Chapter 10

Sizzle…

The whole roasted wild boar turned slowly over the fire, filling the air with its mouthwatering aroma.

Yet only one person was actually eating it.

Munch… munch…

I think I’m going to choke…

Even so, Lucy didn’t stop eating.

She cautiously glanced around.

For a while now, Edward and his two retainers had been silently exchanging looks among themselves.

Please don’t let them be communicating, “Let’s get rid of her.”

A little earlier…

The blade that had flown toward Lucy…

Hadn’t belonged to Edward.

“Your Grace! Step away from that woman!”

Carrying their freshly hunted game over their shoulders like sacks of grain, Tepe and Gorgo had leaped forward, swords drawn.

At that moment, they looked less like elite knights…

And more like mountain bandits.

Of course…

Their swords never reached Lucy.

With a single impatient flick of Edward’s hand—

Crack!

Both blades snapped cleanly in half.

“She could be a Temple spy!”

“It’s too dangerous!”

Despite that, neither of them backed down.

It was understandable.

Lucy had just blurted out one of House Tesseron’s greatest secrets—

That Edward was an incomplete Dragon Incarnate.

Only a handful of his closest confidants knew that truth.

“Woman! Get away from His Gra—”

“No.”

“That’s enough.”

Just as Lucy wondered how she was supposed to survive this…

The one person she’d expected to be the angriest—

Edward himself—

Calmly stopped them.

Although…

His expression was far colder than either of theirs.

“We can interrogate her from this point onward.”

Strangely enough…

That face actually made me feel more at ease.

At least it felt genuine.

Unlike the smiling mask he’d worn until now.

For the first time…

He actually seemed human.

After that…

Following Edward’s orders…

They lit a campfire.

And now they were roasting the boar.

But…

Why am I the only one eating?

It made Lucy painfully self-conscious.

Still…

She kept eating.

She was starving.

She needed to regain her strength.

And food was precious.

Besides…

The roasted meat tasted incredible.

Just don’t eat so much that you upset your stomach.

As Lucy continued chewing earnestly…

“How did you know?”

The slightly slimmer of the two guards finally spoke.

It was Tepe.

“You mean…”

“That His Grace is an incom—”

“An incomplete Dragon Incarnate?”

The instant she finished the sentence…

Tepe’s eyes sharpened.

What?

Is his title some kind of forbidden word now?

Still, Lucy answered honestly.

“Don’t worry.”

“The Temple doesn’t know.”

“I’m the only one.”

“……”

“Whenever His Grace and Lady Sepina underwent purification…”

“I sensed something as well.”

“…Sensed what?”

“…It’s difficult to explain.”

Lucy vaguely brushed the question aside while avoiding his eyes.

Tepe frowned deeply.

Meanwhile…

A strange smile appeared on Edward’s face.

“And from that…”

“You concluded I was incomplete?”

“……”

“We weren’t even touching.”

“Well…”

“So if we touched directly…”

“You’d be able to see straight into my heart?”

Lucy immediately straightened her back.

“O-Of course not!”

“It’s just that…”

“I’m unusually sensitive to magical power and holy power.”

“Sensitive?”

“Yes.”

“When you were with Lady Sepina…”

“I sometimes felt something strange about your aura.”

“And that’s how you concluded His Grace is incomplete?”

Tepe looked openly skeptical.

“Exactly.”

Lucy nodded without hesitation while swallowing another bite of meat.

Actually…

I only know because I read the original novel.

More precisely…

The truth had been revealed in one of the side stories told from the perspective of someone close to Edward.

Edward had actually been born an incomplete Dragon Incarnate.

Because of that…

He secretly considered himself weak.

He constantly feared that one day he’d lose control completely.

That was why he longed for the destined companion who could complete him.

And when the Temple presented Sepina as that companion…

He’d accepted her despite his doubts.

The side story was obviously trying to defend the male lead for sleeping with a fake destined companion.

Many readers had still criticized him.

“Cheating is cheating.”

Lucy hadn’t been one of them.

If anything…

She understood him a little.

…Because I was the same.

She had always believed she was incomplete.

Weak.

She’d convinced herself that was why her older sisters had left her behind in the shelter.

I thought everything was my fault.

She believed that if she became stronger…

If she became perfect…

She’d finally be able to leave the shelter and reunite with her family.

That hope hadn’t lasted long.

But back then…

I was desperate.

