YSGD 15

Chapter 15

A snickering laugh leaked from somewhere and pierced my ears clearly.
“With that, do you really think you’ll build any muscle?”

Mockery followed right after.

‘That voice is….’

It belonged to someone familiar.

I bared my teeth without holding back and turned around.
It was the so-called “Cerberus growl face” Betty had taught me.

“Oh my, I’m scared to death,” he said mockingly.

And sure enough, there he was.
Transparent… no, since he himself seemed to treat it as a dark past—so not a transparent dragon, but just a dragon.

I spoke without hiding my irritation.

“What do you want? Did you come here to pick a fight?”

“Yep~”

But my attack didn’t land at all.
He was a formidable opponent.

I narrowed my eyes and tried to deal damage again.

“You’re a dragon, right? Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Nope. That’s why I was sleeping. And then you woke me up.”

“I didn’t wake you up. You just happened to wake up then.”

“You blasted my eyes with light. Total flashbang. I don’t think my vision’s fully back yet.”

Flashbang? A dragon knows words like that? What even is this world?

A little dumbfounded, I decided to pretend I hadn’t heard him and just get back to what I was doing.

“Ugh—!”

I was about to start jumping jacks again when the dragon swiftly claimed the tree stump I’d been sitting on. Scratching his belly, he stared at me.

For some reason, that annoyed me.

“What are you looking at?”

“Oh? Casual speech?”

“…What are you looking at?”

Damn it. I didn’t even do anything wrong—so why am I shrinking back?

I just pouted.

This weak body was the problem.

‘Should I ask Betty to beat him up for me?’

No matter how sturdy Betty’s arms were, it was still human versus dragon.

Even if the entire 가나다 maid squad ganged up on him, they’d lose.

An obvious assumption, but still…

“Tch…”

I felt a bit deflated.

Whether I sulked or not, the carefree dragon chuckled.

“Hey. Run some more. It’s funny.”

“…I’m not doing this to amuse you, you know?”

“You’re running anyway—might as well make it entertaining. By the way, are you tone-deaf? None of your chants match your movements.”

“……”

I really want to punch him…

I could say with certainty that I had never wanted strength more than I did at that moment!

Maybe it was because that transparent dragon—no, that dragon—was provoking me.

The black flame dragon inside me raged.

The way he suddenly showed up to pick a fight reminded me of an unemployed uncle who scratches his belly every holiday, teases his niece or nephew, and eventually makes them cry.

And of course, I was cast as the kid getting all worked up—which was infuriating beyond words.

“I shouldn’t have said anything.”

I was really angry, but neither physically nor verbally was I any match for him.

In moments like this, ignoring him was the answer.

I turned sharply and headed into the house.

Go mess around by yourself! I’m going to read a book!

But then…

“The History of the Rembrandt Empire? Wow. This kind of thing exists?”

Up until the moment I opened the cabin door, he’d been behind me. Yet somehow, he was already inside, sitting at the table.

And he’d even claimed the very book I was about to read.

‘Cheater…’

Cheat skill! Cheat magic! Cheat dragon!

Oblivious to the rage bubbling inside me, the dragon casually flipped through the pages.

“If you don’t leave while I’m asking nicely, I’ll report you for illegal trespassing.”

“Illegal… what? What’s that?”

…So this dragon knows what a flashbang is, but not illegal trespassing?

I stood there dumbfounded with my mouth hanging open, but the man—now fully absorbed in the book—continued without even glancing at me.

“By the way, why do you read stuff like this? Transparent— ahem. That too. You’ve got pretty weird tastes.”

Says the guy who wrote it himself—probably.

And this is just a normal history book, you know?

Suppressing my urge to snap back sarcastically, I replied,

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

…Actually, I didn’t suppress it at all.

But maybe he was completely absorbed in the book, because the dragon went quiet for a moment.

It was nice to finally have some peace for my ears… but I really wished he’d leave already.

While I glared at him silently, the man—apparently finished—closed the book without hesitation and snickered.

“Ah, this is hilarious. So that’s how it was?”

“If it’s that funny, I’ll lend it to you. Take it with you and read it.”

And get lost! Lock yourself in a cave and read it there!

I swallowed the rest of my words.

