The wrath of the young dragon, whose instinct and reason are not yet distinct, is sometimes more destructive than the adult as he has nothing to hold back.
How would you feel if you get dumped by someone you are starting to form an attachment to? The little child was still too young to bear the feeling of betrayal.
Luckily, Noah was not too harsh on him. She did keep trying to send him somewhere, but she always says, 'Go to a better place than here.' She even told the little one to live with him for the time being.
"For the time being…"
However, the condition is only effective temporarily. It can be undone again at any time.
If she dumps me again, I'll kill her. I don't want to. Noah told me not to.The child stared at the man who was searching for him.
Leonard flinched at his penetrating gaze. It wasn't a look for a three-year-old; his eyes were bloody red, containing no emotion.
"Are you curious about who I am?"
"Will you tell me if I say I am?"
"No. Noah told me I shouldn't be caught by anyone. Noah told me to go unnoticed."
Suddenly, the child muttered to himself in a very serious face. "But Noah said I shouldn't kill people without permission…"
Leonard was sure to hear that. Mortified, he froze momentarily.What would you expect? It's a dragonfor pete's sake! I must take him away from Eleonora Asil.
The child grinned and spread his arms. "Then, mister, why don't you make a deal with me?"
Leonard reluctantly held the child in his arms. The child leaned onto him and whispered in his ear. "Don't let Noah abandon me. Then I won't have any trouble and be quiet…"
".…"
"Mister Uncle knows who I am, so it will be easy to help me. Right?"
Of course, the baby dragon's personality appeared entirely different than when he is with Noah. The witch despised the man in front of him, and who she hates, he hates too.
However, despite the urge to kill him, the little dragon could not, since he was told by Noah not to lay a hand on anyone unless upon her command.
Feigning innocence, the child smiled at the investigator.
"…Hmm."
Looking down at the child, Leonard curled his mouth into a smile in return. Unfortunately, he had no intention of letting Eleonora Asil imprint on the dragon as she pleases. Even now, Leonard is stressed out when he thinks of her, and he might be completely worn out as he still has a dragon to take care of.
If he agrees to the conditions of the child, then it would be a close mark—a form of infiltration-investigation. He would be close to his target and prevent Eleonora Asil from imprinting on this dragon.
After a while of contemplation, Leonard nodded. "Yes. That deal, let's do it."
That day, under the witch's territory, a deal he never dreamed of was established. Both didn't know each other's cunning hearts, but, somehow, it seemed an alliance anyway.
It was almost evening when Park Noah woke up. Half a day was gone; she had been asleep for 12 hours last night.
"……."
She wriggled around, squinting her eyes at the dark room, and saw a curly black-haired child sleeping beside her. Even though she had just woken up, her mind still disoriented, Noah burst out laughing.
He sleeps like an angel.I thought a child was merely a nuisance, but I think this kind and gentle child would be a good child to raise.Of course, if he was a human child.
Come to think of it, I think he's a little older today than yesterday. If he continues to grow at this rate, he would be a kid soon.
Noah got out of bed carefully so that the child wouldn't wake up.I feel strangely heavy. Is it because I slept too much? I wonder if a nice hot bath would make me feel better.
After a while, she dived into the bathtub of hot water—a remedy for tense nerves—and hummed a tune with her eyes shut, slipping into pleasure. Suddenly, she jolts awake, remembering the man whom she had tied up the previous day.
"That's right, Kyle Leonard!"
She immediately rushed out of the bathroom in a shower gown, her hair still soaked and foamy. When she glided down the spiral staircase, a man, sitting in front of the kitchen table, greeted her without looking at her direction.
"You sleep a long time, lady."
The spell. How did you break it?"
Eleonora's magic never unraveled in itself unless she unravelled it herself. Bewildered, she caught a glimpse on the dagger Leonard flipped with his other hand. The small magic inscription written on the end of his bag appeared to have been carrying other magical items besides the revolver.
"I haven't seen you for a long time, and you must have underestimated me."
"Oh, yes…"
While the witch pretended to be confused, Leonard nonchalantly patted the table. "What are you doing? If you're awake, I'll sit down and tell you a story."
The investigator stared at her, waiting, as she had made no response. "Did you bathe?"
"What? Oh, yes."
His eyes unconsciously skimmed over Noah. Upon realizing, a cough escaped his lips to hide his embarrassment. Then, turning his eyes back to his notebook, Kyle Leonard said firmly. "Oh, yes, please go up right now. I'll give you some time to get dressed."
Only then did she realize she had just gone out of the shower. Her long hair was dripping with foam and drenching the floor, and the gown was not properly tied.
Huh.The witch shrugged off the investigator's reaction. Without a doubt, she was an attractive woman, and objectively, he would be attracted to her. However, he didn't even look at her as a woman.
Well, he was a man who took no interest in women.
Her rival didn't respond very much, so Noah's embarrassment quickly subsided, and anger took place.
Let's just take a long, long, long bath.
"Then wait. I'm just going to take it."
