Monsters Wag Their Tails Only at Me

The biggest reason I had intended to keep Phiren alive was the information he possessed.

But all of his memories had been transferred to me. I scratched at my throbbing head and frowned.

"Well... it’s still a mess..."

It felt like I had downloaded an enormous, complicated dataset. Looking through Phiren’s memories required the tedious work of sifting through unorganized files one by one.

But my discomfort did not turn into mercy. My resolve tilted quickly in a cruel direction.

I nodded tiredly toward Varen.

"Varen, do as you want."

"At last, this becomes simple."

With a satisfied smile, Varen set me down. After being held in the warmth of a dragon, the cold bare floor made my whole body ache.

If I let my guard down, it felt like I would faint immediately. Barely holding myself together, I looked up at him.

"Ceryl, do you have a preferred way for him to die?"

Varen asked the chilling question in a plain tone. Anyone hearing it would think he was asking about dinner.

Of course, I did not want Phiren to die cleanly, but I shook my head.

Even just not stopping Varen from killing someone filled me with guilt.

At that moment, an unexpected person objected.

"Wait, dragon."

The one who stood up was Margon, gripping his longsword. With a hardened face, he walked toward Phiren.

"Leave killing this bastard to me."

"No. He’s a human who tormented Ceryl. I’ll kill him with my own hands."

"He’s the one who tormented Ceryl and Leobin’s enemy. I’ll finish it."

Varen and Margon began arguing. Exhausted, I could not even join their conversation and slowly lay my body down on the cold floor.

It did not matter anymore who did it. I just wanted to resolve this situation and sleep as soon as possible.

The longer the two men argued, the louder their voices became. Eventually they were shouting, but it sounded distant to my ears. My heavy eyelids closed.

When I had realized I could understand the thoughts of magical creatures without speaking their language, I had wondered—would this ability work on humans too?

As expected. I could touch Phiren’s soul, read his thoughts, and look into his memories.

However, reading the mind of a higher lifeform like a human was far more exhausting than dealing with magical creatures.

I shouldn’t use this ability often.

As I drifted toward sleep, someone approached.

Even without opening my eyes, I could tell someone was kneeling in front of me, sobbing.

"Sob... Ceryl, please... save my father... I’m begging you..."

"..."

"We’re family... right? Ceryl, please... Aagh!"

Days, who had been pleading with me, was suddenly seized by Varen and flung aside.

Only then did I lazily open my eyes. Days stared at me, his face a mess of tears and snot.

"Ceryl, can I kill this one too?"

Varen asked me, his voice as flat as ever.

But Days thrashed as if being tortured. He clasped his hands together, bowed flat to the ground, and burst into sobs.

"Uwaaah... p-please... spare me..."

Seeing Days cry like that made me uneasy.

Even if he was Phiren’s son, he was someone who had been used like a puppet. In some ways, he was no different from me.

After a brief moment of thought, I spoke.

"...Don’t kill him."

A metallic rasp came out of my throat, which had just spat blood. Varen frowned at my rough voice but stepped back in agreement.

I was not sparing Days out of attachment from living together. Nor out of some humanitarian respect for life.

Digging through Phiren’s memories in my exhausted mind, I had found it—the key that could overturn the army of the dead.

And the only clue to unravel the magic was Days. The one to take to the Drunkard was not Phiren, but the son who had been used as his puppet.

My overloaded mind slowly shut down. I no longer had the strength to hold onto reason.

But I could not relax enough to fall asleep. The dragon hunters were still outside...

"Varen, are you all right?"

At that moment, a familiar tone pierced my ears. I gathered the last of my strength and opened my eyes slightly.

A man with an unfamiliar face and voice hurried into the building. Seeing him fuss over Varen’s condition, I finally relaxed.

My problem-solver has arrived.

"Morpha..."

I called his name in a voice as small as an ant’s.

Though his face was different, the distinct exhaustion in his eyes remained the same. Looking down at me, he asked,

"Why does Ceryl look like a corpse?"

"Watch your mouth. He’s not dead yet."

Varen answered sharply. I wiggled my fingers to show I was still alive.

