“I don’t know what nonsense you’re suddenly spouting.”

Siod spoke with a serious expression.

“I came with some idea of what to expect.”

Guinevere was hesitating. If she were to die, this man would be the only one who could protect William. As far as she knew, there was no one stronger than him.

But she didn’t know if she could trust him.

“Vera. Why didn’t you tell me?”

There were so many problems piled up, yet he didn’t know why he was asking such a question. But when Siod actually faced Guinevere, this question came out first.

“You had the chance to tell me. So why didn’t you?”

Guinevere kept her mouth shut. Seeing her cold demeanor, Siod unconsciously sneered.

“Ah, perhaps you were worried I might not be the father?”

Guinevere was dumbfounded. She smiled coldly and said,

“Stop talking nonsense and say what you came to say. Surely you didn’t dare intrude into my mansion in such a manner just to say such things? If so, you should be prepared.”

“I’m jealous. Who else besides me…”

Guinevere kicked Siod again. This time too, Siod didn’t dodge. Guinevere sneered and said,

“Do you have a habit of getting hit? You’re not even dodging? You’re the one who left without looking back as soon as you found out about the child.”

This is madness. Siod bit his lip, filled with so much regret it made him dizzy. He had thought it was a shallow emotion, but facing her now, it wasn’t.

“I didn’t know it was my child.”

“If you’re going to keep talking nonsense…”

“I’m a dragon.”

Damn it. Guinevere cursed inwardly. There were too many shocking things today, she felt her heart might not survive. She rarely stumbled over her words.

“Wh-what? A dragon?”

“A dragon, I said. I didn’t know a child could be born between a dragon and a human.”

“What nonsense…”

“Yes, it doesn’t make sense. I thought so too. But it turned out to be possible. I thought it was someone else’s child…”

Before going mad and killing everyone, he left. Siod swallowed those words. The nature he didn’t want to admit kept trying to reveal itself.

‘Ah, I’ve gone crazy. Shallow emotion? Is this a shallow emotion?’

Siod cursed himself. He thought it was shallow water, but in fact, he was buried in a tidal flat and now the tide was coming in. As soon as he realized this, a smile leaked out.

“Are you crazy?”

“Vera. The reason you’re so angry now is because it really is my child, right?”

“…”

“There was no other possibility that made you certain it was my child?”

Guinevere couldn’t answer. But for some unknown reason, she clenched her fist in annoyance. And she started hitting Siod like a punching bag.

Siod laughed even as he was being hit.

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

“You crazy bastard. Stop laughing.”

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

After pummeling him for a while, Guinevere stopped, panting.

“So, what did you want to say?”

The smile disappeared from Siod’s face.

While he was considering what to say first, Guinevere secretly gripped the dagger she had prepared, holding it in reverse.

She had thought that a dragon might appear someday. So she needed to create a weapon that could kill even a dragon.

That was this dagger. In theory, this dagger, which would absorb magical power once embedded in the body, could deliver a fatal blow even to a dragon.

Siod was once a lover, but William was more important to Guinevere. If he tried to harm William’s existence, she planned to kill him when he was off guard.

But…

“Our child might be in danger.”

‘Our child?’

Guinevere was surprised by the unexpected words and her grip on the dagger loosened.

“This might be shocking, but listen to the end. Someone has turned back time. Three times. I came out to investigate this and found out that the culprit is… our child.”

Guinevere stood there blankly, not knowing how to react. The dagger fell from her hand, but she didn’t even think to pick it up.

“Normally, even dragons would just observe. But now, there are victims among the dragon clan. An egg that should hatch isn’t hatching. Dragons are programmed to protect eggs and hatchlings as the highest priority. So… I came out to investigate.”

Siod, understanding Guinevere’s shock as mere confusion, continued speaking.

“If the egg doesn’t hatch like this, the mother dragon will go mad and rampage. So we need to stop the repeating time reversal. But how did that child use magic without knowing dragon language?”

“Dragon language?”

“When I saw yesterday, William still can’t do magic, right? That would be the case. He wouldn’t have been able to handle dragon magic with human language. But how…”

Guinevere’s legs gave out and she collapsed on the spot.

“Guinevere?”

Tears began to flow endlessly from her blank face. Siod was startled and hurriedly approached Guinevere. Guinevere mumbled stupidly.

