Chapter 19
‘I don’t want to go.’
Teti barely moved his legs, which refused to move emotionally, by forcing them rationally.
Because Daphne had called him.
‘I really don’t want to go.’
He couldn’t shake the feeling of walking into prison on his own feet.
No, no. Wouldn’t prison be better? At least there, there’s no crazy dragon. Three meals a day, moderate exercise, no threats from that mad dog dragon…… Sounds good?
How about fabricating a crime and going to prison? Then the deranged dragon couldn’t follow.
‘Wow, I must really be crazy.’
He had run out of the mountain seeking freedom, and now he was trying to give up that freedom on his own feet.
Teti slapped his own cheeks a couple of times and pulled himself together.
“I said that even if I enter the dragon’s lair, if I keep my wits, I’ll survive.”
Teti, tensing his whole body to withstand any abuse or tantrums, took a deep breath once more and grabbed the doorknob.
“Daphne-nim, I’m coming in.”
And after opening the door, he entered the room. Immediately, he saw Daphne lying on the sofa.
“You’re 5 minutes late.”
Daphne said, pointing to the clock. Teti gathered his slightly dizzy mind and replied.
“Yes, yes. Although the teleportation circle to the capital was blocked, so I had to take a carriage for 2 hours to the capital to get approval, and after teleporting, I had to undergo identity verification again at the grand duchy main gate before I could enter, and before entering the annex, I had to go through another body search, but still, I’m sorry for being 5 minutes late. I’ve committed a capital crime.”
“……”
Daphne became curious about how big this elf’s liver was.
Unless it’s unusually large, he couldn’t talk like that in front of a dragon.
If it were any other dragon besides Daphne, his neck would have been cut off at the ‘riding a carriage’ part.
The gentle me must forgive him. Daphne smiled brightly.
“Bang your head.”
“Yes.”
Thud! Watching Teti bang his head, Daphne sipped her coffee.
“Did you bring the mana stones?”
In the previous meeting, Daphne had ordered Teti to bring 100 mana stones infused with his magic power as punishment.
Teti had said he couldn’t, but quickly said he would. Because an elf in front of a dragon had to do as told.
“Yes. But I couldn’t bring many…… Ah! Don’t hit me! So, the amount of mana stones coming into the capital has decreased a lot. I can’t get them as easily as before! And using low-grade ones might not handle my magic power, so I brought only the high-grade ones I could get. Ah, why are you looking at me like that! It’s true!”
Seeing him ramble on, it seemed like excuses…… Well, the mana stones he brought were indeed high-grade with sufficient magic power, so it should be okay to let it slide.
Daphne pulled the bundle of mana stones Teti had placed down and opened her mouth again.
“Next time you come, you must bring twice as many.”
“……I’ll try.”
Damn dragon. May your teeth break biting mana stones!
Teti regretted not learning curse magic while pressing force on his crown touching the floor.
It was then.
“I have a worry.”
As soon as he heard the words, Teti’s eyes widened.
That simple and stupid dragon has a worry? Then there’s only one possibility.
That her body isn’t recovering! In other words, she’s trying to shift the blame to Teti.
Feeling a sense of crisis that he could die right now, Teti suddenly lifted his head and pounded his chest in protest.
“Is it because I couldn’t make the medicine on time? No, that’s not my fault. Really. You know there’s no precedent for curing Black Butterfly disease! Achieving this much is already a great accomplishment! How can you try to kill me over this one thing! Please spare me just once!”
“……Huh?”
“If you spare me this time, I’ll really grind my soul to make the medicine!”
“……”
Daphne felt a bit puzzled.
She had just brought up a real worry to talk about, so why was he getting teary like that.
“Alright. I understand your resolution.”
“Thank you!”
“However, my worry isn’t resolved by that.”
“In the world……!”
Even after saying this much, she’s still going to kill me?
This evil dragon!
Teti, who had wrapped his neck protectively, soon realized that such defense was useless in front of a dragon and drooped his shoulders dejectedly.
“I understand…… I’ll give up. Just kill me now……”
“I told you there was an assassin who tried to kill Daphne Akion, right?”
“Yes. Killing…… Yes?”
Teti’s eyes widened.
“You weren’t trying to kill me?”
“Why would I?”
“Oh!”
I almost died and lived!
Unaware that all these thoughts stemmed from a misunderstanding, Teti was overjoyed just that his head was still attached and bounced happily.
He thought, ‘Even a crazy dragon doesn’t kill recklessly,’ and slightly raised his evaluation of Daphne. Of course, raising it didn’t make it non-negative.
“When I opened my eyes in this body, it was at the funeral. I rose from the coffin.”
“You resurrected.”
“……”
Well, it’s true, but.