Tuck. Kyle uttered no reply. A dark revolver banged on the table.
"In that case, I'll wash up as fast as I can!" Noah left without further words and hurried upstairs.He doesn't even see me as a human! Shouldn't he be the criminal? That cold-blooded bastard!
After a good ten minutes, Noah finished and came downstairs, where Kyle Leonard stood in the middle of the living room, arms crossed and brows furrowed.
"What are you doing there?"
"You need to clean up."
"What?" She tilted her head at the unexpected remark.What is he talking about?But realization soon dawned into her.Ah, yes. Kyle Leonard despises disorder. But of course, I have never felt the need to cater to his tastes.
Noah flopped down on the chair in front of the table. "Yes. Someday I'll do it. Clean it up."
Displeased, Leonard shot the witch a stern look. However, Noah only thought of an escape from her current circumstance.
Eleonora Asil was caught trying to dump 'her' child, which is not that big of a fuss. But, it is another story when she imprinted the little dragon and still tried to abandon it—that is a huge problem.
Kyle Leonard sat across Noah, heaving a faint sigh. She glanced at him. "So, what am I supposed to do?"
His answer came out almost instantly. "You can write a statement. One about that child's abandonment issues, and a chapter on the disappearance of the dragon's egg. Two in total."
"I am not involved, in any way, with the dragon's egg disappearance. I only picked it up because I mistook it for an ordinary egg."
"That's what the lady always says."
Noah glared at him and scribbled out on a piece of paper, only one statement. She wrote: I am merely the temporary guardian of that child, and I was only trying to send it to the capital, where her mother is, through an acquaintance, and it has nothing to do with child abandonment!
She handed the paper to the investigator, and Kyle folded it in half and inserted it into his pocketbook without reading the statement.
"I didn't do anything wrong."
"Yes, for now…Let's just say that's still the case."
What? That's it?Noah looked up at him with anxious eyes. All of a sudden, Kyle Leonard took off his uniform jacket.Why are you taking off your clothes?
"If you won't follow me, I'll have no choice but to stay with you."
"What?" Noah double-checked what she had just heard. "I don't think I've heard you corectly, sir Leonard. Could you say it again?"
"I have come all the way down here looking for you under Her Majesty's command, and the order I have received from Her Majesty is to investigate you, the prime suspect in the disappearance of the dragon's egg. Also, I was given a permit and a warrant."
"What if I will not cooperate?"
"I knew you'd say that." Kyle grinned scornfully and handed Noah another piece of paper he had left on his desk.
"This is exactly two years and 354 days ago, the lady submitted her own letter containing an apology and her promised cooperation. Eleonora Asil herself should do her best to cooperate with the investigation if the Bureau of Investigation has written her name on the list of suspects."
"What if I refuse?"
"You wrote it yourself, 'If I refuse to cooperate, I will return all of my assets to society, and I will remain loyal to the Emperor until my death as a civil servant at the end of the Ministry of Magic.'"
".…."
"Lady Eleonora, do you have anything else to say?"
Noah was rendered speechless. As she read Eleonora's self-written letter of apology, she could utter no excuse. Trudging toward Kyle Leonard, she could only say, "Well, let's clean up first."
"What?"
What?
white-bearded doctor examined Noah with stern eyes. He drew some of her blood in a syringe and carefully dropped it in a strange twisted tube, and steam rose from it.
"It's a magic tool that measures the nutrients in the blood. It was invented by Laurent Magic last year!"
The doctor explained excitedly, and pressed the switch on the machine with the tube plugged in. Then a red light immediately lit up on the square screen.
Yesterday, when Kyle Leonard suggested that he should stay in the witch's house until the end of the investigation to ensure her cooperation, Park Noah believed it to be a joke until the investigator actually picked up a broom and started cleaning. Immediately, Park Noah was forced into a cleaning spree, rendering her house dustless and almost sparkling, but after a few hours, she began to feel lightheaded and all of a sudden, she collapsed.
Beep!
Kyle Leonard's expression hardened when he heard a sound close to an alarm. Meanwhile, the doctor read the figures that came up on the screen.
"Well, the nutritional status is very disproportionate. Are you eating properly, madam? What kind of meals do you usually eat?" The doctor asked her.
"Bread or… I eat cookies and sometimes fried eggs. "
It has been a while since Park Noah had some protein in her system, and now this unfortunate situation has happened. She stroked the child's curls, who was standing beside her, his large eyes evident with worry— the child who almost became her fried egg.
"You don't eat any meat, seafood or vegetables?"
"Not at all. Seafood can be easily spoiled and if left for a long time, the taste will become bad. And I don't buy vegetables in the first place because they quickly wither."
"Don't you think you can eat it before it gets damaged or withered?"
Noah paused, pursing her lips. "That's correct, but everyone who lives alone can sympathize with how annoying it is to cook at home. To eat a proper meal, you have to prepare the ingredients, work on the recipe, cook…and, above all, you have to clean up! Wash dishes! Wipe the water out of the bowl and put it back in place! Wipe the table and clean up the crumbs on the floor!" She exclaimed in exasperation.
