Following Neira, we hurried out through the long corridor.
It wasn’t far before we reached a place where dragons were packed together in swarms. It was a shared space used like the banquet hall of the Dravergh palace.
But it looked nothing like the luxurious, grand place it was supposed to be. It was a ruin no different from the collapsed corridor.
Elegant stone pillars had toppled, and the ceiling—once unusually high—had caved in as well.
In the area the explosions had swept through, dragons huddled in small groups, trembling with anxiety.
And at the cavern’s entrance, Ordin stood tall.
Varen and I went straight to him.
“Ordin, the humans—”
But I couldn’t continue. I shut my mouth.
Those blue eyes, identical to Varen’s, were fixed on empty air. When I followed his gaze, I saw dozens of crossbows as thick as logs floating in the air, shaking and wobbling.
Beside his father, Varen quietly lifted a hand. The cold intensity in his gaze deepened, and his thick brows twitched.
KWA-GWA-GWA-GWANG— KWANG!!!
Varen detonated the crossbows that had been frozen in place all at once. Dozens of bombs exploded at the cavern entrance, and debris surged inward.
But Ordin pursed his lips and blew out a steady breath—and a fierce wind that rose from inside the cavern hurled the blast debris back out.
Only after confirming safety did Ordin finally relax, letting out a light sigh.
“Well, well. This is hardly a dignified moment for a father.”
Even as he said that, his eyes on his son were warm.
Praised by his father, Varen—still wearing a blunt expression—let a faint flush creep over his cheeks.
It was a good sight, but there wasn’t time to share sentiments now. I cut into the Dravergh father and son’s brief tenderness.
“Ordin, something’s wrong.”
At my anxious voice, Ordin turned. I curled my fist as I stared out beyond the cavern.
I knew the Belzena war had been delayed compared to the timeline in the novel. But since I didn’t know the exact date, I’d hoped it was just a bad feeling.
Now I was sure. The war had stepped outside the original setting.
“Humans usually started the attack in the morning. But the sun hasn’t even risen yet....”
Even with bright moonlight, starting a war at night was unfavorable for humans. Unlike dragons with night vision, humans couldn’t see well in the dark.
More than anything, the army used crossbows as weapons. That meant it had to be hard for them to even distinguish targets right now.
No matter how I thought about it, humans had no reason to start a war in the middle of the night.
What did I miss? Why was it moving differently from the original?
A firm hand wrapped over my lightly trembling one. Varen had come up beside me before I realized.
“Don’t worry, Ceryl. I’m here.”
It was probably meant to reassure me, but my spine went cold.
Varen had chosen the dragons’ side. That single fact snapped the scattered pieces of the puzzle into place.
How had I not thought of it?
It was me who’d decided I wouldn’t let Varen become a mad dragon. Me who’d sworn I’d overturn the original story.
If I chose that, I should’ve predicted the butterfly effect too.
In the original, Varen was the humans’ strongest weapon. But since they’d lost Varen, they would’ve found another way.
A weapon with greater firepower that never appeared in the novel. A corps of high-ranking mages whose magic I didn’t understand.
Or something I didn’t even know existed.
The attack had been delayed so they could prepare it. Only now did I understand why the timeline had slipped.
But there was still one thing I couldn’t explain—the time they chose to attack.
Why pick the night? Had they chosen a time that wasn’t good for humans, but was bad for dragons?
But dragons didn’t weaken just because the moon was up.
“...How did they know?”
The words slipped out at the end of my thoughts.
Varen—collapsing with fever whenever the sun set and the moon rose.
The humans knew that fatal weakness Varen had shown in the forest.
How? How could they possibly know?
Had they been watching since the forest? If so, they wouldn’t have left us alone for a whole month.
Or someone who knew Varen’s weakness could have reported it. Kallen? No—impossible. She’d rather die than betray like that.
Then who the hell...?
“Ceryl! Get it together!”
Varen tightened his grip on my hand and called my name in a clear voice.
Pulled out of my spiraling thoughts, I looked at him.
“There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll keep the promise I made to you.”
“.......”
“No matter what happens, I’ll protect the dragons.”
A low exhale leaked out of me.
Varen kept promises he made to me—no matter what. It was a vow so straight and stubborn it bordered on foolishness.
Watching our exchange, Ordin gestured to the dragons gathered there.
At once, the representatives of each clan moved in around him.
“Evacuate the children. Those prepared to fight will follow me.”
