The Castle of Light, one of the Eastern continent’s Three Restricted Areas.
The White Castle on the white desert.
The castle that Lord Sheritt had left for her children was now covered in Raon's black mana and stationed in the Forest of Darkness.
Before Cale could greet Lord Sheritt who was welcoming them…
Pow!
“Ugh!”
He saw the black Dragon that slammed into his shoulder and flew out like an arrow.
The black Dragon that gave a short apology and flew away…
“Raon.”
Instantly stopped as Sheritt gently smiled and called his name. One meter. Raon who stopped exactly one meter from her stared at the hall’s ceiling as he could not look at her.
“…I'm back!”
He shouted while still looking at the ceiling and slowly flew back and landed on Cale’s back.
“Meeeeeow!”
“We’re back!”
Instead, On and Hong walked over to Sheritt’s side. On peeked back and smiled toward Raon who was looking at them from Cale’s back and motioned for him to come here with her paw.
“Ahem, hem! I'm going because she called me over!”
Raon slowly started to move after seeing On's gesture and squeezed himself in between On and Hong.
Lord Sheritt was watching them with an indescribably warm expression.
Cale turned away from that touching sight and looked toward the Dragon half-blood.
“Ha.”
He could not help but sigh.
The Dragon half-blood who had been peeking at Raon was now staring at Lord Sheritt. He seemed to be out of it.
The Dragon half-blood and Cale made eye contact at that moment.
The Dragon half-blood quickly turned his gaze away. He then started to take in the inside of the black castle with shaking pupils.
“You're driving me nuts.”
“Cale-nim, what’s wrong?”
Cale shook his head at Choi Han’s question.
He had a lot to say but he could not say them out loud. Instead, he walked over to Lord Sheritt.
"Sheritt-nim. Where is Lock?”
The Blue Wolf boy Lock. He was currently learning Shield Arts and many other things from Lord Sheritt.
“Ah.”
Lord Sheritt had a faint smile on her face.
The smile on her freckled face made her look mischievous. Her gentle voice flowed out from underneath the smile.
“He's training.”
“Training? The Shield Arts?”
“Mm……”
Lord Sheritt debated for a moment before answering brightly as if she found the right word for it.
“He’s currently doing a training regime from hell.”
‘What the…’
Cale almost subconsciously took a step back. Sheritt noticed the slight frown on Cale’s face and quickly started to speak as if she knew what he was feeling.
“Ah, it’s not really from hell! It’s just a very difficult training so I called it that.”
Her saying difficult training made it sound like an extremely difficult and strict training.
“Lock and the children seemed excited to do it. They seemed happy. They said that they felt like they were getting stronger every day. The other day, the children were laughing while looking at the sunset. It made me so proud.”
Cale could not take Lord Sheritt's words the same way.
It sounded more like Lock and the Wolf children laughed despondently while looking at the sunset after a tiring day of training.
‘It looks like I’ll need to ask Lock about it.’
Of course, he knew Sheritt would not give Lock and the children training they could not handle. This Dragon cherished little children based on how she treated On and Hong.
“I'm glad that all of you returned together, but can I ask what brings you back?”
Lord Sheritt looked around at Cale and the others as she asked. She then noticed Cale's gaze heading toward someone.
‘Hmm?’
Sheritt saw the person Cale was looking at take a step forward. This person's face was not visible as they had the hood of their robe down as far as possible.
“…Huh?”
Sheritt who was looking at the man who had his face covered felt an odd sensation at that moment. She then subconsciously turned to look at Cale.
Cale hid his sigh as he started to speak.
"Sheritt-nim. May I chat with you for a moment?”
He then motioned toward Raon.
“Raon, you-”
Cale stopped as he was about to say come.
Was it right for him to listen to it as well? He was so young. Cale’s mind was getting complicated and he was about to stop himself from calling Raon over.
“I'll tell them together.”
It was at that moment. The Dragon half-blood took another step forward and started to speak to Cale.
“I want to tell the both of them together.”
He then bit down on his lips after seeing Cale’s gaze that seemed to be asking, ‘what if it hurts Raon?’
“I, I will take full responsibility.”
Cale let out a sigh.
“I don't know if there’s anything you can take responsibility for.”
The Dragon half-blood flinched at his cold response, but Cale finished motioning toward Raon. Cale could not say no when the responsible party wanted to tell him.
“Human! What are we talking about?”
He was just debating how to least hurt Raon in the process.
Cale’s mind became complicated again. This was more complicated than the White Star or the Demon World issue.
The rest of the group looked toward Cale who gave them orders.
“On, Hong, and Choi Han, go find Lock. Choi Han, bring Lock over. Bring Maes and the other children as well. We should see them at least once while we are here. Beacrox, you prepare dinner. Ah! Stop by Harris Village and call the Lord’s Castle to let them know I am here.”
“Cale-nim, are the four of you having a separate conversation?”
