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Chapter 55
“If you carry it with you, wicked and corrupt things won’t be able to harm you. Especially since I’m an evil dragon, I can block most evil.”
In short, it was evil blocking evil.
The “evil” protected by the Evil Dragon Ater would shield Nivellia from the interference of those strange beings creeping around her.
Though only temporarily.
Even Ater himself couldn’t be sure how much his evil could repel those grotesque beings.
After all, those things had once targeted even the mighty Evil Dragon.
Even now.
But at least he could protect her from the malice of those “altered” by them.
“If carrying it around is bothersome, you can grind it into powder and drink it. The problem is, grinding it down is difficult.”
After all, it was dragon scale.
Even from the body of a baby dragon less than half a year old, it had formidable hardness. Comparable to diamond—if not stronger.
“There are also side effects, though.”
At that, Armi Pera’s eyes narrowed.
“Side effects? You didn’t mention that before.”
In the earlier conversation, the evil dragon hadn’t said a word about that.
Looking utterly unconcerned, Ater gave a lazy reply and rested his chin more comfortably on Armi Pera’s arm.
“You’ll feel depressed for a few days, and you won’t be able to control your anger. Evil tends to amplify negative emotions in humans.”
“And if you just carry the scale instead of ingesting it?”
“Then it’s less severe. A dragon’s body somewhat refines the evil energy.”
“Hmm…”
Armi Pera looked at Muniel.
Muniel shrugged and extended her hand. Armi Pera handed the evil dragon’s scale over to her.
“We should at least show it to the Great Witch.”
“If it’s the Great Witch, she’ll know how to handle my scales well. Especially now that the Great Spirit of the Forest has returned—”
“Grandma.”
Before she could finish, Nivellia stepped in front of Muniel and pointed at the scale.
She held out both hands together.
“Give it to me.”
“Why? Are you curious?”
“Yes.”
Muniel carefully handed the scale to her, warning her to just touch it.
The black scale that fit into the child’s palm was about the size of a coin.
It gleamed like polished obsidian, looking as if a skilled craftsman had carved it.
The blood that had clung to the side once embedded in flesh had already dried, and the scraps of skin had withered into dust.
Lick—
“Ah.”
Muniel let out a startled sound.
Nivellia had licked the scale as though it were a lollipop.
It happened so quickly that everyone present froze in shock.
Even the Evil Dragon’s jaw dropped as if it might hit the floor.
“……”
Her chubby cheeks, which had been moving busily, slowed down.
Nivellia’s blue eyes met Muniel’s blue eyes.
“…Does it taste good?”
Muniel asked in a baffled tone.
“……”
Instead of answering, Nivellia lowered her head.
“Bleh.”
And vomited.
“Through all the ages of countless ancestors stored in my memory, I’ve never seen such a brazen child.”
Even Ater had to admit Nivellia was no ordinary girl. From that day onward, she never again claimed she wanted to eat lizards.
“It tastes awful! So awful!”
The rancid, foul taste, so different from her memories, even made her cry.
“Evil dragon, you’re mean! You liar! Waaaah!”
“Young miss, it’s all right…”
“No, it’s not! I feel like I’m gonna puke!”
“Would you like some water? Come here…”
Areph handled the fussy Nivellia with practiced ease.
He gave her water, patted her back until she burped, and offered her candy and chocolate from the Tower Master to cleanse her mouth.
Watching this, Armi Pera spoke.
“Nini, you really chose a good man, didn’t you?”
“Areph is… sniff… Nini’s mate…”
Even while crying with candy in her mouth, Nivellia insisted Areph belonged to her.
Areph’s chest swelled with pride.
Still, judging from how she recoiled from the taste, grinding the scale into powder for her seemed impossible.
So for now, they decided to hand the scale over to the Great Witch.
“The Great Witch may come up with a method I don’t know of.”
Ater stretched lazily like a cat as he said this.
“You’re an evil dragon, yet you don’t know how to use your own body?”
Armi Pera looked at him with clear distrust.
Ater just snorted.
“To think I’d hear this from humans who can’t even see a step ahead of them. The age of evil dragons really must be over.”
A few days later.
Exactly one week since Nivellia had stopped insisting that lizards tasted good.
The Great Witch sent a box to the Deiamor estate.
Inside were several black honey balls.
They had been refined from the Evil Dragon’s scales.
“Hmm…”
Muniel read the letter, then held it to a candle. In an instant, the paper turned to black ash that piled softly around the candlestick.
