“We will rest in a nearby village for today.”

“Yes.”

Raymond looked up towards Raven and nodded calmly. Raven smiled and continued speaking.

“Are you not curious? Why we are heading into a village when I said we needed to hurry?”

“Uh, well, not really… You must have your reasons.”

Raymond was a little shy but honest. The mister named Raven had been very reliable for the past few days. It was really amazing to see him knock down the two kidnappers with ease, especially when even Isla had trouble completely subduing them.

Even though Raymond was young, he knew who was the strongest among the knights in the Pendragon Kingdom – It was Isla, the King of Valvas and Pendragon’s griffon knight. 

Everyone thought of him as the strongest, and even Killian, who hated to lose, begrudgingly acknowledged it. Raymond admired the strong, and so, Isla was an object of admiration for him as the strongest person in the world.

However, the mister named Raven had saved him when Isla failed to do so. Perhaps he was even stronger than Mister Isla.

‘How cool…’

A seven-year-old boy could not help but feel admiration and respect towards the strong. In addition, Raven wasn’t only good at fighting.

He had answers to all of Raymond’s questions, and he was adept at everything. Since the maids took care of all the cooking and cleaning in the castle, Raymond assumed the mysterious, pretty, fairy lady would also handle the chores. But strangely, she did not know how to do anything.

When Mister Raven asked her to do something, she tried her best, but she was very clumsy and a little awkward. It was weird, but Raymond felt as if the fairy lady was similar to his twin sister, Elsia.

Raymond never had a proper opportunity to venture outside of the castle, and Mister Raven was good at anything Raymond could think of, including fighting, hunting, and cooking. As such, Raymond felt an even greater sense of admiration and respect.

Moreover, Mister Raven always had a purpose behind his words and actions. Since he was rerouting their path to travel through a village, Raymond firmly believed that there was an appropriate reason.

“So that we can properly wash up. If you let your guard down, you might become infested with lice or fleas.”

“Ah…!”

At his words, Raymond quickly bowed his head with a blush. Come to think of it, it had already been more than five days since he had a proper wash. Although he wasn’t sure what fleas were, he felt embarrassed at the thought of having a stench.

“Haha! You do not smell, so there is no need to worry. But just in case, we will head to the village to wash up and buy you some proper clothes. You cannot possibly travel with just a single set of clothes.”

“Thank you. I will make sure to pay you back once someone comes from my home, no, the royal castle. And I will definitely repay you for saving me.”

Raymond spoke with a careful, but confident attitude. Raven stroked the child’s head with a proud expression.

“Well, it is a natural and great mindset to appreciate and to repay grace. But you do not need to do that.”

“Oh, why?”

Raymond asked curiously, smiling at the now-familiar touch.

“Well…”

Raven was at a loss for words. No father would possibly ask for repayment for loving his son. But Raymond did not know that Raven was his father yet. As such, Raven thought for a moment before replying with a grin.

“Let’s take care of that issue once we meet the people from the royal castle.”

“Ah, yes!”

It felt a little strange, but Raymond nodded with a bright smile. Mister Raven’s smile always brought him comfort and security.

He wanted to repay the man in earnest, and not just because he saved Raymond’s life. Raymond happily snuggled deeper into the arms of the man. Raven always had his arms wrapped around Raymond when they were riding on the horse, to make sure he was kept warm. Raymond raised his head at a sudden thought.

“Excuse me.”

“Hmm?”

“Why don’t you call me prince, mister? Everyone else calls me that…”

It wasn’t because he felt offended at not being treated like a prince. Rather, Raymond had a hunch he would feel rather disappointed if the mister had treated him in a special manner, just like all the others. Nevertheless, Raymond asked out of pure curiosity, just like any other child.

“Well, that’s…”

Raven was speechless.

It was natural for Raymond to be curious. He wasn’t even an ordinary noble, but rather a prince of a nation. He would not be familiar with such treatment.

Even though Raymond was unaware of Raven's true identity, Raven had treated him comfortably because Raymond was his son. But it made sense for Raymond to find it strange.

“Well, please excuse my behavior until now. From now on, I will make sure to call you a prince and…”

“Ah! No, not at all! I was just curious! You don’t have to change how you talk to me!”

Raymond hurriedly shook his head with a tearful face when Raven started to speak in a polite tone. He didn’t want the mister to feel uncomfortable and difficult when talking to him. He preferred it the way it was now. It was much more pleasant and comfortable.

“I’m sorry. I should not have said…”

“Hahaha! Not at all. And of course, you are completely right. You are the prince of the Pendragon Kingdom. No one in the world can treat you carelessly. And if someone you do not know acts like that towards you, you should think that it's weird and know how to get angry.”

“Um, so it is okay for you now, since you know me well, mister?”

“You can say that. Of course, that’s only the case if the prince is fine with it.”

“I, I’m fine with it! I like it!”

Raymond raised his voice just in case Raven would switch his attitude again.

“Hahaha! That is a relief.”

Was there any father who would not laugh with joy at this moment? Raven chuckled while ruffling his child’s black hair.

