《Somehow I Raised A Prince》 Chapter 1 Shwaaah-11 It was a terrible night of heavy rain. Not only the rain was strong, but the wind was blowing hard, making the trees around the house flutter like they were going to break. ¡°Adele! You pathetic thing!¡± Resounded in the lighted house, a louder and more haggard voice echoed than the sound of heavy rain. The door opened roughly. ¡°You lazy, useless thing! Don¡¯t even think about coming home until you reflect!¡± The fat woman screamed in a rage and kicked the little girl out of the door. Slam! The body of the little skinny girl was pushed by a strong force and rolled in the mud. The rain from early evening turned the yard into mud. ¡°It hurts¡­¡± The girl fell and wrapped her broken knee with her hands. The girl¡¯s skinny fingers touched her knee which were now red in shade, but the pain didn¡¯t go away.3 ¡°It¡¯s cold¡­¡± The girl stumbled in the rain and walked in the opposite direction from the house where the fire was revealed. This wasn¡¯t the first time. Rather this happens quite often, so the little girl knows that her aunt¡¯s anger doesn¡¯t go away so easily. Usually it takes half a day to get rid of her aunt¡¯s anger, but since her uncle has done something bigger than usual today, she may be angry by tomorrow morning. It is usually because of her uncle that the aunt gets angry. Her uncle likes to gamble, so he often gambles with silver coins which is earned by selling cows and sheep, but he often comes back losing everything. And whenever that happens, her aunt¡¯s anger would direct to her. I can¡¯t go back home until my aunt¡¯s anger is relieved. If she knock on the door now because it¡¯s cold, her aunt will probably come out with a scary opening and beat her with a broom. She¡¯ve already been hit like that before. She knocked on the door because she was so hungry, but her aunt, who was extremely angry, walked out and hit her mercilessly with a broom, she still has the scars and bruises on her face. There is a place where the girl always goes when she is scolded by her aunt and kicked out of the house. It¡¯s a huge oak tree near the house.8 There was quite a big hole under the tree, unknown for how long it has been there, which is big enough for the girl to enter. The girl walked in the rain thinking she could at least avoid the rain there. The wet hem sticks to the wounded leg, and rain keeps pouring in her eyes, the girl tries to protect her eyes several times with the back of her hand. What¡¯s fortunate is that she put a piece of bread in her pocket before her aunt kicked her out angrily. The bread in the pocket was secretly put in the apron while setting the dinner table. Whatever food the family left after having their dinner was the girl¡¯s dinner.3 If the family doesn¡¯t leave food, she would have to starve on that day. So sometimes she would hide a loaf of bread in front of her apron just like this. Her clothes were wet from the rain, but she won¡¯t cry because she¡¯s hungry like last time. ¡°Huh?¡± The girl, who was about to enter with her body bent down through a hole in the oak tree, opened her eyes surprised and panicked. There was something that had never been in the hole before. ¡°What is it?¡± It was a big egg. That¡¯s a huge egg. The egg was too big for the girl to assume it as a duck or a chicken egg. ¡°Not a goose¡¯s egg¡­¡± The egg was big enough for the girl to hold in her arms. In addition, it was not white, but subtle purple and glossy. I¡¯ve never seen an egg like this before. ¡°Is it a huge bird¡¯s egg?¡± But is there a bird that can lay such a big egg? I¡¯ve never seen such a bird around here. ¡°It¡¯s not a turkey¡­¡± She remember hearing that there was a bird called an ostrich in the faraway place from where the girl lives. The ostrich was a huge bird, so maybe this is the so-called Ostrich¡¯s egg. ¡°But why is the ostrich¡­¡± Did the bird lay eggs here or did someone hide the eggs here? ¡°Very¡­soft and warm¡­¡± She touched the egg out of curiosity. Carefully, the surface of the egg had a smooth feel to the hand till the bottom. Eggs usually have rough shells, but which were very soft. Besides, it was warm. ¡°It¡¯s moving¡­¡± She could feel a throbbing movement in my palm. It was proof that the eggs was alive. ¡°It¡¯s moving inside¡­¡± It was amazing that she could feel the movement inside while she was just touching the surface of the egg, so this time, the girl put her cheek out to the surface of the egg. ¡°Wow¡­¡± She could hear the egg moving with her ears. ¡°But¡­ Wouldn¡¯t it be too cold here?¡± It¡¯s warm now, but it might cool off if I keep it as it is. The girl has been raising chickens and ducks. So she have seen a lot of how chickens and ducks hatch their eggs. Eggs hatch when their mother¡¯s body warm the egg, but if left alone they cannot hatch. ¡°If we leave it as it is, it won¡¯t be able to hatch¡­¡± But who would hold such a big egg? It has to be covered with huge wings, but it¡¯s not even a duck or a chicken. But she can¡¯t hug the egg herself when her own clothes are wet like this, otherwise the eggs will cool off. ¡°Oh, my¡­¡± Where did the mother bird go? What if they just abandon their eggs and leave like this irresponsibly? ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡± The girl touched the egg once more. The moment the girl¡¯s hand touched, the egg flinched. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Not only did the egg move from the inside, but the egg itself shook a little. The eggs must be about to hatch soon. ¡®If I keep it a little warmer, I¡¯ll have a bird I¡¯ve never seen before, and if I leave it alone¡­¡¯ ¡°Wait a minute.¡± The girl who spoke to the egg crawled back to the entrance to the hole in the tree through which she had crawled in, as if she had understood what to do for the egg. Then she ran toward her aunt¡¯s house through the heavy rain. The girl¡¯s room is a two-story attic. She can¡¯t enter through the front door, but if she can go up the wall, she can enter the room secretly without anyone¡¯s knowledge. The bed in the room was worn out but the blanket was warm. The girl ran in the rain to get the blanket. *** Chapak Chapak! The girl, who ran into the rain, leaned back into the hole in the tree and crawled in. The girl¡¯s belly bulged. The girl, who put her hand in her clothes, took out the blanket hidden in her stomach and covered herself along with egg. She climbed up the wall to the attic on this floor and brought a blanket, and was ready to be scolded if caught. Then, she ran as hard as she could in her clothes because she was not supposed to get wet. The girl thought it would be helpful to cover up teh egg with the blanket like this, even if it wasn¡¯t as warm as the mother bird. ¡°I wish it was warmer, but¡­¡± The blanket shook slightly. Because of the movement of the egg. ¡°Where did your mother go¡­¡± The girl took of the clothes she was wearing one by one. No one was there to look at her, but it was still a little embarrassing. The girl, who took off all her wet clothes, hugged the remaining part of the egg, which was not covered entirely by the blanket. The mother bird¡¯s warmth might have been better than a blanket. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can do as well as your mother,but¡­.¡± The girl name was Adele. She turned sixteen this year.10 She live with my uncle, aunt, and two cousins. It¡¯s already been nine years since she started living in her uncle¡¯s house on a dairy farm. Adele came here at the age of seven. It was the babysitter of the orphanage who brought Adele here that Adele was born and raised in that orphanage. Because Adele¡¯s mother gave birth to Adele in the orphanage. Adele has no memory of seeing her mother¡¯s face. Adele was only told that as soon as she was born, her mother died. Back at the orphanage, where she lived until she was seven years old, there was a cemetery for the travelers, where Adele¡¯s mother was also buried. Before leaving the orphanage, Adele took the flowers to her mother¡¯s grave every day. But at the age of seven, an uncle came to the orphanage and said he would take Adele with him, and so Adele was brought here. She has been here for nine years. Whenever she had a hard time, she wanted to go back to the orphanage. ¡¤ Because she didn¡¯t get hit at least at the orphanage and didn¡¯t make her stomach growl with hunger. After coming here, Adele has done everything from water-raising to cleaning the house, drying hay, and cleaning up cow dung. She started working the day after she came here and haven¡¯t had a day off. She always wore the clothes that her cousins couldn¡¯t wear. The meal was left over after the uncle¡¯s family had finished, and he got up the earliest and went to bed last. And it is common for an uncle to be beaten and kicked out by an angry aunt when he loses his money from gambling parlor just like today. ¡°You don¡¯t have a mother, and I don¡¯t have a mother, so we¡¯re similar¡­¡± Adele murmured hugging the egg. Her mother gave birth to her and went to heaven, but where on earth did the mother bird of the egg go? Did the mother bird go to heaven, too? ¡°I can¡¯t help but be pitiful¡­¡± No one has ever told Adele that they feel sorry for her. There was no one who was kind to me, let alone pitiful. No one was friendly, but Adele was always brave. ¡®But since there¡¯s no one here right now, can I cry a little bit?¡¯ She felt sorry for the egg, so even if it hatches from the egg, she felt sorry for the baby bird without a mother bird next to it, so she thought she can cry a little bit. ¡°I will¡­¡± Adele whisperered hugging the egg tightly in her arms. ¡°I¡¯ll substitute for the mother bird for you.¡± I don¡¯t know what kind of bird will be born from this egg, but I can keep it hidden here and raise it myself. Bring some food for the chicken or duck and the baby bird will grow big. Adele thought, until the baby bird¡¯s wings grew bigger and could fly into the sky, she would keep it until then. The egg shook in her arms as if it had heard Adele. Feeling the shake, Adele closed her eyes. The egg, which was held in both arms, shook little by little. It was like a beating heart. Adele closed her eyes, thinking the echo was warm and friendly. It is thanks to this egg that even though it is raining like this, it is not scary, not miserable, and not sad. As she does, she hope that this egg is not afraid to be alone with her. The sound of rain fell from Adele¡¯s ear, who was falling asleep. Before she knew it, Adele¡¯s breathing, who was hugging the egg, rang in that small hole in the oak tree. The sound of rain, breathing, and the tiny silky sound of the surface of the egg was ringing quietly. _________________________________ Chapter 2 ¡°Adele!¡± The girl sprang to her feet at the sound of a screech and mopped. She was so tired that she rested to straightened her legs for a while. ¡°Are you still mopping?! I¡¯d have been faster than you!¡± A fierce-looking aunt opened the kitchen door roughly, holding buckets in both hands. ¡°When you¡¯re done mopping, pick out everything here! If you don¡¯t finish it before lunch, there¡¯s no lunch today!¡±1 Adele was tired of work and has not yet finished mopping the kitchen floor. She kept the egg in the hole of the oak tree until early this morning. The egg, which had been shaking little by little all night, cracked very slightly at dawn. She knew it was about to hatched and ready to be born, but she couldn¡¯t be there any more when she has this amount of work to do It was clear that her aunt would come to find her if she didn¡¯t go back home before dawn, then the egg would have been caught. As soon as she changed her wet clothes, she left the large egg hidden and started working at home. Fetching water from the well, preparing breakfast, feeding chickens and ducks, then carrying hay to feed the cattle at the ranch into the cart, then returning home and mopping. The cows had hay and the rest of the family had breakfast, but Adele had not yet sat down at the table. This is how it is every day, and now she doesn¡¯t want to sit at the table and have breakfast with other family members. Adele, who had moped the floor when her aunt left the kitchen, slightly checked what was in the bucket. ¡°Ah¡­¡± It was different kinds of beans that filled the two buckets. Beans are mixed with hay and used as cattle food. Among the beans in the bucket, the round-shaped ones are selected separately for people to eat, and the crushed and shabby beans are given to the cattle. It¡¯ll take three hours to pick out all of these. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Adele sighed. But it was clear that if she didn¡¯t finish this, she¡¯d be out of the house in the evening. Adele, who washed her hands, put a bucket on the table and began to pick out the beans. Her fingers were picking beans, but her mind was on the oak tree. ¡®Did the baby bird hatched by now?¡¯ When she crawled out of the tree just before dawn, the egg was gradually cracking. Is it fully awake now? If it woke up from the egg, how would I dry the wet wings? When a duck is born, a mother duck dries its wet wings. But the egg in the hole in the oak tree has no mother bird. ¡®It must be a big bird, right?¡¯ She had a lot of questions swirling in her head. ¡°Will it be like an eagle? Or a hawk¡­¡± She¡¯ve never seen an eagle but have seen a hawk before. The hawk is huge, but the eagle is bigger. If the eagle really comes out, wouldn¡¯t it bite her? When in the orphanage, the eagle in the main fairy tale book had a large sharp beak. It must hurt a lot if it peck at me. ¡®What if it wake up and there¡¯s no one there and start to cry?¡¯ Adele was worried about the eggs and forgot that she skipped breakfast. ¡°¡­¡­..¡± Adele glanced at the wall clock. There are still about two hours left before lunchtime. She¡¯ve finished preparing lunch. It doesn¡¯t take much time to set the table for lunch. But the problem is these beans in the bucket. She was sure she won¡¯t let her have lunch. If she don¡¯t pick out all the beans, her aunt was really¡­ Adele, who bit her lips tightly and was lost in thought, sprang to her feet. Then he hurried up to the second floor and ran down with some towels in a basket. They were towels to dry baby birds¡¯ wet wings. Adele ran out of the house towards the oak tree after putting the bag of narrow rice in the basket in the feeding basket that she had left beside the chicken coop. ¡®I¡¯ll be right back¡­.¡¯ If she doesn¡¯t finish picking all the beans, she¡¯ll be scolded. I can skip lunch. Her aunt would be across the stream at the cotton farm house by now. Her aunt¡¯s routine is to go there in the morning and chat with the woman there over tea. ¡®Quickly, before my aunt comes back.¡¯ Adele, who made up her mind, ran, shaking her basket. Her golden hair glistened in the blinding sunshine pouring from the blue sky. The clothes she wore were ragged, but her beautiful hair were fluttering softly. *** ¡°Ah¡­¡± Adele, who was crawling into a hole in the bottom of the oak tree, stopped there with a startling surprise. As she worried, the egg was already broken. The scattering of broken eggshells first caught Adele¡¯s eyes. But that was not what surprised Adele. At the center of the broken eggshell, a small boy sat in place of the baby bird Adele had imagined. Four or five? The child, who looked about that size, sat in the midst of a broken eggshell and stared at Adele. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡¯ That child, not the baby bird, born from the egg? No, wait. Can a human be born from an egg? Wet, moist hair, soft-looking skin purple eyes shining like jewels Huh? Purple? ¡®The colour of his eyes¡­..How is it purple?!¡¯ Adele has never seen a purple-colored eye in her life. Blue eyes, green eyes, brown eyes, black eyes, purple eyes? ¡°Wings¡­¡± Besides that little thing on the child¡¯s back is definitely wings. It¡¯s small and featherless, but that¡¯s a clear wing. It looks like a bat¡¯s wing. Bats that live in caves have different wings than chickens and ducks. A wing made of stiff leather, not of feathers. However, the wings on the child¡¯s back were just like the wings of a bat. A child with wings on his back with purple eyes.7 Adele was surprised and couldn¡¯t shut her mouth and looked at the child. ¡®He was born from an egg¡­¡¯ Adele wouldn¡¯t have believed that that child was born from an egg if it wasn¡¯t for the wings of his back. But those wings, and the purple eyes she¡¯ve never seen before. Broken eggs. She can¡¯t help but believe them. That child was born from the egg she had covered with a blanket and held tightly in her arms from last night until dawn. ¡°Oh, hello?