Raynous, startled, stammered an explanation.
“Um, my Lady. This isn’t me trying to sneak in.”
Then he abruptly closed his mouth. He must have realized how strange that sounded. If this wasn’t sneaking in, then what was it?
‘What a peculiar dream I’m having.’
I considered this situation to be a dream.
It had to be, because the window behind him wasn’t large enough for an adult man to enter through.
After exchanging only letters with Raynous for the past few days while working, it seemed I was dreaming of him because I missed him.
I weakly patted the bed.
“Your Highness.”
Raynous, who was about to open the window and escape, flinched.
I patted the bed again. Since he had appeared, I might as well get a good look at his handsome face.
“Come here, please.”
“……”
“I can’t see you well from here.”
“……”
But no matter how much I patted the bed, Raynous didn’t budge from his spot.
Instead, he shook his head and gradually moved away, as if he wanted to become one with the window.
Wait, aren’t lucid dreams supposed to go as you wish? Why is he acting like this?
I was already frustrated with being sick even in my dream, and now he wasn’t listening to me. I hit the bed with a thud and angrily said.
“Oh, come here, I said!”
Raynous flinched and cautiously approached. He continued to make excuses.
“Um, my Lady, I didn’t come here with any bad intentions.”
He reached the bedside, covering his mouth and casting his eyes downward. Though it was dark, his face seemed to have reddened.
“I was worried about you. I just wanted to see your face for a moment, to see how sick you were…”
“Ah, I see.”
I responded listlessly and patted the bed again, indicating for him to sit.
He barely perched on the edge of the bed. Though he tried to maintain as much distance as possible, as if trying to keep away from me.
It looked uncomfortable, but I wasn’t benevolent enough to care about the comfort of a dream character.
I was satisfied that I could now clearly see his handsome face, even if he was a bit far.
So I continued the conversation in that state.
“How did you get here?”
“I flew. I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to wake you, I just wanted to see your face for a moment.”
“You flew? Are you a magician?”
“Uh… well. I’m not a magician, but I can fly.”
I briefly imagined Raynous flying through the sky. Then I immediately frowned.
I could picture him running around with a sword, but floating in the sky? It didn’t suit him at all.
So I demanded of Raynous.
“Show me.”
“Here?”
“Yes.”
“Uh……”
Raynous was flustered by my firm answer.
“It’s a bit difficult right now.”
“Why?”
“Well, it requires some preparation.”
“Can’t you do it here?”
“It’s not that I can’t…”
Raynous’ long eyelashes lowered pitifully.
Hmm, it seems he’s really troubled.
Even though it was a dream, I didn’t want to see him in distress. Instead, I was about to ask him to show me later—
“Cough.”
Suddenly, a cough erupted.
It ended up looking like a sickly heroine leaving her last words.
“Later, cough, please, cough, show me. Cough. I really, cough, want to see. Cough.”
“My Lady!”
Raynous, alarmed, forgot his reservations and reached out to me. He checked my forehead for fever, felt the temperature of my cheek with the back of his hand, and held my hand that had slipped out from under the blanket, not knowing what to do.
“What’s wrong, are you alright?”
“Yes, cough, I’m fine, cough, I really wanted, cough, to see you fly, cough—”
“I’ll show you. I’ll show you, so stop talking!”
Cough, cough, I nodded while coughing.
Raynous stayed by my side until the coughing subsided. Then, when I seemed to have calmed down somewhat, he bit his lip and carefully grasped my hand.
And he whispered secretly.
“My lady. You know I’m turning into an evil dragon, right?”
“Yes.”
“Phew.”
Raynous, half-covering his face with one hand, exhaled deeply.
His eyes showed regret, as if thinking, ‘Why did I say I flew here?’
“I really don’t want to lie to you, my lady. But this time – I kind of want to.”
“……?”
“Quite a lot… That’s why.”
“Did you fly here after transforming into an evil dragon?”
“…Yes.”
