Episode 121

No, I miss her.

Is this my honest feeling?

I might have been completely tamed by her, who always clings to me, looks only at me, and lives according to my needs.

As much as she needs me, do I need her too?

Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since we were apart for more than a day. It was almost never.

Just that makes me unable to sleep.

I can’t sleep with Rurin next to me, and I can’t sleep without Rurin.

The first is to exercise self-control, and the second is because of longing.

Oh my god.

This is almost an addiction.

I was probably addicted to the warmth of Rurin creeping into my arms at dawn.

Black Dragon Sanctuary.

And the Sacred Land.

Rurin was curled up. It had been a long time since she was tucked away in such a pitiful posture. It was a pose she often laid in when she stayed alone in the lair.

She extended her finger and spun it around on the floor.

Every time she did that, El’s words kept coming to mind.

“There will be no marriage.”

He definitely said that.

There will be no marriage.

There will be no marriage.

There will be no marriage.

There will be no marriage.

There will be no marriage.

It was in such a firm tone that Rurin was stunned at that moment.

She was sleeping as usual. Dreaming of El, Rurin was grinning and sprawled out on the bed. Her hair was a mess, and she scratched her belly button through the raised pajamas.

There was no elegance to be found, but instead, she exuded cuteness while sleeping.

But she woke up suddenly, startled.

Rurin’s eyes rarely snapped open like that.

If it weren’t for the presence of a dragon, she would have only woken up after El came to wake her up and she acted spoiled.

The presence of a dragon.

For Rurin, there wasn’t a single good memory associated with the presence of a dragon. So she jumped up and rubbed her eyes.

She got off the soft king-size bed bought from Korea and left the bedroom.

She looked around and rubbed her eyes again.

Just then, Rurin approached.

The presence of a dragon was felt from the center of the lair.

“Where is El now?”

“Rurin!”

“Is that so, Rurin?”

Rurin nodded and went down to the first floor of the lair. She passed the main chamber. Her steps quickened. It wasn’t the usual presence of the Red Dragon, making her more anxious.

Actually, if it had been the usual presence of the Red Dragon, her steps might have quickened even more.

Rurin passed the main chamber.

And she realized El was in the bath. At that moment, she heard a voice from the bath.

“There will be no marriage.”

Hearing that firm tone, Rurin froze with her hand on the door of the bath.

She stood there blankly until the Elder came out.

And the Elder spoke. To go to the Sanctuary.

Rurin looked at El.

She looked three times.

And at that moment, Sereina’s words came to mind.

Rurin was extremely fixated on El. So no matter how much Sereina coaxed, she would listen with interest but never actually push El away. Her body refused to do such a thing.

To the point where she could confidently say that El was imprinted on every cell of her body.

It was something she simply couldn’t do, even if Sereina’s words had an effect.

So Rurin swallowed her pride and listened to Sereina’s words but eventually let them go in one ear and out the other.

But at this moment, the mental damage was significant.

She thought she didn’t need to get married or anything.

As long as she could live with El until she died, nothing else mattered.

But actually hearing those words made her feel a wave of sadness.

The valley of misunderstanding, caused by not hearing all of El’s words to the Elder, overflowed, leading Rurin to act impulsively.

As if possessed, Rurin followed the Elder.

“You, bad.”

Her finger kept spinning on the ground. Watching the endlessly spinning finger, Rurin felt her eyeballs spinning too.

“But it’s okay. I only have you.”

Rurin’s finger stopped.

If she came this far, would he follow? Sereina said that would reveal El’s true feelings.

She didn’t plan to do it, but she did, and the inner conflict only grew.

If he doesn’t come, everything so far becomes a lie.

But, if he doesn’t come, then what?

“Even though you said there’s no marriage. I…”

No, it doesn’t matter. Whether it’s a lie or not, whether it’s marriage or whatever, El has always been like that.

The shock of hearing those words and coming here alone was all because of the Red one’s prank.

Thinking that, Rurin started spinning her finger in the sand again.

Suddenly, Rurin remembered the past.

She remembered El, who reached out to her in a life filled with nothing but darkness.

A human, but strong.

She thought she would kill him for disturbing her solitude, but she couldn’t.

Then she told him to kill her, but he didn’t.

Then she told him to leave her alone, but he didn’t.

A life with him began.

For years.

It continued.

And on the day the lair was destroyed.

El gave her a birthday cake and a gift. Rurin was confused.

What is this human doing?

When he threw her into the water, Rurin’s anger surged, and she shouted out emotions she had never expressed in her life.

The clan that stood by as her mother died.

And the Elder who couldn’t stop it.

In other words, her Grandfather.

