Esa Promesa

“Teian, pull yourself together.”

His voice, annoyingly gentle, made me lift my head and glare at Raspeim. Unlike my confusion, Raspeim had a relaxed expression, almost to the point where I wanted to hit him.

“Are you mocking me?”

Raspeim tilted his head slightly.

“I was serious, Teian.”

“Then why did you say that? You weren’t even going to let me go!”

“Because I wanted a chance.”

His smug smile was infuriating.

“Please give me back the magic stone. I won’t use it.”

Both Raspeim and Diver, when they were careless, would use it in a place where the flow of magical energy quickly fades like a temple. Then even the great dragon would find it hard to track.

“You can’t even buy it with money, so give it back.”

“True, you can’t buy it with money. But Teian, do you know what this magic stone is?”

“My only hope.”

I cursed with my eyes, thinking that Raspeim had just taken away my hope, but he just smiled smugly. I felt impatient.

Even without using the magic stone, my chimera, with its personality, would surely come to get me if I didn’t return within a month, right before my death. I didn’t want to see my chimera suffer.

“You really don’t know, do you?”

“You just said it’s nothing earlier, Raspeim.”

Without saying a word, Raspeim looked at me with that infuriating smile, and my voice faltered. I had thought it was no big deal when Raspeim had avoided the topic, but now, seeing that smile, I began to realize that he must have been hiding something just to see if I would be surprised.

“The national treasure of Emar.”

“Excuse me?”

“I gave it to Ethan I.”

“Wait, what?”

Raspeim had personally given the magic stone to the founding king of this kingdom? My mouth fell open in shock.

“Th-that’s a lie…”

“If you think it’s a lie, ask Vel to show you Ethan I’s personal writings.”

“The king’s personal writings are only accessible to the king. Are you asking me to commit treason?”

“Vel will show you anything if you ask. Even if he refuses, he’ll have to show it if I say it’s okay.”

Mentioning the personal writings meant it wasn’t a lie. But how, and why, was I in possession of the kingdom’s national treasure in my cradle? Did I steal it in my first life, which I couldn’t remember?

“I won’t ask why you have Emar’s national treasure.”

Raspeim smiled kindly.

“But if you keep asking for it back, I might start to hesitate.”

Dragons are notoriously possessive of their belongings.

I didn’t need to think long to understand that I was in a fortunate position, being allowed to keep something Raspeim had personally given to his first contractor, and that he hadn’t punished me for it. Still, I couldn’t help but feel irritated.

If I remembered where the magic stone came from, I wouldn’t be shy about showing it to Raspeim right now.

I felt uneasy and frustrated, but in the end, I could only nod.

Now, the only choice left to me was this: since I couldn’t escape right away, I’d unpack the things I had prepared earlier and wait for my chimera to come and get me. I bit my lip. Then, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

“…Just to ask, will you tell His Majesty about my attempt to leave secretly?”

“Vel told you not to say anything if you ever try to leave, so don’t worry. Unless, of course, you want him to know?”

“Not at all!”

I could understand why Diver had said those things. Even as he tried to keep me from leaving, he probably wanted me not to panic or become afraid unnecessarily.

That’s why he had told Raspeim to keep quiet. I wanted to laugh at his unnecessary consideration, but the truth was, even now, I could feel Diver’s affection, and it terrified me.

I had never tried to escape, but after Diver made that wish with Raspeim, he must have been constantly worried that I might try to leave.

It was absurd.

Now, I understood why Diver had cried when I handed in my resignation.

That day, Diver wasn’t just upset about my impending death, but about the fact that I had openly told him I was going to leave him.

If only I hadn’t known that Diver loved me until this very moment, it might have been easier for my heart. A sigh escaped me.

“Then I suppose I should finish what I came for.”

“What do you mean? Do you still have business with me?”

“Vel said he would transfer his third wish to you. So, I’ll grant one of your wishes.”

The third wish? Diver’s first wish had been to prevent me from leaving, so the second wish must have already been granted.