¡± Can you understand what I¡¯m saying? Adele approached the child carefully and greeted him. The child tilted his head with a strange twinkle in his purple eyes.6 The child¡¯s skin was so fair that it was indescribably clear. His eyelashes were very long and his lips were pretty red like strawberry juice. ¡®I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t eat chicken or duck food¡­¡¯ The narrow rice in the basket must be smiling.4 So what should I feed the winged child who woke up from the egg? Not a bird, not a human, but because it looks the closest to a human being, so milk? ¡®Should I go home and get some milk?¡¯ Fortunately, there is a lot of milk. Because her uncle is running a dairy farm. Adele also milks cows every morning. ¡°Hello.¡± Adele greeted the child again. It was then. ¡°Hello?¡± The child opened the red lips and greeted them. The voice was dainty and cute. ¡°Hello.¡± The child greeted again. ¡°Hello?¡±1 Adele noticed when the child said hello again. Now the child did not say hello, but imitated her words. Adele said something easy and simple to confirm whether he really imitated it her. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± Sure enough, the child mimicked. The child, who was mimicking the words with his purple eyes twinkling and a bright expression, was so cute that Adele covered her mouth with her hands and laughed. ¡°Cute¡­¡±1 ¡°Cute?¡± The child stared at Adele and copied the words. ¡°It must be cold.¡± Looking at the child¡¯s hair, which is still a little wet, Adele took out a towel from the basket and covered it over the child¡¯s head. Then covered the child¡¯s naked body with a blanket lying around beside him. The child who had just woken up from the egg, of course, was not wearing anything. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s do this.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡± Long words might be difficult, but the child only copied the last words. ¡°I¡¯ll be your mother for the time being.¡± ¡°Time being.¡± What the hell is this child? Why was he born from an egg? What are these wings? She¡¯ve never seen or heard of anything like this in a fairy tale book. If she let the adults know, it¡¯ll definitely be a disaster. A greedy uncle and aunt might sell this amazing child to the circus. But she can¡¯t keep the child in this tree hole. I can¡¯t stay here with you.1 If the child starts walking and goes out of the hole at will and catches people¡¯s eyes, he¡¯ll be caught for that wing. ¡°I wish I could understand what you¡¯re saying, not what I¡¯m saying. So here¡¯s where you¡¯re going to stay and I¡¯m telling you not to go out¡­.¡± ¡°What, don¡¯t..out there¡­¡± What the child mimicked was only the four-ninth word. It was so cute to follow along with her red lips that Adele hugged the child wrapped in a blanket. ¡°I¡¯m Adele. Adele.¡± ¡°Adele.¡± ¡°Yes, Adele.¡± ¡°Adele.¡± ¡°Since you have wings, let¡¯s call you Sigmund.¡± Sigmund is the name of the warrior who rode a winged horse and defeated the monster. Of course, it¡¯s not a real person, but just the name of a great warrior in a storybook. Adele thought that the child did not ride a horse with wings, but that he had wings on his body, so called him Sigmund. The name looked very good on him after she thought so. ¡°You¡¯re Sigmund.¡± ¡°Sigmund.¡± The child sweet lips parted, saying his own name. ¡°Sigmund.¡± ¡°Yes. You¡¯re Sigmund, I¡¯m Adele.¡± ¡°Sigmund, Adele.¡±5 On a spring day, the child said his name several times, smiling like a violet flower on the hill. As if he like it very much. *** ¡°You Lazybones, Adele!¡± Adele rushed to of the kitchen on the voice of her aunt, who shouted without fail. Her aunt and two cousins, who went out to a grocery store in the village, were entering after opening the door. The uncle¡¯s hands, coming in after them, were full of goods from the grocery store. ¡°What the hell happened to dinner preparation?! I told you to get ready to eat as soon as you got back, didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°I¡¯m done preparing the meal, Aunt.¡± Adele smiled broadly, showing that she had lined up all the dishes and decorated the basket of flowers in the middle of the table. ¡°Hmph!¡± The aunt, who did not like Adele¡¯s smile, entered her room with a frown. ¡°I¡¯ll serve the soup so you can eat it now!¡± Shouting brightly, Adele began to put the soup in a bowl. Of course, there was no way that the two cousins would help. Chapter 3 The theme of the story at dinner was the Knights that appeared in the village. This is a rural village far from the capital. It is such a place where one never have seen the knights of the Imperial Palace. But in this small rural village, the Knights of the Imperial Palace appeared. Appearing in pure white armor and wearing golden-decorated helmets, they appeared in elegant and fine horses, and became the main characters of the rumour at once. There¡¯s nothing to talk about in this rural village. At best, it¡¯s a place where there¡¯s nothing more to talk about than who¡¯s married and who¡¯s had a baby. ¡°But why were the knights stationed near the village, Mom?¡± While eating bread with soup, the aunt¡¯s first daughter, Anna looked curiously at her. ¡°I don¡¯t know. How do I know that?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t the other ladies at the grocery store tell you about it? So many knights camped near town?¡± ¡°Everyone was curious, but no one knew why.¡± ¡°The Knights of the Imperial Palace¡­Wonderful¡­.¡± The second daughter, Mina, opened her eyes in ecstasy. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a knight up close. So do you, Mom.¡± The Knights of the Imperial Palace cannot be looked on their faces unless they are aristocrats. No matter how low-level a knight may be, it is still the child of nobility. Those who are ordinary citizens cannot even dare to see their faces. ¡°How can we see the knight up close on our position?¡± Anna poked Mina on the ribs and opened her eyes. ¡°I wish I had been born a daughter of an aristocrat¡­If I had, I¡¯d be eating gracefully under the fancy lamb chops instead of taking cheap bread from such a shabby table¡­ Dancing with a great knight at the ball¡­¡± The soup dripped from the piece of bread in Mina¡¯s hands in delusion. ¡°I was born in this corner of the house, and I don¡¯t think I¡¯d have the chance¡± Anna laughed at Mina to the fullest. Although she is her sister, Anna resembles the aunt and Mina resembles the uncle. The aunt is thick-skinned and has drooping cheeks, so everyone complains that she looks like a toad, but no one has a great story to tell such as her. By comparison, the uncle was lean, skinny, tall, and handsome, but he had a weak personality that was tightly held by his wife except for gambling. ¡°Oh, why aren¡¯t we rich¡­Why can¡¯t we live in the capital city? Mom, can we move to the capital?¡± ¡°To go to the capital and do whatever and eat.¡± The aunt, who had been eating until then said, ¡°Don¡¯t be presumptuous.¡± Then, her uncle Miller, who was looking at them gently, helped them. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, girls. If I get a lot of money from the big board soon¡­¡± ¡°Just go to the gambling table one more time! I¡¯ll break my leg then, so take care of it!¡± The aunt shouted violently, as soon as the uncle brought it up. ¡°You still don¡¯t know that you¡¯ve lost all your money on the gambling table?! With that money, we could have lived proudly in the capital by now!¡± The thought of what she said made her angry, the hand that held a fork shook and shouted. I deserved to be angry. She doesn¡¯t want to live milking cows in this country. I want to move to the capital and live doing what my daughters want, but it was my husband Miller who kicked the opportunity. She had only one chance to reverse her life nine years ago. It was an opportunity given by the dead Miller¡¯s brother, Adele¡¯s father. It¡¯s a secret between Miller and his wife, which no one knows, but in fact it was because of Adele¡¯s father¡¯s legacy nine years ago that the two visited an orphanage far away from here and brought Adele.3 To be exact, it¡¯s Adele¡¯s mother. Adele¡¯s mother, who died giving birth to Adele in an orphanage, was the daughter of a nobleman. She fled at night to escape the anger of her parents against her marriage to Adele¡¯s father, but on the way, Adele¡¯s father had an accident. She died while giving birth to Adele in an orphanage alone after she passed away. Her maternal grandfather, who knew Adele was born, designated Adele as heir before dying of old age. And when Adele¡¯s uncle Miller and his wife, who had noticed the fact, went to the orphanage and brought Adele back, and then intercepted all the inheritance she had to receive in her capacity as a legal representative. With the money, when his wife was getting ready to move to the capital, Miller couldn¡¯t break his habit and blew all the money off the gambling table overnight.14 Eventually, Mrs. Miller¡¯s dream of becoming rich and living splendidly in the capital was shattered in just one day. ¡°You don¡¯t even deserve to eat!¡± Mrs. Miller, who took the spoon from Miller¡¯s hand, kicked the chair where her husband sat. ¡°Argh!¡± His two daughters burst into laughter as the chair flipped over and Miller was about to fall down on the floor. Miller bowed his head, listening to his wife¡¯s fierce look and the laughter of his daughters. *** Adele was carrying hay eagerly when it was happening at the table. After setting up dinner for his uncle¡¯s family, she must carry hay in the barn while they are eating, collect chickens and ducks, lock them in a fence, and put all the laundry in a basket before Adele¡¯s day is over. ¡°Heung, heung, heung~¡± Adele these days was in a good mood. In the past, I would have sighed alone or carried hay with a gloomy expression, but now I¡¯m in such a good mood that my humming came on its own. Even Mrs. Edinburgh, who runs a cotton farm, and the herdsmen who pass by sometimes even said that Adele¡¯s face had brightened. Adele had a good reason. It¡¯s a secret I haven¡¯t told anyone. ¡°Oh, my.¡± She smiled small as she walked into the barn with an armful of hay. Adele saw a frog jumping under her feet. Of course, I didn¡¯t laugh because of the frog. ¡°Frog!¡± I laughed because of a child who jumped like a frog to catch a frog. ¡°Frog. Stop there!¡± A boy with wings on his back hopped around in the barn, jumping on all fours like a frog.1 His name is Sigmund. It¡¯s a name Adele gave him. Sigmund, who looks about five years old, is actually only ten days old. Ten days. No one would believe this, but Sigmund was born from an egg. Born in an egg, he had wings on his back from birth, and copied what Adele said even though she did not teach him how to speak. If I told this to anyone, they would say I was crazy. Adele, who brought Sigmund from the oak tree, hid the little child in the barn. If I leave Sigmund alone in the attic on the second floor, he¡¯ll either keep running or run downstairs and encounter and uncle¡¯s family and might shiver under them. So I brought him to the barn. The uncle¡¯s family never comes to the barn. There is no better place to hide Sigmund because no one comes in because they don¡¯t like the smell of cows and hay. Of course, when I sleep at night, I secretly take Sigmund to this floor and put him to bed. The barn was too uncomfortable for a man to sleep in, and Sigmund could not fall asleep unless Adele held his hand beside him. The first time he saw Adele in his life, Sigmund followed her like a mother. Imitated what Adele said, and imitated Adele¡¯s actions. In ten days Sigmund became Adele¡¯s treasure. Adele had never seen such a cute child before. In addition, Sigmund was born from an egg she held. So it was natural that it was so precious. The uncle¡¯s family looked at her as if she were a bug, but the child absolutely believed and followed her and loved her. At least now, the fact that he is everything in the world made Adele happy. Thanks to Sigmund, Adele was able to smile more than before, and make a brighter expression. ¡°Frog!¡± Sigmund, who caught the frog, held out the frog in both hands to Adele. ¡°For you, Adele.¡± Adele looked at Sigmund, his purple eyes twinkling, a smile on his red lips. I was so happy that I couldn¡¯t hide my smile. ¡°I don¡¯t need frogs. So do you want us to let go of the frog?¡± ¡°Then what do you want, Adele? I¡¯ll give you whatever you want.¡±1 Sigmund was good at saying difficult things now. ¡°Let the frog go and have dinner, Sigmund.¡± In the corner of the haystack Adele pulled out the basket. Inside the basket were milk from this morning, bread baked for lunch, and blueberries picked up on the way back from the bean fields. Bread belongs to Adele and milk and blueberries belong to Sigmund. Sigmund does not eat bread. Adele used to pick blueberries or cherries for Sigmund when she had the chance to go to a nearby field after only feeding him milk all the time, and then accidentally knowing that he ate nothing made of flour. Adele was lost in thought when she saw Sigmund, who held the bottle of milk in his hands and drank it in a gulp. Ten days. In the meantime, Sigmund grew about ten centimetres taller and, above all, incredibly smart. He never forget anything taught to him. Just as a sponge absorbs water, Sigmund memorized the common sense and knowledge that Adele teaches at once. Even now, Adele doesn¡¯t know who Sigmund is. I don¡¯t know why there was an egg in such a place. But one thing I know is that the bright sunlight began to leak into my dark life because Sigmund is here for me. Sigmund was an unexpected good fortune for Adele. ¡°Sigmund. Shall we go catch the fireflies at night?¡± ¡°Fireflies, good!¡± Sigmund¡¯s face lit up. How frustrating it must be to keep Sigmund, who has stamina that doesn¡¯t get tired even if he runs around all day, in such a barn. So Adele, if possible, took Sigmund for a walk nearby on the night when everyone was asleep. I wanted to let Sigmund run freely in the fields of moonlight and starlight. And every time I see the wings on Sigmund¡¯s back, Sigmund may one day fly away to a place I don¡¯t know. Sigmund may stay by Adele¡¯s side and leave like wild geese.2 When Sigmund leaves, Adele will be very lonely. Now Adele has two thoughts. The desire to go to the place where Sigmund lived, where there are beings that resemble him, and to live together forever without going anywhere. ¡°I¡¯d like to give Adele a present. The sparkle is shiny with glittering.¡± Adele knows what Sigmund says is a jewel. Sigmund¡¯s cuteness to give a gift even if it¡¯s a sparkle because it¡¯s impossible to get a jewel has already transcended the world. Sigmund¡¯s face was so cute that Adele shook her shoulders. And answered with a happy smile. ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to it.¡± Chapter 4 It was not long after the moon rose in the night sky that Adele brought Sigmund out of the barn. Looking back, all the lights in the house were off. After confirming that his uncle, aunt and two cousin sisters were all asleep, Adele left the house. Since it is the end of summer and chilly at night, I put a small knee blanket to cover Sigmund, milk for snacks, and blueberries in a basket and held Sigmund in my arms while holding a basket. Sigmund, who is 10 days old but apparently looks like a five-year-old child, had better walking and tireless stamina than children of that age, but his legs were as short as those of that age. Sigmund, who trudged, could not follow Adele¡¯s steps. So Adele took Sigmund in her arms and moved her feet to the hill. If I want to go from home to the hill, I have to walk a little further past the water tree and across the small stream. Adele smiled as she watched Sigmund whispering in her arms. Adele was happy to have Sigmund, who smiled with her and went to see the fireflies at night. Ten days spent with Sigmund were as happy as in a dream. Whenever I woke up in the middle of the night and looked down into my arms, I could see Sigmund buried my face in my chest, and fell asleep. In the past, I was envious of the dolls that Anna and Mina had. I once envied a doll made of pretty cloth filled with thick cotton that I wanted to hug and sleep with it, but now I was not envious of anything. Because there is Sigmund. Sigmund is therefore a jewel that cannot be exchanged for anything in Adele. Adele thought Sigmund¡¯s sparkling purple eyes looking at her would be more beautiful than any jewel in the world. Adele, of course, has never seen a real gem. Neither did Mrs. Miller, his aunt, have such luxuries. Perhaps only the ladies of the capital or the wives of the village¡¯s rich family have such real gems. Adele wasn¡¯t the kind of thing that dared to be greedy. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± Crossing the stream and walking a little further, a low hill appeared. Small sloths of twilight flowed down the hill, and large and small trees grew quite dense around it. There was a lot of fireflies in this small forest that stood on a hill. Adele, who was scolded and kicked out by her aunt last summer, had come all the way here. It was a night when the moon didn¡¯t even rise, so I burst into tears because I was afraid to cry alone, when the light of the soft fireflies flying around stopped the tears in Adele¡¯s eyes. