#180

The Dragon’s voice, asking again in a low tone, was ominous. As his pupils slowly narrowed, the air in the room grew heavy. It wasn’t hard to notice that the Dragon was agitated. His question had clearly touched a nerve, but he couldn’t understand why.

Was it because he thought he wasn’t keeping his promise? Cullen had said he would stay by his side if he wanted. The sudden announcement might have displeased him. After a moment of thought, Cullen slowly explained the reason.

“Yes. I will return. Please let me leave for a while. There is nothing for me to do here. There must be a reason the god saved me. From what I heard in the village, the world has fallen apart. I… might be of help.”

The oppressive aura that weighed down his entire body did not subside. The Dragon stared at Cullen with narrowed pupils. His golden eyes, devoid of the blue he had briefly seen earlier, flashed intensely.

“Why must you do such a thing?”

The Dragon, who had been silent, asked. Cullen recalled his conversation with the god. He had forgotten it after being revived, but before being brought back to life, Cullen had assigned himself a task.

But before he could continue his answer, the Dragon shook his head.

“I cannot let you go.”

He approached menacingly and growled. He looked sharp, like a beast.

“I told you. I won’t let you go anywhere. I also said I have no intention of losing you foolishly again. What happens outside is outside. You have no reason to care about humans. You cannot go. Know this.”

His sharp voice was rough. With every word he spat out, the air pressed against his entire body. The aura seemed to move with his agitation.

Amidst the pressure, Cullen slowly opened his lips. He didn’t want to retract a decision he had already made.

“Nothing will change even if I stay here. Rather, my presence will only increase your guilt. Didn’t you hurt every time you looked at me? So it would be better if I were gone…”

“It would be better if you were gone?”

The Dragon, cutting him off, raised an eyebrow and smiled wryly. He let out a low chuckle. Surprised by the unexpected reaction, Cullen fell silent.

After laughing quietly for a long time, the Dragon let out a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. His long blonde hair scattered through his fingers. His face, with the twisted smile gone, hardened again.

“Every day without you was hell.”

His lips, about to retort, closed. Ah, this feeling again. A sensation that uncomfortably squeezed his chest.

“The memories you left behind must have been brief moments, yet they never faded from my mind, feeling like an eternity. I had to do anything to avoid thinking about them.”

The Dragon took a breath and closed his eyes. His trembling eyelashes were visible.

His mind became chaotic. The Dragon’s tone was laced with pain. It sounded as painful and agonizing as a human suffering a great wound. And Cullen couldn’t tell if he understood the Dragon’s emotions from his head or if they rose from his heart.

That’s why he had to leave even more.

“Know that you cannot go anywhere. You cannot leave. This conversation is over. I will say no more.”

The Dragon, who had ended the conversation sternly, turned his body. At that moment, Lasano, who had been silent, spoke.

“It might actually be helpful for Cullen-nim to leave.”

The Dragon, who had turned, glared at Lasano with murderous eyes.

“Shut up.”

Though the killing intent was enough to terrify an ordinary person, Lasano spoke steadfastly.

“You said yourself that Cullen-nim feels nothing right now. However, Cullen-nim’s nature is kind. If he goes out and experiences various things while doing what he wishes… his emotions might return.”

Although that wasn’t what Cullen intended, he decided to let Lasano try to persuade the Dragon for now.

Perhaps the mention of emotions returning had affected the Dragon, as his flashing eyes calmed slightly. He stared intently at Lasano.

“Besides, Ulli-nim is also outside. The bond between Ulli-nim and Cullen-nim was very strong, so if he meets that person…”

“Enough.”

The Dragon cut him off at the mention of the strong bond between Ulli and Cullen. His expression became blank, and he terminated the conversation with a firm tone.

“I will not listen. Know this.”

The Dragon, having clearly expressed his intentions, went outside. The sound of the door closing echoed particularly loudly. The place where the Dragon had been was quiet. The young dragons, who had been quiet due to the Dragon’s murderous aura, came and clung to Cullen and Lasano after he left.

