Chapter 2…
It was a month ago, at Seria’s tenth birthday party, when Uel first came to the ducal house.
As always, Seria was being showered with her brothers’ teasing—well, their “love,” as they called it.
“Seria, when you grow up, will you marry me?”
“What? No way! Absolutely not!”
Her third brother clamped his hands over his mouth, acting as if he were deeply wounded, but Seria didn’t find it important in the least.
Looking exasperated, she let her sharp eyes scan the crowd.
The wide garden was filled with people, and among them were plenty of children around her age.
‘Oh? A cat.’
By chance, Seria’s eyes landed on Uel.
More precisely—on the moment when, startled by a servant spilling water, his cat ears popped out.
‘He’s a cat, like me.’
It wasn’t unusual for high-ranking families to be beastkin, and most of those, aside from the rare dragon-beastkin, were felines.
So, the fact that this boy was a cat wasn’t particularly surprising. But it was enough to spark her curiosity.
And when the servant bowed in apology, the boy calmly smiled and said it was fine. That smile made her lick her lips without realizing it.
‘Wait… why am I licking my lips?’
Strange.
Before she could think about it further, Seria was already pointing at Uel. Then, in a burst of impulse, she declared:
“I like him.”
They weren’t standing that far apart, and words like “him” and “like” were bound to carry.
Uel’s black cat ears twitched, and he reflexively turned his head.
Thump—his heart skipped.
No, it pounded madly.
Well, wouldn’t yours, if five older brothers were glaring at you as if they wanted to kill you?
“Who? Him?”
“The one I’m looking at?”
“The one you’re looking at, and I’m looking at?”
“The one you’re looking at, I’m looking at, and our brother’s looking at too?”
“Enough.”
While the five brothers parroted nonsense, Uel finally spotted Seria peeking out from behind their menacing figures.
Her short, shoulder-length hair was the color of sweet cotton candy. Her bright amber eyes, like lemon squeezed into honey, shone sharply.
And Uel felt his heart pound again.
This time, though, it was a different kind of pounding.
“Hi. My name is Seria.”
She remembered the lessons her etiquette tutor had once taught her: How to make friends your own age.
She recalled them carefully as she walked up to Uel.
Step one: greet them with a bright smile.
‘Easy, right?’
She thought proudly, I’ve already done it.
Confidence bubbled up inside her. Meanwhile, Uel grew more and more stiff.
“What’s your name?”
“U… Uel Ricard.”
“Let’s be friends, Uel. I like you.”
Step two: express your desire to be friends, and show goodwill.
‘Perfect. Just like I was taught.’
According to her tutor, the other child was supposed to smile and ask her a question in return…
“I-I don’t like you!”
…Huh?
Seria blinked in shock.
He doesn’t like me? Why?
While confusion and indignation tumbled around in her mind, Uel turned and ran.
If Seria had cried then and there, her brothers would have rushed to shield her.
But instead—
‘What’s with him?’
Seria smiled. Like a cat watching a fleeing mouse, her eyes sparkled with mischief.
Her brothers, reading her mood, exchanged awkward glances and quietly slipped away.
From that moment on, Seria began chasing after Uel.
At first, it was pure curiosity. But if she hadn’t genuinely liked him, that game of hide-and-seek wouldn’t have lasted so long.
And though Uel often repeated “I don’t like you” to hide his embarrassment—like most boys his age—if he truly hated her, he wouldn’t have hung around the garden when he knew Seria would be there.
“Uel, you’re more fun than any toy in the castle!”
By the time the two of them had grown close—each in their own peculiar way—Seria blurted this out one day.
She meant it as a compliment, but it didn’t sound flattering to Uel.
‘So all this time, she thought I was a toy?’
But she said she liked me!
His face flushed hot, his body trembling with strange betrayal.
Yet her next words left him puzzled.
“So you’re my very first friend!”
…Friend? Wasn’t a toy and a friend different things?
It was confusing. But when he recalled how Seria often muttered to herself, the reason became clear.
“Did you know? I grew up late.”
She’d once said this with a grin, dangling from a tree branch.
Putting her stories together, the picture was this:
While most beastkin went through their first growth between ages five and seven, Seria didn’t until she was eight.
Which meant that until then, she couldn’t take on a human form—she was nothing more than a kitten.
Of course, she could understand speech and even form words, but the only sound she could make was “meow.” That made it impossible to make friends her own age.
So, in simple terms, Uel had been the one to accept a Seria who was “under-socialized.”
“I’m your friend too, right, Uel?”
