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Chapter: 13
“What’s the point of saying it! Of course you’d think it’ll be warm, Madam! Isn’t that right, Madam?!”
No, I still have no idea.
When I failed to answer and just smiled awkwardly, the two men who had been arguing smiled along with me.
I don’t know, you idiots.
I’m not the meteorological office—how would I know the weather?
And the original work wasn’t the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty either. Why would it bother writing out the weather in detail?
Normally, I lived however it came—rain when it rained, snow when it snowed, cold when it was cold, hot when it was hot…
But now that it was time to farm, nothing mattered more than the weather.
Now I understood why kings in the old days were so obsessed with it.
“Can’t we just plant badam trees?”
At my question, the bear-like man who had been insisting on lrelong flowers answered.
He’d been arguing all along that this year would be cold.
“That won’t work. Badam trees don’t grow well unless the weather is warm. If the temperature alone were fine, they’d sell well, but wouldn’t that be a gamble?”
“Hm… Then isn’t there something that works regardless of the weather? Wheat, maybe…?”
This time, the skinny man who had been insisting on badam trees spoke.
“Wheat is risky. Last year we planted wheat thinking the same thing, but it didn’t rain at all and everything died.”
“Hmmm…”
So in the end, the weather really was the problem.
If only we could build greenhouses or make artificial rain—but that was impossible for now.
“For now…”
The two men looking at me with sparkling eyes felt burdensome.
Seeing their gazes, both insisting I side with them, my mouth clamped shut.
“…For now, I think I need some time to think.”
Making an excuse to buy time, I returned to my office with Naol.
As soon as I got back, I leaned against my chair and sighed.
“Ugh, my head hurts. Naol, what do you think?”
“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. It’s fine no matter what you choose.”
“But still…”
“They fight all the time anyway. No matter what you pick, they won’t blame you, Madam.”
Naol added that as if trying to ease my burden, but it didn’t help at all.
“No, what if I choose and the harvest fails? That’s what I’m worried about. If farming fails, expenses go up. And we don’t even have a proper source of income yet.”
Only then did I realize I hadn’t even brought up the original reason I’d gone to see them.
“If I don’t give an answer, won’t they decide on their own? They’re both experts—surely that’s better than me just picking something.”
Then I remembered what they’d said earlier about ruining the harvest the year before last while arguing.
Ugh, I shouldn’t have gone to see them.
Why do useless memories stick so well?
All it did was make my head hurt more.
After holding my head and agonizing for a while, I finally gave Naol an order.
“Naol, go see if there are any records of this territory’s weather and bring them back. Even that might help.”
Honestly, this territory…
I think I cursed the founding duke at least ten times today.
After sending Naol away, I sighed again in the empty room.
“Haa… If I’d known it’d be like this, I should’ve learned how to read the weather by the stars in my past life. I don’t need exact temperatures—just whether this year will be cold or hot would be enough.”
“You can know.”
Startled, I looked around, but there was no one in the room.
“…What?”
Feeling a chill, I forced a laugh.
“Haha. Guess I misheard. I must be really tired lately, hearing things.”
“It’s not a hallucination.”
At the voice I heard again, I froze in place, unable to move. Then, before my eyes, the handsome dark-skinned man from my dream appeared.
“S-so… it wasn’t a dream?”
Black skin, white hair braided into one strand, blue eyes.
Not long after coming to this castle, I’d lost consciousness while looking at the massive family crest.
Back then, in my dream, I’d seen a strange man and a gigantic dragon.
Since he never appeared again, I thought it was just a weird dream…
But the man before me looked exactly the same as in that dream.
At my words, he tilted his head slightly.
“A dream? No. This is reality.”
He wasn’t quite on the level of our male lead, Rus, but objectively speaking, he was extremely handsome.
At times he looked so faint he might scatter in the sunlight, yet when his blue eyes met mine, his presence was so deep and heavy—like gazing into the depths of the sea—that I couldn’t easily look away.
“How did you get here… No, wow. Where do I even start asking questions?”
After a moment’s thought, I asked,
“What exactly are you?”
“I’m a divine beast.”
He answered plainly.
I knew what a divine beast was.
I’d read about the female lead commanding one in the original story.
The divine beast she commanded was a green deer, strong enough to tear giant monsters apart like paper.
Besides hers, divine beasts appeared from time to time in the story, all with incredible and unique abilities.
And because of their power, forming a contract with a divine beast was difficult and demanding.
