I’d finally caught the thread called the Rebels, but before that, I had a task: persuading Varen.
"Haah... Varen, the Rebels’ goal is the same as yours. Toppling the Human King."
"How can I believe that? What if they just want to take the throne?"
"That’s...."
I stopped mid-reply.
I didn’t know much about the Rebels, either. I knew they had risen against the king, but I couldn’t be sure they truly meant to liberate monsters.
Since arriving here, I had met many humans. There were pure-hearted ones too, like Kallen Rossein and Margon, and Leobin.
But there were also plenty of humans like Jed Kardo and King Laskar—humans blinded by hunger for power, doing vile things.
Without even knowing how many there were, or what kind of humans they were made up of, I couldn’t swear with certainty that it was safe to join hands with the Rebels.
I pressed a hand to my throbbing forehead and let out a deep sigh. I hadn’t slept properly for days, and my already frayed nerves had turned razor-sharp.
"...Ceryl."
Just then, Varen—noticeably softened—called my name. His blue eyes looked even more drained than mine.
When I flinched at that look, Varen pushed further. This time, he even let his brows droop.
"...Are you doing that on purpose?"
"Ceryl, are you angry at me."
"...No."
"Still, I don’t want any humans unless it’s you."
Varen frowned, his expression openly displeased, like the very thought made him sick.
In the end, I let out a useless laugh. I lightly pinched the soft flesh of his cheek.
"What am I supposed to do with the king of Dravergh being this sulky?"
"I’m not sulking. If it’s joining hands with humans, then even if it’s dangerous, I’d rather go alone—"
"Tsk, you little— Are you really going to pick only the most hateful things to say?"
I grabbed Varen’s pouting lower lip with two fingers and squeezed hard.
When I pinched and shook, Varen roughly snatched my wrist.
"Don’t treat me like a child."
"It’s not that I’m treating you like a child. You are young. What could possibly matter more than you right now, risking—"
The scolding I’d been spitting out gradually died down.
Maybe my words had bruised his pride, because Varen suddenly shoved his hand inside my clothes. His chilled, hardened gaze came with it.
"...Sorry. I’ll take it back."
"Take what back."
"I misspoke. Fine—you're not a child."
"Keep talking."
"No, I said I’m sorry, didn’t I? You’re grown, I know you are, you don’t have to prove— hey, hey!"
Maybe he’d truly lost his mind, because the insane dragon tried to lay me down on the bed where his mother was sleeping.
Startled, I spread my arms and legs wide and clung to Varen as tightly as I could.
Varen wasn’t a dragon—he was a contrarian. When I pushed him away, he stuck to me, but when I clung to him without any gap, he couldn’t respond at all.
Burying my head near his ear, I whispered low.
"Are you out of your mind? Neira is sleeping. Don’t. Don’t you dare."
"...I see."
I thought he’d understood me at once for once, but Varen simply stood up °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° from the bed with me still in his arms.
Clinging to him like a koala, I flailed my limbs, but his thick forearms wrapped tightly around my body wouldn’t allow it.
Varen trudged out of Neira’s bedroom without hesitation. His light, decisive steps made the destination obvious even without looking.
A few dragons in the corridor glanced over with eyes full of curiosity. In a voice that crawled out of my throat, I pleaded.
"Please... can’t I walk on my own...."
"You’ll run."
"...I won’t run."
"Liar."
"...You’ve gotten sharp."
If I grabbed his hair and threw a fit, he’d put me down, but I didn’t want to make a scene and draw attention. It was humiliating enough already.
Half giving up, I quietly buried my face in his shoulder. Now was the time to save my strength.
Just wait until we get to the bedroom. Even if it breaks both my hands, I’ll beat this bastard half to death. And my broken hands... well, Varen can heal them.
But before we arrived, a bright voice snagged Varen’s steps.
"Oh my, Varen! Ceryl! Where are you going?"
It was, essentially, the human I least wanted to see me like this right now.
At the familiar voice of the girl, I clenched the back of Varen’s head tight. Then I bared my teeth.
"If you don’t want to die... put me down...."
Only then did Varen set me down.
***
Varen and me, and Margon and Kallen Rossein as well.
The four of us sat in a circle in the reception suite. An awkward atmosphere hung in the air, but the little monsters’ soft whines and mewling—back in my arms after so long—broke the silence.
