Chapter 24

“Where am I? Who am I?”

The words burst out of me the moment I saw the unfamiliar ceiling. Oh, I’d always wanted to say that line at least once.

I snickered to myself over something so pointless, then sat up. But seriously, where was I? The last thing I remembered for sure was propping my head against Kazen’s scales and closing my eyes.

I looked around. The interior practically screamed “money, and lots of it — nobles only,” and the longer I stared at it, the less sense it made.

“You’re awake, Trainer Litia.”

“Oh, butler.”

I tried to scramble up in a hurry, but the butler raised a hand to stop me.

“Please, rest. This is the Duke’s order.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Was it not Trainer Litia who resolved the dragon steeds’ escape this time? The priest came and went as well. He said you’d accumulated quite a bit of fatigue.”

Well, that was true enough. Couldn’t deny it. I’d smiled and agreed to it so I wouldn’t look weak, but even I had to admit it was a reckless thing to do.

“Are you not hungry? You slept for nearly the entire day.”

“The entire day?!”

I was out of my mind, out of my mind! The other dragons were fine since I’d written down what they needed, but that meant Kazen had gone a whole day without eating!

I shot up in a panic. My sudden movement startled the butler enough that he hurried closer, but I could only stare in horror at my own clothes.

“What is this?!”

Where had my work clothes gone, and why was I wearing this flimsy nightgown that wasn’t the slightest bit useful for actual work? One good tug and it would tear!

I was gaping, still too stunned to speak, when the butler stepped closer.

“The maids changed your clothes. One rests more comfortably in comfortable clothing, does one not?”

“Um, butler. Where are my clothes? Kazen’s nerves must be on edge after going a full day without food.”

Unless there was truly no other option, you never broke a dragon’s schedule. And since you never knew when or where an emergency might strike, staying too far from the dragon pens was also a problem.

It was the whole reason I’d insisted on staying at the Ashar Training Center. It was close to the orphanage, so if anything happened there, I could rush over right away. Some trainers had asked why I bothered — wasn’t it easier to just send money and visit on my days off? Why throw away a good opportunity for that?

I never understood that way of thinking. If being with family made you happy, if it was something to look forward to, wouldn’t you want to see them as often as possible, to talk with them in person? I didn’t want to just send money. That was no different from sponsoring some stranger I’d never met.

No, wait, I couldn’t afford to escape into thoughts like this right now! The whole reason I’d come to the duchy in the first place was Kazen — this was a disaster!

“There’s no need to worry.”

The butler’s calm manner made me pause.

“Huh? But still…”

“While Trainer Litia was asleep, His Grace the Duke personally saw to Kazen’s feeding. Before you arrived, the Duke handled everything regarding Kazen himself, so there’s no need to be so surprised.”

The Duke had done it himself?

Ah, right. Kazen is an Agrix dragon.

A rare breed, famously particular and picky about people. And on top of that, he’d hatched from an egg left behind by a dragon that had visited the Albarant ducal house only once in a hundred years. It made sense, when I thought about it that way. The Duke himself clearly had no ordinary amount of affection for Kazen.

Which is exactly why he’s so irritated with me.

Thinking about it now made me a little annoyed. I’d only been doing my job properly, after all.

“So please, be at ease for now. I’ll bring your meal shortly.”

“Ah…”

“Don’t decline. Resting well and eating well was a specific instruction from the Duke himself.”

The butler vanished in an instant after saying he’d fetch my food, and I was left smacking my lips.

“…Is this, against my will, a paid vacation?”

Oh, framed that way, this wasn’t half bad. Looking around, this was clearly somewhere inside the mansion where the Duke himself lived, so maybe the food would actually be good?

Hearing that I’d slept the whole day away made my stomach let out a vigorous growl. I rubbed my belly while listening to it complain, demanding food be served immediately.

Well, fair enough — the last thing I’d eaten was a potion and a candy. No wonder I was starving. Let’s just eat a ton.

The moment food entered my mouth, I genuinely couldn’t stop shoveling more in.

Going a whole day without eating really does a number on you.

My job wasn’t dealing with just any living thing — it was dragons. If I didn’t eat solidly, my stamina gave out and I crashed in no time.

The steak, cut so tender, glistened with juice at the cross-section, and it made my mouth water on sight. I piled a generous heap of the mashed potatoes served as a garnish on top, and the moment it hit my mouth, pure happiness followed.

“Delicious!”

This juice! And the smooth texture of the potato clinging to my tongue right alongside it! Long live protein! Long, long live carbohydrates! This — this is what it means to actually live!

I was savoring the full bliss of it, eating away with gusto, when someone walked in.

“Um? Your Grace?”

I froze mid-bite. …Should I set down this bread, slathered thick with fresh butter and strawberry jam, and greet him properly first? I’d already bitten half of it off.

