Chapter 188: eting (2)
Bang!
With a loud noise, the door slamd shut.
Thanks to that, I, left alone in the room, stared blankly at the closed door.
“……”
Startled, I turned my head toward noruka.
“Ah.”
She, too, seed at a loss over the sudden situation, blinking blankly in confusion.
In her large eyes, unease and embarrassnt slowly began to surface.
“Uh, um… I think he was a little flustered. But more importantly… do you think it’s really him?”
I asked, trying to gloss over the situation.
At that, noruka imdiately and vigorously nodded her head up and down.
“...Yes, without a doubt.”
Her voice carried not even a hint of hesitation.
Rather, it was filled with certainty.
Though, perhaps because of what just happened, it trembled faintly.
“Just a mont. I’ll go and check.”
I said with an awkward smile, then carefully opened the door and stepped outside.
Fortunately, not too far away, Behad was standing there in a daze.
He was blinking rapidly and gasping for breath like soone who had just seen a ghost.
“...Are you alright?”
At the sound of my voice, Behad flinched and turned to .
His face had gone completely pale.
After taking a few deep breaths, he suddenly muttered in a low voice.
“...Hey, just asking, but…”
“Yes?”
“...Did soone put you up to this?”
At the unexpected question, I asked back.
“Pardon? What do you an?”
Behad hurriedly shook his head.
“No, no. I’m sorry—really sorry, Gwendil. I just got so startled for a mont… said sothing crazy… No, more importantly, what the hell is this… uh…”
Unable to finish his sentence, he just kept clearing his throat awkwardly.
Even so, he continued to mutter softly.
“No way… It can’t be… It can’t be…”
He even looked sowhat pitiful.
Faced with such an unexpected reaction, I simply waited silently without saying a word.
“Hoo…”
After a while, Behad took several deep breaths.
His gaze gradually seed to regain composure.
Then he walked over to a small flowerpot placed in the hallway and carefully picked a rose.
“…Hoo.”
Returning to the door, he took another deep breath.
Now, his face even showed a trace of solemn resolve.
Creak.
Opening the door again, this ti he was t with the sight of noruka standing awkwardly, unable to settle down.
“…Ah!”
Startled by the sound of the door opening, she looked up—and upon seeing Behad, her face brightened into a radiant smile.
“……”
Behad approached her.
From where I stood, every movent of his seed stiff and awkward from nervousness, but even so, he managed to reach her and offered the flower he held.
“...After reuniting at last, it struck
too late that I had nothing in hand. Embarrassed, I briefly stepped back. I ask your forgiveness for that mont of cowardice.”
Behad’s voice was astonishingly calm and gentle.
Although, sohow, he sounded unusually humble—or so I thought.
noruka accepted the flower with a blissful expression.
Her cheeks flushed a soft red.
“You… rember this girl?”
Her voice trembled slightly.
Behad gave a small nod.
A faint smile curved his lips.
“Yes. How could I forget? Since that day… you haven’t changed a bit.”
In that mont, I nearly let out a short gasp.
‘So that’s what he looked like the first ti too, huh.’
Since they had t as children, I had assud both Behad and noruka would’ve been kids back then.
But apparently, she hadn’t changed at all in appearance from those years ago to now.
That must be why Behad recognized her the mont he saw her.
‘…Though I still don’t know what exactly happened.’
Behad had been so shocked just by seeing her face that he ran off.
But then, realizing she wasn’t a normal being, he must have sensed that fleeing recklessly would only make things worse.
“But how did you even… co all the way here…”
At Behad’s question, noruka replied in a voice that seed lost in a dream.
“This girl… could not forget that day, not even for a single one.”
She continued to murmur in a dazed, enraptured tone.
“How could I possibly forget? When you stepped forward so bravely for my sake… uh, um…”
At that, Behad interjected.
“Please, call
Behad.”
“Yes, yes…”
noruka nodded absentmindedly.
“Hehe… Lord Behad…”
She repeated his na softly, over and over, as if it were the sweetest sound in the world.
“…That gallant figure of Lord Behad stepping forth for —I’ve never forgotten it for even a mont.”
Behad murmured quietly.
“…I don’t think I did anything that great, though.”
