They had found out where Luciel was, but going there immediately wasn’t an option.
In broad daylight, any movement would be too conspicuous. So they waited until the sun had set and the night had grown dark.
“You found out where Luciel is?”
Delight asked after hearing the situation from Hiel.
“How did you figure out the exact location so quickly?”
“We didn’t expect to find it this fast either. It was just a coincidence—we stumbled upon it while taking a walk.”
“I’m coming too. I need to see it for myself.”
Delight prepared to leave with Hiel.
“That won’t do!”
I firmly stopped him.
“If you move, you’ll get caught.”
There was no way no one was watching Delight.
Perhaps already aware of this himself, Delight let out a sigh and sank back into his seat.
“Will you be alright going alone?”
“It’s better to move alone in situations like this.”
“Be careful.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon.”
Hiel stood up, ready to go find Luciel.
“Why are you getting up, Ollia?”
Delight asked in confusion when he saw me rising as well.
“…I’m just going back to my room. I need to rest if I’m going to move again tomorrow.”
“Hmm, now that I think about it, you haven’t had a proper rest since coming here.”
“Exactly!”
“Since we can’t let our guard down until the very end, at least get some good rest tonight.”
I bid Delight goodnight and left the room.
“Phew. I should have waited a bit longer before getting up.”
The moment Hiel moved, I instinctively followed.
‘Lately, I keep making small mistakes. I need to be more careful.’
The truth was, I had lied to Delight.
Instead of heading to my room, I walked past it, turning at the end of the hallway.
There, Hiel was waiting for me.
“You’re here?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
I decided to accompany Hiel on the journey to find Luciel.
Hiel could only confirm that Luciel was nearby. The closer we got, the stronger his presence felt.
However, determining the exact location where he was imprisoned was another matter.
For instance, we had no way of knowing if there was a hidden door.
“The entrance to the underground chamber in this area isn’t something you can just stumble upon.”
“You’ve been here before?”
“Only once.”
I deliberately kept my tone indifferent.
“I came to see someone who was imprisoned there.”
Back then, I had entered this place—only to flee shortly after.
It wasn’t a pleasant memory.
“He should be around here.”
A wall covered in thick vines.
Peeling them away revealed a concealed door.
“Here it is.”
We had found the entrance to the underground chamber.
Since it was designed to remain invisible, there were no guards posted.
That meant whoever was imprisoned here was special—so secret that even the emperor himself was likely the only one aware of it.
“Ugh. I don’t think I can even step inside.”
Hiel, who had taken a step forward, immediately recoiled.
“As expected, the security magic is layered multiple times.”
“This barrier is incredibly strong.”
The protective spell was crafted so meticulously that even skilled mages would struggle to dispel it.
One wrong move, and we’d be caught instantly.
But…
I extended my hand toward the barrier.
Every barrier had a unique magical pattern—a magic circle.
Few people could recognize these patterns.
However, if one could see the circle, altering its design slightly was enough to disable the barrier.
…Done.
“Let’s go.”
Careful not to leave any traces of the broken barrier, I gently closed the door behind us and stepped inside.
We made our way through the winding underground passage, descending into utter darkness where even a single misplaced step could lead to a fall.
Yet, in the distance, a pair of glowing eyes pierced through the gloom.
“So you really came.”
A playful voice greeted us.
“…Luciel.”
As expected, he was here.
“Well, first things first. Let’s get some light in here.”
Snap.
With the sound of fingers snapping, light flooded the cavern, revealing the scene before us at last.
Luciel greeted us with a welcoming smile, as if he had noticed our presence the moment we started descending the stairs.
As soon as the light illuminated the space, Hiel dashed toward him.
“Lord Luciel!”
Hiel called out to him desperately, nearly throwing himself into his arms.
The iron bars between them seemed to be no obstacle at all.
“Hiel.”
Luciel patted Hiel’s back reassuringly, smiling.
Meanwhile, I stood there, staring at Luciel in silence.
“…What the hell happened to you?”
Luciel looked more disheveled than I had ever seen him before.
“Haha. When else would I get to experience something like this?”
He spoke nonchalantly, but his situation clearly didn’t look good.
Watching their emotional reunion, I finally asked,
“How did you end up like this?”
I needed to understand how such a powerful dragon had ended up imprisoned in this underground chamber.
