Episode 124

“Do you know how strange it feels to hear another love story from my mother at this age?”

“Well, isn’t that to be expected?”

I shared various stories with Saryn afterward. Among the many conversations with dragons, that moment felt the most valuable, and it’s no exaggeration.

Then I was invited as a guest, slept there, and a day passed.

It was time for Rurin to come out, so I went to meet her at the Sanctuary with the Elder.

This visit was fruitful in many ways.

I silenced all the dragons who wanted to propose to Rurin, and the eldest Black Dragon personally guaranteed our future, leaving no room for further controversy.

Honestly, I didn’t expect to achieve results beyond my expectations to this extent.

But even amidst that, there was one most important thing that I hadn’t resolved.

It was my direct relationship with Rurin.

I still hadn’t heard the reason she left me so nonchalantly, leaving a strange expression and disappearing with the Elder.

Dragons enjoy separate amusements even if they are married.

Even if they fall in love with a human in the process, it is not considered cheating.

Rurin often showed no interest no matter how affectionate I was towards beings other than dragons.

The first time she showed jealousy was after I got involved with Sereina.

That’s why dragons saw my relationship with Rurin that way. Of course, no dragon would think that way again.

So now, Rurin just needs to come out of the Sanctuary.

When she comes out, I’ll catch her, hear her out, and we’ll go back together.

The Elder said that there is no visible change.

Like naturally maturing wine, a dragon’s human form changes little by little as their true form ages.

The coming-of-age ceremony seems to be about becoming capable of having children.

It’s like a ceremony that lifts restrictions. Becoming an adult who must take responsibility for their actions.

Anyway, it’s already been three days since I last saw Rurin.

I miss her.

That’s my honest feeling.

I’m still angry about how she turned her head and left like that.

But I still missed her.

With that longing, I endlessly watched the Dragons’ Sanctuary.

How long did I wait?

In the afternoon when spring flowers began to scatter everywhere.

Finally, the heavy door of the large structure opened, and a shadow appeared.

What emerged was a woman with long black hair fluttering in the strong wind, walking briskly.

She was Rurin, someone very familiar to me.

As soon as I saw her, the Elder clicked his tongue beside me and spoke.

“That one too, really.”

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just that she should be in dragon form in the Sanctuary, but she immediately polymorphed into human form as soon as she came out. It’s funny, as if she knew you were coming.”

“Is that so?”

That’s good news to hear. It means Rurin hasn’t changed.

Was her behavior that day just a temporary impulse? No, there was a change. Her body was glowing. Rurin’s entire body was emitting a white light.

I looked at the Elder momentarily. The Elder just shrugged and answered my curiosity.

“That is evidence of the coming-of-age ceremony. The light will disappear soon.”

“That’s fascinating.”

And then Rurin looked this way too. She saw me and stopped walking.

Usually, she would have run over to me and hugged me by now.

She stopped, checked my expression, and then started to look slightly wary. I didn’t like Rurin’s face at all.

There must be something.

And that something is still unresolved. Frustrated, I had no choice but to run towards her.

When I ran up to Rurin, she started to speak, stuttering.

“Wh-when did you get here?”

She even took a slight step back. Instead of hugging me, she stepped back.

That sight made me even more frustrated.

Why?

Why are you avoiding me?

“Come here, Rurin.”

“No, I don’t want to. I heard everything you said about not marrying someone like me. I’m nothing to you, so, I…”

I couldn’t understand what Rurin was saying for a moment.

I had told her to leave me many times, but this was the first time Rurin avoided me first.

I turned my head.

To understand what Rurin was saying now.

Rurin was still pouting. Come to think of it, she looked at me three times before teleporting and disappearing. Once puffing her cheeks, once pouting her lips, and once turning her head sharply.

Could it be that she overheard the conversation with the Elder?

And of all things, only the last part?

So if she only heard the part about not getting married, it’s not hard to understand what she’s saying now.

The puzzle started to come together.

Gosh, if she left out the touching part before and only heard the part about not getting married.

It literally means that her current behavior is a sign of being upset.

That’s probably the right answer.

I felt somewhat empty yet relieved. It meant she didn’t really intend to avoid me, and coming here alone was part of her being upset.

The heart that was boiling for some unknown reason, the thirst that felt like riding a beast, all disappeared as if it was all a lie, and another emotion took over me.

I grabbed Rurin’s arm as she stepped back. She didn’t shake my arm off, but she still spoke the same words.

It was a complaint full of disappointment.

