Chapter 25
I jumped up from my seat while secretly timing everything.
Then I started acting.
“Gasp, right!”
“Huh? What is it?”
“Now that I think about it, I left something behind. Young master, would it be alright if I step out for a moment?”
Jaden, who just yesterday would lightly whine and tell me not to go whenever I said I was leaving, looked unexpectedly delighted as if he had discovered a rare opportunity.
“Oh! Go ahead!”
“Thank you. I’ll be back in ten minutes, so please take your medicine in the meantime!”
“Okay!”
A bright reply. His cheerful voice was pleasant to hear, but at this moment, it didn’t feel comforting at all.
‘I have a bad feeling about this…’
Still, I didn’t show it and simply stepped outside.
And then, ten minutes later.
After confirming enough time had passed, I returned to Jaden’s room.
“Young master, you took your medicine, right?”
“Yeah, I did.”
Jaden avoided my gaze and replied in a slightly grumpy voice, unlike usual.
I didn’t mind and walked over, sitting right in front of him.
Now our eye levels were roughly the same.
“How was it? It was good, right? I’m confident in all flavors, but I’m especially good at strawberry ones. Hehe.”
“It was… pretty good!”
A strangely awkward tone. His voice slightly faltered at the end.
Just a little more pressure and he’ll crack.
“Really?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Could you describe how it tasted in detail? I’d like to use it as reference next time.”
I deliberately leaned closer to Jaden, widening my eyes and looking at him expectantly.
Jaden’s crimson eyes shook like an earthquake had struck them.
“Uhh… well…”
“Yes?”
“Well, since it was strawberry flavor? It was really good. Sweet and… yeah. If you just do it the same way next time, it should be fine.”
He answered quickly while stammering, barely masking it. Someone else might think nothing of it, but I wasn’t so easily fooled.
Got you, you little rascal!
“So you liked the strawberry flavor.”
“Y-yeah, right.”
“But that’s strange. The candy I gave you wasn’t strawberry. It was grape flavor.”
Once the truth was revealed, Jaden’s carefully composed expression crumbled.
“…Huh? What are you talking about?”
“I said that candy was grape flavored.”
When I repeated it seriously, Jaden belatedly tried to understand the situation and began scrambling for an excuse.
“Oh, right, right! It was grape! I must’ve gotten confused since I don’t eat candy often.”
Hmm. I gave him a suspicious look.
“You’ve already been caught. And you’re still going with that story?”
“N-no, I really did eat it.”
His voice trembled, unable to regain his composure after lying so easily earlier.
But I didn’t scold him further. There was already plenty of evidence.
I took out the candy I had hidden in my pocket and put it straight into my mouth.
Jaden panicked and grabbed my hand.
“H-hey? That’s my medicine! Is it okay for you to eat it?”
Worried that it might harm me, he stomped his feet anxiously.
If this had truly been his medicine, it would have been a problem.
It was specially made to suit the physiology of a dragon-blooded being like him, so it could have caused side effects.
But there was nothing to worry about now.
Because it wasn’t medicine to begin with.
“It’s fine. This is actually just candy.”
Jaden looked completely confused, unable to understand why I had lied.
“There’s no such thing as candy-shaped medicine from the start. This is a specialty candy from Heylon Village.”
Even as I spoke clearly, I let the candy slowly melt in my mouth. The sweet grape flavor spread through my mouth.
‘Alright. This should be enough.’
I stuck my tongue out slightly.
“And this, when you eat it…”
“Huh?”
Jaden tilted his head in confusion, but suddenly froze.
He finally noticed the change.
“Huh? What the—why is your tongue blue?”
“As you can see, this is candy that turns your tongue blue when you eat it.”
“Ah…”
Jaden let out a defeated sound.
“But how about you, young master?”
I pointed toward him.
Through the small opening of his mouth, his plump tongue was not blue at all, but a healthy reddish pink.
“…!”
Jaden tried to say something, opening and closing his lips, but stopped. A faint sadness flickered in his red eyes.
And then, tears like beads of glass rolled down his cheeks.
“Young master, are you crying?”
I panicked and stood up, closing the distance between us.
“I-I’m not crying! Sniff.”
He was trying not to cry, but he had been such a brave child even when in pain.
As I approached, he flinched and wiped his eyes roughly with his sleeve.
“D-don’t come closer. Don’t look at my face!”
Like a wounded kitten hissing, he turned his head away sharply, baring his emotions.
“Sob… I’m so pathetic… crying over something like this…”
His face was red with embarrassment, but tears kept falling down his pale cheeks.
That sight made my chest hurt, so I cautiously reached out.
“No, it’s not like that. Young master, please look at me for a moment.”
“No! Go away. Viola, you’re disappointed in me too!”
He curled up, trying to avoid my touch.
“…I’m a dragon-blood. A dragon-blood shouldn’t be weak…”
His voice trembled as he struggled to control his emotions.
“I’m just a useless fool… so I—”
“You’re not useless at all. You’re kind and smart.”
“It’s all… hic… a lie!”
No matter what I said, it didn’t seem to reach him.
For this small child, bristling with defensive spikes, what he needed wasn’t words—it was warmth.
I pulled Jaden into a tight embrace.
“…!”
His small body stiffened in my arms.
“Let go…”
He struggled to break free, but I only held him tighter.
Soon, his resistance weakened.
Sniffing, he buried his face in my shoulder and muttered in a muffled voice.
“…I lied. I didn’t want to rely on medicine.”
Because I have to be strong. Because a dragon-blood should endure on their own…
His voice grew damp as he added that thought.
“What’s wrong with relying on medicine? Is that something bad?”
I gently patted his back, still unable to understand.
Why did this child think like this? This wasn’t dependence—it was simply treatment.
Where on earth did this rejection come from?
“Th-they said only weak, pathetic people rely on that kind of thing…”
“….”
“But I’m already pathetic… If I become weak too, then…”
Jaden bit his lip and couldn’t continue.
Trying desperately to hold back his tears, his small shoulders trembled violently.
“Sniff…”
He rubbed his eyes roughly with his sleeve again.
Even though his pale skin turned red from it, the tears didn’t stop.
“I won’t cry. I, I won’t cry… hic.”
Despite his efforts, sobs kept slipping out like hiccups.
‘……’
I looked down at Jaden quietly.
Normally, I would have gently comforted him and listened to his feelings slowly.
I would have reassured him, softly telling him everything was alright.
But at this moment, I couldn’t hold back. My expression turned stiff as stone. My clenched fists tightened on their own.
Haah. I forced myself to breathe and calm my anger.
“Who… who on earth said something like that to you?”
