Chapter 166
Honestly, it would be a lie to say she hadn’t been shocked seeing Yan.
And it would be a lie to say she hadn’t been horrified by what he’d said, too. Daphne found all of it hard to believe, and just as hard to accept.
“What… in the world is going on, exactly.”
Daphne let out a long sigh and ran her hands through her hair, mussing it up.
“What is the Emperor even thinking.”
“Lady Daphne.”
Shio, watching Daphne mutter to herself as though on the verge of panic, spoke up hastily.
“It’s simply because he’s an arrogant being.”
He said, placing a hand on Daphne’s shoulder.
“Dragons—that is, those who believe themselves to be fragments of god, practically god’s own agents—have always been this way, by nature.”
Given that Daphne was, after all, a manufactured Calamity, it made sense she wouldn’t be well versed in the temperament of dragons. So Shio continued explaining further.
“Do you think Lani, Artson, and Kalid had some grand notion or meticulous plan in mind when they created the Calamity?”
“…”
“They simply did it because they wanted to. That’s simply the kind of beings they are.”
“But the Emperor…”
“The Emperor as well.”
Shio drew in a deep breath.
“The Emperor is exactly the same. He did it because he wanted to. And likely because he believed he had to.”
Daphne bit the inside of her cheek. Doing something because you wanted to, doing something because you believed you had to… none of it quite made sense to her. She had never once lived her life that way, after all.
The things she wanted to do, she had never once been able to do, and the things she believed she had to do, more often than not, she’d failed to accomplish anyway.
Haaah. Letting out another sigh, Daphne looked at Shio.
“What about you?”
“Me?”
“How is it with you?”
Shio fell silent for a moment. Then he let out a low laugh and shook his head.
“I too have made countless mistakes, and committed countless wrongs.”
He paused, his expression flickering with what looked like a memory of the past, then muttered bitterly.
“And I have paid the price for them myself, too.”
Hmm.
Daphne crossed her arms and studied Shio for a moment, then shrugged.
“So you’re saying there’s no other dragon like you out there, is that it?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t that arrogance too, though?”
“It is. Arrogant. But it isn’t false.”
Shio said, smiling brightly, while Daphne’s face scrunched up in return.
“To think the only one worth trusting is you, of all people…”
“What’s that supposed to mean. That’s starting to sound pretty insulting.”
“I still can’t quite believe it.”
Cutting off Shio’s irritation without hesitation, Daphne muttered again.
“He calls himself a god.”
“Pardon?”
“The Emperor, I mean.”
Daphne murmured, dazed.
“Shouldn’t a god naturally protect mortals? And yet this Emperor calls himself a god while making no attempt to protect anyone at all. No—instead of protecting them, he chose to kill them. Chose to use them instead.”
She shook her head.
“How could that possibly be called a god.”
“Lady Daphne.”
Shio placed his hand over the back of Daphne’s own and said.
“If the existence of god truly carried such a mission, the world wouldn’t have turned out this way.”
“…”
“The divine duty you speak of, Lady Daphne, is merely something invented. Nothing more, nothing less.”
In some ways, Shio’s words might well be true.
God had perhaps simply created the world, and nothing more—perhaps ruling the world, or making it a better place, was never part of the role at all. Which was why god had vanished, shattered into fragments… If so, what was this world supposed to believe in, going forward? A weight settled over a corner of Daphne’s heart.
“In any case, there are bound to be more beings like Yan out there.”
“I imagine so.”
“But they won’t all act like Yan did. Yan, after all, managed to escape from that place.”
Mulling over his words, Daphne said flatly.
“You’re saying the others might still be by the Emperor’s side.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Ughhh.”
Daphne tousled her hair wildly and let her body go completely limp.
“All the more reason to go to this ball, or whatever it is.”
“Of course. You should go.”
“It’s such a hassle.”
“You really should go, though.”
“I know. I’ll go.”
