I washed my body with the clean water Varen had brought using magic, then changed into Beljena’s clothing that never got dirty.
When I stepped outside the tent, it was already morning. The rebel camp was bustling, everyone busy dealing with the aftermath of yesterday’s incident.
The sturdier men were hauling away the burned tents and equipment to one side, while middle-aged women were preparing breakfast from the remaining ingredients at the edge of the base.
It seemed the Drunkard had provided tents to everyone without asking for anything in return. Though identical in shape to the previous ones, brand-new tents stood in the same places, spotless and unburned.
The first person Varen and I went to find was Margon. After hearing he was staying in a small tent for treating the injured, we quickly made our way there.
I had heard Morpha saved him, but the image of him being violently flung back with his abdomen pierced deeply by that creature was still vivid in my mind.
What if he ended up with a permanent injury like his severed right arm...? Even as I hurried, anxiety dried out my throat.
But just a few meters from the injured tent, the tension drained out of me.
“...Aaaagh, no, ngh...!”
“Margon, open your mouth! Open it!”
“Ugh—ugh! I—I’m dying... ngh, cough!”
“If you don’t drink this, you will die! Swallow! Now!”
Even without seeing it, the loud chaos of the treatment process spilled out of the tent. My anxiety evaporated, replaced by a relieved smile.
I flung open the entrance and stepped inside. Margon lay on the bed, thrashing like a live fish, while Kallen was practically on top of him, forcing a potion into his mouth.
“Haha, Kallen. Take it easy. You’re going to hurt him more at this rate.”
I joked lightly, and Kallen snapped her head toward me. Her face was flushed red, as if from how intensely she’d been treating him.
Still, when she saw Varen and me unharmed, she greeted us brightly.
“Oh, Ceryl! Did you have a good time?”
What kind of “good time”...?
Varen, having understood immediately, nodded with complete confidence. I quietly averted my gaze and avoided answering.
Everyone else had spent the day restoring the fire damage and treating the injured. Meanwhile, I had been rolling around all night in a dragon’s arms. The guilt pricked at me.
I cleared my throat briefly and stepped closer to Margon’s bedside.
“How is Margon? He’s okay, right?”
At my question, Kallen, who had just finished emptying the medicine bottle, lightly hopped down from the bed.
Margon’s face was pale as a sheet, his eyes half-rolled back, foam clinging to his lips.
“All his wounds have healed, but he still doesn’t have any strength. So I’m continuing to feed him medicine.”
Kallen shook the empty bottle with a grin. I patted her head with quiet appreciation.
Perhaps from the bitter aftereffects of the medicine, Margon still couldn’t come to his senses and only moved his mouth uselessly. As I looked him over, my gaze fell on his clothes, torn open with a hole as large as the creature that had pierced him, and I frowned.
When I lifted his top slightly to check, I saw new flesh had grown over the area that had been attacked yesterday. However, it seemed even dragon-grade medicine couldn’t erase the scar.
I let out a conflicted sigh and brushed my fingertips lightly over the mark.
“What are you doing, Ceryl.”
Before I could even touch him properly, my wrist was suddenly grabbed—Varen stopping me.
Startled, I looked up to see him staring down at me, his displeasure written plainly across his face.
I answered, baffled.
“What do you mean what. I’m just checking if Margon’s okay—”
“Looking is enough. Why are you breathing strangely while touching another male’s body?”
“...Anyone hearing that would misunderstand.”
Unlike Kallen, who shook her head as if to say here he goes again, someone else nearby seemed to take Varen’s words the wrong way.
Bell, who had brought a clear soup prepared for patients, set the plate down with a clatter and looked at me.
“Aylos, were you touching the patient?”
“That’s not what it was. Don’t start too, Bell.”
Even when I tried to defend myself, Bell shot me a suspicious look. Not wanting to argue further, I took a step back.
She pulled out fresh clothes and clean cloth from the basket hanging on her arm for Margon. Kallen immediately stuck close to her side with a bright smile.
“Hehe, sis. Have you eaten yet?”
“Not yet. I was waiting to eat with you.”
“Really? You didn’t have to!”
The two chatted warmly, looking almost like sisters. Their appearances were different, but perhaps because they were close in age, even their tone and expressions seemed similar.
