“If I die, the magic core of Rabes within me will turn into a dragon stone and remain on the surface, but once the seal is broken, Rabes will be able to reclaim it, so I thought it would be fine. But something unexpected happened.”
“You mean me cursing you with reincarnation?”
“Yes, that’s right. Honestly, at the time, I wished it had been a death curse instead.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
Sergey furrowed his brow and asked in an irritated tone, but Elaine simply smiled faintly and closed her eyes.
“When I told Malek that I loved Rabes…. I meant it.”
Elaine lowered her head, unable to meet Sergey’s gaze. Rabes, too, turned red and demanded an explanation.
“Wh-why would that be a reason to want to die?”
“Because for a mortal to love an immortal… it’s the kind of thing that makes you feel like dying would be better. Wanting to stay by Rabes’ side forever, relying on his kindness, while realizing every day that what I wished for was impossible…. It was that kind of thing.”
Elaine’s breath trembled as she recalled those times.
The first and only being to ever embrace her.
A being who gave his love and affection to the point of giving up his own heart.
A being so powerful that no one could challenge him.
How could she not love him?
At first, she tried to convince herself that it was admiration or a sense of indebtedness. But no matter how much she denied it, it was love.
Since realizing that, Lancer’s life has been miserable.
‘I felt pathetic and disgusted with myself for falling into such an absurd love.’
One moment, she desperately wanted to live forever with Rabes; the next, she wished her life would end immediately so that the pain would disappear.
And unfortunately, even after being reborn as Elaine, that feeling remained the same.
Elaine sighed deeply.
“Anyway, at the time I thought that was the only solution to save Rabes from destruction, but now that I think about it, I guess I was too arrogant for a human.”
“Oh, so you do realize?”
When Sergey answered sarcastically, the demons glared at him with eyes that said, ‘That bad… ‘ But only Elaine nodded.
“The greed of not wanting to let go of Rabes blinded my eyes. If only I had quickly made one more wish and let Rabes go, everything would have been resolved… ”
Of course, it wasn’t that she hadn’t considered making her final wish, ‘Please let me be with you forever’.
But she couldn’t bring herself to make such a selfish wish to Rabes, who had to grant the contractor’s three wishes and find freedom.
That would have been the ultimate betrayal of Rabes, who had protected and helped her all her life.
But Sergey scoffed.
“There you go again, you’re interpreting things your own way. What pisses me off is that you struggled with all this alone instead of talking to me! If you’d just told me, I could have settled things with the elder dragons!”
Elaine looked surprised for a moment, then burst into soft laughter.
That was the kind of dragon she had fallen in love with.
What other dragon in the world would be so generous toward a human?
“You’re right. I’m truly sorry to you who must have suffered so much, sealed away without even knowing the reason, all because of my foolish decisions.”
It was a long-overdue apology, five hundred years late, but saying it lifted a weight off her chest.
Elaine placed a hand over her heart and spoke.
“Now, take this magic core. I have been truly grateful for it for so long.”
However, Sergey’s expression darkened as if he was deeply displeased.
“Why? Didn’t you say you wanted to be with me forever?”
“I’m sorry for having such a ridiculous wish—”
“You idiot! Why do you keep making decisions on your own?”
Sergey jumped up and shouted.
Hubert startled, instinctively tried to shield Elaine, but Sergey wasn’t angry.
“I—I feel the same way.”
He swallowed once and then shouted.
“I want to stay with you too! I told you before! I don’t need other dragons, I don’t need other humans. As long as I have you, that’s enough!”
For a moment, the spacious dining room of the Lindell family became quiet.
Even for a dragon, it was a statement so embarrassing that there was no way his face wouldn’t turn bright red.
But Sergey didn’t run away or try to take back his words.
“Giving you my magic core means I shared my life with you. If you want… we really can be together forever.”
Elaine slowly lifted her head and looked at Sergey.
Her large, green eyes were filled with confusion.
“What… what do you mean?”
“What do I mean? Don’t you understand the Empire’s language?”
“But… but Sergey is actually Rabes, and not human but a dragon. Dragons are supposed to take other dragons as mates….”