“Aren’t I a dragon not worth marrying anyway!”

I pulled Rurin’s arm hard. Her body was drawn into my chest.

I felt Rurin’s warmth. Her petite body fit snugly into my arms, and though she had an upset expression, she didn’t offer any resistance.

So I held Rurin’s cheek with my left hand and stroked her hair with my right.

And I blocked Rurin’s lips, which were spewing harsh words, with my lips.

Something soft met my lips.

The soft sensation started to awaken the senses in my whole body. As I brushed her hair back, her exposed ears turned very red.

Even though it was just a light kiss, it felt like a fresh shock of electricity was running through my whole body.

Barely holding onto the rationality that was screaming for more, I pulled my lips away.

There were too many eyes watching.

This much for now.

I hugged Rurin tightly again and spoke.

“Let’s go back.”

Rurin, buried in my chest, stayed still for a moment, then lifted her face slightly to peek up at me.

So I said it again.

“Let’s go back, Rurin.”

Rurin looked at me for a moment in that state, then nodded quietly. Then she buried her head back in my chest.

She let out a slight groan, and at the same time, the world turned black. It was teleportation.

We returned to the lair.

The lair’s bedroom.

Rurin immediately shouted at me.

“You…! Th-that th-th-that!”

“Why? Didn’t you like it?”

“No! I-I-I liked it very much… it was soft… is that what you call a kiss? Not a peck but a kiss?”

Rurin had lost her mind.

Her babbling was severe.

Her eyes seemed to be swirling, giving the illusion of spiraling in confusion.

“Well, first of all, congratulations on safely completing the ceremony. And happy birthday.”

“But you… you said you… marriage…”

But she was still babbling nonsense.

No response to the congratulations.

Her mouth just opened and closed without clearing up the misunderstanding.

I had no choice but to start explaining the whole situation into Rurin’s ear, who was at a loss.

“You heard it wrong. I told the Elder that while there is no marriage now, after avenging your mother’s enemies and becoming more mature, we would get married. And even Matriarch Saryn acknowledged it.”

“Is that really true?”

Rurin looked at me with wide eyes as if the world had turned upside down.

“It’s true, you fool.”

“I’m not a f-f-fool!”

“Why are you stuttering then?”

“B-b-because I’m nervous…”

Rurin sat down on the bed and hung her head low.

This look was cute, and that look was lovely.

I hadn’t seen her for just three days, yet she felt so new. Is it the sense of liberation from becoming an adult that makes me feel this way?

I don’t know.

I really don’t know.

I can’t figure it out.

I approached Rurin again, who was sitting and mumbling about it being a misunderstanding and how she would have gone with me.

“And by the way, that was still in the realm of a peck.”

“What do you mean! Wasn’t it a kiss?”

I didn’t answer. I just brought my face closer.

The distance between our faces shortened significantly and soon became zero.

“Hm?”

I pulled back briefly to say one more thing to Rurin’s blocked lips.

“Open your mouth.”

Rurin, not knowing what was happening, slightly opened her mouth with an expression of ‘okay’, and soon the kiss resumed.

As I touched Rurin’s tongue with mine, her whole body shivered. She gripped my arms tightly.

We naturally embraced each other tightly.

Rurin’s scent, her feelings, everything about her filled my heart through the kiss.

Such elation made my heart tickle, and yet I felt desperate.

At first, Rurin shivered and stood still like a cat, making a faint sound. Then, as if understanding what a kiss was, she tangled her tongue with mine with a desperate expression.

Slightly clumsy but passionate.

The time that felt eternal stopped.

After a long time of exploring each other, we broke the kiss and looked into each other’s eyes.

I stroked and tidied Rurin’s disheveled hair, looking at her more lovingly than ever since I met her.

Rurin’s eyes were filled with a whirlpool of confusion.

“Anyway, the important thing is that whether we get married or not, we are together. So don’t go off alone without discussing it with me like last time.”

Rurin nodded slowly like a shy girl.

Then she put her arms around my shoulders and opened her mouth like a small goldfish.

“I’m d-d-dizzy, ugh.”

Rurin spoke and then collapsed onto the bed. Her face and ears were redder than a beet, and her eyes were unfocused like she had drunk pure alcohol.

It’s ridiculous for a dragon to faint at such a moment, but in a way, it’s just like Rurin.

She couldn’t adapt to the kiss on her forehead back in Korea either.

This dragon is truly natural.

I covered Rurin with a blanket. And without doing anything else, I just stared endlessly at her face.