Chapter 21

Just as Kinaine was trying to recall a story he had heard recently.

Ramu opened her mouth.

"There's one thing to be careful about. If you score lower than the set minimum in any test, you're eliminated."

"And eliminated candidates have to leave the dragon's palace?"

"Yes. So Lord Nine must not receive too low a score during the tests."

"I'll keep that in mind."

To Kinaine, who didn't even know common knowledge in the spirit realm, Ramu was a reliable advisor.

To enter the dragon's palace, at least one guard and one servant were needed. That's why Kinaine had brought Rahu as a guard and Ramu as a servant, promising them wages.

Though he wasn't sure about Rahu, meeting Ramu had been great fortune.

"You saw the other bride candidates?"

"Yes."

"For Lord Nine to win against them would be nothing short of a miracle."

It was a cold assessment, but Kinaine thought the same. Just looking at appearances alone, wasn't it obvious? If each of the other bride candidates was a king of flowers, he was at the level of a weed.

Though he wasn't sure about intelligence or character, since each tribe had surely put forward their best candidate, he couldn't take it lightly.

"So Lord Nine must pass the tests with average scores, and during the selection period, you absolutely must..."

Ramu spoke with determination, clenching her fist.

"Make the dragon fall in love with you!"

The purpose of the selection was to determine the dragon's bride.

Though typically the candidate with the highest test scores became the dragon's bride, there was one loophole.

That was winning the dragon's heart.

Since ultimately whoever became the dragon's bride was the winner, it was like stealing the prize while the competitors were fighting.

Though very rare, there had been a few times when brides were chosen this way. This was what Kinaine had heard about recently.

"As I said outside, this is our only way."

The possibility of Kinaine, a recessive omega, becoming the bride through orthodox means was very low. Moreover, since he was human, as Kor had said, the possibility wasn't just 'very low' but closer to 'nonexistent.'

So the plan was to use this loophole to become the dragon's bride during the selection period.

Kinaine smiled bitterly.

'It seemed quite possible until I saw the dragon.'

Remembering the dragon's eyes full of hatred, now he thought winning the tests might have a higher chance of becoming the bride.

Recalling that gaze again made his chest hurt as if pierced by an icy thorn. Though he had experienced so much that he could now laugh off most things, anything related to his dead lover was different.

'I tried not to think about it on purpose.'

Like a cruel trick of fate, the dragon's eyes were exactly the same as Helio's.

'Though he absolutely cannot be Helio.'

Hadn't he seen Helio's corpse clearly with his own eyes that day? Though it was damaged beyond recognition, the ring on his hand was definitely the token they had shared.

Hasan was someone who knew better than anyone how to cause Kinaine the greatest pain, and he had ultimately achieved what he wanted.

Kinaine rubbed his face with his hands.

"Being looked at with those eyes like that really is a heavy blow."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing."

Seems like he needed to fix his habit of talking to himself too. But habits once formed were like calluses - not easily removed.

"Ramu, didn't the servant who guided us here say the first test is in a week?"

"Yes. We should be able to prepare what we need during that time. We can request things from that servant from earlier."

Ramu answered competently. Though he wasn't sure of her actual age, it was impressive how efficiently this girl who looked like a teenager handled things. He must be getting old himself.

"Good. Let's rest for now. You worked hard too, Ramu. I'll use the second floor, you two use the first floor."

"Thank you."

"It's nothing."

After patting Ramu's hair once, he went up to the second floor.

There was one large room on the second floor, and Kinaine decided to use it.

Though the floor creaked with every step, it didn't particularly bother him. During his wandering days, he had been grateful just to have a roof over his head.

"Come to think of it, there was a bed too."

In the room, which was quite large by Kinaine's standards, stood a single old wooden bed. Though it was hard enough to make his back ache, it was better than sleeping on the floor that could collapse at any moment.

"Hmm. Is it cold?"

Whether because of broken windows as Ramu had said, or because the building was old, cold wind was blowing in from somewhere. Fortunately there was a blanket, so Kinaine decided to use it. The blanket smelled of dust and mold.

"..."

Though he should have been tired, somehow sleep wouldn't come easily.

Was it because memories he had forcibly covered up were being scattered randomly?

"...It's alright."

Kinaine muttered as if reassuring himself.

