Orbis does not voluntarily do troublesome tasks. As long as he stays in the Dragon Castle, the magical beasts do not dare to invade, so until now he has only guarded this place without going out.

But from now on, his sphere of activity will expand.

Going out.

No, not going out.

‘He will go hunting.’

So that no reckless magical beast would dare to think of setting foot in the Dragon Castle.

To completely eliminate even the slightest possibility of Litania being in danger.

“Snow. Stay by Litania’s side every day.”

“…Are you thinking of going on patrol every day?”

If the purpose is to prevent magical beasts, once or twice a week would be enough, so why bother spending time patrolling around the Dragon Castle?

Aren’t the two newlyweds?

As if reading Snow’s slightly bewildered expression, Orbis answered dryly.

“Rather than visiting too often, it will be easier to attract Litania’s attention if I’m frequently absent.”

“Pardon?”

“In human terms… yes.”

He smiled faintly.

“I believe they call it ‘push and pull’.”

“…”

Push and pull. Was that what it meant?

Snow couldn’t understand but couldn’t argue with his master’s words, so he simply nodded. Then, to avoid worrying his master, he deliberately spoke brightly.

“I’ve been assisting Litania by her side all this time. Don’t worry.”

Orbis did not respond.

The silence continued.

It wasn’t uncommon for Orbis not to answer his servant’s words. Is it time to go back now that the business is done? Just as Snow was inwardly gauging the timing to say he would leave.

“18… no, it’s been 19 years now, hasn’t it?”

Orbis let out a small sigh and, without looking at Snow, commended his efforts.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“…”

Snow’s red eyes widened and his thin lips pressed tightly together. It was the first time he had received praise from his master.

‘My goodness.’

All the servants in the Dragon Castle were the dragon’s minions. Snow was no exception.

Snow, a small rabbit with fluffy white fur and red eyes. The divine dragon who turned the boy into human form ordered him to become the imperial princess’s attendant and take care of her from childhood. The rabbit-turned-human entered the imperial palace, obeying the august master’s command.

For Snow, 19 years was a long time that far exceeded his lifespan as a rabbit.

However, since being loyal to his master was only natural, Snow thought it was normal to devote himself for a long time.

Also, he never thought his efforts would be recognized even once.

But.

‘The master has changed.’

Dragons are not human and do not feel the same emotions as humans.

Dragons possess powerful abilities and use their subordinate creatures like limbs, so they don’t know how to be grateful. They know even less about being considerate.

If their mood is disturbed, they kill without mercy, and replace the cut-off parts with other limbs. That’s how it’s always been.

Since when did Orbis change? It wasn’t difficult to find the answer.

Since meeting Litania. More precisely, since encountering not the Litania who lived like a dead doll in a corner of the imperial palace, but the vividly shining Litania.

‘It would have been better if he had brought her here sooner.’

The boy hesitated for a moment before asking his master.

“From now on, I’ll prevent Litania from taking interest in the eastern tower.”

“No, don’t stop Litania from doing what she wants.”

If you block what humans want to do, they desire it even more. It only increases their resentment towards the being that blocked their actions.

Orbis now knew this.

Almost cruelly so.

“If Litania wants to go to the 8th floor again, you can open the door for her.”

“But that place is dangerous. If Litania were to no longer be of this world…”

“Of course, I won’t let it go that far.”

Orbis closed the book he had been reading. His long fingers lightly tapped the worn spine of the book.

“After having a slightly frightening experience, Litania will probably lose interest in that place.”

The next day at dawn, knights and servants sent from the imperial palace arrived at the Dragon Castle.

They widened their eyes at the sight of the enormous castle built in the dragon’s nest. Although they had assumed the rumors of lightning and ice rain falling together were surely exaggerated, they naturally thought it wouldn’t be a place suitable for humans to live.

The central main palace, while not as splendid as the imperial palace, was built in a sophisticated architectural style, and the lake surrounding the castle was dazzlingly clear.

The garden, full of vibrant, colorful flowers, was also beautiful enough to rival the imperial palace’s rear garden, which was said to be the finest.

