Grace took a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind. Looking at Angelica with absolute sincerity, she made a zipping motion over her mouth with her right hand and spoke.
“Please rest assured. I have been trained since childhood. From now on, no matter how much you suppress the emotions in your heart, I will absolutely not say them out loud!”
Angelica covered her face with one hand. Trembling, she raised her right hand, pointed at Grace, and said, “Y-You, don't get the wrong idea!”
“We Dragonkind are born at the very peak of the world! To us, you humans are nothing more than things we can obtain whenever we please!”
“I was merely criticizing that guy objectively—very objectively, extremely objectively! I just felt it was annoying not having a servant by my side to attend to me!”
“I only want to use that guy as a tool, a disposable tool to be thrown away when I'm done! A tool!”
“Absolutely, positively nothing else!”
Angelica blurted everything out in a single breath. Grace knelt on the ground, nodding obediently with a dignified posture, looking like a model student.
Just as Angelica was about to let out a sigh of relief, a voice—extremely quiet yet fast as lightning—rammed into her mind like a runaway train.
“Though, if I could develop a romantic relationship with that guy bit by bit, from cautious probing to a warm embrace, just like the male and female leads in Alifia's World Date, that would also be worth considering...”
“Aha... Ahaha, y-you've actually read that picture book too?”
As if struggling to find something else to say, Grace lowered her head, her face flushing slightly as she replied, “I-I've read it too. It really is quite romantic...”
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Angelica collapsed onto her knees, burying her face in her hands as if wishing she could sink into the ground. Her dragon tail thrashed against the floor uncontrollably, thumping over and over.
How terrifying...
Humans are so terrifying!
Why does she keep blurting out all my thoughts!
This is so embarrassing!!!
Angelica suddenly felt that the woman standing before her was her absolute natural enemy!
Seeing that she had once again spoken Angelica's innermost thoughts aloud, Grace quickly got up and squatted down in front of her, offering comfort. “You don't have to be like this...”
“Isn't it perfectly normal to like that gentleman?”
“Huh? I don't—”
Looking at the pretty face so close to hers, Angelica found herself temporarily at a loss for words.
As if reading her mind, Grace nodded with utmost seriousness.
“I won't say it. I absolutely won't say it!”
“...”
“It's just a slight crush on that guy... It doesn't even qualify as liking him yet...”
“You just said it anyway!”
Angelica wanted to cry.
This place... was hell.
Grace didn't laugh at Angelica. Seeing how much the dragon cared, she felt mostly happy.
That gentleman deserved to be this charming!
Grace smiled happily, delighted that the person she cared about was also liked by others.
“Even though I haven't met him yet, he must be—absolutely must be—extremely handsome!”
Angelica didn't dare to speak another word.
Grace fantasized about the savior's figure in her mind, the happiness on her face growing even warmer.
“He must possess a sense of responsibility far beyond ordinary people. Whenever he sees kind souls struggling in the mud, he will surely extend a helping hand...”
“Just from witnessing the magic that gentleman unleashed today, I really, really want to meet him!”
“To contend against the Archbishop solely with his own strength...”
“With such profound magical attainments, he must be a highly knowledgeable professor!”
This time, Angelica uncharacteristically interrupted. “No, that guy looks like he's just a human hatchling.”
“A hatchling?”
“In your terms, he'd probably be... a student?”
“A-A student?!”
Grace gasped, covering her small mouth in shock.
“Someone who can unleash magic of that scale is actually just a student?”
Grace's face flushed, her heart pounding uncontrollably.
“Then he must be busy studying every day! Attending classes seriously, working diligently!”
“Surely that gentleman's reputation at the academy is excellent! He must be incredibly popular!”
“He is definitely someone followed by countless people!”
Hearing Grace's endless stream of praise, Angelica finally saw through her. The girl was completely a little fangirl lost in her own fantasies.
“So, you keep calling him 'that gentleman' this, 'that gentleman' that. Why don't you just call him by his name?”
Grace stopped her praise of Ain and looked at Angelica in confusion. “Because I don't know his name yet...”