There had been a time when I felt a bit bitter seeing Kallen grow close to others, but now that I’d gotten used to it, the sight of the two together was pleasant.
With a small smile, I held out my hand to Bell, indicating I wanted the cloth.
“You’re going to wipe the blood, right? I’ll do it.”
“......”
“He’s my companion. I should take care of him.”
Bell narrowed her eyes at me as she held the damp cloth.
But I didn’t back down either. I hardened my expression and shook my head.
It wasn’t just because he was my companion—I also didn’t want to make young women clean a hairy man’s body.
When I gestured again with my hand, Bell reluctantly passed me the wet cloth. But once again, the dragon beside me interfered.
He snatched the cloth from my hand, his face full of irritation.
“Ceryl, why do you keep touching other—”
“Will you seriously be quiet?”
To stop him from saying something even more misleading, I hurriedly covered his mouth. Though he allowed himself to be held, his eyes sharpened fiercely.
Then, making sure the two women couldn’t hear, his voice echoed directly in my head.
“You expect me to just watch while my mate touches another male?”
“I’m just wiping him down. He’s covered in blood.”
“Why does it have to be you? Can’t humans clean themselves?”
“He’s not even conscious! Didn’t you see he got hurt protecting me yesterday?”
“...So if he regains consciousness, that’s fine?”
At Varen’s last words, I slowly removed my hand from his mouth.
He immediately opened the cap of the water pouch at his waist—and without hesitation, turned it upside down over Margon.
“...Aaaagh! Pff—cough—what the hell, it’s cold!!”
Despite its small opening, the pouch, connected to Beljena’s spring, poured out icy water like a waterfall. Soaked completely, Margon shot upright from the bed.
Even after Margon got up, Varen didn’t stop pouring water. Only after I told him to cut it out did he finally close the pouch.
Margon, whose body hadn’t fully recovered yet, trembled violently, his lips turning blue from the freezing drench.
Still, clarity had returned to his eyes. Shivering, his teeth chattering, he asked me,
“C-Ceryl... are you... okay?”
“Yeah. Thanks to you. Margon, are you alright?”
“Ceryl... your wrists... and ankles... I heard the sound of bones breaking... even from where I was...”
Margon’s memory stopped at the moment I had been caught by that creature. Seeing my limbs being crushed must have stayed with him—his eyes welled as he reached toward me.
At that moment, I felt the temperature of the dragon glued to my side spike sharply. Before Margon’s hand could touch me, I stepped back first.
“I’m fine. Worry about yourself.”
“But Ceryl, your wrists were completely—”
Margon kept trying to grab my wrist. Even after I showed him it was fine, he continued reaching blindly, still not fully in his right mind.
“Ceryl, please—let me see your wrist.”
“Hey, stop it. At this rate, you’re going to lose that hand.”
The moment our hands brushed—
The dragon beside me, already boiling, finally erupted.
“You damned male! Don’t touch my mate!!”
“Hey, hey, calm down.”
“Damn it, I shouldn’t have let him live!”
I pushed against Varen’s chest, widening the distance between him and Margon. As soon as I moved into his arms, he huffed angrily but naturally pulled me in.
Margon stared at us in stunned disbelief. Meanwhile, Kallen leaned close to Bell and whispered,
“The dragon’s really jealous. He won’t even let anyone touch Ceryl.”
“Oh my, are they lovers?”
“Not lovers—mates.”
Bell, though only slightly older than Kallen, was still in her early twenties. Romance was clearly a major point of interest for her too. The two of them linked arms and left the tent, whispering excitedly.
“But if a human and a dragon get married, where would they do it?”
“I don’t know. Maybe in Beljena? Ah, but Beljena is really far.”
“Oh my, what’s Beljena like? I want to see it too!”
“You should come to their wedding if you can. If Ceryl allows it, I’m going to catch the bouquet.”
“Do you even have a boyfriend?”
“I’ll get one after I catch it, maybe?”
“You’re ridiculous. But I wonder what dragon wedding clothes look like.”
No matter how quietly they whispered, both Varen and I could hear every word clearly.
At some point, his anger had subsided. Hugging me tightly from behind, Varen muttered,
“I’d like to see it too. You in wedding attire.”
“......”
Ever since that proposal last night... his jealousy has definitely gotten worse.
But this, too, was something I had chosen to bear.
So I simply nodded quietly.
