≈ Chapter 9 ≈
Word of Command.
A power that made whatever was spoken become reality.
Among the Black Dragon’s powers, it was one of the strongest.
Because the Commander of the Blue Dragon Knights possessed that power, the people of the continent respected and admired that position more than any other.
However…
The stronger the power, the greater the backlash after using it.
If an ordinary human used it even once, they would be bedridden for at least three days.
Even though Elliott looked perfectly fine standing here…
Huh?
Atlas blinked.
“Commander… you look perfectly fine?”
“…That’s exactly the problem.”
“Wait a moment, Commander. But when exactly did you use the Word of Command…?”
Elliott raised his hand.
Only then did Atlas let out a loud gasp.
“Don’t tell me…”
“That’s right.”
Elliott’s face, which people often joked looked as if it had been carved from stone because it was always expressionless, became even more serious.
“I told her…”
“Do not lie.”
“My goodness…”
Atlas swallowed hard.
The Word of Command made whatever was spoken become reality.
So if Elliott had ordered Anais,
“Do not lie.”
Then she would be completely unable to tell a lie.
Which meant…
Everything that young lady had said…
Was true.
Atlas’s face turned pale.
But Elliott slowly shook his head.
“Not necessarily.”
“…What?”
“There was no backlash from using the Word of Command.”
“…What do you mean?”
Atlas looked completely confused.
For the first time in his life…
He felt like he might be the dumbest man in the world.
He couldn’t understand what Elliott was saying.
But Elliott paid no attention to his confusion.
He fell deep into thought.
His mind returned…
To the Black Dragon he had met two months ago.
The ruler of the continent, the Black Dragon, spoke.
<I had a dream.>
Elliott Thessaloniki, who served the Dragon, replied,
“What troublesome task are you planning to give me this time?”
The Black Dragon opened his mouth wide in protest.
<I said I had a dream.>
“Whenever Your Grace starts talking about dreams, it always ends with me doing something troublesome.”
<You insolent brat. Your manners have gotten much worse lately.>
The Dragon smacked his lips.
Of course…
Not because he was threatening to eat Elliott, who wouldn’t even make a decent snack.
Licking his lips had simply become one of the Dragon’s strange new habits.
The handsome Commander of the Blue Dragon Knights was already used to it, so he didn’t react.
But…
His deputy clearly wasn’t.
Atlas’s legs were trembling uncontrollably.
The Dragon looked at him and chuckled.
<You’ve gained even more weight. Fat meat always goes down easier.>
Only the Black Dragon could casually tell a Blue Dragon Knight,
<Why have you gotten so fat?>
Atlas, who usually comforted himself by saying he merely had a “good build,”
Froze with shock and horror.
Elliott frowned.
“Please don’t tease him, Your Grace.”
<How can I resist when he trembles every time he sees me? Hmm.>
The Black Dragon laughed again.
<Among all the knights who bear my name, he’s the roundest one I’ve ever seen.>
“If you think about it…”
“It’s all because of the Possessors.”
<What does that have to do with anything?>
“Because most of the Possessors took over the bodies of sons and daughters from famous noble families.”
<Ah.>
The Dragon snorted.
<Even so, the resentment of those weak little humans means nothing.>
“…What does ‘weak little humans’ mean?”
Elliott frowned.
The Dragon sniffed.
<It’s just something the Possessors used to say. Figure it out yourself.>
“I am someone who must understand every word spoken by Your Grace.”
“I cannot neglect my duty…”
<You’re such a troublesome fellow. It simply means they aren’t a match for me.>
“I assumed as much.”
“Then why did you ask?”
The Black Dragon irritably pulled on one of his whiskers.
<Honestly… You’re far too stiff.>
“When Your Grace appointed me Commander…”
“You said you liked that part of me.”
<Did I?>
The Dragon sounded doubtful.
Without changing his expression even slightly, Elliott replied,
“You said you were pleased because I would never misuse the authority you granted me.”
<Hmm…>
The Dragon smacked his lips again.
The entire inside of Fortuna, the largest mountain in the Vidna Mountain Range, echoed with the sound.
One day…
People called Possessors suddenly appeared in the world.
They claimed the continent ruled by the Dragon, along with every kingdom upon it, was merely a world inside a book.
They insisted they knew the future…
And acted however they pleased.
Throughout the thousand-year history of the continent, there had always been people claiming to be prophets.
Those people had also acted boldly.
But the Possessors were different.