Cale nodded his head at Choi Han’s question and walked toward the castle's reception room with the two Dragons and the Dragon half-blood.
***
“Human! Why are the four of us chatting?”
All four individuals were sitting down in the reception room. Cale patted Raon who was sitting next to him and started to speak.
“Raon. Remove the Dragon half-blood's dye magic. Dragon half-blood, take off your hood.”
Lord Sheritt's eyes turned wide.
‘Dragon half-blood?’
She wondered if that odd feeling she had earlier was because he was a Dragon half-blood which was rare to see in the world.
“I got it, human! Hey, Dragon half-blood! I'm removing the dye magic!”
Raon's black mana touched the Dragon half-blood. Shh, the Dragon half-blood’s hair turned from red to its original black as he removed his hood.
Lord Sheritt instantly started to frown.
‘He’s not a Dragon half-blood.’
He was not someone who was born between a Dragon and another life form.
The almost dead man with a pale complexion was looking at Lord Sheritt. Sheritt found this man’s shaking pupils to be odd.
‘Why is he looking at me like this? And what is this odd feeling I have?’
Lord Sheritt was an illusion without a physical body now, but she felt as if the back of her hand was getting goosebumps.
What could the reason be?
She then turned toward Cale who brought this man over. Cale received her gaze and started to speak to the Dragon half-blood.
“I will quietly listen from here on so you speak first. Tell them everything with your own mouth.”
Cale could see the Dragon half-blood’s shaking hands.
‘Damn it.’
“I'll do it if you don’t think you can do it.”
“…No.”
The Dragon half-blood shook his head.
He then took a deep breath.
The unbearable pain continued to stab at him as if his whole body would be ripped to shreds, but the breath he took felt like an even stronger poison right now.
He looked toward Raon and Lord Sheritt.
One was black while the other was white. They were polar opposites. However, the two were peeking at each other and subconsciously smiling.
‘…He said she was the Lord.’
Cale had called the woman in front of him Lord.
‘She must be the Dragon Lord.’
The Dragon half-blood felt an indescribable emotion that made his body start to shake.
He was a chimera created from that Dragon Lord's dead child's heart.
Fear and guilt filled his heart.
However, there was also a sense of anticipation and longing.
The Dragon half-blood almost scoffed at his own emotions.
Longing?
He did not have the emotions or memories of the Dragon in his heart. That was why longing did not make any sense.
He still had his memories of his parents who sold him off.
However, it was indeed longing.
Family.
He had a longing for family that he never really had the chance to have. And that longing became anticipation.
The Dragon half-blood sneered at himself for having such thoughts.
‘I'll be lucky if she doesn’t kill me.’
He would be lucky if Lord Sheritt and Raon didn't kill him after hearing the whole story.
He emptied his mind. Emotions were useless to someone like him who was just waiting for the day he died.
“I…”
He avoided the Lord's gaze while talking to her.
Why…
Why was his voice shaking so much?
Why was it like this even though he had emptied his mind?
The Dragon half-blood had no answer as he started to speak.
“Ma'am, I used to be human.”
Cale closed his eyes and leaned back on the couch.
He should not interject from here onward.
He debated if he should leave as well, but he decided to stay here just in case something bad happened.
“…My parents sold me off to the White Star……”
The story that Cale had heard flowed out of the Dragon half-blood's mouth again.
‘This is my first time hearing him be respectful to anyone.’
Cale patted Raon's back without stopping after realizing that this was the first time he heard the Dragon half-blood being respectful to anyone.
The Dragon half-blood’s shaking voice continued to reach his ear.
Being sold to the White Star, following him around, and being locked up in a cave.
Then the story about how he became a chimera.
…And then what turned him into a chimera.
"The White Star told me something the day I became a full chimera.”
Cale started to pat Raon’s back more carefully without stopping.
“I shoved a red Dragon's heart into your heart.”
It was for a short moment, but Cale who had his eyes closed felt someone gasp.
The Dragon half-blood's shaking voice was still talking.
“ ‘Your heart has the blood of the last Dragon Lord. So you will definitely become a great Dragon. Become a Dragon and succeed me. I believe you will be able to do both.’ ”
Cale opened his eyes at that moment.
Boooooooom!
The reception room started to rumble.
He then quickly hugged Raon who was shoving his face into his chest and looked forward.
It was not just the reception room but the entire black castle that was rumbling.
It was shaking.
“W, what is that-?”
Cale could see Lord Sheritt who was holding the Dragon half-blood's collar.
She was still an illusion. However, Lord Sheritt who had her memories and conscience intact had bloodshot eyes.
Her hands were shaking as she grabbed the Dragon half-blood's collar.
The red egg.
Those words stabbed into her heart. She could not think about anything from that moment.
“You, you-, no, my child’s heart-, my child.”
She could not speak properly as she looked toward the Dragon half-blood. Her pupils were frantically shaking.
“Human, human.”
“Yes, yes.”
Cale continued to pat Raon's back as he hugged him.
