Chapter 13
As I explained while pressing my face with his front paw, Elcai’s eyes, who immediately recognized who it was, filled with anger.
It was a vassal following Biante.
“How did you know?”
“Piya.” (Asil saw it.)
Tattletales are bad, so Asil told a little white lie to protect her bear friend.
Dylan, who mistakenly thought Asil had incredibly good eyesight, interjected with a stunned face.
“You saw that from that distance?”
“Pi.” (Yes.)
As she nodded vigorously, Elcai, who had been barely holding back, finally exploded to the top of his head.
He shouted thunderously.
“Biante, you bastard, tell him if he wants to die, come right now!”
* * *
That night, Biante arrived at the ducal castle.
He had hurriedly taken the expensive warp gate, pressured by his father’s words to come immediately if he didn’t want to die.
“Are you really in your right mind!!!?”
Elcai’s shout seemed to echo throughout the castle.
Biante begged on his knees, saying he knew nothing about it, but it didn’t get through at all.
Meanwhile, at that time, Asil was lying in bed early, hugging her rabbit.
However, unusually for today, sleep wouldn’t come.
It was because she kept thinking about her mom and brother in the beastkin forest.
“Piya……”
Even though she had scolded her bear friend without any injuries, it was still a big deal.
There’s no way she could just laugh it off haha ho ho after fighting with someone.
Asil quietly got up so as not to wake the rabbit and opened the sub-space.
Then, she took out the scarf piece that the bad human had torn before and hugged it tightly.
From the piece, there was a faint scent of mom.
It was because mom had made it herself.
But that scent was gradually fading away.
Asil held back the tears that were about to well up.
‘I miss mom.’
She rubbed her eyes with her front paw, soothing herself.
‘Mom will come pick me up soon.’
Then, startled by the sudden knock, she turned around.
Edenber, who had quietly opened the door, was looking at her.
He was dressed formally because of the confrontation with Biante.
“Can I come in?”
“Piiya.” (Yes.)
Asil quickly hid the scarf piece behind her.
However, Edenber had already seen everything. Including that Asil’s eyes were slightly red.
He, who had been hesitating, opened his mouth.
“If you’re tired, I’ll just go.”
“Piya.” (No.)
Anyway, since sleep wasn’t coming, she thought it would be okay to talk with her husband.
Asil sat down, hugging her favorite cushion tightly.
Edenber knelt on one knee and met Asil’s gaze.
“Sorry for coming late at night. I came because I have something to ask.”
“Pi?”
“You…… you breathe fire and fought with the bear sacred beast, so you seem incredibly strong…… why did you say that?”
“Piya?”
“You said the only things you’re good at are climbing trees, swimming, and singing.”
Asil, puzzled, tilted her head. When did Asil say that?
To her uncomprehending reaction, Edenber pinpointed the explanation.
“You said no when asked if you could destroy a castle.”
Ah, that was it.
She didn’t know how that turned into only being good at climbing trees, swimming, and singing, but—
Asil said with a serious expression.
“Piyapi piya. Pi.” (Asil hasn’t tried destroying a castle.)
“……Ah.”
It wasn’t a lie; the question was wrong.
Edenber had thought Asil had been deliberately hiding her power until now.
So he had been agonizing alone, but it wasn’t that.
His face became deflated.
“Then, why did you pretend to be weak when you were first summoned? With that much power, you could have easily beaten me or the knights.”
Asil’s eyes widened. Her husband and the humans were that weak?
No way. Her teachers said humans are barbarians who eat beastkin in one bite……
……Maybe this was a new strategy to let her guard down and eat her.
‘Asil is a smart dragon. She won’t fall for something like that!’
Dry spit came up from the tension.
But since she was acting like a fierce dragon, she placed both front paws on her waist and stuck out her belly.
“Pi, piyatpi piya. Piyapiyapiya.” (Th, these humans are weak, so Asil went easy on them. Asil is a very strong and fierce dragon.)
However, after saying it, she got scared that her husband might say, ‘Oh? Then don’t go easy and let’s fight.’
‘Asil is a fierce dragon. Humans aren’t scary. Asil is a fierce dragon. Humans aren’t scary.’
Even as she repeated it to herself fervently, her short hind legs trembled.
Fortunately, Edenber, whose mind was on something else, didn’t notice it.
“I see, you went easy on us. Then, did you break the Orihalcon door too?”
“Piyaa.” (Yes. Asil broke it.)
To the answer that came out as if she had been waiting, a flicker of disbelief appeared in Edenber’s eyes for a moment.
Orihalcon doesn’t even get a scratch from cannon fire, but with those delicate front paws?
“Pi.” (It’s true.)
To avoid becoming baby dragon roast, she couldn’t let her husband underestimate her.
Having hypnotized herself too, Asil, in a state of puffed-up self-esteem, waddled to the door and swung her small front paw.
Boom!
“Eek!”
The sound of the knight guarding the divine beast’s room gasping came.
However, unfortunately, the door to the second divine beast’s room was wood, not Orihalcon.
Unlike before when the whole door flew off, this time the front paw sank in, drilling a round hole.
Edenber, watching the scene with shaking eyes, muttered to himself.
“Rotten wood?”
Then he himself swung his fist at the door. Boom!
“Lord Duke! Are you alright? We’re coming in!”
The knight, mistaking the consecutive punches for a fight, shouted in panic.
Edenber replied calmly.
“No, don’t come in.”
Then he stared at the wood fragments on his fist for a long time.
He couldn’t tell if the decision he was about to make now was right.
He couldn’t gauge if he was making the correct judgment, or if he was cornered and grasping at a seemingly plausible straw.
‘Maybe I…… will regret today’s decision for the rest of my life.’
He might beat his chest, wondering why he did that, and if he hadn’t made that choice then, things wouldn’t have come to this worst situation.
However……
“Piyat, piyapiya?” (See, it matches what Asil broke, right?)
Looking at those vivid pink pupils sparkling purely with just him in them, he felt like even if things went wrong, he would never regret it.
He was the head of a family.
He was also someone who had to judge everything based on precise grounds.
Normally, he would have decided after thoroughly testing Asil’s power.
But this time, he didn’t want to do that. He felt like this was enough.
To put it more precisely, he didn’t want to treat Asil with the same measured fairness as he did others.
After becoming the head of Munlepe, he had killed his emotions and handled everything objectively.
So, just this once, wouldn’t it be okay to follow his heart?
Especially since it wasn’t anything else, but with his divine beast whom he would spend his life with.
With that thought, his mind was completely set.
‘All days with this child will become my daily life and my life.’
Having finished his thought, Edenber knelt on one knee in front of Asil.
And whispered softly.
“Do not cry because the night sky is dark; there is the blessing of moonlight illuminating your path. The head of the family leading Munrepe, Edenber Munlepe, asks to become your new divine beast.”
“Sal?!”
Asil’s eyes widened in surprise at the unannounced action. Was breaking the wooden door that impressive?
Ednber said with the utmost seriousness.
“If you become Munlepe’s divine beast, I’ll grant whatever you want.”
“……Piyapiya?” (……What’s a divine beast?)
“The symbol and power of each family. A being that lives with the head and becomes the idol of all.”
“Pi……?”
It was too difficult a word for a baby dragon whose eggshell hadn’t even fallen off her head.
So as she just blinked, Edenber explained as simply as possible.
“It means the boss of a family.”
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By Anna 💓