“As expected of the Great Witch.”
Across from her, Ater sat in a chair wearing a white dress tied with ribbons—an outfit he had chosen himself.
“Or perhaps the Great Spirit of the Forest helped too?”
Muniel smiled faintly.
“So now I only need to add my blessing to these?”
“There shouldn’t be any side-effect worries now.”
With the Great Spirit’s protection and the Saintess’s blessing combined, this might turn into something far stronger than Ater had expected.
“Saintess,” Ater asked,
“Do you know what this really is?”
“I can guess.”
“…And how to destroy it?”
“I do. But for now, I have no reason to.”
So she would simply watch. She traced the sign of the cross in the air.
With a prayer to the nameless, great God, brilliant light descended like snow upon the honey balls.
“I have a question too.”
Counting the blessed honey balls, Muniel asked the dragon,
“Aren’t evil dragons and saintesses supposed to be natural enemies?”
“The memories I inherited say so.”
Yet here he sat, at the same table as a saintess.
Not only that—he had lingered in the Deiamor estate, full of holy energy, ever since hatching.
The very house blessed by God’s love—an enemy to any evil dragon.
Armi Pera too had read such accounts in history books.
“But my instincts feel comfortable here.”
His tail swished happily.
“Then what’s wrong?”
His dark, clear eyes looked straight at the saintess.
Her wrinkled eyes curved into a smile.
“You already know the answer.”
“I think we’re thinking the same thing.”
“Yes.”
The grotesque beings had twisted even “truth.”
“Maybe I’m not truly an evil dragon at all.”
“Then what about the curse on the Tower Master?”
“If my memories were distorted by those grotesque things, then maybe it wasn’t me who cursed him…”
“Grotesque things?”
“Like diluted blood in water—blurry, unsettling invaders that distort existence as they please.”
“Invaders…”
Not inaccurate.
In fact, the most accurate description.
There were quite a few honey balls in the box.
At a glance, more than twenty. The finely ground dragon scales had been mixed with honey and rolled around red berries.
The saintess picked one and rolled it slowly in her mouth, savoring.
“Might be a bit bitter for the children?”
“Well, medicine’s always like that.”
“Give the biggest one to the cheeky brat,” Ater said with a mischievous snort.
“Eugh…”
Nivellia, who had put the biggest honey ball in her mouth, scrunched up her face terribly.
Her features bunched together into a very ugly expression.
Soles and Ares wore much the same look.
“Bitter…”
“See? That’s what you get for being greedy.”
“Mom, can I spit it out?”
“It’s medicine, so finish it.”
“Ugh…!”
While Nivellia whined, Celetina also popped a black honey ball into her mouth and chewed.
She too grimaced.
“It is bitter.”
But as she rolled it around with her tongue, the honey’s sweetness softened the bitterness.
And in the end, the tartness of the red berry cleansed her palate.
The children too soon adapted, relaxing as they ate the candy while playing with wooden blocks.
Thus, the Deiamor family took the honey balls made from the dragon’s scales as a preventive measure.
Nivellia grew curious about who else had eaten them.
“Did Deter eat one too?”
“No, miss.”
Deter, who was helping prepare her for kindergarten, replied.
“Aw…”
Nivellia looked disappointed.
“Deter’s my subordinate too. And family.”
“Oh my.”
Deter smiled warmly.
“Those words alone are enough for me.”
“The medicine’s really bitter, but it’s good for you.”
“Then our young miss and young masters should have plenty. I’m an adult and healthy, so I’ll be fine.”
She finished tying the ribbon in Nivellia’s hair, completing her preparations.
As they headed to the carriage, Nivellia spotted Soles.
“Nini, off to kindergarten?”
“Yeah.”
“Have a good day.”
“You study hard too, okay?”
“Ha ha, I will.”
They shared a light hug when suddenly, the sound of a familiar cat’s meow reached their ears.
Nivellia’s eyes narrowed sharply.
“I hear a sly noise!”
The sound came from Armi Pera.
In her hand was a small iron cage, and inside was a kitten.
“That sly, nasty…!”
“Whoa, Nini!”
Soles quickly grabbed his little sister as she lunged at the cat again.
“What’s gotten into her?”
Even Armi Pera was startled, hiding the cage behind her back.
“……”
Inside the cage, the kitten—Evil Dragon Ater in disguise—let out a heavy sigh, as if to say, I knew this would happen.