Sniff, Daphne replied, drawing in a breath through her nose. At that, Shio’s expression shifted slightly. Just a moment ago, discussing serious matters, his eyes had been endlessly sharp, and now they’d turned impossibly soft again. His cheeks twitched enough to lift the mole beneath his eye as he asked Daphne.
“Have you decided on a partner yet?”
Daphne answered at once.
“I’ll go with Rache. He’s sulking because of me, so I should take care of him.”
“…Rache won’t be able to move properly by then anyway, though. He won’t be able to go.”
“Then Arius.”
“He’s going with Lady Brysa, I heard.”
“Then Vipera.”
“Lord Vipera obviously won’t be attending.”
Is that so.
Daphne tilted her head, and Shio seized the opening, leaning his face in suddenly.
“Sigh, well, in that case there’s no other choice. Guess it’s just me, then. Right? I suppose you’ll have to go with me. Hold my hand and walk in together, right?”
“…”
Daphne found herself instinctively taking a small step back.
Going to the ball with Shio? Sure, she could do that. What was so special about it, anyway?
And yet every time Shio acted this endearing toward her, or expressed his affection so openly, it made her feel just a little uncomfortable. Not because she disliked him, or anything like that…
‘It’s just embarrassing, that’s all.’
So Daphne turned her head aside slightly and replied.
“No.”
Then she smiled, a crooked grin spreading across her face.
“There’s one more person, isn’t there.”
* * *
Clatter, clatter. The carriage rolled along the slope. Neigh! The sound of a horse’s whinny pierced through the thick glass window and drifted into the carriage. But the two seated inside paid the sound no mind. They simply stared intently at one another.
The two of them—Heros and Daphne—glared at each other as though locked in a staring contest.
“Hero.”
It was Daphne who broke the suffocating tension.
“What are you glaring at me like that for? Got a problem?”
At Daphne’s unfiltered words, Heros burst into laughter. “Glaring at,” now that was a phrase he’d never once heard directed at himself in his entire life. Uncharacteristically, he let out a soft chuckle and tilted his head.
“No. Just felt like it’s been a while since I last saw you like this.”
Then he continued.
“You look quite cute today.”
Just as he’d said, Daphne looked utterly adorable today. Her light pink, frill-laden dress complemented her luscious golden hair beautifully, and the hairpin studded with a light green peridot gem matched her eye color so closely that even her eyes seemed to gleam like jewels themselves. Her lovely cheeks and the cute, upturned corners of her mouth made for a thoroughly charming sight.
“Only just noticing now?”
But Daphne, as though thoroughly unmoved by the compliment, scoffed and replied. Heros burst into laughter again.
“I heard the Great Sage wanted to go to the ball with you. Apparently he cried when he heard you’d be going with me instead.”
“Whether he cries or not is none of my concern.”
“I doubt that.”
Heros studied Daphne closely, smiling broadly.
“Seems like you’re rather fond of him, in your own way.”
“…No, I’m not.”
“Sure seems like it.”
“I said no.”
Daphne’s cheeks flushed slightly. But Daphne, being a foolish dragon who understood her own heart poorly, decided to focus on the present matter for now—that is, the conversation with Heros.
“Hero, I asked you to come with me because there’s something I need to discuss with you. It’s not something to bring up during a carriage ride, but…”
Her voice trailed off as she gauged his reaction. Heros’s face still carried that same mischievous look, a sight that irritated her enough to want to smack him. No, no. I, the great one, shall endure. Daphne pressed a hand to her chest, steadying herself.
“Right. What did you want to say?”
Daphne drew in a deep breath.
“Hero.”
And looked directly into Heros’s eyes.
“You heard everything, didn’t you?”
A few days ago, when she’d discussed everything with everyone in the room. Daphne h
ad clearly sensed Heros’s presence at the time. She had already known that he’d heard every word of it.
And yet.
“So why haven’t you asked me anything about it?”
She wanted to know why Heros had remained silent this whole time.
