What Does That Evil Dragon Live For?

“Come in.”

The maid led the way to the small parlor on the second floor that Newt’s children usually used.

Elaine nodded and the maid opened the door and stepped behind her, and Elaine entered the door a bit late.

At that moment, Rabes’s eyes seemed to glow blue, and Elaine’s body spontaneously moved a step to the side.

puck-!

The cake that had been flying toward where Elaine stood narrowly missed her and crashed into the hallway outside the door.

[That damn guy!] 

Elaine came to her senses only when Rabes gnashed her teeth and glared at Martin, who threw the cake.

‘I forgot. Every time I was called into the parlor, I was often beaten… ‘ 

It wasn’t the first time she has been tricked by Martin’s prank. Elaine always knew, but she only accepted it because she thought that if she avoided it, something bigger would happen.

‘I also hoped that Martin would throw me a cake when I was really hungry.’ 

It was miserable when she went back to her room and licked the cream off her clothes, but Elaine was hungry enough to do so.

In any case, thanks to Rabes, Elaine was spared the humiliation of being hit by the cake, the maid’s brow wrinkled lightly as she had to clean up, and Martin’s face, which failed to throw the cake, was contorted even worse.

“Cowardly dodging!”

Martin burst into anger.

“Pfft!”

She knew he would get angry, but she didn’t know he would say that, so Elaine laughed without realizing it.

“Laugh? How dare you laugh at me?”

Martin craned his neck as if he were going to jump out at any moment.

Elaine looked around the parlor and, as expected, found Martin, Damon, Ellie, and Lorina sitting around.

Everyone seemed to agree with Martin.

‘It made me sick to my stomach that children in their mid-teens were already learning how to crush others with power.’

‘And I was the one being crushed.’

At that time, there was nothing she could do but be silent, but maybe that actually encouraged the abuse.

Elaine replied without erasing the ridicule.

“Isn’t it funny if the person who threw the cake called the person who dodged it cowardly?” 

“you….!”

“Did you think I was going to be punished forever?” 

Martin clenched his molars.

Normally, he would have jumped right in and grabbed Elaine’s hair, but he seemed to hold back because he was in front of Lorina.

Elaine looked at the parlor table again.

One of the seats was empty, but she knew that it wasn’t for her. 

“Why did you call me? I don’t think you invited me to have tea with you.”

He’d probably invited her so they could all make fun of her after she’d been hit by the cake, but Elaine smiled and asked.

“You must come when I tell you to come, why are you being arrogant?”

“My uncle told me not to come out of the room. If I come and go and the guests see me, you’ll get scolded for calling me out too, Martin.”

At that, Martin closed his mouth, but Lorina, who was watching her, said with a cold smile.

“You seem to be well aware that you are an existence that should not be seen by the guests, right?” 

Lorina’s sarcastic tone was perfected from this point on. Even after making Elaine a sacrifice, she said, “You should be honored” and her smirking image kept overlapping with the current Lorina.

‘She’s not Lorina at that time. Now, be patient, be patient.’ 

Elaine maintained a calm expression.

“I know that, but I don’t know why they don’t kick me out like that. Doesn’t it seem strange to you, Lorina?”

Lorina’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

Lorina, who used to say that she didn’t know why the Newt family didn’t kick her out, agreed with Elaine for the first time.

However, Lorina quickly erased that and picked up other faults. 

“Why are you speaking informally to me? You are no different from a commoner.”

Ever since the age of sixteen, no, even after entering the temple, Elaine used honorifics to other family children, including Lorina. 

‘Because there was always a sense that I wasn’t a real aristocrat…’

But now she has decided to change that.

“I was scolded by my uncle several times. He told me never to do anything that defiles Newt’s name.” 

“Then shouldn’t you be more polite?”

“Anyway, I am a member of the Newt family. If I act like your subordinate…Doesn’t it seem like Count Newt’s family is lower than Count Dardil’s?” 

At Elaine’s words, not only Lorina, Lorina but also the children of Newt open their mouths wide. 

Elaine had never been so confident before.

