Duke Dragania sees through everything, quite literally.
He penetrates walls and barriers, truly seeing all.
When he concentrates even slightly, nothing can escape his field of vision.
But what happens when the Duke is not focused?
“I’ve already confirmed the performance.”
Leopard had deftly hidden the barrier formula in a note he had prepared in advance.
It was a barrier he had used before.
The very barrier he used to detonate strategic weapons in front of the Duke’s eyes.
If he couldn’t discover it in his dragon form, how much less likely would he be to notice it in human form?
With time, he might notice something strange about the flow of magical energy around the barrier, but this time, there wouldn’t need to be much time.
Just a moment will suffice.
Not even a second matters.
“Hmm?”
Leopard dropped the note in front of Julia’s tent and headed toward the forest.
The moment someone touches that note, the barrier formula will activate.
Once the barrier formula is activated, it will persist for about five minutes, enveloping Julia.
That will be enough.
“Is that you, Leopard?”
“Schwarz…”
Leopard quickly reached an empty clearing in the forest.
The Duke, who had been waiting, greeted him with a faint smile.
“You want to see my dragon form again?”
“Yes. I would like to measure the dimensions of your ankles. I thought I might present you with an accessory before my return.”
“What are you saying to yourself? How terribly unromantic.”
“It has been a long time since I cared for any romance.”
It wasn’t entirely a lie.
There were many gifts he wished to give the Duke.
Deep despair.
And lamentable regret.
Those were the only things worthy of being accepted by the Duke.
“And in dragon form, you don’t wear anything at all. If you insist on giving me a gift, please request something else.”
“I truly believe an anklet would suit you very well, and that’s what I want to gift you. There is nothing else I wish to give.”
“Ha. If it were a gift from Lady Julia, I would gladly accept it, but your gift makes me feel uneasy. It’s not some sealing item that makes magical power suddenly vanish when worn on the ankle, is it?”
“Certainly not.”
“…”
The Duke’s eyes narrowed.
He was scrutinizing the truth behind Leopard’s words.
However, there was no deceit to be found in them.
The desire to give a gift, the plan not to toy with the anklet, were all entirely true.
After confirming this with subtle changes in Leopard’s expression, the Duke smiled broadly.
It was a sign of approval.
“Well. There’s no harm in accepting it. Even if I don’t wear it, I can keep it for a long time.”
“Then let’s finish this quickly. Please change back to your original form.”
“Impatient, I see. Understood.”
The Duke soon began to shed his clothing layer by layer.
Leopard held his breath, gulping as he awaited the Duke’s disrobing.
Julia is here.
Though she is not visible, she is certainly present.
Before time runs out or before Julia reaches out beyond the barrier to touch the Duke, the Duke must transform.
“…”
At that moment, the Duke stopped mid-removal of his clothing.
He slowly turned his head, concentrating on the surrounding noises.
He was checking if someone else was nearby.
As the essence of the dragon brushed lightly against him, Leopard shivered.
He could only fervently hope the barrier had not been triggered.
“It will take all day to undress.”
“It would be much easier if you just turned around.”
“Ha. Since when did you start considering me a woman?”
“Since you began to dress like one. And as a man already bound, I cannot show my naked body to a strange woman. I ask for your understanding.”
“…”
It was a teeth-gritting exchange.
But with that, the Duke’s imposing demeanor was about to fade away.
Leopard thought that as he turned around.
Before long, a chilling sound, like bones breaking and flesh tearing, came from behind him.
It worked.
Success.
If Julia had seen this, then truly, everything would be over.
But did she really see it?
Did she not come this far out of fear of the darkness in the forest?
As those questions arose, uneasiness enveloped him.
“Grrk…”
At that moment, the Duke’s surprised voice rang out.
In that instant, Leopard sensed it.
It succeeded.
“Y-Yulia?!”
The Duke promptly transformed back into his human form, exclaiming in disbelief.
As the Duke hurriedly put on his clothes and rushed out of the forest,
Leopard burst out laughing right where he stood.
“Yulia! Wait a moment!”
“Ahahaha…!”
He did it.
He committed the act.
Finally, he avenged himself on the Duke.
And shattered Julia’s happiness.
Laughter, sounding almost like crying, echoed throughout the forest.
…
…
…
“Ha… ha…”
He gasped for breath.
Before he knew it, he had stepped into the thicket rather than the path, causing branches to scrape against his limbs and leave faint scratches.
But he didn’t care. He ran.
He had to escape.
That awareness had completely overtaken his body.
“Why? How? No, since when?”
His mind was tangled.
There seemed to be an issue in logically explaining the scene he had just witnessed.
The Duke had transformed into a dragon.
A black dragon at that.
It was the very image of the beast that etched deeply into his trauma.
Was it an illusion or a type of transformation magic?
Who knows.
There was no need to doubt when a much more fitting explanation existed.
The probability of there being a superhuman existence with the ability to see through everything and live an eternal lifespan was higher, right?
Or was the chance that the Duke was a dragon disguising itself in human form even greater?
Even in my oxygen-deprived and confused state, it was easy enough to reach a conclusion.
Duke Dragania had assaulted me.
No, he had assaulted me again.
