Chapter 1. An Accidental Encounter
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The next day, Nelia and her group decided to look around the castle ruins to see if there was another hidden space like the basement.
She thought it would be better to look separately, so Nelia decided to look around the west side of the castle with Zenuit, and the duke decided to look around the east by himself.
The lamp in the duke’s room was still on until late yesterday.
Originally, there were times when he often slept late, but she guessed that he couldn’t fall asleep easily yesterday because he was embarrassed. About who he is.
Looking at the book in the basement, the duke came to think that he might not be a human being.
Although she comforted the duke that she didn’t care what he is, in other words, everything wouldn’t be the same as before.
‘It’s shocking……’
The duke’s ancestors may not be human. That means that even the duke who inherited the bloodline may not be human as well.
However, the more surprising thing was that she didn’t care much about the fact.
Is it because she likes the duke……? If she likes someone, does it mean she will only look at him? Or perhaps, she had already gone through a lot of things that she became resistant to such a shocking discovery.
Nelia was more surprised by herself for reacting obtusely to his ducal’s identity rather than his true identity.
‘I’ve never liked anyone in my life.’
Not only in this life, but also in her past life. Love was like a distant story in her life, where she was struggling to make ends meet.
However, she was certain of one thing now, that she had no intention of telling the duke about her feelings yet. When everything is done. When everything that bothered the duke disappeared, she was going to confess her feelings at that time.
If she confesses now, the duke will definitely be pleased, but at the same time he would feel impatient. He has to find Sigrit’s heart and be a whole human being first.
Therefore, this was not the right time.
“You won’t know anything if you look that way.”
Zenuit’s grumpy voice was heard from the side. Nelia looked at Zenuit as if she made a mistake.
She had been thinking about something for too long.
“Did something happen yesterday?”
“What?”
“You’ve been looking like a fool for a while.”
“When did I ever make a foolish expression……”
Zenuit stood still in his place and stared at Nelia.
“I want to show you an example.”
Anyway, there’s no way he would let it slide.
However, Nelia didn’t even want to talk to Zenuit about love counseling, so she changed her answer so that the topic would be different.
“It’s because I have a lot in mind due to the Hart Family’s secret that I just learned about yesterday.”
“What……? That their ancestors could be dragons, not snakes?”
“Yes.”
Zenuit folded his arms.
“If your ancestor was a dragon, not a snake, shouldn’t they be glad?”
Well…… a dragon is better than a snake.
“That means they are originally not humans.’
“it doesn’t matter if they’re not humans. Even a dragon isn’t that different from a human being. It’s just about having tremendous ability and living a long life.”
Zenuit continued while shrugging his shoulders.
“In fact, Sigrit’s lover was Elena, a human being, and the dragon was not very different from humans, so they could love each other.”
Zenuit’s logic was strangely convincing.
She admitted that humans and dragons weren’t very different in a very comprehensive sense.
‘However, he didn’t turn into a dragon, but into a snake which was the root of this problem……’
Nelia, who was staring at Zenuit, suddenly became curious about something else.
“By the way, what can you do with the dragon’s power, Zenuit?”
Nelia was always curious about it whenever she looked at Zenuit.
Although Zenuit hasn’t shown great power until now, he certainly mastered a lot of tricks.
Lending his power to someone else, turning into a human, becomes invisible, manipulating human’s memories, and others……
Oh, he once brought a flash of lightning in the sky for a moment. Though it vanished right away.
‘I once showed tremendous power.’
The thing that came into her body and stopped monstrous humans like Duke Hart and Carlos.
Therefore, she was curious. What is the dragon’s power?
Nelia waited for Zenuit’s answer. He spoke confidently.
“You asked what I can do with my skills?”
“Yes.”
“Of course, nothing is impossible for a dragon.”
Lies. When Nelia’s expression looked sour, Zenuit raised his eyebrows.
“An ancient dragon was like a god. It’s whole body was like a giant energy. Not to mention the dragon’s heart, even the body without a heart has tremendous power already.”
“You’re talking about Sigrit, aren’t you?”
“…..I’m almost the same as him.”
If Zenuit was that great, then she wondered how great Sigrit was.
She was curious for a moment, but she also knew that was not the point.
The important point now was that Zenuit had a great power.
“Zenuit, if you have such abilities, please calm down His Grace who will turn into a monster on the day of the total lunar eclipse. I’ll do everything that you want for a month, Zenuit.”
“Didn’t you refuse last time? As I said, there are limitations to my current appearance. Small dragons and human figures have limited power to use.”
Nelia pouted.
“I’ll give you a hint instead.”
“What hint are you……”
“It’s a hint about what’s going to happen to you.”
What’s going to happen to her……?
The hint was very vague, but Zenuit’s serious eyes, which were rare, made her focus on his voice.
“Emotions have more power than you think. From small things that save to big things that change the world.”
“……Is that a hint for my future?”
Zenuit clicked his tongue as if he was frustrated.
“Don’t you think you’ve been through a lot of strange things yourself?”
Nelia answered without hesitation.
“……Right.”
Getting involved with the villain of the story, how he fell in love with her, and how she fell in love with him, it was strange and amazing to think about it.
Moreover, there was something that the question couldn’t be solved even now.
“What do you think was the strangest thing?”
“……When His Grace never turned into a snake while he was with me?”
She became the duke’s human transformation inhibitor and became entangled with him.
The duke and her have been together for quite a long time, but they haven’t figured out the reason or the cause until now.