Daphne set aside the discomfort and continued.
“About two months have passed since then, and since it’s known that I repelled those bandits, it’s about time for the assassin to come.”
The emperor’s order to the hero to kill the dragon, and the black magicians suddenly assassinating Daphne, the hero’s daughter, overlap.
This fact felt suspicious.
Since he couldn’t meet the emperor right now, the plan was to first catch the nearby assassin.
“That makes sense. But didn’t you suspect the assassin was a black magician?”
“Yes.”
“That’s strange. Black magicians think of Sellus-nim like a god…… Ah, they don’t know that Daphne-nim is Sellus-nim now. Oh ho. Me, who was a disaster in my previous life, now an enemy of the black magicians?! Feels like that.”
“……”
“I’ve been into minor novels lately. Please don’t look at me like that. Sorry.”
Teti, gauging Daphne’s mood, cautiously opened his mouth again.
“So, what should I do?”
“I want you to make it so I can go to the main building.”
“The main building? The mansion’s main house?”
“Yes.”
Daphne frowned, sensing each of the barriers surrounding the annex one by one.
“I have no idea why they’ve put up so many barriers around this annex. Conversely, there’s no barriers at the main building, so if I go there, the assassin will attach.”
“True. There are so many barriers here it’s suffocating.”
Teti shrugged and replied.
“But you’re going to be bait yourself. Wow, even for a simple game, you’re so passionate! Sellus-nim is really enthusiastic!”
It’s not a simple game, you bastard.
Daphne swallowed the words she couldn’t spit out and touched her forehead.
“If I catch the assassin, I might learn something.”
“Yes. Probably.”
“Still, it doesn’t resolve all the questions.”
Daphne raised her head to the ceiling and took a deep breath.
—I know everything in the world.
—I also know that the great Sellus-nim will soon become a lowly creature.
She recalls the words of the great sage who came to find Sellus in the past.
‘If I find that guy, I can figure out why this situation happened.’
Daphne snapped her head down.
“Also look into the great sage’s whereabouts.”
“Oh. Lady Daphne saying such a difficult order as if it’s just ‘go buy cabbage’ errand. You’re amazing.”
“Want to get hit?”
“No. Hehe.”
Teti scratched the back of his head and slyly stepped back. Then, sniffling his nose, he continued.
“Alright. I’ll look into it. So, if I run around gathering information like that, my research time will decrease a bit. I might not be able to supply the medicine on time like now……”
“Don’t worry about that.”
Teti became anxious.
Because the one saying not to worry was Daphne. She’ll definitely cause some accident and then say ‘Haha, don’t worry!’ with a wink. Imagining up to there, Teti’s heart pounded.
“I saved your disciple.”
“……Yes?”
“From now on, you teach that child to make my medicine.”
“Yes?!”
As expected.
I knew it.
Teti barely steadied his stiffening nape and yelled.
“No, no! I’m an elf! A great elf! Ah, of course I can’t say great in front of lady Daphne, but anyway greater than humans! So how can you tell me to take a human as a disciple……”
“If that child can make my medicine well, I’ll exclude you from medicine making.”
“What’s the child’s name? Why am I curious? Because I plan to take them as my direct disciple!”
Watching Teti clap and rejoice, Daphne shook her head. That gutless guy.
But separately, it was fortunate that Teti easily agreed to take Vipeera.
Because the original Daphne seemed to have bullied Vifera quite a bit, so she wanted to treat her a little better now.
“Alright. Do well.”
No need to tell him that Vifera is a bit off.
Daphne tried to ignore Teti beaming broadly.
***
“Anne! Come here and hold the lady’s hair!”
“No! The dress needs sorting too!”
“Hair first!”
“I don’t have hands…… Should we ask for more people?
“To the lady? Who would come?”
“True……”
Anne and Anna bustled about, helping with Daphne’s dressing. Because today was the day to go to the ball at the Pinch Marquis’s house!
It’s the first outing in exactly half a year. So they had to put in more effort than ever. They had to make Daphne shine and look prettier than anyone at the event!
Filled with such zeal, Anne and Anna continued their earlier admonitions without noticing Daphne’s dazed face.
“Lady. What did I say earlier?”
Only then did Daphne, who had been staring blankly outside, turn her head.
“I said that at the ballroom, you must never, never, never clench your fist, right?”
“……Am I some legendary fighter or what?”
“If you’re angry, breathe out 10 times! If still angry, leave the place!”
“……”
“If you feel like swearing! What did I say to do?”
“Cover your mouth with a handkerchief! Got it?”
……
Let’s not talk.
Daphne had now given up.
☆▪︎▪︎☆▪︎▪︎▪︎☆▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
By Anna 💓
