Chapter 36.
Since the Invitation Arrived, I Must Accept It
The knights of Pritan, led by Mikrok, traveled tirelessly for ten days and seven more before arriving at the northernmost region—Koun.
There, the Koun region garrison was protecting the sole survivor and eyewitness of the village razed by the Dark Dragon—a young boy.
Mikrok first ordered Ralph to take half the knights and investigate the area. As for himself, he chose to meet the boy directly.
Thanks to the garrison’s care, the boy had regained some stability.
“Pay your respects. This is His Highness Mikrok.”
As the garrison commander tried to force the boy to bow by pressing down on his head, Mikrok raised a hand to stop him.
“Come and sit in this chair.”
He pointed to the chair in front of him. The boy, hesitantly, sat down. Mikrok offered him warm tea and cookies.
“Can you tell me what happened that night?”
After devouring the cookies, the boy began to recount the story he had already told the garrison multiple times.
“After dinner, I snuck off to the back mountain without telling my parents. Then suddenly, a giant monster appeared from the sky and started spewing fire. The village was engulfed in flames in an instant.”
“Why did you go to the mountain secretly?”
“My friend said he had something amazing to show me. But my parents didn’t like me hanging out with Ludik.”
“Why not?”
“They called him a drifter. But Ludik’s a good guy. He exaggerates a lot, but he has cool stuff.”
Mikrok nodded, encouraging the boy to continue.
“That night, he showed me a really amazing orb. It was transparent and shone with this gleaming light. It was seriously the size of a fist. But then he started spouting nonsense again!”
“What nonsense?”
“He said the orb was the eyeball of a baby dragon. Can you believe that?”
“What?!”
Mikrok, along with all the knights present, were stunned.
“Why didn’t you say this before?”
The garrison commander asked in shock.
“You never asked,” the boy replied with a frown.
The commander looked like he wanted to scold him more, but Mikrok urged the boy to go on.
“And then?”
“I told him to stop lying, but then he said if I waited a bit, he’d show me a real Dark Dragon. I thought it was another lie, but it was real. The village turned into a sea of fire just like that.”
The memory clearly disturbed the boy, who began trembling, tears welling in his eyes.
“I tried to run home in panic, but Ludik stopped me. He said it was too late and that he was the one who saved me. He said the Maon never forget a favor or a grudge.”
“What? Say that again. What’s his name?”
This time William leapt up, grabbing the boy’s shoulders. The boy flinched and answered.
“Ludik. Ludik Maon.”
Ludik Maon. The sole survivor and heir of the Maon tribe—annihilated by the Pritan knights just months ago—had resurfaced!
Seeing Mikrok, the knights, and the commander’s grim expressions, the boy shrank back, guessing that Ludik must have done something terrible.
“How did you meet him?”
“About a month ago, I found Ludik collapsed near the village entrance. I felt sorry for him, so I hid him in the barn and gave him some bread. We’ve been friends since.”
“Sigh…”
The knights looked down at the boy with conflicted emotions. They resented him for saving the enemy, yet were also grateful he survived because of it.
“What does Maon look like?”
“He’s about my height, with red hair and red eyes. Oh, and he has a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek.”
“How old is he?”
“Probably the same age as me.”
Mikrok nodded and sent the boy back to his temporary shelter. He had likely heard all he needed.
But what the boy left behind weighed heavily on those who remained. William cautiously spoke up.
“If everything he said is true, then isn’t this a trap to lure Your Highness in?”
“It seems that way.”
When Mikrok agreed, Freddy scowled.
“He killed a real baby dragon and gouged out its eye just to bait you? That’s insane.”
“He’s the last surviving heir of a slaughtered tribe,” William replied quietly. “If he’s blinded by vengeance, he’s capable of anything.”
He could somewhat understand Ludik’s mindset. If the Pritan army had been annihilated and Mikrok killed, he too would have done anything to get revenge.
“Even the odd behavior of the Dark Dragons makes sense now. They’re chasing the one who stole their young.”
“But that village was the only one attacked.”
“They’re likely hiding in the Wind Canyon to regain strength. Their bodies must be weak.”
While William and Freddy discussed the situation, Mikrok remained silent.
Just then, Ralph and the knights who had gone to scout the village returned.
“Your Highness, the village was completely reduced to ashes, and it looked like the dragons were tearing the place apart, searching for something. We also found this on the nearby back mountain.”
Ralph carefully pulled something from his pouch.
As he unwrapped the cloth, a radiant orb was revealed.
The Pritan knights, who had fought Dark Dragons many times before, recognized it immediately.
“It’s really a baby dragon’s eyeball,” Freddy said, swallowing hard.
“This is it? What about the other one?”