“That’s it.”
“The reason His Grace doesn’t turn into a snake is because of his feelings……?”
“Yes. Love changes everything, sometimes it makes the impossible become possible.”
Nelia was quite surprised to see Zenuit seriously talking about love.
‘The dragon race must be a romanticist.’
Sigrit did, but seeing that Zenuit was very serious about love. The topic was also quite emotional.
“The reason why the duke was able to maintain his human appearance while being with you was probably because he fell in love. For him, the feeling of love works as a force. That’s why it feeds his desire to be a human.”
Zenuit was never as serious as now, but it didn’t affect Nelia much.
Was he serious when saying the duke didn’t turn into a snake just because of his feelings?
“You don’t seem to believe me, so let’s take this as an example.”
Nelia nodded slowly.
“What is it?”
“Where did you find the divine dew?”
Divine dew……? Nelia thought of Charlotte when she heard something she hadn’t heard for a long time.
“It was inside a pendant necklace of someone named Charlotte.”
“Wasn’t that pendant necklace originally sealed?”
“……Yes.”
Zenuit was trapped in Elena’s tears at that time, and it was mesmerizing that he recited it as if he had witnessed the situation.
“Sigrit split some of Elena Tears, put them in a pendant and brought them to the monastery located deep in the mountains. That is the divine dew.”
Nelia nodded. She knew it.
“Yes, Charlotte, who had a pendant necklace, was also from a monastery, and the person who gave the necklace was also a priest.”
“Yes, but Charlotte wouldn’t have been able to open the pendant. No, no one has ever opened it. Sigrit sealed the divine dew in the pendant.”
However, why could she unseal it?
“And you were able to unseal the pendant because you were the chosen one. The same goes for waking and releasing me from Elena Tears.”
On the first day she met Zenuit, he also said something along that line.
“What on earth is the chosen one you’re talking about?”
“I don’t know because that’s how the Great Sigrit call them.”
What…… After all, it meant that he didn’t know.
“However, I can only say for sure that you were able to keep the duke from turning into a snake and open the sealed pendant necklace, all of which came from your deep and profound feelings.”
“Feelings……”
“And that deep feeling changed all the flow of fate.”
Zenuit slapped Nelia on the waist when she recited the word ‘feeling’.
“Anyway, protect your heart which cherishes someone well! That’s my hint.”
Her palm was small, but it was quite strong. Nelia caressed Zenuit on the back.
“Since I gave you a hint, may I ask you something?”
She felt like she was losing money because the hint seemed to not be so helpful, but she had no other choice than nodding because Zenuit’s gaze still looked serious.
“What is it?”
“Prince Carlos.”
Nelia’s eyebrows were bent because he suddenly mentioned someone.
“His Highness Carlos……”
“Yes. What do you think about him?”
Mentioning a random person and followed by a random question.
Nelia could not answer right away. It’s because her thoughts on Carlos have changed over and over again.
‘At first, he was a scary person who might just kill me.’
However, she naturally forgot about their relationship in the story.
Perhaps, it was influenced by the duke. She has gotten so close with the villain of the original plot, but she wondered what Carlos would be afraid of.
In other ways, it also meant that the content of the original book has changed a lot.
Carlos gradually changed from a scary person to an unfortunate person to her. Knowing his miserable life, and the hardship that was about to come.
His arm would become more inflexible, and there would be no cure if Sigrit’s heart isn’t found.
‘I told you I was in pain.’
however, Sigrit’s heart would be in her hands and the duke’s. As desperate as Carlos was, so was Duke Hart, and probably more.
Therefore, he tried to commit a horrible thing to her, and hurt the duke as well, but she couldn’t really hate him.
She was sorry for him, and she felt that he was pitiful……
Just like that, her feelings toward Carlos were complicated.
“I asked you what you thought of Prince Carlos, but why do you look so confused?”
Nelia realized that her answer came out way too late upon Zenuit’s remark.
“What do I think of His Highness Carlos……?”
“Yes.”
Nelia swallowed anxiously and recited her honest thoughts.
“I hate His Highness Carlos, but I feel sorry for him.”
“I hate him, but I feel sorry for him……”
“Yes, that’s all.”
Zenuit sighed softly. And he answered.
“I understood.”
Nelia couldn’t understand what he was trying to say by asking this kind of question.
Zenuit began to walk again with his hand stuck in his pants pocket.
Nelia walked along with him and asked.
“Why are you asking me that all of a sudden?”
“When I saw him, I also thought he was pitiful and in great despair. Of course, I can’t forgive the fact that he was trying to do something terrible to you.”
“You felt sorry for Carlos……?”
Zenuit wondered what Carlos looked like and what he thought about him.
“He looked as if he was struggling in the dark. And I think I know now. The reason why he’s obsessed with you.”
Januit said with his eyes staring ahead.
“Because you understand him completely. Only a few people would genuinely feel sorry for him, such as you.”
Is Carlos completely obsessed with her because of that? Just because she was able to completely understand him…….
“Anyway, such a pitiful fellow.”
Zenuit muttered expressionlessly and spoke whilst looking back at Nelia.
“Let’s end our chatter and look for it quickly. If you don’t look for it diligently, I’ll tell Her Grace that you’ve been fooling around, keep that in mind.”
You’ve been the one who talked a lot until just now……
Nelia inwardly grumbled, but as Zenuit told, she began to look around.
There were still a lot of places they had to look into.
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