43 – Whoo, whoo… Kkiing, kkiing, bbiik, bbii!
Inside the splendid guest room of Count Luminel on a night when the moon was tilting.
The incident visited like an uninvited guest without any warning.
“Koo, koooo…”
Tina was enjoying a comfortable sleep on the soft bed, making gentle breathing sounds.
Her mouth, slightly open, displayed a peaceful smile. Transparent drool flowed as if she was smiling at a good dream. The tranquility, undisturbed even by the cry of crickets, was eerie.
However, who could have known?
That this was a kind of stormy eve.
The events of last night turned out to be the trigger for Tina’s first-ever plan to run away… No one could have anticipated that.
A long time remained until dawn approached.
From Tina’s bed, white smoke began to billow up.
◇
Whooosh!
Tina greeted the warm morning sun with a yawn. Today, the wake-up felt unusually refreshing. She might have preferred to pull the blanket over and sleep a bit more, but the energy was overflowing, beyond her control.
So, Tina awkwardly crawled, intending to set her feet on the floor.
But at that moment.
“Thud!”
Tina’s world crumbled. Instead of stepping on the floor, her head hit it with a thud. Strangely, it didn’t hurt.
From Noble mtl dot com
Why?
Why did she fall? It doesn’t make sense.
No, wait… Why is her field of vision so low? As if she’s lying completely flat.
Weird…
“Keeing…”
…?
Huh?
Why is her voice like this? And why can’t she speak?
“Coo, coo…!”
What’s happening? Why is she making such strange crying sounds?
‘I’m sorry, Dad…! Seems like I became mute… Uh…’
First, let’s stay calm. If she gets up from the floor and finds Dad, maybe she can figure out the reason.
Certainly, that should be the case…
But why isn’t it happening?
“Kiiing! Kiiing!”
‘Master, I can’t seem to find my balance!’
Tina desperately attempted bipedal locomotion. However, her body, resembling a sworn enemy, seemed utterly unwilling to cooperate.
After several futile attempts, Tina gradually regained her senses.
Wondering what could be the cause of her inability to walk on two legs, Tina closely observed her hands.
Immediately after, she blinked her eyes, and the moment a prickly sensation touched her under-eye, she screamed.
“Piiiiii!!!”
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!
Crawling on all fours like a beast, she rushed towards the full-length mirror. Her eyes couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Therefore, when Tina finally observed her own reflection, she could only slump in disbelief at the grim reality.
‘What, what is this…? Is this… me?’
The reflected image in the mirror—a perfect aberration.
Not only were crimson scales covering her entire body like a gleaming sheen, but the areas that were once hands had long transformed into front paws. Slightly sharp claws and playfully protruding fangs. And, all the way to vertically slit pupils resembling those of a reptile.
It was the unmistakable form of a baby dragon.
“Piiit, piiiiick!”
‘What is this…?!’
Tina was in shock.
Knock, knock.
As always, the maid arrived to announce breakfast. When there was no response from inside, she assumed Tina, uncommonly lazy, might be still resting. Thus, with a sense of intrusion, the maid opened the door.
“Miss Tina, you need to wake up. The Duke… Uh!?”
“S-…”
The palace maid froze in place. Just like Tena, who was facing the maid with an enormous height difference, she also froze solid.
“W-What…? Uh…?”
The maid was unaware of Tena’s true identity as a half-dragon. Therefore, it was only natural that she couldn’t deduce the connection between Tena’s absence and the sudden appearance of the baby dragon.
And so, the maid quickly ran away, screaming at the top of her lungs.
“I-I’ve been eaten…!”
“Huh?!”
“Ahh…! Ahhhhh…!!! It’s the Duke!!! It’s the Duchess!!! Monster!!! T-Tena Miss… she’s been eaten by a monster!!!”
From the maid’s cry, the mansion was turned upside down.
In particular, Harthe and Cardi, who had reached the realm of the supernaturals in their senses, didn’t need to wait for the maid to come to her senses. They headed straight to Tena’s room, where the noise would soon fade even if thunder struck.
Kwaaang!
The two of them burst into Tena’s room with a bang.
Thanks to them, the door was completely shattered, flying away in pieces, and the opposite window was shattered to pieces. The sound of the door falling into the Duke’s entranceway decorated the chaos that followed.
Meanwhile, Harthe and Cardi, who appeared in high spirits, couldn’t help but widen their eyes.
Because there, curled up like a flock, was a trembling baby dragon.
“Huh, huh…”
Tena sobbed quietly.
It was the moment when the commotion of the early morning came to an end.
◇
It was bewildering. The most bewildering case I had ever experienced in all my years of living was nothing compared to today.
When I had plunged my head into the sacred pond and regained the memories of my past life. Yes, I was just as bewildered then as I am now.
“Right, right. Why don’t you try speaking calmly instead of crying?”
The Duke gently stroked Tena, who was sitting on my lap, as if he were taming a wild animal.
“hehehe… The rough and slippery texture is surprisingly nice. Sometimes, rare experiences like this are good.”
“Peek!”
The Duke rarely showed his emotions, but he seemed to genuinely like Tena, who had become a baby dragon.