At my question, Luciel’s usual playful smile shifted into something more serious.
“It’s because of the contract, isn’t it?”
Luciel responded with a knowing smile.
“Wasn’t the contract supposed to prevent them from controlling you? That’s why you’ve been able to stay out of Ilnord’s affairs all this time.”
The weaker the contract’s influence became, the looser the obligations between Luciel and the contractor.
As long as Luciel didn’t directly harm Ilnord, the contract remained intact.
“I didn’t know they had another method.”
Luciel sighed bitterly.
“I can’t harm Ilnord, but Ilnord can harm me without any consequences.”
“…What?”
For a moment, I thought he was spouting nonsense.
But then it hit me.
“Of course. Who in Ilnord could possibly harm a dragon?”
That was an impossible premise.
Which meant the restriction was something that only applied to powerful dragons.
“But still, there’s no way you would have lost so easily.”
“Obviously, no attack they threw at me could actually harm me. But the real problem wasn’t the attack itself—it was the trap hidden within it.”
“…A trap?”
“Their true goal was to force me into a situation where I would end up harming the Emperor of Ilnord myself.”
“……..”
“As a result, I violated the contract, and my own body bound me in chains.”
“…What was that bastard’s goal?”
“He made me an offer. If I agreed to his demands, he promised he wouldn’t ask for anything else afterward.”
“What did he want?”
Luciel chuckled lightly, but his next words carried a weight that made my stomach sink.
“He asked me to cooperate with their experiments for just one month.”
“…What?”
Though his tone remained playful, an eerie chill filled the air.
“They want to use a dragon as a test subject?”
My expression twisted in anger.
Those bastards!
“Obviously, I refused.”
Luciel let out a dry chuckle, mocking his own predicament.
“But as a result, I ended up like this. With the contract broken, I can’t use my powers anymore. I’m basically human now.”
Luciel spoke calmly.
It was true—there was no longer any trace of the overwhelming power that dragons naturally exuded.
With the contract with Ilnord in shambles, Luciel’s dragon abilities had been sealed away.
He wouldn’t die immediately, but…
Now, he was no different from a human, living on borrowed time.
That was why he was trapped here.
A mere human wouldn’t be able to escape this underground chamber, reinforced with layer upon layer of magical barriers.
“Thanks to that, unless I agree to the emperor’s terms, I’m stuck here.”
“………”
“Isn’t it just pitiful?”
“Don’t act like I should feel sorry for you.”
I spoke bluntly, but the situation was worse than I had expected.
Rescuing Luciel immediately wasn’t an issue.
But that wasn’t the real problem.
Even if we freed him, he wouldn’t be able to regain his dragon powers.
“Is there really no way to fix this?”
“Not unless the emperor, my contractor, changes his mind.”
Which meant there was no way at all.
I found myself frowning, my frustration evident.
“…So, how did you even get here?”
This time, Luciel was the one asking us.
“Of course, I had to come looking for you after you disappeared.”
“Well, that’s a touching sentiment. But what I meant was, what excuse did you use to enter the Ilnord Imperial Palace?”
“…….…”
“…Don’t tell me you snuck in?”
“No. I came for my wedding with Serdin.”
“That makes sense, I guess… Wait, WHAT?!”
Luciel’s eyes widened so much they looked like they might pop out, and his voice shot up an octave.
Seriously?
Was that really such a shocking revelation?
“What, what did you just say? Who’s marrying who? W-wedding?!”
“……….”
But it seemed like that wasn’t the issue for him.
“Hiel, did I hear that right? Maybe losing my powers has affected my hearing, too.”
“You heard correctly.”
I repeated myself for Luciel, who was still staring at me in disbelief.
“…Are you serious?”
Was he feeling guilty because he thought I was going through all this for his sake?
I was about to tell him not to worry when—
“No, I just can’t believe you’re actually getting married. And to Serdin, of all people. What the hell was he thinking?!”
“Shut up already!”
Any sympathy I had for him evaporated instantly.
So that was what he was shocked about?
I had assumed he had figured out the situation immediately, but instead, he had just freaked out, thinking the wedding was real.
Unbelievable.
“It’s a fake wedding. Just an excuse to enter Ilnord.”
“…Oh, so that’s how it is?”
After I corrected him, his expression shifted slightly.
Wait… why did he look so disappointed?