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have come this far in the middle of the night. Ever since then, I¡¯ve come out to see these fireflies. This was, of course, the first time with Sigmund. Sigmund has only seen the occasional fireflies flying around the barn. But around this forest, he can see a star-flowing firefly. ¡°Adele, Adele.¡± In his arms Sigmund sang Adele hard. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Sigmund?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a star. It¡¯s flying.¡± Sigmund raised his hand, glistening in the dark air, pointing to the myriad lights that were flying. ¡°There are so many stars, Adele.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a star, it¡¯s a firefly.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s so little. That¡¯s a lot and a lot of sparkles.¡± Sigmund¡¯s eyes glistening as if they had found something curious. ¡°Would you like to get off and walk alone, Sigmund?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll walk.¡± When Sigmund nodded, Adele dropped him in her arms to the grass. ¡°Star, star!¡± As he mumbled around, Sigmund chased the flying fireflies of a starlight.1 Every time something happened, the wings on Sigmund¡¯s back fluttered. Sigmund¡¯s wings were glossy with the lights. It grew a little more now than when it first came out of the egg. But it¡¯s not a very big wing, but the first one, which was the size of a palm, is now about the size of two palms combined. ¡°It¡¯s a bat if you look at its wings.¡± Adele has never seen such wings except for bats. All the other wings had feathers. Such wings have never been seen anywhere near here. A wing that has a transparent membrane on the inside and a glossy black crab on the outside. In addition, it is free to fold and unfold. ¡®Where did Sigmund come from?¡¯ Even now, curiosity has not gone away. ¡®Is it a fairy? But it didn¡¯t look like a fairy¡¯s wing. ¡®Then the devil?¡¯ The devil in the picture had horns, a long tail, and exactly that kind of wing. Moreover, the teeth were also so hideous. ¡®Not the devil.¡¯ That cute Sigmund can¡¯t be a devil. And I¡¯ve never heard of the devil being born from an egg.1 In addition, Sigmund has neither horns nor tails. ¡°Adele! Adele!¡± Sigmund rushed over from there. ¡°It¡¯s a star, Adele! It¡¯s sparkling!¡± Light flowed from the gap between the hands of Sigmund, whose hands overlapped. It was the yellow and warm light of the fire. ¡°Look at this, Adele.¡± When Sigmund ran forward towards her, he opened the palms that overlapped, dozens of beautiful lights flew up from the palms. ¡°Wow¡­¡± Adele marveled at the magnificent view before her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s really nice to be able to fly in the sky¡­.¡± Sigmund, who was staring at her, smiled broadly as Adele admired the beautiful halftime that flew into the night sky. ¡°I wish I could fly. Freely and freely.¡± ¡°Adele, do you like flying?¡± ¡°Look, I can fly, Adele.¡± Adele looked at Sigmund when he said he could fly. The cheek of Sigmund, who had clenched his hands, swelled up. ¡°Aha ha ha.¡± Adele laughed as she looked at the tight-cheeked Sigmund as he was putting all his strength on his body. The Sigmund¡¯s roundly inflated cheeks as if he had bitten an egg, flapped his back wings, giving strength to the white flesh to turn red. The black wings, which seemed to be a combination of two palms, fluttered, but they did not fly that easily. How can they fly when their wings are so small? Nevertheless, Adele was a bit sad about Sigmund, who was trying to fly. ¡°You don¡¯t have to fly, Sigmund.¡± ¡°No. I can fly. I¡¯ve flown before.¡± Maybe I practiced when I was alone in the barn. ¡°Ugh, Ugh, Ugh.¡± Adele lifted Sigmund¡¯s waist up, feeling sorry for Sigmund, who struggled stubbornly with his wings. ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll raise you high. Then you don¡¯t have to fly, do you?¡± ¡°I can fly. Adele pabo.¡± (Pabo sounds cute and so I didn¡¯t change. FYI, Pabo means idiot, stupid, dumb, fool but I guess everyone know already.)1 Even in Adele¡¯s arms, Sigmund fluttered his wings, but in the end he couldn¡¯t fly. Because Adele didn¡¯t let go with her arms tightly. ¡°I can fly.¡± ¡°Yes, a little bigger. The wings need to grow a little more. Then you can fly as much as you want.¡± ¡°I can fly now.¡± Sigmund swelled his cheeks as if he had been grumpy. ¡°Adele is a pabo.¡± Adele kissed the grumpy cheek.2 ¡°If you fly well later, take me with you.¡±2 ¡°Of course. I¡¯m only going to fly with Adele.¡± You want to fly with me? The tone was a little strange, but Adele just let it go. ¡°It¡¯ll grow fast. So it¡¯s gonna be bigger than Adele.¡± ¡°How much?¡± ¡°This much.¡± Sigmund spread his arms and drew a huge circle on his other side. It was less than half the size of Adele¡¯s open arms. ¡°It¡¯ll be big enough to reach the sky.¡± ¡°Then you can¡¯t sleep in my bed?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like that.¡± Sigmund was surprised to hear that he couldn¡¯t sleep in her bed. Because sleeping in Adele¡¯s bed felt the best. ¡°You can¡¯t do that, so I¡¯ll only grow as big as Adele.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re a little taller than me.¡± When will they grow up to the point where they can meet eye level? At that time, I¡¯m sure the wings of the back will be bigger. Then maybe you can really fly in the sky then. Adele closed her eyes and imagined it. Sigmund, a little bigger than himself, holds her hand and flies in the night sky, flapping his back¡¯s wings. The imaginary Sigmund was very beautiful. Still shining purple eyes, white, transparent flesh, dark hair resembling chestnuts and if you call me Adele with those red lips¡­ ¡°Adele.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± At the sound of Sigmund, Adele awoke from her imagination and opened her eyes. ¡°Adele is so pretty.¡± Adele blushed at what the little child said. I can¡¯t be pretty. Because I work in the sun all day long, my face is full of freckles and my skin is rough and messy. It¡¯s not like Anna and Mina¡¯s combed hair. There¡¯s no way that I¡¯m pretty. ¡°You¡¯re the prettiest in the world.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you haven¡¯t seen real pretty people yet. There are so many pretty people in the world.¡± ¡°No. Adele is the prettiest. I¡¯m going to marry Adele later.¡±11 ¡°Pam¡­¡± Adele stopped laughing. Does this little kid even know what marriage means? Where the hell did he learn the word marriage? Adele never taught this child the word marriage.2 And the same is true of Adele, who is still 16 years old, who doesn¡¯t know much about marriage. So it was very interesting for Adele to say that Sigmund, who is younger than her, would marry her. ¡°You don¡¯t know what marriage is.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°To live with someone you like. Forever.¡± Is marriage like that? It¡¯s not wrong but it¡¯s not completely right, so let¡¯s say it¡¯s right. ¡°I like Adele, so I¡¯m only going to live with Adele.¡± ¡°Yes. If the mind doesn¡¯t change later on.¡± How long will this pure heart last? Won¡¯t innocence disappear as the child grows up? ¡°I like Adele best,¡±3 With a whisper, hugging Sigmund tightly in her arms, Adele replied, ¡®Me too.¡¯ ¡°Me too, Sigmund. I like you best.¡±3 So far, Adele has never met someone who likes her so much. If my parents had been alive, they would have liked me this much. A little Sigmund who likes her the most. Adele also doesn¡¯t want to let go of Sigmund¡¯s little hand that says he won¡¯t break up with him and will continue to live with him. Now I don¡¯t want to be alone again. I hate it because I am so lonely and sad alone. So I want to be with Sigmund for a long time. Without letting go of this hand.Of course I know it won¡¯t be easy, but I want to do my best to hold onto this hand. If only, ever. Chapter 5 It was only after midnight that Adele and Sigmund returned from the wood full of fireflies. Shortly after returning, Adele fell asleep straight away. But even after Adele fell asleep, the little Sigmund stood up and jumped out of bed while he was rolling beside her. Then he clenched his fists and flexed his back¡¯s wings. The feet of Sigmund floated up little by little, fluttering with the power of wings as small as the palms. ¡°I can fly. I can fly.¡±8 Sigmund, who flew from end to end of the room flapping his wings to make his face red, quickly returned to Adele, who fell asleep. To show Adele that he can fly. ¡°Adele, Adele.¡± Touching Adele¡¯s fingers with both hands, he called her name, but Adele, who was deeply asleep, did not open her eyes. A small breath came out evenly from the slightly open lips. ¡°Adele. Adele?¡± After a few more calls, Sigmund eventually gave up. ¡°Sleepyhead.¡± As soon as I blew my cheeks together, my cheeks swelled up. When he was annoyed or couldn¡¯t do what he wanted to do, Sigmund would always blow his cheeks like this and inflate his cheeks. It means, ¡°I¡¯m angry, so please know.¡±1 But now Adele is sound asleep, and no matter how hard I do this, she won¡¯t notice. ¡°Adele, I can fly. I can fly.¡± Sigmund gently shook Adele¡¯s shoulder. Adele does not wake up once she falls asleep. She work so much during the day that she sleep like this at night. Then Sigmund becomes alone. Sigmund never told Adele, but he would often wake up this way at night. Once I wake up, I can¡¯t sleep until dawn. Maybe it¡¯s because I took a lot of naps during the day? The haystack in the corner of the barn smelled good. It was the smell of the hay. Lying on a fluffy pile of hay while smelling it brings me to sleep. When I wake up from such a nap, I play alone in the barn. During the day, Adele is busy. -If other people find out we can¡¯t be together. You understand what I¡¯m saying, right? So you can¡¯t get out of here. Adele used to repeat the words several times. Don¡¯t get out of the barn. Even if you¡¯re curious about outside, bear it. I¡¯ll play with you at night. I was so curious about the outside that I looked out through the broken wooden walls of the barn. Every time I saw Adele was with a load of heavy things. There are other people living in this house besides Adele. A woman who rants every day, and a skinny man, ugly girls.1 Everyone is mean to Adele. They leave all the hard work to Adele. They¡¯re bad people. He¡¯d like to scold them, but Sigmund knows he shouldn¡¯t be caught. ¡°¡­..¡± Sigmund looked down at his palm. He is so small. The hands are small and the body is small. It¡¯s very small compared to Adele, and he can¡¯t help Adele from those bad guys either. So he has to grow fast. I want to grow so big that I can scold those bad guys who bully Adele. And I will never make Adele lift anything heavy.7 Adele will sit on a haystack and rest in peace, without lifting all the heavy loads and without doing the hard work. I¡¯ll take Adele on my back who wants to fly in the sky and fly her with me. I¡¯ll collect all the world¡¯s brightest jewels and give them to Adele. He who tease Adele will be punished ten times, and he who bullies Adele a hundred times. But in order to do that, I must first grow up fast. ¡°I can fly.¡± Adele doesn¡¯t know, but Sigmund can fly. I¡¯ve practiced a few times in the barn. I flew well in the barn, but I couldn¡¯t fly in the hill. -You¡¯re probably a big bird, maybe. Adele had said so. A big bird. So Sigmund believed he could fly. Birds can fly. Why? Because I¡¯m a bird. A big bird. ¡°I can fly.¡± He flew a little while ago. It was only a little bit in the room, but he really flew. I flew well in the barn, in the room, so I must be able to fly well outside. Sigmund walked to the window, flapping his back¡¯s wings. I grabbed the window sill with my hands to climb up the window sill above my head. After two failed attempts, Sigmund, who had barely climbed the window sill, climbed on it and looked down. The Sigmund fluttered his back¡¯s wings one more time.The wings as big as two palms fluttered. ¡°Hap.¡± Sigmund, who breathed heavily, jumped into the air, flapping his wings hard. ¡°¡±Eup, eup, eup!¡± He clasped his hands and leaned all his attention to the wings. Is it because his face turned red, but only his wings moved hard? ¡°Ah!¡± Sigmund¡¯s lips were wide open. Little by little, the body was rising up. He was flying up with his wings moving. ¡°I can fly. I¡¯m flying!¡±1 Once he began to fly, he flew in a pretty good shape. Sigmund made a slow turn on the roof of Adele¡¯s sleeping attic and flew up to the chimney.2 ¡°Hi, chimney-bird.¡± After greeting the little bird which built a nest on the edge of the chimney and holding the egg, Sigmund climbed a little higher. As he climbed to the top of a tall tree next to the house, the owl, sitting at the end of the branch, rolled its eyes and looked at Sigmund. ¡°Hi, Owl. Look, I can fly, too.¡± The wings were small, but it was not difficult to fly in the sky. Now fully free to fly, Sigmund flew a little higher, closer to the clouds and the moon.1 As I climbed up to an incredibly high place, I could see the surroundings at a glance. There was no light at all, but I could see everywhere. It was amazing. The darkness blinded me but I could see everything. A field of barley lying sideways every time the wind blows, flying birds, and the lights of those far-off fireflies shining on the hills. ¡°What is that¡­¡± Sigmund¡¯s purple eyes headed far, far away. I could see something glimmering in the distance. That¡¯s probably where Adele calls town. Adele had said that there were all kinds of novelty in the village. But I¡¯ve never been to Adele¡¯s village, and of course I¡¯ve never been to the village. Sigmund looked alternately at the distant light and the small house below. ¡®I¡¯ll be right back. It¡¯s okay I¡¯ll come back to Adele before she wakes up.¡¯4 Sigmund, who thought to himself and made up his mind alone, flew toward the town. There is one reason to go to the town. There are many interesting things in the village and there are shops selling clothes. The bad people in that house brought new clothes every time they went to town. New clothes, new hats, and new shoes. But there was never Adele¡¯s. Bad people wear pretty clothes, and Adele always wears torn and old clothes. Sigmund hated it when Adele, the prettiest girl in the world, wore such clothes like that. I want to dress you in pretty clothes. I¡¯d like to go to town and find some pretty clothes and give Adele. Then Adele will definitely smile. Of course, Sigmund has no silver. Sigmund doesn¡¯t even know what money is. Only a little more than ten days have passed since I was born in the world. Adele is the only one who knows. I learned everything from Adele. And there was no money among what I learned from Adele. So I don¡¯t know that I need money to have clothes. Sigmund just flew away without knowing anything. *** Tadak, Tadak. The soldier, who was dozing beside the burning bonfire, was awakened by the sound of footsteps. ¡°The discipline in the army has slackened.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll get it right.¡± As soon as he woke up, he was embarrassed by the characters he saw, and two men passed by the soldier who bowed down to his knee. The man in a white cloak and a golden armor was the Grand Duke Ernes, who now rules this country.8 The man in silver armor, closely following the side of Grand Duke Ernes, the de facto ruler of the kingdom now that the emperor¡¯s seat is empty, is Baron Lusen, who leads the Order of the Imperial Palace. The reason why the ruler of the kingdom and the leader of the Knights of the Imperial Palace are now building a military camp near a small village on the outskirts is a secret that few people know about. ¡°Haven¡¯t you found it yet?¡± As soon as he entered the barracks, Grand Duke Ernes glared at Baron Lusen. His eyes were full of anger. ¡°We¡¯re expanding our search around us, so we¡¯ll find it as soon as possible.