He must not be caught up in dark emotions like sorrow and anger. If he did, a situation like what happened in Jinaks would occur again.

That's why Kinaine deliberately avoided thinking about his lover.

"It's alright."

His hand, full of scars, fiddled with the silver ring hanging from his neck. The cold sensation suppressed his anxiety.

Yes, it was alright. Everything would end well.

And then.

"I'll come soon too. To your side..."

Only then could Kinaine close his eyes peacefully.

The incident happened the very next day.

"Kyaaak!"

Awakened by Ramu's scream, Kinaine instinctively felt for his bedside. He always kept his sword there when sleeping.

However, unlike usual, there was nothing to grab.

'Ah, they took away weapons before getting in the carriage.'

Perhaps to prevent any possible incidents, weapons weren't allowed when meeting the dragon. Only guards could carry weapons, but Rahu still hadn't returned.

"Ramu!"

The thoughts ended in seconds. Kinaine rushed out of the room like an arrow.

Almost jumping down the stairs to reach the first floor, he saw Ramu sitting collapsed on the floor, white as a sheet.

The girl's face was pale as if she had seen something terrible, and her gaze was fixed on one spot. Kinaine immediately stood in front of Ramu as if to protect her from an intruder.

However, his sharp killing intent dissipated uselessly the moment he confirmed the intruder.

"...Insects?"

They were insects. And a huge number of them.

After confirming the insects writhing in the opened wooden basket, Kinaine carefully asked:

"Why are there insects... Ramu, did you catch them?"

"Of course not!"

Ramu shouted. Tears had already welled up in the girl's eyes.

"Yesterday the servant clearly said they would bring food every morning, but there was no sign of them. Since we needed things anyway, I went to ask about both."

The palace assigned to Kinaine was the farthest from the main palace. To get food and necessary items, they had to go to the main palace, which took an hour's walk from here.

But since it couldn't be helped, she had moved diligently and arrived at the palace.

'What? Where did you say you're from? I don't know, go ask somewhere else!'

When she caught a servant and said there seemed to be an omission, they pushed her away saying to ask elsewhere. After being treated like an unwanted guest everywhere, she finally met someone who seemed to know something.

'Ah, from that abandoned... ahem, that palace you say. Hmm, wait a moment.'

After a while, the woman said there seemed to have been an omission and handed over a wooden basket.

But when she opened the lid after carrying the heavy basket back, struggling, instead of food there was just a mass of insects.

"I thought the atmosphere felt strange. This is too much!"

Ramu's anger wasn't just because she disliked insects.

"This is insulting the winged tribe!"

Why would they put insects in a food basket? It was like mocking the winged tribe by calling them bird-brains. As if saying 'bird-brains should just peck at insects.'

"Hmm."

Kinaine, who had actually thought something like 'do birds dislike insects?', felt a bit guilty hearing this.

"I'll clean this up, so go wash your face. Don't cry."

Kinaine patted the sniffling Ramu and cleaned up the insects while she went to wash her face. There were so many. It was amazing where they had found so many insects.

"This level of dedication is touching."

Fortunately, Kinaine wasn't afraid of insects. How could he have lived as a mercenary with outdoor sleeping as routine if he had been afraid of such things?

He caught the insects one by one with his bare hands, put them in the basket, and went outside to release them.

"Don't get caught again."

After watching the insects scurrying away, he returned to find Ramu already sitting in a dining chair. Her drooping wings seemed to represent her mood today.

Growl.

"..."

"..."

The pitiful sound pierced their ears. Though Kinaine who had just woken up was still fine, Ramu who had been moving since morning must have been hungry.

'...Somehow I feel like an incompetent head of household.'

Though going hungry for a few days was nothing to him, it was heartbreaking to see a child starving.

And wasn't Ramu experiencing this because of him after all?

That servant wouldn't have acted out of mere personal spite.

'They must have judged us as acceptable targets for harassment.'

And behind that would be the dragon's permission. Subordinates tended to read their superiors' moods.

It must have happened in an atmosphere where such behavior was tacitly approved, even if not explicitly stated.

After a moment, Kinaine stood up with the basket.

"Ramu, wait here for a bit."

"Where are you going?"

"We can't keep starving. I have to try something."

However, the dragon was completely wrong about Kinaine.

Cold and hunger couldn't break him. The dragon would soon learn this fact too.