Even the incredulous tone was just... welco. I raised my voice a little and continued reading the rest of the letter.
“I reflected a lot these past few days. I never wanted to hurt you. I’m really sorry.”
...I was not hurt.
“If you forgive , I’ll never do anything like that again. I want to always make you laugh, and make you happy.”
I had copied soone else’s words, sure—but they still aligned with how I felt.
Because I really did want Varen to be happy. I hadn’t seen him smile yet, but I was sure it would be cute.
“I know I’m not enough for you, but I can promise you at least this: I’ll do my best for you. Will you accept my heart?”
...I don’t want to.
“I’ll wait for your reply. From your Ceryl.”
...Since when were you my Ceryl?
It wasn’t the reaction I wanted, but—at least he was responding now. So the anger had passed.
I leaned in close to the bars, and the dragon’s silhouette wavered in the dark.
Could it be... a magic spell.
“That’s right. A spell to break anger.”
A warm breath brushed past . Even the snort of exasperation felt good to hear.
You really do useless things.
“Still not over it? Then the next part is a serenade.”
I had even prepared a song. But he must have truly not wanted to hear that—thud, thud. Heavy sounds echoed.
Don’t.
Before I knew it, his front leg was right in front of . I looked up with a bright grin. Varen glared down, displeased.
“Co on, let it go. Yeah?”
The dragon snorted again. Then, with a heavy sound, he sat right in front of the bars.
You are impossible to deal with.
“Not ‘human.’ Ceryl.”
...You are impossible to deal with, Ceryl.
The low voice calling my na lifted my mood for no reason at all.
And so, the one-week-long dragon sulking incident ca to an end. Huge body, tiny pride. I really needed to watch my mouth from now on.
Varen tapped the bouquet lightly with a claw sharp enough to terrify anyone. Petals scattered, and the scent grew stronger.
What is this.
“What do you an? It’s flowers.”
...This is ‘flowers’?
At that, I blinked wide.
The dragon stared at the bouquet with no expression. He just kept looking at it for a long ti—then lowered his long, flexible neck to sniff.
It has a pleasant scent.
“You like flowers? Didn’t think you’d be the romantic type.”
I hadn’t expected a male dragon to like flowers. That was just my prejudice.
Maybe teenagers connected regardless of race or age. I needed to shower Kalen with praise later.
It is my first ti seeing them.
“These flowers? What were they called... Bellacera? Bellacia?”
Even flowers in this world had the most twisted, tongue-breaking nas—
No. It’s my first ti seeing flowers at all.
I froze mid-thought. Then slowly lifted my gaze to his face.
Varen couldn’t tear his eyes from the bouquet. Those clear, frighteningly blue eyes were filled with bitterness.
Thank you, Ceryl.
He hadn’t thanked for all the salmon I brought. But for so wild weeds I had grabbed on the way here—he thanked .
I stood there, dumbfounded, and then awkwardly smiled.
“It’s nothing. I’ll bring different ones tomorrow.”
......
“There are lots of flowers in the forest. I don’t know their nas, but there are little white ones with a really good scent—”
Oh, no.
“...And there are red flowers that bloom from trees. They have a sharp sll. And... there are ones that open only when the moon cos out—”
My voice rambled on, but my heartbeat tightened in panic.
I see. There are many kinds of flowers in the world.
I made a mistake. I had just been telling myself to watch my mouth.
I shut my foolish lips tight and stared at the fallen petals.
What did it an to bring flowers to a dragon chained in a basent?
The familiar tallic rattle sounded. We both looked at the wall. The thick chains were there. Unchanged.
“...I’ll do sothing about that. Sohow.”
It’s fine.
My throat closed up with guilt.
Stupid, shaless bastard. What was I planning to do? I hadn’t found a single solution.
This is enough.
I had wanted to see him smile. To know how a dragon smiles.
But this was not the expression I had imagined.