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the first thing I have to get my hands on. You know that, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°If you fall into someone else¡¯s hands¡­¡± Grand Duke Ernes frowned violently. It was the whereabouts of the holy egg that disappeared from the imperial temple that feared Grand Duke Ernes with pale gray hair and nervously brown eyes. Holy Dragon¡¯s Egg. It was the dragon¡¯s egg, which showed signs of hatching in three hundred years. But it disappeared one day without a trace. It is not yet known who did it. Dragon is the founder of the Vissen Kingdom of this country. A dragon with tremendous mana descended from this world, took control of human land and built a kingdom, which is what is now the Vissen kingdom. The first Vissen emperor, who changed from dragon to human figure, ruled the kingdom for nearly a hundred years before returning to the heresy where he came from. He went back to the world and left behind an egg, which was the second emperor.3 The second emperor, who awoke from an egg, was shaped like a human being, not a dragon, and he also ruled the kingdom for a hundred years. At the end, he took the shape of a dragon and went back to the second world. Such a Vissen kingdom was ruled by a dragon of posterity, who had been awakened from the eggs left by his predecessors for generations, and from the emperors a few generations ago, the eggs had not hatched easily. Usually, the ancestors hatched less than a month after they returned to the second world, but it took a year, 10 years and 100 years from some point on, and the eggs now showed no sign of hatching for 300 years. It was only a month ago that the eggs, which had been enshrined in the palace for 300 years, changed. The egg is starting to shake. It was a sign of hatching. Dragon¡¯s egg that wakes up after 300 years. It meant, in other words, that he was born the master of the real kingdom after 300 years. Grand Duke Ernes is a man who succeeded the blood of a dragon born to one of the women of the preceding emperor and assumed the authority to rule the kingdom instead in the emperor¡¯s absence. Now that he had to hand over his reign to the real emperor, the most important thing to him was to be there the moment the dragon awoke from the egg.2 Dragon imprints the first thing he sees as soon as he wakes up from the egg.2 Only when you seize the moment will you lose this power that you have held so far. If the egg fell into the hands of others, it means that this power is taken away.+ ¡°I can¡¯t let that happen.¡± Grand Duke Ernes glittered with gruesome eyes. Chapter 6 ¡°Uh, ah, ah!¡± Sigmund¡¯s body, which had been gradually falling down, eventually sank into the grass. No matter how hard I flapped my wings, the wings that became as heavy as cotton in water stopped moving. ¡°Wings hurt¡­¡± I thought I could get to the village soon, but it was a lot farther than I had thought. Even though he flew for a great long time, the village was only seen by lights and did not get close. And I gradually lost strength in my wings. Eventually, Sigmund sat on the ground in the middle and lay there. ¡°Tired¡­Adele¡­wings hurt¡­ It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve flown for this long. In the meantime, Sigmund had only flown for a short time in the barn. ¡°Pretty clothes¡­Pretty shoes¡­Adele¡­¡± I had to go to the village to get pretty clothes and pretty shoes, but I didn¡¯t know what to do because the wings didn¡¯t budge. ¡°It¡¯s all right. I can fly again.¡± It¡¯s still a long way from sunrise. The night has just begun. A little lie down, and when I wake up, I¡¯ll feel my wings again, thought Sigmund. Never had the child been so tired even when playing with a cow in the barn all day long. Even though he went out in the middle of the night when Adele was asleep and chased the fox and the owl until dawn, he had never felt so exhausted. But now it¡¯s hard to squeeze a finger. ¡°The stars¡­are pretty¡­¡± Lying on the grass, Sigmund looked up at the myriad of stars that were playing all night long. Tens of thousands of stars twinkled in the sky. ¡°In black cloth¡­By spraying stars¡­¡± Sigmund imagined the prettiest clothes in the world. If Adele was to be clothed with hundreds of thousands of starry gems in black cloth like the night sky, Adele would surely be as beautiful as dawn. Dawn is very pretty. My heart throbbed as I sat by the side of the sleeping Adele, watching the bright blue dawn through the small window of the attic. My heart pounded as if beckoning someone to come in the dawn of the blue sky. Sometimes it is. When I lay down to sleep in the evening, I could hear someone calling me. When I looked at the sunset, I could hear the sound of someone singing in the sunset, looking through the cracks in the barn. ¨C You should come here. ¨C Come back to us. ¨C You have to come here. ¨C Here¡¯s where you¡¯re coming back. ¨C Don¡¯t forget. It¡¯s not there, it¡¯s here. Where we are. They were all different voices. But the voices told me to come back and come here. Who are they? Why are they calling him? But I didn¡¯t tell Adele. I¡¯m sure Adele¡¯s worried about this. ¨C Other people see you as the bad guy. (Adele) These people will sell you if they find you. That¡¯s why you have to hide here. Got it? Adele was always worried. She was worried that bad people would come and take him and sell him off. It was because he had wings on him just like that. Adele said the scary thing about having wings is special, and people catch and sell something special. Adele has no wings. Other people don¡¯t have wings, either. There are chickens and ducks in the yard, and chimney-living birds, but they can¡¯t talk and look different from each other. Adele called him a big bird. Is it a real bird? Don¡¯t birds have beaks? No sharp claws, no feathers. How can a bird talk? ¨C You were born from an egg. The first person I saw in my life was Adele. I opened my eyes in the dark and there was nothing. I was alone. But when I was in the egg, I remembered someone giving me a warm hug outside. Adele appeared when I was thinking about who it was. The moment I saw Adele, I knew. It was Adele who gave me a warm hug when I was in the egg. ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere, Adele.¡± The place to be is by Adele¡¯s side. ¡°I¡¯ll only be next to Adele.¡± I can¡¯t imagine a world without Adele. ¡°Because I¡¯m the Sigmund of Adele.¡±8 I won¡¯t go no matter who calls me. I will never leave Adele behind. If I leave Adele¡¯s side, I¡¯ll be breathless. ¡°I love the smell of Adele¡­¡±1 Adele smells like warm and friendly hay. If I bury my face in Adele¡¯s chest, I become happy because of the pleasant smell and the texture of her new skin.2 ¡°Let¡¯s go get some pretty clothes for Adele.¡± My strength came back from lying down for a while. The brave Sigmund wiggled his wings. The black wings flutter when I apply force. I thought I could fly again. ¡°Uwaah.¡± It was when Sigmund stood up. ¡°Huh?¡± Sigmund¡¯s ears twitched. I heard a strange sound from a little distance and grabbed my ear. Sigmund¡¯s eyes are free from darkness. I can distinguish things from far away, day and night. A strange sound came from the forest. It was a low growl. ¡°Who are you?¡± Sigmund tilted his head as he watched some animals growling out of the forest. Several animals with dark hair and sharp fangs growled at Sigmund with a gruesome stare. I¡¯ve seen that look once. It was the look of that fox, who had dug under the fence and hid, when he took the chicken. Then I saw Adele holding a broom and kicking out the fox through a barn crack. ¨C Why is the fox biting the chicken? ¨C It¡¯s going to eat it. ¨C Doesn¡¯t fox eat milk and blueberries? ¨C I think the chicken will hurt. The fox has sharp teeth. Why don¡¯t it eat something else? It¡¯s because it¡¯s hungry. I¡¯m hungry, so I¡¯m going to eat it. That¡¯s exactly what the animal¡¯s eyes were like now. ¡°Are you guys trying to eat me because you¡¯re hungry?¡± ¡°Growl¡± Sigmund stared at the approaching wolves. It occurred to me that wolves, like the fox, probably don¡¯t eat milk. But if I¡¯ll be eaten by wolves, I can¡¯t see Adele. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t think Adele will like it, so I can¡¯t feed you guys.¡±2 Whether the wolf understands or not, Sigmund does not know. But Sigmund can¡¯t do anything about the wolf because he can¡¯t speak. ¡°I¡¯ll go: If you¡¯re hungry, look for something else. You¡¯d better have milk or cheese.¡± Sigmund shook his back, then bowed to the wolf, who was drooling as if they were going to rush.. ¡°Growl!¡± The roaring wolves opened their mouths wide and attacked Sigmund, who was flying into the sky. ¡°Ouh!¡± Sigmund flew higher, flapping his wings with all his might to avoid the wolves that were coming at him. ¡°Ahhhh!¡± ¡°Growl!¡± But the wolf, who jumped up, bit Sigmund¡¯s shoes. I felt pain as the sharp teeth pierced my shoes. ¡°Argh!¡± Sigmund¡¯s body fell to the ground. Pak. The wolves attacked Sigmund, who fell down. He tried to reached out to a twig to the wolves that were coming at them, showing their big, ugly teeth. Compared to wolf teeth, it was just a small hand, but instinctively, I reached out my hand. Of course, it wasn¡¯t scary. It was then. Swiik- Sigmund¡¯s ears sensed the sound of the wind being cut through. Kaekaeng-! With the sound of the wind, the wolf, who was about to hit the Sigmund, rolled sideways. Kaekaeng-! Kaekang-! In an instant, the wolves grumbled and fell. The fallen wolves had arrows in their heads and bellies. When the three wolves fell, the Wolves merged and fled into the forest. It was then that the voices of strange men popped out of the dark. ¡°Make sure the child is all right!¡± ¡°Is the child all right?!¡± Next to Sigmund lying on the grass came the loud footsteps. ¡°Are you all right, kid?¡± ¡°Why would such a small child be in the middle of the night in a place like this¡­?¡± Every time people moved, there was a strange sound. Sigmund didn¡¯t know it was the sound of ironclad shaking. They were all strangers. Of course, all were wearing the ironclads. But I¡¯ve never seen anyone wearing this kind of ironclad. Why would he wear that around his body? Wouldn¡¯t the clothes be heavy? The winged man himself was amazed, but the men who carried such a load of iron around their bodies were also amazed. ¡°Are you hurt anywhere? Kid?¡± A knight tried to lift Sigmund up. ¡°Uh?¡± The knight trying to raise a sigmund found something and stopped his hand. I saw wings twinkling in the dark. Blackish glossy wings. Small, but it was definitely a wing. And purple eyes. The knight¡¯s face froze at the sight of the purple-colored eyes. There is only one person in the world who can have such a look. The very person they¡¯re looking for. ¡°Ba, Baron¡­¡± The surprised knight shouted without even realising it. ¡°Baron! He, here¡­¡± The knight¡¯s hand, which supported Sigmund, was shaking very badly. Sigmund could not understand why he was so surprised. ¡®Is it because of the wings?¡¯ Wings are special, she said. ¡®Are you going to sell me?¡¯ Adele always said that the winged child was special and would be sold by scary people. Is this guy trying to sell him? But I can¡¯t be sold. I must go to the village and get Adele¡¯s pretty clothes, and I cannot be taken away because I must go back home before Adele wakes up. ¡°Ugh.¡± Sigmund twisted himself out of the man¡¯s hand. I twisted my small body and flapped my wings, but I couldn¡¯t get out of it. The man¡¯s hands are unexpectedly tight around me. ¡°I¡¯ll get angry.¡± Sigmund swelled his cheeks and told him how angry he was now.1 ¡°I¡¯ll be really angry. So let me go quickly. Let go.¡± But the man shouted out to another man who was far away without paying any heed to him. ¡°Baron! Come quickly! Baron!¡± Sigmund saw another man running towards them, a man named Baron. He was coming up to where Sigmund and that knight was.2 *** It was Baron Edwin Lushen who hit all the wolves in the distance. He was said to be the best swordsmanship and horsemanship, but he was the best at archery.1 The man, who had never shot a single target off the mark, stood in the dark and hit the wolves with accuracy. ¡°Did the rest of them run away?¡± Hunting wolves is not the purpose in the first place. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t mean to chase away the wolves that ran away. He wasn¡¯t much of a hunter. Besides, hunting animals needlessly was rather abhorrent of having it stuffed into a mansion. That¡¯s because it¡¯s usually for self-indulgence. It was Lushen who thought that pursuing honor, but sacrificing others, or other lives, would tarnish the honor of the knight. Chapter 7 ¡°Pick up the dead wolf, make sure the child is safe, and then escort him home.¡± Passing the bow to the knight, Lushen glanced towards the forest where the wolves had fled. The reason he¡¯s here at this time was to find the missing dragon egg. The search for the egg came at night, ordered by Grand Duke Ernest to find it as soon as possible. He divided the knights into groups and sent them to the east, west, north, and south, starting from the capital. And he himself led the knights to the east. No one knows where the egg in question is. The reason he came to this village is because the priests of the Imperial Palace Temple said they felt energy in the east. The east. Since the dragon¡¯s egg disappeared, they have been searching every village located east of the palace for more than 10 days. And finally they reached this town. There was no day or night for them. He shot a bow when he saw a wolf attacking the child on their way out to speed up the search. No matter how busy they¡¯re on their way, it is not upto the knights to pretend to not know when a child is in danger. ¡°Baron!¡± Lushen turned his head to an urgent voice when he tried to get on the horse. ¡°Ba, Baron, here!¡± The atmosphere of the knights surrounding the child was unusual. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Eventually, Lushen, who gave up getting on the horse, walked to the place where the knights surrounded the child. ¡°What the hell is going on¡­¡± Lushen, who was already disturbed by someone calling him for something unimportant, stopped the moment he saw the child. And the eyes grew with surprise. The moment he saw the child¡¯s eyes in the knight¡¯s arm, he noticed it. The little child in front of him was from the very egg they have been searching for more than 10 days. Portraits of the emperors of the past, decorated in the corridor of Aeon, the main palace of the imperial palace, emerged in his head. The common feature of the emperors in the portrait is their purple eyes. Except the emperor, in other words, no one but the dragon can have purple eyes. Purple eyes are eyes that a person can never have. ¡°Your, Your Majesty¡­ Lushen¡¯s lips quivered. He should have said, ¡®I found the Emperor,¡¯ but he couldn¡¯t open his mouth.1 The angry face of Grand Duke Ernest rose to his head. The egg is broken and the dragon has hatched and now in front of his eyes, who hatched the dragon? Who would have done such a great thing? It is obvious that Grand Duke Ernest will not let any man live by doing such a thing. ¡°Your Majesty the Emperor!¡± Lushen yells like that and fall on his knees. The other knights around Sigmund, followed him with a confused face. Sigmund, who had no idea why they were lying down, muttered with a puzzled look at the thought of being scolded by Adele. ¡°I have to go to town.¡± Coming down from the knight¡¯s arms, Sigmund waved at the knights lying down around him. ¡°If it¡¯s too late, Adele will wake up, so I¡¯ll go.¡± And when he was about to fly with his wings flapping, ¡°Your Majesty!¡± Lushen grabbed Sigmund¡¯s ankle. ¡°It hurts.¡± Sigmund frowned at his strong hand. ¡°It hurts. Don¡¯t hold it.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t go like this!¡± ¡°It hurts.¡± Sigmund swelled his cheek at Lushen, who held his slender ankle tightly and wouldn¡¯t let go.1 It means ¡°I¡¯m angry.¡± It means ¡°Let it go quickly because I¡¯m very angry now,¡± but it was clear that he didn¡¯t notice it. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to Grand Duke Ernest now. Please come with us, Your Majesty.¡± But Lushen was desperate now. Heaven finally helped. Otherwise, who would have thought that this night they would meet the child from the egg that disappeared to this place? He can¡¯t lose the Emperor here. ¡°No, and will you let me go?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Majesty. I¡¯ll dare to be disrespectful.¡± Lushen said, who had little heart to let go of the Sigmund, glance at the knights. ¡°Take His Majesty.¡± They must take him by force. If they miss him here now, Grand Duke Ernest will try to cut his throat. They say it¡¯s a dragon, but he is just a child who has just woken up directly from an egg. Lushen has never seen a dragon. It¡¯s the same for everyone in the kingdom. The last dragon had already returned to their world three hundred years ago. In the kingdom of Vissen, no living person has ever seen a dragon in person, but everyone knows about its legend that once a fire was fired, the entire forest was burned in a flash, and once a flapping of its wings make the entire river run dry. There was a legend that said the castle was destroyed by the gust of its wind. But such external power did not make the dragon a target of fear. The dragon¡¯s ability to make real people two is magic. In the first place, Lushen thought it was an exaggerated legend and did not know if it was true that the dragon could turn a continent into dust in no time if it wanted to, but it would not be just a false legend. Because all legends are based on truth. To think it¡¯s such a scary dragon, but it¡¯s still a little child. Lushen, who thought he could take enough now, lifted Sigmund with both hands. ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± Sigmund looked angrily at him, who suddenly lifted him up. He didn¡¯t see Sigmund¡¯s cheeks puffing tight. Sigmund, with his lips clenched and his cheeks inflated, grasped his waist tightly and opened his tight-lipped mouth towards Lushen, who walked to where the horse was. It was then. ¡°I told you not to!¡± ¡°Argh!¡± As soon as Sigmund shouted out, pushing out the air he had in his cheek, the knights in the position screamed out. ¡°Ahhhhhh!¡± Flames spew out of Sigmund¡¯s mouth.1 They were at loss. An immensely hot flame hit Lushen¡¯s face, who was holding Sigmund¡¯s waist. It was a hot fire that was completely different from the usual, as if the flesh would melt away by the touch. ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± Screaming, Lushen let go of the hand that was holding Sigmund¡¯s waist, and Sigmund¡¯s body flew straight up. This was the first time Lushen experienced such flame in his life. There have been times when they fought in flames while going to war, but the flames emitted by Sigmund were not compatible with such fires. Is this the kind of fire in hell? Lushen screamed, covering his face with his hand. ¡°The baron caught fire!¡± ¡°Put off the fire!¡± ¡°Fire!¡± ¡°Get the water! No, the outer garment¡­!¡± Lushen covers his face with both hands. He faltered back on the ground and screamed in anguish, and the knights scrambled to put out the fire on his face. Taking off the cape on his shoulder, they tried to put out the fire on his face and looked up at Sigmund, who flew high into the sky while the knights were flustered. ¡°Hah, hah. ¡° Flapping his wings in the sky, Sigmund tried to exhale the flames again. But no matter how hard he try, the flames are even worse. However, there was no more fire. Apparently, there was a huge fire a little while ago, but now there was no flame, not even a small one. ¡°Ha, Ha!¡± He sucked the wind into his mouth and spew it out, and a small flame came out but soon snapped. ¡°There¡¯s no more fire.¡± But he found something new. Not only can he fly in the sky, but he can also shoot fire. That¡¯s a strong enough fire to defeat the bad guys. ¡°I should brag to Adele.¡±4 What¡¯s good about being able to give off fire? ¡°From now on, I¡¯ll light the fireplace and burn the trash.¡±1 Sigmund knew that Adele¡¯s face was covered with ash from blowing wind with her mouth when she lit the fire on the fireplace every day. But it won¡¯t happen from tomorrow. He can blow fire with his mouth. ¡°There¡¯s a lot to brag about to Adele. I flew in the sky, I blew fire, and¡­ And¡­¡± Sigmund looked down. The body of the wolf was down there. ¡°I saw a big dog, too. I should brag. Adele has never seen a dog that big.¡± Calling the wolf a big dog, Sigmund flew towards the house, not the village. Because he forgot his resolution to go to the village and get some pretty clothes. None of the knights cared about Sigmund¡¯s flight. This is because it was urgent to save Lushen in front of them. After flapping the cape, the fire on Lushen¡¯s face went out. When the fire was barely extinguished, a groan of anguish flowed from Lushen¡¯s fingers, covering his face with both hands. The knights quickly put out the fire, but already his hair were all burnt. It¡¯s not just his hair that¡¯s burnt. His flesh was as if it melted in the terrible flames, and his head, ears, and face were completely disfigured.1 But it was Grand Duke Ernest who made him more afraid than the pain of the burn on his face. If the Grand Duke found out that he had missed the dragon, he would be furious, but he didn¡¯t know how to handle it. Lushen shuddered. The first dragon he met also aroused fear in him. He didn¡¯t know dragons were like that. Even now, it is terrifying, but how much fear will its existence bring if it becomes an adult Dragons? Maybe the last 300 years without dragons were a blessing. It was clear that nothing would stop it now that such a thing had awakened from the egg after three hundred years. There is no such thing as an emperor who rules a kingdom, but a beast that exterminates it. ¡°Uh, uh¡­¡± ¡­It was a miracle that he survived. At the extreme fear that he had never experienced before, Lushen trembled with fear more than pain. But the fearsome being has only just woken up. About ten days now. Then how much more difficult will it be in the future? Is the emperor a blessing or a disaster? Does Grand Duke Ernest know that dragons are such beings? The Grand Duke is a man who helps the emperor through the kingdom. In other words, the Grand Duke must have the ability to control the emperor. Will Ernest have the ability to control that fearsome dragon? Until now, Lushen had never doubted Ernest Gunther¡¯s ability, his mana, or his power. But now fear has aroused suspicion. On this land, is there really something that can control that?1 That was the source of Lushen¡¯s fear. Chapter 8 Adele was sound asleep. Adele would fall asleep exhausted at night because she worked all day at home and on the farm. ¡°Uh¡­¡± Adele, who was tossing and turning, felt something empty and opened her eyes. When she extended her hand she couldn¡¯t feel nor touch Sigmund who was next to her before she felt asleep. When she opened her eyes and checked, she could not see Sigmund in her arms. ¡°Sigmund?¡± It¡¯s still dark outside the window. Dawn, it¡¯s not quite morning yet. He was always in her arms but now she could not find Sigmund near her. ¡°Sigmund?¡± Where did he go? It¡¯s night, but it¡¯s dangerous to walk around outside alone. What if there¡¯s someone walking around at night and they found Sigmund? Even if not, wild beasts such as wolves and cats roam around here at night. One day, a shepherd boy at a ranch went to look for a sheep that had crossed a fence in the middle of the night and got bitten by a wolf. A little boy like Sigmund can be bitten by a wolf like a duck or a chicken. ¡°Where would he go?¡± Adele who was trying to get down from her bed to look for Sigmund, suddenly stopped halfway. ¡°Sigmund?¡± Her feet covered in the blanket were suspicious. When she thought that the bulging blanket on her feet was suspicious, something touched her feet.1 As Adele gently lifted the blanket, she found Sigmund crouching between her legs. Sigmund was curled up and fast asleep between Adele¡¯s feet. ¡°Why are you down there¡­¡± Only then Adele smiled reassuringly. He seemed to have rolled to the bottom of the bed in his sleep. ¡°Huh?¡± But something was a little strange. Adele shooked her head. ¡°The wings¡­have grown a little?¡± At first glance, the wings had grown a little. The wings, which were as big as the two palms combined, were now as big as the four palms. ¡°Really, the wings¡­.¡± When did his wings get this big? The wings weren¡¯t that big until last night when she fell asleep. Sigmund was already about four or five years old as soon as he woke up from the egg. Then there should be nothing strange about the wings doubling overnight. Huh? Height? ¡°Uh?¡± Only then did Adele realized that it was not only Sigmund¡¯s wings that grew but his height too. Adele, who was carefully descending from the bed so that Sigmund wouldn¡¯t wake up, curled her feet down the bed. And took a peep at Sigmund who was asleep quietly on the bed. ¡°You grew up¡­a little bit.¡± Just yesterday, Sigmund looked as if he were about five years old, and Sigmund who was now sleeping peacefully, looked as if he were seven years old.2 ¡°Amazing¡­¡± She couldn¡¯t helped being surprised. How did he grow up so fast overnight? What happens to Sigmund after a year of growing up like this? He may become an adult in a year. ¡°You¡¯re not going to grow taller than me in a year, are you?¡±1 Adele was not so tall. At this rate, there¡¯s nothing strange about Sigmund growing taller than her in a year. ¡°If you grow up so fast, I can¡¯t get you to sleep on the bed¡­¡± Growing up wasn¡¯t a bad thing but she was afraid she wouldn¡¯t be able to hide him in this room for long. Now she hid him in the barn during the day and sleep together in the attic bed at night, but if Sigmund grows as tall as her, then there is no way she could hide him anymore. ¡°What should I do¡­¡± Sitting on the bed, Adele fiddled with the wings of the sleeping Sigmund.1 She was so tired that she didn¡¯t even know she was touching his wings. ¡°I can¡¯t keep you like this¡­I don¡¯t have a place to send you¡­I don¡¯t want to let you go.¡± Nine years since she left the orphanage and came here, she spent nine years of her life without a place to put her heart to. The only people to hold a conversation with without meeting anyone were diary cows in the ranch, chickens and ducks in the fence, and sometimes rabbits and wild birds. As she had none to talk to, she started talking less and less, but finally after meeting Sigmund she started laughing again. She didn¡¯t have to talk to herself anymore, and she didn¡¯t have to be alone. Even if it was just a slice of bread, there¡¯s someone who can share a meal with her, who can say ¡°goodnight¡± before going to bed, and when she open her eyes in the morning, she can say ¡°Good morning?¡± with a smile. It was so fortunate that she was not alone. She was more energized to think that Sigmund had to be protected, and even when she heard bad things from her aunt and cousins, she wouldn¡¯t feel down or sad as before. It was a magical change brought by Sigmund. A miraculous change in a few days. A sweet dream. ¡°If I had grown a little more, I could have gone far away¡­.¡± So far Adele has never thought of leaving the house. She came here at seven, so she have no idea where else. Besides, there was no place to go and she knew no one else. The only thing she can do was ranch work and inside the house. She don¡¯t know how to live somewhere else. So she had thought to live in this house for the rest of her life. But for the first time she thought she wanted to leave this house with Sigmund. Far, very far away. Where she don¡¯t have to hide him in the barn anymore. A place where Sigmund can freely go outside. There may be such a place in the world, but since the city has all sorts of things, she was not sure if Sigmund with wings can survive. But Adele is now only sixteen. It is impossible for a sixteen year old girl and a seven year old kid to survive without any protection. But if she grow a little bit older, wouldn¡¯t it be possible if she were seventeen? Unless, of course, Sigmund¡¯s presence is discovered by then. ¡°I want to protect you, but¡­I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t do anything¡­¡± Touching the shiny wings, sadly, Adele frowned a little. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t have much. I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m not a high class person. Sorry for not being strong. I¡¯m not an adult. Sorry¡­¡±1 If she had grown up a little more, if she had been a little richer, she wouldn¡¯t have had this concern. In a big house, no one could have hurt Sigmund without anyone knowing. Surely. ¡°A¡­dele¡­?¡± Was it because she kept touching his wings? Sigmund who was fast asleep, gently opened his eyes and looked at Adele. His eyes were still sleepy. ¡°Is it morning, Adele?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s still dawn.¡± ¡°You know¡­I¡­I can fly in the sky, uh¡­¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s great.¡± ¡°Really, I can fly¡­¡± ¡°Show me later.¡± ¡°And I, I can spit out fire¡­¡± Adele burst out laughing at his words. What did this kid dream all night? Dreaming of flying and firing fire all night, how can he be so cute?3 Adele rarely dreams. But she too wanted to dream of Sigmund flying in the sky and firing fire. She too wanted to fly in the sky together in the dream of Sigmund. ¡°And¡­.ah, um¡­uh¡­so¡­¡± When Sigmund smiles and smacks his lips, it¡¯s either because he doesn¡¯t remember well or it¡¯s because he¡¯s sleeping. ¡°I saw a big dog. Many.¡± ¡°Big dog?¡± ¡°Yes¡­a big black, big tooth, big dog¡­¡± ¡°Did you play with the dog in your dream?¡± ¡°Yes¡­the dog tried to eat me. He must have been hungry.¡± ¡°So what did you say?¡± ¡°You shoudn¡¯t eat me because Adele hates it.¡± ¡°So the big dog said he knew, huh?¡± ¡°Uh¡­uh¡­yes. He was very angry. He must have been very hungry¡­If he¡¯s hungry, he can have milk, cheese and bread.¡± ¡°Usually, when you¡¯re hungry, you get angry. You can get angry if you¡¯re hungry, so I¡¯ll bring you some milk¡­Just wait a moment.¡± Adele, who kissed Sigmund¡¯s forehead, who was still sleepy, wore an apron that she had hung on the chair and took the stairs. Sigmund closed his eyes as he listened to Adele¡¯s footsteps down the wooden stairs. He couldn¡¯t open his eyes because he was still sleepy. ¡°If you¡¯re not hungry, you¡¯re not angry¡­I get angry if I don¡¯t see Adele¡­¡± Nothing else makes him angry at all. The big dog was angry because it didn¡¯t have food. He¡¯ve never been angry even if he was hungry. But he was really angry when those people in those weird clothes did not let him go back to Adele. He¡¯ve never been this angry. When he was angry his mouth lit up. ¡°If they take me away from Adele, I will get angry¡­I¡¯m gonna burn them all.¡±10 He don¡¯t care about anything else,but if they take Adele away, if they don¡¯t let him meet Adele, if they don¡¯t let her go, he¡¯ll be furious. He¡¯ll fire them all, bad people or big dogs. There is only one Adele in Sigmund¡¯s world. Adele is the real world. Without Adele, nothing else is needed. Everything unnecessary must disappear. ¡°Adele¡­¡± Sigmund pressed his chest with his small hand. One side of his chest ached. He didn¡¯t get bitten by a big dog, but his heart was aching. It broke his heart to call Adele¡¯s heart. ¡°Adele¡­¡± Every time he called Adele¡¯s name, he felt a prick in his chest, it hurt like a nail. He didn¡¯t know why it hurts, but the feeling of pain was strange. It tickles and hurts, and the tip of his chin flutters even though it hurts. ¡°Adele¡­my heart hurts¡­¡± His heart aches but he was not sad. [If he¡¯s sick, he¡¯s sad] Adele told him. But Sigmund was not sad, not even a bit. His heart ached as if he had been stabbed by a needle, but this painful feeling was rather itchy. He even wished it would hurt a little more. A little more push, a little more pain, would make him feel a little better. His heart was pounding, his ears were ringing. When he put his hand in his chest, his small heart beat against his palm. He could hear Adele¡¯s footsteps from the stairs. It was the sound of her coming back with the milk. As the sound of footsteps neared, the pounding of his heart grew.1 He couldn¡¯t tell if this was Adele¡¯s footsteps or his own heart. The sound of the heart, and the sound of the footsteps. ¡°Sigmund. Are you sleeping again? Are you still asleep?¡± Adele¡¯s voice called him. ¡°I have brought you some milk¡­¡± It was the most pleasant voice in the world. Listening to her voice, Sigmund thought. Let¡¯s get some more sleep. Let¡¯s sleep a little more after drinking some milk Adele brought for him. He take a sip first, and Adele take a sip. Let¡¯s share the milk like that. Then it¡¯ll be morning soon. Another day with Adele is a bliss. A happy and warm day. A bright smile rose on Sigmund¡¯s closed lips.1 With a happy smile, Adele closed the open window, covering the blanket over the small child¡¯s body. It was dawning in the distance. Chapter 9 The small village has become a mire since early morning. It was all because the Imperial knights suddenly came in and searched the whole town. It was so early that the knights who knocked on the door before people could get out of their bed, searched all over the bedroom as well as the attic and the barn, but no one in the village knew what they were looking for. However, they could barely hear the words ¡®egg¡¯, ¡®dragon¡¯ and ¡®child¡¯ at the end of the knights¡¯ words. But no one knew what was happening. ¡°He has black hair and purple eyes and looks like a five-year-old child. There¡¯s a pair of wings on his back, so you¡¯ll easily recognize it.¡± A knight, who had been called in by the village chief, glared at the village chief with a scary look. ¡°Well, there¡¯s no such child in this town.¡± ¡°If you keep it hidden and get caught, we¡¯ll burn this whole village.