunderous pounding of hooves shook the ground. Shouts and curses. Torches flaring in a chaotic blur.
As a small child, I was terrified of it all. I shut my eyes tight and clung to Petuanis’s back.
How long did he keep running like that?
Eventually, the darkness faded. The sun rose, and those who had been chasing us gave up the pursuit.
When we finally stopped, I stepped onto the ground and looked back at Petuanis, my fingers twitching from the cold, too stiff to straighten properly.
And then, I finally managed to say what I’d been wanting to ask all along.
⟨How about my mom…?⟩
My beloved mother was not by my side.
‘I have to go back and get her. I have to run with Mom.’
I kept searching for her, not even knowing who was chasing us or where we were running to. I just believed that everything would be okay if she hugged me and told me so.
Petuanis looked down at me with eyes full of sorrow and said—
⟨You can’t meet your mother anymore.⟩
⟨Pardon?⟩
What does that even mean? I stood there blankly, blinking in confusion. Petuanis lowered his head, his long beige mane and curved horns drooping like a waterfall.
⟨And so do I. I think this is the last time…⟩
⟨Pe, Pepe!⟩
Blood was dripping from his long neck, marked with snake-like patterns. A thick spear had pierced through his tough, scaly hide.
‘It’s because of me.’
I still didn’t understand exactly what was happening, but one thing was painfully clear. Petuanis had ended up like this because he was trying to protect me.
The moment I realized that, tears burst from my eyes. Clutching Petuanis’s foot with my small hands, I cried out.
⟨Don’t get sick, Pepe! Don’t fall asleep!>
⟨Yvonne…⟩
Brilliant golden eyes looked at me with warmth.
⟨I only wish I’d had enough time to teach you magic…⟩
⟨Pepe!⟩
While we were talking, Petuanis’s body began to grow cold, so cold that I could feel how quickly life was leaving him.
Panicking and not wanting to leave him like that, I hurriedly took off the flower-patterned knit shawl I was wearing and gently laid it over him.
⟨Don’t go to sleep! My mom said you shouldn’t sleep when you’re sick. I’ll bring a doctor! I’ll make you warm too. So-so, just wait a little bit, okay?⟩
And I gently covered Petuanis’s body with the shawl, just to warm him up, even if only a little.
But against his enormous form, my knitted shawl was far too small. His golden eyes, filled with quiet sorrow, slowly began to fade.
⟨Pepe!⟩
I shut my eyes tight as tears streamed down.
⟨Anyone, anyone save Pepe!⟩
It was at that very moment.
The knitted shawl I had been struggling to cover him with began to glow—a soft, gentle light.
It felt just like the warmth I used to feel when my mother held me.
‘Why is the shawl shining all of a sudden?’
This shawl… it was the one my mom gave me. But it had never shone like this before.
‘It’s so bright!’
I couldn’t take the light anymore and squeezed my eyes shut.
And when I opened them again…
⟨Huh?⟩
The great and mighty dragon had vanished, and in his place, there lay a small, knitted doll.
⟨Baby Dragon⟩
I carefully picked up the doll.
It was a crocheted figure, just like my shawl.
Its round, jade-green hair was made of yarn, with fluffy white ends. Small, translucent wings—like a bat’s—peeked from its back. The baby doll was so adorable, I almost wanted to bite it.
‘But… where did Pepe go?’
Where did this cute thing come from?
I froze, panic making my shoulders stiff.
Suddenly, there was a rustle behind me. I clutched the baby doll tightly to my chest and turned toward the sound.
In the pale light of dawn, a young knight stood in the cold air, dressed in light armor.
He looked at me, eyes wide in surprise. After a brief pause, he pursed his lips, then asked in a soft, slightly excited voice:
⟨Why is there a child here? Where did the great dragon go?⟩
Tears welled up in my eyes again at the thought of Petuanis, the great dragon. My words came out as a soft whimper.
⟨I—I don’t know. He suddenly disappeared.⟩
⟨I see.⟩
At first, he hesitated. But then he quickly stepped closer, knelt, and met my eyes. His face, filled with excitement, grew serious as he gently gripped my shoulders.
⟨What is your name?⟩
⟨It’s Yvonne.⟩
⟨Yvonne.⟩
Repeating my name with meaning, he reached out a large hand toward me.
⟨If you have nowhere to go… would you like to come with me? My son’s about your age. I think he and Yvonne could be good friends.⟩
After a moment’s hesitation, I took his hand. I was in the middle of a forest, and neither my mother nor Petuanis was with me anymore.
The man who found me that day was Count Kleene of the East.
And just like that, I ended up living in the Kleene family’s mansion. The Count and his household treated me with kindness, even though they knew nothing about who I really was.
But when I grew from a young girl into a woman, a dramatic turning point came into my life.
⟨Yvonne, marry me.⟩
Emil Kleene, the only son of the Count and Countess, proposed to me.
