LFDD 07

Chapter : 7

“If you want to be safe, you must stay by my side. That was not wrong.”

‘What am I supposed to be safe from?’

There was no one in this castle who wanted to hurt her anymore. Even so, what exactly was she supposed to be protected from?

The child touched her chin and fell into thought.

“But are you satisfied with only being protected?”

“Pardon…?”

Her gaze, which had been staring into space, turned toward Kael.

It was a rather meaningful question for a four-year-old.

Hiazelki wanted to hear more from Kael, but Yuri returned to the room with warm milk, and the conversation ended there.

Instead of asking Kael again, Hiazelki took the milk Yuri offered her.

The warm drink felt like it was gently heating even the deepest parts of her heart.

After taking the empty cup, Yuri laid Hiazelki back down in bed.

“Don’t worry and go to sleep. I’ll stay by your side until morning.”

Feeling reassured, the child was about to close her eyes but looked toward Kael.

He briefly looked at her, then pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against.

“Now it’s fine. Go to sleep.”

“Yes.”

Hiazelki quietly closed her eyes.

If he said it was okay, then it truly felt like it would be okay.

After all, he was a dragon.

It was a strength she had never felt even after meeting four different families.

Before long, Hiazelki fell asleep with steady breathing.

“Hiazelki’s room is quite far.”

It was something Kael suddenly said one day.

“Pardon?”

“There are plenty of empty rooms, yet she was placed so far away.”

Albert quickly thought over Kael’s muttering while looking out the window.

“W-well, it was only a temporary room, so we were planning to move her soon anyway. Where should we move her?”

“The room next to mine is empty.”

“Y-yes, we will move her there.”

“Understood.”

Albert left the room sweating nervously, while Kael quietly stared out the window as if he had not noticed.

Not long ago, Hiazelki had woken up crying from a nightmare in the middle of the night.

It seemed like it had been happening more often recently.

‘I already performed the castle purification…’

Kael frowned in irritation and looked up at the sky.

‘What exactly is your will?’

He had followed orders to punish sinners.

That part was not difficult.

But dealing with a human child was.

Kael, who had been sitting by the window all morning, finally stood up.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

At his permission, Albert entered.

The butler, who had been busy moving Hiazelki’s room, did not look well.

Kael could easily guess the reason.

He knew exactly when Albert made that expression.

“The messenger has arrived.”

A bird with green and brown feathers was perched on the butler’s shoulder.

When Kael saw it, his red eyes darkened.

“Where is it?”

“It arrived with the sinner and has been taken to the Chamber of Judgment.”

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Kael strode out of the room.

Servants were still moving belongings into the room next door.

Kael inwardly cursed himself for earlier deciding to move Hiazelki next to his room.

Clicking his tongue, he walked past them with irritation.

Every step toward meeting sinners always felt heavy.

Albert followed behind him as he always had since becoming his butler.

He would recite the sinner’s crimes, observe Kael’s judgment, and witness the punishment.

And after it ended, Kael would always stay in his room for a while.

Though he already rarely left it in the first place.

To meet the sinner who had arrived with the messenger bird, Kael entered a small building beside the castle.

A room with no furniture—only a single wall covered entirely in windows.

When Kael slowly raised his hand, the bird that had been sitting on Albert’s shoulder flew over and gently landed on his hand.

[It is time to work, Dragon of Judgment.]

The voice was not pleasant, and Kael frowned.

He briefly met the bird’s red eyes before letting it fly away again.

“What are the charges?”

“Reports state he polluted the land for personal gain and caused the deaths of many people.”

The room was empty.

Unlike the clean castle, this place was rough and bare.

There were no divisions inside the room, only a wide open space.

Sunlight streamed in through the large window covering one wall.

It felt like the final mercy given to the sinner.

In the middle of the room, a man was kneeling, bound tightly with tree roots.

Kael’s expression was cold as he looked down at him.

“Begin.”

At his command, Albert began reading the report in detail.

Listening to it made Kael feel nauseated.

At some point, he had stopped asking sinners “why.”

That question was meaningless.

