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Chapter 4
“Duke, wasn’t the agreement that you would receive the egg in exchange for accepting that child, no, that young lady, as a member of the Croyman family?”
Of course it was.
But did they really think I would hand over the egg that easily?
“Even if you receive a dragon, isn’t it practically useless if you can’t make proper use of it?”
“That……”
Ren was at a loss for words and gave Luke a pleading look, as if asking him for help.
But Luke didn’t react to Ren’s gaze. Instead, he looked at me as if telling me to continue.
I smiled calmly.
“I’m confident. I know a lot about dragons.”
“Yes. I saw what you did when the egg hatched.”
Luke spoke in a low voice.
For a moment, I remembered what had happened during the hatching.
‘Annie, could you bring some warm water and a clean cloth?’
‘Master of the Magic Tower, the room is too dry and cold for a dragon to hatch. Could you make this room warmer and more humid?’
The people in the Magic Tower seemed to know even less about dragons than I had expected, so I eventually couldn’t help stepping in.
A child knowing too much could make people suspicious, but I didn’t care.
There was nothing particularly suspicious about my origins or past.
As long as they didn’t discover the secrets, I couldn’t tell anyone.
Important information about dragons.
The countless deaths I had experienced on the way here.
And… my regressions.
Those were the things I had to keep hidden.
“Besides, Kai is currently ‘imprinted’ on you, Duke, right? Of course he’ll put your orders above mine.”
Of course, that wasn’t true.
Luke, who didn’t know the truth, seriously nodded at my explanation.
“That is true.”
“No, Duke…”
Ren nervously called out to Luke and looked back and forth between him and me.
“Pip!”
At that moment, Kai let out a happy cry and ran straight toward me.
“Oh, Kai?”
“Uwa!”
After giving a spirited cry, Kai transformed into human form and threw himself into my arms.
Kai looked about a handspan shorter than me. He rubbed his cheek against mine and babbled like a baby.
It was only natural. He was still far too young to have learned human language.
Kai’s curly black hair tickled my cheek as it brushed against my skin.
The clear purple eyes of the dragon in my arms looked up at me.
His long, thick eyelashes curved beautifully.
“Wow……”
Annie let out a soft gasp at his smile, which was prettier than a doll’s, before quietly covering her mouth because of the serious atmosphere.
…… Kai really is adorable when he has just been born.
When Kai’s small, delicate lips tried to grab a strand of my hair, I gently pushed them away.
Then I quickly covered his naked body with a cloth.
Kai tightly held onto the cloth wrapped around him and smiled again.
His distinctive dragon pupils, which were normally long and vertical, had become round like a human’s.
It was strange.
He has never turned into human form this quickly before.
I was a little confused about why this sudden change had happened, but the situation itself wasn’t bad.
Everyone was staring at Kai and me in shock.
Kai suddenly turning into human form was surprising enough.
But it must have looked even more extraordinary because the dragon was showing such obvious affection toward me.
“Master of the Magic Tower. Please trust me. I can take good care of Kai.”
I took advantage of the opportunity and insisted firmly.
After all, Kai himself was rubbing his cheek against mine to show that he liked me.
How could they possibly object now?
“…But, surely not. D-Duke, could it be that the young lady, not you, has been ‘imprinted’ by that dragon?”
Ren, who had been watching our reactions, asked me with trembling hands.
“No.”
I strongly denied it.
“It’s because I’m a Beast Tamer.”
Everyone looked shocked by my words.
Why is everyone so surprised? Is that really such a big deal?
I had simply said the first thing that came to mind.
Ren, in particular, looked flustered as he asked,
“…A Beast Tamer? You?”
“Yes. They told me that’s what I am at the research facility.”
“Do you know what that actually means?”
Luke asked casually.
I thought for a moment before shaking my head.
To be honest, I didn’t know much about Beast Tamers.
Other than the fact that they could become friendly with animals more easily than ordinary people.
The research facility had never taught me anything else about them.
And there weren’t any useful records for me to look through.
