This is unbelievable!”
Erata suddenly became angry.
“Arrest them immediately!”
“Yes?”
The knights spoke with astonished expressions.
“Your Majesty, this is the Grand Duke’s territory.”
“So what? If she’s going to marry into the Grand Duke’s family, she should fix that way of speaking first. Do you think they’ll call off the engagement just because I broke a few limbs of their servants? Of course not.”
Erata smirked.
“If it’s a marriage proposal that’s going to break off like that, it’d be better to break it off now.”
“Miss Baby!”
Berry shook off the knights and ran towards Sephiel.
Sephiel held onto Berry’s collar and glanced up at the sky.
‘Isn’t it about time now?’
It’s time when the Grand Duke’s wyvern troops patrolled the skies.
‘Did I miscalculate the time?’
Just as Sephiel started to grow anxious…
At that moment—
“What’s with all this noise?”
A drowsy voice echoed.
And then came a familiar sound— the deep growl of a beast and the sharp hiss of a snake.
“Kyaaa!”
The royal maids were startled and panicked when they discovered the black puma, Black, and the green snake, Green.
The knights also became nervous and took out their swords.
‘Uh, huh?’
Sephiel turned her stiff head.
‘This… isn’t what I expected.’
Golden eyes, filled with laziness, stared at her.
‘Why does this situation feel… so familiar?’
‘How on earth did you even come here!’
Sephiel wanted to scream while pointing at Erga.
“You were the one making a fuss?”
At that moment, Berry’s face became incomparably pale compared to before.
“I-I apologize, Young Master. I had no idea you were resting nearby. I thought you were sleeping inside the castle.” Berry stammered.
“My head hurt too much while sleeping, so I came to nap in the forest instead. And now I find something amusing happening.”
“P-please calm yourself! That woman is the Queen of Allegro. You mustn’t kill her.”
From Berry’s words, Sephiel could easily guess Erga’s usual behavior.
Erga approached slowly and glanced at Sephiel.
“If making a fuss is a crime, you’d have been punished a hundred times over already.”
Sephiel, feeling wronged, pointed at Erata.
“No, it wavsn’t me!”
“Oh? It wasn’t you?”
“Yeah! That lady was the lowudyest one heyre! She’s the one mavking all the noise!” (Yeah! That lady was the loudest one here! She’s the one making all the noise)
“You should just stay quiet. Black. Bite.”
Grrr…
Black approached slowly.
The Allegro royal knights, now huddled together, stepped back, gripping their swords tightly.
“I am the Queen of Allegro! Do you even know what you’re doing? Are you crazy?!”
Erata said, shuddering.
“That’s funny.”
Erga said.
“When you hunt animals, do you shoot them to kill them after confirming their identity?”
“……”
“Oh, right. I guess there is a difference between livestock and wild animals.”
At Erga’s signal, Black crouched low. The muscles in its powerful front legs tensed.
The expression of a beast that looks like it’s going to jump up and bite everything at any moment.
“H-huuh?!”
Erata trembled under the predator’s gaze and its deep growl.
‘Is he really going to kill her?’
‘Is this how the first union of Kingdoms War breaks out? Seriously?’
‘What about a peace treaty? Are you completely out of your mind?!’
Sephiel was in shock.
Just then, Erga spoke.
“Oh, right. The peace treaty. Keeping that in mind—I’ll spare your life. Black, take her limbs.”
“No!”
Just as Sephiel shouted,
—Flap. Flap.
The sound of wyvern wings filled the air.
“Hey, what’s going on there!”
“Don’t move!”
The patrol unit of wyvern soldiers had arrived.
Sephiel let out a small sigh of relief.
* * *
Sephiel hurried back into the castle.
As soon as she returned to the room, Marie came running out.
Berry and Marie examined every part of Sephiel’s body.
“Are you okay, Miss Baby?”
“Yeah, is Beyyi okay?”
“I’m fine. You’re even worried about me… how can you be so mature?”
Berry’s eyes glistened with emotion.
“She was a really bad woman.”
“It’s no bvig dyeal.”
Sephiel patted Berry’s arm with her small hand.
Berry quickly relayed what had happened to Marie.
“Weren’t you scared, Miss Baby? My goodness, you must have been so shocked.”
Marie examined Sephiel from head to toe.
“It was scayyi. But I’m fyine.” (It was scary. But I’m fine)
“……”
“She’s alwvays like that.”
The calm tone of voice made Berry and Marie’s hearts ache.
“Don’t worry. Once the dowry negotiations are over, you’ll be able to stay in this house permanently.”
“Yeah. The Allegro royal family only cares about money. As long as they’re paid, everything will be settled.”
“Those scoundrels!”
Berry and Marie gritted their teeth as they whispered.
“Our Miss Baby. Oh my.”
“I’ll bring you some delicious snacks. No, warm tea first!”
“Yes… Marie… please…”
Sephiel nodded, hugging Berry tightly.
But inside, she was thinking about something completely different.
‘Sending the queen herself? So that’s how they want to play it.’
Sephiel raised the corners of her lips.
‘This is turning into quite the picture.’
‘If they kept acting that way…’
‘That would work in my favor.’
* * *
“Those bastards. Are they mocking me? First, they refused to let me meet the Grand Duke without an escort, and now they’ve locked me up in this place?”
Erata was outraged at the fact that the person she had met was a young master
The ones with dragon blood.
The direct descendants of the Grand Duke’s family were truly on a different level.