Hands on their hips, Morpha let out a deep sigh. That sigh felt like it made my body sink instead of the ground.

"Haah... I told you not to do anything reckless."

"...It was reckless."

"I don’t know what you did, but you should have stopped him."

"This is what it looks like after stopping him."

"Was he trying to kill himself?"

I’m not like that.

I wanted to explain, but I had no strength left to move.

Now that Morpha had come, I entrusted everything to them and finally let go.

***

I swam through deep water. But I was not short of breath.

That was because the place I swam was a sea of information. Even while sleeping, fatigue accumulated as I sifted through Phiren’s tangled memories.

Varen noticed my condition instantly. He wiped my sweat and kissed me, letting saliva flow into my mouth.

Even in my drowsy, hazy state, I wrapped my arms around his neck. I sucked on his tongue in a trance, then fell back into deep sleep again and again.

How much time had passed? I felt a gentle hand tapping my cheek.

"Ceryl, wake up now."

"Mmm..."

"You’re pretty even when you sleep, but I want to see your eyes open."

Soft lips touched my forehead, eyelids, the bridge of my nose, and my cheeks in turn. The pleasant sensation made the corners of my lips rise without me realizing.

Varen kept kissing me, urging me to wake up.

"Ceryl, if you keep sleeping, I’ll do whatever I want."

"...Mm..."

"I’ll go inside you."

His voice, carrying a subtle heat, whispered in my ear. I kept my eyes closed as I turned over his words.

If I keep sleeping, he’s going to take me?

...That’s fine.

It was a completely misguided threat if his goal was to wake me. As I lifted my heavy arm and wrapped it around his neck, he burst into laughter.

"What a sleepyhead. I’d let you sleep more, but it’s already been two days."

"Mmm..."

"Ceryl, now—"

"What? Two days?!"

Those two words snapped me awake. I opened my eyes wide. Right in front of me, Varen smiled with his eyes crinkled.

"You’re finally awake. I missed you."

Varen pulled me tightly into his arms and buried his face in my neck. Each time his lips brushed against that sensitive spot, I shrank from the ticklish sensation.

"Ah, wait... Varen, what do you mean two days?"

I barely managed to push him away and look at him. Somehow, it felt like it had been a long time.

"I slept for two days? Then you should’ve woken me up."

"I started yesterday."

"Hey, do you think kissing me would wake me up?"

"I touched your chest and kneaded your ass. You still kept sleeping, so I sucked your nipples..."

"You bastard, what the hell did you do to someone who was asleep?"

At the shameless words I heard the moment I woke up, I grabbed Varen’s cheeks. Then I checked my condition.

Come to think of it, my chest did feel oddly sensitive. And below felt damp.

With a suspicious feeling, I tried to look stern, but Varen only grinned.

He even kissed the palm of my hand that was holding his cheeks, acting cute.

Of course, it was adorable. But this was something that needed to be addressed.

Even if I had promised to become his mate, touching someone without consent while they were asleep—

"Varen Dravergh. Do you want to get in trouble?"

"I didn’t do anything wrong."

"You said you touched me while I was asleep. That’s wrong."

"That’s unfair. If I’d known I’d get in trouble for just that, I should’ve gone all the way."

"You— you—"

His increasingly shameless replies left me speechless. When I failed to retort properly, Varen pressed his lips against mine firmly, then pulled away.

The sound was unnecessarily loud. After forcing my mouth shut like that, he lifted my upper body and sat me up.

I ended up leaning against the headboard of the bed. Only then did I notice my surroundings.

The bedding wrapped around me felt familiar—it was Ceryl’s bedroom. I had stayed in the Aylos family estate for the two days I was unconscious.

I wiped my face and shook off the lingering drowsiness. Then I recalled what had happened just before I lost consciousness.

"...Phiren?"

"I yielded him to the bearded one."

"..."

"Morpha confirmed it, so don’t worry."

At those words, strength drained from me. It still felt like I was drifting in a dream.

"Phiren... is dead?"

"Yes."

It should have felt satisfying. But strangely, it didn’t.

I could not react at all.

Varen raised his hand and brushed my eyes. Then he gently kissed my damp cheek.

"Ceryl, don’t cry."

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