“Basically, they are people who tame animals. In the case of advanced Beast Tamers, they can even tame and control monsters.”
Luke made a small gesture with his hand.
Tiny sparkling stars gathered in the air, forming images of people and animals.
It was a cute scene of animals liking humans and obediently following them.
“However, it’s on an entirely different level from ordinary people simply raising livestock.”
As Luke continued explaining, the eyes of the gentle-looking animals gradually began to glow red.
“There are differences depending on the ‘rank’ of the animal, but a Beast Tamer’s commands are absolute to every animal they have tamed.”
The figure of one animal that had received a command from a human hand began to crumble away helplessly.
“They cannot even refuse an order that goes against their own instincts or sense of self. For example, even something like taking their own life…”
Luke’s explanation suddenly stopped.
At the same time, all the sparkling stars scattered and disappeared.
Why did he stop? It was getting interesting.
I followed Luke’s confused gaze and turned around.
As expected, Annie and Ren were glaring at him intensely.
Ren, especially, was looking at him accusingly while pointing toward me.
Only then did I realize that they had stopped him from continuing.
Was it because he was talking about things like suicide in front of a child?
…… He didn’t need to be that considerate of me.
For some reason, I felt a strange sensation, as if something was poking at my chest.
It was a feeling I had never experienced before.
“Ahem. If you’re confident you can take good care of it, then you will be responsible for that dragon.”
Luke lightly cleared his throat and snapped his notebook shut.
“Duke!”
Ignoring Ren’s call, Luke continued.
“You must be tired, so go to the estate.”
As he spoke, Luke slipped his notebook inside his clothes as if preparing to leave. Then he turned toward Ren.
“Ren. Call for a carriage and prepare to take Eria to the estate.”
“……Yes.”
Ren, who had seemed determined to oppose the decision until the end, eventually bowed his head toward Luke and accepted it.
When Ren left the room to call for a carriage, Luke turned toward Annie and gave her another order.
“Annie. From now on, become Eria’s personal maid and stay by her side.”
“Yes.”
Annie answered politely.
“Eria.”
“Yes.”
“You said you can write, so I want you to briefly record everything that happens while taking care of the dragon every day.”
“Understood.”
A daily report?
Is this man really that obsessed with work?
I was horrified inwardly but smiled and answered on the outside.
Since Luke apparently had nothing else to tell me, he left the room.
Only Annie, Kai, and I remained.
It would have been strange to keep holding Kai forever.
So I eventually put him down and sat him on the bed.
Leaving Kai with a slightly sulky expression behind me, I carefully asked Annie,
“Annie.”
“Yes, young lady.”
“Do you have any clothes Kai can wear?”
“I’ll look for some. And… Young lady, since you’re now the young lady of the Croyman family, you can speak to me comfortably.”
“Oh, okay. Thank you, Annie.”
“It’s nothing. The carriage should be ready soon, and we’ll be heading to the estate. If you’re tired, I’ll tell them that you should rest a little longer before leaving.”
“No. I’d rather go quickly too.”
“Understood, young lady. Oh! I’ll also prepare a few outfits for you to wear.”
Annie smiled and left the room.
Finally free from all those people, I let out a deep sigh and sat down on the bed.
“Umm……”
The moment I sat down, Kai moved closer and rested his head against my shoulder.
“Yes, Kai. We’ve finally made it this far.”
“Hm?”
Kai tilted his head as if he didn’t understand what I was saying.
“I need to behave like a really good child. I have to make the Croyman family completely take my side, right?”
That way, I’ll be able to get my revenge.
On those people who ruined you and me like this.
I suppressed the anger boiling inside me and smiled as I patted Kai’s back.
“I should give them back everything they’ve done to us. Right, Kai?”
***
“Duke, I’ve called for the carriage. It will arrive in thirty minutes.”
Ren quickly finished his work and entered the office without bothering to knock.
Luke spoke casually while reading the documents.
“It seems you really don’t like Eria.”
