At my words, Varen didn’t even blink. He simply stared at me with clear eyes, as if quietly trying to gauge what I meant.
I met his gaze and calmly sorted through my emotions.
The storm-like events had torn through me completely, and what had settled afterward remained heavy in my chest.
Holding his gaze, I spoke slowly, choosing each word with care.
“When that thing wanted you. When it rushed in, asking for even one of your legs... I didn’t want to give it even a single strand of your hair.”
Repeating those horrifying words made me reach out a little more. As I ran my fingers through his glossy hair, I finally spoke the truth I had been holding back.
“When it drank your blood, it felt like all the blood in my body was being drained out. Varen... rather than let it take even a drop of your blood, I would have given it my heart.”
“That’s ridiculous. That level of injury means nothing to a dragon. But you—”
“Listen to me, Varen.”
Hearing something he didn’t like, Varen immediately pushed back. But at my firm tone, he closed his mouth.
“Varen, if something were to happen to you... if I were to lose you, I’d do anything too.”
“......”
“If I could protect you by burning the entire world, I’d do it without hesitation.”
Not long ago, I had been scolding him for setting fires so recklessly.
But now, I could understand him.
If I were a dragon too, and lost Varen right in front of me, I’d probably turn this damned world into an ocean of fire.
If Varen disappeared from this world, there would be no reason for me to exist either.
So even if this meaningless world burned away entirely, I wouldn’t feel a thing.
It was Varen who had caught hold of me when I fell into this unfamiliar world and couldn’t adapt.
Without him, I would never have found a reason to exist, and this world would have meant nothing to me.
“From the moment I first saw you, I wanted to protect you. I thought... if it meant you could be happy, I could do anything.”
“......”
“But now... what I feel now is...”
Only after seeing Varen fall into danger because of me did I finally put a period on it.
Even if it made me selfish. Even if it made me a coward.
“I don’t want to give you... Varen, I don’t want to give you to anyone else. Not a drop of your blood, not a single strand of your hair.”
“......”
“So what I’m saying is... Varen, listen carefully.”
As my words grew longer, Varen’s expression stiffened.
Seeing his reaction only made my lips dry.
I wet them once and cleared my throat, then tightly grasped his hand—nearly twice the size of mine.
“I know I’m being greedy. I’m just an ordinary human, and you’re the king of dragons. It doesn’t really add up.”
“What are you talking about, Ceryl?”
“I know it doesn’t add up between us... I know you’re too good for me. But I don’t have anything to give except myself.”
I had prepared something far more elegant and romantic in my head, but what came out was clumsy and disjointed.
My palm kept growing damp where our hands were joined.
Instead of wiping it away, I lifted his hand.
His long, pale fingers came into view, and I carefully pressed my lips to the back of his hand before pulling away.
For the good dragon who had waited so long for me, I chose the words I thought he would want to hear.
“I’ll give myself to you. So... you give me everything you are too.”
“......”
“Become my mate, Varen.”
I had only said a few words while sitting still, yet for some reason my breathing grew uneven.
I lowered my gaze to his hand and waited for his answer.
But even after my awkward confession ended, Varen said nothing.
When I looked up at him with tense eyes, all I saw was an unfamiliar expression.
“...Do you not want to?”
I broke the uncomfortable silence and asked.
He had proposed to me so many times—I had thought there was no way this confession could fail.
But with every breath I took under that unreadable expression, it felt like my life was being shaved away little by little.
After a long moment of stillness, Varen finally moved first, pulling my hand toward him.
Just as I had done, he pressed his lips to the back of my hand and answered in a soft whisper.
“When I was alone in the underground prison... Ceryl, you came to find me.”
He spoke of the very first time we met.
That hellish sight and stench were still vivid in my memory.
When I unconsciously frowned, Varen lightly brushed the back of my hand as he continued gently.
“When I wanted to die but couldn’t... you found me. You brought light into my world, gave me a scent, and taught me what love is.”
