“How many hours of volunteer work? 200,000 hours? You want me to live my whole life doing unpaid work?”
“Is that important? It’s not that you hate it?” Adrian smiled affectionately, patting the chains on her neck. Noah’s body shivered at the cold touch of the metal, but it didn’t exactly frighten her.
“Hey, you think I can’t break one of these?” It was no better than a weak bracelet made out of flowers in front of a dragon. Climbing up to her neck, Muell opened his mouth wide and two sharp fangs appeared between his lips.
As soon as he was about to dig his sharp teeth on the chain, Adrian whispered into Noah’s ear. “You thought you wanted to kill me, didn’t you?”
Noah looked up at him in embarrassment, and he shrugged as if he already knew everything. “Shameless. You don’t know how to handle the dragon’s mana, did you think it would be over with just the imprint?”
“…Explain it properly.” Noah muttered.
“Is it really just mana that dragons and their masters share? If you thought so, you are so naive.”
Noah was silent.
“Just because your dragon looks so cute, you shouldn’t really think he’s human, Ellie. Tell me. Murder impulse, how many times have you felt it so far?” Adrian asked.
So far, it had been twice. When Noah ran into Lenia underground and just a moment ago, when Adrian unexpectedly testified in her trial. Soon, Noah was filled with the realization, and was horrified. No matter how annoying a person was, it wasn’t normal to feel the urge to kill them sincerely.
At some point, she was being too complacent, believing it would be as simple as merely not to think about it. Noah didn’t even realize she was so wrong.
When she bit her lips, Adrian pointed to the little boy hanging from her arm with his eyes. “And how many times has this dragon felt such an impulse so far? Ah…. I can’t say it’s an impulse. You may not feel any guilt.”
Chills ran down Noah’s spine. She gulped, lowering her gaze to Muell. His dark red orbs were staring at her with a hint of uneasiness, as if he understood her emotions. Noah gazed into the eyes of the child, trying to find any inhumanity.
“You can’t control your magic, you can’t keep your own reason. Ellie, do you even know you’re in pretty bad shape?” Adrian spoke sarcastically
Now, Noah understood. She didn’t know what she felt the most scared of herself would be expressed in such a way, but…
Adrian fiddled with the chains on her neck, whispering. “This restraint will protect you from the dragon. Of course, it’s a man-made object, just like you said, so the dragon can break it if it decides to. So, it’s up to you. But I don’t think you’d have to break the leash and abandon your humanity.”
Noah couldn’t argue with Adrian knowing so well he was right. When she stood frozen, Adrian nudged her gently. “You’re supposed to learn to control the dragon’s mana from me anyway when you come to Tezeba. I promised to meet you regularly.”
“…….”
“Learn magic from me. Step by step from the basics. If you’re judged to have improved enough not to be swallowed up by the dragon’s power, I’ll let you go.
Noah uttered nothing, but Adrian and she herself already knew the answer. Adrian smiled softly and stroked her head. “Yes, you don’t think it’s a losing business, do you?”
“…Why are you offering me this?” Noah asked, skeptical of his intentions.
“Well, because I love you? Because I don’t want you to be in danger?
“I don’t tolerate bullsh*t.”
Adrian pouted his lips at her cold remark. Noah glared at him, falling into a deep thought. The man across her was already suspicious. He knew Muell was a dragon at first glance and approached her deliberately.
Furthermore, the relationship between Yulem and the Ministry of Magic was suspected, and Adrian was the first person to dig into.
However, maybe it wasn’t such a terrible opportunity. Noah arranged her thoughts, staring at Adrian’s outstretched hand. Wasn’t it not a bad plan to obtain what she needed and at the same time, uproot this man’s roots?
Noah glanced back at Kyle, who was still watching them with his finger carefully placed on the trigger of his revolver, and then nodded slowly. “Okay. Twice a week.”
“Then, the deal is established.” Adrian grabbed her hand and shook it a couple of times.