TDOWD 05

Chapter 5

“Hot.”

Ludwig leaned against the tree and placed a hand near his collarbone.

It was a heat different from the warning signs of a rampage. Rather than pain, it was filled with warmth.

Even so, there was a tingling sensation, as if something was being engraved deep inside him.

It felt as though someone had sunk their teeth into the area around his collarbone.

Ludwig quickly came to a conclusion.

“An imprint.”

It was difficult to even measure how much meaning was contained in that single word.

In what had been only a fleeting moment, Ludwig had become imprinted on Sierra.

Those who inherited dragon blood experienced imprinting only once in their lives.

The reasons for imprinting varied, but there was one thing they all had in common: it happened to someone who gave them an emotion so intense that they would never experience anything like it again.

Some became imprinted after falling in love.

Others became imprinted out of admiration for a teacher or mentor.

Sometimes it happened when they felt overwhelming gratitude toward someone who had saved them.

The moment Sierra embraced him, Ludwig had felt his heart drop.

“It must have been then…”

The small hands that had comforted him while being drenched in heavy rain.

The bright smile on her face.

He could not forget any of it.

After all, it had been a very long time since someone had held him so warmly.

People generally looked at Ludwig in one of two ways.

They either despised him or revered him.

Sierra belonged to neither group.

She reached out to him without hesitation, as if he were an ordinary person, and she called his name.

Before he realized it, he had begun to long for the warmth in her voice.

“Will I be able to see you again? I want to repay you for helping me.”

He had even said something so unlike himself.

Maybe I was simply grateful to her.

Gratitude toward his savior.

Yet hidden beneath that was an emotion much hotter and more persistent, though Ludwig himself did not realize it.

The fact that Sierra had become his imprint partner carried an even deeper meaning.

For those of dragon blood, the one person capable of calming the rampages that plagued them like a curse with even the slightest touch was their imprint partner.

Of course, most descendants now possessed only diluted dragon blood and rarely faced the danger of rampages. For them, an imprint partner was not particularly necessary.

But Ludwig was different.

The dragon’s blood within him was exceptionally strong.

He needed an imprint partner.

Yet he had never imagined that, after being consumed by grief and anger over losing his mother, he would experience an emotion powerful enough to surpass all of that.

“…”

Touching his tingling neck, Ludwig recalled Sierra’s flustered face from earlier.

Instinctively, he had broken the illusion ring because he wanted to know who his imprint partner was.

Then he had seen those large pink eyes.

They reminded him of a frightened rabbit.

She had boldly offered him warmth, yet just like in the banquet hall, she looked as though she might run away at any moment.

Before he knew it, Ludwig had hidden the red moon-shaped mark on his collarbone beneath the collar of his shirt.

Because if he did not approach her carefully, it felt as though she might disappear.

It still felt as though the touch of the hands that had embraced him remained on his skin.

It was like having a heavy collar placed around his neck.

Yet strangely enough, he did not dislike the feeling.

***

A week passed after the grand banquet ended.

“And so, House Carsian came to govern the Grand Duchy, and the roots of the Empire split into two branches. The Blessing of Terium was inherited by the Imperial Family. By the way… Miss, you are not listening at all, are you?”

When he saw me staring blankly into space, the young man sitting beside me removed his glasses and sighed.

White paper, black letters.

The densely packed history of the Empire written across the pages went in one ear and out the other.

“Ruel, do I really have to start with Imperial history if I want to learn abilities?”

“You need to understand the origins of abilities first if you wish to understand them more deeply…”

“No. At this rate, I won’t start learning abilities until next year.”

Ruel was both my personal butler and my tutor.

He was a genius who had graduated top of his class from the Empire’s greatest academy.

His only flaw was that his lessons were painfully boring.

His gentle voice reminded me of a university professor from my previous life.

He had promised to teach me abilities, yet somehow he had started with ancient history.

Shaking my head, I said,

“Forget history. Start the ability lessons right now.”