Oh, I can't. Living alone and eating a proper meal is too extravagant.
The doctor grinned at his patient's outburst, brushing his white beard."So the most fundamental cause of your symptoms is laziness."
"…Yes."
Oh Doctor, don't look at me with that face.
Noah stole a glance at Kyle Leonard, who shot a pathetic look at her direction. Noah, ready to defend herself, was interrupted as the doctor continued.
"And the mana of the body seems very complicated. Excuse me for a moment." The doctor put his hand near her stomach and closed his eyes. Strangely, Noah could feel something flow in her body slowly as he touched it.
"No matter how pure magic disappears into history, there are still people who are born with magic power in their bodies. Like you. Of course, most of them are very small, but that should not be ignored. It's a mysterious power that originated from nature, so if you lose even a little flow, it immediately damages your body."
The doctor removed his hand from her abdomen, shaking his head. "The magic that needs to circulate throughout your body keeps leaking out. Symptoms are more extreme because of your poor eating habits and unhealthy lifestyle."
"I see…"
"So it will be your primary duty to make sure your wife gets the right amount of nutrition."
"I beg your pardon?" Noah choked at the doctor's ridiculous remark. Meanwhile, Kyle Leonard's eyebrows almost looked like flying seagulls.
"With basic fitness improvements, we'll be able to prevent some of the mana from leaking out. But I don't know what's causing the mana to be seeped out like this, and I don't know what the root cause is. For now, I am going to prescribe a drug that will help in calming down…."
Leonard raised his hand, interrupting the doctor. "I'm not her husband."
"Yes. He is not my husband, doctor. I'm single." Noah intervened also.
The doctor laughed brightly and clapped his hands. "Oh! I see. I understand. I hear that young people these days are not married, they're just dating. It's okay, it's okay. If you're responsible for your child, it doesn't matter if you don't bother to hold the ceremony."
"……."
"……."
I'm afraid how far this misunderstanding would go.
The doctor seemed to have no idea who his patient was. In a way, it was only natural since she had remained hidden in Sorrent to live a peaceful life. In addition, he was oblivious to the identity of the man who called for him, which is the most famous investigator in the whole capital.
Kyle Leonard and the witch exchanged hateful glares when the doctor suddenly exclaimed.
"Oh, come to think of it, he's sucked all the magic out of his mother."
"What?"
"The mana he has is very similar to your mana."
"What do you mean?"
"Your child must be born with extraordinary powers. Usually, children with magical qualities unconsciously absorb the mana from their mother's body."
All eyes simultaneously turned to the child who sat close to Noah.
"Did I do something wrong?" The child's dark red eyes shook uneasily, his voice quivering. Only then did Noah understand what the doctor meant, her mouth agape.
Somehow, I didn't even notice it, and I was wondering why I felt different every day. You're the one who stole my mana!
After the doctor left with some medicine, Park Noah took the child and attempted to bolt into her room where there would be only two of them so they could talk without interruptions and figure out what happened.
Park Noah suspected that the imprinting process was already progressing. Otherwise, the dragon's humanization can't be possible.But I never thought it would be a growth with me as collateral!
"Where are you going? Come here and sit down."
However, Noah's attempt miserably failed as she felt an arm grab her nightgown and pulled her back to her chair.
Oh, Lord.Noah glimpsed at Kyle who placed the child back in his infant chair, his expression strange.
Kyle Leonard is a brute-minded investigator. In his mind, he probably has a full profile titled 'Eleonora Asil.' Will there be an additional phrase in there that says, "The culprit behind the disappearance of Sorrent's egg"?
Leonard looked back at her as if he felt her eyes, and asked her unexpectedly. "Did you have breakfast?"
"Uh… I don't usually eat breakfast."
"You really are a spectacle." Leonard clicked his tongue. "Do not use magic for the time being. But I doubt if you'll ever listen to me."
"Don't worry. I'm listening with both ears." Park Noah retorted, rolling her eyes.
"That's a relief."
"Yes…"
"I know, as with most wizards, that you draw and process the mana of nature, not the mana of the body. But if you use magic like that, you should restrain yourself in any way."
Park Noah nodded slowly.I can't even use magic anyway. "You really don't have to worry about that."
"Then there's only one problem left."
Again, they glanced at the black curly-haired child at the same time. "That kid, who is he?" Kyle asked in a stern voice.
Noah let out a nervous laugh, avoiding the investigator's piercing gaze. "A three-year-old boy… One day, suddenly, it fell from the sky…"
"Are you sure he fell from the sky?" He scoffed.
Even she doesn't believe the lie she just made up. Park Noah rubbed her tired eyes. Somehow, her left cheek was hot. She looked to her left and saw the child, who sat quietly in his chair, was staring at Leonard.
Uh… I think I just felt the heat coming from this side. I can smell a faint smoke if I sniff.
"Would you like to open your hands?" she asked.
