LTTCH 23

Chapter 23

“No way. You’re lying.”

I thought the man was making some ridiculous joke.

How could a dragon turn into a human? That made no sense.

I was about to wave him off and tell him to stop joking when a piece of information suddenly crossed my mind.

‘Wait… didn’t the Kaisis race in the original story have the ability to transform into humans?’

I carefully looked the man over again.

Long black hair that flowed down to his waist like pure darkness, blood-red eyes, and pale skin.

He really did resemble the dragon I had just healed.

“Ha ha…”

So what you’re saying is… I saved an evil dragon?

That evil dragon who supposedly hated humans?

Cold sweat trickled down my back.

If that man really was the evil dragon Kaisis, then the smartest thing to do was get away from him as quickly as possible.

Pretending nothing was wrong, I slowly began backing away.

“It was nice meeting you. I still have something to find, so I’ll be going now…”

“Where do you think you’re going?”

But before I could even take a few steps, Kaisis grabbed me.

“I clearly remember being ambushed by a dark mage and collapsing. Then when I woke up, you were standing there. Doesn’t that seem suspicious no matter how you look at it?”

“Haha… not suspicious at all…?”

I smiled so hard my face nearly cramped, but Kaisis still stared at me with suspicion.

“Not only has the dark magic placed on my heart been removed, but every wound on my body has completely healed. Isn’t it possible you were the caster and removed the spell yourself?”

This is driving me insane. I’m seriously innocent here, but hearing it explained like that really did make me sound suspicious.

“I really don’t know anything.”

“Then are you a mage?”

“No…”

“Then how did you heal me and undo the dark magic?”

Haha. This is getting worse and worse.

As I kept my mouth tightly shut and failed to answer, Kaisis slowly raised his hand in warning.

His fingernails gradually lengthened and thickened before transforming into dragon claws in an instant.

Even a slight scratch from those would be fatal.

My entire body tensed up. I could feel my heart pounding violently.

“Then what exactly were you searching for?”

“That would be… a fountain pen…”

Seriously, who comes all the way to a snowy mountain searching for a fountain pen?

I realized I was doomed and squeezed my eyes shut before opening them again.

Contrary to my expectation that Kaisis would continue suspecting me, he was staring intently somewhere into the distance.

“That?”

Following his gaze, I turned my head and saw the fountain pen I had been desperately searching for lying nearby.

“Huh? That’s the fountain pen!”

I immediately dashed toward it.

If I could just grab the fountain pen, I could escape this freezing place and say goodbye to Kaisis forever.

So I ran toward it and reached out my hand—

“Hm?”

On the back of my left hand, there was a crimson mark shaped like wings.

Before I could even figure out what the mark was, Kaisis suddenly caught up to me and shoved me hard.

“Ah!”

I tumbled across the snow and looked up at him in shock.

Kaisis’s crimson eyes burned fiercely.

“W-Why are you acting like this…?”

“How are you and I marked?”

“…What?”

“M-Marked?”

Since I clearly didn’t understand, Kaisis lifted the back of his hand and showed me the same crimson mark.

Wait. Why does Kaisis have the same mark on his hand?

“This symbol only appears when an imprint has been formed.”

“W-What’s an imprint?”

“A dragon’s vow to offer its heart to its master. That is what an imprint is.”

“…What?”

So basically, this evil dragon had sworn to offer me his heart?

“That makes no sense! All I did was heal you…!”

Kaisis still looked at me suspiciously.

“If I were really the dark mage who attacked you, then why would I save you?! I would’ve just left you there to die!”

As I shouted desperately, Kaisis fell into thought for a moment before finally lowering his hand.

I quickly hurried farther away from him.

At this rate, who knew when he might suddenly snap and strangle me again?

While I watched him cautiously, Kaisis stared down at the crimson mark on the back of his hand and faintly frowned.

He looked ready to burn the mark off entirely, so I hurriedly interrupted.

“E-Excuse me.”

“What.”

“Is there… maybe some way to cancel this imprint?”

“There isn’t. Other than your death.”

Ah. I see.

A chill ran down my spine, and I immediately shut my mouth.

Kaisis continued staring at the mark for a long while before suddenly picking up a nearby rock.

And then—

Crack—!

He began mercilessly smashing the back of his own hand with it.

“What are you doing?! I just saved you!”

As I panicked and tried to stop him, Kaisis finally threw the blood-covered rock onto the ground.

“Now heal it.”

“…What?”

“Heal it.”

“U-Uh, but…”

I’m not actually a mage, so I don’t even know how to use magic.

As my eyes awkwardly darted around, Kaisis suddenly grabbed my hand tightly with his bloodied one.

“Heal me.”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

I agreed out of pure fear, but seriously, what was I supposed to do?

Carefully, I took hold of Kaisis’s hand.

Then I closed my eyes and began praying once more.

Hey, God. If you’re watching, could you help me one more time? Please. Seriously, please.

How long did I pray like that?

Once again, I felt something hot flowing through my body.

Focusing intensely, I imagined sending that energy into Kaisis’s hand.

And when I opened my eyes, brilliant golden light was wrapping around his hand.

“I-It worked!”

The moment I shouted in excitement, Kaisis’s eyes sharpened.

“So this was the power.”

“Huh?”

“This power removed the dark magic from my heart.”

“…Me?”

As I stared at him in confusion, Kaisis abruptly flung my hand away.

“Ah!”

I lost my balance and fell backward into the snow.

“Your power saved me.”

Then why are you treating me like this?

“But that still doesn’t mean I can forgive you for imprinting me without permission.”

I’m telling you, I didn’t do it on purpose!

“If I kill you here right now, I’ll die as well.”

“…What? Why would you die too?”

Seeing the confusion on my face, Kaisis raised his sharp claws toward my chest.

“Because your heart and mine are connected.”

Only then did I remember what Kaisis had said earlier.

“A dragon’s vow to offer its heart to its master. That is what an imprint is.”

“But I’d rather die than live bound to a human without freedom.”

As he said that, Kaisis truly seemed prepared to kill me, strength gathering at his fingertips.

“W-Wait a second!”

I desperately grabbed his wrist.

“I have absolutely no intention of binding you!”

“That is the nature of an imprint. Whether you want to or not, you become bound to the other person.”

“N-No, wait a minute.”

Am I really going to die like this?

All I did was heal him because I wanted to go home, and now I’m supposed to die for it? That’s completely unfair!

“M-Maybe living bound to a human wouldn’t be so bad…?”

Even I knew that sounded ridiculous.

But right now, I needed to buy time somehow.

“One lifetime bound to ugly humans was already more than enough.”

For some reason, the look in Kaisis’s eyes as he said that seemed deeply sorrowful.

“I would rather die than live like that again.”

“W-Wait!”

Kaisis’s claws pressed harder against my chest as though they were about to pierce straight through.

“That’s unfortunate. But now that you’ve imprinted me, you must die.”

“There might be another way to undo the imprint!”

“There isn’t.”

Kaisis’s voice was firm and absolute.

In the end, was running away my only option?

I desperately racked my brain, trying to distract him for even a moment.

I would only get one chance. If I failed, it was over.

“B-But!”