“There you go again, making decisions on your own. If I live as a human, what’s the problem?”
Elaine shook her head.
“It’s not about what form you take. Sergey, I mean… Rabes… do you… lo-love….”
“Huh? Love…?”
Sergey, clueless as ever, tilted his head, and Elaine, despite her embarrassment, blurted it out.
“Do you love me?”
“Huh?”
“Do you understand human love? Do you love me the way I love you? If not….”
Now, everyone’s eyes were on Sergey. His face was already so red it seemed impossible for it to get any redder.
“Hey! W-why would you say something so private in front of everyone?!”
“Yes…?”
“What? Do you think I won’t get embarrassed? At the very least… I wanted to talk about this when we were alone….”
His hands were shaking slightly.
But after taking a deep breath, as if making up his mind, Sergey looked straight at Elaine and spoke.
“I don’t fully understand all human emotions, but… yeah, I think this is love. To be honest, I don’t even know how I could possibly like someone more than this. It’s been this way for 500 years.”
“Sergey……”
“I feel like I’m complete only when I’m with you. Without you, I’m nothing. What’s the point of being immortal if I have no reason to live?”
He realized that fact when he was released from the seal and noticed that there was no Lancer in front of him.
He didn’t know what to do.
He didn’t know what he was living for.
His magic overflowed, but there was no one—no Lancer—to ask him to use it.
So he tainted his own magic with ether, yet felt nothing. His life was meaningless anyway.
“When I’m with you, it doesn’t matter that I’m a dragon and you’re a human. To me, you are my world. And… I want to be yours too.”
Sergey, perhaps fearing Elaine would reject him, knelt on one knee in front of her and took her hands in his.
“I know I’m lacking in many ways. I’ll try harder.”
Elaine’s eyes widened, unable to understand what the dragon lacked and what more effort he could put in.
Sergey, growing even more desperate, clung to her almost like he was pleading.
“I’ll stop speaking so harshly. I won’t try to kill people so easily. No—if I do, I’ll ask you first. I won’t do anything you don’t like, and I’ll do anything that makes you happy. And… and what else?”
Out of habit, Sergey glanced at Hubert for a hint, but even Hubert was too stunned by the sight of a dragon confessing to react.
That was when Elaine realized—she had made a dragon nervous.
She gently held Sergey’s hands tighter.
“Everything is fine, just say it one more time.”
“Say what?”
“That Rabes love me… just one more time.”
Sergey’s eyes filled with utmost affection as he noticed that Elaine was trembling just as much as he was.
“I love you, Elaine. Please, be my one and only contractor forever.”
Tears quickly welled up in Elaine’s eyes, but her expression was brighter than ever.
“Oh no… I think I just used up my last wish.”
“What?”
“I told Rabes before, didn’t I? My third wish was for Rabes to find his mate and live happily.”
A smile gradually spread across Sergey’s face.
“That doesn’t sound like your wish for me—it sounds like your wish for yourself.”
“Then… what would make you happy?”
At her words, Sergey grumbled as if he had been waiting for that moment.
“When are you going to stop talking so formally to me?”
“Huh?”
Elaine, briefly tensing up, let out a small laugh.
“That’s all?”
“That’s all, yet you’re so stubborn about it.”
“Alright. I’m sorry, Sergey.”
“Say you love me, too.”
“I love you, Sergey.”
“Now kiss—”
“Enough, Master!”
Sergey, who was about to kiss and hug Elaine, was stopped by Hubert, who could no longer stand it any longer.
Only then did Sergey and Elaine realize that the Lindel family’s servants had been watching them. Embarrassed, they both coughed awkwardly.
The tension in the dining room melted away into cheers, laughter, and even playful whistles. In the middle of it all, Emily sobbed with joy.
Elaine thought back to herself 500 years ago—the girl who had loathed her reflection and drowned in sorrow.
A person who couldn’t define her own life without Rabes, whose entire existence had been built on lies. She had believed she would be punished when she died.
But now, 500 years later, instead of punishment, she had been saved by Rabes once again.
The only difference was… now, she knew that she was his salvation, too.
* * *