The salmon you caught for . The letter you read. The flowers you brought. You were the first to give all of those.
“.........”
Ceryl. Thank you for showing the world.
He gazed at the scattered petals, smiling. A sad smile—one I couldn’t answer.
For him, the handful of flowers was the world. But a dragon’s world... should be so much more.
“Don’t say things like that. You’re making it weird.”
I forced up the corners of my mouth—but only one side twitched.
Varen’s voice was calm and barren, unlike his expression.
My life was hell. But after you ca, it beca... a little bearable.
“...I’m glad.”
And that made it harder.
“.........”
I want to leave here.
For so reason, Jed’s laugh flashed in my mind. How he had said the most cruel man in the kingdom was .
I gripped the bars with cold, sweating hands. My heartbeat staggered wildly.
“Wait a little. I’ll find a way. I swear I will.”
The heavy iron weight hanging from his wings clanked. Varen looked at it with deep despair.
This chain was enchanted by the mage right before his death. Only he could release it. It can never be undone now.
So that was why there was no key. Then the only option was explosives—collapse the wall itself.
But if the basent collapsed... What if Varen died buried before ever seeing the sky?
I have a request.
I shut my eyes, then opened them. I forced my voice bright.
“A request? Tell . Should I get more salmon? Ten wasn’t enough?”
Ceryl.
“Or at? You must be sick of fish, right?”
We talked past each other, neither hearing the other.
Varen waited patiently—and then spoke simply.
Kill .
Everything he had endured gathered in that sentence.
My future has only two endings: to be tortured here until I die, or to be controlled ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) by humans.
“...Don’t say that. I’ll never let either happen.”
The only thing that kept alive was the pride of a Draverg.
Whether he heard or not, he continued softly.
If I am to have my na stolen, I would rather die. But I cannot even take my own life.
What could I say? How could I ask soone who had lived only suffering to keep waiting?
Ceryl, you said you wanted to help .
“...Yes.”
Then kill . That is how you help .
The words settled into my chest like a weight heavier than the iron ballast on his wings.
His grief bled into until I nearly drowned in it.
No.
Not both of us.
“Don’t say sothing so stupid. Helping you doesn’t an that.”
Even as I rejected him firmly, Varen only smiled. He sniffed the flowers one more ti, then lowered his gaze to mine.
His transparent eyes looked like they already understood everything.
You were ordered to learn my na, were you not?
“...How did you—”
There is no other reason a human would co.
So he knew. He’d always known.
My strength drained away. I collapsed to the ground, dust rising around .
Ceryl, you were the only human who was kind to . I wanted to give you a gift.
“...I don’t need anything like that.”
I wanted to give you my na.
He had endured torture for years without speaking—and now—
I stared up in shock. And his eyes showed it was the truth.
I am sorry. I want to tell you. But I do not rember it.
A flood of aning and grief crashed into . I barely managed to follow.
“You don’t... rember your na?”
Yes.
Every being has an identity. A na is what defines the self.
And for dragons, a na ant even more—their nas were tied to the heart itself.
A dragon’s na was their life.
A Draverg without a na is incomplete. So I remain locked here.
“...If we find your na, then what?”
Who knows. It is only a useless hypothetical.
He didn’t know how strong he was. Why he was born. What he was ant to be.
I stood abruptly. Gripped the bars. Leaned close.
“Promise one thing. Don’t ask anything.”
Don’t ask... anything?
“Hurry. Promise.”
...You say strange things. Fine. I promise.
I didn’t know what would happen next. Fear and hope pounded together in my chest.
But the one certainty I always felt with him—was still there.
Humans stole it. So a human can return it.
“Varen.”
If you don’t know who you are—
I’ll tell you.
“Varen Draverg.”
The empty blue eyes slowly regained their light. The vertical pupil trembled, contracting and dilating.
“King of the Monsters and their Guardian. The last bloodline of the Draverg.”
......
“Varen Draverg.
That is who you are.”
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