Even the incredulous tone was just... welcome. I raised my voice a little and continued reading the rest of the letter.
“I reflected a lot these past few days. I never wanted to hurt you. I’m really sorry.”
...I was not hurt.
“If you forgive me, I’ll never do anything like that again. I want to always make you laugh, and make you happy.”
I had copied someone else’s words, sure—but they still aligned with how I felt.
Because I really did want Varen to be happy. I hadn’t seen him smile yet, but I was sure it would be cute.
“I know I’m not enough for you, but I can promise you at least this: I’ll do my best for you. Will you accept my heart?”
...I don’t want to.
“I’ll wait for your reply. From your Ceryl.”
...Since when were you my Ceryl?
It wasn’t the reaction I wanted, but—at least he was responding now. So the anger had passed.
I leaned in close to the bars, and the dragon’s silhouette wavered in the dark.
Could it be... a magic spell.
“That’s right. A spell to break anger.”
A warm breath brushed past me. Even the snort of exasperation felt good to hear.
You really do useless things.
“Still not over it? Then the next part is a serenade.”
I had even prepared a song. But he must have truly not wanted to hear that—thud, thud. Heavy sounds echoed.
Don’t.
Before I knew it, his front leg was right in front of me. I looked up with a bright grin. Varen glared down, displeased.
“Come on, let it go. Yeah?”
The dragon snorted again. Then, with a heavy sound, he sat right in front of the bars.
You are impossible to deal with.
“Not ‘human.’ Ceryl.”
...You are impossible to deal with, Ceryl.
The low voice calling my name lifted my mood for no reason at all.
And so, the one-week-long dragon sulking incident came to an end. Huge body, tiny pride. I really needed to watch my mouth from now on.
Varen tapped the bouquet lightly with a claw sharp enough to terrify anyone. Petals scattered, and the scent grew stronger.
What is this.
“What do you mean? It’s flowers.”
...This is ‘flowers’?
At that, I blinked wide.
The dragon stared at the bouquet with no expression. He just kept looking at it for a long time—then lowered his long, flexible neck to sniff.
It has a pleasant scent.
“You like flowers? Didn’t think you’d be the romantic type.”
I hadn’t expected a male dragon to like flowers. That was just my prejudice.
Maybe teenagers connected regardless of race or age. I needed to shower Kalen with praise later.
It is my first time seeing them.
“These flowers? What were they called... Bellacera? Bellacia?”
Even flowers in this world had the most twisted, tongue-breaking names—
No. It’s my first time seeing flowers at all.
I froze mid-thought. Then slowly lifted my gaze to his face.
Varen couldn’t tear his eyes from the bouquet. Those clear, frighteningly blue eyes were filled with bitterness.
Thank you, Ceryl.
He hadn’t thanked me for all the salmon I brought. But for some wild weeds I had grabbed on the way here—he thanked me.
I stood there, dumbfounded, and then awkwardly smiled.
“It’s nothing. I’ll bring different ones tomorrow.”
......
“There are lots of flowers in the forest. I don’t know their names, but there are little white ones with a really good scent—”
Oh, no.
“...And there are red flowers that bloom from trees. They have a sharp smell. And... there are ones that open only when the moon comes out—”
My voice rambled on, but my heartbeat tightened in panic.
I see. There are many kinds of flowers in the world.
I made a mistake. I had just been telling myself to watch my mouth.
I shut my foolish lips tight and stared at the fallen petals.
What did it mean to bring flowers to a dragon chained in a basement?
The familiar metallic rattle sounded. We both looked at the wall. The thick chains were there. Unchanged.
“...I’ll do something about that. Somehow.”
It’s fine.
My throat closed up with guilt.
Stupid, shameless bastard. What was I planning to do? I hadn’t found a single solution.
This is enough.
I had wanted to see him smile. To know how a dragon smiles.
But this was not the expression I had imagined.
The salmon you caught for me. The letter you read. The flowers you brought. You were the first to give me all of those.
