LFDD 05

Chapter : 5

Yuri looked troubled, as if she truly did not know whether this was okay or not.

Her master had never specifically ordered her not to bring the child to him.
But he had never given permission either.

If she had to choose, it seemed more like he did not want to meet her.

Even when Yuri had secretly watched from inside the library before, Kael had immediately turned around after noticing Hiazelki.

“Umm……”

Yuri frowned deeply in thought, and the child tugged lightly on her sleeve.

“Yuri… can’t I go see Master?”

Looking into those amber eyes that seemed ready to tear up at any moment, Yuri could not refuse the request.

“L-Let’s go! At this hour, Master is probably in his room. Let’s go.”

When Yuri smiled brightly, Hiazelki grabbed her hand with the one not holding the pebble.

“Yes! Let’s go.”

Yuri clutched her chest as if her heart had stopped. Holding that tiny, soft hand, she thought she could die without regrets now.

Her softened expression slowly stiffened again as they got closer and closer to Kael’s room.

‘…Can I really do this?’

Standing in front of the door, Yuri’s face had gone pale.

All she had to do was place her hand on the doorknob and turn it, yet her hand felt unbearably heavy.

Hiazelki quietly looked up at her, then let go of her hand.

“It’s okay now. I’ll go by myself.”

“Huh? But…”

Yuri trailed off with a confused face.

Looking at Yuri’s anxious expression, Hiazelki showed her the pretty pebble she was holding.

“I’m giving him a present, so I’ll go alone.”

At that adorable action, Yuri covered her mouth again. She did it so often now that it had become a habit.

Then she lowered herself and gently patted Hiazelki’s head.

“Then I’ll go prepare some snacks while you’re inside.”

“Yes!”

Watching Yuri run away with an excited face, the child took a small deep breath.

‘The Dragon of Judgement really is a little scary…’

Because Yuri’s face had become so pale, Hiazelki generously decided to let her go.

Of course, Kael was not as terrifying to her now as he had been on the first day she arrived at the castle.

Still, he was not someone she felt comfortable around.

She swallowed nervously and stretched out her tiny hand to knock on the door.

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

Permission came from beyond the door, but Hiazelki could not open it.

Now that the moment had come, her hand refused to move.

She had grabbed the doorknob, but no strength entered her hand.

‘What’s wrong with me?’

The doorknob only rattled without opening the door, and footsteps sounded from inside.

As the footsteps drew closer, faint black energy rose from the doorknob.

Bang!

‘Ah, it opened!’

The moment the door opened and she let go of the knob, the black energy instantly disappeared.

“If I told you to come in, then why aren’t you opening—”

Kael flung the door open and stopped speaking halfway.

Because he met the amber eyes standing in front of him.

Bang!

‘What was that?!’

Hiazelki had only just become happy that the door opened.

But the moment Kael saw her standing there, he immediately shut the door again without hesitation.

The loudly slammed door made Hiazelki pout slightly.

Knock knock.

“……”

This time, even after she knocked, there was no response.

Knock knock knock.

For some reason, Hiazelki became stubborn and knocked again.

‘Ever since before… why does it feel like he’s avoiding me?’

Puffing out her lips, she knocked again.

Knock knock knock knock.

‘Shouldn’t I be the one scared and avoiding him?’

Knock knock knock knock knock.

Knock knock knock knock knock knock.

Bang!

“Stop knocking already—!”

Unable to endure the relentless knocking any longer, Kael finally opened the door again.

At that moment, Hiazelki quickly squeezed herself through the opening.

Startled, Kael let go of the doorknob and stepped backward.

‘See? He really is avoiding me.’

It felt a little strange, but she had only come to thank him.

So Hiazelki held out the hand carrying the pebble toward Kael.

“About before…”

“……”

But as if she were about to attack him, Kael immediately widened the distance between them.

Blinking, Hiazelki quietly stared up at him and slowly walked closer.

But Kael retreated faster than she approached.

‘…Am I scarier than the Dragon of Judgement?’

Feeling a crisis about her own identity, Hiazelki looked down at the pebble in her hand.

She only wanted to give it to him because she thought it was pretty.

‘It’s not like I have anything else to give him…’

Suddenly, she became stubborn.

When she stopped walking, Kael also stopped in place.

After taking a small breath, Hiazelki carefully watched him and then suddenly ran straight toward him.

Her tiny body toddled forward rapidly, and Kael jumped in shock.

He circled around the furniture and hurried toward the door before escaping from the room entirely.

‘I’m a woman who knows manners! I only came to thank you!’

Whether he understood her frustration or not, Kael only kept running away.

Still, he never ran too far.

He always stopped after keeping a certain distance between himself and the child.

And so, Hiazelki followed the Dragon of Judgement out into the hallway, continuing their strange game of tag.

After quickly crossing the long corridor, Kael turned around again.

