“I didn’t need to raise Rabes to be good. Rabes was originally such an affectionate and loving dragon.”
[Don’t think you know everything about me.]
Rabes shot back defensively, thinking that his words might be hurtful to Elaine.
But Elaine, overcome with sleepiness, smiled faintly as if she didn’t notice the sting of Rabes’ words.
“But I really do know. I can sense when kindness is just a facade. I just…feel it.”
Having lived her whole life observing ridicule, contempt, envy, jealousy, hatred, and disregard, she came to know it naturally.
Perhaps it was a sense close to a survival instinct.
But none of those ‘lowly human emotions’ were present in Rabes.
How arrogant of her to think that it was her mission to turn Rabes into a good dragon and prevent the fall of the empire.
“After I make all three wishes, what will you do, Rabes?”
[uh…?]
“Are you really going to wait until I die before you destroy the Empire of Calais?”
[That, that’s it…!]
“Even though there is no one to take revenge on? Even though you never hated Lancer in the first place?”
Today, Elaine was just saying things that Rabes couldn’t answer.
“I’m so glad that you’re by my side, Rabes. It’s all thanks to you that I’m able to fix the scars from my past life, one by one, and more than anything, I’m not lonely at all because you’re here.”
[I see.]
“So I’m not going to make my last wish until I’m dead, I’m sorry.”
Rabes looked at Elaine, who was saying the same thing as Lancer, with complicated feelings.
But what she said next was unexpected.
“But I have decided on my last wish.”
[Really? What is that?]
“I hope Rabes finds a companion and lives happily ever after.”
[What? Why is that a wish? And I told you, a wish has to be related to yourself.]
“This wish is truly a wish filled with my selfishness.”
Elaine smiled faintly.
Because It was like she was trying to decide on Rabes’ life for her own peace of mind.
“If I have faith that Rabes will be as happy as I have been, I think I will be able to close my eyes happily even when I die.”
[why?]
“I know loneliness all too well. That’s why I wish you, Rabes, wouldn’t be lonely. When I think of you being left alone after I die, I think it would be too painful to die….”
By then Elaine’s eyelids were already blinking heavily.
“Being alone is so lonely…and scary. So…Rabes, you are not alone….”
Elaine’s voice, which had been mumbling, gradually slowed down and was soon buried under the raspy breathing.
Rabes, who was quietly looking at Elaine’s sleeping face next to her, sighed deeply and muttered.
[I told you to tell me what you want as a gift, who asked you to worry about it?]
Rabes had endured the 500 years of being sealed by Lancer because he believed that the moment he was released from that seal, Lancer would appear before his eyes.
‘But if Elaine were to die a complete death, both as Elaine and as Lancer, and I would never see her again…’
‘Will I still be able to endure this miserably long life?’
For Rabes, who had been abandoned even by his own kind, there was no one else but that small and cute contractor.
‘If I lost this contractor, I felt like I would never know what to do with my never-ending life.’
[ha…]
Rabes let out a long sigh, lay down next to Elaine, and closed his eyes.
He wanted nothing more than to hold onto Elaine’s wheezing breath as it tickled the tip of his nose.
* * *
After St. Nicholas Day, the atmosphere in the city changed again.
The fancy decorations disappeared and everyone waited for the New Year by sweeping and cleaning in front of their houses and stores.
From then until the end of January, people visited relatives and close acquaintances to greet each other.
Elaine, who was still feeling a bit dazed from the memories of St. Nicholas Day, also received a welcome visit.
“Come on in, Debbie!”
“Elaine!”
It was Debbie who came with a New Year’s gift.
“Thank you for coming. I should have come first, but I’ve never visited you like that before, so I didn’t think about it.”
“What does it matter who goes first? Anyway, here! Take it.”
“What’s this?”
“Open it.”
Elaine opened the small box she had received from Debbie with a pounding heart.
The box contained a red velvet ribbon.
It was cheaper than the one he had received from Lark before, but Elaine thought it was much prettier.
And Debbie had something even better to say.