He did it knowingly.
He took me in as a maid knowingly.
He deceived me knowingly.
Why. How. Since when.
Those questions quickly faded away.
After all, I wouldn’t understand.
I had no desire to understand a psychopathic rapist.
I must run away.
That was all that mattered now.
“Ah!”
Thud.
The moment I got out of the forest, I tripped over a tree and crashed my head into the ground.
Blood flowed down from my forehead.
My leg was broken.
But it didn’t matter.
This injury would heal in no time.
My head was spinning, and my vision blurred, but that was okay.
“Yulia?! Are you okay?”
At that moment, Lara flew over from a distance with a worried expression.
My head hurt, my chest ached, and my ears were ringing, so there was no time to explain things to Lara.
I didn’t want to explain anything either.
I quickly set my broken leg back into place and began to hop.
“Tia! Tiamat!”
“Hmm? Mom?”
“Get up quickly. We’re leaving.”
“Leaving…? Where to?”
“I don’t know. Just anywhere…”
As I lifted Tia, who was rubbing her eyes, I suddenly froze.
Horns sprouted from the top of Tia’s head.
A huge tail that descended from her backside.
It was the same.
Just like the Duke’s.
My hand that had intended to embrace Tia began to tremble.
“Mom?”
“…Ah.”
The moment Tia came closer, I instinctively stepped back.
It was because Tia overlapped with the gigantic dragon I had just seen.
But I quickly shook my head and wrapped my arms around Tia.
Tia didn’t do anything wrong.
Tia wasn’t at fault.
This was a concern I had finished with long before.
“Quickly just put on your outerwear and come out!”
“Why are you acting like this, mom?”
“We need to get out of here first. Somewhere the Duke isn’t…”
“…”
Thud.
As I forcibly pulled Tia out of the tent, I collided with someone.
Turning around, a tall man stood in front of the tent.
Schwarz Dragania.
The one who had assaulted me.
And the one who had raped me in dragon form.
Both figures merged, instigating violent chemical reactions within me.
Fear, hatred, affection, and sympathy were all mixed together, leaving me unable to distinguish one emotion from another.
“Lady Yulia…”
“Don’t come any closer!”
I pushed the Duke’s hand away, trembling as if I were having a seizure.
I wanted all of this to be a dream.
I wished the Duke would smile shamelessly and weave excuses.
But he only bit his lip, his face dark, as if tormented by guilt.
It was further proof that what I had just witnessed was a stark reality.
“Ugh…”
As the heightened emotions gradually subsided, the trembling of my body began to diminish.
I calmed down now.
At least enough to speak without shaking.
The blood that had boiled was now cold, and the situation was starting to come clear.
“Since when… When was it…?”
“…”
There was no reply.
It was a meaningless question.
Surely it had been from the very beginning.
There was no way he wouldn’t recognize me, unless he truly had a severe facial recognition disorder.
“Did you enjoy it?”
“…!”
The Duke suddenly jolted and lifted his head.
He seemed to want to retort that it wasn’t enjoyable.
But he couldn’t speak, merely closing his open mouth again.
Why. Say something.
Say anything.
Like a vicious, psychopathic serial rapist.
“Did you enjoy watching me struggle? Did you find it entertaining to see your daughter raised without her father? Did you derive enough joy from making me feel miserable, enough to feel like dying?”
“…”
Each word, each sentence was carefully chosen and laid out.
To stab deeply into the Duke’s heart.
To make him feel guilt.
To make him suffer.
But quickly I realized how futile this was.
What would it matter to vent my rage now?
I already bore profound trauma within my heart because of the Duke.
I had gained the burden of Tia.
My soul had been damaged to the point where I could never return to my original world…
And now, I was shaking with betrayal.
“I’m sorry. I was the one who was wrong…”
“…”
The Duke knelt before me, pleading for forgiveness.
It was a ridiculous sight.
It resembled a child caught for a misdeed, reflexively begging for mercy.
“An impulsive act…”
“Impulsive? Was it impulsive for you to deceive me thoroughly until now?”
“…”
No reply.
Impulsiveness my foot.
It had been planned from the start.
Ah, perhaps this situation wasn’t part of his plan.
“I will leave. Along with Tia. You surely won’t stop me now, will you?”
“…”
Silently, I lead Tia out of the tent.
Even then, the Duke remained kneeling quietly.
He offered neither words nor actions.
But just as I was about to pass him, the Duke turned around and reached out for Tia.
Seeing this, I couldn’t hold back and shouted.
“Don’t you dare touch Tia!”
Tia trembled and flinched in surprise.
I hurriedly sent Tia behind me and glared at the Duke.
By now, my cheeks were soaked with fallen tears.
“Because it’s dirty…”
The Duke no longer made any effort to stop us.
He merely sat there, dumbfounded, staring at us.
“Don’t even think about apologizing. Don’t even think about atonement. Just, please, don’t show your face in front of us ever again. That’s my last request…”
Those words were the last.
Tia and I promptly left that place.
The awakened foxes soon chased after us.
It didn’t matter where we went.
As long as it was a place where the Duke was not, any place would be fine.
Just being able to escape his side would bring me a bit of peace.
