Chapter 6

Kinaine could tell. The spirit wasn't joking. Dragons would truly grant whatever their brides wanted, even if it was the destruction of the world.

It was truly a catastrophic form of affection. Enough to terrify an innocent person.

But Kinaine wasn't frightened. Rather, his heart swelled.

Even if only half of what the myths said was true, it was clear that dragons wielded power akin to gods.

So surely a dragon could do it. The thing he had desperately wished for.

The petrification magic he had cast on Jinaks... a dragon could surely break it.

Seven years ago, Hasan had used black magic to steal everything Kinaine had.

Power and honor. The palace and gifts his late mother had left behind. His loyal subordinates and friends he had shared long years of friendship with.

Perhaps Hasan had been planning to take Kinaine's body for a very long time. Naturally, Kinaine hadn't thought his brother would harbor such plans. Hasan had hated Kinaine, and Kinaine had avoided his brother who trembled at the sight of him.

So he hadn't known. That Hasan had been obsessively observing his every move.

If there was one thing the two princes of Hairak had in common, it was that they were both good actors. A face that didn't reveal true emotions and skilled lying were part of royal education.

Though Hasan had always been criticized for lacking qualities compared to Kinaine, in this aspect alone, he exceeded Kinaine.

As soon as he stole the body, he perfectly imitated Kinaine. No one knew he wasn't Kinaine.

Hasan had pinned all his crimes on Kinaine, and Kinaine had gone from being a noble prince to a disaster that needed to be subjugated.

But Kinaine had endured. He thought if he tried hard enough, he could find a solution. Just as the sun would rise even after the darkest night, he believed there would be an end to his suffering.

However.

'Little brother, you've never failed at anything. Someday, I want to teach you about failure, true despair.'

Hasan had finally achieved what he had once promised. He had brought his brother's unbreakable spirit to its knees before despair.

By killing his lover.

'That monster you called your lover. Ah, I remember. Like a porcupine after taking at least twenty arrows. Well, I suppose the body is rotting at the bottom of the river now...?'

Power and honor. The palace and gifts his late mother had left behind. Subordinates and friends. His own body... Kinaine had been able to endure losing all of that.

But his lover's death had completely broken him.

For the first time, Kinaine fell into deep despair.

He hated Hasan, the world, and himself.

'Die... all of you.'

Until then, he hadn't properly known.

That black magic fed on dark emotions like sorrow, anger, and hatred.

Though Kinaine hadn't known about black magic, unfortunately, his switched body was proficient in it.

And what had happened then?

When he opened his eyes, Jinaks, the city where Kinaine had been, was completely covered in gray.

An entire city, everything in it, had turned to stone.

That incident became the catalyst, and the 'righteous second prince' declared he would no longer tolerate the evil black mage's atrocities. The brave prince personally led the subjugation and succeeded in killing the evil black mage.

However, in truth, the evil black mage wasn't rotting in the cold ground as people expected. Right now, he was facing a spirit while wearing a dress in a nobleman's mansion.

Kinaine thought.

'Yes. A dragon could do it. No. Perhaps only a dragon could do it.'

After the subjugation, Kinaine had become a mercenary and wandered the world. It was to break the petrification curse cast on Jinaks. That was the only reason he remained alive instead of dying.

The problem was that most materials about black magic had been destroyed. Even investigating black magic was illegal, so he was paying hundreds of thousands of gold to Guild Master Gale to search for information.

But he only had 1-2 years left at most. Even Kinaine knew it was nearly impossible to find a solution within that time.

However, now he felt the embers of hope, which he thought had been completely extinguished in his heart, burning again.

"I thought when I heard about the dragon's bride selection, it would finally be my chance to return to the Spirit Realm..."

Kinaine emerged from his memories at the spirit's muttering.

The spirit seemed used to talking to itself. Kinaine knew this was a characteristic of those who had spent long times alone. After all, he was the same.

"Excuse me. You said you were Lord Kor, right?"

Even as he spoke, Kinaine was conflicted.

