#026

“Do you want me to leave?”

It felt like rough grains scratching his ribs. Cullen felt his mood inexplicably sink.

And that brought about another realization. He had clearly been faintly uplifted after seeing Kiyen. His original mood was always low and deep.

Kiyen tilted his head. His innocent-looking eyes were fixed on Cullen. The color was starkly different from the night that had overwhelmed him. The beast-like appearance, due to the golden light that shone so brightly in the darkness, was nowhere to be seen. Unlike his own turbulent inner self, he appeared extremely peaceful.

“Yes. A child like Helen could not possibly accomplish such a thing.”

The affectionate nickname “Helen” kept bothering him. Had Kiyen ever shortened his name before? Since he had only recently started calling him by his name, the answer was naturally no.

Stop thinking.

He desperately tried to rein in his thoughts, which were drifting in a direction he couldn’t understand himself. Cullen took a step back and fell silent for a moment.

“There is no need to distinguish between male and female abilities. If you are concerned because she is a woman, I would say it is an unnecessary worry.”

Fearing he might be persuaded by his beautiful face, Cullen turned away completely.

“Helen is not like you, a child who has never experienced the outside world.”

Kiyen still spoke as if it were obvious. Cullen felt a suffocating tightness in his chest and yielded for a moment. Regardless of his emotions changing every few seconds, he couldn’t understand Kiyen’s attitude.

They had made a deal. He was supposed to help him find the culprit in the Imperial Palace, yet Kiyen wanted to send him away.

“Weren’t you my contractor, Kiyen?”

Then, a hand suddenly grasped his. He felt a soft, enveloping warmth, and his body was spun around. He was pulled away in an instant. The distance was too close. Just like when they practiced dancing. Like the night a few days ago.

Even though he should have gotten used to the actions that came from behind him without warning, they always felt new. He hadn’t gotten used to Kiyen’s attitude.

Cullen hastily raised his hands. The firm muscles of his upper body, different from how they looked, were caught in his palms. The tips of his ears grew noticeably warm. Cullen, uncharacteristically, let his expression falter slightly.

“What…!”

“Was that what you were unhappy about?”

He saw Kiyen’s rare smile. Kiyen, looking down as if amused, tapped Cullen’s chin. The condescending tone, as if addressing a child, brought a surge of shame. It was absurd.

“No.”

Cullen denied Kiyen’s question outright.

“Why would I be? I simply didn’t understand why you would say such a thing. We made a deal. My mother’s culprit is still at large, so it’s strange that you want me to leave the Imperial Palace.”

“Hmm……”

Kiyen seemed to concede. He narrowed his beautiful eyes and turned Cullen’s chin this way and that, then nodded.

“That is true.”

His heart rate increased further. Cullen found the current situation extremely uncomfortable. Unlike a few days ago, there was no pretense of dancing, nor was he in a state of losing his reason due to Rodiak. Being this close, his entire body tensed.

“Please let go now.”

Unlike his usual self, Kiyen did not let go. Even when he had taught him to dance against his will, Kiyen sometimes acted on unpredictable whims. This was one of those times.

“Try leaving with your own strength.”

Cullen genuinely exerted force and pushed his hand away. Kiyen swayed slightly. If he had used magic, it would not have been difficult to restrain Cullen, but it didn’t seem like he had. Cullen quickly retreated.

“It hurts.”

Kiyen said it as if complaining. It sounded like a cat speaking. Cullen severely chastised himself for having such strange thoughts, but he glanced at the spot he had pushed. He thought there might be a mark on his white skin beneath the white robe.

He wanted to ask if he was okay, but he stopped himself. Kiyen himself had inflicted unbelievable pain on him before. Although it was to help him, that… inserting that enormous thing was something he couldn’t do twice.

Kissing, however, was another matter.

Cullen muttered a curse under his breath. Was it a side effect of the curse? Were the aftereffects still lingering? Why on earth did these bizarre thoughts keep popping up?

“Are you close with Kihelene?”

He changed the subject. Kiyen wiped the displeasure from his blue eyes and moved closer to Cullen again. Kiyen, who had been fiddling with the hand he had pushed away, said,

“Who is Kihelene?”

This time, Cullen was taken aback.

“Are you joking?”

“Why would I do something humans do?”

……Is he serious? Cullen said, half-believing.

“You were just defending Helen’s side.”

“Ah, the Princess’s name was Kihelene.”

Kiyen said, as if he had realized. He was speechless.

“You know the name Helen, so why don’t you know the name Kihelene?”

“I only heard Zigmund say it once. I had no need to know the Princess’s name.”

Kiyen, without batting an eye, said things that unsettled people, and this time, he reached out his hand to Cullen’s neck. He began to feel around his neck as if searching for a mark.

