04. Now you’ve had your cry, child!

The head maid looked at Marianne with a baffled expression.

The Dragon Connector was first in ceremonial rank in the entire Scotra Empire. Whether Beatrice was illegitimate or not, once she had been chosen as a Dragon Connector, it should have become even harder to act against her.

Marianne stood up, smiling sweetly as if nothing had happened.

“Nervy, would you prepare a tea party?”

“Yes, Your Highness. Whom shall I invite?”

“Beatrice. Just the two of us.”

After that day, Marianne’s attitude toward Beatrice changed completely.

She became the warm, loving sister every younger sibling would dream of.

Marianne took Beatrice everywhere with her, cherishing her like a precious little sister.

If she felt the maids were insufficient in their service to Beatrice, she scolded them harshly.

She replaced the old furniture in Beatrice’s room with the finest pieces she chose herself and even spent her own money renovating the entire annex.

People praised her endlessly, their mouths never running dry.

At first, Beatrice was wary of her sudden change, but gradually, she opened her heart.

Perhaps because she had been starved for warmth, it didn’t take long before she sincerely admired and followed Marianne.

And so, Beatrice reached the age when contract renewal became possible, twenty.

Beatrice lay sprawled on the cold stone floor.

She had cried so much that her eyes were swollen and her tear ducts stung.

“Haa…”

As she let out a long sigh, Trestia trudged over to her side.

Now that the contract was finished, he was back in loose black pants and a black T-shirt cut down to his chest, so rough and casual it made one wonder if he was truly a dragon.

Trestia had immense confidence in his fashion sense.

Whenever Beatrice looked shocked, he interpreted it however he liked, believing she was admiring his style.

When he crouched down beside her, Beatrice glared at him.

Normally, one would say it was absurd for a human to glare at a supreme being like a dragon, but right now, Beatrice saw nothing at all except her misery.

Going back was a problem, not going back was a problem, her head felt like it would explode from the thought that she had completely ruined everything.

Trestia gently patted her head.

“Got a cigarette?”

Beatrice clenched her teeth at the Black Dragon asking for a cigarette out of nowhere. If she didn’t, a string of curses was sure to come spilling out.

She took a deep breath and answered as calmly as she could.

“I don’t smoke.”

“Really? A shame. I suddenly wanted one.”

A long, awkward silence passed.

Seeing she still had no intention of getting up, Trestia lowered himself beside her and whispered into her ear.

“The Scotra Empire has successfully renewed its contract with Setentias. So there is no need to blame yourself so much.”

Beatrice shot upright.

“Are you mocking me right now?”

“No. I have no such filthy hobby.”

He snapped his fingers, and a square screen appeared in the air.

On the main road in front of the imperial palace, a grand parade carriage was moving slowly, and the crowd gathered like clouds cheered loudly.

A long banner hung before the people, and in large, attention-grabbing letters, it read:

Congratulations on the successful contract renewal with the Gold Dragon of Wisdom, Lord Setentias.

“What is… this?”

Beatrice stared blankly at the screen, then her eyes widened in shock.

The woman waving from the parade carriage was Marianne Dragona, the second imperial princess of the Scotra Empire, the person Beatrice trusted and loved more than anyone in the world.

The Black Dragon Trestia’s lair.

A lair was a dragon’s dwelling.

Since it had to accommodate the enormous body of a dragon, it usually took up almost an entire mountain.

Each dragon species had different tastes in lairs.

Gold Dragons lived in the heart of sun-drenched deserts.

Green Dragons in forests overflowing with natural mana.

Red Dragons beneath volcanoes, in magma lakes that could instantly melt most living beings.

Blue Dragons deep beneath the sea, where water was abundant.

And Black Dragons lived far beneath the earth, in dark underground depths.

The place where Beatrice was now lay several hundred meters below ground.

Trestia was reclining at an angle on a bizarrely shaped golden chair.

He wore a black suit, the top thrown directly over bare skin.

Glowing orbs embedded in the high ceiling of the lair shone with the brightness of a full moon.

Under that light, the open gap of his shirt revealed firm chest muscles and sharp abdominal lines.

Beatrice sat opposite him, wrapped in a large blanket on a small stone chair.

It wasn’t particularly cold here, but she hung her head low, trembling faintly.

Tears fell from her, dripping onto the floor where they spread like snowflakes before fading away.

Trestia frowned slightly as he looked at her.

How long is she planning to cry?

A human body was 70% water.

He was convinced that Beatrice’s body water must now be below 50%.

“Drink some water, kid.”

At Trestia’s brusque remark, Beatrice raised her head.

With swollen eyes forced open, she spoke in a cracked voice.

“I’m not a kid. I’m Beatrice.”

“I know your name, kid.”

“Then call me Beatrice, not kid.”

“I’ve decided to call the woman named Beatrice ‘kid.’ Therefore, when I say kid, it means Beatrice.”

She scrunched her brows, opened and closed her mouth like a fish, then bowed her head again.

Drip.

It seemed her tears had burst again.

Trestia clicked his tongue in exasperation.

The small, silver-haired woman cried endlessly, as if her body was made for it.

And for three whole days!

He thought it was understandable on the first day.

She was a princess who had only ever stayed in the annex.

A flower left neglected in a greenhouse.

She trusted her sister, only to be betrayed and teleported not to the Gold Dragon Setentias, but to the Black Dragon Trestia’s lair.

Then, she was betrayed again and became the victim of a fraudulent contract.

He hadn’t told her, but now that she was bound to him, she wouldn’t be welcomed back in her homeland.

If she wasn’t executed, it would be fortunate.

So yes, she could cry.

He could understand that much.

But seeing her still crying on the second day made him wonder.

Not about anything else, just whether humans were physically capable of crying for two straight days.

And now, on the third day, she was still at it. He felt he needed to adjust his understanding of what “human” meant.

The only relief was that even while crying, she still ate meals and slept.

Another curious thing, three times a day, always at the same time, she said the same words.

“I’m hungry…”

“I knew it was about time. If you promise you’ll stop crying, I’ll give you food.”

“That’s unfair…”

“Isn’t three days of waiting enough? And I’m a dragon, you know.”

“A scamming dragon.”

“…”

Trestia doubted his ears for a moment.

A human wouldn’t dare call the Mad Dragon Trestia a “scamming dragon.”

He chalked it up to his ears malfunctioning.

Suddenly, Beatrice sprang up from her seat.

She tugged on her sleeves to wipe her tears, then took a deep breath.

“I’m done crying. I won’t cry anymore.”

“So you want food?”

“Take responsibility.”

“…”

He supposed humans started rambling when their body water dropped below 70%.

This went far beyond boldness.

How many humans in the world would dare tell a dragon to take responsibility?

A strange glimmer flickered in Trestia’s eyes.

Such an unusual human.

Beatrice truly was strange.

Most people couldn’t even speak properly in front of a dragon.

But this woman somehow managed to say everything she wanted.

What was stranger, when she occasionally crossed the line, he didn’t find himself irritated.

Interesting.

Trestia stroked his chin and answered without much thought.

“Responsibility. Very well, I’ll do that.”

The answer came so quickly that Beatrice, who had asked for it, was taken aback.

“T-thank you.”

“Sure.”