“Damn it. Is it too loud?”
Leopard brought his hand, which he had hidden behind his back, forward.
A bouquet filled with fresh flowers was revealed.
It was a blue rose, the same color as Julia’s eyes, but he feared it might be too overwhelming in size.
After contemplating for a while whether to throw the bouquet away, Leopard took a deep breath of the floral scent.
“No, let’s go with this.”
And he made up his mind. Not to crush the courage he had mustered.
Leopard, with his shoulders tensed, brought the bouquet back behind him.
After taking out a hand mirror to check if there was anything on his face and if his hair was well-groomed, he took a few steps and stood in front of the barred window.
“Hmm?”
Then the door began to open on its own.
It seemed he was fully visible to the Duke after all.
What a creepy guy.
Leopard burst into a chuckle as he stepped into the villa.
“Whoa? A bad person!”
The first to greet him was none other than a girl with black hair.
Momentarily taken aback by who it could be, Leopard narrowed his eyes.
She wore a full-furred, half-human hat.
And her brilliant blue eyes.
He instantly recognized her as the Holy Maiden’s daughter, but his brain stubbornly refused to accept it.
“What the…?”
“What? Why are you looking at Tia like that?”
“Where did that little one go, and why is the refined lady here…?”
“Hehehe! Right? Tia is totally a lady now!”
He was so perplexed that he couldn’t articulate his thoughts properly.
Just yesterday, she was a finger-sucking, snot-nosed little brat, and now Tia looked like she was at least nine years old.
Leopard glanced around for Julia and, realizing she was not present, knelt down on one knee to match Tia’s eye level.
As the bouquet he had been hiding behind the hero’s back popped out and was presented before her, Tia’s eyes widened like saucers.
“Wow…! What is this?”
“I was going to give it to you as a gift since I heard you were entering school.”
“Really? Really?!”
It was a lie.
Originally, it was intended for Julia.
But no matter how he thought about it, he felt shy and embarrassed to give it to her, so he made up the excuse that he bought it for Tia instead.
And most importantly, seeing Tia’s face lit up with a brighter glow than the flowers made it impossible to utter that it hadn’t originally belonged to her.
“The same color as Mom’s eyes! So pretty!”
“Also the same color as yours.”
“Wow! Thank you so much…! Ah, but Mom said not to accept presents from bad people…”
“Why am I a bad person?”
“Well, it’s because…! Last time you dragged Mom to the second floor against her will!”
“Did I really drag her? Your mom also definitely said it was fine. Right?”
“Ugh…”
“And after we went up and came back down, what did your mom say?”
“She just talked for a moment…”
“See? It wasn’t dragging at all, nothing happened. And yet I’m the bad person?”
“Now that I think about it, I don’t think you are!”
Tia clapped her hands and shouted as if she understood.
Seeing that, Leopard took the opportunity to place the bouquet into Tia’s arms and gently ruffled her hair.
Her hair was uncomfortable to touch due to the hard horns that stuck out.
When he looked at her cheerful personality and blue eyes, it reminded him of Aerial’s childhood, but whenever he spotted the otherworldly markers scattered throughout her body, he felt deflated.
She was a lovable yet simultaneously hateable child.
“Tia. Come here.”
“Mom! This person who may or may not be bad gave me this!”
“……”
As a soft voice fell, Tia quickly turned around and dashed away.
She arrived before a woman who wore a maid outfit that barely concealed her curvy figure.
The cold gaze directed towards him belonged to the hero’s former love.
“A bouquet…?”
Julia sighed after closely examining the bouquet that Tia had presented.
Deep down, she wished to discard it since it was abnormal for a present from the hero.
However, in this place, the law was far and the fist was near.
Julia did not have the guts to commit such a foolish act in front of the hero.
“It’s a gift for Tia’s entrance into school.”
“Haah. Tia, did you say thank you?”
“Umm. Did I?”
“If you don’t remember, let’s do it again. Lower your head.”
“Thank you!!!”
At the loud expression of thanks, Leopard smiled wryly.
Julia’s attitude towards him was clearly filled with animosity.
There was a resolve not to let him come near, only speaking in short answers and using minimal words.
‘Damn it…’
I guess I could only be hated after all.
A woman loves a woman.
Leopard couldn’t bring himself to meet Julia’s eyes, instead staring intensely at the ground as his lips trembled.
‘Ugh. That old lady is still so foolish. If she’s gone senile, she should be in a nursing home.’
Of course, Julia’s hatred was of a slightly different nature.
Being originally a man, his aversion to homosexuality wasn’t that strong, but Leopard had no way of knowing that.