“You are strange today.”

“What is?”

“Why are you… touching me?”

The discomfort was suffocating. He wanted to shake him off immediately, but his hands wouldn’t move.

Why?

“Do you dislike being touched?”

“Yes. Please let go.”

“You’re going to hurt me again? No.”

Kiyen made a sound, “Hmm,” and narrowed his eyes. He peered intently at Cullen’s ear as if searching for something, then relaxed his brow.

“As expected, there’s a mark.”

He said it as if to himself and took his hand off Cullen. Despite asking to be let go, Cullen felt a brief sense of disappointment.

“I told you to leave because the events in the territory seem to be connected to you. They are also connected to Ella’s incident.”

“……What do you mean by that?”

Kiyen walked slowly and then, with just a gesture, pulled a chair towards him. He sat on the sliding chair and stretched his legs out. His bare feet twitched.

“There was no error in the magic I placed on Ella’s carriage. The magic used by sorcerers originates from me, so no one can break my magic. However, it also makes no sense for me to make a mistake. I am not human.”

Kiyen mentioned something that people often forgot, given his human-like appearance. Cullen feared that he had adapted to Kiyen too quickly. Yet, he had not become desensitized to Kiyen’s sudden physical contact. What on earth was happening to him?

“I heard that human corpses have returned. I swear by myself, the master of magic, that no sorcerer can bring back the dead. Seeing that the goddess has intervened, something is definitely happening.”

Cullen slowly organized his thoughts. Stepping back slightly, as if to distance himself from Kiyen, he reached a conclusion.

“Are you saying that the entity involved in my mother’s accident is also connected to what is happening in the territory?”

“Yes. Furthermore, the curse placed on Rodiak is also related. All of these are not magic. They are other powers that I do not know of. That means they might not be powers originating from the goddess.”

He spoke calmly about things that were unrelated to Cullen, a mere human – the goddess, magic.

The other party was a Dragon. As such a being, it was clear that Cullen could not defend himself. The other party was also someone Cullen could not freely control.

Cullen slowly opened his mouth. According to Kiyen, it would be more appropriate to search for traces outside rather than staying in the Imperial Palace. If it was not just his conviction but also involved the goddess, then he could believe it.

“I understand. I will leave.”

The reason he had intended to stay in the palace was also to uncover the truth about his mother’s incident, so leaving was the right thing to do. After all, hadn’t he been constantly thinking about wanting to leave the Imperial Palace?

If he left the palace, the unnecessary emotional fluctuations he had been experiencing would disappear. Kiyen was the one changing him. Since they would never see each other again after he left, everything would return to its place.

Cullen vaguely thought he would never be able to return here again. He had decided the end of his journey long ago. This would be the last time he saw Kiyen. But don’t worry. He is nothing.

It’s for the best.

He would return to being the orphan, Cullen, as he was before.

“Yes.”

Kiyen spoke as if he approved. He put the chair back with magic and walked towards Cullen.

“Then let’s go.”

Cullen looked up. His expression showed he couldn’t understand Kiyen’s words.

“…What?”

“Since everyone is gathered, it’s more convenient for me to speak and leave.”

Leave? Where?

“Are you saying Kiyen-nim is also leaving the palace?”

Then Kiyen slowly lowered his head. His slender hair scattered, emitting a subtle fragrance. The blue eyes beneath his sparkling eyelashes slowly changed shape. Gradually, drawing a curve, they finally formed a sweet, smiling gaze.

“Isn’t it obvious? Cullen, you are my contractor.”

The dragon, who had said something completely unexpected, opened the door with a gesture. Then he smiled, his eyes narrowing even further. It was a dazzling smile, almost bewitching.

“I will always be by your side.”

Kiyen, in his kindness, showed that rare smile he didn’t often display.

“That is unacceptable, Crown Prince!”

Duke Refellon slammed the table at Cullen’s decision to leave. The dishes laid out by the servants clattered to the floor as nobles, who had not left the Grand Hall for half a day, reacted.

Bread rolled across the gleaming, off-white floor. Kiyen’s gaze drifted there. Cullen felt that Kiyen seemed bored.

“What is unacceptable, Duke? The Crown Prince intends to fulfill his duty!”

“You would send him out, knowing what might happen outside!”

Duke Lenon and Duke Refellon confronted each other. Count Linden, who had been about to retort to the words “precious body,” shut his garrulous mouth upon seeing Kiyen standing next to Cullen. It seemed even a frivolous head possessed the capacity for learning.

“How utterly selfish, Duke Lenon.”

Duke Refellon calmed down first. He scanned the Duke’s group, not hiding his disgust. Then, in a voice lowered considerably, he added,

“Your change of attitude now is no different from your ancestors.”

