So just stay still with your eyes closed.

Then, while you’re alive, you’ll enjoy abundant honor and wealth, and after you die, the flesh-tearing revenge will pleasantly fill that poor heart of yours.

‘No!’

Adel tightly covered her ears with her hands. It was a terrible, truly terrible sound. An unbearable sense of self-loathing welled up at the thought that she had dared to entertain such an idea even for a moment.

Was this the vulgar nature within her that the Count had spoken of so much?

‘No way… That can’t be.’

At that moment, a strange light flickered in Valentin’s eyes. But Adel missed it, shuddering at her own terribleness.

‘Right away, I must inform Father about this…’

[Adelheit.]

She startled and looked up. It was the first time the dragon had spoken to her directly like this, rather than transmitting memories.

It wasn’t as bad as when memories were being transmitted, but it was still a terrible sensation. It felt as if someone had torn through the thick walls she had built and forcibly invaded. Unable to overcome that unpleasant fear, Adel staggered and barely managed to grab onto the table.

[Even after I’ve told you everything, I still sense fear from you, Adel. That saddens me.]

“Saddens… you?”

Adel narrowed her eyes while catching her breath. ‘It’ seemed melancholic, as it said. Was this conversation also an imitation? Since it seemed to have fully recalled Valentin’s memories now, it could have fished out usable things from there…

‘Maybe it remembered everything from the start. How foolish I must have looked.’

Her thoughts kept drifting askew. Adel took a few steps back, crossing her arms and hugging her elbows. Her face, drenched in tears, trembled pitifully like a rain-soaked lily.

Formal and informal speech mixed chaotically as she spoke.

“I don’t understand… why you’re doing this to me. Sad? If you received His Highness’s memories, you should… rightfully hate me. When did you ever see me…”

[All that you know is not all there is to us.]

“That means…”

[You still doubt your husband’s heart. That I have no feelings for you.]

“How… dare you… call yourself… my husband?”

[I have the same body, the same memories, and share the same ideals. I even hold that soul within this body.]

“…”

[Answer me, Adelheit. If not me, who would be your husband?]

Its eyes narrowed as if mocking her. It was as if she could hear the hiss of a snake’s tongue as a warning in her ears.

That she shouldn’t continue this conversation any further, that she shouldn’t lend an ear to those wicked whispers anymore. While her cold reason thought so, on the other hand, she mulled over those words. Yes. It was as ‘that thing’ said.

The same body, the same memories, the same ideals and the same soul. Everything that defined a person as that person was the same. Then if this ‘thing’ in front of her eyes wasn’t Valentin, wasn’t Duke Ansgar, what on earth could it be…

‘No. Don’t even think about it.’

She scratched her ears with her nails as if wanting to tear off its voice clinging to them. Its words were snake venom. Slowly seeping in and blurring proper judgment, and by the time you realized it, you were already irreversibly addicted.

‘This isn’t for me to judge. I need to inform Father Priest about this… as soon as possible.’

[Naive Adelheit.]

A chuckling laughter tinged his voice.

[Do you really think you can stop me with the power of just a few humans?]

Adel, who had been staggering back looking for a chance to retreat, froze stiff. For a moment she thought she had spoken her thoughts out loud, then looked at him, turning pale.

It was as he said. He had ways to know whatever cunning scheme she might devise. Because he was the god of all shadows and demons… Eavesdropping on conversations through shadows and thwarting plans before they could even be implemented would be easier for him than breathing.

“…”

The golden eyes looking down at her had been consistent from the beginning until now. Consistently beautiful yet cruel. Crying, contorting, being concerned, pretending to be docile, craving affection. It could imitate anything, but the essence inside never changed for even a moment.

‘He’ was not human. He was a disaster, a terror, the famous dragon of Bittleben. She finally realized this to her very core.

Her breathing quickened a bit.

“Huh… uh…”

It took three hundred years for Nassau to fall. Then how long would it take for Ansgar… She couldn’t take responsibility for everything until that distant future. She knew that in her head. It wasn’t even her fault; she was just unlucky to be cornered like this. But still.

‘If only I hadn’t heard, would this life have been peaceful? If I hadn’t known at all…’

Her thoughts kept drifting to extremes. While she was in confusion, Valentin silently watched Adel. He even seemed to wear a faint smile. That only added to her confusion.