Still, I wondered, can wishes granted by a dragon be transferred like this? It felt almost like a silly game.

“Well, it’s not like a massage coupon made by children…”

“Isn’t it amusing?”

It was amusing, indeed.

“You should be thankful that I’m a ‘generous dragon king who likes humans.’ If I were another dragon, I would’ve cut the throat of my contractor for being so arrogant.”

I didn’t know why he was subtly emphasizing that, but I decided to try negotiating with the “generous dragon king.”

“Then please move me to the place I want to go right now.”

“I can do that, but if it’s considered running away from Vel, I will bring you back here. Is that okay with you?”

“……”

Generous, my foot.

“I’ll ask later.”

Thankfully, Raspeim nodded.

“Teian.”

“Why do you call me?”

“I’m really looking forward to what wish you’ll ask of me.”

Raspeim didn’t smile. His gaze was intense, as though he was sizing me up, yet there was a cold cynicism in his eyes that I couldn’t look away from. It was the gaze of a predator observing its prey.

I instinctively shrank back. I knew that Raspeim was generally kind to humans, as long as I didn’t cross any lines, but such a gaze still made it difficult to meet his eyes directly.

“Hurry up and tell me your wish. Right now, the only thing I want is for you to let me pretend I didn’t see you and allow me to escape.”

“That’s a shame. Well, I’ll go now. But let me give you some advice.”

“Advice?”

“You’d better think about how you’re going to explain to Vel what we did in private.”

“His Majesty wouldn’t—wait, you don’t mean…!”

*Thud!*

It happened in an instant. As Raspeim disappeared, the door to my room rattled with a loud bang.

“Teian!”

I heard Diver’s voice calling me, accompanied by the sound of him knocking and trying to unlock the door. He was clearly trying to open it.

Now I understood what Raspeim had meant. That damn dragon. He had dumped this troublesome task on me and run off.

I absentmindedly glanced at the clock. It was the time for the regular meeting. I wasn’t sure whether Diver had left in the middle or if the meeting had ended early due to a lack of agenda, but the realization hit me hard.

Before Diver went to the meeting, he had subtly tried to lock me up again. So, I had asked him to move my things to the side room connected to his bedroom and send me to my quarters.

Using the magic stone to escape would absolve me from any responsibility, so I had said what Diver most wanted to hear, fully aware that it was like digging my own grave.

If it hadn’t been for Raspeim, I would likely be in the cradle by now. But in the end, I had stayed here. That meant I had to fulfill the promise I made: to pack my things and go to Diver’s bedroom.

I was trying to quietly open the door to calm Diver, when I finally realized what state I was in.

The pushed-aside bed wasn’t too noticeable, so I could leave it, but my appearance was completely out of place for someone in a room.

I was wrapped tightly in thick winter clothes, with a coat and scarf, looking like someone preparing for the harsh cold rather than being inside a room.

“Your Majesty, please wait a moment!”

I had never moved so fast in my life.

I tore off the scarf that was strangling my neck and shoved it into the closet along with my coat, sweater, and pants, not caring about how it was put away.

Even though Diver was outside, raising his voice to ask what was happening, I ignored him.

I took off all my clothes and, thinking the servants would eventually throw them away, grabbed the indoor clothes I had left out, not bothering to pack them into a box. Damn it, my hands were trembling from nervousness, and the buttons on my dress shirt kept misaligning. I’d have to switch them to buckles later.

I finally managed to button up my shirt and put on my pants and jacket. It was a little messy, but if I delayed any longer, I’d raise suspicion. I grabbed the discarded winter clothes from the floor, shoved them into the closet, and pressed the door shut to prevent anything from sticking out before hurriedly opening the door.

“Sorry for the delay, Your Majesty.”

“Teian, why are you so late…”

Why did he stop speaking? Diver, wearing the slightly fancier attire he only wore on regular meeting days, still looked handsome, but his flustered expression, which didn’t match his usual composure, seemed so out of place.

Diver’s gaze landed on my neck. I saw his eyes scanning downwards and then moving back up, his expression slowly turning cold and tense.