The dragon is a lonely creature.
When you face a dragon, you must absolutely know this fact.
…So what if it’s something that is neither dragon nor human?
What if it’s “something” that was not even born a dragon but simply got the power of a dragon?
The Empire’s 2nd Princess, Hedera, was that “something.”
In her childhood, she was merely a “dimwit.” Being born a princess, she must have received all kinds of investments, yet she was a dimwit, providing enough reason for those around her to ignore her.
Then one day, she accidentally gained Dragon’s Blood and Dragon Speech.
Afterward, she obtained immense power and her reputation soared, but Hedera was never truly happy.
Power and happiness were entirely separate issues.
Neither dragon nor human.
It didn’t take long for the girl to feel lonely.
When she was a dimwit, at least no one was jealous of her. No matter what thoughts they had or what words they spat behind her back, they still encouraged her to do her best in front of her.
But after gaining power…
—Seeing that makes me feel like my efforts were worthless.
—Right? Ultimately, it’s what the heavens decree.
—I’m not doing it. I’m sure something will work out…
Instead, people around Hedera lost the reason to strive. Her power became a disaster that drained their motivation instead of inspiring it.
—Amazing!
—Indeed, it’s the princess! A divine being!
Those who deified Hedera couldn’t bring her happiness. Rather, they regarded her as something too extraordinary and spouted ignorant praises.
People who truly understood the girl gradually disappeared.
Most who faced her bowed in front but showed jealousy and fear behind her back. It was an overwhelming weight for someone so young to bear.
However, all this was just the beginning.
The connections drawn by power were not good either.
—You must fully follow my advice.
—Born as a dragon. Would I lie?
Since Hedera was of human birth, dragonborn began to appear one by one, trying to exploit her for their benefit.
Seeing their increasingly unreasonable demands, Hedera finally realized.
‘Everyone just has their own wishes for me.’
Every bit of goodwill towards Hedera had an ulterior motive.
From that point on, the girl became obsessed with “wishes.”
Is there no one who desires nothing?
Someone who would stay by her even if she lost her power, someone who would treat her the same even if she lost her title as a princess and all her wealth?
…There was none. Naturally, they couldn’t exist.
Eventually, Hedera could trust no one. Hybrid or oddity, her ambiguous identity had gifted her with such a lonely life.
Ezekiel Hound.
His master was the same.
At first, the fact that he had left shocked and angered her, but soon she found it easy to understand.
He was human after all. Perhaps he had desired gold coins and left after amassing enough.
So when she received his first letter, she was flabbergasted.
After leaving her alone for such an outrageous period, the late contact came. By now, Hedera had become an adult, and she understood well what such messages meant.
When someone regretfully reaches out late, when someone urgently wishes for something late…
The peak of patheticness. She scoffed at the thought.
But when she encountered him at the Magic Tower, she was slightly shaken.
He merely said he would do his utmost as an inspector to ensure the Magic Tower flourished? She couldn’t believe it.
It was surely just an act to obtain something greater, and Hedera completely denied his intentions.
Trust always ended in betrayal.
Jealousy and fear, slander from those she trusted.
What seemed like a good opportunity turned into a forced soul contract.
If trust was given, wouldn’t the feelings of betrayal only deepen later on? Perhaps because of her weariness, Hedera now knew well how to prevent getting hurt.
But after learning of his health in the Holy Temple’s archive room…
Reading the letter again, Hedera was greatly shocked.
—Happiness.
Yes, Ezekiel also wished for something.
But what he desired was Hedera’s happiness.
…Why? Was such a thing even possible?
Could a human wish only for another’s happiness?
Is it possible that he wished for Hedera’s happiness while having no desire for any reward or while ignoring his own body that seemed on the verge of collapsing?
Then one day, when she successfully interpreted the Ancient Dragon Language…
‘…It’s sincere. It must be sincerity.’
Hedera finally understood Ezekiel’s true intentions.
Sacrificing his lifespan to maintain a barrier for a long time, telling kind lies to allow Hedera to concentrate. There was no filthy desire in his actions.
He truly only wished for Hedera’s happiness.
Of course, the process of acknowledging this was incredibly difficult. She had to confront all her past actions.