“What—what are you saying! If it weren’t for Lord Behad that day, I surely wouldn’t be here now. Ah… Lord Behad.”
Her eyes sparkled with reverence, admiration, and sothing even more blindly fervent.
“I know it’s impolite… but this mont feels so dreamlike that I fear it might be a dream. I know it’s shaless, truly shaless, but… would you perhaps… just once, even if only for a mont… be willing to hold
in your arms…?”
Behad seed briefly flustered by her earnest request, but soon opened his arms awkwardly. She wasted no ti rushing into his embrace.
‘…Sothing about this feels dangerous.’
I thought so instinctively.
Even soone as inexperienced as
in such matters could sense it.
Quietly, I tried to sneak out of the room.
“Then I’ll just be—”
At that mont, Behad’s gaze turned toward .
It was a look that blended urgency, desperation, and a flicker of fury—one I couldn’t quite describe.
Under that intense gaze, I failed to find a chance to slip away.
“Sigh.”
Monts later, noruka reluctantly pulled away.
“Thank you for indulging this girl’s selfishness… Lord Behad.”
Behad forced a calm smile.
“It was nothing. For soone as beautiful as you, I’d gladly offer my arms anyti.”
As usual, he whispered the words with a smile.
But then, noruka looked at him intently and asked,
“Have you… offered your arms so generously to other won as well…?”
Imdiately, Behad’s face stiffened.
noruka’s eyes widened in alarm, and she hurriedly shook her head.
“Ah, no! I didn’t an anything strange by it! I only asked because I thought you were kind and broad-hearted, Lord Behad!”
Flustered, she babbled in defense.
Behad nodded with an awkward smile.
“Ah, yes…”
“Ugh…”
“……”
“……”
A brief silence fell between them.
Behad, attempting to change the awkward atmosphere, brought up another topic.
“...You said your na is noruka, correct? I’ve only just learned your na today.”
noruka shyly nodded.
“At the ti, I was too flustered to properly introduce myself. I didn’t expect it would weigh on my heart this heavily for so long. However… now that I’ve been able to et Lord Behad again like this, I have no more regrets.”
She hesitated briefly, then looked Behad straight in the eyes and spoke with resolve.
“If you wish it… I could tell you my True Na at any ti.”
Both I and Behad held our breath at those words.
Even from outside the room ca a loud crashing sound.
Amaruah had probably been eavesdropping and was so startled that she tripped over sothing.
And such reactions were only natural.
For a dragon, revealing their True Na was no different from offering their soul and everything else to another being.
In other words, if Behad were to learn her True Na, noruka would be bound to him for life, even down to her soul.
“No.”
Behad quickly waved his hand.
As soone with frequent contact with other races, he knew the weight of a True Na better than anyone.
“No, really, it’s alright! There’s absolutely… absolutely no need for that.”
Though noruka looked slightly disappointed, she nodded in understanding.
“If Lord Behad says so… I understand.”
Only then did I notice the frantic footsteps in the hallway co to a stop.
Once the commotion had quieted, Behad cautiously opened his mouth.
“…Forgive
for the rudeness, but may I ask you one question?”
noruka nodded imdiately.
“Of course. Please ask
anything. I truly ant it when I offered my True Na earlier. I would never speak a lie to Lord Behad.”
Behad swallowed dryly and spoke.
“The True Na… and the fact that you look exactly the sa as you did in the past… makes
think you’re not an ordinary human…”
To that, noruka responded without the slightest hesitation, smiling brightly.
“I am a dragon.”
A sharp gasp escaped Behad’s throat.
His face grew even paler.
“Th-then… why have you co to see ?”
His voice trembled slightly.
noruka, a little hurt by the question, pouted.
“How could you say such a thing? Have you forgotten the vow you made to this girl? Just as we spoke that day… I’ve co to… ma-marry you…”
She blushed deeply, covering her reddening cheeks with both hands.
“To marry you, my lord.”
Behad gulped hard.
Cold sweat must have already been trailing down his back.
“W-well, I do rember. But… to think that soone as beautiful and noble as you would tie yourself to an ordinary human like
over a fleeting encounter… it pains .”
noruka shook her head firmly.
“A fleeting encounter? That’s an utterly absurd thing to say. Bonds of fate can be ford even with just a shared glance. Co, look.”
noruka gently took Behad’s hand.
