Monsters Wag Their Tails Only at Me

After returning to the bedroom, I immediately busied myself.

I decided to pack in advance so we could leave this place at any moment.

I yanked open the narrow wardrobe and gathered the few sets of clothes inside.

“I figured I’d grab some clothes while we’re here. But there’s barely anything.”

“Ceryl, about what Morpha said earlier....”

“The clothes from Beljena are comfortable, sure, but I can’t keep wearing the same thing every day forever. Right?”

Ignoring Varen lightly, I started pulling clothes out at random.

Most of Ceryl’s clothes were dark, colorless shades. Muddy gray, deep navy blue.

Just looking at them felt depressing.

Still, clothes like this were comfortable to wear. You didn’t have to worry about stains showing.

I folded the light garments neatly and stuffed them into Ceryl’s travel bag.

Most of the pants were stiff formalwear, so I decided not to bring them for the sake of mobility.

“Ceryl, I think....”

“Maybe I should bring a few books too? I’ve already read them, but maybe they’d feel different if I looked at them with fresh eyes.”

“I’m talking right now. Morpha said....”

“Forget it. Like I’ll even have time to read books. They’d just make the bag heavier.”

I kept moving noisily around the room while Varen trailed after me relentlessly.

I ignored him with every ounce of strength I had.

But eventually Varen grabbed my arm firmly and stopped me.

“Ceryl! Listen to me!”

“...Stop yelling. My ears hurt.”

Forced to finally face him, I avoided his burning stare.

As if he had reached the limit of his patience, Varen grabbed my chin and forced me to meet his eyes.

“There’s still more we need to talk about. Why do you keep avoiding it?”

“If you know I’m avoiding it, then you can pretend not to notice too. Do we really have to talk about it right now?”

“Yes. I want to talk about it now.”

“I don’t. Later.”

I irritably slapped away the hand gripping my chin.

Even that tiny action made Varen look wounded.

He looked so pitiful that I wanted to hug him immediately, but I was in no state to comfort anyone right now.

Biting down hard on my lip, I tried to walk away, but Varen followed after me again.

“Ceryl, it can’t be helped. Phiren is dead, so only you and his son remain.”

“Don’t be so certain. Who knows? Maybe there’s another Lavier somewhere in this world.”

“You’d know better than anyone.”

“Haah... what would I know? I already told you I don’t know anything.”

“Why do you keep lying since earlier? Ceryl, I don’t understand you.”

Every word from Varen pierced straight into my chest like a blade.

Most of all, his final words made it feel as if my world collapsed for a moment.

I stopped abruptly and glared at him.

Even knowing he had done nothing wrong, I still felt hurt that he wasn’t taking my side.

“What do you mean you don’t understand me?”

“...Ceryl.”

“You know me better than anyone. You do too... you know!”

My emotions finally burst, and my voice rose sharply.

Varen, however, fell silent instead.

Raking a hand harshly through my hair, I finally spat out the painful truth.

“I... I’m not a person from this world. So how am I supposed to....”

Become king of humanity.

The conclusion Morpha reached after that long discussion was insane.

They told me to think it over, but there was nothing to think about.

Letting out a long sigh, I slumped against the desk in exhaustion.

The pounding headache arrived again like an old habit.

“Varen, let’s talk later. I’m not in a state to have this conversation right now.”

I rejected the discussion again, but Varen stubbornly approached me anyway.

He braced both hands against the desk where I sat, trapping me inside his arms so I couldn’t run anymore.

“If talking is hard, then just listen.”

His voice had sunk frighteningly low.

It meant Varen was taking this situation just as seriously as I was.

I looked back at him with a miserably twisted expression.

Varen stared directly at me without the slightest wavering.

“The human king desires the heart of a Dravergh. Because they believe only by making a heart contract with a dragon can they become a true king.”

“......”

“You know what he did to steal my heart.”

Of course I knew.

Varen had been kidnapped before he even hatched from his egg and tortured underground for his entire life.

I was the one who pulled him out of that hell.

There was no way I wouldn’t understand what he was implying by bringing this up.

Not wanting to be swept along by his intentions, I shot back sharply.

“That was King Laskar’s doing. That’s exactly why we’re trying to overthrow the bastard.”

“It’ll be the same no matter who sits on the throne. Human greed never ends. They’ll repeat the same thing again.”

“...How can you be so sure?”

“Because I can. That’s what humans are.”

This time, I had no response.