Can that be controlled at will? In the original story, only Tirielle could do that, right?
I opened my eyes wide. But soon after, I changed to a drowsy look, like someone who was sleepy.
I was too exhausted to keep being surprised. And since it was a dream, I didn’t mind if it was different from the original story.
This is all my imagination anyway. Raynous being here at this hour doesn’t make sense to begin with.
Raynous rubbed his face dry like someone in trouble. Then at some point, he stopped moving, covering his face with both hands.
He stayed still as if thinking about something, and finally, as if he had made a decision, he lowered his hands with a deep sigh.
“…Don’t be too surprised.”
“Okay.”
I stared intently at Raynous, forcing my eyes to stay open as they were about to close.
Surely the house won’t collapse just because Raynous turns into an evil dragon. This is a dream, after all.
“If you’re scared, tell me right away that you’re scared.”
“Okay.”
Even though I answered immediately, Raynous still had a look in his eyes as if something was bothering him.
When I blinked, wondering why he was acting like that, he avoided my gaze and muttered.
“I hope you won’t try to distance yourself from me because you’re scared. I can’t wait anymore…”
“I like dragons. It’s been my dream to meet a dragon since I was little.”
Although my head hurt, I pleaded again with the sole desire to see it quickly. Raynous seemed flustered again, but then he gently lowered his eyes with a resigned look.
And he closed them softly.
Suddenly, a black light burst forth. For a moment, his body seemed to be enveloped in black light, and then it disappeared. Or more precisely, his body disappeared, and his clothes fell onto the bed.
“Huh?”
I was bewildered, having imagined a dragon as big as a castle as described in the original story.
Where did he go? Did he run away because I rushed him too much? Even so, why did he leave his clothes behind? He’s not a lizard running away after cutting off its tail.
That’s when it happened.
Something moved inside Raynous’s clothes.
Then, something covered in black scales, about the size of my two palms put together, popped out from among the clothes.
And it carefully cried out.
– Beep
“……”
– Beeep…
“……”
For a moment, I was at a loss for words.
As I stared blankly, the baby evil dragon Raynous also closed his mouth.
Then, cautiously backing away, he crawled back into the clothes, sticking out only his neck, and started to watch my reaction with his red eyes rolling.
How was it described in the latter part of the original story when Raynous turned into an evil dragon due to Tirielle’s mistake?
[An ominous black light covered Raynous’s body, which was in pain.
The black light spread through the air like ink diffusing in water. Gradually growing larger and larger, until it became big enough to cover even the empire’s castle-
It disappeared in an instant.
The being that was once Raynous, now inside, revealed itself as a mass of calamity.
The red eyes that had lost reason shone ominously. The skin covered in pitch-black scales looked so hard that it seemed nothing could penetrate it.
The air trembled just from his breathing. Fragile living beings in the vicinity fainted one by one, losing consciousness.
Even the sun, overwhelmed by his presence, hid behind dark clouds.
– Kwooooar.
The evil dragon roared loudly, as if announcing its resurrection to the world.
It was the beginning of a terrible end.]
…That’s definitely how it was.
– Beeeep.
What is this adorable creature?
I stared at the ruby-like red eyes, forgetting even to blink. The tiny thing was just about the size of a button on my pajamas.
As I said nothing, Raynous, who had been watching my reaction, gradually disappeared into the clothes. Oh no.
I felt like I shouldn’t let him disappear like this. So before he completely vanished, I blurted out something.
“Your Highness?”
-…Beeep.
“Can’t you speak in that state?”
– Beep.
Raynous nodded. Then he tried to hide completely inside the clothes.
Reflexively, I reached out and grabbed his neck. I knew it was a vital point, but I had no choice as it was the only place I could grab.
– Beeep!!!!
Ah, I seemed to have grabbed too hard.
Raynous, his neck being squeezed, screamed. I hurriedly pulled him out of the clothes like pulling out a radish and set him free.
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