“If that is your wish, Miss…”

With a disappointed expression, Ruel moved aside the dozens of history books he had prepared.

After Argen’s power had improved my health somewhat, Father suggested that I begin ability training.

Most noble children started ability lessons before the age of ten.

I was learning much later than normal.

“Will learning abilities really make my body healthier?”

At my flat question, Ruel answered confidently.

“Of course. Abilities are a blessing. Simply strengthening them can improve your physical condition.”

“And can it cure Lizber too?”

“That…”

This time, he could not answer with confidence.

I already knew it was an incurable disease, so his reaction was expected.

Lizber.

A disease that caused most sufferers to die in their early twenties.

Father was trying every possible method to extend my lifespan, and ability training was one of them.

Still, as far as I knew, this body had been born with talent.

Considering how frail I was, it seemed wise to secure some form of protection.

Ruel was not only an outstanding scholar but also a researcher of abilities.

He would undoubtedly be a good teacher.

As far as I knew, a water ability had a wide range of applications if used properly.

It might prove useful one day.

***

“I can’t believe it…”

Ruel, Argen, and I were all staring in disbelief.

Ruel had insisted that even if we skipped Imperial history, I should at least study theory thoroughly, and he had brought five or six books.

Now those books had been abandoned in a corner.

“Sierra, you’re a genius?”

Argen spoke with pure admiration.

On the desk sat a glass of water.

A sharp pillar of ice was sticking out of it.

The water had originally been lukewarm.

But after I grew tired of Ruel’s sleep-inducing theory lesson and lightly tapped the glass, this was the result.

Even I found it hard to believe that I had manifested an ability using only the basic knowledge Ruel had taught me.

Most noble children received ability lessons from an early age and still never managed to awaken their powers.

No one had ever heard of someone awakening an ability in a single day.

And the ability I had awakened was—

“A water ability.”

An elemental attribute.

Since I had read the original novel, I already knew this.

But Ruel looked even more excited than I was.

Considering Father, I probably should have expected this.

Certain families passed down specific abilities through inheritance.

For House Drenihan, that ability was water.

My grandfather and father were both water ability users.

I tapped the frozen water and my eyes sparkled.

Amazing. So this is an ability.

If I trained it properly, it seemed quite useful.

At the time, I had no idea how much of a ripple effect this would eventually cause.

***

Huh? Why am I here?

The enormous dining hall, vast enough to display the family’s wealth, was decorated with gold.

Countless servants stood around the room in perfectly ordered rows.

The huge space was silent, without even the sound of a spoon clinking.

Yet surprisingly, seven people were eating together here.

Looking around, I soon met Father’s eyes beside me.

Smiling gently, he placed a neatly sliced piece of meat onto my plate.

I could not remember the last time I had eaten a meal with Father like this.

Usually, my nanny Nella brought meals directly to my room.

But today was different.

Grandfather had ordered me to attend the grand family banquet.

At the very head of the long table sat an old man with an imposing presence.

Despite his age, he looked incredibly vigorous.

He was the head of House Drenihan.

Tergon Drenihan.

The pressure he exuded was no joke.

I can more or less guess why he called me here…

As I secretly glanced at Grandfather, I suddenly found myself meeting a pair of pink eyes similar to my own.

I froze.

How long had it been since I had faced Grandfather directly?

Before recovering my memories from my previous life, I had been terrified of him.

The last memory I had of him was fainting on the spot.

Tergon Drenihan, the man who had led House Drenihan into its golden age.

There was an indescribable force within his aged eyes, and very few people could meet his gaze directly.

Even now, look at this.

While I was locking eyes with him, my ill-tempered uncle and Kalik were both quietly eating with their heads lowered toward their plates.

But unlike them, I did not look away from Grandfather’s aged eyes.

When I was younger, I had once broken eye contact with him.

He had clicked his tongue and walked away.

From that memory, I knew that avoiding his gaze was one of the things he disliked.

If I did not want to offend him, I could not look away.

As this silent standoff continued, he finally set down his utensils and spoke.