“The Guardian is angry.”

Cat, who had wrapped her arms around Cullen’s legs, tilted her head. White, standing next to Lasano, asked.

“Why is he angry?”

Cullen couldn’t answer White’s question. He was also confused. He had intended to say it was due to guilt, but his lips felt sealed. Fatigue washed over him.

“It’s because the Guardian doesn’t want Cullen-nim to leave.”

Black answered instead. Cullen turned his gaze to Black. His black hair and stoic expression vaguely resembled his own.

“You saw him when you were in the egg. He was always in Cullen-nim’s room.”

“Yes, when he kept us by his side?”

“Yes.”

The young dragons began to converse amongst themselves. Cullen watched them quietly. Then, Lasano, who had stood up, approached.

“I will speak to Kiyen-nim.”

“…Yes.”

Cullen nodded without expectation. The Dragon’s sensitive reaction kept replaying in his mind. He was sharper than Cullen had imagined.

“And Cullen-nim.”

Lasano said, standing at the doorway before following the Dragon out.

“What Kiyen-nim feels is not just guilt. A more intense emotion precedes it. Forgiving him is entirely Cullen-nim’s choice, but…”

The door opened. Lasano, silhouetted against the darkness, spoke calmly.

“Do not try to distort your emotions. Unlike me, who is a complete sinner, he… had no choice.”

Without giving him time to respond, Lasano left. Staring blankly at the closed door, Cullen mulled over his words. The sentence that it wasn’t just guilt spun in his head. That meant the Dragon felt emotions other than guilt towards him.

A suspicion he had dismissed flickered. If, truly, if the Dragon loved him…

Then he shouldn’t stay by his side even more. He couldn’t give him the love he wanted. He was merely a human. He had personally experienced how agonizing unrequited love was. He didn’t want to inflict that pain on the Dragon.

Although the Dragon’s actions were undoubtedly indelible scars, he had once been Cullen’s most precious being.

Clenching and unclenching his fists, Cullen made his decision. If the Dragon wouldn’t let him go, he had no choice but to leave on his own.

Having made his decision, Cullen acted quickly. There was no benefit in hesitating. It seemed best to leave when the Dragon was briefly absent.

There was nothing to pack. He just needed to visit the storage and take his rusted sword; then he could at least reach the village. From there, he would resupply food and weapons and descend the mountain, making it difficult for the Dragon to find him.

If only he hadn’t cast a Magic.

He recalled the small golden lizard that had followed him and flinched. However, Cullen’s body had returned from crossing death. It was unlikely his Magic would remain. Cullen, having made his decision, turned.

“Where are you going?”

White, who had been talking with Black, asked when he saw Cullen. He turned his head slightly and replied with a stoic expression.

“I will go find and bring you two. It’s dangerous, so stay inside.”

“Yes.”

White nodded. Black stared at him with an unreadable expression but said nothing else. However, the problem was Cat.

“I’ll go too!”

Cat, who had scurried over and stuck to Cullen’s side, tugged at his clothes.

“I can’t go out well at night, so I want to see the outside!”

“It is safer for you to stay here.”

“No, I’m going!”

Cat did not back down and instead opened the door and went out first. Faced with this unexpected variable, Cullen glanced at White and Black, then closed the door and chased after Cat. Outside, Cat exclaimed as she watched the fireflies flitting around, then pointed in the direction Cullen had woken up.

“I think he’s over there. Shall we go that way?”

Cullen looked down at Cat and considered. He couldn’t force something on a child, and Cat was a Dragon after all. She would possess power incomparable to his.

“Can you sense his presence that far?”

Moreover, seeing that Cat had instantly located the Dragon, her range of detection seemed quite wide.

“Yes!”

Cat replied cheerfully, her eyes shining.

“How far can you sense?”

“Up to there.”

Cat said, stretching out her hand. Cullen, after some thought, asked one more thing.

“Cat, can you use Magic too?”

At the word Magic, Cat nodded proudly.

“Yes! We grew all the trees here!”

“Then, does Magic that erases presence exist?”