Marquess Exion cautiously mediated, stepping beside the Duke after Refellon’s scathing remark.

“You are speaking too harshly, Duke.”

By this point, the reason for the confrontation had become clear. There must have been circumstances surrounding Cullen’s succession that he didn’t fully understand during the power transition under Emperor Belémir.

He could guess the general outline. Duke Lenon, who brought evidence of treason, must have gained the Emperor’s favor.

Given that he was one of history’s most brutal emperors, he would have been well-matched with the Lenon family’s disposition. Cullen thought so with dry indifference.

As Cullen watched the nobles’ power struggle, Kihelene approached. She spoke cautiously to Cullen.

“Are you really alright, Cullen?”

Her complexion had improved slightly. It seemed to be because Silfir Exion, who had no official position and thus couldn’t attend the meeting, was nearby. Instead of the sharp, wary look he had given Cullen, he was holding Helen’s shoulder with a very gentle expression.

Their eyes met for a moment. Silfir bowed his head in greeting, but that was all. While not as overtly hostile as Duke Lenon, the distance was clear. His calm demeanor was different from the indecisive-seeming Marquess Exion.

“Since it is the Crown Prince’s duty, it cannot be helped. However, if the Princess wishes it, the story changes.”

These were formal words. If Kihelene had truly wanted him to go, she would have already made her decision. The fact that she hadn’t meant she was also contemplating it. Moreover, Kihelene was the first to acknowledge Cullen as Crown Prince.

“…It’s a cowardly, unbrave, and shameful thing to say, but I lack confidence. I was certainly prepared my entire life to become Emperor, and I did consider that position my due. But I don’t know if I, who have never been outside, can fulfill the goddess’s mission.”

Kihelene lowered her head slightly with a serious expression. She was genuinely ashamed. After a moment of silence, she met his eyes again.

“Furthermore, I already yielded the position to His Majesty in the Elder Council’s decision. Though it is ultimately an excuse. I am sorry, Your Majesty. I will sincerely pray every day for Your Majesty’s safe return.”

Cullen added no further words. He calmly accepted her words.

“I understand.”

It was then. Kiyen, who had been listening to the conversation silently for a long time, finally spoke.

“The Crown Prince will be safe.”

The hall froze at the silent Guardian Dragon’s statement. He picked a precious green grape placed before him and continued,

“Because I will accompany him.”

“What?”

“What do you mean, Dragon!”

Cullen, who had been looking with disdain at the nobles who, despite shouting all day, still had voices left to shout, felt a fresh shock that he was the only one who knew the dragon’s name.

He truly had no name. No one had even thought to bestow a name upon Kiyen.

Cullen felt contempt for those who raised their voices only for their own benefit.

Yet, at the same time, he felt a strange emotion from the fact that he alone had given Kiyen a name over all those long years. It felt like relief, and also like comfort.

“You are the guardian of the Imperial Palace. What if something happens to the palace while you are away?”

Duke Refellon agreed with this sentiment. Everyone was astonished by the dragon’s statement. Only Marquess Exion remained silently quiet.

“I must protect the bloodline of Larkan. Since the Crown Prince is embarking on a long journey, it is natural that I accompany him.”

“Then what about the Princess! She is the perfect bloodline of Larkan!”

Kihelene calmed the escalating tension in the hall.

“I am fine. It is natural for His Majesty, who is undertaking a difficult journey, to be accompanied by the Guardian Dragon.”

However, Duke Lenon did not back down. This was true even though Kihelene had clearly stated her opinion. Cullen thought that perhaps the Imperial Family had always existed in this form.

“No, Princess. The Dragon is the symbol of the Larciel Empire. It is unthinkable for the cornerstone of the palace to leave.”

Kiyen popped a grape into his mouth and snapped his fingers. Something strange happened, just like last time. Everyone’s mouths snapped shut. Duke Lenon’s eyes widened.

“You are noisy.”

Kiyen stretched languidly. He slung an arm around Cullen’s shoulder. Cullen flinched and looked down at him. Kiyen rested his cheek on the arm on his shoulder and said nonchalantly,

“In situations like this, I can divide my power. No one in the world can defeat me, so if I leave half my power here, there will be nothing to worry about.”

“Leave half your power?”

Kihelene asked cautiously. Cullen suddenly realized that magic did not work on Larkan. The dragon’s magic seemed to be the same.

“I will create a clone with my power diminished. That should be more than enough.”

“Is that possible?”

“Yes.”

Kiyen yawned. Then, as if he had finished his business, he stood up. He looked around at the nobles and said,

“I will depart the day after tomorrow. You would be wise to finish your preparations by then. The rest, decide amongst yourselves.”

No one raised an objection. Kiyen, leaving their silenced mouths as they were, left the Grand Hall first.

And so, the journey was decided.