The child who was staring intently at the investigator shifted his gaze toward Park Noah, his eyes sullen. He stretched his arms forward. Surprisingly, there was no flame. Noah brushed it off.Maybe I'm only feeling strange things because of my body.I am getting weak.
A little later, Kyle Leonard spoke hesitantly. "…Yes. Then let's pretend he fell from the sky."
"What?"
"The thought of abandoning the child… I don't think so. Yes, I see." Leonard blabbered, looking as if he was having an internal crisis. Afterwards, he looked at the child in the face intensely.
Does that man have to make such a grim face in front of this child?Noah took the child and placed him on her lap. The child mumbled gloomily in her arms."It's not like that…"
"….."
"I'm sorry…" The child whispers, bowing his head.
"…I know. You didn't mean to." Park Noah exhaled deeply, caressing the black curls of the child.
Is there anything wrong with the child? If you're looking for the wrong person, it's my fault for mistakenly picking up the dragon's eggs.What should I do now?If I say I'm going to send him away again, he would cause trouble. I can't take him anywhere right now.
Park Noah was left with only one choice: take the child to the capital and meet the heroine, Lenia, personally.
"Although it would be nice if he changed his mind and went to his rightful mother himself," muttered Noah.
Or maybe I should think of something else…
Her thoughts were brought to an end when she felt Kyle Leonard's fierce gaze. Looking up, she asked. "What's the matter, sir?"
"…I know what you're thinking, but I can't do that. I might end up dying at this age."
"Huh?"
What is he talking about?
Leaving Park Noah bewildered by his previous statement, Kyle Leonard forced himself to utter a word. "There is only one way."
"What is it?"
"Improve your physical strength."
Still unable to comprehend the investigator, Park Noah only stared at Kyle Leonard. "What?"
"Didn't you hear the doctor?" Kyle Leonard snapped, clenching his jaw. "You will have to restore your mana back to its full potential. I will assist you, and you must not do anything carelessly lest you waste mana."
"What? You don't have to do that." Stunned, Park Noah thought Kyle Leonard had gone crazy. But his violet eyes, which gleamed vibrantly, expressed profound sincerity. Clearing her throat, she asked, "What's the matter with you?"
"It's part of the investigation!"
Indeed, the male lead, Kyle Leonard, was far from kidding. From the next day on, he began knocking on the witch's door every morning.
What am I doing here?
Somewhere in the kitchen of the witch's house, Kyle Leonard stood in front of a huge pot with a ladle in his hand, stirring stew.
He had been cooking for Park Noah and had served her breakfast in her bedroom ever since the doctor's visit. And during bedtime, the sly woman was embarrassed by her groveling, so Leonard forces her to lie down on the bed and covers her eyes with a blindfold, which makes her asleep almost immediately.
Every time Kyle Leonard brings her food, Park Noah would refuse. As their bicker would go on endlessly, Noah would concede and empty her fill.
Kyle's thoughts diverted to the baby dragon. He never showed little care toward the curly-haired boy. He thought, "What's so nice about a baby dragon who steals mana?" Yet, underneath his cold façade, Kyle Leonard seemed to bear affection for him.
"I guess he's worth all the work." Kyle muttered as he rummaged through the cupboard for the pepper can, while his other hand gripped the ladle and stirred the chicken stew. Unfortunately, the can was empty.
I have to go grocery shopping tomorrow. He clicked his tongue in dismay.
"….."
Suddenly, the investigator came to a halt; a deep sense of realization enveloped him.What am I doing here?Kyle's routine had been the same for the past two days: cooking for his nemesis, Eleonora Asil. He was stuck in the witch's territory unless the dragon would leave her, which seemed far from reality.
Kyle turned around, revealing a curly-haired child with glaring eyes, a tiny flame emerging from his wriggling wrist. He seemed eager to fry the investigator who stood before him.
Ugh.
In actuality, Eleonora Asil would regain her strength once the imprinting process is finished. The imprint of a dragon is a resonance between two beings. If the child properly imprints on the witch, its power will permeate in Eleonora's body, thus restoring her mana.
However, they had to stop it to avoid further consequences as the witch was not the rightful mother of the dragon. Eleonora had to recover quickly before the dragon successfully imprints on her.
Kyle Leonard glared back at the sullen child who was forcibly taken away from her master. He was playing with his fingers when all of a sudden a massive spark erupted.
"Didn't you promise you would cause no trouble, did you?"
"You told Noah to abandon me…" The child murmured softly, his dark red eyes glistening with tears. The flames grew bigger.
Who's Noah?
"You were supposed to help me imprint. You're a liar!" The curly-haired boy pointed his finger at the man across him, furious and betrayed. "…Noah only told me not to kill you…"
Why is he calling the witch Noah?
"She said that? Wow, what a surprise." Kyle Leonard said mockingly.
"Don't curse at Noah!" The child glared at him, his eyes full of rage. The investigator sighed, and closed the lid of the stew.
"Listen carefully, child." Kyle Leonard switched the stove off and poured some stew in a bowl. He then grabbed a bottle of milk and placed it in the child's hands. "If you continue to stick with her like this, you might suck up all her magic and eventually kill her. Do you still want to stay with her?"
