As I was trying to leave the annex palace and go to the main palace through the rear garden, I saw a wide glass wall that wasn’t visible from the front.

“I wonder what that place is?”

“Well, I don’t know. I’ve never been there before.”

“Of course you haven’t been there, you just came here today. Same for me.”

Snow nodded slightly, saying “That’s right,” and narrowed her eyes as if guessing.

“Could it be a greenhouse?”

“A greenhouse? That’s on the 5th floor?”

“Then go check it out. There’s nowhere in this dragon castle that Lady Litania can’t go anyway.”

“Didn’t you tell me not to go up further in the tower earlier?”

Litania pointed out Snow’s contradiction, but the boy just smiled brightly as if his worried face from earlier had been a lie.

‘Ugh, so cute.’

Even without the saying that you can’t spit on a smiling face, Snow’s smiling face was invincible.

How could one resist that face looking up with those innocent eyes and rosy cheeks?

Litania swallowed and patted Snow’s head, then took the boy’s small, warm hand and headed towards the greenhouse.

But it wasn’t a greenhouse.

“Wow… Is this some kind of shrine? Like a chapel inside the dragon castle?”

From the outside, it just looked like transparent glass, but inside, unlike the banquet hall, colorless curved glass panels were beautifully scattering the light.

On top of white stairs that looked as if they were carved from marble, there was an altar similar to the one she had seen during the rain ritual.

The reason she thought of a shrine or chapel when she first arrived at this place was because of this altar. It was even the same that there was nothing on the altar.

“If there’s a chapel in a place like this, does that mean there’s a resident priest?”

“There is no priest.”

A resonant voice captured her ears. Turning around, she saw a tall figure standing in the doorway. It was Orbis.

“You were with Snow.”

“Yes. I wanted to look around the castle…”

“If you had told me, I would have guided you.”

Orbis approached with calm steps and stood beside Litania. The woman, who was already small, looked even smaller next to him.

At first, Litania looked at him like a wary cat, but now she doesn’t shrink away even when he comes right up to her. Rather, she smiled brightly at him and said,

“Since it’s Snow’s first time in the dragon castle too, I thought it would be nice to look around together.”

Orbis silently smiled at her innocent answer.

Only Snow glanced at Orbis and quietly let go of Litania’s hand.

Orbis shifted his gaze from her empty hand to the empty altar.

“This place was not a chapel, but a place where treasures were kept.”

“Treasures? What kind of treasures?”

“The Stone of Wishes.”

Orbis briefly recalled the object that would have been placed on the altar in the past, but soon forgot. Even though it wasn’t that old a memory, it had already become blurry.

“It has the power to grant whatever the user wishes for. But it’s lost now.”

“You say it’s lost, not used? Don’t tell me someone stole it?”

“Something like that.”

“But this is a dragon’s nest. There’s no way a thief could…”

“Even if not a thief, there are people who could take it.”

Orbis looked down at Litania intently and smiled.

She blinked her large eyes. Her face seemed to ask who would have the guts to steal a treasure from the dragon castle.

But although her lips quivered, she didn’t actually ask.

If it was a treasure, it must have been something very precious, and she seemed to think it best not to bring up painful memories.

Sometimes she showed this kind of unnecessary consideration to the dragon. Orbis didn’t dislike it.

“The more we obsess over precious things, the more easily they disappear. We regret after losing them and resolve that we wouldn’t do the same if we could turn back time, but when we face them again, we end up repeating the same mistake.”

“I don’t really understand what you mean. You said it was a stone, so it’s not like it could grow legs and run away… Why don’t you go find it?”

“Even I can’t find a way if it’s no longer of this world.”

“You don’t mean it di-!”

Litania hastily closed her mouth. She fiddled with her fingers, gauging his reaction as if trying to determine whether she should ask more or not.

This too was unnecessary consideration, but since it felt good to receive Litania’s consideration, Orbis smiled faintly.

“It’s alright. Even if I can’t find it.”

This space, abandoned with nothing left after the treasure disappeared, didn’t have a speck of dust despite not being maintained, unlike other places.