"Haah... how did things ever end up with you taking the dragons’ side and making plans to kill the king...."
Margon muttered with a face gone completely rotten. He stroked his shaggy beard with his pot-lid-sized left hand, then sprang up and paced in place.
I could feel him watching, but I pretended not to notice and stroked Rami. It hadn’t even been long since I’d promised to use the body I’d borrowed from Margon carefully. Sorry, but it was a promise I couldn’t keep.
From a human’s standpoint, saying I would kill King Laskar was no different from a coup. It wasn’t “being careful”—it was declaring I would walk straight into the center of a storm.
Just then, Kallen Rossein—who’d been sipping tea—set her cup down with a small clink.
"If you kill King Laskar... you’ll stop experimenting on monsters, right?"
A face that seemed to have grown up noticeably in just a few days turned toward me.
I gave a small shrug.
"I can’t eradicate it completely, but at the very least, institutions like the Monster Containment Facility won’t be able to keep operating."
"...Are you going to kill Jed Kardo and Theo too?"
At the names I hadn’t heard in a while, Margon twitched. Maybe it throbbed just hearing them—he even kneaded his right shoulder with his left hand.
Honestly, Jed Kardo and Theo didn’t even make it onto my list of priorities. But for Margon and Kallen Rossein, they were probably the ones they wanted to take revenge on most.
"I want to kill those two and get Ella back."
If Leobin was a thorn driven into my heart that I could never forget, then for Kallen Rossein, Ella was that kind of existence.
Even after coming to Belzena, she’d often wondered about Ella’s safety, but this was the first time she’d stated her intent so firmly.
I scrubbed a hand down my face, at a loss.
"Ella... haah, fine. Ella will be somewhere in the forest. By now, the brainwashing magic might have already worn off."
"So then I—"
"Kallen, promise me. I’ll save Ella no matter what and return her to you. So you go back to your hometown."
At my words, Kallen Rossein’s face crumpled all at once. As she tried to argue, I cut her off before she could.
"It’s been dangerous enough up to now. We don’t know what’s coming next, and I can’t keep taking you with me."
"Why? Because I’m useless?"
"I’ve never asked you to be useful. A child like you—"
"Stop treating me like a child!"
Kallen Rossein shouted as if she were lashing out and jumped to her feet. Startled by the unfamiliar side of the girl who was always kind and gentle, Rami and Miya whimpered and hid in the corner of the sofa.
I tried to calm Kallen Rossein down, but once I finally took in what she looked like, my own expression hardened.
Her small, soft hand was trembling as it gripped a sword.
I held a hand out toward Kallen Rossein.
"Give that to me. It’s too dangerous for you to carry."
Kallen Rossein hid the slender, long sword behind her back. Her orange eyes were filled with stubbornness.
"No. Varen gave it to me."
At that, I shot Varen a glare.
So why would you hand something that dangerous to a kid.
"He gave me this sword so I could protect you, Ceryl. So I—"
"A child protecting someone—don’t talk nonsense."
It gave me a headache whenever Kallen Rossein said things like that. Every time a nineteen-year-old tried to act like an adult, it made my insides burn.
Just as expected, Kallen Rossein didn’t back down—she snapped right back at me.
"Why am I a child? I’m only younger than you. I’m old enough to pull my weight."
"So you’re saying you’ll pull your weight for me right now?"
"Yes! Because you’ve looked after me all this time—"
"Did I ever tell you to pull your weight for me?"
At my voice dropping cold, Kallen Rossein pressed her lips shut.
Her face flushed and darkened, angry and wronged in turns, and I didn’t like it at all.
Then Margon, who had been quiet, added a word.
"Nineteen isn’t that young. I became your bodyguard knight when I was much younger than Kallen."
"See? Margon held a sword when he was even younger—so why can’t I? Is it because I’m a girl?"
With the two of them coming at me together, my head didn’t just throb—it made my stomach turn. I flicked a glance at Varen, half hoping he’d take my side, but he only watched the situation with indifferent eyes.
I scrubbed my face hard with an irritated hand. Just saying “no” and opposing her wouldn’t be enough to persuade Kallen Rossein.
"Haah... It’s not because you’re a girl, Kallen."
Since everyone already knew I wasn’t the real Aylos, I could finally talk about my real past—about the me who wasn’t Ceryl.
