Chapter 82

Several days passed without seeing Asad.

Without the frequent visitor's footsteps, the already desolate palace felt even more lonely and miserable.

"Lord Nine, I'm back."

"Welcome back. You worked hard."

When Ramu returned from the main palace with a basket of food, Kinaine was sitting near a dried-up pond with only a hollow remaining, carving a piece of wood.

"Look at this. Today there's more than last time! But what are you doing?"

Ramu peeked at what Kinaine held and tilted her head.

"Why a magical beast? You should make something pretty instead."

At that, the whittling that had continued until then stopped. Kinaine scratched the bridge of his nose with his free hand. He seemed somewhat embarrassed.

"It's not a magical beast."

"Ah, it's not?"

Ramu looked again at the piece of wood in Kinaine's hand. The long body carved with strange patterns, sharp claws, needle-like pointed irises... it looked like a magical beast no matter how she looked at it.

Having realized there was a flaw in the human who seemed good at everything, Ramu changed the subject instead of pointing it out.

"But why are you making these? Oh, there are more here. Just how many have you made?"

It wasn't just the carving in his hand. Several wooden carvings had been placed around him, though it wasn't clear when he had made them. Most were similar to the one Ramu thought was a magical beast, and there were also some in the shapes of animals and people.

"I was bored just sitting around."

The whittling resumed. Ramu secretly observed Kinaine's mood. She wondered if he was really just bored, or if this was how he expressed his complicated feelings about the dragon not visiting.

'I still can't tell what he's thinking.'

Kinaine was basically hard to read because of his indifferent expression and lack of agitation in any situation.

Are all humans like this? After briefly pondering, she shook off the thought.

"It's peaceful and nice. If anything, there might have been too much happening before."

Since coming to the dragon palace, Ramu's heart hadn't known peace for a single day. Not only had there been more incidents than expected, but at some point the dragon had started frequenting the place, making it impossible to relax.

Actually, Ramu was glad not to see the frightening dragon and that he wasn't tormenting Kinaine. It had been impossible not to feel sympathy seeing how his already pale face would worsen whenever Asad visited.

'I can't tell if the dragon's interest is good or bad.'

Asad clearly felt physical interest in Kinaine. But there would be no affection in those acts.

It was natural. Because dragons didn't have hearts.

So Ramu didn't fall into the illusion that everything was going well just because the dragon sought out Kinaine. Rather, she thought the dragon who hated humans might be tormenting Kinaine in a different way.

Kinaine, who had put down his finished carving, spoke.

"Ramu, you're right. I guess I was feeling anxious about wasting time."

Contrary to his words, his face showed no sign of anxiety, and even seemed relaxed, making his words not very credible.

"But you have plenty of time. Enjoy this rare leisure. You never know when Lord Asad might visit again."

For just a moment, a faint smile appeared on Kinaine's face.

"...Yes, there's plenty of time."

Seeming to have no intention of making anything more, he placed the small knife he had used for carving on top of the pile of wood pieces. Then he called out looking somewhere.

"Rahu! You don't need to bring any more. Thank you."

Rahu?

When Ramu turned her head to where Kinaine was looking, she saw her twin holding an armful of wood pieces. Rahu put down the wood pieces with a blank expression and, upon meeting Ramu's eyes, said 'I'm hungry' before slipping into the palace.

"Did he really eat something wrong outside?"

To think Rahu would be so obedient. She would have believed it was a stranger with the same face rather than her twin she had grown up with. After being briefly surprised by her twin's changed behavior, Ramu picked up the basket she had put down.

"More importantly, Lord Nine, it looks like we can have quite a decent meal today. Not just dried bread scraps like usual. Look at this."

Fortunately, there were no more incidents of bugs swarming out of the basket like the first day, but even afterward, the quality and quantity of the rationed meals had been poor. It had been manageable when it was just the two of them, but after Rahu came, the portions had become quite insufficient.

But this time was different. When she opened the cloth covering the basket, it was filled with warm bread and fresh fruits.

"It really is. What's going on?"

"The atmosphere at the main palace was different today."

