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Chapter 17

Swish, swish—

At the sound of even breathing in his ear, Isid slowed his already leisurely pace even further.

"…Roel."

He called out to Roel, who had already fallen into a deep sleep. Naturally, there was no answer.

Not that he'd expected one. The breath scattering by his ear, the weight and warmth he felt—those answered for him.

"Roel…"

Unlike the calls of the past, which had drifted endlessly into the void without ever reaching anyone, this was different. Now, he no longer needed to keep calling out to someone who wouldn't answer. Because the one who would respond—in one way or another—was right beside him.

"It really is a miracle."

Isid murmured lowly.

'Don't dwell on dark thoughts—be happy and live long.' That one line, which he couldn't uphold without a single person, had kept him breathing in this tiresome world. He had lived protecting the Empire, which bore traces of Roel, and when even a single memory began to fade, he'd planned to shatter his own heart.

The last time he'd awakened, he'd felt that day was not far off. The puffed-up cheeks that would appear whenever he teased her had grown faint in his memory. Perhaps when he next opened his eyes, he could finally end this weary life—and the first emotion he'd felt was joy.

Not so much joy at being able to cast off the heavy breath that felt like no breathing at all, but rather joy that a life without his one and only need no longer continue.

"Mmm…"

Just then, a faint murmur pierced his ear.

"Little dragon… piggy…"

When that sleep-soaked voice uttered such ridiculous words, Isid couldn't help but laugh out loud.

At the same time, he felt relieved that he hadn't shattered his own heart. Because he had kept this heavy breath tied to this earth a little longer, he could meet this miracle. That alone gave his slow suffocation a meaning more brilliant than anything—the meaning of waiting.

Isid slowed his pace even further and headed toward Roel's room, which he had memorized.

Sensing the presence following behind, he didn't close the door when he entered the bedroom. If he had, those young brats would surely have made a fuss.

Roel, who could sleep anywhere, stirred briefly on the bed before settling back into even breaths.

"Sweet dreams, Roel."

Isid whispered softly, then slowly straightened up.

As he stepped aside, he saw four lights gathering above the bed. A familiar sight.

Click—

The heavy door closed soundlessly, softly.

Isid gazed at the closed door for a moment, then leisurely turned around.

It would be a while before Roel woke, so he decided to give Jin's descendants—who had seemed to have more to say—a chance.

As he walked back the way he'd come, carrying Roel, he felt gazes behind him.

The owners were obvious—the larger one who closely resembled the Valentine head, and the smaller one who still seemed poor at controlling his emotions. They'd been annoyingly persistent since he and Roel had left the drawing room, and after seeing him enter Roel's bedroom, they'd been radiating barely suppressed hostility.

He'd even left the door open out of a sliver of consideration, laid Roel down quickly, and come right out—yet they were still glaring at him.

"…"

A faint irritation flickered in Isid's eyes.

He had always disliked troublesome things. That was why he didn't like living beings, humans included. Anything that moved and breathed annoyed him—especially those with intelligence.

The sole exception was Roel.

For a moment, he considered giving a warning, his steps slowing—but then he sighed and dismissed the thought.

'She wouldn't like that.'

Roel seemed to cherish the family she'd gained in this life. That much was clear from the way her eyes sparkled when she spoke of them.

"Hey, Isid. Do you think my family is alive somewhere?"

"Why do you care?"

"Hmm, just wondering. Anyway, I was born into this world because I had a mother and father, right? So sometimes I get curious."

"Of all things… Just forget about those humans."

"Ugh, there you go again, being prickly. It's not like I want to see them or anything. I'm just curious. And they're not both human—one human and one elf."

"Whatever."

Even when she'd shaken her head with a sigh-like laugh at his prickly retort, Roel's eyes had carried an undeniable yearning.

Even back when she didn't even know her parents' faces, she'd wondered about family. There was no way she wouldn't cherish the family she now had completely.

Isid glanced behind him; the brothers who had been glaring his way flinched.

"…"

As expected, humans other than Roel weren't to his liking. But if he thought of them as humans Roel treasured, their rudeness was somewhat bearable.

That was separate from his personal feelings about Roel's 'family.'

Isid swallowed a faint sigh and brushed away the irritation pulling at his nerves.

Whenever he thought of that fragile breath, all his annoyance and displeasure faded.

Because that breath was also his own lifeline.

---

Immediately after Rowena, still heavy-lidded, had dragged the Black Dragon out, his two sons rushed to Calips with anxious faces.

"Father. No matter how much he's the Guardian Dragon, is it really alright to let him into the house so easily?"

"Hah, a dragon… no, it's already too late for that! Anyway, Father, absolutely not!"

At his sons, who alternated between looking at the door and raising their voices at him, Calips sighed.

"For now… just go out."

"Eh? …Ah, right. They just left! Brother, let's go!"

Fortunately, a simple glance toward the door was enough to redirect Werner's focus back to Rowena.

Kizef seemed to have more he wanted to say, but pulled along by Werner's insistent grip, he sighed and turned away.

With his two sons gone—

"…"

Calips pressed his throbbing temple and let out a heavy sigh.

The most absurd part of everything that had happened in a single night was that it was all true.

'The Guardian Dragon, of all things…'

He had noticed Rowena's absence in the dead of night.

More precisely, it was closer to a feeling—an instinctual unease that drove him to Rowena's room, where he found that the small warmth that should have been there was gone.

Rowena was a quiet child. Even as an infant, once she fell asleep, she slept through the night, never fussing. So this absence struck him with chilling clarity.

Unable to contain himself, he entered the room and was met with silence—not a single breath—and a strange, inexplicable warmth that lingered despite the lack of body heat.

He had no idea how such warmth could remain when the room felt like it had been empty for some time.

His two sons had woken because of the faint disturbance caused by his uncharacteristic agitation.

"Father, why are you at Rowel's room all of a sudden…"

"…Where's Rowel?"

Kizef and Werner, still half-asleep, realized Rowena's absence a beat later.

That was also when they felt the intricate surge of power from outside the estate.

"…Teleportation magic?"

Hearing Werner's startled mutter, Calips immediately headed to the balcony.

Again, he knew instinctively—that immense power was connected to the vanished Rowena.

His intuition was correct.

From the balcony, he looked down and saw Rowena, standing with a child of raven-black hair.

He hadn't leaped down immediately for two reasons.

One—the sharpened senses caught Rowena's laughter. Two—a sudden sensation washed over him.

Melting away the anxiety that had risen irresistibly from the moment he sensed her absence, Rowena was chattering with a brighter face than ever.

Calips was struck by a quiet but overwhelming shock.

Had he ever seen that child wear such an open, unguarded expression?

Always startlingly mature, her face now brimmed with mischief and cheer—emotions he had never witnessed in her.

As Calips unconsciously clenched his fist, the black-haired boy who had been listening to Rowena slowly raised his gaze.

And in that moment, meeting the crimson eyes beneath that casually scattered black hair, Calips realized—

'…Black Dragon Isid.'

The identity hidden behind that youthful form.

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