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chapter 37
Arban looked down at Rieli.
“Good night, Princess Rieli.”
He saw her smile again, even in her sleeping face—a smile brighter than any he had seen since meeting her.
Rieli, who had been chatting excitedly, soon grew tired and fell asleep. Wrapped in a blanket with only her head showing, she slept soundly.
Arban turned his gaze to the eyes watching him from below.
“Rieli is already asleep. You can’t talk to her.”
Yullen whispered, sneaking closer under the blanket as if trying not to disturb her.
“…I know.”
Arban only wanted to say her name out loud. He chose to lie down instead of explaining himself. The clear night sky reflected in his eyes, then slowly faded as he closed them.
He tried to estimate how long it had been since no one would call his name.
‘A little over a year.’
It was a short time and a long time at once. Being close to someone only ever became a weakness. He had learned that from experience as a child. That’s why he kept people at a distance. And yet, he had never truly felt lonely or empty.
‘From now on, no one will call my name.’
Listening to Rieli and Yullen talk had made him realize this. Asking someone to call his name was a mix of impulse, desire, and unacknowledged loneliness.
He thought it wouldn’t be so bad if at least one person called his name.
‘As long as it doesn’t get too close. It’s fine if it’s only in private, where no one else sees.’
Even though he justified it, he knew this behavior was ultimately pointless—for him and for her. Yet he didn’t want to stop.
He kept seeing her joy when saying his name, even with her eyes closed.
He no longer needed to guard himself as fiercely against others’ feelings. The one who had obsessed over controlling his perfection had long since become dust.
Still, he worried about the emperor watching him closely.
‘Originally, I planned to keep everything secret…’
When he first decided to travel with her in the mountains, he wanted to prevent the emperor from finding out. But Rieli had said she would tell her duke, and Arban realized the emperor would inevitably hear.
Rieli hadn’t even had her debutante ceremony yet, so informing her guardian was reasonable.
‘Then, it should only appear as a formal connection.’
Since Princess Rieli was the next duchess-to-be, this was possible. If she were just a minor princess, the emperor would have noticed her as Arban’s potential partner immediately.
The emperor had no hesitation manipulating people to secure control over those around him. The former grand duke was no easy target to manipulate, however.
Also, Arban and Rieli were not close enough to influence each other in public. But he knew that others might perceive them differently.
He would have to visit the duke’s house frequently as a teacher, so avoiding suspicion was important.
‘To the emperor, we should appear only as the grand duke and a minor prince.’
If the prince he would teach truly had a talent for swords, the emperor might be skeptical but would also understand. He only needed to meet Rieli as the guardian of the student. That was enough.
Arban recalled Rieli’s face unconsciously and slightly frowned. He realized he was behaving in ways he couldn’t fully understand.
The simple solution was to stop calling her name and keep a proper distance.
‘But I don’t want to.’
Even if he had returned alone, it would have been easier. He could have left her with the knights, but he didn’t. He didn’t want to hand her over.
‘Why…’
Like in the greenhouse, he became impulsive and emotional around her. He listened to the soft, even breaths of the sleeping Rieli.
‘…You need to learn to be careful around people.’
He consciously pushed his thoughts away. The answer had already been decided: he should keep her at a distance, at least outwardly.
Yet he didn’t like it. He sighed softly, opening his eyes just a little to look at the peacefully sleeping Rieli.
‘She’s strangely unguarded.’
How could she trust him enough to speak about the Holy Sword and travel with only knights he chose?
‘Even now, without the dragon appearing, it would have been just the two of us, and she agreed so willingly.’
He didn’t know if she was naive because she had grown up safely in the duke’s estate or simply trusting, but it was hard for him to understand.
He had never needed to guard her. From their first meeting to now, traveling alone together, he had always been confident in his own strength.
‘But her position is very different from mine.’
Without titles, she was vulnerable—not only to him but to any ordinary man on the street.
‘Yet she trusts me enough to act so freely…’
He couldn’t understand her.
A small voice then whispered near his ear.
“Master, don’t worry. You should sleep too. I may not be strong, but my senses are sharp! I can detect anyone approaching, monsters or humans.”
Yullen spoke quietly, noticing Arban hadn’t slept, likely concerned for the guard.
Arban glanced at Yullen briefly, then closed his eyes again.
“Good. Wake me if anyone comes near. No matter if it’s a monster or a person.”
“Yes…! But monsters can’t get close. Don’t you believe me?”
A small tap of the tail on the floor indicated displeasure, but Arban remained silent.
Traveling together—just the three of them, including Yullen—was never boring. The little dragon talked constantly, leaving no pause in conversation.
They initially moved downhill, which made talking tricky, but once the path became uphill, their speed slowed, and conversation became easier. They could go faster using holy power, but taking the shortcut was easier without exhausting themselves.
The problem was Yullen’s endless talking. If ignored, he kept asking again. Even when tired, Arban felt guilty when Yullen looked at him with curious golden eyes.
It felt like teasing a small, harmless animal—though it drained Arban’s energy.
‘Even moving slowly, I’ve bitten my tongue several times answering him.’
But the wounds were already healed by holy power, so mentioning it felt pointless.
Yullen’s endless questions made Arban realize what it must feel like to care for a child.
‘Our Amon wasn’t like this…’
Why was this older dragon so curious? He didn’t know, but he kept quiet. Talking more would only excite Yullen further. He already had enough to handle.
Arban mostly stayed silent during Yullen’s questioning, which only forced him to answer more. It annoyed him, and sometimes he deliberately provoked Arban to make him speak, like now.
“How did Rieli know where I was asleep and bring you here? Did she know you would be chosen as the Holy Sword’s master?”
“She just appeared in a dream. I dreamed of going to get you with Arban, so we came here.”
“A dream? Was it influenced by my power? My magic reaches even that far! Fascinating… this is the first time.”
No—it was all lies. Yullen believed it anyway, even though Arban had made an absurd excuse.
