Chapter 26

And so the story began, summarized like this:

A dragon who couldn’t live among its own kind met a human and fell in love.

They lived together in a land called Saint Portou — a harsh and barren place not suited for humans. The dragon’s partner was no exception.

Troubled, the dragon decided to use its real body as fertilizer.

As the dragon’s powerful magic spread through the land, it pushed out the poison and dark energy, and the dragon moved into a human-shaped body to live with its partner.

“And not long after, the partner died, so the dragon took its own life.”

Tragic and romantic.

“…It sounds like something noble ladies in the capital would go crazy for.”

But Karl, who brought up the story, didn’t seem to like it much.

“Because the dragon took its life so irresponsibly, the magic took longer to spread.”

…Was I imagining it, or was there a sharp tone in his voice?

“In the meantime, countless humans died waiting for the magic to spread. The survivors had to struggle…”

“Hey, hey.”

It wasn’t my imagination.

I reached up and lightly covered Karl’s mouth with my hand. He looked at me like he was asking what I was doing.

“That’s dangerous.”

“……”

“What if you get arrested for insulting the Duke?”

Even if you didn’t like dragons, should you really speak like that? The Duke and the dragon were closely related in this place.

Karl’s eyes, which had been fixed on me, curved as if he was amused.

“What’s so funny now?”

And then, without even moving my hand, he opened his mouth…

“Eek!”

He licked the middle of my palm with his tongue.

It— it touched.

I was wearing gloves today, and it happened so fast I couldn’t really feel anything, but…

Even though he didn’t even finish the “T” in “touched,” it still did touch. A chill ran down my neck.

I could vividly imagine that red tongue in Karl’s mouth, flashing like a reflex, brushing against my palm.

“As if showing off, it was bright red and touched my…”

“What the heck? Gross!”

I quickly shook off the thought. Yeah, gross. Who licks other people like that?

Unlike me, who was freaking out, Karl looked completely calm.

“What else could I do when you covered my mouth?”

“You could have removed my hand and then talked!”

“Shh!”

The pickpocket walking ahead gave us a warning look. I shut my mouth, and Karl chuckled softly.

“You even savored my fingers the other day.”

“I did not!”

All I remember is the taste of the glove. It was disgusting.

“Anyway, are you worried about me?”

“No, I’m not.”

“I’m touched.”

Ignoring me, Karl licked his lips slightly with his tongue.

I forced myself to keep my eyes straight and not look there again. Karl calmly continued.

“Anyway, as the dragon’s magic spread little by little, the land expanded into a maze-like shape.”

It reminded me of the Nine Dragon Fortress, which became a maze after attaching building after building.

Now that I thought about it…

‘So that’s why the Pope doesn’t like Saint Portou.’

Dragons have always been called demons, and from the Church’s point of view, Saint Portou seemed like land blessed by demons.

To a devout believer, Saint Portou must feel like a tainted land.

Karl ended calmly.

“According to the story, this city is made from the blood of many people.”

“…Aren’t you hating it too much?”

It’s just a story.

I was about to say that, but Karl answered first.

“Not only people died in that story.”

He spoke with a tone that made it sound like he was stating a fact.

“The dragon didn’t teach the child he had with his partner anything before dying.”

He’s more into this story than I thought.

I quietly listened to Karl.

A child with the dragon’s partner… must be about the Duke’s family.

“Because it didn’t teach how to dilute the magic, the partner kept dying in childbirth, generation after generation.”

That made me feel a little cold.

After all, I came to Saint Portou to be the Duke’s partner too.

Of course, I plan to find a solution before that happens to me.

“Because it failed at being both a dragon and a human, so many were sacrificed. Isn’t that a selfish choice?”

“……”

“If that’s the case, it should never have come here or met a partner.”

Failed as a dragon… and as a human…

Hearing that, I found myself speaking.

“…Maybe it was lonely.”

Karl slowly turned his calm gaze to me.

He looked like he neither liked nor disliked me, but thought I was talking nonsense.

“Well, what I mean is…”

I rolled my eyes, thinking of the right words.

‘You said it couldn’t live among its own kind.’

And it wasn’t fully human either — just stuck in-between.

I felt like I could relate.

‘The feeling of not belonging to any side.’

Just like I could never fully be a woman or a man.

A memory floated into my head, one I didn’t need to dwell on anymore.

“Elaine. This summer we’re going to the villa to swim. Wanna come?”
“I’ll pass.”
“You’re so weird about these things.”
“Just ignore her. She’s always been a little off.”
“……”

Even though I dressed like a man and hung out with men, there was always a wall.

Sometimes I couldn’t relate to them. I couldn’t even change clothes in the same room.

‘Even when I wore a dress and visited the Knights for my last goodbye, those cross-wearing gorillas couldn’t even talk to me.’

They used to laugh with me, complain about boring prayer times, joke about drinking holy water when hungover…

But when I wore a dress, they just stared, too nervous to speak — as if even talking to a noblewoman was forbidden.

I laughed at them for being dumb, but honestly, it hurt a little.

I was still Elaine Pascal, then and now.

‘But I couldn’t fit in with women either.’

“Oh my, Young Master Elaine. What brings you here?”
“…Ah, sorry. I got lost.”
“You’d better leave quickly. If you stay among the ladies, strange rumors might start.”

Because of my father, I couldn’t even try, but even if I had made a close friend, there would’ve been a scandal.

They’d have been forced to marry me.

That’s probably where my fear began.

The fear that no one would understand me — that I’d be alone forever.

If someone back then had accepted me as I was…

‘Maybe I would’ve changed myself to suit them.’

Of course, anyone who knows me would say, “Yeah, right.”

Still, in that sense, I found myself defending the dragon a little.

“Maybe that partner helped ease its loneliness.”

“……”

“So it became precious to the dragon. Enough to want to die with them.”

Karl stopped walking and looked at me.

Well, I should end this on a positive note.

“To love a human that much… Saint Portou’s ancestor must’ve been full of compassion and feeling—”

“That has nothing to do with us.”

Oh, right. He’s still here.

The pickpocket, pretending not to listen, had a sullen look on his face.

Now that I think about it, he looked that way ever since we started talking about dragons.

“You’re from Saint Portou too.”

“Well…”

“It’s about your ancestor, how can it not apply?”

That kind of thinking suits someone like me better.

I was about to laugh it off when I sensed movement ahead.

“That’s right. It has nothing to do with us.”

A young voice made me look in its direction.

The sound came from the shadows between buildings.

“Hey, Dragon Expert Guy. You forgot the other part.”

A heavy voice filled with emotion echoed down the alley.

“Why do people in the backstreets keep living here…”

“Because they’re part of a crime organization, obviously.”

“That’s not it!”

At my careless comment, the voice snapped.

“It’s the opposite! We were pushed here and have no other way to survive!”

A girl walked out of the shadows. Her dirty face was full of anger.

“We were cast out by the dragon and ended up here!”

With that, she stood tall and proud…

“How old are you?”

I asked without thinking.

“Don’t judge by age!”

But how can I help it? She looked so young.

At best, she seemed like a high school freshman.

‘This is child neglect in this environment…’

While I was thinking that, the girl stormed closer.

The pickpocket who had guided us here stepped aside and whispered.

“Let me introduce her.”

“Introduce?”

“She’s our middle manager.”