The Village, the Soldiers, and the Dragon

“There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize him. He looks so much like the village head.”

“Village head…? Do you perhaps know my grandfather?”

Edward examined Sian with a fresh pair of eyes.

He hadn’t realized when he was just surprised, but now he saw that the magic user looked young enough to be the same age as him.

The man, who had his long, black hair neatly tied and draped over one shoulder, had a somewhat disinterested expression.

As his hair-black eyes turned towards him, Edward, for some reason, flinched.

A strange sense of oppression could be felt from the man.

Unaware that it was a feeling he instinctively felt as prey, Edward just stared blankly at the handsome man in front of him.

“I know him well. I met him not long ago.”

“My grandfather? No, that can’t be…”

Edward didn’t have any expectations that his family was alive.

Although he hadn’t confirmed the bodies of the villagers with his own eyes, the village was empty, and traces of footsteps and a few belongings were found in the area where the landslide had occurred. No one from the village had been found since then.

So, he had no choice but to think that his family and the villagers had died in the landslide.

The reason he came along on this investigation without complaint was because he had hoped to find even the bodies of his family.

But when he saw the man suddenly claiming that he had met his grandfather not long ago, Edward was speechless. Staring blankly at the man, he sighed softly and nodded his head slightly.

“Well, it would be quicker to understand if you saw him directly.”

“Yes?”

“Come in.”

“……?”

Sian spoke towards the door. Then, someone who was anxiously pacing by the doorway hurriedly opened the door.

“Eddie!”

“……Grandfather?”

“Oh my, you rascal. Why does your face look like this? It’s all messed up. Tsk tsk.”

“Really… is it really Grandfather?”

Edward, not believing it, pushed away the village head who was hugging him and looked around his whole body.

The village head chuckled and nodded.

“Yes, it is, my boy. It’s your grandpa.”

“H-how…?”

“And your grandpa, and the rest are alive. All the villagers.”

“Village head, is that really true?”

The other soldiers next to Edward shifted and asked the village head.

The village head, taking his eyes off Edward, looked at the other soldiers and said.

“Hans, Johan! You’ve all been doing well……”

“Are our families all alive too, Village Head?”

“Yes, they are. You’ll be able to meet them when you go outside.”

“……!”

At those words, the soldiers who were restless glanced at someone.

They instinctively felt like they knew whose words to listen to here.

Sian nodded gently as the soldiers looked at him, as if asking for permission.

The soldiers immediately rushed out of the house to find their families.

The village head, watching their backs, turned his head with an awkward expression.

“But these people are…”

“……”

“……”

The soldiers Sian had brought weren’t only from Ador village. There were two more soldiers of completely different origins.

The village head looked at Sian with a puzzled expression.

“They’re strangers… why did you bring these people?”

“I thought it would seem strange if I only brought soldiers from Ador village.”

“Ah…”

Just then, the soldiers from Ador village had been hesitant near the barrier out of regret, and they were framed as if they had gone missing during the investigation in the mountains, and Sian secretly kidnapped them.

But it seemed strange if only the Ador village soldiers disappeared, so he brought a few soldiers who were nearby as well.

They were looking at the village head and Sian alternately with awkward faces.

“Don’t be too worried. I’ll send you back safely when this matter settles down.”

“R, really?”

“Yes. If you just listen to me.”

“……”

The soldiers didn’t answer Sian, who was smiling and speaking. Strangely, their mouths froze in front of Sian, and they couldn’t get the words out.

Seeing the trembling soldiers, Sian felt a little guilty. It felt as if he had really become the villainous dragon of the original work.

But in any case, the lord’s interest wouldn’t last long, and he would let them eat and live well until then.

He had no intention of threatening them unless they went down the mountain.

So Sian thought to himself that it wouldn’t be too bad for them.

‘Anyway, I’ve secured the labor.’

He said to farm only as much as they could be self-sufficient, but it would be better to grow and harvest more crops since the land would gradually be purified.

Then, they would also repay Sian, who gave them the land, and with that, he could make Theodore even more delicious food.

Thinking about it now, it seemed like all of this was, perhaps, for Theodore.

