“Ahhhh!!!”
“Hey! Calm down!”
“My, my eyes! My eyes!!”
A golden dragon rushed over to the man writhing on the ground, clutching his eyes and screaming.
“I can’t see…!!”
“Get a hold of yourself!”
“Ahhhh!!!”
The dragon desperately called out to the man, but he only drooled and scattered blood on the floor.
“…I can’t see.”
“First, calm down. Take a deep breath.”
“…Huff.”
The dragon supporting the man glanced at the small screen beneath them.
On the screen, the empire’s grand mage could be seen extracting a massive eyeball.
The dragon frowned deeply at the sight.
“Crazy bastard.”
Though it was a quietly muttered curse, it carried intense anger.
Whether the man heard it or not, with his limbs in complete disarray, he leaned on the dragon’s shoulder and asked,
“…What about the Apostle?”
“They’re fine.”
“…I brought them here, but I couldn’t help them.”
“They’ll understand. They were doomed to die anyway.”
“But that was my mistake, wasn’t it?”
“…You should’ve known when to stop.”
“I’m sorry.”
“If you’re going to apologize, do it to them. Their life was wasted.”
“…Yeah, you’re right.”
The dragon snapped its fingers and conjured a pristine white bed.
“Rest there.”
“…Thanks.”
“If you’re grateful, repay me later.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“Hey!”
As the man, still bleeding from his eyes, forced a faint smile, the dragon, now in the form of a woman, turned away with a displeased expression.
“I’ll make sure to support them well. If we’re lucky, you’ll recover in a hundred years or so.”
“That would be nice.”
In a space painted white, he gazed at himself sitting inside a tub filled with water.
A green bottle was in his hand.
Two more green bottles lay scattered messily on the floor next to the tub.
Beside him, an unknown object with holes was burning away.
The white room was filled with a hazy fog.
‘What is this?’
Damian, who had been dreaming, began analyzing why he was in such a state.
He was sure he had been asleep in the accommodations prepared by the dragons.
‘This is a dream.’
The moment that thought crossed his mind—
“Ugh!!!”
A piercing headache surged through him.
If this continued, he’d die.
As that thought entered his mind, he tried to move his body, but it wouldn’t respond at all.
‘Damn it.’
In that dire situation, he managed to move his body as much as possible.
He succeeded in slamming his head against what felt like a hard, stone-like tub.
Eventually, Damian woke from the dream by hitting his head against the wall.
“Gasp!!!”
His entire body was drenched in cold sweat.
Even so, relief washed over him as he realized the situation had just been a dream.
“Haah…”
Feeling as though he’d experienced something similar in the past, Damian got dressed and left his room.
He decided to take a walk to clear his thoughts.
The garden in the dragons’ castle was breathtakingly beautiful, so Damian chose to head there.
Wrapping his robe tightly against the cold, serene dawn air, he slowly walked forward, taking in the fresh morning atmosphere.
Seeing him, the servants flinched but bowed their heads in greeting.
Though he was human and once a mage from the Empire, he was now, without a doubt, a citizen of the kingdom, guaranteed by both the elders and the king.
He had even rescued the oppressed royal family’s descendant and brought them to the kingdom.
Moreover, he possessed numerous secrets of the Empire.
A true VIP among VIPs.
His face had been splashed across the front pages of newspapers, so no one in the kingdom would fail to recognize or discriminate against him.
Damian lightly acknowledged the servants’ greetings with a nod before heading to the garden.
After walking for about five minutes, he arrived at the garden.
The garden was filled with lilacs.
It was because Queen Ereses loved lilacs, so they had been planted abundantly in one corner.
“…Even the king of this kingdom is a romanticist.”
Though he spoke in a slightly dissatisfied tone, a smile appeared on Damian’s face.
With a faintly bitter laugh, he shrugged his shoulders.
“Lilacs.”
Damian didn’t dislike lilacs.
However, every time he saw them, he felt a subtle ache deep in his chest.
“Why is that?”
As he thought about it, he realized lilacs seemed to have a peculiar connection to his life.
He was an abandoned orphan.
Living in the slums, he barely had any memories of his parents.
When he tried to recall his earliest memory, it was of a woman holding lilacs in her arms and closing her eyes peacefully.
He didn’t know if she was his mother.
Maybe she was someone who had raised him, or perhaps he had simply passed by and seen her.
He didn’t know if there was a deeper connection or not.
But in that memory, his younger self stared at the woman and silently cried.
Not out of overwhelming emotion, but with tears streaming down his face as he remained expressionless.
“…Who was she?”
Afterward, he discovered his talent for magic and spent his life as the grand mage’s disciple.
“Enough. What’s the point of thinking about the past?”