The child was rendered speechless; his round eyes wide open in shock. "I haven't thought about that. But if I imprint… she'll get well again…" He trailed off.
Kyle suppressed his frustration over the past few days and spoke calmly. "Eleonora doesn't seem to have any intention of imprinting herself with you when her life is at stake."
"If you help me…."
"There's a limit to what I can do. Isn't it obvious that even though you're a dragon, you don't have the right to imprint on someone without their permission?"
The child's face turned pale. 'The uncle seemed to be right,' he thought. Tears welled up in his eyes. The child put down the bottle of milk and bowed his head.
"I don't want Noah to be sick but she's sick because of me. And she won't leave me because she's nice." The child's ideas were getting extreme.
While Kyle was preparing the soup, he glanced at the child across the living room whose shoulders were drooped. With a sigh, he eventually approached the child. He hoisted the child and placed him on top of the table.
Grabbing a chair, he positioned himself in front of the child. "Do you like her that much? Why should it be her?"
"Because Noah took me out of the egg…"
So she's the one who stole the eggs.
Kyle contemplated for a moment whether or not he should record the child's words, but then gave up on the idea. Although he looks human, it is rather uncomfortable to get the "truth" from a baby dragon that looked like a three-year-old. He'd rather have Eleonora Asil confess her crimes.
But his prior investigations reveal that the witch had never actually left her shoddy cottage in Sorrent for nearly two years. In addition, how could Eleonora manage to infiltrate a fortress, bounded by a shield with her biometric information registered? Even though she isthe infamous Laurent witch, she could not possibly break it alone.
Unless…
Kyle's mind buzzed with conspiracies.Is there an accomplice?"Did you ever see another human when you came out of the egg? Or heard a different voice?" Kyle asked in case.
"Another voice..?" The child shook his head, confused.
"Yes, another human voice."
"I think I heard it while I was in the egg. Something like a human voice."
"You heard that?"
The child flinched at Kyle's sharp tone and shook his head again. "I don't know. I was half asleep at the time, so I can't remember…."
Was there an accomplice? This case becomes more complicated in no time unless there is only one person who had made contact with the dragon's egg.
Eleonora's profile unfolded in his head. He thought of each person who might be looking for plans to steal the dragon's egg.The minister of magic? That person is pretty suspicious too.It's quite possible for the man who helped ridiculously reduce Eleonora's sentence for being a wizard of rare genius.
As soon as he recalled the fuzzy face of the boss, Kyle Leonard's forehead creased. The minister of magic was the second most frustrating human being to Kyle, after Eleonora Asil.
If it wasn't him, there was another wizard who was famous for his admiration for Eleonora and was strong enough to break through the walls of the fortress.
Kyle glanced at the child as he tried to string together his thoughts. "You don't intend to find another master?"
"Noah, Noah, Noah… If you really say no…." Tears fell endlessly from the baby dragon's eyes.
In more than 500 years, there were few options for a child who had fallen into the land alone without another kin. And it was Kyle who couldn't find any other way. It was the first time in his life that he had seen a dragon, which he believed as a mere legend. There was no record in any ancient book that dragons shed tears like humans.
At this rate, you look like a real child.Kyle sighed and wiped the soft, tear-stained cheeks with the back of his hand.
"What did the master say about the tough baby?"
"Oh, I'm not crying…"
"Yes, let's not cry and drink milk." Kyle brushed his curls. The child stopped crying and drank milk. It was milk soaked with tears.
If there was heaven, would it be like this way?
Park Noah hummed, skipping with delight across her bedroom, savoring the sweet aroma of butter coming from the kitchen.
This is paradise on earth. Why didn't anyone tell me that such heaven exists on earth?
Kyle Leonard's strategy to restore the witch's mana was operating as smoothly as planned. When she awakes in the morning, the investigator, who has now evolved into a butler, already stands at the threshold of her room with narrowed eyes and crossed arms.
"It's wake-up time, lady." He would say, and drag Park Noah out of her bed amid her whines and complaints. Kyle Leonard would then usher her to the bathroom; the bathtub already filled with lukewarm water.
Today was no different. After bathing, Park Noah clothed herself and went downstairs excitedly, a modestly prepared breakfast welcoming her.
God, I've never had such luxury.
Breakfasts consist of a simple meal so as to not load the stomach too much. Today was a toast, topped with butter and egg, crisp bacon, fresh lettuce and tomatoes, and a cup of warm milk. For the child's portion, the toast was cut into smaller pieces.
While Park Noah savors her breakfast, Kyle Leonard would clean the house spotless, leaving no grain of dust.
After observing him for a few days, Park Noah began to think his obsession to cleanliness was becoming annoying. Fortunately, it doesn't seem like Kyle Leonard has to wash his hands as soon as he touches a person, but, his hands can't stay still unless the house is in the same condition as he remembers.
"Perfect cleanliness. It's one of the basic lifestyle rules. In that sense, the lady appears to me as unclean in itself."