“Oh. Is that you, Leopard? Why don’t you have dinner with us?”
“I’m fine. I just came to see your face for a moment.”
Before long, the Duke walked out and greeted Leopard warmly.
Even though he had been watching the whole time, putting on an act as if he had just now discovered him.
He almost burst out laughing.
“Then how about a cup of tea?”
“I’ll pass.”
“No, don’t say that. Julia can brew tea quite well now. Isn’t that right, Julia?”
“I think I can brew it somewhat like a human now…”
Well, it was hard to believe the tea brewed back then was done by a human.
Now, he was slightly curious how much her skills had developed.
Leopard pretended to concede to the persistent invitation and walked alongside the Duke towards the garden.
The sky was clear, making it a perfect day to lazily drink tea outdoors.
“It’s been almost a month since you’ve been here in the institution. How long do you intend to stay?”
“Well, it’s a holiday I rarely get, so I think I might enjoy it a bit longer. Thanks to having a capable maid, I have less to do, which is nice. Haha.”
“……”
Did the Duke see?
The glances the maid shot at him from behind, her eyes narrowing as if to split open the back of the Duke’s head.
He surely must have seen it.
A dragon’s eyesight is far superior to that of a human, able to see ‘anything.’
He must have said that on purpose to provoke her.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself.”
“Of course. It is enjoyable.”
He had predicted a stiff atmosphere.
Given the Duke’s utter disinterest in anything, he thought he would maintain a merely businesslike relationship with Julia.
But to see the Duke play around first and provoke her like that was indeed a very surprising sight.
Julia might appear cynical and cold on the outside, but there was no guarantee that would last forever.
After all, she was also a woman, and it would not be surprising for her to be drawn to the Duke who was wealthy and of a superior class.
As for Leopard, who had no knowledge of what transpired between the two in the banquet hall on the day of the party, he had no choice but to think that way.
“I’ll serve the tea.”
“Um…”
The tea was soon prepared and brought out.
The original aroma of black tea came alive, melding well with its bitter taste.
It couldn’t be said that it was brewed excellently, but considering she was a beginner, it could be given passing marks.
The hero couldn’t swallow it down and kept it in his mouth, secretly glancing at Julia and the Duke.
‘Is there no chance for me to intervene…?’
The Duke was clearly showing interest in Julia.
Julia was currently rejecting it as it overwhelmed her, but it seemed like only a matter of time before she succumbed.
Yet, the hero Leopard felt helpless.
He had pledged to introduce Julia to Dragania and not to ask for anything in return.
When he introduced her, he only thought of wanting to protect the Holy Maiden.
He believed that it would be enough if he could protect the Holy Maiden from the threats of the Church and the destiny of the oracle.
But people say if you stand still, you want to sit, and if you sit, you want to lie down.
Once that goal was achieved, other desires filled Leopard’s heart.
Close yet far.
Far yet close.
As he watched the Duke and his maid maintaining a distance of about one and a half steps, he felt a stab in his chest.
Desire also surged.
He wanted to possess Julia.
He wanted to dye her, already sullied, in his colors again.
Arrogantly, the hero cast his wishes beyond what had been permitted to him.
“Is it delicious? Right?”
“Yes. It’s drinkable…”
Seeing the Duke’s bright smile created a sense of discomfort.
He wasn’t someone who smiled so easily.
He certainly wasn’t generous in his evaluations of food.
Today, both the Duke and the Holy Maiden seemed to be completely different people from those he knew.
“Hmm?”
At that moment, Leopard felt someone poking him in the side.
When he turned around to see who it was, it was Tia holding a crumpled piece of paper.
Opening the crumpled note, he saw it was written in crooked handwriting.
-Wish Ticket
-You are liked by Tia. You can make one wish to Tia!
-Caution! Not all wishes will be granted!
“It says I am liked…?”
Just yesterday, she had rushed to her mom, immediately shouting that he was a bad person upon seeing him.
Was it the unique childish forgetfulness that made her completely forget and gaze at him with innocent curiosity?
Leopard let out a deep sigh and placed his hand on Tia’s head.
Julia flinched in surprise and shivered, but realizing he was merely ruffling Tia’s hair, she closed her mouth again.
‘This is good enough. Aerial is safe. A daughter resembling Aerial is growing up healthy and happy. And if I can just watch that, it would be enough.’
Let’s be satisfied with this.
Let’s not be too greedy.
Leopard whispered to himself and tousled Tia’s hair roughly.
The hard horns that occasionally caught his hand were no longer that bothersome.