She doubted all of Ezekiel’s intentions and obstructed his path. Not only that, but later she even forced a reckless bet.
In fact, now it required courage just to meet Ezekiel’s gaze. What kind of expression should she face him with? It was hard to even start a conversation.
So, Hedera pondered and pondered.
And ultimately, she reached a conclusion.
Equitable exchange.
So far, Ezekiel had tirelessly worked for Hedera’s happiness without any payment, while actually, Hedera couldn’t give him anything in return.
But if they could continue to see each other, she could start doing something for him from now on.
Doing, doing, and doing more.
So that one day their relationship would become one of equitable exchange.
Currently, Hedera took her first step by searching for the Imperial Treasury.
“Tether.”
“Your Highness! I’ve been waiting for you!”
Though the Emperor forcibly pulled Hedera and Solana out of the ravine, Hedera was a proper lady. She was not young enough to throw a tantrum to go back in.
Thus, she decided to use her time efficiently and immediately called for Tether to find the Imperial Treasury.
“Your Highness, the first floor has become quite spacious, hasn’t it? All thanks to the inspector of the Imperial Tower. He moved those pesky elemental stones entirely to the second floor!”
“…Yeah. I heard.”
Hedera nodded gratefully.
Indeed, every little action of his was helping Hedera. In a world overflowing with pretense and lies, it was the only sincerity and truth.
“Let’s go to the third floor.”
“The third floor, you say?”
“Yeah. Do I need to say it twice?”
“N-no, of course not! It’s just been so long…”
Visiting the third floor itself was a rare occurrence, and even more so to climb to the highest floor.
“Are we just sightseeing? Or are you possibly summoning me…?”
“Summoning.”
“Summoning! The sacred artifact of the third floor!”
But Hedera had already made up her mind. She intended to take everything that could benefit Ezekiel.
“I am just a lowly one, so I cannot enter the third floor. I will wait at the entrance!”
“Got it.”
The 2nd Princess slowly surveyed the Imperial Treasury.
Indeed, invaluable artifacts of various forms overflowed. Jewels, accessories, weapons, clothing…
‘This is… a branch of the World Tree.’
Her gaze only scanned items related to health. Currently displayed before her was a branch from the Great Forest’s World Tree. A staff imbued with incredible vitality.
‘No, it doesn’t actually have restorative properties.’
It simply possessed immense life force, but it didn’t heal. Hence, perhaps because she was thinking of Ezekiel, this suddenly looked like mere trash to Hedera.
The lady hurriedly roamed the third floor.
‘Tears of the dragon.’
The sacred liquid capable of breaking any curse.
But it couldn’t change one’s inherent traits.
‘The sun’s remorse.’
A necklace that provides a constant Holy Power barrier.
But again, it didn’t have any healing effects either.
Each artifact could greatly influence the continent, yet there was not a single one that Hedera wanted. It had to be something that could help Ezekiel…
Then, finally, something caught her eye.
“…Fusion Ring.”
A pair of rings, when worn, allowed two people to assess each other’s status in real-time.
‘For now, this. In emergencies, I’ll know immediately.’
Just as Hedera picked up the Fusion Ring…
“H-h-Hedera! Your Highness!”
A hurried voice echoed from below.
Hedera frowned at the noise.
“Inspector! The inspector of the Imperial Tower has been injured!”
That displeasure quickly turned into shock.
“…What?”
Hedera rushed down. In such urgency, she even lowered her mask and used Dragon Speech.
“Tell me. What in the world happened?”
Tether, under the influence of Dragon Speech, opened her mouth.
“During a duel, the inspector of the Imperial Tower was gravely injured. Currently, in the Holy Temple—”
“…This is insane!”
Without hearing more, Hedera started to move.
Her hurried steps quickly turned into a run.
“Huff… huff…!”
There was no time to maintain dignity. Ezekiel was in critical condition? Why on earth?
What if something serious happened…?
No way. That absolutely couldn’t be happening.
He was the only man who showed sincere feelings and wished for Hedera’s happiness. It would be a problem if he got hurt before equitable exchange was achieved.
No!
Absolutely, absolutely not…
Hedera raced toward the Holy Temple.
Really, like she was going insane.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.