IYDTDF16

Chapter 16

“Useless fools. Widen the search area and find her no matter what.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“And plaster her face across every back alley in the city. Post a bounty large enough to tempt anyone.”
“But… won’t Lady Shiray hear of it if we do that? Rumors in the slums spread like wildfire.”
“That’s exactly the problem!”

Better that Shiray finds out Dalia ran away, the viscount thought bitterly. It would be far worse if we never found her at all, with no bride to present when the time comes.

The memory of his looming debts made him tremble with rage.
“Argh!”
Unable to contain himself, the viscount hurled whatever object was within reach across the room.

Dalia stood in the mansion’s vast, empty storeroom, pressing a hand to her forehead.
“People really live here? This place is practically barren!”

The grand estate’s storeroom was almost devoid of supplies. If this continued, starvation seemed a very real possibility. She scoured the shelves until she found a meager amount of fruit and grain.

“Well… I guess I’ll cut the fruit first.”

Arranging it in a bowl gave the illusion of a proper meal, but it was hardly enough to feed anyone. She frowned, folding her arms in thought.

Khalid lost so much blood… he needs something warm and nourishing.

That decided it. She would throw everything she had into making a stew. Clumsy but determined, Dalia began preparing the ingredients and then moved toward the hearth.

“Ha…”

Naturally, not even a spark remained in it.
“What on earth did these people eat before I came here?”

She gathered wood and kindling, fumbling through several failed attempts until at last she coaxed a tiny flame to life. Relief washed over her—until the moment she placed it into the hearth.

The fire erupted violently, surging up like a monster to engulf her.
“Kyah!”

She flung her arms over her face in panic—only for a strong figure to seize her and twist her away from the flames.

When she finally dared to open her eyes, the fire had already died down as though it had never raged at all.
“…How is this possible?”

It was Khalid holding her protectively.

“I heard your scream. Are you hurt?”
“Wait—you came all the way down from the upper floor that quickly?”
“Yes.”

He answered absently, focused only on examining her for injuries. She nearly demanded an explanation, but froze.

The sharp, acrid scent of burning flesh clung to him. Horrified, she pulled away.

“Forget me—what about you? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
“No, let me look! If you move around like this, your wounds will open again.”

As expected, blood was already seeping through his bandages.

Dalia stared at the red stain in dismay. Before she could scold him further, Khalid spotted the food she had been preparing. He picked it up gently.

“I should have done this myself. Forgive me.”
“Enough. Let me treat your wound first.”
“It will heal quickly. Don’t trouble yourself.”
“How can I not worry?”

But Khalid remained obstinate. This time, he had no intention of yielding. Dalia sighed in frustration.
“Then at least rest while I finish the stew.”

“No. I’ll take over. You should rest, Dalia.”

Before she could argue further, he ushered her out of the kitchen and closed the door firmly in her face.

“Unbelievable…”

No matter how she protested, the only response was his calm insistence that she return to her room. Muttering to herself, she trudged upstairs.

Halfway up, she paused before the tapestry depicting a black dragon.

Khalid appeared the instant I screamed… just like how he appeared in the forest. None of this is normal.

Was he truly a dragon? A great sage of the Ivory Tower? Some hidden royal? Every possibility seemed absurd. And yet, the fragments of stories she had heard about dragons matched too well with what she had seen.

Still, could that terrifying monster from legend really be the same man?

Shaking her head, Dalia forced herself to calm down. Whatever he was, he had saved her life. She owed him.

“At the very least, I need to treat his injuries. He got hurt protecting me.”

Later, Khalid appeared with the completed stew on a tray. Strangely, despite the poor ingredients, it smelled rich and savory.

Dalia gazed at it in surprise until he placed a spoon in her hand.

“This was meant for me to prepare. Forgive me.”
“I was trying to feed you, actually. Patients need soft food to recover.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. Eat, then rest.”
“No. You should eat first.”

The standoff began.

“Then let’s share it.”

“There’s only one bowl. You eat.”
“Absolutely not. You first.”

Khalid’s eyes narrowed, but she held her ground until at last, with visible reluctance, he muttered:

“…Truthfully, I could live on morning dew alone.”

Dalia blinked.
“…What?”

He immediately looked regretful, lowering his eyes in silence. Instead of explaining, he simply scooped up a spoonful of stew and held it to her lips.

She opened her mouth automatically, but her thoughts raced.
Live on dew? What kind of human says that? Unless… he isn’t human at all.

“You’re not really human, are you?”

Before he could answer, another voice intruded from the doorway.

“So, Lord Khalid. You’ve been discovered already?”

It was Aaron.

The steward strode forward, eyes blazing.

“I suspected this would happen the moment you brought a human here. But this quickly?”
“It can’t be helped.” Khalid’s tone was weary, resigned.

Aaron was not appeased.

“How could you let her find out? Your reverse scale has already returned—did you tell her outright? I warned you we should have gotten rid of this human before it came to this.”

His fangs flashed as he bared his teeth at Dalia. Any pretense of civility was gone; his hatred was open now.

“Aaron. I told you—Dalia is my guest. Watch your tongue.”

But Dalia barely heard him. She was frozen in shock.

“…A dragon? You’re telling me you’re really a dragon?”

She had doubted it, suspected it—but hearing it confirmed shattered her world. The man who had saved her, who argued stubbornly like any mortal, was the very monster from countless terrifying legends.

Both Khalid and Aaron stiffened.