When he lifted his head, his blue eyes were filled with something I couldn’t put into words.
Even without speaking, the depth of his emotions reached me completely.
“From that moment on, you were my world, Ceryl. The rest of my life belongs to you.”
Varen had become my reason to exist, and I had become his world.
My breath kept catching in my throat, but I couldn’t cry yet. I swallowed it down.
With a stiffened throat, I barely managed to speak the final words.
Words I had only ever received from him—now, at last, I could return them.
“...I love you. I love you, Varen Dravergh.”
They were familiar, ordinary words.
And yet, they had always held a distance between us.
Now, they had become something that meant exactly the same to both of us.
I repeated them again and again, as if making a vow.
Meeting each other’s eyes in silence, neither of us moved first—and yet, at the same time, we both leaned in and found each other’s lips.
Perhaps because we had held it in for so long, our movements were urgent, even clumsy as our lips collided harder than intended—but it didn’t matter.
I wrapped my arms around Varen’s neck and tilted my head, and he easily lifted my body with arms filled with strength.
Straddling him as we faced each other, I lost myself in him.
His body heat wrapped around me, and the irregular pounding of his heart against my chest reverberated through my entire body.
Our soft flesh sought each other, and I swallowed saliva that no longer felt like it belonged to either of us.
Even though only our lips were connected, the sensation of our souls intertwining made the back of my neck burn.
After kissing him breathlessly, I pulled back for a moment to catch my breath.
Right before me, his dragon eyes trembled, soaked with deep affection and heat.
“Haa... Varen, I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?”
“For saying it so late. I kept... I kept pushing your feelings away.”
Regret came rushing in like a tide.
If it was always going to end like this, I should have accepted his feelings much sooner.
It felt like I had made this young, gentle dragon suffer far too long, and tears pricked at my eyes.
I resented the meaningless time I had let slip away.
I cupped his face with desperate hands—but Varen only smiled softly.
“I knew, Ceryl. That you loved me.”
He gently held the back of my head and kissed my cheek, the tip of my nose, even my eyelids, making soft sounds as he did.
At the ticklish, heart-stirring touch, I slowly closed my eyes.
“I could tell from the way you looked at me, from the way you said my name. I felt all of it.”
“...Really?”
“Even without words, I understood everything. More than anything...”
Varen wrapped both arms around my upper body and buried his face against my neck.
He inhaled deeply, taking in my scent, and let out a low laugh.
“At some point, you started to smell sweet to me. I could feel the love you couldn’t hide.”
A subtle change that humans could never notice—this perceptive dragon had already seen through it.
I really did waste my time for nothing.
Letting out a hollow laugh, I tightened my arms «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» around his neck.
His body, so large it overflowed my embrace, felt unbearably precious.
Holding onto a body I didn’t want even a scratch on, a heart I didn’t want to give up even a speck of—
I leaned close to his ear, flushed with heat, and whispered.
“Varen, say it too.”
“What?”
“...Say you love me.”
I muttered the words, embarrassed.
But Varen understood perfectly. With a radiant smile, he turned to face me.
In his brilliant blue eyes—brighter than ever—I saw myself smiling back.
“I could say it all night. I love you, Ceryl.”
“......”
“I’ll love you for the rest of my life. Until I return to the primordial flame, I’ll love only you.”
The dragon’s confession burned hotter than the flames he had unleashed.
The idea of eternity, which once felt like a burden, now seemed nothing but romantic.
I cupped his cheeks with both hands and kissed him once more.
Pressing my lips against his like a seal, I pulled away and spoke with a bright, lifted voice.
“Humans don’t live as long as dragons.”
“That’s...”
“So even after I die, I’ll love you. In the next life... even if I end up in another world again. Varen Dravergh, I’ll love you.”
This feeling that could give up even life itself for the other.
This bond where, without the other, even my own existence becomes meaningless.
Is there any word that fits better than love?