Three gardeners from the imperial palace chattered among themselves, their eyes shining at the sight of flowers blooming out of season.

“Welcome, everyone. You must be tired.”

In contrast to those exhausted from riding in carriages all night, Litania came out to greet them with a bright face.

On her left stood Snow, her close attendant, and on her right was a strange man who seemed to be the butler of this castle. The master of the Dragon Castle was nowhere to be seen.

“You all know Snow, right? This is Simons. He’s the butler of this castle, so everyone should listen to Simons while you’re here.”

At Litania’s gesture, the man who had been standing like a wooden puppet tilted his head slightly with an expressionless face.

The servants stiffened at the butler’s strange gaze, while the knights showed wary looks. They too had not expected there to be people in the Dragon Castle.

“My lady, was there a butler in this castle?”

“Yes. And there are about seventy servants, I’m told. I haven’t met them all yet, though.”

Seventy? The knights’ faces immediately turned pale.

‘Should we have brought more knights?’

Although bewilderment crossed the face of Bain, the captain, he quickly erased that expression. While investigating the Dragon Castle on the emperor’s orders had become difficult, showing signs of perplexity would alert the other party. Not the imperial princess, but that butler. He instinctively felt this way.

“I understand, my lady. Where shall we stay?”

“About that…”

As Litania trailed off and looked at the butler, the expression of the man who had been like a stone doll changed abruptly. He showed an awkwardly out-of-place smile and opened his mouth.

“The knights will use the eastern annex. The gardeners and cooks will use the western annex.”

“The annex must be that building over there.”

“Yes. I will guide you.”

After bidding farewell to Litania, the butler turned to the knights, reverting to the expressionless face they had first seen.

‘He’s no ordinary butler.’

Bain, the captain, thought he should include the butler’s existence in the report to be submitted to the emperor.

The knights who entered the annex following the butler’s guidance were surprised for a different reason this time. The condition of the annex was completely different from the main palace.

The state of the annex, which seemed impossible for people to live in, was so dilapidated that it couldn’t have been made this way even if intentionally done.

If it hadn’t been the natural traces of time, they would have mistaken it for being deliberately made a mess to show hostility.

“First, we need to replace the old stones and reattach the fallen bricks. The old windows and doors also need repairs.”

“Are you telling us to do that now? We are knights!”

The butler’s eyes, which had been listing the parts that needed repair expressionlessly, flashed with a strange light.

“This is the Dragon Castle.”

A weighty statement. Despite being just a butler, not the divine dragon, there was a strange pressure in those words.

Dragon Castle. A place where the laws of the human world do not apply. Once you set foot in the dragon’s nest, everyone becomes the dragon’s minion. If you don’t comply with that rule, you’re just an intruder.

It wasn’t difficult to predict how the dragon would deal with intruders. The knights looked at each other before turning to Bain, their captain. He closed his eyes tightly and let out a sigh.

“It’s only natural to tidy up the place where one will stay.”

“You are wise, captain.”

The butler was simply expressing sincere admiration, but his voice was so emotionless that it sounded sarcastic. Bain raised one eyebrow and pressed his lips tightly together.

Whether the butler didn’t notice Bain’s displeased expression or simply didn’t care, he continued speaking with the same expressionless face.

“The servants will take care of organizing the furniture and decorations inside the castle and cleaning. Don’t worry.”

“Where are the other servants?”

“The servants who attend to the master and mistress use the main palace, while the rest use the western annex.”

Isn’t the western annex also not fit for human habitation?

…The gardeners and cooks seemed to be silently exclaiming, but Bain didn’t bother to comment.

“We have no time to waste. Everyone, start working!”

They carefully examined the inside and outside of the annex and began repairs. Fortunately, the bricks to be replaced were already prepared, so they didn’t have to go through the trouble of procuring them.

Servants with strange faces they had never seen before were already carrying bricks cut to the appropriate shapes and sizes in lines.

‘Are these the dragon’s minions?’

The servants, with diverse hair and skin colors, were all tall and thin as if woven from long blades of grass, but they looked as strong as any decent knight.