‘It must mean the wish’s effect hasn’t worn off yet.’

The Stone of Wishes. A dragon’s treasure that grants what one desires. But to the previous Orbis, it was an object of no value. Because he had no wish to make.

He lost the most precious thing because he left such a great treasure neglected without value.

“I knew that if there was a connection, it would return to me.”

And he was able to regain the most precious thing.

Although not in the way he wished.

“Is there anything else you’re curious about?”

“Um…”

Litania rolled her round eyes. He quite liked her face when she pondered like this.

Her large eyes that filled her small face seemed so clear as to reveal everything inside, yet they didn’t show what he most wanted to know.

That point was fascinating and interesting.

“I went up the east tower, but there was a large locked door, so I couldn’t go up to the 8th floor.”

“I’d prefer if you didn’t go there.”

“Ah, is it dangerous because it’s old? Wouldn’t it be better to have the servants repair it?”

“I’ve cautioned the servants not to go up there, so you don’t need to worry.”

When Orbis glanced at Snow, the boy’s body shrank. The boy took one step back slowly enough that Litania wouldn’t notice. Orbis shifted his gaze back to her.

“It’s about time you returned to your room. The sun has set.”

“Oh, you’re right. When did it get so dark?”

The sky visible through the glass window was dark.

Litania only then shuddered slightly, gave a light greeting to Orbis, and called for Snow. The boy responded to her call and followed, but this time he didn’t hold her hand.

Orbis gazed blankly at the two small figures as they left the room and disappeared.

“Perhaps I should have shared a bed with her.”

Orbis momentarily regretted immediately accepting the condition Litania had set, but soon brushed it off. Even if not sharing a bed, there were many ways to spend the night with her.

After Litania finished bathing in warm water and fell asleep in bed, Snow silently left her room.

The corridor lights were only on during Litania’s active hours, so now it was pitch black, but Snow skillfully opened the door and went down the stairs even in the darkness where he couldn’t see an inch in front of him.

When Snow’s eyes met those of the man standing like a still life in front of Orbis’s room door, he asked, his red eyes glowing:

“Simons, where is the master?”

“He’s in his room.”

As the butler glanced at the door, a voice was heard from inside without even knocking.

“Come in.”

The large door opened slightly without a sound. Snow was about to enter but turned to look at the butler.

“Simons, fix your expression.”

“Expression?”

“Lady Litania didn’t like your expression.”

After saying that, Snow grinned and turned around. The slender boy’s body disappeared as if sucked into the narrow gap of the door.

The butler stood quietly in front of the closed door and repeated the boy’s words.

“Expression… Should I imitate Snow?”

Orbis was sitting in a single sofa with his legs up on a stool. He always maintained proper posture in the imperial palace, but it was different in the dragon castle.

Wood was burning in the fireplace, but the air in the room was as chilly as an autumn night. The crimson flames crackled, lazily illuminating Orbis’s face.

“It seems Litania has fallen asleep.”

“Yes. I was worried she might be uncomfortable with the change in sleeping arrangements, but seeing how quickly she fell asleep, she seems comfortable.”

“Even though it’s changed, it’s the same. How was it in the imperial palace?”

“After you returned, she was confused for a while, but she adapted quickly. The food seemed to suit her taste too.”

“It was good to bring the imperial palace chef. Have Pepper learn from them.”

“Understood.”

Snow hesitated for a moment, then spoke again.

“But master, if it were just Lady Litania it would be fine, but… if more humans come here, I’m afraid magical beasts will gather around.”

Normally, magical beasts fear dragons and don’t dare approach a dragon’s nest. But it’s different if humans are nearby.

Even for a dragon, could they protect all the numerous humans?

Wouldn’t they let one or two slip through?

If so, couldn’t they eat the one or two that the dragon failed to protect?

That was generally the thought process of magical beasts. That’s why there was a high possibility they would start lurking around the dragon castle, which they had been too afraid to approach until now.

Because hunger sometimes overcomes the threat of death.

“I see.”

Orbis answered simply. Though that was all he said, Snow could understand.

‘The magical beasts around here will be wiped out soon.’