How on earth. How could he smile in this situation…

‘Because he’s not human.’

Her lips were raw from being chewed on so much. You can’t expect something that’s not human to be humane.

He grabbed Adel’s arm as she staggered, about to faint. She was helplessly pulled towards him. Although a chilling shudder ran down her spine the moment his grasp touched her arm, she didn’t feel the slightest desire to resist. Because it was meaningless.

It seemed to just find this situation amusing.

[The price for awakening the shadows from their long slumber is flesh and blood. All contracts I make must be fulfilled. After that, I simply take what was promised to me.]

“…”

[Adelheit. My poor wife. If you just close your eyes and pretend not to know, your husband’s wish would come true.]

He smiled, gently narrowing his eyes.

[If that’s so terrible to you, propose a new contract to me. Then, for your sake, I’ll tilt the scales of the price generously.]

The whisper was wicked. Her husband had already wagered the lives of all the Ansgar people to make a contract with the ‘shadow’. To propose a ‘new contract’ that would generously alter the price of the contract, she would have to give the dragon something comparable to at least tens of thousands of lives.

But all she fully possessed were just her body, a few human coins, and some torn and tattered clothes.

“B-but… I have nothing to give you. Really…”

[Well.]

“If there is such a thing, t-tell me. What do you want from me? Anything, it would be better if I somehow…”

[The price will depend on what wish you have.]

“My w-wish is for you to cancel taking the Ansgar people as the price. And, if possible, I’d like you to return my husband’s soul.”

[…]

“Th-then in return, I’ll do my best to… to make sure the first contract is fulfilled, I-I’ll do whatever it takes…”

The dragon’s lips moved slightly. Just that, but Adel got the impression that he was laughing out loud. Naive Adel, he seemed about to say that while wiping away the tears gathered at the corners of her eyes.

[Your husband’s soul is asleep until the contract is fulfilled, so I can’t return it now. And what you’ve proposed can hardly be considered a price. Do you think I need the help of a mere human?]

“Then, what kind of… price…”

[Of course, you should be prepared to wager your everything, Adelheit.]

Valentin’s outstretched index finger gently lifted Adel’s chin.

[I’m willing to accept either you alone or the tens of thousands of lives that will satisfy my hunger three hundred years from now.]

Ah. Her mouth filled with a despairing moan. If she made a contract with a demon, her soul would never reach Morig’s paradise.

But if she refused here, all the Ansgar people would face a terrible demise all at once.

Like the tragedy of Nassau…

A hollow laugh filled her lungs. It seemed as if he was being generous by letting her choose, but in the end, there was only one option. Adel barely managed to clench her trembling fist. She wanted to run away many times, but it was clear that any choice would only leave regret.

If so, then rather.

“I-I’ll make the contract.”

Adel said, squeezing her eyes shut.

“I don’t know what you want from me as the price, but I…”

[In the end, you will be the one who wants it first.]

“…”

[So please feel free to command, Adel.]

Suddenly close lips whispered gently in her ear.

[To your dragon.] [This is the timeline separator]

Poor, lovely Adelheit. You should have listened to your nurse’s voice.

The dragon of Bittleben is cunning and vicious… ah, what else did she say?

[This is the timeline separator]

Ah.

Adel woke up from sleep with a short moan. Bright sunlight was shining full on her face. Someone must have forgotten to close the curtains. The weather seemed to have warmed up, as the sunlight was quite intense for early winter. She let out a satisfied moan inwardly and buried her face in the pillow as best she could.

Perhaps thanks to getting a good night’s sleep after a long time, both her cheeks were warm. Normally she should have gotten up and moved around long ago, but perhaps because she was too tired last night, her body wouldn’t listen. If she could just sleep for exactly five more minutes…

‘Wait, last night?’

Her thoughts, which had been flowing smoothly without care, came to an abrupt halt. Adel suddenly opened her eyes, still clouded with sleep. As she recalled the previous night, her drowsiness vanished instantly as if she had been doused with cold water.

Right. So, last night.

She seemed to have… met the dragon of Bittleben. Made a contract, and saved the lives of the Ansgar people. Three hundred years in the future, at that.

Thinking about it with a clear mind in the morning, it felt like she had been terribly scammed somehow. Everything tended to seem like a lie under the bright sunlight.

‘Surely not…’