“I was actually planning to ask you.”
Angelica awkwardly fidgeted with her hands, her gaze drifting elsewhere.
“That guy was sleeping like a log, so I just dumped him on the shore and left him.”
“Why didn't you bring him here?”
“Because... because a weakling like him isn't worthy of staying by my side yet!”
Right after saying that, seeing Grace's hesitant expression, Angelica instantly realized what was about to happen.
“If he saw me in such a pathetic state during our first meeting, wouldn't my carefully prepared, perfect grand entrance be completely ruined?!”
“Ugh... Y-You!”
Angelica pointed at her, wanting to cry but having no tears.
Her inner thoughts had been blurted out by the girl again.
Humans really were...
So annoying!
Realizing she had messed up, Grace immediately changed the subject. She extended both hands, constructing green magic circuits.
“Um, let me heal your injuries first...”
Angelica remained silent, silently acquiescing to her actions.
“What do you plan to do next?”
Angelica let out a sigh and replied, “I haven't decided yet, but I can sense an aura similar to the holy spear in this city.”
Grace knew she was referring to the compass that was about to appear at the auction.
“You don't need to worry about that. I will get it!”
Angelica looked at Grace in surprise. She hadn't expected such a young girl to have a plan like this.
“What do you plan to do? Do you need my help?”
Grace shook her head gently.
“No need, just leave it to me.”
As if remembering something, Grace suddenly spoke up, “Oh, right, there's one thing you need to watch out for...”
“Right now, there is a witch lurking in this city, and by her side is a guy who is extremely close to her!”
“What?!”
Angelica was highly astonished.
Hadn't witches gone extinct hundreds of years ago?
Her mother had personally slain the last of them!
Angelica's gaze grew cold. She was well aware of the profound devastation that race had once caused.
Not only did they possess incredibly formidable power, but they were also bloodthirsty by nature...
No matter how docile they might appear at first, they would always stir up trouble in the end!
“I haven't found that witch yet, but I know the name of the person by her side!”
As if mentioning something disgusting, Grace's face instantly darkened as she spoke. “That guy's name is...”
“Ain!”
Angelica also knitted her brows.
“Ain, is it...”
“I'll keep that in mind.”
Grace continued.
“When I tried to use magic to peek into his heart, I discovered that most of the mana in his body carried the aura of a witch!”
“A guy who would allow such filthy power to seep into his body without any rejection must be an extremely evil existence!”
“He's definitely a good-for-nothing who skips classes all day and is hated by the entire school!”
At the thought of her idealized 'gentleman,' Grace couldn't help but slander him. “That Ain seems to be a student at the academy too...”
“How could he ever compare to that gentleman!”
“If he's also here to snatch the holy spear...”
As if making a firm resolution, Grace clenched her small fists and said word by word, “I will absolutely never let him succeed!”
“The holy spear belongs only to that gentleman!”
Grace patted Angelica's shoulder, eager to share her grand plan of tearing that guy to pieces.
“We must stop that guy named Ain!”
“Yes, absolutely!”
Angelica also made up her mind.
She would complete the unfinished work of her mother.
The two chatted for another ten minutes or so. As they talked, Grace suddenly lowered her head and said despondently, “If only I could tell that gentleman all of this in person...”
Angelica frowned slightly and asked, “You seem to really want to meet him?”
Grace nodded her head rapidly.
“Yes, yes, yes!”
“The sole reason for my existence is that gentleman!”
“Then in a few days, how about I take you to find him?”
Grace was a bit puzzled.
“How do you know where he is?”
Angelica let out a soft snort and spoke with immense pride, “Our Dragonkind blood naturally possesses the power of a contract! That guy has my mark on him! Even if he hides at the ends of the earth, I can drag him out!”
Grace gasped slightly, surprised.
“So you care about him that much...”
Angelica's face flushed crimson as she stammered incoherently.
“I-I-I do not! I'm just... Wait! Stop! Don't you dare say it!”
Angelica lunged at Grace, pinning her down and tightly covering her mouth.
She suddenly didn't want to be around Grace anymore.
Rate on N.U.
