A Fateful Encounter

“This looks interesting.”

A familiar voice was heard in Sian’s ears. It was a voice he had been hearing for 200 years. Of course.

Because it was his own voice.

His heart thumped, thumped. Although it was his own familiar voice, he kept feeling a sense of alienation.

It was somewhat sarcastic, and had a twisted, sinister low tone. It was distinctly different from the way Sian usually spoke.

“……!”

Sian belatedly realized. The man in front of Sian had the same appearance as himself, but it wasn’t him.

He was Drake, the villainous dragon from the original. This was a scene from the original that Sian had forgotten.

「Is it a human from Inchamber? How did they get here?」

Drake tilted his head and then looked down at the child again, as if to gauge.

The child, barely clinging to life, was breathing with great difficulty, looking up at Drake.

「It’s just as well. I was bored.」

Drake, who quickly made a decision, indifferently lowered his hand.

The small child’s body was lifted up, and a pained groan escaped from the child.

「Ugh…!」

Sian was startled and looked at the child. To treat such an injured child carelessly.

Staring at Drake’s back, from which a sinister aura was emanating, Sian reached out his hand.

“Don’t do that…!”

But nothing could be touched by his outstretched hand.

The hand that had swept through the air stopped right in front of the child’s face. Sian flinched and stepped back.

“Ugh….”

What Sian was seeing now was not reality. It was a memory from the original, dormant in the dragon’s mind.

A part of the novel that Sian had read before he died remained in his head like a book.

However, having adapted so well to life for 200 years after transmigrating, it seemed that he had even forgotten the fact that he had transmigrated.

He only remembered this memory after encountering the male lead, who would kill him.

“Damn it….”

Sian now belatedly remembered the reason he had tried to leave the mountain.

He had tried to escape before being killed by the male lead as soon as he transmigrated, but he had encountered the male lead, and the escape attempt, which he had not been able to execute due to various events, came to mind.

‘What should I do? Should I just leave him?’

Theodore Len Kailos. The protagonist of the original work and the person who would kill him.

But that was because Drake had done all sorts of bad things to Theodore.

Before that, wouldn’t it be okay if he just pretended not to know and didn’t get involved at all?

It was when Sian was having such a selfish thought.

“Please… save me….”

“……!”

“Please… sob….”

A delicate voice caught Sian’s ankle. Sian could no longer move and looked down blankly.

Theodore was looking at Sian with desperation. Tears that welled up from the pain were falling from his eyes.

Golden hair, clear despite being soaked in blood, and gold eyes of the same colour.

Although it was the image of the protagonist that he only knew in words, it strangely felt familiar.

It was because Sian often projected himself into the protagonist when he read the novel during hard times.

To be honest, even if Sian left him as he was, Theodore wouldn’t die. He was the protagonist of this novel.

Drake, who had taken him, didn’t do anything to treat him, but only inflicted more wounds, but still, he didn’t die.

Theodore was a special child.

‘But he feels pain.’

If Sian left him as he was, Theodore would be suffering for a long time alone.

Perhaps he would be caught by wild beasts or monsters and suffer even greater injuries because the place was not a good one.

When Sian thought like that, his chest became cold.

With such an injured child lying in front of him, he couldn’t possibly leave him alone.

Unless he hadn’t seen him from the beginning. Sian urgently reached out his hand again.

“Alright. I will… help you.”

“Ugh….”

Sian, who whispered softly, carefully picked up Theodore.

The body that was held in his arms was so small and light. Sian unconsciously clenched his teeth.

Sian, being a Black Dragon, was not good at healing magic.

From the beginning, the dragon’s body, which was close to perfection, did not get injured easily, and most of the wounds would heal on their own if left alone.

Theodore, who had received God’s blessing, was also basically a sturdy body.

But he was still young, and those who had tried to harm him were probably not ordinary people either.

Seeing Theodore’s increasingly painful expression, Sian urgently used magic and returned to the mansion.

The scenery in front of him changed in an instant.

“Kali! Kali, where are you?”

Sian shouted frantically while holding Theodore. Sian’s voice echoed loudly in the silent mansion.

“Sian-nim? What in the world….”

Kali, who was coming into the living room, said in a questioning tone, looking at Sian.

Then, she frowned, looking at Theodore, whom Sian was holding.

“What is that filthy thing again?”

“Filthy thing….”