“Without knowing that…”

“What?”

“Without knowing that, I pushed that child.”

Siod couldn’t understand what she meant. As he knelt in front of Guinevere and tried to support her, he froze at Guinevere’s following whisper.

“That’s why he committed suicide. Because of me…”

Was it due to accumulated fatigue? Guinevere collapsed right there. Only Siod remained, blankly mulling over what Guinevere had said.

‘Committed suicide?’

*

He couldn’t return to the lair in the dragon’s valley. Siod laid the collapsed Guinevere down in the hotel where he was staying and placed layer upon layer of barriers.

Looking down at the dagger placed on the table, Siod thought.

‘She had made something like this. I understand why Lord is wary.’

Lord wanted to eliminate mithril, a metal that could harm dragons, from the human world. Lairs of dragons were piled high with mithril weapons. They had scraped up every one they could find.

Yet Guinevere had a dagger made of mithril. Moreover, it had quite powerful magic on it. Probably engraved by herself. If he had been stabbed with something like this, it would have been quite dangerous for him too.

Siod sighed. At that moment, Guinevere woke up with a start. Surprised, she sat up and unconsciously drew up her magical power.

Siod looked at Guinevere with an expressionless face and said,

“Calm down. I won’t hurt you.”

Guinevere noticed the dagger placed on the table. Now that it had been discovered, she had to assume there was no way to deliver a fatal blow to that man. Guinevere dispersed her magic and ran her hand through her hair.

Even in this situation, that gesture looked pretty, so he really must be out of his mind. Siod thought he must be crazy. Still, he had to say what needed to be said.

“What do you mean he committed suicide?”

“…”

“I know you’re tired, but I’m just so curious.”

Siod had thought that Guinevere would have lost her memories during the three times time was reversed. Because she was human too. But was it because she was a transcendent? She seemed to remember the 50 years that had disappeared.

All sorts of complicated thoughts came to mind. Was Guinevere actually the culprit? Did she turn back time because her son committed suicide? But the magic used then was clearly not Guinevere’s. He, who had mixed bodies with Guinevere, knew that.

“It means exactly what I said.”

“So that child… Why?”

Guinevere blinked, trying not to cry. She didn’t even deserve to cry. But she couldn’t stop her voice from breaking.

“William can’t do magic. So… He offered his heart as a material to turn back time.”

As Guinevere buried her face in her hands, her ebony hair fell like a waterfall. She started to shake. She shouldn’t cry, but keep…

Siod approached Guinevere, who had fallen into despair, and put his arm around her shoulders. It was a shocking story. He didn’t know how to console Guinevere. He awkwardly apologized.

“Vera. I’m sorry.”

He wished she wouldn’t cry. He had never seen her cry before. Since meeting again, he had only seen her face full of sorrow. He didn’t want to see such a face, even if he couldn’t make her laugh when they met again.

“It’s because I left. I’m sorry. Don’t cry.”

At Siod’s clumsy comfort, Guinevere began to sob uncontrollably.

“If I had been by your side, this wouldn’t have happened. It’s all because of me.”

Siod hugged her tightly and whispered.

“Blame me. You did nothing wrong.”

Ridiculously, those words were comforting. Guinevere hit Siod while crying loudly.

“You bastard. You’re really a bastard.”

“Yes. That’s right. It’s all my fault.”

If Siod hadn’t left, they might have known that William was of dragon lineage. If so, she wouldn’t have pressed him about why he couldn’t do magic.

Then William wouldn’t have grown up to be such a depressed young man and wouldn’t have committed suicide. Guinevere rationalized like this, but in fact, she knew.

“I forced magic on that child. I asked why he couldn’t handle his innate magic… Why he wasn’t trying…”

“No. It’s not because of that. Vera. Please don’t cry.”

I don’t know why my heart hurts so much. Siod pulled Guinevere’s head closer. He could feel Guinevere trembling in his arms. She had never shown such a vulnerable side before.

Siod embraced Guinevere and stroked her back. He gritted his teeth, torn between wanting to comfort her somehow and his body heating up even in this situation.

Guinevere suddenly raised her head and glared at Siod. Then she grabbed his collar.

“Are you going to leave again?”

“No.”

“Then, then… Are you on my side?”

“Yes.”

She wanted to hold onto him. Because right now, she needed even one more ally. So Guinevere kissed him.