No matter how upright a human might be, the taste of power always invited greed.

As another human, I understood that better than any dragon ever could.

Wealth, fame, power.

Humans threw away their lives chasing intangible glory.

History repeating endlessly proved that truth.

And the heart contract with a Dravergh belonged to that kind of glory.

Even now, there were still people who refused to acknowledge King Laskar as a true ruler because he lacked a dragon at his back.

The longer I thought about it, the more Varen’s words rang true.

No matter who replaced Laskar on the throne, humans would continue coveting dragon hearts forever.

And now that Ordin was dead, Varen, the last Dravergh, would remain the eternal target of every king.

“Varen, later....”

“Listen to me until the end, Ceryl.”

I tried speaking again in a weaker voice, but Varen cut me off firmly.

The eyes staring into mine never blinked even once.

Inside those clear blue eyes, vast as the sea itself, my pathetic reflection stared back at me.

“Unless a Lavier sits upon the throne, this war will never end.”

“......”

“And if the only Laviers left in this world are you and Phiren’s son... then of course I’ll give my heart to you.”

Varen spoke each syllable with absolute certainty.

It was a determination that would never change.

That sincerity settled heavily inside my chest, and all I could do was let out another deep sigh.

I wanted desperately to look away somehow, but there was nowhere left to retreat.

Reason and emotion clashed endlessly.

For the peace of this world and for Varen’s safety, it truly was correct for me to wear the crown.

But as someone who still felt like an outsider in this world, I couldn’t bring myself to step forward so easily.

My thoughts spiraled one after another.

And then bitter regret surged through me over the choice I had made two days ago.

“Haah... Phiren....”

Of course Phiren had been Ceryl’s enemy.

He was a man who committed every cruelty imaginable, even using his own son.

But among the pitifully limited options available, the person most suited to sit on the throne had still been Phiren.

Now that he was dead, the only Laviers left in this world were me and Days.

An outsider who did not belong to this world.

And a coward who had spent his entire life controlled beneath his father’s shadow.

Only the choice between terrible and slightly less terrible remained.

Pressing a hand against my throbbing forehead, I sank into thought.

Then Varen suddenly asked in a trembling voice,

“Ceryl, do you....”

The atmosphere changed so abruptly that I looked up at him.

Varen looked as though he might burst into tears at any second.

“Varen, why do you suddenly look like you’re about to cry?”

“You want to give my heart... to a human like that?”

“...What? How did you even jump to that conclusion?”

“You were just thinking that Phiren should’ve become king. Weren’t you?”

Have we been stuck together too long?

Every thought in my head was being read completely by him.

And even if it had only lasted a moment, it was true that I regretted killing Phiren.

I didn’t deny his words.

I merely turned my head away to avoid his gaze.

At that, Varen straightened and stepped away from me.

“Ceryl... you’re abandoning me again.”

Varen’s miserable voice squeezed painfully around my chest.

With a deeply wounded expression, he dragged up the past.

“You did the same thing in Beljena. You told me to choose another dragon as my mate.”

“Wait, where the hell is this coming from?”

I jumped up from the desk and faced him directly.

This conversation twisting into something bizarre hurt me too.

“Watch what you’re saying. When the hell did I ever abandon you? We spent your first rut together. Did you forget already?”

“But it’s true that you told me to choose another dragon as my mate.”

“Hey, back then... back then things were different. And I promised I’d become your mate, so what exactly is the problem?”

“Yes. Back then and now are different. Being mates isn’t enough for me anymore.”

Varen suddenly grabbed my hand.

Then he placed it against the left side of his chest.

Through my palm, I felt the uneven pounding of the dragon’s heart.

The heartbeat that always brought me comfort felt terrifying today instead.

“My heart too, Ceryl. I want you to take it. I don’t want to give it to another human.”

“......”

“You said I belong to you. That you wouldn’t give even a single strand of my hair to someone else.”

Held captive by Varen, I could neither move nor retreat.

The dragon’s body temperature wrapping around my hand felt hotter than ever before.

Feeling that warmth proving he was alive, I squeezed my eyes tightly shut.

And instantly, a horrifying image flashed through my mind.

The method of the heart contract Varen had explained to me before.

Another reason I could never wear the crown had just been added in real time.

“I... I don’t want to cut open your chest!”

“...What?”

“Just the thought of even a single hair on your body getting hurt makes me sick! So how the hell am I supposed to do something that horrifying?!”

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