But the dragon shook his head.

“Nah. Nothing worth seeing. I can guess the rest without reading it.”

You seemed plenty engrossed just now, though.

I sat down across from him, staring with dead fish eyes.

At this point, I gave up.

I calmly accepted my fate as his personal “fun story vending machine.”

“Albert wasn’t really the kind of guy you’d gild like that. He was a snot-nosed crybaby—we barely managed to turn him into a proper person. If anything, Lucas was more—well, whatever. No point weighing it all now.”

“Huh? Albert? You mean Albert Rembrandt, the first emperor?”

“Yeah.”

He was talking about the founding emperor like he was some kid next door…

Still, it was pretty interesting.

I recalled the contents of the book I’d been half-reading, The History of the Rembrandt Empire.

The Rembrandt Empire.

It was a nation founded by its first emperor, Albert Rembrandt, with the help of Lucas Celeste—a founding contributor—and a dragon.

Amid fierce power struggles, the emperor and the dragon formed a powerful pact.

The details of that pact were kept strictly secret, but through it, Albert Rembrandt gained the tremendous backing of a dragon.

Blessed by the dragon, the empire prospered, and that bloodline continued on to the present day…

That was the summary.

But wait. A dragon?

I stared blankly at the man sitting across from me.

“Come to think of it… you.”

“Get the title right. What’s with ‘you’?”

“Well, I don’t know your name. So pick one. Mister, uncle, hey-you, transparent dra—”

“Ternox! Just call me Nox.”

Oh wow. That was quick.

Holding back my urge to bicker, I continued.

“Anyway, Nox. You’re a dragon, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t tell me…”

“That ‘don’t tell me’ is probably right.”

He looked like he already knew what I was about to say.

“I’m the dragon in that book.”

Ternox grinned confidently.

My eyes flew wide open.

“So you really weren’t a transparent dragon?”

“Watch your mouth…”

“Yes, sir. Wow. Then how old are you? You must be some ancient grandpa.”

“You’re really good at getting on my nerves for such a tiny thing.”

Haha. Was I? Then I’d call that a success!

When I flashed a smug smile, Ternox’s expression soured.

Feeling like I’d scored a hit, my mood improved a little.

That was when—

“Madam! We’re here! We’re coming in!”

“Gasp!”

Unexpected voices came from beyond the front door.

Click, click.

At the call, I heard the doorknob turn halfway.

In sync with that sound, my heart dropped.

“Huh? It’s locked.”

“Really? That’s strange. Is the knob broken?”

The first voice was definitely Garnet’s.

And judging by the murmuring beside her, part of the 가나다 maid squad was clearly standing outside the door.

I hurriedly glanced out the window.

Seeing the sun hanging halfway down the mountainside… it was mealtime.

The problem was that the dragon sitting bolt upright at the table showed absolutely no sign of leaving.

I clenched my teeth and whispered urgently.

“Hurry up and go back! We’ll get caught at this rate!”

“Why? Can’t we get caught? It’s not like we did anything.”

“‘We’? Being lumped together with you is already a nightmare.”

“Oh? You’re really watching your mouth now.”

Ternox said incredulously.

But I was serious.

My husband might have vanished like the wind—apart from running into him once after the wedding—but I was still, by all accounts, a grand duchess.

Which meant one thing: I was a married woman!

No matter how close this dragon was to being a grandpa by age, his appearance was that of a handsome young man.

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust the maid squad, but they were still people of the grand ducal household.

More than anything, creating unnecessary misunderstandings was a burden.

Ternox showed no intention of moving, and even so, the maid squad—having brought hot food—didn’t hold back.

I’m Korean—why are you all so desperate to make sure I eat?!

“Madam~ You’re inside, right? The soup will get cold.”

I shot Ternox a fierce glare, baring my teeth.

But the dragon before me only shrugged, still sitting there with a playful grin.

“You only live once. Being mistaken for a secret lover sounds fun.”

You’ve lived at least twice as long as a normal human, and you’re shameless too!

That was when—

“Is she not inside?”

“Don’t tell me she’s in danger?! Gasp—Madam!”

Crunch—! Crash!

With a terrifying noise, the door opened—no, it shattered—.