Monsters Wag Their Tails Only at Me

Varen wrapped me fully in his solid arms. I buried my face into his neck and breathed in his scent deeply.

The cold, hardened weight in my chest—made of emotions that weren’t even mine—seemed to melt away.

“Haah... I can finally breathe again....”

Clinging to Varen and inhaling his scent, all my worries disappeared.

Lost in it, I pressed my nose deeper into his neck. I inhaled so deeply the back of my head tensed, then let out a sigh that rose from the very core of my body.

Like someone indulging in a drug, I repeated it more than ten times. Eventually, even Varen—who had been quietly letting me—began to sense something strange.

He tilted his head slightly, then hesitated before asking me,

“Ceryl... do I also have that... roasted smell?”

At his words, my half-lidded eyes snapped wide open.

Last night, Varen had said I sniffed that roasted smell whenever I encountered fluffy magical creatures.

And now he was asking this, without even knowing what that smell actually was.

When I looked at him with a face full of amusement, Varen grew visibly confused.

In that moment, something difficult to define surged up in my chest.

Grabbing both his cheeks firmly in my hands, I asked him seriously,

“Varen. Who taught you to say something this cute?”

“...I didn’t learn it.”

At the word cute, Varen looked away shyly.

For a brief moment, I had the sudden urge to forget about the king and everything else, and just roll around in bed with him all night.

But if I dragged him there, he would definitely pounce on me without hesitation—so I gathered every ounce of restraint I had as a rational human being and held myself back.

Instead, I pressed my lips firmly against his and pulled away. The soft smack echoed loudly in the quiet bedroom.

Varen’s eyes immediately darkened. Before that beautiful gold could turn into something dangerous, I quickly spoke.

“This place is dangerous for you. I told you to wait in the forest.”

Not exactly something I had the right to say, considering I’d grabbed and kissed him the moment I saw him.

Still, I forced a stern tone. Varen replied bluntly.

“I couldn’t wait. I wanted to see you.”

“....”

What exactly did he decide today to suddenly act this cute?

I almost melted on the spot, but I shook my head quickly to clear the thought.

“Th-there’s a lot I need to talk to you about, Varen. Let’s sit first.”

“Alright.”

At the word sit, Varen seemed to hear hug instead and immediately pulled me into his arms again.

We had only been apart for half a day, yet this dragon kept pushing my patience to its limits with all this affection.

I forced myself to remember what awaited me tomorrow morning—being dragged into the basement by Phiren and subjected to a cursed experiment.

If I didn’t cling to that grim future, I felt like I might just throw Varen down right here.

With effort, I pushed him away and cooled my flushed cheeks with the back of my hand. Then I headed toward the two-seater sofa in the corner of the room.

Varen followed and sat beside me quietly.

Finally shaking off my wandering thoughts, I lowered my voice deliberately and spoke seriously.

“It looks like Phiren has already handed over information about the army of the dead to King Laskar. We’re too late.”

It had already been months since I’d lost contact with Phiren. If the king had obtained the death magic in that time, he might have already completed an immortal army.

In a war where we were already outnumbered, this was like gaining a particularly troublesome enemy.

Varen’s expression hardened as he listened. He raised a hand and brushed it over his mouth, deep in thought.

“Yeah. I expected it, but... we’re already too late.”

Even that small movement drew my eyes to his hand. His long fingers were thick at the joints, yet elegant.

Sometimes they moved with powerful force, other times with the flexibility of a dragon’s tongue.

While my thoughts drifted elsewhere, Varen rolled his blue eyes and spoke in a low, husky voice.

“If we’re late, then we break it. We’ll need precise information on what kind of magic was used.”

“....”

“Whether it’s a magic circle or some kind of compound, we find it. If we bring the magic itself, the Drunkard can unravel it.”

“W-wait? Unravel what?”

That particular phrasing caught in my ears, and I flinched.

Varen turned his gaze to me. His eyes narrowed slightly at my flushed face.

As if checking my temperature, he touched my forehead and cheek, then spoke with concern.