"I'm not that dirty. I washed every day before you came." Park Noah retorted, displeased at his remark.
"Just because you feel clean doesn't mean you're actually clean. What's the point of being clean when you are surrounded with dust and dirt? Even swans are like crows in the mud, but lady…" Kyle Leonard scorned. On the other hand, Park Noah merely shook her head, and continued to delight in her breakfast as she took a bite from her toast.
Whatever.I didn't grab that guy's leg and ask him to clean my house. He's the one who decided to stay, insisting that it's essential to the investigation.
Park Noah continually reminds him that he need not do the chores, but Kyle Leonard merely turns a deaf ear. In fact, after experiencing luxury for a few days, Noah thought of making the investigator leave, who was a nuisance not only in his investigation but also in housework.
Noah smiled as she daydreamed about the tiresome Kyle Leonard giving up his investigation and returning to her once again her peace.
Wait. I have been having a luxurious lifestyle because of this weasel. How about I try to seduce him? The original plot of the novel is already ruined anyway.
Well, handsome fellow, would you like to be my butler instead?
Her daydream soon ended as Kyle Leonard's condescending voice rang in Noah's ears. "We are going to clean up the second floor today. I can't wait to see how filthy the second floor is."
Infuriated, Park Noah shot him a death stare as he tore the curtains open, revealing the daylight.
I wish I could do something with that vulgar mouth of his. Oh, how I wish to strangle him. To think that I even contemplated seducing this cold-hearted bastard. How absurd!She shook her head, brushing off the idea she had a while ago.
Meanwhile, the child had already woken up and was already seated beside the table, nibbling his toast. Park Noah smiled at the sight of him. "My little boy, can you eat toast now?"
"I can eat it all." The boy replied, his eyes fixated on the toast in his tiny hands.
"Wow, that's great!" Noah deliberately complimented the child upon recalling that whenever she praises him, his face would turn red. With the investigator around, the atmosphere was aggravating and the little child's smile was her only comfort, her ray of sunshine.
Today, the child was unusually strange. He held a glass of milk, his favorite, yet somehow he doesn't seem happy. Park Noah leaned closer and saw stains of tears across his cheeks. Surprised, she put down her toast and asked, "Did you cry, baby?"
"Oh, I didn't cry!"
"What do you mean no? Your eyes are red!" Park Noah stretched her arms to hold the curly-haired boy but the child only shook his head. 'That's odd,' she thought. He never shielded away from her until now.
"Baby, come here." Noah attempted again, her hand gesturing a hug.
The child remained silent, his head hung low, avoiding the witch's gaze. But this time, he slowly takes a step toward her.
Come to think of it, until the day before yesterday, he had been glued to me all day, and yesterday he had less time with me.
"You haven't grown much. Is it because of lack of mana?"
The child murmured a soft 'no', still refusing to look at her directly.
"What are you saying? It's easy to see. Don't pretend to me, come here and hug me." The little boy ended up snuggled in the witch's arms. Park Noah placed the child on her lap, and continued their breakfast. Suddenly, Kyle Leonard returned to the kitchen, who wore an apron and gripped a feather duster.
"Put that child down."
Park Noah ignored him and turned to the child, "I'll hold you for ten minutes."
Her heart ached to see the poor child sulk every time he was forced away from her. For the last few days, Noah had been eating well and had rested plenty, thus regaining a little bit of her strength back; she believes she wouldn't faint like a stringy doll again despite her mana being sucked for a good ten minutes.
However, Kyle Leonard was colder than ever. "I took him last night and transferred him to my room to prevent all your mana getting sucked. And now you want your mana drawn out for ten minutes?"
Who asked you to do that anyway?
"A cold-blooded man who sheds no tears." Park Noah grumbled inaudibly to herself.
"What did you say?"
"There, there's a stain on the left window."
In a flash, Kyle whipped his head and scanned the window for any dirt. On the other hand, Park Noah grabbed the child and escaped into her room. But before she could lock her door, Kyle had already slipped his foot in.
"It's time for a walk."
During his stay, Kyle Leonard has set up a routine for Park Noah to quickly regain her mana. After breakfast, the next activity would be a morning stroll.
Noah plopped into her bed, rolling to the child's side, and made a lame excuse. "I have a chronic disease which could make me collapse under the sun, sir."
"Don't talk nonsense. Follow me right now." Kyle Leonard tried to grab her arm, but stopped. Noah looked at her with curious eyes, her eyebrow raised. Suddenly, he held her wrist, frowning.
"Is this a wrist or a branch of a dying tree?" He muttered, seemingly uncomfortable. "…You must have lost about at least five kilograms from two years ago."
"Do you know my weight?"
"There is nothing I don't know about you. I know your age, your birthday, your height, your weight, your blood type, your constellation, your fingerprints, your stride length."
Okay, that is creepy. Is he some stalker or something?
When Park Noah stared at him in bewilderment, Kyle became confused. "I don't know why you're pretending to be surprised. If you combined all the time you have spent alone with me in a confined space, it would fill at least a month. Did you forget, Lady Eleonora Asil with 15 previous convictions?"