“I gave the same ribbon to Avril, Dana, and Melina. Shall we all wear this ribbon together during the New Year’s service?”
“Really? Is that okay?”
“What’s wrong with that? If I had more money, I could have gotten a friendship ring, but I couldn’t afford that, so I got a friendship ribbon.”
Elaine was deeply moved by the words ‘friendship’ ribbon.
If five people gather together wearing the same ribbon, anyone would think they are a group of friends.
Elaine was so happy that she almost cried at the thought of having such a group.
“I want to do it! I really want to do it.”
“Okay! We’re all going to wear this ribbon together. Hehe! This is exciting!”
Debbie clapped her hands, delighted even more.
Then Emily arrived with cinnamon apple tea and freshly baked scones.
“Sir Courbet hurriedly baked scones for you because you had a young lady visitor. He asked me to put clotted cream and jam on them before they cooled.”
The rich buttery scent along with the sweet tea scent made Elaine’s mouth water.
After Emily left, Debbie looked at Elaine with surprised eyes.
“Wow… they even prepared this just because a chaplain guest came?”
“Huh? Isn’t it like that in other houses?”
“Well…It depends on how good the relationship is between the chaplain and the family, but I heard that they usually treat them well when they take a chaplain as their daughter-in-law.”
Then she sat close to Elaine and whispered.
“Are you sure Sergey doesn’t have feelings for you?”
“Wh-what are you talking about, Debbie! Do you think I’m good enough for Sergey?”
“You look pretty good together, don’t you think?”
Debbie smiled and poked Elaine in the side.
Then she munched on some split scones with clotted cream and jam.
“This isn’t a joke, take it seriously, Elaine. You’re the one who has the best chance right now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know? I’m talking about Sergey’s fiancee! There’s a pack of hyenas out there right now, targeting Sergey. It’s getting noisy. Watch out!”
Elaine picked up her teacup with a snicker.
“Hyena, you’re so…”
“Did you find Sergey impressive at the royal banquet? Nowadays, whenever I go to a party where young ladies appear these days, Sergey is always mentioned as a topic of conversation. At those times, the eyes of the ladies are like those of beasts trying to seize their prey.”
Even though it was obvious, Elaine felt uneasy for some reason.
“Sergey… is he popular?”
“That’s obvious. Putting aside family background and wealth, that face! That body! Where can you find a man like that these days? Maybe Lark Newt? Ah…! Sorry.”
Debbie glanced at Elaine, wondering if she’d offended her with her unintentional use of Lark’s name.
But what Elaine cared about was not Lark, but Sergey.
‘Well, there is no man as handsome as Sergey. He also comes from a good family, has a lot of money, and has power… ‘
Any noble family would want to have in-laws.
Even now that Lark was engaged to Lorina, it was clear that Sergey would be the best groom.
‘If you get to know Sergey better, you will fall in love with his affectionate personality and his confidence.’
Elaine couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from twitching downward as she imagined Sergey smiling at another young lady the way he smiled at her.
The sweet scones suddenly felt dull.
Debbie watched Elaine sipping her tea in silence, then grabbed her wrist.
“Elaine, I’ll just get straight to the point. If you really want to get out of Newt’s house, you have to capture Sergey.…Even though you will be His mistress.”
Debbie’s expression was more serious than ever.
“I know you’re offended, but think about it calmly. It would be much better to become Sergey’s mistress than to become a second wife to some decent family. You don’t expect your uncle to properly take care of your marriage, do you?”
Elaine was taken aback by Debbie’s attitude. Even she knew how Count Newt treated Elaine and offered advice that was prepared to be met with criticism.
‘I couldn’t help but think how nice it would have been if I had a friend like this in my past life.’
‘But it was time to stop talking about Sergey.’
“Sergey would be offended if he heard such talk. It wouldn’t be strange for Count Lindell’s family to have marriage talks with the Duke’s family…”
“Elaine. Love is something you win! And right now, you’re the only woman Sergey has by his side.”
Debbie seemed to firmly believe that Elaine had indeed fallen in love with Sergey.
Elaine finally had no choice but to be honest.
* * *
