My breath came in ragged bursts; the edges of my vision flickered. Varen’s shouting no longer registered as words, only as a dull ringing that echoed inside my skull.
Then, suddenly, the hand gripping my collar loosened. My body dropped, hitting the ground with a thud. I dragged myself across the dirt, gasping for air.
“Kh—koff—hah... hah....”
“Why... why can’t I...”
My forehead pressed into the soil as I coughed, sand scraping down my throat. I forced my body to roll over, every muscle trembling.
Varen stood above me, glowing brighter than the full moon.
“You... can’t hurt me, can you?”
“Kh... haa...”
He looked from his palm to me, his face twisted in confusion, then dropped to his knees with a heavy thump.
“I’m so angry I could explode... my head feels like it’s splitting apart...”
He was rambling, disoriented. I struggled upright, clinging to consciousness.
I knew this day would come. The ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ day he found out what the original Ceryl did.
I just didn’t expect it to be this soon.
“Hey, listen to me—”
“Why can’t I stay angry when I see your face?!”
The words made no sense—he shouted in fury about how he couldn’t feel fury. Even I got confused.
His eyes wavered as they traced over me—my torn clothes, the bruises, the mess I’d become.
“Ugh...”
Then he clutched his left chest, brows knitting in pain.
“My heart... it hurts so much...”
My voice came out hoarse and scraped, but I answered automatically.
“Your heart? Why? Did you overuse your fire earlier?”
Even a dragon with molten lava for blood could strain himself pulling off that kind of fireworks show.
But he shook his head, trembling, his fingers digging into his shirt.
He genuinely looked like he was in pain—and despite everything, worry flared up before reason could. No matter what he said or did, he was still my Varen.
“Let me see. Why does your heart hurt?”
Wait... don’t tell me.
He didn’t... form a heart contract with someone already, did he?
Is that why he’s been acting violent and burning the forest down?
I wriggled closer despite my bindings. Varen slowly lifted his head.
His blue eyes shimmered, wet and stormy like a restless sea.
“When I look at you... my heart hurts.”
“...What?”
I blinked dumbly. When he blinked, tears spilled, fast and heavy.
For a second, everything went white—my adolescent dragon, crying.
“Hey, hey—why are you crying? What’s wrong?”
“You lied to me...”
“No, no, I can explain—”
“You ran from me...”
“I wasn’t running from you! I mean—I was, but not you-you—”
Once the tears started, they wouldn’t stop. Maybe his body was huge, so the supply was endless.
“Why did you do it, Ceryl... why?”
“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. Don’t cry, okay? Good boy, shh.”
“You made me wish for death... and then you made me want to live again.”
I’d comforted orphaned kittens before, but never a grown man bawling like a stormcloud.
What the hell do I even do here.
Sweat broke down my spine. His teary blue eyes suddenly hardened, flickering with another swing of emotion.
“Ceryl, what’s true and what’s a lie? Tell me everything.”
“That—uh—”
“You said you’d do your best for me. You said to accept your heart.”
“...I said that?”
“You called yourself my Ceryl. You asked to be my mate. Was that a lie too?”
I... said that? Out loud?
I stared blankly. Fragments of past dialogue flickered in my memory.
Technically... yes, those words did come out of my mouth. But—
“Ceryl Aylos. I can’t trust you anymore.”
“Haa... wait, let’s just... talk about—”
The strength drained out of me all at once. My tense muscles gave out and I nearly collapsed—
—but warm, steady hands caught me before I hit the ground.
I lifted my gaze with effort. Varen’s eyes glared down at me, fierce and unrelenting.
“Let me just... sleep a bit...”
“No. Don’t sleep. Talk.”
Even keeping my eyelids open took everything I had left. In the end, I let them fall and surrendered to the dragon’s arms.
“You’re... so dead later...”
And with those final, valiant words, I passed out.
***
Berry was in my dream.
Healthy, happy, tail wagging.
He licked my face, my hands, my palms; I laughed at the tickle.
“Ahaha—Berry, stop.”
“Woof! Woof!”
“You’re tickling me, you little brat.”
I hugged him tight.
But something felt off. He was too hard. Berry was big, sure, but never this solid. And his fur—Berry wasn’t even long-haired.
“Urgh... stop, that tickles—”
“You’re awake.”
A low, husky voice jolted my eyes open.
A moment ago, I’d been running through a field. Now I saw clear sky and towering conifers stretching endlessly upward.
This world’s familiar forest. But the presence sitting between my legs was not.
Still dreaming?
No. My imagination wasn’t that vivid.
“...What are you doing.”
“Healing.”
Varen was kneeling between my legs, holding one ankle—and licking the inside of my ankle bone.
“...Healing?”
“Yes. Dragon saliva has healing properties.”
“......”
“Your body’s covered in wounds.”
Only then did I notice. I’d been beaten, dragged, thrown around—and yet, nothing hurt.
What the hell.
While my mind tried to process that, his soft, warm tongue glided across my skin again.
“Almost done. The rope burns are—ugh!”
My body reacted faster than my brain; pure instinct. I kicked him square in the face.
He staggered back, eyes flashing.
“What are you doing?!”
“What the fuck are you doing, you psycho?!”
My lungs emptied in one scream, diaphragm and all. He actually flinched.
I crawled backward, staring at my ankle glistening with his saliva. My brain refused to cope.
“You—you licked me...”
“It was treatment, not licking. Not even for your sake.”
He scowled down at me.
“I had no choice. When you’re hurt, my heart hurts too.”
“......”
“Ceryl Aylos, I knew from the start you weren’t an ordinary human. What magic is this?”
“......”
“You can cause pain directly to a dragon’s heart. Is it ancient magic?”
“...Ugh, I’m dizzy.”
I clutched my head and slumped. Varen rushed forward.
“Where are you hurt now? I healed your upper body completely.”
Do I even want to know?
Knowledge is power, or maybe ignorance is mercy.
Curiosity won.
“Upper body... where exactly?”
“The torn forehead, the bruised neck, your shoulders and arms.”
“...You licked all that?”
“Yes. Also the bruises on your chest and ribs.”
I had no pain, full stamina—yet somehow, I felt drained to the bone.
I turned my head away, praying to every god left in this world.
“You... licked over my clothes, right?”
“No. That would reduce the effect.”
I want to die.
A proud, once-military man, humiliated by his own dragon.
Should’ve left him in that damn basement.
As I sat there frozen in despair, Varen crept closer again, reaching for my ankle.
“I haven’t finished—”
“Get away from me, you freak!”
The moment his fingers brushed me, I shot upright like a spring. This time, I didn’t kick—I punched.
“Augh!”
It hurt more than hitting a wall. His face felt carved from stone.
Varen merely frowned, unbothered.
“Don’t hit me. You’re the one who gets hurt.”
“Ugh... you ungrateful bastard... you goddamn brat...”
My throat tightened with indignation. After everything I’d done to raise him, I couldn’t even discipline him anymore.
Heat flushed up my face. I grit my teeth, glaring. Varen snorted.
“Don’t look at me like that. Your charms don’t work anymore.”
You can only win an argument if the other side listens. This idiot didn’t respond to words—and clearly not to fists either.
Clutching my throbbing hand, I screamed from sheer frustration.
“You—you! Go home!”
“What?”
“Go home to your parents!”
He shut his mouth, eyes suddenly wounded.
“Go to your mom and dad! Learn some manners!”
Even pity has limits.
“Get proper education! Sex education too!”
