Chapter 5
Wings sprouted, and though it was red, a lizard was still a lizard.
The lizard shouted at Cecilia, who was staring blankly downward. Well, “shouted” is a generous term—it was more like a deflated squeak.
“Ahem! I am a proud member of the Fire Dragon clan, celebrating my 141st year this year!”
For a moment, her mind went blank. Dragons were considered adults only after a thousand years.
So 141 years old was roughly equivalent to a three-year-old human child.
“I’ve been under the rule of… a three-year-old dragon?”
Unaware of Cecilia’s thoughts, the lizard—no, the Magic King of Mejina—scolded her loudly.
“Ungrateful wretch! I saved you from a death you were destined for, and now you come to bring ruin upon this land?”
Cecilia couldn’t help but retort.
“Ruin? I only… slightly damaged your detection network…”
“Damage? ‘Da-mage?’”
The lizard’s body trembled violently and turned violet.
“You call it ‘damage’ after completely destroying my detection network, draining all of my magic, and even attempting to kill me?”
“…?”
Her head spun. She could hear the words just fine, but understanding them was another matter.
“What… did I do?”
That was impossible. Cecilia had been carefully learning to control her magic in the Tower of Guardians. Compared to other trainees, her skills were far ahead, to the point that only her master, Branto, could spar with her—but she never thought anything unusual of it.
Branto had explained that he had trained many exceptional cases like her.
Even things a regular trainee might have gotten away with, Branto never overlooked.
“I barely even used half of the magic I usually do in training!”
Cecilia felt a deep sense of injustice. Even if she was under the command of a three-year-old dragon, who could have known that such a small amount of magic could cause so much destruction?
“Now I’m dead. Everything’s ruined. Mejina will be destroyed. Waaahhh!”
The lizard hid its face with its wings and began sobbing.
“Uh… excuse me…”
Cecilia cautiously spoke up.
“I have no intention of killing you. And I’m not planning to destroy Mejina, either.”
“…”
The dragon’s sobbing paused for a moment, and its body shifted to a soft purple.
“Such comforting words…!”
“I’ll even help restore the detection network.”
“Do you think this is all because of the detection network? Because of you, we’re all doomed! Mejina too! Wuh… poor Jemshu… he makes me crème brûlée every day…”
“Crème brûlée? Sounds delicious.”
Cecilia’s mouth watered. The food in the magic tower was too healthy-tasting, and even just hearing the name of a worldly dish made her salivate.
“It’s gone now! Because of you!”
“No, why?”
“The Emperor Lineck will invade and kill everyone!”
Silence fell.
Cecilia opened her mouth, then closed it again repeatedly.
It all hit her at once, like a bolt of lightning.
Who was after her?
The Emperor Lineck.
Why did Mejina cooperate with Lineck?
Because Lineck threatened that if they didn’t hand Cecilia over, he would conquer Mejina.
“…My goodness.”
Cecilia murmured, and the dragon responded with an intense reaction.
“So now you understand. Yes, because of you, we’re all doomed!”
“Is it really that bad?”
The mages of Mejina were strong. Even if the Empire actually invaded, it would not necessarily be a one-sided fight.
“You really know nothing.”
The dragon sighed as if exasperated.
“That… Lineck Emperor. That man can kill me.”
“…?”
Cecilia blinked.
A human… could kill a dragon?
From what she knew, Lineck was an ordinary lecher with no special powers, merely wielding influence over the empire due to his bloodline and authority. If he faced a dragon unarmed, he would be reduced to ashes in an instant.
“He acted like I’d be easy to deal with because he couldn’t use magic… then he threatened me with a sword!”
“Using a sword won’t kill him.”
A dragon is not a creature easily slain. Even if Cecilia cast far more powerful spells than the dragon could, it would only weaken it, not kill it.
‘I guess that’s exactly the state we’re in right now…’
The dragon fumed.
“You don’t understand! You’ve never experienced it yourself! That man made a pact with a demon!”
At that moment, an indescribable wave of emotion swept over Cecilia.
More than fear, more than anger—pure terror.
“I just barely became strong… and now it was all for nothing.”
But there was no way to have anticipated this.
History is full of those who summoned demons for overwhelming power. Theoretically, they could rival an adult dragon, which was undeniably tempting.
But all of them died; the last known attempt was fifty years ago.
And now the emperor had made a pact with a demon?
“Something must have happened.”
After all, someone with enough power wouldn’t need to risk their life for such a gamble.
The panicking dragon hadn’t even considered this.
Cecilia spoke slowly.
“So that’s why you tried to hand me over.”
It made sense. Cecilia would have thought the same in the dragon’s position. One human life could save an entire nation and the dragon itself.
Cecilia bit her lip.
No matter how great a sorcerer, subduing a demon was impossible. Especially if the demon’s base was now the Empire of Lineck, giving herself up would have been like handing herself directly to the demon.
‘Maybe that was his plan.’
Whether she was captured in Mejina or in Lineck, it would have made no difference to the emperor.
Cecilia was deep in thought when she heard:
“Exactly… that’s it!”
She blinked. The dragon’s voice seemed strangely ecstatic.
“You… you could probably kill that man yourself.”
Cecilia thought: Poor little thing. Completely unhinged from the pressure.
The azure towers of the imperial palace shook violently, as if piercing the sky.
Elite soldiers of the Lineck Empire exchanged uneasy glances.
Light tremors were an annual event, so nothing extraordinary, but the fear of a full-scale earthquake was something every citizen harbored.
Boom!
The moment the deafening roar echoed, everyone—from soldiers to servants—panicked and fled the palace.
All, that is, except one woman who appeared under the moonlight, her hair shining like snow in the cold light.
Her beauty was unforgettable, and her entire body was wrapped in a blue radiance.
Everyone instinctively knew: this frail-looking woman… was the cause of the palace’s violent tremors.
A small dragon wrapped around her wrist, but no one paid it any mind.
“What are you doing!?”
The commander, barely recovering his senses, shouted.
“Form ranks immediately! We can easily defeat the evil Mejina scum!”
“…Pfft.”
A clear sneer appeared on the woman’s face.
“‘Evil Mejina scum’? The ones you threatened for living in peace were probably your own empire. How shameless.”
She raised her hand, and the soldiers were paralyzed as if their bodies had frozen.
Only one young soldier, who hadn’t been affected, collapsed flat onto the floor.
“P-please! I’ll do anything!”
About a minute passed, feeling like an eternity to everyone.
Finally, the woman spoke, her voice cold and resolute like a well-honed iron blade:
“Tell the Emperor.”
“That Cecilia Keres you wanted so badly… has returned.”