The Duke paused a moment, then spoke.

“My apologies. I’ll return once you’ve finished eating.”

And with that, he left before I could even respond.

“…What was that about.”

Still, I was glad he’d left. Eating in front of my employer would’ve turned this delicious food to sand and grit going down my throat. Good thing he read the room.

“Would you like more?”

“Ah, one more plate of steak, please.”

Whatever — fill the stomach first, think later.

The Duke didn’t come back into the room until I’d worked my way through the ice cream and fruit served for dessert. As if he’d known exactly when that would be, the butler brought out tea for two.

“Even so, isn’t sleeping in Kazen’s pen dangerous?”

That was the Duke’s opening line. I nodded at it.

“I know. But Kazen’s scales were just so warm, I couldn’t help…”

Was there a single human alive who could resist a heated stone floor pressed right up against muscles aching with exhaustion and fatigue? And on top of that, a vibration running through your whole body like a cat’s purring, white noise settling over your ears, and a dragon’s wing wrapped around you instead of a blanket — who could possibly hold out against all that?

“…I don’t say I can’t understand the feeling, but I’d like you to show some restraint.”

The Duke cleared his throat and added that. Watching him, I couldn’t help a sly little smile tugging at my lips.

“Sounds like you’ve had a similar experience yourself, Your Grace.”

“…I won’t say I haven’t.”

“Then you understand how someone might end up falling asleep in Kazen’s embrace without meaning to, don’t you?”

The Duke didn’t answer that. Instead, he changed the subject.

“Why did you cover for the apprentice trainers? Even if dismissing them outright wasn’t an option right now, you could have let a fitting punishment fall on them.”

“Ah, that?”

I shrugged. Taking revenge? Easy enough. I was the Duke’s exclusive trainer, personally scouted by him. If I’d wanted to crush them, I could have done it without any trouble at all.

But then my relationship with them would only get worse.

“Covering for them once and leaving them in my debt makes things go more smoothly going forward. It’s not like we’d never see each other again after I took out my anger on them, right?”

“New trainers could be hired. Skilled trainers from other countries…”

“Even so, it’d take time for them to adjust to the ducal house’s dragons, and whatever scraps of information the apprentices had picked up would be lost for good. It’s not a good solution.”

Trainers who handled animals, monsters, or dragons were different from each other, and yet similar in a lot of ways. The bond with the creature in your care mattered. Time spent together had to add up. Since the other party couldn’t speak, the trainer in charge had to watch their behavior, read whether something was physically wrong, and understand what was going on in their minds.

Which was exactly why swapping out a trainer wasn’t a simple matter. It was like tearing down a tower you’d spent ages building and putting up a new one, in a new shape, with new materials — and on top of that, you were left with the wreckage of the tower you’d torn down.

The apprentices weren’t any different just because they lacked certification. They didn’t hold a license, but they’d still built up time with the dragons.

“With people, you can at least explain the situation and have them understand, but dragons aren’t like that. They’re smart, yes, but that doesn’t mean they can grasp the full context of a human’s circumstances, Your Grace.”

“So covering for them was the best option?”

“There’s one more important point. If you’d fired them, I would have absolutely died of overwork.”

“…Weren’t you already overworked?”

“Well, that’s…”

He gave me a look that said are you really in a position to say that to me right now, and I just grinned back at him in answer.

“Ah, and there’s one more reason I covered for them.”

“What is it?”

“The dragon steeds broke loose and ignored the trainers because I was the one feeding them.”

Even a look of utter disbelief managed to suit that handsome face of his rather well. Beauty really does excuse anything.

“…I was told the apprentice trainers were the ones who’d asked you to do that. Was my information wrong?”

“I’ve no intention of looking down on apprentices, but there’s a reason they aren’t full trainers yet.”

There was a reason apprentices and licensed trainers were treated differently, after all.

“So, in conclusion — this was something I’d expected to some degree, and didn’t prevent.”

“To make the apprentice trainers easier to handle?”

“To make them acknowledge me. A commanding officer who’s just arrived, without earning any respect yet, isn’t going to properly command soldiers who’ve been grinding away in the army for years, is it? Not unless they prove their skill first.”

A trainer had to carry themselves with confidence. The more you buckled under pressure and acted unsure of yourself, the more people looked down on you.

Why should I, someone with real expertise and pride in handling dragons, feel small? I hadn’t begged anyone to let me work here — so why would I act like I had?

“With that in mind, I hope you won’t take it too personally that Kazen listens to me so well, Your Grace. If Kazen didn’t trust me, I’d have been turned to ash and scattered on the wind a long time ago.”

Think about my life for a second and rein in those feelings a little, boss. Still, the food was good, so I’ll say it nicely.