Sian, tilting his head for a moment, watched the reunion of the separated families for a while and returned to the mansion.

Theodore, who had come back after enjoying the wildflowers, was still excited.

It was the first time he had seen snow falling in winter, so it was very amazing, but that was all.

He had to stay inside because he caught a cold because it was too cold, which was really frustrating.

It felt much better to go on an outing with Sian when the weather got warmer.

“Hehe.”

Theodore, who had come into the room, approached the flowerpot he had placed by the window.

The dandelions he had dug up and brought from the moment the leaves sprouted were planted in the flowerpot.

And it bloomed a yellow flower just like the other dandelions he saw outside.

Theodore smiled and poked the small yellow flower with his finger.

“Master…”

Seeing this flower, Sian’s face came to mind again. Theodore smiled happily and recalled the time he had seen the dandelion flowers with Sian during the day.

The weather was better than ever today. The sky was blue, and the warm sunlight was filling the mountains.

White dandelion seeds that were carried away by the wind were floating in the air, and yellow dandelion flowers were blooming all over the ground.

It was a place that had been called the mountain of death until just recently, and when Theodore first came to the mountain, it was desolate as the name suggested. But now, it didn’t seem like the barren mountain of that time.

But even that impressive scenery wasn’t as beautiful as Sian’s face.

Theodore, recalling Sian’s face, who he had gotten close to because of the dandelion seeds, blushed secretly.

‘The only person who loves me.’

Theodore had never been loved by anyone until now. It seemed like he had been loved when he was very young, but Theodore now didn’t even remember. The memories of the time he had spent in the imperial palace were only lonely and sad.

But now, he didn’t feel sad at all, even thinking of the past.

Rather, he even thought it might have been a trial for the happiness he had now. Theodore liked his current life that much.

Sian said he would protect him for life. He also promised to marry him when he grew up. Theodore gazed at his finger with a proud face.

‘I must propose again when I’m grown up.’

The ring that sparkled on Theodore’s finger had a black gem like Sian’s eyes.

When he first saw it, he felt scared because Sian’s hair and eyes were black, but he didn’t feel that way now.

The more he thought of the black eyes, filled with warm light, the better he felt.

‘I want to grow up quickly.’

He wanted to grow up soon so that he would be the same height as Sian. He would propose in a cool way then.

Theodore was smiling to himself, imagining himself standing next to Sian when he became an adult.

‘Master will be happy then, right?’

Dreaming of a happy future, Theodore kept smiling. It seemed like there wouldn’t be any hard things from now on.

It was just then that Theodore had thought that.

Tap.

“……!”

His sensitive ears heard the sound of the front door closing. Someone had entered the mansion. Only those who Sian permitted could enter this mansion.

Theodore was sure that it was Sian who had come back. Sian wouldn’t leave him alone in the mansion for long.

Theodore, like a dog greeting its owner, went down the stairs quickly, excited.

“Master…!”

“……”

“……!”

But it wasn’t Sian who was standing in front of the front door. Kalli was standing there with a sullen face.

Kalli, strictly speaking, didn’t live in the mansion. But he came and went so often that it was as if he lived with them.

Theodore also looked up at Kalli with a somewhat unpleasant face.

“Don’t look at me like that, since I don’t like seeing you either.”

“…What’s going on?”

“Haa.”

Kalli knew well that Sian wasn’t in the mansion right now.

It was Sian who had called him today as well, saying that he was worried about Theodore being alone in the mansion.

He hated coming to the mansion to take care of the annoying kid, but he couldn’t refuse Sian’s order.

So, Kalli was here by compulsion as well, but the kid’s gaze was too annoying. Kalli frowned and said.

“Stay still until Master Sian comes.”

“I will.”

Theodore answered with a blunt voice, unlike when he was in front of Sian. Kalli, glaring at Theodore, muttered.

“A sleepwalker who talks too much.”

“That’s…!”

Theodore was about to retort at Kalli’s words but paused.

Theodore also knew that he sometimes woke up in places other than the mansion.

He had briefly forgotten about it because it quieted down in the winter, but that didn’t mean the fact that he did that disappeared.

In the end, Theodore, who couldn’t speak, glared at Kalli with an unhappy face.