Nelia was inwardly moved by the man’s attitude. Although she had said she didn’t want to make a big deal out of it and would compensate, there was really no reason to compensate.

There was no way the young boy could have damaged the shoes just by stepping on them, and it was only a bit of mud.

Nevertheless, the reason Nelia wanted to quietly handle the situation was that if the Duke saw this, he might genuinely think badly of Reunite.

She was already worried that the Duke found Reunite annoying.

Just then, Reunite, who had been hiding behind Nelia, slyly peeked out and said, “Honestly, the shoes weren’t clean from the start.”

“Well, you!”

“Your face is dirty too.”

At Reunite’s words, the man’s face turned red and blue.

Unable to control his anger, the man walked up to Reunite, grabbed his collar, and lifted him.

Reunite dangled helplessly in the man’s hand, but he didn’t close his mouth.

“It would be better for you to leave when someone is saying something nice.”

“What…! You little brat!”

Steam seemed to rise from the man’s head. Soon, the man raised his fist towards Reunite.

‘Surely, he won’t… to this young kid!’

Although that wasn’t the case, Nelia couldn’t bear to watch Reunite, who looked like a child, being hit.

In a moment of surprise, Nelia instinctively embraced Reunite as if protecting him. She closed her eyes tightly, preparing for the imminent attack.

But…

“Ahh…!”

When she opened her eyes, the man who was about to swing his fist was rolling on the ground, screaming.

Puzzled, she looked around. There was no one nearby to offer help. Reunite was just looking down at the man with an annoying expression.

“Did Reunite do this…!”

Turning his gaze away from the man, Reunite grabbed Nelia’s hand as if catching it.

“Let’s get out of here.”

Unlike when they were strolling through the park, Reunite ran like the wind.

When they finally stopped after walking far from the place, Nelia had to catch her breath for a while.

Once her breathing stabilized, Nelia asked Reunite.

“What on earth did you do to that man?”

It wouldn’t be easy for an adult man to roll on the ground and scream like a child.

“His wrist is probably broken.”

“What?”

When Nelia widened her eyes, Reunite spoke loudly.

“He got scared because you suddenly intervened! What if he tried to hug me with that weak body!”

“Earlier, that man was trying to hit Reunite.”

“I’m a dragon! Such a human can’t even harm an ant when it comes to me.”

“…Still, I couldn’t just stand by and watch Reunite being hit.”

Brushing his hair back, Reunite sighed, then focused his eyes.

“Well, anyway, it doesn’t matter what happens to that guy. After all, he was the one who did something wrong in the first place.”
“It’s not a wrong statement, but… Reunite was the one who stepped on the man’s shoes first. However, aside from some dust on the shoes, there seemed to be nothing wrong, and even though I offered to compensate, he acted like it was a big deal.

‘And… hitting a child like this?’

Even though Reunite claims to be a dragon that treats humans like ants, it made Nelia angry for a moment because he outwardly appeared as a child.

“Now, we should probably go. Otherwise, the angry homeowner might come looking for you.”

The homeowner beaten up by Duke Hart…

However, as quite some time had passed as he said, Nelia tried to move her feet.

But then, Reunite’s voice came from behind.

“And, Nelia.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t ever get involved in dangerous situations like earlier.”

Nelia sighed.

“I want that too… but it doesn’t work out well. Especially when it comes to people I care about.”

The same was true for Duke Hart and Charlotte.

The thought of staying quiet as an extra soon vanished, and she found herself moving.

So, she helped the Duke when he turned into a monster, and assisted Charlotte in finding the pendant necklace.

‘My temperament is also a problem.’

Nelia thought Reunite would surely nag at her for her personality, but he had a somewhat embarrassed expression.

“You’ve already grown attached to me. You’re more affectionate than I thought.”

Was that comment embarrassing? Nelia looked at Reunite with a smile.

Reunite’s eyes twinkled as if waiting for some response.

“Well, I don’t dislike you either.”

He said it with such a haughty tone.

But Nelia had seen it.

His honest smile that couldn’t be hidden.

He was giggling.

Nelia thought that if Reunite were in dragon form now, he would probably be wagging his tail.

When Nelia and Reunite returned to Duke Hart, he was reading a book.

When Nelia arrived, the Duke, with a faint smile, asked, ‘Did you have a good time?’

However, strangely, the Duke’s voice sounded weak. Nelia thought he seemed tired.

“Are you tired, Your Grace? Let’s go home.”

They hurriedly returned to the mansion, but even during dinner, he quickly put down his utensils.

He even left a short comment that he had no appetite and went up to his room first.

‘Why is he acting like this…?’

The Duke seemed noticeably low-spirited after the visit to the park.