She couldn’t even express her hatred towards them, just swallowing it and carrying the pain that rotted her heart, all she could do was curl up and sleep.

Emotions she didn’t express even then.

They flowed out in front of a mere human.

And.

That was the beginning.

She started expressing everything in front of El.

It was so joyful. She realized too late that this is what happiness feels like.

So El became everything to her.

Because he was there, she became herself.

Not a dreary, hunched, worthless dragon.

Instead, if she had bitten his arm and gotten angry the moment he said there would be no marriage, it wouldn’t have been like this.

Why did her body freeze at that moment?

No matter how important marriage is to a dragon as it is to a human.

Why.

Such rules don’t matter at all.

Another dragon appeared in front of Rurin, who was digging the ground.

It wasn’t the Elder.

Rurin, who was about to dig into the ground, stood up. She frowned as she looked at the dragon that appeared.

“Who are you?”

“I am Ruhard of the Black Dragon clan, Luhan.”

Rurin sat back down as if she had no interest, her face as cold as ice.

“I don’t care if you marry El.”

Rurin, who was staring at the ground again, reacted to the absurd words and looked up.

“What do you mean by that?”

“He’s human. Whether you date or marry him, it’s just a game. No one acknowledges a marriage between a dragon and a dragon, a true union. You know that, right?”

“What?”

“And Rurin, you are currently the direct descendant of the Medidana clan, the Elder’s clan. Despite the disgraceful incident involving your mother, since Nies of the Bagda clan, who could surpass the Medidana clan, is dead and Diehegma has fallen out of power, the next elder must come from the Medidana clan. Naturally, many are proposing marriage to you to increase their chances of becoming an elder. But that scary human, everyone is wary of him, so they acknowledge your relationship with a human. But you also have to get married, so you have to choose from among them, and such stories are coming from the Grand Matriarch Saryn of the Medidana. Do you understand my words?”

“……”

Rurin glared at Ruhard with a disgusted expression.

“My life with El is a game, and they acknowledge that, so they want me to marry you?”

“Yes, that’s exactly it.”

“Are you strong?”

“What?”

“I asked if you’re stronger than me!”

Rurin stood up again and started exuding her aura. Ruhard, in his original form, was forced to step back by the overwhelming presence of human-shaped Rurin.

“I am stronger than before. So get lost.”

El wasn’t the only one that became stronger with the dragon orb. Unlike El, who achieved complete absorption through a fortunate encounter, Rurin had only about 10 percent absorption, but even that was enough to set her apart from other dragons.

Ruhard felt it and broke into a sweat.

Then he discreetly retreated, saying he’d come back after the coming-of-age ceremony.

In fact, before absorbing the dragon orb, Rurin was considered very weak among the dragon race.

But not now.

She wasn’t at the level to handle multiple dragons like El, but she was at a point where she wouldn’t lose to most dragons in a one-on-one fight.

Another dragon appeared behind her.

This time, it was the Elder.

“What are you doing, didn’t you run out of there leaving El behind?”

“What do you mean by that? I will go back!”

Rurin was startled and shouted at the Elder’s words.

“What that guy said earlier is true. Many in the Black Dragon clan think that way. Especially the young ones who haven’t seen El’s true nature. Except for Nies, all the elders present at that time were Ancient Dragons. So, they all think your relationship with El is just a game.”

“A game. What’s a game? Can’t I like someone beyond my species? I’ve never thought my life with El was a game, Elder. Being with El is the real me. When I was in the Sanctuary and my mother’s lair, I was never the real me!”

“Hmm, this old man knows that well, but other Dragons…”

“Don’t make me laugh! I hate other dragons touching me with even a single finger! Only El can touch my body, Elder.”

“Then why did you run out without him?”

“That’s because…”

“I mentioned that such things could happen with El too. Hmm, more than that, don’t you want to test it?”

“What, what?”

“Whether he will come to find you or not. I said there would be trouble, and you left as if ignoring that. If he just stays holed up in the restaurant, he’s completely useless.”

“He-he’ll come!”

Rurin shouted strongly, but her words lacked conviction. Actually, thinking that she might be nothing to El was something she hated so much that she didn’t even think about it usually.

“And even if he doesn’t come, I’ll go back. I, I…”

“Okay, let’s see. First, prepare to enter the Sanctuary. If you don’t go through the coming-of-age ceremony, you’ll never function properly as a Dragon. You don’t want him to treat you like a child forever, right?”

“Ugh.”

Rurin nodded quietly.

The Elder saw that and smiled inwardly. If that guy comes to the Sanctuary, there might be a way.

Ultimately, the direction as to where his granddaughter becomes happy.

At least it’s definitely not marrying another dragon.

The Elder had no intention of failing in raising a child twice.