🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 8
“Damn it!”
Bice quickly set the egg down on the ground and shouted.
“Why does it even have such a ridiculous ability?!”
“It’s a mechanism that allows parent dragons who have long incubated their eggs to receive food and mana replenishment. For you, it’s essentially a death sentence.”
“Lord Arell! Don’t hatch! Don’t hatch!”
Despite Bice’s desperate pleas, the egg shook more violently—and then crack, a fissure formed.
“I said don’t hatch right now!”
But regardless of her words, a small opening appeared in the shell, and a thick droplet of liquid seeped out.
At the same time, the entire cave trembled.
“Eek!”
“Flying monsters are the first to gather. Hide behind me with the egg.”
“You’re protecting me!”
“Of course.”
Cassius’s lips twisted upward in a grim smile.
“I have plenty of experiments I want to try on a dragon contractor.”
“Someone save me!”
Trapped between a psychopathic Tower Master inside and starving monsters outside, Bice screamed in despair.
And then—
Kreeeeek!
A massive monster flew into the cave and slammed itself into the barrier.
“W-shouldn’t we attack too?”
“When they gather in numbers, I’ll blow up the entire cave at once.”
BOOM!
“Griffins are rare… maybe I should keep one alive.”
Is he taking this too calmly?!
While Bice silently screamed, a large crack spread across the egg.
“H-how long do we have to endure this?”
“Since it has just begun cracking, about twenty-four hours.”
Cassius finished reinforcing the magic circles and leaned against the cave wall.
“Maintaining the barrier requires concentration. Do not distract me.”
“Y-yes…”
Clutching the egg, Bice staggered toward him.
At that moment, a massive bird-like monster slammed into the barrier.
“Eek!”
Startled, Bice lost her balance and fell backward.
But she did not feel any pain.
Instead, something firm and steady caught her back.
“……”
A cool scent brushed past her nose. Even without opening her eyes, she knew exactly where she had fallen.
‘I really am something else…’
When she lifted her head, blue eyes looked down at her.
“Finished?”
His sharp lips moved calmly, his gaze cold and unyielding.
As if asking how many more disasters she intended to cause.
“Not yet—ah!”
The cave shook again. This time, Bice nearly toppled forward, but her waist was pulled back abruptly.
“…Thank you.”
Once again, she found herself sitting on Cassius’s lap.
His handsome face showed visible irritation.
“One more accident like that…”
Even so, he held her hand, letting her sit beside him instead of throwing her away.
“…I’ll throw you outside the barrier.”
A very villain-like threat.
But the seriousness in his tone made it clear he meant it.
“I’ll be careful.”
Bice lowered her head obediently, then spoke cautiously.
“Can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Am I… really just an experiment subject?”
“You brought this upon yourself by accepting the job.”
Damn it!
Bice squeezed her eyes shut. Only then did Cassius soften his expression slightly.
When she thought about it, Cassius was far more dangerous than the monsters outside.
Yet strangely, she felt safer with him than with them.
Was it because of his calmness? His overwhelming confidence?
“Doesn’t it bother you… seeing all this outside?”
“Not particularly.”
He answered indifferently, as if devoid of emotion.
“You don’t really express emotions, do you?”
“Should I scream like you?”
“Not that much… I just thought it might be hard if you keep holding it in.”
Cassius let out a faint laugh, remembering something.
“Hold it in, huh.”
He raised his hand.
At that moment—
CRUNCH.
A sticky mass exploded outward. A Cyclops that had been attacking the barrier collapsed in pieces.
Seeing the monster disintegrate right in front of her, Bice froze.
Cassius spoke calmly.
“If I were truly ‘holding it in,’ I would’ve abandoned the dragon egg and escaped already.”
The smell of blood filled the air. Bice covered her mouth, trembling.
Cassius clicked his tongue.
“You worrying about things you don’t need to is a talent of yours—just like that dragon.”
“Still… I’m glad…”
“…?”
“If you say it’s okay to abandon it so easily… it means the egg isn’t that important to you…”
“KYAA!”
A monster slammed into the barrier again.
Bice shut her eyes tightly once more.
Cassius watched her.
“…Even after all that, you’re still worried about me?”
“Because you’re still a person with emotions too.”
She shook her head weakly.
“Even if your emotional threshold is… really, really high.”
Cassius’s expression remained unchanged.
‘I shouldn’t have said that…’
Bice subtly scooted closer to him.
He didn’t throw her out.
By the time the cracks on the dragon egg became clearly visible—
“Screeech!”
“Graaagh!”
Bice pressed her hand to her forehead, feeling feverish.
The voices were getting worse.
—Help me…
—Why… here…?
—There’s something… inside…
“…Something’s wrong.”
She grabbed Cassius’s sleeve weakly.
“I don’t want to interfere anymore, but…”
“What now…”
Cassius’s gaze sharpened as he noticed her condition.
Her small face was drenched in sweat.
“Are you alright?”
“There are… too many…”
At first, it had been meaningless noise.
Now, it had meaning.
—Scary.
—No.
—My baby!
They were no longer sounds.
They were emotions.
Directly touching her soul.
“I can’t… take it anymore…”
Bice collapsed.
The dragon egg rolled out of her arms.
“Get a grip.”
Cassius caught her before she hit the ground and checked her condition.
“Lady Adelhedis.”
“The screams… they won’t stop…”
“Do you want me to silence them?”
“No… the monsters… are screaming…”
Kreeeek! Greeegh!
Their cries had become language inside her mind.
“I need to move the egg…”
Bice pushed herself away from Cassius.
“They’re all… in pain…”
“Stop.”
Cassius grabbed her again as she tried to leave the barrier.
“It’s dangerous.”
“I can’t just leave them…”
“If you go out there, you’ll be torn apart too.”
“I still have to find a way…”
Tears gathered at the corners of Bice’s eyes.
Because the moment she could understand them—
their lives had begun to feel just as real as humans’.
