Chapter 10
Sizzle…
A whole wild boar slowly roasted over the fire, filling the air with a delicious aroma.
But only one person was actually eating it.
Munch… munch…
‘I think I’m going to choke.’
Even so, Lucy didn’t stop eating.
She secretly glanced around.
The two knights and Edward had been exchanging looks for quite a while now.
‘Please don’t let them be silently deciding to get rid of me.’
A little earlier…
The sword that flew toward Lucy hadn’t belonged to Edward.
“Your Grace! Get away from that woman!”
Carrying their hunting game over their shoulders, the two knights had rushed over while pointing their swords at Lucy.
Honestly, they looked more like bandits than knights.
Of course…
Before the swords could even reach her, Edward casually waved his hand.
Both blades snapped cleanly in half.
“She could be a spy from the temple!”
“She’s dangerous!”
The two of them still looked completely serious.
And understandably so.
There was a secret known only to Edward’s closest retainers.
The fact that Edward was an incomplete Dragon Incarnation.
Lucy had just spoken that secret aloud.
“Miss! Step away from His Grace immediately—”
“No.”
“That’s enough.”
Just when Lucy wondered what to do…
The one who looked most likely to lose his temper…
Edward…
Stopped the two knights instead.
Though his face had become much colder than theirs.
“We’ll question her from now on.”
‘It’s funny… and kind of sad…’
‘But somehow that expression felt more reassuring.’
At least now he wasn’t hiding everything behind that fake smile.
This…
Felt like the real Edward.
He seemed almost human now.
After that…
Following Edward’s orders, they built a campfire.
Which was why the meat was now roasting.
‘But why am I the only one eating?’
It made her feel awkward.
Even so…
Lucy continued eating.
She was starving.
She needed to regain her strength.
And meat was precious.
Besides…
It tasted amazing.
‘I just need to be careful not to eat so much that I upset my stomach.’
As she stubbornly continued chewing…
One of the guards, the taller and slimmer one, spoke.
“How did you know?”
It was Tepe.
“That His Grace is an inc… incom…”
“An incomplete Dragon Incarnation?”
The moment she said it…
His eyes sharpened.
‘What is that look supposed to mean?’
‘It’s not like we’re talking about Voldemort.’
Lucy answered honestly.
“Don’t worry.”
“The temple doesn’t know.”
“I’m the only one who knows.”
“…”
“It’s just…”
“Whenever His Grace and Lady Sepina spent time purifying…”
“I could feel something too.”
“…Feel what?”
“…Something.”
Lucy avoided giving a direct answer.
Tepe frowned deeply.
Meanwhile…
A strange smile appeared on Edward’s face.
“So that’s enough for you to know I’m incomplete?”
“…”
“We weren’t even touching.”
“Well…”
“If we were touching…”
“I suppose you’d be able to see straight into my heart.”
Lucy immediately straightened her back.
“Of course not!”
“It’s just…”
“I’m a little sensitive to mana and holy power.”
“Sensitive?”
“Yes.”
“When you were with Lady Sepina…”
“Sometimes your energy felt… strange.”
“And that’s how you knew His Grace was incomplete?”
Tepe looked openly suspicious.
“Exactly.”
Lucy casually swallowed another bite of meat.
‘Actually, I only know because I read the novel.’
More precisely…
It had been revealed in a side story narrated by one of Edward’s attendants.
The truth was…
Edward had always been an incomplete Dragon Incarnation.
Because of that…
He secretly believed he was weak.
He constantly feared the day he’d completely lose control.
That was why he desperately wanted to find the mate who could complete him.
So when the temple presented Sepina as that mate…
He doubted them…
Yet still accepted it.
‘It felt like the side story was trying to defend the male lead for sleeping with the fake mate.’
Of course…
Many readers still criticized him for betraying the heroine.
Lucy hadn’t been one of them.
She understood him…
At least a little.
‘Because I was like that too.’
She had also believed she was incomplete.
Weak.
She’d thought that was why her sisters had left her behind in the shelter.
‘I blamed myself for everything.’
She believed that if she became stronger…
Her family would come back for her.
That illusion hadn’t lasted very long.
‘But back then… I was desperate.’
