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Chapter 8
And not just any dragon—a guardian dragon that helped establish this very empire.
Why is such a being reincarnated as a human and in this state? It’s a long story.
On top of that, he himself has no memory of ever being a dragon, and it’s a top-tier secret only revealed in the latter half of the main story.
Come to think of it, Ciel probably would have handled it just fine on his own—I should have just stayed put!
“I just… he looked like he was suddenly in pain, so I wondered if he’d gotten sick.”
I quickly rattled off a flimsy excuse, but unfortunately, Ciel didn’t look convinced.
“If that were the case, wouldn’t patting his back have been more appropriate?”
“A-a nanny used to do this for me often when I was young, you see!”
That’s a lie. Well, I did have a nanny, but we weren’t particularly close. She did show me enough affection to sneak me snacks now and then, though.
What I’d just pressed was the reverse scale said to be beneath a dragon’s neck—and in the original work, there’s a scene where one of the heroines calms the protagonist this way just before he goes berserk.
Of course, in that scene Alexei was in dragon form, so instead of just pressing like I did, she punched him.
I’d been so flustered that I only now realized I’d been speaking formally to Ciel, who is merely a servant—but the water was already spilled.
How do I fix this situation?
“Cough!”
Just then, the slumped Alexei burst into coughing. Both of us turned to look at him in surprise.
“Your Highness?”
“Cough—I-I’m fine.”
Alexei coughed for a while longer, then stared intently at me. Leaving me smiling awkwardly, he spoke calmly to Ciel.
“Would you step aside for a moment, Ciel? There’s something I want to ask Wendy.”
“Your Highness, but your condition right now—”
“It’s because if not now, it’ll be hard to meet again. I’m not someone who’ll be staying long. I won’t push myself either—once we’re done, I’ll go straight to the physician with you.”
“…Understood.”
As if conceding to Alexei’s weak voice, Ciel carefully set him down on the ground.
“I’ll be standing over there. Call me when you’re finished.”
“Yes.”
Ciel answered respectfully, shot me a brief glare, then stopped at the garden entrance visible at the end of the path. Just as I was starting to feel burdened by his piercing stare, Alexei moved his hand.
Following that gesture, a membrane resembling a translucent soap bubble encircled the two of us in a circle. As I stared in wonder at the membrane sparkling brilliantly in the sunlight, Alexei added an explanation.
“It’s a simple barrier. It can block out sound, at least.”
I admired his capable appearance, befitting the original protagonist—but only briefly, before Alexei fixed his gaze on me. To me, slightly tense, he spoke seriously.
“Wendy.”
“Yes.”
“What I’m about to tell you might be hard to believe… but hear me out first.”
The way he started with an order was quite fitting for a prince. And his next words surprised even me considerably.
“I can see the future.”
“…Pardon?”
Isn’t this way too honest?
Whatever interpretation he made of my bewilderment at his almost naive honesty, the boy continued without hesitation.
“You might not believe it, but it’s true. I’ve seen quite a lot since right after I recovered from a high fever. And all of it has come to pass.”
His golden eyes, which seemed almost yellow, fixed clearly on me.
“But you alone acted differently from the future I saw.”
That was only natural. There are plenty of mages who can see the future in the original work, but Alexei is a dragon—and the future a dragon foresees is generally fixed.
Because dragons exist at the very apex of causality.
“How could that be?”
“That’s…”
Perhaps because I’m a being from a different causality.
Of course, unlike Alexei, who is a child, I’m an adult who’s old enough—so I knew well enough that I couldn’t tell him the truth here.
“I-if it’s not rude of me to ask, what kind of future did you see that made you say such things?”
“In the dining room, you were sitting beside Uncle with a gloomy expression. And then you spoke to me, and…”
Alexei, who was about to say more, closed his mouth. As I just blinked, the boy added quietly.
“Anyway, it was quite different from what I saw in my dreams, so I was surprised.”
Well, it made sense—if I’d come here without any memories of my past life, knowing nothing, it would have turned out that way.
It was obvious that my one and only husband was avoiding me, and even now, aside from Fiona, I wasn’t getting along well with the people at the Grand Duke’s estate.
Having accepted this on my own, a question suddenly occurred to me, and I voiced it.
“But why are you asking me about this?”
“That’s…”
By the time the sun had crossed to the western mountains and the dusky twilight began to blanket the world, the scene of the ballroom was clearly visible through the arched windows.
In the heart of the imperial palace, the chandeliers of the main hall sparkled dazzlingly under the lights.
I stood in a form-fitting pure white satin dress, awkwardly fiddling with the laurel wreath-shaped pearl hairpin stuck in my hair.