Even while starving…

She’d forced herself to exercise inside the cramped shelter.

She memorized every monster’s weaknesses.

Practiced fighting them.

Anything to become stronger.

Anything to become perfect.

Edward probably endured Sepina for exactly the same reason.

For that reason alone…

Lucy could understand the emptiness inside him.

Of course…

Understanding him…

And using that knowledge for her own survival…

Were two entirely different things.

“Anyway…”

“I have no intention of telling anyone.”

“……”

“But…”

“If you sign a contract with me…”

This was the important part.

Lucy deliberately straightened her shoulders.

“I think I can solve that problem for you.”

“……”

“If you become a complete Dragon Incarnate…”

“You’ll be able to find your true destined companion.”

“Oh!”

“And of course…”

“I’ll help with that too.”

Silence followed.

Tepe and Gorgo looked at Lucy the way people looked at a cult preacher handing out flyers outside a train station.

I understand.

Edward’s condition was congenital.

And here she was…

A mere Temple experiment…

Claiming she could fix it.

Of course it sounds like a scam.

Even if they didn’t believe her…

She wasn’t speaking without evidence.

The side stories actually left several clues.

They hinted at how an incomplete Dragon Incarnate could become complete.

Lucy had reread those chapters so many times in the shelter that she remembered them well.

You simply have to perform the ancient ritual that awakens a dragon’s mana.

Gathering the materials wouldn’t be easy.

But with House Tesseron’s wealth and influence…

It should be possible.

“Don’t worry.”

“I’m not going to cling to His Grace under the excuse of curing him.”

“……”

“I’ll stay out of sight as much as possible.”

“Apart from holding hands once a week for purification…”

“I’ll keep my distance.”

“……”

“I’ll also need time to research how to solve His Grace’s condition.”

She knew the ritual required special ingredients and a magical circle.

The novel hadn’t explained the actual procedure in much detail.

I’ll just have to research how the ancient ritual was performed.

Just as Lucy organized her thoughts—

“Hah.”

Tepe grimaced.

“I knew it.”

“Research?”

“So you don’t actually have a definite answer.”

“…Think carefully, Your Grace.”

Gorgo quietly added, speaking softly enough that Lucy couldn’t hear.

“Didn’t you say you only intended to use her…”

“…Then discard her?”

Edward didn’t answer either of them.

Instead…

He looked only at Lucy.

“So.”

“You insist on having a contract?”

“Your Grace?”

Both Tepe and Gorgo immediately turned toward him, suddenly uneasy.

“Yes!”

“I already told you.”

“I don’t really trust verbal agreements.”

“So it absolutely has to be written down?”

“Of course!”

Seeing hope in Edward’s reaction…

Lucy nodded enthusiastically.

“And if I dislike the contents?”

“We can negotiate!”

“You’re willing to revise it?”

“Absolutely!”

“Haha!”

“You’re the employer, Your Grace!”

As she spoke…

Lucy hurriedly scratched out the section that had labeled herself as the superior party and Edward as the subordinate.

A bright smile spread across her face.

She genuinely looked delighted.

Watching her smile…

Edward slowly curled one corner of his lips upward.

“Huh…!”

Tepe and Gorgo’s eyes widened.

They knew that expression all too well.

It was the smile Edward wore…

Whenever he was about to do whatever he pleased.

Your Grace…

Please don’t…

“Your Grace, perhaps we should discuss this among ourselves first—”

“We really ought to—”

Just as both men anxiously stepped forward—

“Fine.”

“Then let’s negotiate.”

“Oh!”

“Gladly!”

Lucy beamed so brightly her eyes disappeared into crescents.

It was the smile of someone genuinely happy simply to have reached an agreement with him.

She’s that infatuated with me.

Well…

She does possess purification abilities.

Even if I throw her away later…

There’s no harm in treating her a little better for now.

Quietly studying her smiling face…

Edward asked,

“Can we also change the title of the document?”

Lucy nodded immediately.

“Um… yes!”

“But what would you like to call it?”

As long as it remained a contract…

She didn’t mind changing the title.

“The title should be…”

Just as Edward tilted his head—

Neigh!

The carriage horses suddenly let out frantic cries.

The coachman, who had been sleeping nearby, jolted awake and came running toward them.

“Your Grace!”

Everyone turned simultaneously.

In the distance—

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A group of mounted soldiers bearing the banner of the Grand Temple galloped straight toward them.