“Hehe…”

Having his hair ruffled… It was the first time in his life as a prince. Even so, Raymond could laugh while squirming like a kitten. The mister’s touch no longer felt strange nor unfamiliar, but rather brought along a pleasant feeling.

“Ray, you look happy.”

“Huh? Ah…”

Soldrake spoke after drawing closer to his side, and Raven awkwardly smacked his lips. After staring at Raven with her starry eyes for a moment, she spoke in the draconic tongue, which only Raven could understand.

- This child, he is similar to Ray. Did Ray also look like this when he was young?

“Hmm. I was similar. But he resembles Lindsay as well. His lines are rather softer, and I feel like he is smarter than me when I was his age.”

Raymond looked up at the two with curious eyes when they suddenly switched to an incomprehensible language. Raven looked down with loving eyes.

- Yes. He is an intelligent boy. I could not recognize him at first because his Dragon’s Spirit is very weak, but he definitely has the qualities of a contractor. He is definitely better than Alan Pendragon.

“Really?”

He asked as if he was surprised, but he could not help grinning after hearing his son’s praise. After gazing at him for a moment with an indifferent expression, Soldrake spoke.

- Should I also give birth Ray’s child?

“Huh? W, what?”

Raven’s mouth became agape with shock. It was the most incredible(?) thing he heard from Soldrake after they were resurrected.

“Well, I mean… Before that… is that even p, possible?”

It wasn’t as if they were still strangers to each other. They had confirmed each other’s feelings when they were in the divine world.

But a child…?

- Yeah. It is possible. When I was wholly a dragon, it was impossible for me to be fertilized, but I am no longer a dragon.

“Oh… I see.”

Raven felt embarrassed, though Soldrake spoke of ‘mating’ and ‘fertilization’ without a single change in expression. He averted his gaze.

- I still have a portion of the Dragon’s Spirit remaining, so they will probably be born as a dragon. Or perhaps draconian.

“Draconian?”

Raven asked with a curious expression. He was unfamiliar with the term. Soldrake answered with a nod.

 - Yes. There has only been one so far. When a dragon gives up their seat and mates with a human, they usually give birth to a dragon. However, there was a single instance where a draconian was born. They possess a strong Dragon's Spirit from birth, and they are immune to most magic. They look the same as any other human, but if you look closely, you will find that their skin is covered with transparent scales. The only difference is that they cannot ever transform into a dragon.

“Ah, I see. Just like how you were in the past?”

- Yeah.

Raven nodded after recalling Soldrake taking on a human form in the past, when she was still a dragon.

“I see.”

- Yeah. So I can give birth to Ray’s child.

“Uh… Okay.”

“Mister, what language are you speaking right now?”

Raven lowered his head after hearing Raymond’s question.

“Well, it is a language of a very distant country. Only Sol and I can speak it.”

“Ah, I see. Teach me too!”

Raven burst into laughter after seeing the sparkle in his son’s eyes. Although Raymond’s Dragon Spirit was quite weak because of his age, he would likely understand the tongue in a couple of years.

It was only natural, since he inherited Raven’s blood as the successor of Pendragon.

“Excuse me… Master?”

Berna spoke cautiously. She had been trotting along without speaking a single word thus far, silently reading the atmosphere.

“What?”

Raven’s eyes instantly turned cold.

‘Hiek!’

She was scared out of her soul, but Berna was second to none in terms of cleverness. After spending a few days with the group, she had a rough idea as to the kind of person Raven was. Thus, she took courage and spoke up.

“W, well, it’s about the language you were using with Lord Sol. I, I’m confident that I know all the languages that are spoken in the world, but I had never heard a language like that before…”

“You do not need to know.”

“Yes! I apologize!”

Soldrake responded in a calm voice, and Berna shut her mouth at once.

‘That is strange. I swear I’ve never heard such a language before…’

However, Berna’s curiosity did not disappear. Moreover, her intuition was telling her that the key to the true identities of her two revered masters lay in understanding what language they spoke.

‘Even so, I should keep my mouth shut. I need to make a good impression.’

She could not risk her life for such a meager thing.

*** 

“…..”

Mia stole a glance at Isla.

Although he was usually quiet, he often made conversation with his subjects and members of the Pendragon royal family. However, he had been extremely quiet for the last ten days. He only spoke when it was absolutely necessary. In addition, he always stayed in the room located right next to her room or in the vicinity so that he could take action at any time. As such, his face looked a little haggard, perhaps from the lack of sleep.

‘Phew…’

She held back a sigh that threatened to break at his unfamiliar appearance. Although he did not have a family of his own, he treated Raymond like his son. On behalf of her brother, Alan Pendragon, Isla taught Raymond swordsmanship as well as a number of things. It would be no exaggeration to say that he raised Raymond as a teacher and father.

Naturally, Raymond’s safety would be the only thing occupying his mind at the current moment. She felt the faintest bit of disappointment, but quickly shook her head. Even if she was the one being kidnapped, Isla would have reacted in the same way.

“Sir Isla. I think we are almost there.”

“Hmm.”

Isla opened the window of the carriage at the coachman’s words.

Edenfield – one of the top five metropolitan cities in the Aragon Empire – slowly appeared in the far distance under the cold, winter sunshine.