It seems to suit me quite well, if I do say so myself.
I stole a glance at Kaien, standing beside the Emperor over there. Since we’d entered the hall side by side, he hadn’t shown me much attention—but that was actually for the better.
My head was complicated enough as it was.
‘There’s a future I want to change.’
The clear, youthful voice echoed in my mind once more.
‘I can’t tell you the details, but I need to find a way as soon as possible. It’s probably not that far off.’
The problem is, I can guess what that future is.
If it’s a future Alexei would be that desperate to change, there’s only one thing it could be.
Ciel’s death.
As someone who knows exactly how he dies, it was truly maddening. Even in the original work, that’s one of Alexei’s biggest triggers.
For now I’d brushed it off as if I knew nothing, but thinking of Alexei saying he’d stubbornly wait for an answer made me utterly uneasy.
The future Alexei sees isn’t something that can be easily changed. Having read the original, I knew that fact well.
Even Alexei himself disliked it so much that once he learned to handle his power, he sealed his own foresight—so that said it all.
Even if I really could change the future, that was still a problem. It ultimately meant I’d have to interfere with the original story to some degree.
No, I said I want to live long and quietly! I don’t want to get tangled up with anything grand—!
As if mocking me for agonizing over this for so long, a soft melody announcing the start of the ball began flowing through the ballroom.
As I blankly watched people pairing off in twos and threes to the music, Kaien approached me.
Dressed in a jet-black uniform with gold accents, just as described in the original, the man was like an elegant black swan. In contrast to me, dressed all in pure white like a white swan.
As I gazed at his face as if enchanted, Kaien held out his hand to me.
“Would you care for a dance?”
It was an unexpected offer, but at the same time understandable. It would look strange if he didn’t dance the first song of the ball with his spouse.
So he really does show me the minimum courtesy—I felt keenly that Kaien was a truly diligent man.
When I carefully placed my hand on his palm, Kaien gently drew me in. As I raised my head at the naturally narrowed distance, our eyes met.
Wow, he’s really handsome.
His jet-black hair was neatly swept halfway back, making his sculpted features stand out clearly. Meeting those golden eyes shining with a soft light, I felt like I was dreaming.
I took my steps slowly. As I stood there tense, trying not to make a mistake, Kaien whispered softly.
“Just follow my lead.”
“Oh, yes! I’ll try not to step on your feet!”
As I whispered solemnly, I heard a small laugh. I quickly raised my head, but there was nothing to see except his blunt face.
I thought he just laughed—did I mishear?
As we danced leisurely around the ballroom, the gazes of others clung to us. Feeling somehow too conspicuous, I pressed closer to Kaien as if to hide my face.
The man’s shoulders stiffened slightly. I whispered very softly.
“Everyone’s looking this way.”
“It must be because you’re a curiosity.”
“Me?”
“Who the new Grand Duchess is.”
As I just blinked quietly, Kaien slowly lowered his head toward me. Leaving the gasps erupting around us behind, he whispered low enough that only I could hear.
“This is as far as it goes.”
That this was the line he could draw for me. I understood the meaning immediately and responded with a bright smile toward him as he raised his head.
“I know that very well.”
If I didn’t have my memories, might I have hoped for affection from you that would never be returned?
No, I think I would have given up in the end anyway. Even my own family doesn’t love me—how much less could you, a complete stranger, ever come to like me?
Now that I know the future, I actually felt it was for the best. If I really do end up dying in the end, attaching feelings to someone I’ll lose anyway would only make things harder later.
“Live quietly as if dead. That’s right, isn’t it? I’ve never forgotten it for a single moment, so you needn’t worry.”
“…That’s a relief.”
My conversation with the man wearing an enigmatic expression ended there. The music had finished.
After giving a proper bow and leaving him behind, I stepped out onto a nearby balcony, and a cool breeze blew against my face. Only then did I let out a slow sigh.
My heart was pounding.
That startled me. Really, seeing someone so handsome up close is bad for the heart.
Get a hold of yourself, Wendy. That’s a fruit you can’t eat. As long as you don’t covet it, you can keep going like this!
“You seem to be doing very well.”
Just then, a low, husky voice scraped against my eardrums. My back stiffened reflexively as I guessed the owner of that voice.
Turning around, sure enough, a middle-aged man holding a glass of apple wine was watching me. Slightly sinister-looking eyes and lips pressed together pretending to be gentle, yet with endlessly cold amber eyes.
I stared at the figure for a moment, then quietly opened my mouth.
“…It’s been a long time, Father.”