His hand trembled slightly in hers.
“Isn’t this more than enough to call a bond? I have waited for Lord Behad, ignoring all proposals from other mbers of my kind. Of course, so fools who didn’t understand my heart even tried to press their case through duels.”
“…I-is that so?”
“Yes, but worry not! I thoroughly put them in their place.”
She looked up at him as if waiting to be praised.
“My one and only husband is Lord Behad. And I heard that you are still single. Is that true?”
“…Yes, that’s true.”
Behad nodded weakly.
If he lied, he’d surely die.
He muttered quietly.
noruka bead and murmured.
“Oh my, this must truly be fate! Honestly, I believed Lord Behad wouldn’t ignore our promise, but… since human lives are different from ours, I was secretly worried. Being so gallant, I feared other won wouldn’t leave you alone.”
She paused, then continued.
“And I also heard that you have no fiancée.”
Behad nodded again.
“…Yes.”
“But… you must’ve had romantic encounters with others.”
Behad answered in a shaky voice.
“Y-yes. I-I have. Perhaps…”
As he tried to add more, noruka continued first.
“I don’t mind at all. It’s alright. Instead, please tell
everything about those encounters. That will be enough.”
She whispered quietly.
“What made them happy? What words did they wish to hear? What gifts did they like… from start to finish.”
The dragon whispered.
“…I shall do the complete opposite of everything they did. And still, I shall do everything I can to make Lord Behad happy.”
“……”
Behad could no longer respond.
After taking a breath, noruka murmured with genuine relief.
“More than anything, I am truly glad. Had Lord Behad already married soone else… I would have held this burning heart and gone ahead to wait for you.”
I honestly wanted to run away right then.
I had never in my life felt my skin crawl and my spine chill like this.
Then, Behad finally managed to speak with a trembling voice.
“M-noruka. I truly appreciate your feelings. But… there is a great problem between us.”
“What is it, Lord Behad?”
At her innocent question, Behad spoke as if clinging to a last hope.
“Lifespan.”
He tried hard to sound calm, but his voice wavered at the end.
“I am but a weak human who won’t live even a hundred years. To form a bond with soone like you, who lives nearly eternally… and leave you to endure the long years alone afterward… I just…”
I thought that was a pretty convincing final attempt.
Behad likely thought so too.
But…
“Oh! You don’t need to worry about that at all!”
noruka cut in cheerfully with a bright smile.
Then, she slightly lowered her collar, pointing toward her left chest.
“If you split my heart in two and eat one half, Lord Behad, you’ll be able to live nearly as long as . So don’t worry about that even a little!”
When I ca to my senses, I was already outside the room.
I didn’t even rember how I got out.
I must have just sprinted out instinctively.
“Oh dear…”
In the hallway, Amaruah stood pressing her temples like she had a migraine, her expression full of dismay.
I muttered almost inaudibly,
“…Maybe I shouldn’t have interfered.”
Amaruah responded with a deep sigh.
“You said that fool ford the bond first, right? Then it’s his fault. Even if it weren’t you, noruka would’ve found her way to him.”
She shook her head.
“I’ve no idea what he did to make that young dragon fall for him that hard, but once you have a dragon’s obsession, living a normal life is out of the question. …Poor fool.”
Amaruah clicked her tongue and said,
“I’ll go in and wrap things up when the ti’s right… but either way, it’s a good thing noruka will calm down for a while, and the only real concern we had is now gone. If we’re lucky, her help might even settle the other dragons.”
She gestured to .
“You should head back now. There’s nothing more to see.”
I nodded weakly and stepped out of the library.
It felt like I was abandoning Behad…
Even so…
I shivered all over.
‘I’ve heard stories about how a dragon’s obsession can ruin your life…’
The image of noruka casually offering her heart to be eaten flashed through my mind.
‘Dragons are terrifying… truly terrifying…’
It was then.
Soone tapped
lightly on the shoulder.
“Lian Gwendil.”
A familiar voice.
“What has you so deep in thought that you didn’t hear
calling?”
When I turned my head, there stood Yuran.
…A half-dragon.
In other words, soone who was part dragon.
At that mont, even without a mirror, I knew my face had gone as white as paper.
Reviews
All reviews (0)