“Friendship only works if both people agree.”
Not bad for a little kid—roundabout, but clear enough. And Seria understood the meaning: Of course, we’re friends.
From then on, the two of them squabbled like childhood playmates.
And thanks to that, Uel gradually earned the subtle approval of her family. Not that he’d intended it.
Seria also often threatened her brothers: if they went near her one and only friend, she’d bite them.
Between Seria’s fierce protectiveness and Uel’s decent character, he managed to avoid most direct confrontations with her brothers.
At least, until thirty minutes ago.
“So, your name is Ruel Ricard?”
Fifth brother Marong asked, and fourth brother Laryuri whispered beside him, “Why pretend you don’t know?”
But Uel didn’t hear.
“M-my name is Uel Ricard.”
Under the scorching stares of five brothers, Uel shrank into himself.
He knew Seria liked him, but he hadn’t known she’d gone out of her way to keep her brothers from approaching him.
Now, with Seria absent, Uel was nothing more than prey… no, a helpless little cat.
“Not Ruel… Uel.”
Timid as he was, Uel still corrected them, which made him seem surprisingly bold.
Marong’s eyebrow twitched upward.
“Cut it out, Marong. If Liri finds out, she’ll be angry.”
“What does she even see in him?” Marong muttered back at their third brother, Danori.
Meanwhile, Uel realized for the first time that Seria’s nickname was Liri.
“Watch your mouth, Marong.”
The eldest, Garin, warned in a low voice while holding Seria in his arms.
He was the only one among them to have completed the third growth—and become a dragon. Which also made him the only one able to ease Seria’s strange illness.
No matter how many renowned doctors examined her, none had found the cause.
But when Garin, the dragon, was near, her condition calmed. They assumed it was thanks to the power of the dragon’s heart, known as the Dragon Gem.
“Uel Ricard. You’re Seria’s friend, aren’t you?”
Though Garin’s tone was gentle, Uel felt a shiver run down his spine.
Still, he nodded firmly.
He might have said he disliked her, he might have vowed never to play with her again, but he had never once thought she wasn’t his friend.
“Then you can keep a secret for your friend, can’t you?”
Uel nodded again.
“Did you know Seria is weak?”
“No…”
He shook his head miserably. Always too busy running away, he’d never realized Seria was ill.
You’re my first friend!
And yet, he hadn’t even known.
“She probably didn’t want to admit it. So treat her as you normally would, all right?”
Why wouldn’t she want to admit it?
A ten-year-old couldn’t fully grasp her feelings, but Uel obediently agreed. If that was what Seria wanted, then that was what he’d do.
But suddenly, curiosity sparked. His eyes widened.
“Where… where is she sick?”
“It’s a rare illness, hard to explain. But with a dragon nearby, it calms down.”
Like this.
Garin lowered Seria slightly, showing her peaceful face. She looked as if she were napping in a cool breeze.
“Every dragon has a Dragon Gem. Just being near it helps.”
“It’d be even better to hand it over directly.”
Fourth brother Ryu chimed in.
“Idiot, that’s impossible.”
Danori scolded him with a glare, while Garin explained with a cold smile:
“Right. If a dragon gives away their gem, they become unstable and eventually lose control. So it can’t be given away lightly.”
“That’s why I stay by her side. I’m the only dragon in the family.”
“But I can’t stay forever.”
Seventeen-year-old Garin’s lips twisted bitterly. He was already engaged, and by next year he would be married. He couldn’t always remain by Seria’s side.
“If you became a dragon, it would be a blessing for Seria.”
Of course, it wasn’t something one could will into being.
Most beastkin went through three stages of growth.
Though their animal forms were always felines, they weren’t born as cats.
At birth, they looked human. After about 100 days, they shifted into kittens. That was considered the preparatory stage for growth.
During the first growth, they regained their human form, able to shift freely between the two.
The second growth often brought change into other feline forms. The third growth locked their animal shape permanently.
Whether tiger, leopard, or another feline, they were all cats at heart.
The exception was the dragon.
Not feline, but something far stronger—and vanishingly rare. A dragon born into a family was said to be a heaven-sent blessing.
Uel knew all this. His family had only ever produced a couple of tigers, never anything more. He was certain he could never be a dragon.
And even if he did become one, that would mean staying by Seria’s side for the rest of his life!
‘A dragon…’
But the words “I don’t want to” never left his lips. Not because he was afraid of her brothers.
‘If I just become a dragon, that’s fine… right?’
Instead, Uel thought simply: he would become a dragon.
It just felt natural.