“Then why did you appear before me?”
“I don’t know that either. I’m the one who’s curious how you woke me, and how you were able to form a contract with me.”
“We formed a contract? What kind of contract?”
“Obviously, a master–servant contract.”
“…How?”
“I told you, I don’t know. I’m the one who wants to ask—how you managed to come to where I was sealed.”
He didn’t seem to know anything about this sudden contract either.
Since I’d lost consciousness after seeing the Valfruga family crest, maybe it had something to do with that family?
For now, it was just speculation.
With an expressionless face, the man continued.
“I was sealed in this land a thousand years ago. You released that seal.”
“I don’t know anything about that.”
“I know. But regardless, you released my seal, and we formed a contract.”
I suddenly realized something.
This man was handsome, but he had no expression.
It felt eerie, like a well-made doll moving on its own.
Still, having a divine beast wasn’t a bad thing.
“All right. So you’re saying I’m your master?”
“Yes.”
So what if he’s a bit stiff?
He’s a divine beast!
“Then what should I call you?”
For the first time, an expression appeared on his face.
“…You already named me.”
“When did I—ah, wait. Don’t tell me… Kkamangi?” (Blackie)
“…Yes.”
That’s my fault. Yeah.
I really thought it was just a dream.
If I’d known we’d actually form a contract, I would’ve given you a cooler name.
Like White Dragon.
Or Hope.
Even Jackpot would’ve been fine—something with a good meaning for the future.
Carefully watching his expression, I asked,
“…Do you want me to rename you now?”
“It’s too late. Once you name a divine beast after forming a contract, the name can’t be changed—until you find my true name.”
“True name? How do I find that?”
“I’ll tell you when the time comes. Right now, you’re too weak.”
“…Mm. Okay.”
I couldn’t deny that.
“I formally greet you, Master.”
The man knelt before me, placing one hand over his chest.
“I am the one who received the first crown, and the one who closes the seasons.”
It was an ordinary office in broad daylight.
Yet as he spoke, the air trembled, and I felt as if I were being drawn in by some unknown, sacred power.
“Thus, the one who governs water, the one who can glimpse the gaps of time, and the one who protects eternally.”
He bent down and kissed my foot.
“As long as the Master permits it, I swear here and now to live for the Master.”
“…I permit it.”
As if possessed, the words slipped out.
At that moment, his body began to scatter like white snowflakes.
He grew smaller and smaller, until finally he became a tiny white dragon, small enough to fit in my palm.
“…Huh?”
[Using a human form is too much for the Master’s current abilities.]
The man’s voice came from the young dragon.
He had a long tail and small wings on his back.
Walking on all fours, he toddled over to me.
[This form is still a burden for the Master, but it’s fortunate you have something good.]
“Something good?”
[I can smell something delicious from you.]
“Do lizards even have a sense of smell?”
[I’m not a lizard. I’m a dragon. I’m different from those mere lizards. Look—I even have wings.]
He spread the wings on his back with effort.
He tried flapping them to fly, but his chubby body couldn’t easily lift into the air.
Knowing his original form was a full-grown adult man made the sight oddly pitiful.
I picked him up and placed him on my lap. He wriggled a bit, settling in.
“So what exactly is your ability?”
[It’s hard to explain. But I can make rain fall wherever the Master desires—or protect the Master so no weapon can ever harm you.]
Rain? Artificial rain?
Hearing that, my heart nearly burst.
It seemed I’d contracted something truly incredible.
Among divine beasts, this was a jackpot—no, a mega jackpot.
And this kind of luck came to me?!
Saving this territory was only a matter of time now!
But Kkamangi immediately shattered my expectations.
[However, my power is currently sealed, so I can’t use it.]
“What?! Then how do we remove the seal?!”
I’m in a hurry right now.
Tell me quickly.
Do I need to train?
Meditate?
I’m ready for anything.
[Money.]
“…What?”
[More specifically, certain gemstones. The reason I was able to wake up was because of a gem the Master obtained.]
“Gemstones? What kind?”
[There’s a good scent coming from your desk.]
Kkamangi squirmed on my lap, then buried his nose in the desk drawer and sniffed.
When I opened the drawer as he wanted, a small jewelry box came out.
It was a box containing only the most expensive gems I’d received from Marquis Reholas.
When I opened it, Kkamangi shoved his head into the gems, rummaging through them.
Then, from the very bottom, he picked up a blood-red ruby in his mouth.
[I want to eat it.]