Ramu explained to Kinaine what had happened at the main palace, smiling.

She had headed to the main palace as usual to receive the prepared food. Though it was early morning, the kitchen had already prepared baskets of food for the bride candidates' servants to take.

Each basket placed on the table had a note with a name attached. As Ramu was looking for her basket to take, she heard a nearby servant grumbling.

'Oh my, how heavy. Just how many are there?'

Servants rushed over and struggled to lift several baskets. From their tails swaying left and right, it was easy to tell they were from the tailed tribe.

Soon after watching their backs as they filed out carrying multiple baskets, Ramu found her own.

There was only one basket labeled 'Nine'. When she gripped the handle with one hand, it was light as usual. Though she knew other bride candidates naturally had multiple baskets because they had brought many servants, even accounting for the number of people, the weight was unreasonably light.

Knowing the basket's weight wouldn't change no matter how much she complained, swallowing a sigh and returning was Ramu's usual routine. But today was different.

'Hey, come here a moment.'

A kitchen servant stopped Ramu as she was about to leave with the basket. After checking that no one was around, he put several fruits into the basket.

'My, how can you serve a bride candidate when you're so small and thin? Take these. But keep it secret from Lord Neil.'

What unexpected luck? She thought she must have earned sympathy for looking pitiful. Since even sympathy was good if it meant having enough to eat, Ramu was humming inwardly with excitement.

But something surprising happened. What she thought would be a one-time stroke of luck continued.

'Take this too. It's bread I baked myself, it's delicious while warm. Make sure to tell Lord Nine to try it before it gets cold.'

'Hey, I've seen you before, right? Take this and eat it. Don't tell Lord Neil or the others. And just so you know, I don't think badly of humans at all. Rather, I think having such prejudices is the worst.'

'Wait, stop there. That's for Lord Nine, right? This too...'

The light basket grew heavier with each step. By the time she arrived at their quarters, it had become as heavy as those of the other bride candidates.

"But why did they suddenly show such kindness? It would have been nice if they had done so earlier."

"Ah..."

Having guessed the full story, Kinaine smiled silently.

The reason for the servants' changed attitude was likely due to recent events.

Whatever the truth, to others, Kinaine was the most likely candidate who had placed first in the first test. Additionally, bride candidates including Ilya had shown favorable attitudes toward him. It would have been difficult to continue looking down on someone respected by those they looked up to. Naturally, their attitude had to be different from when they thought he could never become the dragon's bride.

'They probably don't think I'll become the bride, but seem to be hedging their bets just in case.'

Kinaine naturally took the basket Ramu was holding and walked toward the palace.

"Anyway, it's a good thing. We'll have full stomachs today."

Ramu made a dumbfounded expression at having the basket suddenly taken from her. She gathered up the wood carvings and followed Kinaine with quick steps while nagging.

"Today you must eat the most without yielding. You've lost too much weight!"

"Yes, yes."

"Don't just answer halfheartedly. And what should we do with these?"

Kinaine glanced at the carvings Ramu was holding and answered lightly.

"Well, maybe I'll pick the best one and give it as a gift."

"...Surely you don't mean as a gift for Lord Asad? That joke isn't funny at all."

It had been half serious though.

In the past, he had both the wealth and ability to give his lover whatever gifts he wanted. But now he was penniless without a single possession, so he couldn't be confident of giving anything better than these wood carvings.

Though knowing he shouldn't think deeply about it, his mouth tasted bitter. Since the day he had cried in front of Asad, Kinaine had been suffering from self-loathing.

Why had he cried then? He was already a hated human, how much more hateful must he have looked crying?

'He must be sick of me.'

It was natural that he no longer visited.

Though it had been Kinaine himself who hoped not to get too deeply involved with Asad, when it actually happened, he felt a pain like a knife cutting through one corner of his heart.

Kinaine pressed his chest unnecessarily while muttering.

"I should think about what to do now. Since there won't be any visitors anymore."

But could those words have been a trigger?

The next day, Kinaine's eyes shook greatly seeing those who had come to his door.

'What... is this?'