Many would not tell the truth, and even when they did, the reasons were often incomprehensible.

So Kael no longer asked.

His red eyes glowed faintly.

The Dragon of Judgment possessed the power of truth.

Instead of listening to lies, Kael saw the truth himself.

The man before him only cared about himself.

Nothing else mattered to him.

Just like most sinners.

That was why he could commit such crimes.

Kael saw the lives destroyed because of this man.

Tired of the horrific scenes, he closed his eyes briefly before opening them again.

Looking down at the man with a hardened expression, he said coldly:

“This human’s crime is not light.”

“P-please… s-save me…”

The man trembled violently and bowed his head.

“That is not my decision. But you will likely wish to beg for death.”

From the moment one was brought before the Dragon of Judgment, the weight of their sins was already revealed.

Kael stepped closer.

A red scale of light appeared before the man’s eyes.

“‘Humans must love one another, cherish one another, help one another, and live receiving help from one another.’ You have broken the words of God, harmed many humans, and shown no remorse. Therefore, your punishment is—”

Kael delivered the formal judgment.

As he spoke the cruel sentence, the man’s face turned pale.

But Kael showed no emotion.

No pity. No anger.

“Carry out the sentence.”

With those words, light poured from the scale.

The man bound in tree roots vanished along with the light.

Kael glanced around the now-empty room, then turned away with an uncomfortable expression.

Albert also lowered his head with a dark expression.

No matter how many times he saw it, he never got used to it.

“Let’s return.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Kael walked ahead, and Albert followed.

He wanted to return to his room and sit by the window again.

But as they approached, the thought of Hiazelki being right next door made him uneasy.

Though she was human, she felt different from all others.

Maybe it would be better to move her room back to its original place.

As he thought this, Kael arrived at his door—and found her waiting outside.

“Ah, Master.”

She seemed to have been waiting for him.

But Kael stopped in place.

He could not bring himself to approach her.

That man had received his punishment, and Kael had only done what was necessary.

And yet, when he met those pure eyes, it felt like he was defying divine will.

God loved humans.

“…Sigh.”

With a long sigh, Kael shook his head and walked forward again, trying to clear his thoughts.

“Where were you?”

“…None of your concern.”

Hiazelki’s eyes widened at his unusually cold tone.

She was used to this now and could tell immediately.

Kael was not in a good mood.

“Master…?”

At her voice, Kael averted his gaze.

“First of all, I never hired you. Stop calling me that.”

“Then what should I call you?”

“….”

Seeing him struggle to answer, Albert opened the door.

But Kael still did not enter.

Instead, he stood there, thinking while touching his chin.

‘Calling me by my name… feels strange. No human has ever dared to do that.’

Hiazelki looked up at him and copied his gesture, thinking deeply as well.

‘Everyone calls him Master, so I thought that would be fine.’

Albert watched the two of them—both standing outside the open door, thinking seriously—and made a strange expression, unsure whether to laugh or not.

“Um… then, Teacher?”

“I am not someone who teaches you.”

“Mm…”

Hiazelki pursed her lips in thought.

She could not bring herself to ask about family terms, as they felt uncomfortable to even speak aloud.

They brought back too many bad memories.

Still, the word kept circling in her mind.

“Dragon-nim?”

Kael still looked dissatisfied.

But nothing better came to mind, so he stayed silent.

‘…Family…’

Hiazelki hesitated for a long time.

“……Papa?”

She could not bring herself to say “father,” so she chose something similar.

“I am not—”

Kael started to refuse, then stopped.

Because Siel’s words—“daughter”—kept echoing in his mind.

‘That damned bastard.’

Everything was Siel’s fault for saying nonsense.

“Do as you like.”

“…Yes.”

Hiazelki lowered her head slightly, feeling strangely shy now that she had been given permission.

Kael tried to enter the room to escape the situation, but he met Albert’s expression at the doorway and quickly looked away.

‘Damn it…’

He had been so distracted by Siel’s words that he had forgotten Albert was there.

While Kael was trying to think of a way out of the situation, Hiazelki tugged on his sleeve.

“…Let’s go for a walk together.”

“What?”