‘The dragons of the Grand Duke’s family cannot be touched.’
So Erata had no choice but to suppress her anger.
To make matters worse, the Grand Duke’s family did not even apologize to Erata for the incident earlier, but rather treated her very rudely.
<If you wait in this audience room, you will be able to see the Grand Duke in person.>
A servant, who had introduced himself as Elton, had said that before disappearing.
‘Am I really about to meet the legendary Grand Duke in person?’
For a brief moment, that thought lifted her spirits—
But then…
‘They’ve kept me waiting for three hours!’
Erata gritted her teeth and fiddled with her handkerchief.
“Ma’am, please calm down. You must not forget your mission.”
The only maid who was allowed into the room whispered.
“Yes, the mission. That’s it.”
Erata forced herself to regain her composure.
She had come here under a special order from Wittegar.
‘Break this engagement at any cost. That was his command.’
This is exactly what Wittegar said:
<This marriage must never happen. Do whatever it takes to end this arrangement. And bring that girl back. If you make them cancel the engagement and secure the promised dowry as compensation, you will be greatly rewarded.>
The letter he had sent earlier—
<There’s no way I’m wasting a wedding budget on that kind of girl.>
—had been nothing more than an opening move.
A way to provoke the Grand Duke’s family.
Erata’s plan was simple.
She would create an enormous scene, cross every line, and force the Grand Duke’s family to declare, ‘We refuse to marry into the Allegro royal family.
No matter what kind of place the Grand Duke’s estate was, she believed she could complete her mission.
‘But what about that crazy boy? He’s five years old?’
Erata felt a chill down her spine when she thought of the fearsome young master who was carrying around a puma and a poisonous snake.
‘Anyway, he’s still just a boy. But what was that overwhelming presence?’
Even his divine beauty felt terrifying. Erata’s hand trembled slightly.
But she knew one thing for sure.
‘If the Grand Duke’s family is so arrogant, they won’t be able to just let even a small insult pass.’
And that was exactly what Erata wanted. She had to make them cancel the engagement first.
‘That way, I can reap the rewards.’
The extravagant dowry—bringing back even half of it would be a major success.
‘If it were another envoy, they might do that. But no matter how rude I am, they won’t dare to take my head.’
Even the great Remdragon Grand Duke wouldn’t risk starting a war within the Union of kingdoms.
‘Besides, the Grand Duke’s family has a peace treaty with the human rulers. And dragons always keep their promises.’
That was all part of Wittegar’s calculations.
* * *
“Thank you for waiting a long time. The Grand Duke’s knight training has ended, so he will arrive soon.”
Elton spoke. His annoyingly handsome face only fueled Erata’s irritation.
“I wonder how well that training must be, to make me wait this long.”
‘Why are you making me wait like this just for training?’
“So how much longer do I have to wait?”
“He will arrive soon. It has been a long time since a distinguished guest visited the audience room, so please, take your time and enjoy it.”
Elton said with a thin smile.
“Hmm…..”
The audience room of the Grand Duke’s castle was more luxurious and grand than even a royal palace.
The marble was so transparent that reflections of passersby were visible, and the walls were decorated with jewels everywhere.
‘Well, at least I’ll have something to boast about when I return.’
And then—
—Creak.
The door opened.
“Are you the queen of Allegro?”
Daihan de Remdragon. The Grand Duke entered.
Erata, who had been so confident, found herself gaping in shock.
‘Oh my god.’
‘They said half-dragons possessed heavenly beauty, but this was beyond expectation.’
A truly dazzling beauty.
A tall, broad-shouldered figure.
‘The young Master was handsome, but still a boy. The Grand Duke, however, is entirely different.’
Standing in the shadows, the Grand Duke’s sculpted face carried an air of decadence and melancholy.
Daihan skipped all formal greetings.
“The Allegro royal family is quite impressive. A queen herself comes in person for something like this.”
“The exchange of dowries is the only formality in this marriage. How could I, as a mother, not be present?”
Erata raised her chin as she spoke.
“I’m tired. Let’s hurry up and proceed.”
Daihan gestured to Elton.
“Hurry up and take the gift and disappear. Then I won’t make an issue of the commotion that happened today.”
“Our Master is very generous today. How fortunate.”
Before Erata could say anything, Elton headed to the next room and came back pushing a small cart made of gold.
The cart was covered with silk.
“Here, the dowry list.”
Erata received a list of gifts written on paper. When she saw the contents, her mouth dropped open in delight.
‘What a huge thing these are.’
She really wanted to open the silk right away and check each item one by one.
Erata suppressed her desire.
“Hmm… This is a worthy offering, I guess.”
Erata threw the list down on the table.
“As you know, our daughter are very precious in our family.”
“…….”
“She is our only princess, so her value must be enormous. So I cannot accept your gift lightly. You must give me twice as much as you are giving me now.”
“You mean to say she is very precious?”
“Yes, she is truly a precious daughter.”
Erata smiled, scanning Daihan’s face from top to bottom. But his expression remained unreadable.
“I see. Okay.”
“Yes, exactly. So—”
“What is her name?”
“Yes?”
Erata’s body stiffened.
“Her Name. Do you remember that child’s name?”
“……”
“If she is truly that precious, you should be able to say her name without hesitation.”
Daihan said in a whisper.
“Tell me. If you can tell me her name, I will double the dowry, queen.”
Erata found herself at a complete loss for words.
* * *
