Master, I Swear I Didn’t Mean To! - Chapter 129

Cassius said not to come here again. It was probably meant for Eki, not Ikelid. He said it without even looking this way, his face like he had swallowed thorns.

“I more or less passed it along, Cassius.”

Ikelid muttered and flicked ash off his cigar.

Honestly, maybe it was because he was a dragon, but he really didn’t understand humans at all. It was obvious how Eki would react if she heard that. Did he really have to say something he didn’t even mean, telling her not to come?

‘Still, it was unexpected that Miss Eki didn’t ask about the true nature of the dragon hearts.’

Ikelid didn’t know Eki well. Still, it wasn’t hard to guess that she was bright, cheerful, and the type who couldn’t stand not knowing things she was curious about.

But it seemed she wasn’t entirely like that. Eki knew what choice was best for her master. Instead of pouring out confusion and anger, she chose patience. It was probably a strong power born from her feelings for Cassius.

‘On the other hand, Cassius is… really a coward like no other.’

It was certain that, like Eki, he had made his choice for her sake. But Cassius’s direction was wrong. He wasn’t used to keeping someone by his side, so he tried to push everyone away like before.

Considering the thousand dragons who had chosen death while leaving young Cassius behind hundreds of years ago, it was unavoidable. Since the day his kin abandoned him and became sacrifices for the barrier, Cassius had never opened his heart to anyone.

Ikelid understood his feelings, but now he couldn’t help feeling pity even for the parents who had died leaving Cassius behind.

At the time, a living being was needed as the maintenance device for the magic circle sustaining the dimensional barrier. The clan chose Cassius, the youngest, as the core of the barrier. What feelings did they have as they carved the magic circle into a young Cassius and burned themselves away?

The Dark Age. A bleak era when countless lives were sacrificed. With Cassius’s emergence, Ikelid was finally able to bring that era to an end. But back then, he hated dragons so deeply that he said things to Cassius that he never should have.

‘The time limit is until the dimensional barrier is restored. I’ll let you leave this place just before it fully recovers.’

‘……’

‘And go to the other world. Don’t think about staying on our land. If you do, I’ll come hunt you down. Understood?’

‘That’s what I wanted as well.’

After that, an uncountable amount of time passed. Three hundred and eighty years was such a long and heavy span that even Ikelid found it tedious. Whether he liked it or not, he communicated with Cassius often, learned many things about him, and eventually realized that he himself had chosen a pointless hatred. It took a truly long time to realize that.

Is this my last sleep?

Ikelid blankly gazed up at the sky, red like dragon blood.

He would die soon. Through countless efforts, he had left no regrets, but as the end approached, something weighed on his mind. That something was Cassius.

‘Cassius really doesn’t understand people at all.’

Humans change countless times even within short spans. Their dreams change, hope sprouts from despair, and they fall in love.

The same was true for Ikelid. Cassius thought Ikelid still hated him, but in truth, he had abandoned those feelings long ago. Ikelid was human too. He no longer wanted Cassius to suffer. He wanted him to be happy. Just like, though it could never truly compare, the parents who had left him behind.

‘Facing death really does make one think too much.’

In any case, after meeting Eki this time, one thing became clear.

Cassius wouldn’t want to go to the other world. The place where he belonged was by Eki’s side.

‘Then again, I don’t really understand a dragon’s heart either. I thought he’d want to go to the other world to find his kin.’

Just a few days ago, when they communicated about the fairy issue, hadn’t he advised Cassius not to be swayed by Eki? At the time, he thought it was just foolish play with a disciple. Right before achieving a long cherished wish dreamed of for hundreds of years, wouldn’t it be a pity to miss the last chance to find one’s kin because of a love affair?

Ikelid scratched his head and put away his cigar. Only now did he truly realize it had been unnecessary meddling. They genuinely cared for each other.

‘So then, Miss Eki. I hope you’ll convey my feelings properly too.’

He laughed softly and went back into the hospital ward. As Ikelid turned away, his back was warmly dyed by the sunset light sinking below the horizon.

Soon, the sun completely set. The world prepared itself to move toward a new morning.