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Chapter 30
The Pope’s pupils wavered, unable to find focus as he received the ambiguous answer. For a moment, he blinked blankly.
Soon after, he regained his calm expression and continued speaking.
“As you are aware, if the dragon’s power is complete, self-healing should also be perfect. That incident occurred before the day of your rebirth, so now that Your Holiness has become a sacred being, there should be no trace of injury. However, Your Highness….”
There was no way the Pope could have seen the flesh beneath Kilis’s neatly tailored gray ceremonial uniform. And yet, he was almost certain a scar remained.
Kilis, neither confirming nor denying it, merely observed him in silence before curling his lips into a faint, teasing smile.
“Now that I think about it, perhaps you’re the culprit. If so, I’ll forgive you—so tell me honestly.”
“That is a terrifying accusation. I swear in the name of God—it is not I.”
At Kilis’s mischievous words, the Pope furrowed his brows and sighed deeply.
He knew it was a joke, of course, but his personality made it difficult to respond lightly.
Kilis knew this well.
“Ah, I see. You really are no fun when you take jokes seriously.”
As expected, Kilis shook his head lazily with a teasing expression.
“Indeed, Your Highness is far more powerful than your predecessors. That is precisely why you must be more careful. The stronger the power, the greater the consequences.”
Unfortunately, Kilis did not seem to be listening.
After a brief moment of thought, he asked in a slightly hardened tone.
“What is the probability that God shows mercy?”
“None.”
The answer came without hesitation.
To respond without even thinking—what a rigid old man pretending to be benevolent.
Kilis looked displeased and continued.
“You are quite merciless toward the irreverent. If I were to call what God gave the imperial family a ‘curse,’ would you cast me out as well?”
His voice was flat, devoid of emotion. It was a genuine question.
The Pope frowned slightly before restraining himself.
“…It is merely a ‘punishment.’ God does not bestow curses.”
“Hm. That is just what the temple believes. You know it as well as I do. For the imperial family, it is no different from a curse.”
Once, dragons had ruled the skies in glory.
But in a single day, they were stripped of their wings and forced to crawl on the earth like serpents.
Since then, dragons were never seen again, and people spoke of their extinction.
Faced with the sharp remark, the Pope fell silent.
Unable to offer any opinion, his silence was enough to drain Kilis’s remaining interest.
“I’ll be going. This has been unproductive.”
His sharp gaze softened, returning to a relaxed expression, and Kilis turned away without hesitation.
The Pope, startled, hurried after him.
“Your Highness, wait…! Weren’t you here to treat your scar? We prepared a healing priest upon receiving your visit.”
“For the first time, you’ve said something amusing. I came here only because of Rucelin.”
A sharp smile crossed Kilis’s face, as if mocking their unnecessary preparations.
The Pope, flustered, stammered.
“B-But if Your body bears a scar, people will question your dragon power. You know well that the dragon of life cannot have wounds.”
No fool would not know that—so why refuse treatment?
Above all, if the Emperor learned of the scar, there would be no way to avoid consequences.
The Pope looked at Kilis with growing confusion.
Ignoring his anxiety, Kilis spoke lightly.
“Gerek, do you know something? I’ve placed a mark on Rucelin.”
“What?! Y-Your Highness, do not say such things lightly—wait, a mark? You mean… seriously? Why… and does His Majesty know?!”
It was rare for the usually composed deer beastman Pope to raise his voice like this.
With every question, his brown eyes widened further.
When they could not grow any larger, Kilis finally continued.
“It is said God loves two beings most: the black rabbit and the dragon. I wonder what happens when two such creatures meet.”
The Pope stared at him in disbelief, letting out a hollow breath.
“…So the scar is gone?”
“Next time, come pray properly. Sincerely.”
After dropping that shocking statement, Kilis walked away.
The Pope stood frozen in place.
A serpent marking a rabbit—only a madman would do such a thing.
And worse, Rucelin was, in this age without dragons, the most beloved race of God.
Even the Pope could not imagine what misfortune would befall the serpent who targeted her.
“Your Highness!” voices called from behind, but Kilis did not turn back.
After finishing his trivial business, he walked through the corridor and glanced at his reflection in the transparent stained glass of the temple.
It was the day after he met Rucelin at the Erbel estate.
After returning, he had changed clothes—and noticed something strange.
The long scar on his abdomen was gone.
Since his bond with Rucelin, his condition had steadily improved.
He could now wield dragon power more freely, and even his previously incomplete regeneration had improved noticeably.
A pale blue flame flickered in his palm like a summer mirage.
This was what people called “dragon power.”
With it, one could take lives—or give them.
But it was still incomplete in his current serpentine body.
Thus, self-healing was also imperfect. Yet after touching Rucelin, even that instability improved.
It was temporary, but undeniable progress.
The more he met her, the more he touched her, the more his fate—once twisted and uncomfortable—seemed to correct itself.
His wounded body was now nearly fully healed.
“No need for healing priests.”
Though he did not fully trust them, the kind rabbit doctor who constantly worried about him—his Rucelin—was right there. And she was beautiful.
“There’s no way I can refuse.”
Soon, the temple entrance came into view. Rucelin was just coming out after finishing her prayers.
Behind her followed Duke Erbel. Sensing Kilis’s presence, the duke turned sharply.
Their eyes met—Erbel’s sharp, wary blue gaze clashing with Kilis’s relaxed golden one.
Davelin Erbel. He’s a dull man.
The duke looked at him like a predator guarding something precious.
Meanwhile, Rucelin smiled while petting the temple cats, unaware of the tension.
Kilis smiled softly at Erbel, causing a faint crease of irritation to appear on the duke’s otherwise composed forehead.
Ignoring him, Kilis walked forward.
“Rucelin.”
“…!”
She flinched and turned quickly when she heard her name.
Seeing him approach, she stood up in surprise.
Her wide ocean-colored eyes, her soft hair swaying in the wind, her small lips—
“Kili… no, Your Highness. You’re back.”
“Yes, Rucelin. Are your prayers finished?”
“Yes. The holy water ritual is done too, so we can go back now.”
Her innocent gaze, as if she had forgotten him entirely.
It drew him in again—like an addiction too deep to escape.
“Then let’s go.”
“Okay. But nothing happened, right? You suddenly disappeared and I was worried…”
There was faint reproach in her watery eyes.
Kilis chuckled softly.
“Did my absence bother you that much? I promise I won’t leave again.”
“N-no! It wasn’t that big of a deal…!”
Flustered, she quickly shook her head.
Kilis pretended not to hear her protests and looked away, smiling.
If fate was going to be cruel anyway, then he might as well remain by Rucelin’s side—forever, even in misfortune.