Even while starving…
She forced herself to exercise inside the cramped shelter.
She memorized everything she could about monsters.
She practiced fighting them.
Anything…
To become stronger.
To become perfect.
‘Edward endured Sepina for the same reason.’
Because of that…
Lucy could understand the emptiness inside him.
Of course…
Using that knowledge for her own survival was a completely different matter.
“Anyway…”
“I have no intention of telling anyone.”
“…”
“But if you sign a contract with me…”
This was the important part.
Lucy deliberately straightened her shoulders.
“I think I can solve that problem.”
“…”
“If you become a complete Dragon Incarnation…”
“You’ll be able to find your true mate.”
“Ah!”
“And of course…”
“I’ll help with that too.”
Silence fell.
Tepe and Gorgo looked at Lucy the way people looked at suspicious cult recruiters outside train stations.
‘I get it.’
Edward’s condition existed because he had been born incomplete.
For someone like her…
A mere temple test subject…
To claim she could solve it…
‘Of course it sounds like a scam.’
Even if they didn’t believe her…
She wasn’t speaking without evidence.
‘The side stories gave a few hints.’
Hints about how an incomplete Dragon Incarnation could become complete.
She had reread those chapters countless times while living in the shelter.
She remembered them clearly.
‘All I have to do is perform the ancient ritual that awakens a dragon’s power.’
Gathering the materials wouldn’t be easy.
But with the wealth and influence of House Tesseron…
It should be possible.
“Don’t worry.”
“I won’t cling to His Grace while pretending to solve the problem.”
“…”
“I’ll stay out of sight whenever possible.”
“I’ll only hold your hand once a week for purification.”
“…”
“I also need time to research how to solve your condition.”
She knew she needed to gather the ritual materials and create the magic circle.
The problem was…
The novel had been vague about the exact order of the ritual.
‘I’ll just have to research how the ancient ritual was originally performed.’
Just as Lucy organized her thoughts—
“Hah.”
Tepe frowned.
“I knew it.”
“You don’t actually have a complete answer.”
“…Please think carefully, Your Grace.”
Gorgo quietly added, making sure Lucy couldn’t hear.
“Didn’t you say you’d simply use her and throw her away afterward?”
Edward didn’t answer either of them.
Instead…
He asked Lucy,
“So that’s why you want a contract?”
“Your Grace?”
Tepe and Gorgo immediately turned toward him.
“Yes!”
“I already said this…”
“But verbal agreements aren’t enough.”
“So it absolutely has to be written?”
“Of course!”
Seeing hope in his response…
Lucy nodded enthusiastically.
“And what if I don’t like the terms?”
“Then we negotiate!”
“You’re willing to negotiate?”
“Of course!”
“Haha!”
“You’re the employer after all, Your Grace!”
Smiling brightly…
Lucy vigorously erased the section that had listed herself as Party A and Edward as Party B.
She looked genuinely happy.
Watching that smile…
Edward slowly curled one corner of his lips upward.
“Gasp.”
Tepe and Gorgo’s eyes widened.
They knew that smile.
Whenever Edward smiled like that…
He was about to do something completely unreasonable.
‘Your Grace… what are you planning?’
“Your Grace, wait.”
“Shouldn’t we discuss this among ourselves first—”
Just as the two knights hurriedly stood up…
“Very well.”
“Let’s negotiate.”
“Oh, absolutely!”
Lucy smiled so brightly that her eyes disappeared.
She looked honestly delighted to have formed any kind of connection with him.
‘Has she fallen for me that much?’
Well…
She was a woman capable of purifying him.
Even if he threw her away someday…
He could afford to treat her a little better for now.
Quietly watching her smile…
Edward asked,
“Can we change the title of the document as well?”
Lucy nodded.
“Um… yes.”
“But what would you change it to?”
As long as it remained a contract…
She didn’t mind.
“The title…”
Edward tilted his head.
Neigh!
The horses suddenly became restless.
The coachman, who had been sleeping nearby, jolted awake and ran toward them.
“Your Grace!”
The entire group turned at once.
In the distance…
They saw them.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Soldiers carrying the temple’s banner…
Galloping straight toward them on horseback.