Raon had both of his eyes tightly shut. His body was slightly shaking as well. It was different than when he was getting revenge on Venion Stan.
Cale tightly hugged the six-year-old child.
“Should we leave if you don’t want to listen?”
Raon’s closed eyes opened. He looked ready to cry.
“Do whatever you want to do. I will make sure you can do whatever you want to do.”
Cale's whisper moved past Raon’s ears and into his heart. Cale’s tone was slightly cold as usual, but it was gentle.
Raon closed his eyes once more before opening them back and responding.
“…I will listen. However, human, you must be next to me.”
Raon turned his head. Lord Sheritt was looking toward Raon while still holding the Dragon half-blood’s collar. Raon hesitated after seeing her gaze before starting to speak.
“M, mom has to be with me too.”
Lord Sheritt's expression crumbled when she heard that.
She held back her tears that looked ready to flood out as well as her anger. She then released her grip. She released the Dragon half-blood.
“Cough, cough!”
The Dragon half-blood coughed and caught his breath.
The rumbling black castle calmed back down following Lord Sheritt’s state of mind.
However, it was not that her mind had calmed down.
Her hands that were clenching her sleeves were still shaking and a slightly lower voice headed out toward the Dragon half-blood.
“Continue, continue. Tell me everything.”
The Dragon half-blood sat up straight and opened his mouth again.
“Cough! Ugh, cough!”
However, he could not speak because of his coughing.
His collar that Lord Sheritt had grabbed had not hurt at all. He was not coughing because of that.
He was just shocked that the strength from those shaking hands had been so weak. That was why he could feel the shock that the Lord had received.
The Dragon half-blood had been able to control the condition of his body that had become extremely weak, but he had lost that control the moment Lord Sheritt grabbed his collar.
He saw the teary eyes that were full of anger. However, she did not cry in the end.
It was impossible to focus on controlling the mess in his body the moment he saw those eyes.
She had heard the story of how her child had died, as well as the fact that someone had dug out that child’s heart after death and used it as an ingredient for a chimera.
The Dragon half-blood understood why Sheritt had grabbed his collar.
But for some reason, he just wanted to cry.
He was a bad person, but he wanted to cry.
However, he held back his tears as well.
He was not qualified to cry. He barely managed to suppress his coughing and opened his mouth again.
Lord Sheritt whose emotions had shaken so much that she had lost her rationality for a moment had calmed down and was looking at the Dragon half-blood with a complicated gaze.
The man in front of her was someone who had made her child’s heart his own, but…
‘…This child didn't end up like this because he wanted to, either.’
The Dragon half-blood had been sold off by his parents and spent his childhood locked up in a cave turning into a chimera.
Many different emotions shot up and back down in Sheritt’s mind. It was hard to think rationally.
The Dragon half-blood continued his story as she did that.
“After becoming a chimera like that, I grew by eating some more Dragon hearts. I made it through the first growth phase, and then……”
The story about how he made it through the second growth phase but was unable to complete the third growth phase.
Then the stories about all of the evil deeds he had committed during that time.
And then the things that happened with Cale.
“…I told Redika to throw the black egg away in a cave on the Western continent……”
He even talked about how he told Redika to throw the black egg away and then sent the temperature management device and made sure Redika checked up on it often.
“…Ha!”
Lord Sheritt scoffed in disbelief. Her gaze became even more complicated as she looked at the Dragon half-blood.
Cale could not understand all of her emotions, but he could sort of understand what she was thinking right now.
The Dragon half-blood kept saying he threw the egg away, but he had actually tried to hide and protect the egg.
“…But according to Cale Henituse, Redika had sold that black egg to the Stan March…….”
Cale looked toward Raon.
The dark blue eyes were looking at the Dragon half-blood with an unexplainable gaze.
Raon had been stuck in that dark cave and tortured by Venion Stan.
This black Dragon was now hearing how he had ended up like that.
Cale could not understand what Raon was feeling.
That was why he hugged Raon even tighter. It was all he could do right now.
“…And currently, I am a human and pretty much have none of the Dragon's strength anymore. Soon, soon-”
As the long story was about to end. The Dragon half-blood hesitated without being able to finish his sentence. He heard Lord Sheritt’s cold voice at that moment.
“You’ll die soon?”
The Dragon half-blood's eyes looked toward Sheritt.
Sheritt and the Dragon half-blood. The two of them made eye contact. The Dragon half-blood opened his mouth that had been opening and closing without being able to say anything.
“Yes, ma’am. I will die soon.”
The Dragon half-blood then saw Lord Sheritt start to frown with an emotion that could not be described with words.
She closed her eyes.
She was sitting up straight and looked like a sturdy tree that would not shake.
However, he could feel that this tree was quietly crying without shedding any tears.
The Dragon half-blood who looked at her for a moment started to speak again.
His shaky voice broke the silence in the room.
“I, I'm sorry.”
The Dragon half-blood bowed his head and body as much as possible.
Cale closed his eyes again.