One would think that a romance would blossom between two nemeses in their current situation hadn't Kyle Leonard uttered the words 'Lady Eleonora Asil with 15 previous convictions'.
"Or was it more? No, right, it was 15."
Noah remained silent, which made Kyle even more puzzled. He stared at her strangely, and suddenly he was frowning.
What else don't you like? My existence itself? Well, I've lived a bit too much like a cockroach for the past two years. My goal is to live a long and peaceful life, but I don't think I could have it easily.
After a period of silence, Noah finally nodded. "I'll go walk. But I'm bringing with me the child instead."
"The child…"
"Hold on,geez. Just come along with me." Noah called the child whom peeked out from behind Kyle's leg. There was still a sullen look on his face.
"I'm…I'm fine, but…."
"Huh?"
"I'll just stay home…."
Why is he so depressed?
The little boy's strange behavior didn't end that moment. In fact, it worsened during the night. When it was already past ten in the evening, Noah waited for Kyle to fall asleep and secretly transfer the child from the crib in the living room and into her room.
"No." But the child refused. "I can sleep alone without Noah."
"What?" Her eyes widened at the child's unexpected remark. He was looking up at her with a determined look, his eyes seemingly stern. Noah asked him again, unsure whether she had misheard. "You're not going to sleep with me?"
"I'm not a baby anymore. It's been 15 days since I came out of the egg. So I can sleep alone." He seemed to mean it when he spoke with all his might. Noah, on the other hand, could only nod in surprise.
"Uh… yeah…" The child turned to his side, avoiding her gaze.
Unsuccessful, Noah trudged back toward her bedroom, her shoulders slumped. The door closed behind her back. The tidy room felt a little queasy tonight.
It's like my beloved son suddenly declared his independence from his mother.
Frustrated, she tried to dismiss her weird emotions. "Oh, I don't know. Let's just get some sleep."Maybe he doesn't want to sleep with me anymore. Noah dove under the covers, still feeling odd. For almost an hour she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Eventually, she got up.
See, a child who's only been born 15 days, doesn't sleep well!
Noah sneaked down to the first floor and carried the child back in. The child whined with sleepy eyes. "I can sleep alone…."
"I can't sleep alone. Let's go to bed now. Let's go to sleep."
And three seconds after she lied with the child in her arms, she fell asleep immediately.
Please tell me in detail what you were doing from around April 10 to April 17. Lady, you'd better stop eating. You eat more of that piece of junk than you eat a proper meal."
"What do you mean by a piece of junk? It's a handmade butter cookie that's sold as a limited edition at the most famous Queen of Cookies bakery in the city."
"The lady should not eat only butter cookies, but a proper meal. Don't you think you won't have dinner again if you have a full stomach?"
"Yes…" Noah muttered, glancing at the room while Kyle Leonard went on to reprimand her.
Last night, Noah held the child in her arms as she fell asleep, but when she awoke early in the morning, she found that the child had disappeared. She immediately rushed down to the living room and was greeted with a sight that crushed her heart into pieces: the little kid was sleeping soundly on the couch. It was obvious that he couldn't climb into the crib.
"…Lady, what's wrong with you?"
"What? Oh, nothing. Where were we?"
"I haven't done anything yet. I keep getting sidetracked, but it's time for an interrogation. Please be honest." The man across her answered without a hint of sympathy. Noah nodded timidly.
Kyle Leonard, the investigator-slash-butler, finally decided Park Noah had recovered enough to answer questions, so as soon as she finished devouring her breakfast, he sat her down and began his interrogation.
"So, you went downtown the week before last Monday?"
"Yes, I heard the limited edition pajamas came out at a rather low price."
"What's the name of the store?"
"Frill Happy Night's Wardrobe."
Kyle Leonard looked at her dumbfounded as she answered his question with such confidence. He muttered, with a slightly embarrassed face, "Frill Happy Night…"
And as if to rescue the embarrassed Kyle Leonard, the kettle seethed. Kyle immediately stood up and rushed to the kitchen, breathing a sigh of relief. He poured two cups of cocoa, one for the witch and the other for the baby dragon. The sweet aroma of chocolate saturated the entire house.
Kyle returned with two cups of cocoa in his hands, handing one cup to Noah. "Drink this. Don't fill your stomach with unhealthy food."
He then turned to the child who was crouching on the couch, and gave him the other cup. The child had already woken up and was flipping through the pages of a photobook, which Kyle Leonard had bought yesterday.
Dozens of questions occupied the witch's mind. She kept asking the child what's wrong but he remains silent throughout. He must have felt sorry for seeping her mana out, but Noah isn't convinced that it is the reason.
Kyle Leonard situated himself back across Park Noah to continue his interrogation. "Let's start over. So where and what were you doing the week before last Wednesday?"
"It's just weird…"
"Lady!" Eventually, Kyle Leonard flew into a rage at her lack of cooperation. On the other hand, Park Noah remained deep in her thoughts.
