It wasn’t in his nature to make such remarks, but Naskandeolux didn’t want to be on Chryselua’s bad side, especially since she was the Lord’s daughter. To properly carry out his duty as a guardian would help to be somewhat liked.

“The Lord loves you.”

“Haha! What are you even saying?”

Chryselua laughed as if the idea was absurd.

“Hey.”

“…Yes?”

“Do you think I’m some kind of fool who can’t think for myself?”

“What? No, that’s not what I meant.”

As Naskandeolux scrambled for a rebuttal, his vision suddenly darkened.

This sensation… it was the power of dawn.

“Wait, I’m having a prophecy…”

Clutching his forehead, Naskandeolux remembered that he couldn’t control the sudden onslaught of visions brought on by the dawn’s power.

Closing his eyes, the future began to unfold before him.

The scene illuminated by the power of dawn was Chryselua glaring spitefully while tears streamed down her face. Naskandeolux was so startled by the vision that he opened his eyes before it could fully conclude.

And there, in reality, stood Chryselua.

“It looks like you’re done with your grand prophecies.”

She cast a dark glare his way before turning and retreating to her room.

Bang!

The loud slamming of the door snapped Naskandeolux back to his senses.

‘What just happened?’

Only the game, now abandoned, quietly littered the floor of the lair.

* * *

‘She was supposed to smile, wasn’t she? That’s what was supposed to happen?’

Confusion clouded Naskandeolux’s mind for a while. He had seen Chryselua smiling through the power of dawn, but what he had just seen was her crying.

‘Maybe one of them wasn’t actually a vision from the power of dawn?’

The Lord had advised him to distinguish between what was a true vision of the future and what was merely a dream. It seemed impossible for both a smiling face and a crying face to exist simultaneously. One of them had to be false.

‘Then, obviously, the crying must be the lie.’

Naskandeolux soon came to the inevitable conclusion, as always. There was no one to seek advice from at this point. The Lord, who would have had far more experience with the power of dawn, was currently unavailable.

In any case, given the Lord’s interest in making him an heir, it was clear he’d have to spend a considerable amount of time with Chryselua, whether he liked it or not.

And in fact, Naskandeolux knew his place in reality quite well. Objectively speaking, it was difficult for him to be disliked, given his circumstances.

“I’m sorry for getting mad at you before.”

Proving it wasn’t a delusion, Chryselua soon initiated the conversation. It was surprising, as he hadn’t expected her to apologize first.

“…No, it’s okay, Chryselua.”

The kid seemed a bit startled to hear her name from him. Truthfully, he also found the name rolling off his tongue quite unfamiliar.

It was the first time he had called her that directly.

Chryselua meant ‘twilight of the late hours.’ Looking at her sunset-colored hair and golden eyes, it was an apt name, fitting well with the precarious and fragile atmosphere that seemed to hang around her.

“You said your name was Naskandeolux.”

“Yes.”

It meant ‘light of dawn.’ Naskan meant dawn, and Deolux meant light in the ancient tongue, which was a name of honor that represents his status and ability.

“It’s too long. Lux… Lucas?”

He had indeed been annoyed by the length of his own name.

“Naskan.”

Naskan corrected her attempt at shortening his name.

You are twilight, and I am dawn.

“You’re Chrys? I heard the Lord calling you that.”

“…Yeah, Naskan. You went hunting so earnestly for me. I must have troubled you. My temperament is to blame.”

“It’s okay. Hunting is nothing much, really.”

“…So.”

Chrys fixed her gaze on her book while her face was slightly flushed. Her small face turned red, resembling the core of a cherry.

‘Chrys. Chrys.’

Naskan pondered over the nickname he’d secretly been given several times.

Though he couldn’t grasp why she was angry, Chrys’ personality didn’t seem bad. If it were, she wouldn’t have apologized first. It was the first time he’d received an apology without having to intimidate with strength.

This was because she didn’t see her as a truly bad character. He was born and roaming the divine realm, destroying anyone displeasing without a second thought—that was who stood before her, and yet she claimed her own temperament was the foul one.

Those who dared to confront him weren’t like Chrys.

Well, it seemed like a bit of pretense might not be a bad idea after all. Coupled with the logical conclusion that maintaining a good relationship would be beneficial in the long run.

However, Naskan found himself unable to initiate a conversation with Chrys ever since that day.

It wasn’t long before Chrys fell seriously ill.

This was the first time something like this had happened in the Lord’s absence, and Naskan was bewildered.

Upon directly assessing Chrys’s physical condition, his concern deepened.

Due to the divine power flowing through the divine realm, all dragonkin were supposed to be born with strong physiques, though she was exceptionally weak.

Notably, the meridians in her body were severely twisted. This meant not only was it difficult for magic to accumulate in her body, making it impossible for her to use magic, but attempting to do so would likely cause her intense pain due to the twisted meridians.

Considering magic involves drawing out and using the accumulated magic within one’s body, if Chrys tried to use magic, the twisted meridians would induce severe pain.

Her very existence was questionable.

Dragonkin were supposed to be born from the accumulation of substantial amounts of magic. Chryselua seemed like a paradox among her kind. Her face flushed with pain. She seemed so frail that even a gentle touch might kill her.

Naskan could only watch her in pain, unable to even wipe the sweat from her forehead. For the first time, he felt like the biggest fool in the world.

After days of enduring the sound of Chrys’s suffering, he made up his mind and approached the bed.

‘If she’s in pain because she lacks magic, couldn’t I transfer some of my energy to her?’

Magic was a type of divine power, essentially the source of life force. Transferring a little magic to her seemingly empty body seemed unlikely to worsen her condition and might even improve it. Naskan extended a finger wrapped in a slight amount of his magic towards Chrys’s forehead.

The moment his finger touched her forehead was when it happened.

Her small, red lips parted.

“Ah…!”

Naskan quickly withdrew his finger. The tip of his finger throbbed as if burned.

“Ugh. Hoo…”

It seemed Chrys was somewhat relieved, yet due to her body’s constitution, it was difficult for her to accept magic. The contact of skin alone wasn’t enough to have a significant effect.

Contact between flesh could potentially be more effective.

Naskan was contemplating this as he gazed at her lips and leaned down. Chrys looked at him with unfocused, dim eyes. The small, excited breath she exhaled touched his cheek, and a faint, delicate sound resonated in his ears.

“…Lord?”

Naskan hastily pulled away. He swallowed dryly.

Until Chrys closed her eyes and fell back into sleep, he felt trapped, like an animal caught in a snare.

What he became aware of next was the change in his own body. Blood rushed to the area between his legs, making it throb painfully. Naskan bit his lip and left the bedroom in haste, unable to deal with the situation right there.

Chrys’s red lips, her breathy sighs, the warmth of her breath that felt so sweet… None of it would leave his mind.

‘D*mn. This is crazy.’

His own foolish body, which swelled to its limits every time he thought of Chryselua, felt like it was on fire.

It seemed to be malfunctioning, somehow.

__