YSGD 12

Chapter 12

But judging from how wildly he was flailing about like that, he didn’t seem to be an Invisible Dragon after all….

Apparently, the Invisible Dragon had been a passing aesthetic preference—and a deep, dark black history of his.

“Who else saw it? Was it just you?! Hey—don’t tell me you passed it around to other guys too!”

It must have felt like someone suddenly digging up a novel he’d written during the height of his stormy middle-school syndrome.

Normally, it would’ve been a Dark Flame Dragon.

But an Invisible Dragon? That was oddly exceptional in its own way.

Looking at him like this, dragons and humans didn’t seem all that different—both kicked their blankets and threw jabs at empty air when thinking about their cringe-inducing pasts.

I forced down the twitch at the corner of my mouth and replied with solemn gravity.

“A-ah, ahem. Other than me, no one knows.”

“…I can see you holding back laughter.”

“Ah, c-come on, that’s not true. Everyone grows up by passing through a phase where they harbor their own inner darkness.”

As I said that, I raised my thumb in solidarity.

The man in front of me, clearly even more irritated by this, buried his face in his hands and muttered through clenched teeth.

“…Just laugh openly. That’d be less humiliating….”

“Puhahaha!”

“…….”

“S-sorry….”

He told me to laugh, but if I actually did, it really felt like he might split me in two.

I immediately shut my mouth and lowered my head. From across the way came a deep sigh.

“Haa… Where are those things now?”

“Pardon? Which—”

“These silver cups, for one.”

The man picked up a silver goblet that had been rolling near my feet and suddenly waved his hand through the air.

Following the tip of his finger, space split open like an unzipping zipper, forming a gap. He slipped the goblet inside.

“Huh?!”

He really is a dragon!

Once again, it hit me that this was truly a fantasy world.

“What, never seen a subspace before?”

“…? Of course not. I’m just a lowly human, you know….”

His hand, which had been casually closing the subspace, paused for a moment.

His gaze naturally returned to me, and our eyes met.

Then he stood there as if frozen, slowly scanning me from head to toe.

His narrowed eyes were full of questions.

“A human?”

“Well… I suppose so?”

“You don’t seem to know much about yourself.”

Of course I don’t.

I haven’t even been possessed for a month yet.

I don’t even know what novel this world is from.

This house is really something….

Unaware of my carefree thoughts, the man seemed to realize something on his own and smiled.

“You’re a ‘fragment,’ aren’t you?”

Once again, a term I didn’t understand.

“Oh? I see.”

“…You didn’t understand a word I said, did you?”

“Yes.”

Honestly, even someone from this world wouldn’t understand what the author was saying.

At my frank reply, the man let out a hollow laugh, shaking his head.

“Fine. Whatever. It’s not something important to me right now either. Just guide me.”

“To where?”

“To where that… book is.”

He spoke through clenched teeth, as if he were about to tear the book to shreds.

I didn’t bother hiding my discomfort.

“That’s not mine.”

“Exactly! It’s mine! Of course it’s not yours!”

“That’s not what I mean… it has an owner.”

Even if it had been left unattended, the book ultimately came from the Grand Duke’s library.

I’d taken it with the mindset of borrowing it, so handing it over to this green-haired reptilian man without permission felt wrong.

“So you’re saying the owner is me?”

“How am I supposed to believe that? If you were in my place, would you trust some unidentified man who suddenly shows up in a cave, wearing a silk pajama set, yelling at you?”

“You’re really funny, kid.”

“I hear that a lot.”

Shameless. Confident. Ridiculous.

Those three phrases practically floated above his face.

As if thinking What kind of gremlin is this?, the man raised one eyebrow in open disbelief.

Then a mischievous smile spread across his lips.

“Fine… You’re right. I am a dragon.”

Snap.

“?!”

The moment his words ended and his fingers snapped, my vision shook violently and blurred.

My body floated briefly in midair—then dropped.

And just like that…

With a single finger snap, we were standing in front of my cabin.

“W-what the—!”

“What do you think? The great magic of a dragon.”

That wasn’t all.

In his hand was unmistakably his autobiography,
『The Empire’s Strongest, Ultra-Awesome Invisible Dragon Roared』.

“How did you even—”

“I’ll take care of this eyesore.”

He wore a smile of drunken triumph.

He’s like an elementary school boy…

I didn’t know how old he was, but from his first appearance until now, his behavior was so childish that it seemed unlikely he’d ever truly escaped his Invisible Dragon phase.

I said flatly,

“If the owner comes looking for that book, I’ll tell them a green-haired reptile stole it.”

“So be it~”

Ugh! Why does that annoy me so much?

Just as I was about to bare my teeth and growl, the way Betty had taught me—

“Well then, I’ll be off. See you again sometime?”

Grinning brightly, the man vanished as suddenly as he’d arrived.

It seemed he’d used teleportation magic again.

“…Hard pass.”

Everything felt like it was getting more and more tangled.

All I wanted was to chop firewood quietly in my backwater cabin….

For the first time, I deeply envied the life of Dolsoe from that old drama.

“Haa….”

I had a bad feeling about this… but it was probably just my imagination.

Yeah. Just my imagination.

Clinging desperately to that rationalization, I hurried back into the cabin—

Hoping no more trouble would arise.

“!”

And just moments earlier—

There had been someone who witnessed the two figures bickering in front of the cabin.

‘My goodness… what did I just see?’

It was Katarina, who had forcibly stuffed herself into layers of ornate clothing and come to look for Renée.

She clutched her pounding heart, hiding behind a tree.

The maids who’d been flocking around Renée lately were nowhere to be seen today, which had piqued her curiosity enough to come investigate.

The path to the annex was nothing but rough dirt, ruining her beautiful dress.

But what did that matter?

She’d just witnessed something far more shocking!

‘Who was that man? A secret lover?’

She was too far away to hear their voices clearly.

Still, it was obvious that Renée Blanche had been with another man.

When Katarina cautiously peeked out again, the man had already disappeared…

‘Ha! Sly little wench. Sneaking men in through the back!’

Shock on Katarina’s face was quickly replaced with venom.

To her, this was a clear signal that the tide was about to turn.

The image of Xenos—who had always ignored her with indifferent eyes—floated into her mind.

Katarina habitually bit her lip, then stopped herself.

Before him, she always had to look perfect. Even the smallest wound would be unacceptable.

‘Xenos, you’ll see it clearly. The one truly fit to be Grand Duchess… is me!’

A few days later.

Katarina gathered the maids sent by Count Hugo and carefully dressed herself in her most cherished outfit.

The moment she’d witnessed that scene at the cabin, she’d rushed straight to Xenos—but he’d postponed meeting her for days, citing his busy schedule.

Only after Katarina cried and insisted it was an urgent matter, pressuring the head butler, was she finally granted an audience.

‘How infuriating….’

Why won’t he listen to me?

Just as Katarina was about to break into tears, she clenched her teeth and held it back.

If her makeup smudged, it would be a disaster.

Then a maid holding out a jewelry box asked,

“Which gemstone would you like for your necklace? Sapphire, like Lady Katarina herself?”

“…Ruby.”

It wasn’t that she was trying to imitate that woman.

It was just that, today, the fiery, brilliant glow of ruby appealed to her.

With only a slight exaggeration, the ruby necklace she wore was nearly the size of a baby’s fist.

Katarina turned this way and that before the mirror, admiring herself.

‘Perfect, as always. With this face, there’s no way he won’t listen to me.’

Brimming with confidence, she went to see Xenos—

But what greeted her was a frigid rebuke.

“Stop spouting nonsense and go back.”