A dragon imprint.
Marking with a dragon was an entirely different matter with keeping an abandoned child company. Once imprinted, it is impossible to ignore. Both must be together for life. Therefore, the issue was not simply about letting the dragon go because he had a designated owner, but whether Park Noah could handle the future and its consequences.
Lenia, the heroine, in contrast, is aware of the consequences that would transpire once she is imprinted by the dragon. Moreover, she is allied by the country's strongest men, including Kyle Leonard.
Then, in the end, they are forced to say goodbye to their families and beloved. How the heroine has lived since then remains a mystery, but her character is designed to withstand any circumstances; she would have adapted well.
Reflecting on Lenia's life as written in the original plot, life with the dragon will not be as peaceful as it is now, and the witch, Park Noah, questions herself whether she is prepared to take responsibility for the unexpected turn of events.
Even adopting a pet requires extreme determination and causes distress, what more if she would adopt a dragon child?
Yet, despite her desires for a life without chaos, Park Noah cannot bear to look at the child becoming weak. Starting yesterday, it seems the child hadn't taken enough of her mana, and had stopped growing. Park Noah measured his height it by eye and discovered that it was the same height as it was three days ago.
"Have you had any recent contact with Adrian Rossinell?"
Park Noah was so lost in thought that she could barely make sense of Kyle's questions. "Uh, who?"
"Adrian Rossinell." Kyle looked at her with a frown, his forehead creasing. He repeats himself.
"Who's that?"
"…No, you don't seem to know it." His annoyance quickly subsided. Then, he snapped his pocketbook shut and massaged his forehead, seemingly exhausted. "I think you are very distracted. That's it for today. Let's go grocery shopping. I have to leave early today because I have work at the Sorrent branch."
"Yes…"
"We're out of food, so let's fill it up. I have listed everything I need to buy here."
"Yes…"
Kyle Leonard appeared to have no doubts about the witch. In the end, he followed Park Noah to the market, and after they finished grocery shopping, he handed her everything they bought and said, "It's time for my work."
When Park Noah returned home, clutching a handful of grocery bags, the house was strangely still. Usually, when she opens the door, there will be a kid running toward her with a big bright smile.
Today, she was greeted with no one and it made her upset.No, it's only been ten days Noah, you can't have a change of heart like this in just ten days!
But where did the child really go?
Noah placed the groceries hurriedly on the table and began to search the house. Before they left, the little boy was taking a nap on his crib, but the crib was currently empty.
"Where are you, baby?"
She called out as she looked around the living room and the storage room on the basement. It was only then she realized that he still had no name. Park Noah had been calling "you," "baby," and "little boy" for fifteen days.
"I was so insensitive, I…"If I knew this would happen, I would have given you a real name along with a ton of nicknames.
Park Noah breathed deeply and climbed up the spiral staircase toward her room, hoping that the child would miraculously jump out and surprise her. However, the child was not there either. Anxiety slowly enveloped her.
Are you out?
Soon, Park Noah began to rummage through every room, attempting to contain the increasing anxiety and nervousness. It took less than ten minutes for the investigator's room to turn upside down, as if a storm had just passed. Still, the child was nowhere to be found.
Chills erupted within her body. The child had never left this house by himself. Also, Park Noah was certain she locked the door before leaving.
"Baby!" The witch cried out, making her way downstairs again. She checked under the sofa. She opened all the cupboards in the kitchen, but there was still no child anywhere. Her heartbeat throbbed faster every minute of the search.
Was there a robbery? Did they kidnap him because they knew he was the dragon? He doesn't even have the strength to protect himself since he wasn't able to imprint!
"…No, let's stay calm, Noah." She stopped her thoughts from getting out of control and tried to think rationally.
Come to think of it, didn't the kid spurt out a flame? If anyone other than her and Kyle Leonard had attempted to approach the child, he would certainly not have stayed still. It's a dragon that doesn't care about human death so he might attack the person.
"That's just another problem!" Park Noah was becoming exasperated. She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails were already digging into her skin. Exhaling deeply, she decided to take a look around the house as he might have walked outside for a while because he felt stuffy.
If I couldn't find him, I have no choice but to ask Kyle Leonard for help. That's the least I can do!
But after two or three laps around her cabin, still, she could not find the baby dragon.
"Ugh…Where did you go?" Her weak body, which had not run for an entire year, was on the verge of collapsing. She returned to her house to rest for a little while when a thought crossed her mind.Did you leave because you thought I wouldn't imprint on you?
All of a sudden, a memory flashed between her eyes."And you observe me well while you're with me, and then you make a decision. Am I really a human being worth choosing as your master?"
Park Noah remembered what she said to the child a few days ago, the words echoing in her mind. Regrets filled her heart. She bit my lips for a moment, and then cried out. "But still!"
You can leave but inform me!Still, we can't rule out the case of kidnapping, so we should report it.
Park Noah was preparing to leave the house, dressed in baggy clothes, and stuffed some coins into her pocket.
"……?"