“Where did you get another strange… Eh? But isn’t this a human? Why is the hair color so….”

“Kali, please. Heal this child with the herbs you’ve grown. Our magic won’t work because they are not compatible.”

“Huh….”

Kali stared at Sian, who was speaking out of nowhere, with a look of bewilderment.

It was rare for Sian, who was usually calm, to raise his voice.

Kali glanced at Theodore, who was losing consciousness, with dissatisfied eyes.

A human who gave off an ominous aura. Moreover, he had golden hair, which was rare in the Inchamber Continent.

It was said that such light hair color had been cut off a long time ago, even among humans.

It was quite frequent for the kindhearted Sian to pick up something every time he went outside.

He would pick up orphaned animal cubs, saying they were pitiful, and ask Kali to treat the injured animals.

This was the first time he had brought a human, though.

“Hoo… Alright, then.”

Kali nodded with a sigh. To think it was a human with an ominous aura.

She didn’t like it, but she had also been saved by Sian’s kindness. So she couldn’t refuse Sian’s request.

“Thank you, Kali.”

Sian followed Kali with relief. The blood that had flowed from Theodore’s body also made Sian’s clothes, who was holding him, wet.

Theodore, who had been barely opening his eyes just a moment ago, now seemed to have completely lost consciousness, closing his eyes and slumping in Sian’s arms.

‘It’s okay. He’ll be alright soon.’

Theodore wouldn’t die in a place like this. He would definitely be okay.

Sian, who muttered to himself, tightly embraced Theodore’s small body.

“He will be fine now. He’s passed the critical point.”

“Really?”

“Yes. He’ll probably have a high fever tonight as well… If he can overcome that, he will regain consciousness soon.”

Well, it doesn’t really matter if he dies and just perishes. Kali muttered the words she couldn’t say in front of Sian, to herself.

But Sian, who didn’t know Kali’s inner thoughts, just smiled brightly.

“Yes, you worked hard.”

“No, sir… But, can I rest for a bit?”

“Of course. I’ll be here, so you can rest.”

“Yes….”

Kali, who had been working all night for two days, toiling over herbs, had become pale during that time.

She had been doubtful whether the herbs grown on the mountain would be effective on a human, especially a human from Inchamber, not Outchamber.

Fortunately, when she slightly changed the combination, the herbs worked.

Moreover, despite being a young child, his self-healing power was surprisingly good, so she didn’t have much trouble treating him. Rather, she felt uneasy about leaving such a monster alone with Sian.

‘Well… Still, it’ll be fine with Sian-nim.’

Even if he was a human from Inchamber, he wouldn’t be able to harm Sian, who was a dragon.

Only a transcendent being who had reached the realm of God would be able to do that, maybe.

But, as far as Kali knew, the last time a human reached the realm of transcendence was about a thousand years ago.

A transcendent being. This little child, who was struggling with such injuries? Kali scoffed and left the room.

“Hoo….”

Sian, after Kali left, let out a sigh that he had been holding back. Kali, who had been working all night for two days and even mixed new herbs, was exhausted, but Sian was still fine. It was thanks to the dragon’s extraordinary stamina.

He was more worried about Theodore’s condition with the words that the final crisis would come tonight.

Sian looked down at Theodore’s face, who was now just sleeping peacefully, and reached out his hand.

He put the lukewarm wet towel into the basin next to it and took it out.

After wringing out the water, he placed it on Theodore’s forehead again.

Then, at the moment the wet towel disappeared, Theodore, who had been groaning, fell asleep.

The complexion definitely looked better than last night.

“Theodore….”

“Uhm….”

Sian couldn’t resist the impulse and caressed Theodore’s pale cheek.

Being with Theodore all the time while taking care of him, he felt the urge to touch his plump cheeks whenever he saw them.

Was it because of the fever, or was it because children all had such high body temperatures? Sian felt a strange feeling.

“…What should I do with you.”

In the end, Sian couldn’t ignore Theodore.

But, even if he went back to that time, Sian thought he would make the same choice. How could he ignore such a fragile child?

The problem was after that. What should he do after Theodore was fully recovered?

This place was not a good place for a young child to stay.

“Ugh….”

“……Theodore?”

Sian, who was lost in thought, was surprised when Theodore furrowed his brows and looked at him.

Soon, it was visible that Theodore slightly opened his frowning eyes.

“……Mother?”