“It reminds me of the old days. The dragons I saw were tough and rough all over, so even a brush of their fingertips could cut you.”
“Moo?”
“Well, in the end, its head was chopped off.”
“Whaack!”
At the Duke’s eerie remark, Tena stood up from my lap. Tena, who had crawled away from the Duke’s knees, settled on top of my head. Then, the trembling scales on its body began to vibrate on my scalp, filled with fear.
“Oh dear…”
I reached up and gently placed Tena, who had climbed onto my head, back onto my lap. All eyes were now focused on me.
Tena’s scales, which I secretly wanted to stroke, were right before my eyes. As I stroked the baby dragon on my lap, I spoke, trying my best to maintain my composure.
“Tena.”
“Koo…”
“Why are you… puh… why… like, like this… big.”
“Peek! Peek!”
“Ah, I understand. Sorry, sorry. I’m definitely not making fun of you.”
“Kuuh…”
“Yeah, opportunities only come once. I’ll keep that in mind.”
After talking with Tina, I looked around. There was a strange awkward silence. Despite it being just a brief conversation, everyone gathered at the dinner table expressed their surprise.
“Hey, Harte… Do you understand what Tina is saying?”
“Well, of course.”
“Does the baptismal name include the power of interpretation or something like that?”
“Oh, Elphiccia… Where in the world did you get that idea?”
“Then how do you understand her?”
“How do I understand? Well, there’s no way a father wouldn’t understand his daughter’s meaning.”
I explained the obvious reasoning. However, Elphiccia’s expression didn’t look good. The moment she realized her slip of the tongue was right after that.
“Ah… So I’m just a worthless person without the qualification of being a parent.”
“Well, wait. That’s not what I meant!”
“Sigh…”
After letting out a deep sigh, Elphiccia crossed her arms and forgave me.
“It’s fine. I’ve seen you deviate from the norm in many ways.”
“Ahahahaha…”
It seems that Elphiccia’s generous understanding made someone uncomfortable. The Duke, who was the subject of that discomfort, raised his face with a gaze full of resentment.
“Don’t you think I can’t do it? I’m not a grandfather who can’t understand the meaning of his granddaughter’s words. Say something, anything. I’ll interpret it perfectly.”
The Duke declared confidently.
In response, Tina earnestly conveyed something with a tender whimpering sound.
“Squeak, squeak, coo… Beep, squeeeak.”
“Hmm.”
“Kkyuut, muueeu, sat, ppii-ii.”
“Hmm, hmm.”
“Kki-ii, pii-ing…”
“I see.”
The duke tilted his head. Could it be that they had successfully deciphered Tina’s message?
When Tina stopped communicating further, silence filled the air. During that time, the duke closed his eyes and nodded his head as if contemplating Tina’s crying sound.
“I see, I understand.”
“Do you know what she’s saying, Your Grace…?”
Glen asked in a hesitant tone, seeking the interpretation. The duke responded with unwavering eyes.
“Though she says a lot, the conclusion remains the same.”
Snap. He clenched his fist, as if he were the ultimate victor.
“In the end, a father is prouder and happier than anyone else in this position.”
“What!?”
“What kind of hopeful thinking process does Father have?!”
Goodness, Elphesia sincerely tackled the duke. And she did it with her voice raised…
Witnessing this extraordinary scene, my eyes widened as much as Tina’s.
Disappointed with the nonsensical interpretation, Elphesia and Glen once again turned their gaze towards me.
“… She says she wants to return to her original body quickly. She finds it frustrating not knowing why she became like this…”
“Pii-ing, pii-iiing.”
Tina vigorously nodded her head, as if she were swinging a boulder-like head. After that, Elphesia subtly threw a question at me.
“Harte. How can you not do this? You can restore it back to its original state as sacred.”
“Well, of course I can.”
However, it is not recommended to abuse the sacredness. Tina’s transformation is not posing a threat to life or causing any significant accidents…
“Ugh, then hurry up and restore it.”
“Beep beep. Beep!”
“Yeah, yeah, I know it’s urgent, but…”
But this is this, and that is that.
There is no need to consider the temple’s values when it comes to family.
Just…
“It’s just too adorable, can we postpone it just for today?”
“That’s fine.”
“Beep?!”
The Duke, the head of the family, agreed as if it were a matter of course. If it had stopped there, Tina would not have caused any unexpected actions in the future.
“Well, it should be fine for a day… I haven’t touched it yet either.”
“I also… think a day is enough.”
“Boop?!”
Elphesia and Glen also agreed one after another. There was not a single person who didn’t feel frustrated for not being able to touch Tina. Even the servants who were preparing the ceremony secretly expressed their desires with their eyes.
“Hmm… Kyyuuh…!”
Tina whimpered as if she couldn’t contain her anger.
The unexpected accident happened immediately and ended there.
Fooduck!
Tina spread her wings and soared into the sky.
“Be-e-e-e-ep!”
A tiny and precious baby dragon emitted a cute sound. The expression on the dragon’s face, marked by sorrow, made the cute sound even more endearing.
Crash!
Tina spectacularly smashed through the window of the dining room and flew away. With her small size, she looked nothing but a vivid crimson dot as she distanced herself.
It was the beginning of an adventurous escape.