At the king’s single sentence, the dragons began moving with flawless coordination.
Half retreated deeper into the cavern with the children. The other half took positions at the entrance with hard faces.
After their first volley of crossbows had been blocked, the human army didn’t attack again—perhaps reorganizing.
In that opening, dragons began to rise into the «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» air one by one, bodies glowing faintly as they floated. Before I knew it, dragons of every color stitched patterns into the sky.
Before Ordin stepped out, I hurriedly caught him.
“Ordin, there may be other weapons I don’t know about. But the principle will be the same. We have to find the main body and destroy it.”
Ordin stared at me in silence. His gaze was unreadable, and my body twitched despite myself.
In a voice with no rise or fall, he asked me—
“Aylos. Are you truly taking the dragons’ side instead of the humans?”
Since the information I’d revealed—telling him to trust me—had been wrong, suspicion was more than fair.
But this wasn’t the time for excuses.
I met his eyes head-on and nodded.
“Yes. I want the dragons to win.”
Not the cruel ending where Varen slaughtered the dragons.
A brilliant, golden victory for dragons.
That was practically why I’d run all the way here.
Those blue eyes swept over me from head to toe. Then he smiled faintly.
“When this war ends, there’s something I want to ask you. When that time comes, you must answer honestly.”
Without waiting for my reply, Ordin left the cavern.
With a soft flash, he became a dazzling golden dragon and beat his wings powerfully.
The King of Dravergh was going to war—and the real war was about to begin.
My heart hammered with rising unease. Clutching my roiling chest, I turned to Varen.
Varen stepped closer, as if he’d been waiting for his turn.
“I’ll protect the drag—”
“Varen, don’t get hurt. You can’t get hurt. Do you understand?”
I grabbed his hand hard. It made no sense, but something as big as a pot lid suddenly felt fragile.
Frowning, I pressed him for an answer.
“Hurry. Promise me. Promise you won’t get hurt. Promise you’ll come back safely.”
Varen looked down at the hand I was gripping. Then he lifted it and kissed the back of my hand.
Everything around us was chaotic, but his low, gentle voice struck my ears with perfect clarity.
“I swear it to the sun.”
After I let go, Varen brushed my hair back. At that tender touch, I clenched my teeth.
Am I insane? Insane in the worst way?
The strongest of Dravergh. The dragon who had to lead the Belzena war to victory.
Even knowing exactly who he was, I kept feeling something else.
I wanted to take Varen’s hand and run away somewhere—anywhere. I wanted to make sure he didn’t get hurt even once.
“Ceryl, my room is the safest place in Belzena. Go ahead. I’ll come get you.”
“...Okay.”
I hid what was inside me and nodded.
Varen smiled as if to reassure me, then turned his back.
For no reason, my eyes stung. His back looked steady—and unbearably pitiful at the same time.
But I couldn’t grab his ankle and hold him back, so I hardened my resolve. Right now, I needed to use every scrap of knowledge I had to help Varen.
If the army was forcing an attack in the middle of the night, they might be using magic to cover their weakness.
But the situation had diverged too much from the original for me to know everything. Still, I knew how to track the traces of a mage.
I caught Varen by the wrist as he moved away.
“Varen, there’s something I didn’t say. The humans—”
The moment he was caught, Varen turned and kissed me.
One hand cupped the back of my neck, and the other wrapped my waist—before I could react, he pushed his tongue in deep.
I’d once told him to kiss short and hard, and he was putting those words into practice now.
After a brief kiss that completely stole my mind, Varen kept his lips close and whispered—
“I love you too, Ceryl.”
That wasn’t what I was trying to say.
I was trying to say we needed to track human traces.
When I froze, mouth opening and closing in flustered silence, he stamped another strong kiss onto my lips.
With a clear sound, he pulled away, smiling brightly as he retreated.
“I’ll be back. Go to my room.”
Watching him become a golden dragon in an instant and fly out of the cavern, I pressed a hand to my forehead.
If the army was using concealment magic, pinning down their location would be difficult. But since they’d hauled in heavy crossbows, there had to be wagon tracks left behind.
I needed to follow those tracks and take out the mages first. Once the concealment was stripped, destroying the crossbows’ main bodies would be nothing for dragons.
That was what I’d been trying to tell him.
He heard what he wanted to hear—and left without listening to the important part.
“...Love.”
It was obviously an easy word.
So why was it so hard to say out loud?
With my face burning hot, I stared at the golden dragon’s retreating back.