“Ceryl, your face is red. Are you still feeling unwell?”

“...No? I’m fine.”

“Then why do you feel warm? Your scent’s gotten stronger too.”

Damn it, he’s got a nose like a beast.

Maybe it was because I’d absorbed so much of a dragon’s saliva, but it felt like I, a human, was going into heat.

I cleared my throat, avoiding his touch—which was absolutely not helping me calm down.

“Ahem. I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong. So... what exactly are we unraveling?”

I tried to change the subject quickly, but Varen didn’t drop his suspicious look. He just tilted his head and kept studying my face.

I’d known from the start that he was strikingly handsome, but after such a heavy day, seeing his face under the moonlight kept stirring dangerous thoughts in me.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to avoid his gaze—then finally snapped and grabbed both his cheeks tightly.

“Varen, I can’t take it anymore, so stop being so cute.”

“W-what?”

Feeling like I shouldn’t stay near him any longer, I jumped up from the sofa and quickly moved away.

I sat back down in the old creaking desk chair. Only after putting some distance between us did I finally feel a bit calmer.

Varen remained seated on the sofa, staring at me with a dazed expression.

“Say that again. I didn’t catch it properly.”

“...If we’re too late, we need precise information on the magic. The Drunkard should be able to break it.”

“Right. Then that’s what we’ll do.”

The problem that had seemed so overwhelming suddenly had a simple solution.

I answered in a businesslike tone and casually crossed my legs.

Before my completely shameless lower half could react any further, I needed to focus on something else.

“I told Phiren the magic might have failed. It’ll buy us some time, at least.”

“Then we need to move quickly while we have it.”

“I don’t know how long it’ll last. He said we should confirm it again as soon as possible—tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yeah. It looks like he’s conducting experiments in the basement of this building. He told me to come down at first light.”

“What? You?”

Varen’s expression twisted instantly at the words.

It was exactly the reaction I expected. I only shrugged.

“It might be dangerous, but it’s a good opportunity. I can see the magic being recreated firsthand.”

“Ceryl, if you’re in danger, then nothing about that is a good opportunity.”

Varen cut me off firmly and stood up from the sofa, walking toward me. His stiff expression carried a hint of anger.

He grabbed the back of my chair and caged me in with both arms.

“Then I’ll just burn this house down and kill every human in it.”

At that chilling declaration, I swallowed hard.

The desire that had been sparked earlier refused to die down. His furious expression was starting to look dangerously attractive.

I stared at his face, my lips parting without words. My mind refused to function properly.

Seeing my reaction, Varen frowned, his expression turning troubled.

“See? You’re scared too.”

“....”

“You’re afraid. So why are you trying to do something reckless, Ceryl?”

Varen had mistaken my constant swallowing for fear.

There was no need to correct him, so I forced a stiff smile.

“O-okay. Let’s think of another way.”

At my step back, Varen’s expression softened. He nodded once and straightened up.

Without another word, he turned to look out the window. His pale skin, bathed in moonlight, shimmered like something out of a myth.

“There are a few humans in the building behind this one. Fortunately, none of them are a threat. Even that brute could handle them alone.”

“....”

“But in the basement of this building, I can feel very strong mana. I couldn’t determine who’s inside. There’s probably a barrier.”

While I had been dealing with Phiren, Varen had already assessed the strength of this place.

Normally, I would have praised him—maybe even smacked his backside lightly—but I was too tightly wound with tension to do that now.

Varen looked down at me, then smiled faintly.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of, Ceryl. I won’t let you get hurt.”

I think he said something like that in bed too...

“...Aaagh—!”

To drive away the sudden inappropriate thoughts, I smacked my forehead with my palm and jumped to my feet.

Varen flinched back in surprise, then stared at me in shock.

Avoiding his gaze, I clenched my fists and headed for the door.

“Let’s go now! We’ll find that damned magic and get out before sunrise!”

“...Alright.”

“Tomorrow night, we sleep somewhere safe!”

Though confused, Varen followed after me as I marched ahead.

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