“.........”
Ceryl. Thank you for showing me the world.
He gazed at the scattered petals, smiling. A sad smile—one I couldn’t answer.
For him, the handful of flowers was the world. But a dragon’s world... should be so much more.
“Don’t say things like that. You’re making it weird.”
I forced up the corners of my mouth—but only one side twitched.
Varen’s voice was calm and barren, unlike his expression.
My life was hell. But after you came, it became... a little bearable.
“...I’m glad.”
And that made it harder.
“.........”
I want to leave here.
For some reason, Jed’s laugh flashed in my mind. How he had said the most cruel man in the kingdom was me.
I gripped the bars with cold, sweating hands. My heartbeat staggered wildly.
“Wait a little. I’ll find a way. I swear I will.”
The heavy iron weight hanging from his wings clanked. Varen looked at it with deep despair.
This chain was enchanted by the mage right before his death. Only he could release it. It can never be undone now.
So that was why there was no key. Then the only option was explosives—collapse the wall itself.
But if the basement collapsed... What if Varen died buried before ever seeing the sky?
I have a request.
I shut my eyes, then opened them. I forced my voice bright.
“A request? Tell me. Should I get more salmon? Ten wasn’t enough?”
Ceryl.
“Or meat? You must be sick of fish, right?”
We talked past each other, neither hearing the other.
Varen waited patiently—and then spoke simply.
Kill me.
Everything he had endured gathered in that sentence.
My future has only two endings: to be tortured here until I die, or to be controlled ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) by humans.
“...Don’t say that. I’ll never let either happen.”
The only thing that kept me alive was the pride of a Draverg.
Whether he heard me or not, he continued softly.
If I am to have my name stolen, I would rather die. But I cannot even take my own life.
What could I say? How could I ask someone who had lived only suffering to keep waiting?
Ceryl, you said you wanted to help me.
“...Yes.”
Then kill me. That is how you help me.
The words settled into my chest like a weight heavier than the iron ballast on his wings.
His grief bled into me until I nearly drowned in it.
No.
Not both of us.
“Don’t say something so stupid. Helping you doesn’t mean that.”
Even as I rejected him firmly, Varen only smiled. He sniffed the flowers one more time, then lowered his gaze to mine.
His transparent eyes looked like they already understood everything.
You were ordered to learn my name, were you not?
“...How did you—”
There is no other reason a human would come.
So he knew. He’d always known.
My strength drained away. I collapsed to the ground, dust rising around me.
Ceryl, you were the only human who was kind to me. I wanted to give you a gift.
“...I don’t need anything like that.”
I wanted to give you my name.
He had endured torture for years without speaking—and now—
I stared up in shock. And his eyes showed it was the truth.
I am sorry. I want to tell you. But I do not remember it.
A flood of meaning and grief crashed into me. I barely managed to follow.
“You don’t... remember your name?”
Yes.
Every being has an identity. A name is what defines the self.
And for dragons, a name meant even more—their names were tied to the heart itself.
A dragon’s name was their life.
A Draverg without a name is incomplete. So I remain locked here.
“...If we find your name, then what?”
Who knows. It is only a useless hypothetical.
He didn’t know how strong he was. Why he was born. What he was meant to be.
I stood abruptly. Gripped the bars. Leaned close.
“Promise me one thing. Don’t ask anything.”
Don’t ask... anything?
“Hurry. Promise.”
...You say strange things. Fine. I promise.
I didn’t know what would happen next. Fear and hope pounded together in my chest.
But the one certainty I always felt with him—was still there.
Humans stole it. So a human can return it.
“Varen.”
If you don’t know who you are—
I’ll tell you.
“Varen Draverg.”
The empty blue eyes slowly regained their light. The vertical pupil trembled, contracting and dilating.
“King of the Monsters and their Guardian. The last bloodline of the Draverg.”
......
“Varen Draverg.
That is who you are.”
