Crown Princess Consort, have you awoken……?”

The maid who had entered while knocking paused before finally finishing her greeting.

I was sitting at the table with a haggard face, unable to sleep.

I was in a state of mind that I would not let anyone off if they touched me now.

Of course, Nathaniel was included in that ‘anyone.’

I felt like I was losing my mind due to a few days of insomnia.

“Bring me some water. With some ice, very cold.”

“Yes, yes!”

The clearly pleased maid quickly scurried out of the room.

I watched her retreating figure then turned my head.

My head hurt, and I felt my stomach boiling.

‘How dare you stay out for several days?’

I thought it was because he had turned into a baby dragon on the first day.

But when a day passed and he didn’t return for several days, other thoughts occurred to me.

Nathaniel may be a baby dragon, but fundamentally, he was a magician.

He wouldn’t be easily taken down.

The thought occurred to me that there must be some other reason why he hasn’t appeared until now.

“Your Highness, I have brought the water.”

“Alright. Put it down and leave.”

I gulped down the icy water at once.

My mind was refreshed by the water, so cold that my teeth ached.

“See if I leave it at that.”

Crushing the ice, I glared at the halfopen window.

(This is a time separator.)

“He, heuk.”

Late at night, Nathaniel opened his eyes to a crying sound.

Henry was tossing and turning in bed, face buried in the pillow.

He sat up and approached Henry, patting his back.

“Squeak…….”

He was awkward at comforting. He didn’t know gentle words or how to encourage courage.

All he could do was pat Henry’s back until he fell asleep again.

‘How long has it passed?’

Several days had passed since he left Henry’s room.

But he couldn’t move his feet, leaving the completely deflated Henry behind.

The piano that he loved so much was taken away by the Empress the next day.

That day, Henry shed silent tears, not saying a word.

It seemed as if things had returned to ordinary daily life, but he cried as if in a fit every night.

“Dragon sir.”

Henry’s blue eyes, swollen from crying, looked at Nathaniel.

The quiet child slowly spat out words filled with pain.

“Why does mother torment me like this if she loves me?”

Nathaniel could not answer Henry’s words.

He had never properly received his mother’s love either.

But it wouldn’t be a fake love.

The sight of the crying Empress apologizing to him did not look like a lie.

[It’s because she wants to see what she wants in you.]

“Does mother want me to be much smarter than my brother?”

[But that’s not you.]

Nathaniel’s mother did not see him as a human.

She thought of him as a dragon’s incarnation, or a monster.

So did the people around him.

Some saw a dragon’s descendant in Nathaniel; others saw a mad crown prince with abnormal power.

“Um……. If I become as smart as my brother, will mother love me more?”

At Henry’s words, Nathaniel was breathless.

He had thought the same thing.

If he were an ordinary human, or a perfect dragon, he might overcome these inhumane, excluded emotions.

At the moment when he was about to give up everything, he met someone who accepted him as he was, as if by magic.

She neither revered him as sacred nor leaned on his authority.

From the beginning to the end, Jaina treated him as ‘Nathaniel.’

[No.]

A deep gloom settled on Henry’s face.

Nathaniel comforted him, patting his fair, good hair.

[You will definitely meet someone who likes you as you are. Until then, you just have to keep yourself without losing yourself.]

“I don’t really understand what you’re saying.”

But he was sure it made him feel good.

Henry laughed bashfully and tightly hugged the little dragon in front of him.

The dragon, who disliked skinship, fluttered its wings a few times but soon stayed still, embracing him.
The rigid shell and cold body temperature had become a comfort.

Henry released the dragon and bowed deeply.

“Thank you for taking care of me all this time.”

[It’s nothing.]

“You can go back now.”

Nathaniel, who had tried to say something more, soon closed his mouth.

There was no way for him to help Henry here in the form of a dragon.

Nathaniel, who had been in thought, made a big resolution and looked at Henry.

[I will tell you a secret.]

“A secret?”

[Yes.]

He lightly stroked Henry’s forehead as he lay down.

He quietly cast a spell and set up a safety device on his body.

He had meticulously shielded him so that even if he was hit, it would hurt less, and wounds would not occur.

Violence was easy this once.

Perhaps this could be the beginning.

Thinking that, he couldn’t leave him.

It was like looking at his past self.

Nathaniel spoke, hiding his pain.

[If you need help, go find your brother.]

“Brother, my brother?”

[Yes. After all, am I not a dragon? I will tell him in advance, so if you ask for help, he will surely help you.]

Henry nodded his head.

And he got down from the bed and opened the window.

Morning was already dawning.