¡± Baron Lushen¡¯s eyes, with a bandage all over his face, were so grim as if he would tear the village chief to death. He¡¯s still unmarried in his early thirties. The oldest Baron family¡¯s heir, who had been the most popular in society recently, is now ugly after being burned by a strong fire. He wasn¡¯t originally a violent character. He was rumoured to be a gentle and polite man. But he was no more of that figure. He was still in terrible pain, and above all, he was haunted by the fear of Grand Duke Ernest.1 It¡¯s so called dead end. When a person is driven to a dead end, he or she becomes violent. It¡¯s already been two or three days since Lushen was burned by the dragon¡¯s flames. He devoted himself to treatment for four days, and began searching the village three days ago. Fortunately, when he returned to the military camp with burns, Grand duke Ernest had returned to the capital. Because Grand Duke Ernest, could not stay away from the capital for a long time, entrusted all his work to Lushen and returned to the capital, he was able to hide the fact that he had missed the dragon that had been awakened from the egg. It was a good thing that happened. After four days of treatment for the burns, enduring the tremendous pain, Lushen went straight into the search when he was able to move his body. From three days ago, all villages around this area were searched. He didn¡¯t leave out a single remote house that was sparsely separated from the village. The child said,¡±I have to go back.¡± It was clear that having to go back meant that there was a house nearby, and that house was hiding the child. They must be hiding the child in a house somewhere in a nearby village. That¡¯s what Lushen guessed. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, a child with purple eyes. There¡¯s no way there¡¯s a child like that.¡± The bearded chief¡¯s eyes were genuinely frightened. It didn¡¯t seem to be a lie. ¡®We need to search another town.¡¯ It was a little child. He fired a terrible fire, but his wings were small. It couldn¡¯t have flown far with that wings. Obviously it¡¯s around here. ¡°Write down all the locations of houses that don¡¯t belong to the village and are a little far away. Especially a house with a child.¡± Lushen¡¯s eyes were shining brightly. It was the strong eyes of a man who did not know giving up. *** Today was a strange morning. Adele, as usual, has been feeding her cows hay and water before sunrise. There was a lot to do before breakfast. Light the oven, put the pot on it, and go out to the yard to clean the chicken coop until the water boils in the pot. And when the water in the pot boils, boil the stew for breakfast and take the bread out of the oven. After setting bread, butter and bowls for stew on the table, Adele went out. Around the fence, collect all the eggs that the chickens and ducks had laid here and there, and then milk the cows. Usually, she had to fill about ten bottles of milk so that she could eat late at the end of her morning routine. And in front of Adele, a pretty dress was presented which she had never seen before. ¡°Isn¡¯t it really pretty?¡± Her aunt laughed with a look that Adele had never seen. Adele had never seen her aunt smile at her like this since she came here. Her aunt smiled only when she came to the orphanage to see her. Today, for the first time in nine years, her aunt smiled sweetly at Adele. ¡°Try it on. Of course, it would be perfect without trying it on. I have a good eye, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡®What kind of wind is blowing that my aunt is treating me so kindly?¡¯1 ¡°You should have breakfast before you try on your clothes, right? Come sit here. Oh, you should eat your breakfast with your family. Don¡¯t you think, honey?¡± When the aunt looked at her husband, the uncle grinned and nodded. ¡°Of course. From today, Adele, you¡¯re going to have breakfast too.¡± ¡®What the hell happened? Did a fairy came down overnight and make my uncle and aunt nice?¡¯ ¡°Anna. You take Adele after the meal and trim her hair, what¡¯s this? And Mina, you take care of Adele¡¯s nails. The underneath the nails are too dark.¡± The roughness of the hair is due to working under the sun all day long, and the darkness of the fingernails is all about touching the soil and hay. It¡¯s always like this, but Adele was more anxious because she couldn¡¯t figure out why her aunt is doing this today. She was well aware that people don¡¯t change suddenly, and she was anxious to know that her aunt wasn¡¯t that kind of person. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything else today, Adele.¡± ¡°But aunt, the hay is almost dead and I have to cut the grass and dry it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Your uncle will take care of drying the hay.¡± ¡°Of course. A man should do such a thing. Don¡¯t do such a thing anymore, Adele.¡± Miller quickly responded to his wife words. The eyes of the two exchanged were suspicious. Anna and Mina were laughing as if they knew everything. The eyes were so fishy that a piece of bread in her mouth did not go over. Even though it was a food that she ate comfortably at the table, her mouth and throat was stuffy. Thanks to them Adele had to drink three cups of water. *** ¡°That stupid thing is really useful. You really don¡¯t know people¡¯s business, honey.¡± Mrs. Miller who was in a better mood, hums. Mrs. Miller was having tea with her husband after she forced Adele into Anna¡¯s room, saying she had to go to pick up the hay after eating. ¡°To take such a skinny and insignificant bitch with that high price. I don¡¯t know if that old man¡¯s mind is going back and forth because he¡¯s old. You won¡¯t talk anything about it later, will you?¡± ¡°The other thing is. If you get money and exchange what you want with each other, it ends.¡± Miller laughed greedily. ¡°But honey.¡± The smile disappeared from Mrs. Miller¡¯s lips as she watched her husband¡¯s smile. With fierce eyes Mrs. Miller glared at her husband. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about touching the money. If you take the money and go to the gambling table again, I¡¯m really going to throw you out this time.¡± ¡°Oh, I won¡¯t. What¡¯s wrong with me now that I¡¯m done gambling.¡± Miller, who was hit in the chest, coughed and avoided his wife¡¯s gaze. ¡°I¡¯m warning you, if you touch the money one more time, I¡¯ll cut that fingers off and feed it to you, so take care of it.¡± With the terrifying words, Mrs. Miller put a cup of tea on her lips. ¡°Just keep an eye on her because she shouldn¡¯t be running away. Because he said he¡¯d pick her up tomorrow.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°How much are you going to get?¡± ¡°What are you going to do with it?¡± ¡°But I still wonder. Are you going to get about thirty silver coins?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± As she drank tea from the teacup, Mrs. Miller think hard in her mind. She didn¡¯t tell her husband but it was five gold coins, not silver, that decided to hand over Adele over. Thirty silver coins is a great win, but he put twenty more silver coins on five gold coins. Five gold coins and twenty silver coins are enough to sell this old house and ranch and move to the capital. Once she go to the capital and take over a small grocery store, at least it will be much better than milking the cows in the old ranch. And her two daughters, Anna and Mina, are quite beautiful. If Anna and Mina are well-decorated and let into society, they may get a husband of high status, such as a nobleman or a rich man. Then the fate unfolds. What can be left after obtaining a son-in-law in a similar situation in such a country? They must go to the capital no matter what. The capital is even better. At any cost, if they dig between the dear wives of the capital and make Anna and Mina stand out, then Anna and Mina will get a good son-in-law and make her rich. ¡°Very good¡­¡± Mrs. Miller smiled a pleased smile. She was lucky. -I¡¯d like to have your niece as my concubine. She thought it was a joke when the town¡¯s most miserly old man said this to her. The old man was over seventy years old and had already renewed his wife four times.4 The new wives were kicked out after a few years. The old man said that his young wife smoked a lot, but all the villagers knew that if he got tired of taking the young girls, he would kicked them out with such excuses. The old man, who had never spent money except for the dowry of a young virgin, was so nasty that everyone hated him. Such an old hateful man asked Mrs. Miller for Adele as his wife just yesterday. Added that he gave enough money. For Mrs. Miller that was the most important thing. Enough money. What is more important than money in the world? Money is the best. ¡®If we decorate her well and make her pretty, maybe the old man will come up with a little more silver.¡¯3 Mrs. Miller smiled with greedy eyes. Unaware of the calculations, Miller contemplated how to divert the money without his wife¡¯s knowledge. If she receive about thirty silver coins, she won¡¯t know even if he steal about five. In this way, the couple hid each other¡¯s greed and savored a smile inside. Chapter 10 Sigmund was lying on a pile of hay. There was quite a good sunshine between the wooden crevices of the old barn. It was especially sunny in a haystack, so Sigmund liked to nap on a haystack. ¡°Why isn¡¯t Adele coming?¡± Sigmund, who was lying on a pile of hay, rolled down and then repeatedly flew back up again, laughing in his head. Normally, Adele would have come in to clean the barn. But today, he waited for a long time, but she didn¡¯t come. ¡°I¡¯m hungry¡­¡± If Adele brings the blueberries for lunch, the rumbling of his stomach will stop, but why isn¡¯t Adele coming? ¡°Did you fall on your way?¡± It was then. Kurung- A strange sound was heard outside the barn. Kurung-Kurung- It was the first time he heard it. ¡°What is it?¡± Sigmund jumped off the haystack and ran through the slightly open door. Just a moment ago, it was dark outside, when the sun poured in. ¡°It¡¯s already night?¡± He haven¡¯t even had milk for lunch yet. He haven¡¯t even eaten the blueberry for snack yet but it¡¯s night already? Adele hasn¡¯t even come yet. He haven¡¯t even taken a nap yet. Is it night? Kuang-! Then with a tremendous sound, a flash of light covered the sky. ¡°Wow¡­¡± That immense blinding light made Sigmund¡¯s eyes go wide. It was a beautiful and amazing sight that he had never seen before. Sigmund saw thunder and lightning for the first time now. The sky, where the flash was running, was dimmed again, and look- Water drops dropped from the sky with a strong sound. Sigmund saw the rain for the first time now. It also rained the day Adele found Sigmund, who had not woken up from the egg yet. Adele said it rained the day Sigmund woke up from the egg. He didn¡¯t know what the rain was until today. ¡°Water drops from the sky¡­¡± A tremendous sound. a white light. And cold drops of water. -I found you on a rainy day. I hugged you because I was afraid you would be cold because of the rain. Adele said so. On that rainy day, he was confind in the hole in the tree that escaped the rain. Of course, in the egg. ¡°This is rain¡­¡± Sigmund now knows what rain is. ¡°Cold and¡­Feels good¡­¡± Sigmund, who put his hand out through a crack in the barn, grinned broadly at the feel of the cool water droplets falling on his palm. He didn¡¯t know why, but he felt very good. The sound of thunder was good and the light of lightning was good. He also liked the cold water drops that wet his palms and wrists. He wanted to jump out and splash, but he held back because Adele told him not to come out of the barn. It was then that he heard the sound of wings above his head. ¡°Huh?¡± Sigmund lifted his head slightly at the sound of wings coming from above his head. A black bird was seen sitting on a branch of a large tree right next to the barn through the trees. The pouring rain made all the wings look blacker. ¡°Hi, black bird.¡± It¡¯s neither a tit nor an owl. What kind of bird is that? The bird¡¯s black feathers and eyes shimmered like a glass. ¡°Why are you sitting there when it¡¯s raining?¡± ¡°Then why are you there?¡± As soon as the crow sitting on the branch opened his beak and said, he was startled. ¡°It¡¯s a talking bird.¡± A talking bird. 1 Neither the stork nor the sparrow nor the wild goose nor the duck had he heard them speak. But that black bird knows how to talk. Is it a special bird? Or are there other birds in the world who can talk like that? Pudduck. A crow, flapping its wings on a branch, came close to a crack in a tree that Sigmund was staring through. The crow looked at Sigmund, rolling its black glassy eyes. ¡°May I ask why on earth you¡¯re here? This isn¡¯t where you should be.¡± What does this mean? Where to be? The place where Sigmund should be is here, by Adele¡¯s side. But what does this black bird mean? ¡°Do you know me?¡± When this black bird spoke as if he knew him, Sigmund¡¯s curiosity grew. Sigmund knew nothing about who he is. ¡°I know you¡¯re a precious person.¡± ¡°Precious?¡± ¡°What is precious?¡± The crow¡¯s face seemed to say ¡®pathetic¡¯. ¡°I was born from the egg of a big bird.¡± ¡°Big bird? Pfft!¡± The crow burst out laughing. ¡°Who said that? You were born from the egg of a big bird?¡± ¡°Adele did.¡± ¡°Adele? Who is Adele?¡± ¡°Adele¡­ is Adele.¡± ¡°So who is that?¡± The crow¡¯s voice gradually faded. ¡°Adele is Adele. Are you a fool?¡± Sigmund had a hunch. It doesn¡¯t know Adele. No, how could it not know Adele? ¡°Ha.¡± The crow laughed. ¡°Who says I¡¯m stupid? A real idiot who doesn¡¯t even know who he is.¡± ¡°Who am I?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a dragon.¡± Dragon? What¡¯s that? Sigmund tilted his head. ¡°What¡¯s Dragon?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a real idiot.¡± ¡°Is that the name of a big bird?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s a really big name.¡± ¡°I mean, I can fly. Like you.¡± Sigmund showed his back flapping his wings. He stood to boast that his wings were bigger than crow¡¯s. ¡°I suppose so, of course.¡± However, the crow¡¯s reaction was very negative. ¡°I also give off fire?¡± ¡°Great.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Sigmund.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a crow.¡± ¡°Is your name a crow?¡± ¡°No. My name is Jenson. It¡¯s a great name.¡±1 ¡°And Jenson. What are you doing here? Have you lost your way?¡± ¡°I wish I had lost my way, but I¡¯m here to look for a little boy who is pathetic enough to say that he was born out of a big bird¡¯s egg, not knowing he was a dragon.¡± A little boy as big as a palm? Sigmund looked at his palm. Very small. Is there such a small kid? Then the little boy will be able to come and go as much as he pleases, even with the little hole in the barn. It¡¯s like a field mouse or a squirrel. ¡°So, did you find it?¡± Without knowing that he was pointing at him, Sigmund tilted his head and looked at the crow still in the rain. ¡°Found it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief. Then hurry back to home together.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve found him, so I¡¯ll take him.¡± ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡®It¡¯s you, idiot. I said dragon. Did you forget what I said a while ago? Are you really stupid? Was this dragon born a fool? I¡¯m going crazy.¡± ¡°Me?¡± It was only then that Sigmund remembered people in strange clothes who were trying to take him a few days ago. ¡°Do you want to take me, too?¡± ¡°What, who else was there besides me?¡± The crow had a strange look on his face. ¡°Who else came to take you away besides me?¡± ¡°People in weird clothes. They were wearing weird clothes in steel color that made a clankling noise every time they walked.¡± ¡°Steel color? Ah, armor. They¡¯re the Imperial Household knights. Baron Lushen?¡± ¡°Do you know who?¡± ¡®I know. Stupid idiots. Yeah, Baron Lushen isn¡¯t that bad, but Ernest, who drives him, is a villain.¡±1 ¡°The villain?¡± ¡°I mean a bad guy. Didn¡¯t you learn to speak properly? Didn¡¯t Adele teach you that, too?¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not coming with you. Adele¡¯s here.¡± ¡°I have to go with you?¡± ¡°I have to be with Adele. Adele, if you don¡¯t let me go, I¡¯ll be mad.¡± ¡°Do you know how to be angry?¡± ¡°When I gets angry, I shoot fire. I did the same to those bad guys then.¡± The crow was startled by Sigmund¡¯s words. ¡°You set Lushen on fire? Then, is Lushen alive? This is Crazy. Yes, crazy. No. Poor Lushen. That¡¯s not a big deal. That loyal man has been through a lot.¡± ¡°They tried to take me. I said no. So I was angry.¡± ¡°At this rate, this dragon is a crazy race.¡± The crow shook its head, shaking off its wet feather. ¡°Then, if Adele go woth you, will you go?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Sigmund¡¯s eyes glistened. With Adele? With Adele? ¡°Would Adele like to go with you?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll love it. The palace is a million times better than this scums.¡± ¡°Scums?¡± ¡°I mean here. Totally like a beggar. How could you have thought of being in a place like this? It¡¯s too nasty in here. Smells like¡­I don¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°I like it here. I like the smell of hay.¡± ¡°Do you like the smell of the barn? You¡¯re crazy, aren¡¯t you? What¡¯s that if a noble man says he likes the smell of a barn? Are you kidding me?¡± ¡°Milk is delicious. Blueberries are too.¡± ¡°You were eating something like that? Ha¡­I¡¯m speechless¡­¡± The crow clicked its tongue. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°The person who should be drinking only the blessed water from the temple and eat food of high quality prepared from the top best is saying that he likes freshly squeezed cow milk and wild fruits, do you know how unsophisticated you sound?¡± ¡°A bird eats narrow rice and you also eat narrow rice too, but rather, I tell you, blueberries are better.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a bird!¡± ¡± You¡¯re a bird. A black bird.¡± ¡°I told you I¡¯m not a bird.¡± The crow that stepped back flapped its wings once, and the bird¡¯s figure disappeared before Sigmund¡¯s eyes, and a tall man stood there.2 Of course, it wasn¡¯t much different than when it was a crow. The man wore a black robe on his body with a dark black hood over his head, and was only recognized as a black bird in Sigmund¡¯s eyes. However, his eyes were blue and his hair was dark brown. ¡°Are you still gonna call me a bird?¡± ¡°Black¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯d like you to call me Lord Jenson.¡± He turned into a man, but his behavior was no different from the crow. Sigmund thought, condescending and pretending to be proud is the same as the crow. ¡°Jenson.¡± ¡°Lord Jenson.¡± The man said empowering the word ¡± Lord¡±. ¡°It¡¯s Lord Jenson, the Magician of the Imperial Palace Temple. Don¡¯t forget and remember clearly.¡± ¡°Your name is too long.¡± ¡°You think it¡¯s all my name? My name is Jenson, and I¡¯m the Magician of the Imperial Palace. Don¡¯t you understand? Are you a real idiot? Is your head a decoration? Or is your brain small? Are there only Adele and blueberries in the Merits?¡±4 ¡°No. We have milk and cheese and bread.¡±8 ¡°¡­¡± At this point, Jenson stopped talking. Somehow, it occurred to him that he was repeating the same thing over and over again. Jenson sighed because he felt as if he had become a fool like this kid. ¡°You have to go to the Imperial Palace anyway. You and me, together. I came here all the way to this faraway town to pick you up. No matter what you say, I¡¯ll take you back to the palace.¡± The Imperial Palace. Where on earth is the Imperial Palace? Why do they keep asking me to go with them? Is the palace big enough to live with Adele? Chapter 11 ¡°What¡¯s the Imperial Palace?¡± ¡°Where you belong. Where you are going to live from now on.¡± ¡°Where I¡¯m going with Adele?¡± ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t know who she is, but where she¡¯s going with you.¡± ¡°And Adele doesn¡¯t have to cut the grass there?¡± ¡°What are you going to cut the grass for?¡± Jenson frowned. ¡°You make hay.¡± ¡°So, why make hay? In the palace? Why? What are you going to use it for?¡± ¡°To feed the cow.¡± ¡°It looks like Adele raised you like this. She ruined the kid very well.¡±1 ¡°Don¡¯t speak ill of Adele.¡± People in strange clothes last time made him upset because they didn¡¯t allow him to return to Adele, but this black man didn¡¯t make him upset that much just because he could take Adele. ¡°Your Majesty, who knows nothing yet. Listen to me carefully. Now the palace we should go to is much bigger, more beautiful, and much cleaner than this place. There are no cows and no chickens. No hay, of course. You don¡¯t have to do that. It¡¯s just a place where you can wear pretty clothes , a crown, and be polite.¡± Pretty clothes. Of all the many words the black man said, that word stuck in Sigmund¡¯s ear. Pretty clothes. Pretty shoes. Glittering jewels. Can Adele have them all?1 ¡°If I go to this place called the Imperial Palace, do you have jewelry? Something shiny.¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s full and overflowing in mountains.¡± ¡°Can you give Adele pretty clothes and shoes, too?¡± ¡°There¡¯s plenty that you could choke on the dress, jewelry and shoes.¡± ¡°No hard work?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°No one else bothers me?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s going to trouble you. Your majesty¡¯s friend.¡± ¡°Friend?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re close with someone then you call them friend.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to marry Adele.¡±6 ¡°Your Majesty?¡± Jenson had a blank look on his face for a moment. He looked like he was wondering what he heard. ¡°Excuse me, Your Majesty?¡± What did this winged little boy just say? Marriage? Marriage?! How did an unidentified person named Adele tame this dragon? Marriage? Dragon¡¯s bride is the emperor¡¯s wife, or the empress. She is the most noble woman in the empire. There are hundreds of daughters of nobles who are still educated and nurture beauty to become empress. Now that the Emperor has awakened from the egg, the rumour will spread quickly in the capital, and countless beautiful nobles will seek opportunities. Now the emperor seems so small and stupid, but the dragon¡¯s growth is fast. Maybe we don¡¯t know about now, but he¡¯ll be an adult in a year. Then he¡¯ll be haunted by the beauties who will propose every day, Adele? He¡¯s going to take this village girl, who doesn¡¯t even have a proper name, as a queen?4 Is that possible? No emperor can do everything he wants.4 This is especially true in the case of the queen. But there is no need to say that in advance to counter the planting of this little emperor. ¡°Well, there¡¯s nothing you can¡¯t do if you want to. It¡¯s your empire anyway.¡± Jenson said with a ridiculous laugh. Jenson, the Magician of the Imperial Palace Temple. There is no person who doesn¡¯t know the name of Grand Duke Ernes, but few people know Jenson¡¯s name.. It¡¯s because the palace temple is a bit exclusive. There¡¯s nothing Jenson does there. He can¡¯t probably say that boring days were a part of his daily routine. Jensen¡¯s original personality wasn¡¯t mischievous, and he didn¡¯t pursue anything interesting, but 10 years after he was trapped in the Imperial Palace, he got into this shape. When anyone is stuck in that boring place for 10 years, they find out if there¡¯s anything fun or not. Because the environment is supposed to change people. It was good when he took a wizard class. Being a magician requires him to travel through the entire kingdom and collects and records strange and rare things. But! Of all things! The problem was being talented. After passing the test with the best results in the year¡¯s wizard test, he was named the successor of the Magician of the Year. Wandering the kingdom and collecting rare things? record? He couldn¡¯t even dream of such a thing, and he was trapped in the Imperial Palace temple, so he spent 10 years reading and translating strange chronicles into uninteresting old books. His youth went in that lonely temple. Damn it. When Jenson was asked exactly what he have been doing for 10 years, he took care of an egg. An Egg A giant egg. A giant egg that haven¡¯t hatched in 300 years. He wondered how the hell did it come about and did not budge for three hundred years. He was amazed to see it roll in secret, and even hit it with a hammer. He¡¯d hit the egg with a hammer because it wouldn¡¯t hatch. Believing that if it were dragon, it wouldn¡¯t die just to the point where the egg was broken, he hit the egg with the hammer, but it didn¡¯t even crack. Hard enough to tell whether it was an egg or a stone. He¡¯ve been keeping the egg that hasn¡¯t hatched for more than 10 years, and have done all sorts of things to amuse himself. Sing a song, read a book, load it on a cart and take a walk. The reason why he did all sorts of things to the eggs was that time went by a little faster.2 However, 10 years after taking over the eggs, the eggs changed. The egg, which had not been moving at all, began to shake. Little by little, he realized that the time of hatching was approaching as he watched the vibration grow every day. After 300 years, the owner of the kingdom was born. When Dragon awoke from the egg, the upbringing was to be taken over by Jenson. Originally, it was a set law for an expert magician to take charge of the education of a newborn dragon. It was also because it wasn¡¯t possible to deal with a dragon without having mana as powerful as an expert magician. According to historical records, the dragon, which was hatched from an egg, looks like a child in a completely blank state, absorbs the energy around it and grows rapidly. It takes about a year to become a adult figure in youth. During that year, they have to teach them the civilization of the human world and the history of the past dynasties. The most important of them is to teach the dragon how to control his own madness. Dragons are inherently violent and fierce. According to historical records, the Dragon Emperors were all fierce, and when they were a little angry, they destroyed a small city in one day. It¡¯s a species that can¡¯t control anger. So for dragons, ¡®humanity¡¯ education was more important than anything else. Born in an egg, the dragon imprints its first partner. This is because they¡¯re very attentive to the words of the imprinted partner. So when the dragons of all time hatched from the eggs, there was always the Grand Duke who would rule the kingdom with him. The Grand Duke is the one who was chosen from among the humans who succeeded the dragon¡¯s blood. All the emperors that followed, including the first emperor, had concubines. Many children were born to them, but it was rare for them to inherit the dragon¡¯s character. Those rare minorities and those born with basic mana were all candidates for the Grand Duke, and the one with the most outstanding qualities became the Grand Duke and became the Dragon¡¯s political partner. The Dragon Emperor rules, and the Grand Duke rules beside. The empire was always this way. The current Grand Duke is a man named Ernest. Three hundred years ago the blood of the Dragon was diluted as sons of the last emperor gave birth to children, and the half blessed child had sons, and the Lord Ernes had an insignificant amount of mana. But since Ernest had the most powerful mana among the existing dragon¡¯s blood descendants, Ernest has been chosen for the position of Grand Duke since his boyhood. Grand Duke Ernest and Jenson were supposed to be Dragon¡¯s political partners and mentor, respectively, but both ended up drinking water. The eggs, which suddenly disappeared, hatched in such a ridiculous place and wasted more than 15 days of precious time. For dragons, a full moon of time is fatal. During that time, the most important personality for the dragon would have already hardened. The dragon¡¯s personality almost completes within the ten days after waking up from the egg. He found it too late. As much as Grand Duke Ernest, Jenson kept looking for the egg. No. He¡¯ve been singing. For ten years, he continued to sing using the magic bond he had formed with the egg. But he didn¡¯t respond to the call of this damn dragon kid. ¡°You¡¯ll learn from me in the future, but you¡¯re called the emperor because you can do whatever you want.¡± ¡°Marrying Adele, too?¡±4 ¡°Sure. No problem.¡± ¡°Then shall I call Adele? Shall we go now? To the palace?¡± ¡°No, no, not now. How do I get there now? How far is the palace? And it¡¯s raining.¡± ¡°Flying. We can fly.¡± ¡°What about the lady? What about Adele? Adele, can she fly?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Look at your wings, they¡¯re fastidious, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sigmund fluttered his work wings at Jenson¡¯s words. As Jenson said, Sigmund¡¯s wings were really small. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to fly the lady with that wing, will you? And so do my wings. I can fly alone, but I can¡¯t fly with anyone.¡± ¡°Then¡­..go on foot?¡± ¡°Listen to me. Sigmund? You said your name is Sigmund, right? ¡°Yes. Sigmund.¡± ¡°Yes, Sigmund. You know the bad guys you met? Dressed in odd clothes.¡± ¡°They¡¯re looking for you now. If they find you, maybe Adele will be in big trouble.¡± ¡°If you bother Adele, I¡¯ll burn you all.¡±1 ¡°Don¡¯t say anything scary.¡± No matter how cute this kid is, he still is a dragon. That¡¯s why it doesn¡¯t sound like a joke. ¡°Don¡¯t you think Adele will be sad if you burn people?¡± ¡°Is Adele¡­ sad?¡± ¡°Is Adele a person?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°A person is sad when another person dies. So will Adele. If you set someone on fire, Adele would be so sad that she would cry. You want to make Adele cry?¡± ¡°No. Adele, she can¡¯t cry. She won¡¯t cry.¡± ¡°So if you don¡¯t want Adele to cry, you shouldn¡¯t burn people. As you please.¡± ¡°Never.¡± Sigmund nodded. Sigmund must not hurt people. Adele hates it then she¡¯ll cry. He put those words in his mind. Chapter 12 ¡°Let¡¯s do this then. You and I will leave for the palace first.¡±2 ¡°Leaving Adele?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be long before you and I fly away. Then, we¡¯ll send a carriage to here. Do you know what¡¯s a carriage?¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°I will send a carriage to Adele so that she can come safely to the palace without being rained on and encountering any bad people on the way. Until then, you and I will prepare a room for Adele in the imperial palace.¡± ¡°A room for Adele¡­¡± ¡°Where is Adele¡¯s room?¡± At Jenson¡¯s words, Sigmund pointed his finger at the attic of the opposite house. ¡°It¡¯s an attic. It¡¯s small, neat and and nice.¡± Jenson laughed and shrugged. ¡°But there¡¯s no attic in the palace, so you and I will prepare a large, beautiful room for Adele. Bring a fluffy bed, decorate it with beautiful flowers, and fill the closets with dresses. How about that?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sigmund imagined what Jenson was saying in his head. Pretty room, nice beds, and closets filled with clothes. And Adele smiling happily. It was only a few days away. ¡°A lot, should I stay away?¡± ¡°A little.¡± ¡°How many nights?¡± ¡°Five nights or so?¡± ¡°Five nights.¡± Five nights. Sigmund thought a little. He have to stay away from Adele for five nights. But if he go with Adele, those bad people might bother Adele. Just five nights. After that, we can stay together without ever separating apart. ¡°Then when we go to the Imperial Palace, I don¡¯t have to hide in the barn?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Can I play with Adele?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± ¡®I can play with Adele in bright broad daylight. I don¡¯t have to hide anymore.¡¯ Sigmund¡¯s heart pounded. Because something like this is what he wanted. Make Adele happy, stay together without separation, but not hiding. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll come with you.¡± Sigmund replied and Jenson¡¯s grinned at his answer. ¡°Then shall we go right now?¡± ¡°I have to tell Adele.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Adele?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. Adele didn¡¯t come to the barn today.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do this then. I¡¯ll go look for Adele and you stay still as where you are now. Okay?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jenson, who returned to the form of a crow as Sigmund stepped back slightly, flapped his wings and flew up. Watching the black crow fly toward the window of the attic, Sigmund squatted in the seat. ¡°The Imperial Palace.¡± It¡¯s was a strange word, but it felt like a good place. It was best to say that he could take Adele with him. ¡°What a good day it is today¡­ ¡°1 Thunder rumbled again outside the barn, lightning flashing across the sky. *** Pudduck. Anna, who turned her head to the window at the sound of wings, frowned her. ¡°Unhappy crow.¡± ¡°I know. A crow on a rainy day. A bad luck.¡± Anna and Mina were busy grooming Adele¡¯s hair for a long time. Caught by her two cousins, Adele was confused to watch her hair turn strange without knowing anything. Adele¡¯s new clothes were hanging on the chair. And shoes. What the hell is going on here? Adele still did not know what was going on. Why did my uncle, aunt and sisters suddenly become so kind? It was scary as how kind they were to her then usual. ¡°Excuse me, Sister Anna. I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re doing this all of a sudden¡­¡± ¡°Ask my mother later.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. She¡¯ll tell you everything.¡± Anna and Mina grinned suspiciously to each other. It was then. Thunder-! ¡°Ahhhh!¡± ¡°Kyaaak!¡± Anna and Mina screamed as they were startled by the thunder. ¡°Aaah!¡± The windows suddenly burst open and the wind that poured in and the lanterns that had been left in the room shook and the light blow off. ¡°Kyaaa!¡± ¡°I¡¯m scared!¡± ¡°Mother!