William asked. Ralph shook his head. There was only one.
“Also, the surrounding trees had been chopped and pointed toward the northeast. It seemed intentional, like a directional marker.”
After Ralph’s report, Mikrok stood up.
“William, pick the ten swiftest knights. You’ll join me in pursuing him.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Ralph, lead the rest of the knights to the Wind Canyon and assist the garrison. Make sure the recovering Dark Dragons can’t escape. Seal the entrance thoroughly.”
Ralph frowned and protested.
“It’s obviously a trap. You should take more men with you to the canyon—”
“Even weakened, Dark Dragons are no easy foes. And now they’ve lost their young—they’ll be even more ferocious.”
Mikrok refused Ralph’s suggestion. He carefully wrapped the baby dragon’s eye and handed it to William.
“Keep this preserved in ice.”
“Understood.”
Then Mikrok turned to Ralph and ordered, “Leave immediately.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“William, we’re leaving too. Northeast. We’ve been invited, after all—we should respond.”
As Ralph and the knights departed for the Wind Canyon, Mikrok and William mounted their horses.
“If he really killed a baby dragon and gouged out its eye, that kid is no ordinary opponent.”
“The Maon chieftain—whose head I severed—swore his heir would avenge him.”
Then Mikrok suddenly frowned, as if recalling something.
“Princess Shine, a demon, could change her form freely. That boy might not even be in his true form.”
“I see…!”
“From now on, treat everyone we meet with suspicion!”
William nodded at Mikrok’s warning. Cutting through the biting wind, they headed northeast.
“Leah, slow down!!”
After spending days buried in paperwork for the welcoming banquet’s budget, I must’ve felt stifled.
At first, I was riding side by side with Robby, but now my horse had pulled dozens of meters ahead.
I slowed down and waited for him.
“Maybe you need to break your neck to come to your senses?”
Embarrassed by Robby’s sharp scolding, I laughed sheepishly and dismounted. I laid out a spot under the shade and took out the picnic basket.
“Stop nagging and come sit down. The sun feels so nice today. It’s the first good weather I’ve had since coming to Pritan.”
When I handed him a drink, Robby gulped it down, clearly thirsty.
“You’re upset because of her, aren’t you?”
“Her?”
“The woman staying in the West Palace annex.”
Only then did I realize he was referring to Princess Shine.
“How do you know her?”
“That’s not the point. You don’t need to pretend with me. Your husband’s playing around with another woman—you can’t possibly be okay with that.”
“Robby, how do you know that? Who told you?”
I asked, startled. I had ordered everyone present that day to keep silent about the bomb Princess Shine dropped.
“From the woman herself.”
Only then did I realize my mistake. Ugh… I silenced the wrong people. The culprit’s mouth was left free!
I frowned, annoyed.
“I appreciate you being angry on my behalf, but it’s not true. That was her one-sided claim.”
“Someone who betrays you once can do it twice, three times.”
Robby suddenly laced his fingers with mine, gripping tightly.
“Listen, Leah. It’s not too late. Just like we planned back at the Marquisate of Uzkall—let’s go to the Southern Continent together. Not even the king of Pritan can chase you that far.”
“Robby, you…?”
I found this Robby—flushed and frantic—completely unfamiliar. He no longer looked like the childhood friend I had grown up with.
“Since I was thirteen, I’ve only looked at you. When you smiled, I smiled. When you cried, my heart broke. I would never betray you. You’ll always be the only woman in my life.”
His confession stunned me—and brought back something Mik had said in the greenhouse:
“Hmph. Even if you don’t know, I can tell—that guy’s heart is a mystery.”
…Sigh. The fact that Mik knew Robby better than I did—it was a shock.
I stood up and looked down at him sternly.
“Robby Stone, Viscount. Listen carefully. If you continue spreading unconfirmed rumors, even you will not be forgiven.”
Startled by my sudden change, Robby looked up at me blankly.
“Also, any words or actions that try to drive a wedge between me and my husband will not be tolerated. If this happens again, you’ll be severely punished for insulting the Pritan royal family.”
After saying all I needed, I coldly turned and mounted my horse.
I couldn’t stop the tears that welled up on the ride back. I had just lost my precious childhood friend—forever.
For the first time in a while, Emperor Haron visited Hailey’s chambers. The maids were on edge.
Whenever the emperor visited, Hailey’s furious wrath would inevitably fall on them.
They all silently prayed he would leave quickly and stepped out of the room.
But this time, the atmosphere inside the room was different.
At first, there were the usual sounds of garments being torn roughly—but soon after, what followed weren’t Hailey’s cries or screams.
What echoed instead was a strangled, lustful moan—that unmistakably belonged to the old emperor.