Whenever Hiazelki stopped, he stopped too.

‘Is he playing with me right now?’

Her sadness slowly turned into irritation, and she completely forgot her original purpose, focusing only on chasing Kael.

Soon, the child finally reached her limit and loudly called out to him.

“Master!”

At that call, Kael abruptly stopped and turned around with a strange expression.

“What…?”

Using that chance, Hiazelki toddled over to him and grabbed his sleeve so he could not run away anymore.

Having missed the chance to step back, Kael froze while being held by her.

Ignoring his expression, Hiazelki held out the pebble she had been carrying the entire time.

“Thank you for helping me before.”

“……What is this?”

“A present.”

Kael frowned slightly while looking down at the child.

“……This is supposed to be a gift?”

“Yes.”

He stood there with a completely confused expression.

But Hiazelki had no intention of pulling back her hand either.

“My arm hurts.”

Kael, who had remained motionless, instinctively reached out at her quiet complaint.

A tiny pebble landed in his large hand.

“A rock…?”

“It’s pretty, right?”

Hiazelki smiled brightly and finally released his sleeve.

But this time, Kael did not run away.

“I found it while taking a walk.”

“……I see.”

Kael quietly stood there staring down at the pebble in his hand.

It was nothing special.
Just a rock.
A smooth little rock.

‘Why…?’

Why had she brought this to him and called it a present?

He truly could not understand.

But seeing Hiazelki puff out her shoulders proudly, the surface somehow did seem smoother and prettier than ordinary stones.

“……Alright. Thank you.”

“Hehe.”

Watching her smile sweetly, Kael unconsciously tightened his grip around the pebble.

Even when he got close to her, she did not become stained black.

Rather, it felt as if she brightened even the surroundings around her.

The human child he once could not care less about somehow seemed a little cute now.

Trying to shake away the word “daughter” that Siel kept planting in his mind, Kael shook his head.

‘…Is this truly… God’s will?’

Chapter 1. To You Who Will Carry Something Different

“The Dragon of Earth, Ziel, who exists for the humans that farm the land.”

The Dragon of Earth, Ziel, wandered the world, visiting barren and cursed lands and blessing them.

Because of that, he was still known among farmers as a dragon worthy of worship.

Across the wide plains where the wind blew—

Where fertile soil existed, barren land also existed.

A man walking across the dry, cracked earth suddenly noticed a bird flying toward him and raised his hand.

The bird, covered in dark brown and green feathers, landed familiarly on his finger.

Watching the bird groom its feathers, the man curled his lips slightly.

Sun-darkened skin.
Dark green hair.
Red eyes met the bird’s gaze.

“……Oh? Him?”

The bird chirped brightly and instantly flew back into the sky.

The man watched it disappear high above before letting out a quiet laugh.

“If that’s true, then this should be interesting.”

Muttering softly, he began walking again.

“Ah, but there’s somewhere I should stop by first.”

He suddenly stopped again and rubbed his chin in thought.

His 고민 did not last long.

Soon, he scratched his head and resumed walking.

“Well, he probably won’t die from me being a little late.”

His long braided green hair bounced cheerfully behind him.

Every step he took caused tiny sprouts to bloom from the dry ground beneath his feet.

“The Dragon of Healing, Hiel, who exists to heal the wounds of humans.”

The Dragon of Healing, Hiel, headed toward the southern lands.

It was said that he shared healing powers with several priests and continued treating humans.

Deep within the rocky mountains of the southern continent—

There stood a pure white temple hidden between cliffs.

Originally, it had not been very far from where people lived.

But after its name became famous, the temple moved somewhere difficult for humans to reach.

Too many people had come seeking it, causing endless trouble.

A man with loosely tied golden hair noticed a bird flying toward the temple and gently spoke.

“What is it?”

As if answering his question, the messenger bird flew down and met his red eyes.

He held out his hand so the bird could rest its wings, then quietly stared into its eyes before widening his own.

“Is that so? But… I already know that.”

The bird seemed dissatisfied with his teasing reply and pecked at his finger repeatedly.

“Siel already brought her to me once. I’ve already met her.”

The messenger bird chirped and instantly flew away.

The man quietly watched it disappear while brushing back his golden hair.

“……I do want to see her again.”

Even after the bird vanished from sight, he continued staring at the sky for a while.

Usually, it would not be an exaggeration to say that all Kael did was sit by the window and stare into the sky.

As always, he rested his head against the window while looking outside.

Until—

A cheerful little laugh reached his ears.

When he lowered his gaze, he saw Hiazelki walking through the garden with Yuri.

Kael silently watched the child smiling brightly at Yuri.

Then he recalled what had happened in the library before.

“……”

The black energy that had pushed over the bookshelf.

That was definitely…

Silently staring down at Hiazelki, Kael slowly rose from the window.

“Has the time finally come?”