¡± Thunder and lightning, were on a clash. Adele was left alone in the room when Anna and Mina fled from the wind and rain. Adele wasn¡¯t exactly afraid of this situation. This darkness was always familiar. This kind of rain and wind was familiar. ¡°I have to light the candles again¡­¡± The embers are in the kitchen¡¯s fireplace. However, it was difficult to look like this and go to the kitchen. It¡¯s because the undergarments and the hair they combed decisively was all messed up. Clup. Adele heard footsteps in the dark. It was the sound of wet feet. Even though it was midday, it was dark outside and the room was pitch-dark. So Adele didn¡¯t know whose footsteps it was, even though she heard footsteps. ¡°Sister? Sister Anna? Sister Mina?¡± But the reply that came back was a strange voice. ¡°Hello, Adele.¡± It was the first time she heard this male voice. ¡°Who is¡­¡± Who is it? It¡¯s my first time hearing this voice, but it¡¯s not scary. Why is that? ¡°You¡¯re Adele, aren¡¯t you? I¡¯m a friend of Sigmund. Sigmund told me about you, Adele.¡± ¡°Sigmund¡¯s¡­Friend?¡± Adele was astonished at his words. She was sure and that¡¯s what she thought that no one knew Sigmund¡¯s existence. But he¡¯s friends? How are you friends? How did this man meet Sigmund without her knowing it? Maybe he¡¯s a bad guy. If he had met Sigmund, he would have seen the wings. Adele suddenly became anxious. ¡°How did you¡­?¡± ¡°Sigmund was born from an egg?¡± ¡°It was¡­¡± ¡°It was a big beautiful egg. Silvery shining, like that.¡± Only Adele saw the egg. After Sigmund came out of the egg, the broken eggshells were well buried in the ground. No one saw it. But how does this man know that? ¡®Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡¯ Anxiety struck up in the depths of Adele¡¯s heart. ¡®This is the master of the egg?¡¯ The egg containing Sigmund was in a hole in the base of the tree. If it had been such a big egg, the bird that laid the egg would have been huge. But no such big bird can get into the hole. Above all, Adele has raised chickens and ducks. Then someone must have put the egg there. Is this the guy who hid the eggs? ¡®Are you here to find Sigmund?¡¯ Is he here to take Sigmund? Adele¡¯s heart throbbed. Anxiety swept her chest and her palms were sweaty. ¡°A, are you¡­..here to take Si, Sigmund? Adele¡¯s voice wondered if he noticed the tremors in her voice. The man laughed in the dark. ¡°Of course I¡¯ll take him. I can¡¯t leave him here, can I?¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± ¡°You know that, right? You know that Sigmund is not a normal kid, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I know that, but¡­¡± ¡°What did you think Sigmund was?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. But Sigmund is just Sigmund.¡± ¡°Just Sigmund?¡± ¡°No. A child in need of help. A child who needs a lot of care.¡± ¡°Ah, yes it is. Aye, but there are a lot of people who will take care of Sigmund. Many people are waiting for Sigmund now.¡± ¡°Many¡­¡± Do he has a family? If he has a family, of course he should go back. In what position am I to hold on to him? ¡°Even if I take him back, you won¡¯t feel sad, will you?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s only been a few days. It¡¯s only been less than a month. It¡¯s too short of a time to get attached.¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s not short.¡± She had affection for him since the first day. She have already grown attached to the egg since she fell asleep holding it in her arms. It¡¯s only been a few days, but already Sigmund has become a precious treasure to Adele. He is more precious than her uncle¡¯s family who lived with her for nine years. ¡°Sigmund is precious. Because I love him.¡± ¡°Love?¡± The man was dumbfounded but then laughed out. Adele clenched her fists as she listened to the light wind-like laughter. ¡°He¡¯s my family. Since he¡¯s a family, I love him, and it¡¯s sad that we¡¯ll be apart because I love him. It¡¯s natural.¡± ¡°Family¡­¡± The man was silent for a moment. Adele¡¯s ear caught a light breathing. When the man thought, he didn¡¯t say a word but then he let a small laughed again. ¡°Can you say family even after you know what it is?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care what Sigmund is.¡± ¡°Even if it¡¯s a monster?¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°What if one day he become a giant monster and do something scary, even though he¡¯s so small for now? Are you¡¯re still gonna say he¡¯s precious? Can you call him a family then? Won¡¯t you run away just because you¡¯re scared?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m not running away. I¡¯m not scared. Sigmund is a Sigmund in any form.¡± ¡°Aha.¡± Chabuk. (Sound effects idk how to make that sound)1 The sound of the man¡¯s wet feet hit the floor. And in the darkness the man walked lightly and stood beside Adele. A cold finger touched Adele¡¯s head lock slightly. ¡°Adele.¡± She trembled at the whispering of the strange man. ¡°Sigmund has to leave now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­!¡± ¡°Here.¡± The man pressed Adele¡¯s shoulder with his hand. ¡°Listen to the end, okay? Sigmund is leaving with me now. Just wait a little longer. I¡¯ll come to pick you up.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming to pick you up. I¡¯ll send you a carriage, so wait. It¡¯ll take about five days. When the carriage comes to pick you up, don¡¯t doubt it and get in. Then the carriage will take you to Sigmund. You understand me, don¡¯t you? Carriage. Five days. Stay away from Sigmund for five days? Where will the carriage take her? Is this man trying to take Sigmund to a certain place? But. ¡°Yes.¡± Anywhere was fine. There was no affection here anyway. She really wanted to leave, but she couldn¡¯t because she had nowhere to go. If she could, she wanted to go to Sigmund and a place where she could live in comfort. But if she can leave now, yes. She can wait five days. No matter how long she have to wait, she can wait if she can live without being noticed and hidden. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll wait. I¡¯ll take the carriage.¡± ¡°You¡¯re smart. You¡¯re smart, but why is he stupid?¡±2 Muttering to himself, the man hung something on Adele¡¯s neck. Even in the dark Adele could see it was a necklace. It was a necklace with a small jewel at the end. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a token.¡± ¡°A token?¡± ¡°A token that connects you and me. A kind of bond that allows me to know right away what happens to you in five days. So don¡¯t take it off your neck.¡± ¡°Okay. But your name is¡­¡± ¡°Jenson.¡± ¡°Sir Jenson.¡± ¡°Lord Jenson.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. Lord Jenson.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get along well in the future, Adele. A tap on Adele¡¯s shoulder pushed the man back. ¡°I think we¡¯ll get along.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Before Adele could asked anything again, she thought she could hear the sound of flapping and the dark room lit up. The fire, which had been extinguished by the rain and wind, came back in. Chapter 13 ¡°Ah¡­¡±1 Adele looked around the lighted room. There was no one. Only the open window was shaken by the strong wind. Then the rain splashed in from the shaking window. Under the window there was a robust pool of rain. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Anna and Mina, who had fled outside, entered the room, making a fuss. ¡°It¡¯s a mess!¡± ¡°The dress is all wet!¡± Not just the floor, but the walls and chairs, and the dress and shoes that were hung on the chair, were all wet. Water dripped from the window curtains, too. Adele stood up from the chair, looking at Mina and Anna, who had just entered the room. ¡°I¡¯ll clean it up, sister.¡± ¡°But we have to make your hair¡­¡± ¡°We can do it later. Because cleaning the room comes first.¡± Anna and Mina looked a little sorry when they saw Adele smiling brightly. ¡°Shall we go out then?¡± ¡°That¡¯d be better, sister.¡± ¡°Then Adele. We¡¯ll make your hair pretty later.¡± ¡°Oh, dry the wet dress, too. Because you¡¯re going to wear it.¡± When the two cousins went out again, Adele stood in front of the mirror. In the mirror, she had an unfamiliar necklace hanging from her neck. It was a beautiful silver necklace. A small jewel hung from the end of the necklace. Adele, of course, had never seen a gem before, so she didn¡¯t know what it was called. She didn¡¯t even know it was a gem that people called an ¡®Onyx.¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s strange¡­¡± But what¡¯s strange is that the sisters didn¡¯t say anything about this necklace. The sisters are greedy, so they must have asked where Adele got it if she had a necklace around her neck that she didn¡¯t. But the sisters went out without asking. As if invisible to the eye. ¡°It¡¯s so pretty¡­¡± Stroking the necklace, Adele looked at the window. And she walked to the window with short steps. The rain stopped before she knew it. The sudden heavy rain seemed to have been a passing shower. As if it had not rained, the sky was bright and the wind was not blowing. However, traces of rain remained intact in the view. She could see the barn from the window. ¡°Sigmund¡­¡± There¡¯s Sigmund in that barn. ¡®We have to say goodbye, but¡­¡¯ Even if they meet in five days, she have to say goodbye. ¡°Ugh¡± Adele, who had crossed the window, jumped to the ground. She jumped into the barn, jumped down on the floor full of rainwater. ¡°Sigmund!¡± She opened the barn door and called the child¡¯s name, but there was no voice calling back, as usual, ¡®Adele!¡¯ ¡°Sigmund?¡± Again it was quiet. Only the sound of rain dripping from the leaves was heard. ¡°You really went¡­¡± Sigmund went away without saying goodbye. She couldn¡¯t even bid a goodbye to meet again after a little while. Of course, she know they will meet again soon, but she wanted to say goodbye to him. She couldn¡¯t tell him to listen to what the man said until they met again. Listen to him, eat well, sleep well at night, and stay well. She didn¡¯t get to tell him to never go all the way by himself or to get lost in a strange place and not to be nervous. She couldn¡¯t even bring milk for lunch. ¡°He must have been hungry¡­¡± Even the blueberry in the basket, she couldn¡¯t give it to him. Sigmund¡¯s favorite blue berries and milk. And cheese and bread. She sneaked them into the basket but couldn¡¯t give them to him. *** ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± The noise raised Jenson¡¯s annoyance index. He¡¯ve heard ten times that he¡¯s hungry. Wouldn¡¯t an adult be annoyed to hear that he is hungry 10 times? ¡°Wings hurt, too.¡± Look. He¡¯s a very bluffing Emperor. I¡¯m hungry, my wings hurt, I don¡¯t feel good, my hair tickles. He was determined to use every conceivable complaints. Jenson didn¡¯t like this dragon from the start. No, from the beginning, he hated his job. It was not in the right place to protect a large egg or to teach a blank child who woke up from the egg. Why? Why on earth should he do such a thing? His dream was to become a wanderer and wander the world. Why? ¡°I¡¯m not flying anymore.¡± That¡¯s for this reason. All the little ones are unruly. There is no way to hear a word. ¡°I can¡¯t fly.¡± He has no judgment on the situation, and how stubborn he is. ¡°I¡¯m not going any further.¡± Look at this. It¡¯s up to you, it¡¯s up to you. When he was in the egg, he would be hammering it up, and rolling it up on the hill. Now that he came out of the egg, he was wrong, but rather this side. Wasn¡¯t Baron Lushen also said to have been attacked? Poor Lushen. When he returned back to the palace, he may have to look at Lushen¡¯s face. He don¡¯t know how bad the burn will be, but magic can restore it to a certain extent. But it will only be a slight recovery. Dragon¡¯s flame is a mixture of dragon¡¯s power. The wounds suffered from the dragon¡¯s magic cannot be healed with quite a bit of magic. Therefore, the wounds suffered from the upper dragon¡¯s mana, are beyond the ability of wizards with lower mana. He won¡¯t be able to fix it very much, but he should be prepared for some scars. That handsome face, every time a socialite sees it, spits out cheers, blushes, and turns deep when he speaks. That handsome face is now burnt. This walking, or flying scourge, really needs teaching. How smart is that girl Adele compared to this little girl? She understands what he¡¯s saying, she doesn¡¯t judge what¡¯s going on, she doesn¡¯t procrastinate. He like those smart kids. I really want to roll this stupid kid off the hill. ¡°If you¡¯re hungry, at least eat this.¡± Jenson, who had returned from a crow to a human figure, said that he would not fly anymore and sat down on a nearby tree branch and gave something to Sigmund. Jenson cast a spell on Sigmund to make him look like a little baby crow so that no one else could see them flying in the sky. Now, if someone passes under this tree, it will appear that a man and a baby crow are sitting on a branch. Still, he have to be careful. If Grand Duke Ernest catches the eye, this little emperor will be taken away. Of course, if they go to the palace, Sigmund will meet Grand Duke Ernest anyways. Because the emperor and the grand duke have to live together for a lifetime. They will meet soon anyway, but he should never let Sigmund meet him without being ready. After meeting in an unprepared state, he will be met by Grand Duke Ernest. A little more, a little more, if prepared, he should be capable and encounter the Grand Duke. So now he have to be careful. ¡°I¡¯m not eating.¡± Crack. That was a crack in Jenson¡¯s patience. ¡°You said you were hungry, this was made in the temple. I made it with all my heart to give it to you when you were born, why won¡¯t you eat it?¡± ¡°I want to drink the milk Adele prepares for me.¡± ¡°There¡¯s milk in here, too.¡± ¡°I want what Adele gives me.¡± Should I kill him or let him go? Of course, he has no ability to kill. ¡°It¡¯s edible, too, and it¡¯s healthier, and, Adele is not here.¡± ¡°Then, I won¡¯t eat it. Until Adele gave it to me.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll starve until then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not eating.¡± Sitting with his legs hanging down from the branch, Sigmund inflated his cheeks. He was hungry, but he didn¡¯t want to eat anything that wasn¡¯t given by Adele. Whether it¡¯s milk or blueberry, he want to eat it when it smells like Adele. It¡¯s only been a while since he flew in, but he was already missing Adele, so he was getting impatient. I shouldn¡¯t have followed him. He¡¯ll just stay with Adele. No, he¡¯ll come with him when Adele does. ¡°You¡¯re a stubborn man. Eat it.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then shall I force you to eat it? When he said he will be forced to eat, Sigmund opened his mouth at Jenson with his cheeks swollen. It was to set off a fire. ¡°Hey!¡± Jenson, startled by the action, quickly changed to a crow and fluttered his wings. Sigmund, who had opened his mouth as if he were going to spew out fire, closed his mouth again as he watched Jensen fly overhead. But still, as if he was grumpy, his cheeks were puffed. Jensen was barely relieved, flapping his wings, knowing that there was an enormous flame in that big cheek. If it is really forced, it will be roasted crows, but if it is not fed, it will not be able to fly and will droop. ¡°Why should I do this¡­.?¡± Jenson flew before the eyes of the Sigmund, lamenting his distress. ¡°Then wait here.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go get something to eat from Adele. That¡¯s what we need, right? You¡¯ll have it if it¡¯s from Adele, right?¡± ¡°Bring Adele, too.¡±1 ¡°No. Only food. Huh? Only food.¡± ¡°¡­okay¡­¡± Jenson, who glanced slightly at the sullen Sigmund, flew higher. The sky is already clear. In the first place the gale and shower were only temporary things that Jenson conjured up. Again, it flew over the clear sky, and Jenson glanced down. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s okay¡­¡¯ It flew quite far, but not too far to keep up with that kid¡¯s pace. So with Jenson¡¯s wings, he can go quickly and come back. Before anything happens, let¡¯s hurry up and get a lunch box. ¡°Damn it, eat anything. Goddamn picky eater.¡± Jenson flapped his wings, swearing. Jenson flew back the way he had come. He didn¡¯t even want to count how many flights this was. He flew from the far-off palace without a break, and he thought he was just getting back, but because of that little boy, he had to fly back and come back again. What kind of stubborn kid is he. I¡¯m not even old, but I feel old. Why do I feel like I¡¯ll get older if I take that little boy to the palace? Will I do well if I take that stubborn little boy to the palace? Will that kid just listen? Shall he tame him? What if he isn¡¯t able to tame him? At that moment Jenson felt a chill.+ ¡®I¡¯ll tame you. If I can¡¯t do it, Grand Duke Ernest will succeed.¡¯ An untamed dragon. The mere thought of it was terrible. It¡¯s no different than just letting go of the biggest monster in history. Such a monster that no one can stop. Who will stop the unprecedented monster, an indispensable dragon? Who.