Was this really a good choice?

'No.'

No matter how he thought about it, it wasn't a good choice.

'But it's the only way.'

Kinaine finally spoke.

"Actually, the serious illness was a lie. I just caught a fever overnight from being in the cold wind yesterday."

"What?"

Moments later. As the enraged spirit rampaged, the flower vase shattered and the bedside table was half-destroyed. However, the spirit never touched Kinaine. Thanks to that, he only needed to hold down his fluttering veil with his hand.

'Because it needs me, no, needs a bride.'

Kinaine could now roughly understand the situation.

The dragon's bride was selected through a selection process. And this spirit had chosen the client's daughter as a dragon bride candidate.

'A chance to return to the Spirit Realm... that's what it said.'

Just as he wanted to break the black magic cast on Jinaks, this spirit wanted to return to the Spirit Realm.

Someone who wanted something was easy to handle. Even more so if they were desperate. Wasn't that how the Guild Master was easily using him?

"Lord Kor, please listen to me. I lied because I was afraid of becoming someone's bride without knowing them. But since it seems you'll be in trouble if I don't become the bride, I'll try to be a bit braver."

The spirit, having already vented its anger, was still huffing but didn't get angrier.

"This is absurd. Do you think the chance to become a dragon's bride comes to just anyone? It's only possible because I, Lord Kor, am the leader of the winged tribe."

"Of course. To think that I, a mere human, could become a dragon's bride. My heart is racing."

"...But how long will your voice stay like that? It'll be a problem if it continues."

"It's like this because I caught too much cold wind. It should get better soon, don't you think?"

While lying casually, Kinaine extended his hand from under the blanket. His hand wore an elaborate lace-decorated glove. Naturally, a rich young lady's hands and a mercenary's hands looked different. If not for the gloves, his identity would have been exposed immediately.

"Then let's make the promise again. That you won't harm me no matter what happens."

Then Kinaine continued calmly.

"If you do, instead of receiving the diamond, 'I' will become the dragon bride candidate."

"Why would I harm you?"

In response, he silently looked around. Finally realizing the state of the destroyed room, the crow exclaimed.

"Fine, I promise!"

The spirit shouted without a hint of suspicion and hurriedly placed the diamond in Kinaine's palm.

"Now that's done, quickly come out from under the blanket. We don't have time. We must leave before Runamoon sets and the bridge connecting to the Spirit Realm is cut off."

"Understood."

The spirit's eyes widened at the sight of Kinaine obediently getting out of bed.

"You, what are you!"

Kinaine suddenly realized his scalp felt cool. The wig must have caught on the bedpost and come off.

Though it would have been exposed the moment he got up anyway, this must be quite a sight. Looking down at the dress that was tight enough to burst, he answered somewhat embarrassedly.

"I'm the bride. Or rather, the candidate?"

Only then did the spirit realize it had truly been deceived by a human and began to rampage.

"Such insolence... I'll cut out that lying tongue, and tear that wretched body to pieces to feed to beasts!"

Every time the spirit swung its massive wings, it sounded like being in a storm.

However, Kinaine didn't feel any danger at all.

"It's useless, Lord Kor."

The fierce wind only blew away Kinaine's veil. As the veil disappeared, an expressionless face was revealed.

"Didn't you promise me? That you wouldn't harm me no matter what happened."

"Damn it, damn it all!"

Though the spirit threw a fit for a while as if it absolutely couldn't accept this, there was nothing it could do once the promise had been made. The covenant was already established, and magic was protecting the damned con artist.

"..."

"..."

A moment later, a human and a spirit in the form of a crow faced each other in the ransacked room.

The spirit glared at Kinaine with menacingly glowing purple eyes. If looks could kill, Kinaine would have been torn into hundreds of pieces already.

"...What kind of trick is this."

"What trick could I possibly play on a great spirit? I simply wish to keep my promise."

"Keep your promise?"

"Yes."

Kinaine nodded.

"I will become the dragon's bride."