Instead of trying to become religious leaders…
They ran straight toward Crown Princes and Northern Grand Dukes.
Even though the Black Dragon ruled the continent…
He rarely interfered in human affairs.
But this time…
He chose to interfere.
He had discovered that the Possessors disrupted the world’s order…
And that they caused cracks in reality itself.
If nothing was done…
The world would eventually collapse.
So…
The Dragon’s nest inside the Vidna Mountains, which had remained quiet for a thousand years…
Suddenly became busy.
The Dragon did not personally hunt the Possessors.
<If I want to stop the world’s collapse, I must remain here.>
Dragons could not lie.
Considering how lazy the Black Dragon usually was…
It sounded like an excuse.
But…
It was the truth.
So…
The Commander of the Blue Dragon Knights stepped forward instead.
The heads of the great noble families, who had been preparing to resist, immediately hesitated.
After all…
Who could possibly defeat the son of the great Thessaloniki family…
The Commander of the Dragon’s own knights?
In the end…
The family heads tearfully handed over their children.
Then carefully demanded compensation afterward.
There had only been thirty-two Possessors.
But think about it.
Every one of them had possessed someone ranging from fallen nobles…
To members of royal families.
Forcing the children of the continent’s most powerful families into the Dragon’s jaws…
Was not something that ended lightly.
The Dragon acted as though crushing a person was the end of the matter.
But human society wasn’t that simple.
Atlas…
Whose greatest talent had once been precise swordsmanship…
Now spent every day sitting behind a desk, carefully moving a pen instead.
Half of the Dragon’s treasure disappeared.
In its place…
Ledgers recording compensation payments piled higher and higher.
And Atlas’s weight doubled.
Atlas secretly pretended to wipe away tears.
“I may not be as handsome as the Commander…”
“But I used to be famous for my looks too.”
The Dragon completely ignored him and burst into laughter.
<That’s some very expensive fat you’ve gained.>
“Please stop teasing me.”
<Stay inside Fortuna for a thousand years, and you’ll become just like me. Teasing children becomes the only entertainment left.>
Atlas was thirty years old.
But in front of a Dragon who had lived for over a thousand years…
Calling himself an adult only sounded ridiculous.
Besides…
Commander Elliott was only twenty-four.
So Elliott changed the subject.
“So…”
“What dream did you have?”
<I can still smell a Possessor.>
“A Possessor?”
<It seems one from beyond the Rainbow still remains.>
Elliott’s eyebrow twitched.
Atlas let out a groan.
“A… Thirty-Third Possessor…?”
It had already been eight months since the Thirty-Second Possessor had been sent back beyond the Rainbow.
The poor young lady of House Austin…
Had looked completely insane at the end.
“The real mastermind is someone else! I know the future!”
Elliott had struggled not to pity her.
“I thought it was finally over.”
<So did I.><Perhaps because this one is the last…>
<They’re especially cunning.>
<They hid so well that even I couldn’t find them.>
“I haven’t heard any rumors either…”
Atlas muttered.
That was strange.
Whenever a Possessor appeared…
Rumors always spread first.
The sons and daughters of noble families suddenly behaved strangely.
They asked,
“Where am I?”
Or insisted,
“That place doesn’t exist.”
Then they claimed to know the future.
At first…
Loose-tongued servants spread the rumors.
Later…
People hoping to receive reward money rushed to report Possessors to the Dragon.
Once…
Even parents had reported their own child.
But only once.
It seemed…
The Thirty-Third Possessor had somehow escaped all of that.
<No wonder the cracks in the world never disappeared.>
<You’ll have to work a little harder.>
Elliott’s beautiful face…
Inherited from Princess Ridens, whose beauty had once been famous across the continent…
Immediately darkened.
Even his flaxen hair, which resembled rich autumn fields…
Seemed dull and lonely.
Watching him…
Atlas couldn’t help feeling sorry.
He knew better than anyone…
That every Possessor Elliott captured eventually died.
Each time…
The Commander carried that burden alone.
But Elliott simply nodded.
“Understood.”
The Black Dragon, who saw the world through dreams, had barely slept recently.
For him to fall asleep…
And dream…
Could only mean something serious had happened.
The Dragon smiled in satisfaction.
<I smelled salt.>
<They’re near the sea.>
“I would appreciate a more precise answer.”
<You’ll find your clue through Kie.>
The unexpected mention of his younger sister’s name…
Made Elliott flinch.