It was Martin who came to his senses first and shouted.

“Are you crazy? How dare you call yourself a ‘member of the Newt family’?  Do you know how much our family suffers because of you?”

“Then tell him to kick me out of the family. They can kick me out, Right?” 

Elaine in her previous life was afraid of being kicked out, but now Elaine sincerely hoped that this evil relationship would end.

She didn’t want to have a relationship with Newt at all.

But as much as he hated her, Count Newt was unwilling to let her go.

‘Well, a girl who can be used and sold at will, what a useful asset.’ 

‘It was funny. The fact that you always said ‘grace’ to me on those topics.’

Thinking of that, she clenched her fists tightly, but suddenly the expressions of Martin, Lorina, and other children suddenly changed.

And Elaine also felt someone’s presence behind her back. 

“Elaine isn’t part of the Newt family, what the hell are you saying, Martin?” 

A voice that feels cold and dry, yet strangely soft. 

‘L’Arch…!’ 

Elaine’s heart pounded.

Even in her previous life, L’Arch used to act like he was taking her side in this way. 

So she couldn’t help but like him.

The shabby girl, who had nowhere to lean on, had to cling to even the smallest of kindness. That’s how she could survive.

[Hey, wake up!]

Rabes scolded pathetically, as Elaine stood frozen and held her breath. Only then did Elaine let out a long, quiet breath.

Fortunately, Martin and the other kids were also stiff, so Elaine’s attitude didn’t seem strange.

“But, but, but, brother! She is an illegitimate child!”

“Yes, she was an illegitimate child. However, Elaine’s mother was admitted into the Newt family by our grandfather, and father also allowed Elaine to take her mother’s surname. Are you going to deny that?”

“No, not like that.….”

“If it’s not like that, then it seems like you are the one who has to behave properly in the future. It’s been a while since Elaine said the right thing.”

It was Lorina who bit her lip in anger at those words. She must have thought that L’Arch’s warning was directed at her.

However, it was neither Lorina nor Martin, but Elaine, who L’Arch was really trying to warn. 

“So Elaine. Do not use words such as kicking out or removing from the family. Unless you are ignoring the authority of the Newt family.”

At that moment, Elaine’s heart, which had been pounding at L’arch’s appearance, calmed down. 

‘Yes, it was like this. You tie me up here like this, you tame me, and then… You ended up selling me out.’ 

‘Before, I’d thought that L’Arch was just looking out for me by pretending to be indifferent.’

‘But now that I know what he’s really thinking, it’s like being doused in cold water.’

Love for L’Arch seemed to fall off one by one, just as the old plaster was peeling off. 

At the same time, Elaine said a word, prepared to be slapped by him. 

“But it must be strange to anyone, L’Arch. A member of the Newt family recognized by the family head worked like a maid from morning today.”

L’Arch’s expression didn’t change much, but Elaine, who was sensitive to his presence, noticed that he was now startled. 

Of course, it wasn’t as surprising as Martin.

“Elaine, today is a bit strange.”

Elaine smirked at Ellie’s unconscious muttering. 

‘They thought that the appearance of me, who couldn’t say a word back even though I had a look of resentment toward these children, was ‘not strange’.’

It was only Elaine herself who knew that she endured while suppressing those feelings even though she was hurt, sad, and feeling unfair.

Elaine was just a shabby and stuffy child who kept her mouth shut and looked down at the floor.

‘No, that’s how I was raised. I don’t know what a kid with nothing could do.’

But now, she has a dragon that can destroy the empire.

‘So I had no more intention of being afraid.’

‘Because once in my life was enough, to live a life where I was insulted and sacrificed without sin and couldn’t even open my mouth.’

“If you’re done with me, can I go back now? The guests seem to be uncomfortable too.” 

L’Arch’s eyes narrowed at Elaine’s question, as if she were asking for something unimportant.

It seemed like he was trying to dig into Elaine’s thoughts.

However, there was no way that L’Arch, who had not matured properly yet, couldn’t to fully understand Elaine’s inner thoughts.

* * *