After sorting through his thoughts to some extent, Damian stood up.
The magical seal placed on him had been lifted long ago in recognition of his service in rescuing the royal family.
He used a cleaning spell to lightly brush off the dust from his clothes and was about to leave the garden when—
“…Mage?”
“Hero.”
“…Ah.”
“Do you like lilacs?”
A gray-haired woman approached Damian with a bright smile.
For some reason, he couldn’t help but be drawn to her.
But it didn’t seem to be love.
Rather, looking at her made his heart ache.
He just wanted to help her.
Damian defined that feeling as mere sympathy.
Watching her smile so brightly, he couldn’t help but feel at ease.
“You smile like that?”
“Yes, something good happened today.”
“Something good?”
“Yes, something good.”
“…Can you tell me?”
“Nope, it’s a secret!”
“Alright, then.”
The woman, Han Yuri, placed her index finger to her lips, grinning playfully as she called it a secret.
Watching her, Damian let out a small chuckle.
“Do you like lilacs too?”
“Yes. I used to see them often where I was.”
“There were lilacs there?”
“Yes, there were. It’s pretty similar to here. Even the animals.”
“What’s different then?”
“Hmm… Magic and demons, maybe? I haven’t been here long. Do you have other races like elves and dwarves here?”
“Yes.”
“In our place, humans are the only intelligent race.”
“Is that so? That’s fascinating.”
Shaking off his curiosity, Damian brought the conversation back to lilacs.
“…Anyway.”
“It was fun. It reminded me of the past.”
“So why do you like lilacs?”
“Well, I didn’t think much of them at first, but my fiancé liked them.”
“…Ah.”
The mood almost turned heavy for a moment, but Han Yuri seemed to have already moved past her sorrow, so Damian tactfully matched her tone.
If he acted overly sentimental, it would only make things awkward for her.
“I see.”
“Yes, I used to give lilacs as gifts all the time.”
“Oh, I see~.”
“I hope they’re doing well. Their family opposed them marrying a woman without a family.”
“That’s too harsh!”
“Come on, don’t be too harsh on them.”
Han Yuri continued with a bright smile.
“I’m healthy now, right?”
“Are you?”
“Yes, Elder Baal healed me.”
“…”
“I’m satisfied. Being a half-dragon… means I won’t age anymore, right?”
Seeing Han Yuri unexpectedly content with such a detail, Damian couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“You’re satisfied with that kind of thing? I thought you’d be happier about getting stronger. It’s surprising.”
“Why, why are you laughing?”
“Can’t I?”
“No, it’s completely fine.”
The two of them exchanged awkward laughs as the wind swept past them.
“Ugh, it’s a bit cold now.”
“Have you grown weak to the cold since becoming a dragon?”
“Maybe so.”
Dragons are naturally sensitive to temperature changes.
Even the elders’ conditions shift depending on the weather, so immunity to such changes would almost seem monstrous.
“But the lilac scent is really strong now, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it really is.”
“It’s so nice.”
“The scent is pleasant, isn’t it?”
Han Yuri, who had been enjoying the fragrance for a while, turned to Damian and spoke.
“I got a little closer to my younger sibling today.”
“Really? That’s great. The princess is adorable, isn’t she?”
“She really is.”
“Oh, should I start calling you ‘Princess’ now too?”
“No way, that’s not right.”
“But isn’t it? You’re living as a princess now.”
“Well, I mean, technically, yeah…”
Seeing Han Yuri flustered and blushing, Damian continued.
“I’ve been accepted as a student under Elder Anuket now.”
“Oh, that’s great news.”
“…The elder is quite an eccentric, though.”
Of course, Damian was satisfied.
To someone like him, who craved knowledge, Anuket was the ideal mentor—a dragon who could impart immense knowledge without crossing into forbidden territory.
“I’m satisfied. The lessons are fascinating, and the elder’s life story is quite similar to mine. They’ve worked hard to survive, just like me.”
“Really?”
Han Yuri seemed genuinely surprised.
“I thought the elder was more of a noble type.”
“Ahaha, not at all. Just like me, they came from the slums.”
“Really? You seem so refined, though.”
“Thank you.”
Damian gave a small bow.
Just then, the sound of someone running barefoot on the stone pavement echoed behind them.
“Sis! Sis!”
“Oh, Mino!”
Mino came dashing over and plopped down beside Han Yuri.
Watching the little girl, Damian thought to himself:
‘She’s ridiculously adorable.’
And before he knew it—
“Ouch… It hurts…”
“Ma-Mage?!”
“Oops.”
Damian had picked up Mino and started squishing her cheeks, pulling and pressing them as if in a trance.
‘Have I ruined my life?’
For a brief moment, Damian reflected on his life choices.