The Sub Male Lead is Burning with Jealousy - Chapter 8 Part 10
“As you may have guessed, the dragon attempted to abduct the Empress. I pursued it and wounded it, but it managed to escape using magic.”
“Did you confront it alone, Your Majesty? You should have called for your guards—”
“The situation was too urgent for that.”
“…The entire Empress’s palace was under the dragon’s spell, everyone was asleep.”
Emilio stepped forward, defending Rahil’s actions. Although the Knight commander expressed concern, it was clear he felt a sense of pride that the emperor had battled a dragon and emerged unscathed.
As the tension began to ease, Anais felt a wave of drowsiness wash over her. Given that she had nearly been abducted while asleep once already, this drowsiness was anything but comforting. Yet, she couldn’t resist the pull of sleep.
“It’s okay, Anais. I won’t let the same mistake happen twice.”
The soothing whispers and gentle pats made it hard for her to resist sleep. Even so, she still didn’t feel completely safe and didn’t want to fall asleep.
Sensing her reluctance, Rahil tightened his embrace, as if to assure her that he was there to protect her. Surprisingly, within the safety of his arms, Anais finally allowed herself to drift into sleep, despite the strength of his hold.
***
The magical defenses of both the Empress’s and the Emperor’s quarters were reinforced, and the Ruol family was summoned to the palace. The incident from the previous night was kept secret from the public, as the mere existence of a dragon could cause widespread panic.
The two men of the Ruol family, unaware of what had transpired with Anais, seemed deeply shocked by the news. In truth, they were quietly seething with anger.
Rahil had already tasked another Sword Master from the Imperial Knights with tracking the dragon, but Marquis Ruol expressed a desire to take on the task himself. Rahil, however, declined his request, citing Anais’s well-being as the reason.
“It’s not that I doubt your abilities, but Anais isn’t fully aware of your exact skills. We can’t afford to make her more anxious after what she’s been through.”
At his subtle hint that he might have discerned the extent of their abilities, Marquis Ruol flinched. Rahil then insisted that Alexander should also remain in the capital, considering the possibility of an attack there.
Also both father and son agreed that Francis should be the one to take on the role of Anais’s personal guard, though it wouldn’t start immediately.
‘Because there’s something we need to do first,’ Rahil thought.
Anais was a sensitive person, and Rahil knew she would likely feel uncomfortable if she realized Francis was stationed in the Empress’s Palace, to be her guard. It would undoubtedly make her reluctant to be intimate with Rahil.
‘Women can be complicated.’
Rahil, who only had brothers, couldn’t fully grasp the nuances of her feelings, but he suspected Anais might feel that way.
When Rahil first asked Sion about this matter, Sion was extremely surprised and agreed with him. However, his reaction was more along the lines of, “To think that His Majesty would consider that far! Such an incredible development!”—which made Rahil naturally gave him a good smack on the head.
Emilio acknowledged the gravity of the situation and accepted the cooperation between the Tower and the Empire. He sent an official letter to the Tower, calling his disciples to the capital and decided to assist Arken in tracking the dragon.
While Emilio was superior in dragon magic, Arken was better at tracking magical traces, so the overall command was left to Arken.
In any case, since they would have to fight when they eventually encountered the dragon, the Imperial Knights accompanied them as guards. The Royal Mages were more adept at fighting in coordination with the knights than the Tower mages. The Tower mages, on the other hand, decided to stay back and assist both sides in case of an emergency.
This was also a favorable condition for Emilio, who couldn’t completely give up on investigating the dragon’s legacy.
Rahil left this task to Arken and Rodrigo, another Sword Master of the Empire, and returned to the Imperial Palace. Anais’s residence had been moved from the Empress’s Palace to the Imperial Palace.
Since the Empress’s Palace was the site of all the incidents, it was in disarray as the mages began their investigation. It was only natural for their residence to be moved to his Palace.
‘The magic circle of the Imperial Palace is also safer….’
Anais seemed to have resigned herself to what Rahil was about to propose. Though calling it resignation might have seemed exaggerated, as long as the ring remained in their possession, there was always the risk that the dragon’s magic could strike her at any time.
“I’ve cleared your schedule completely for today. Starting tomorrow, your brother, the junior marquis, will be in charge of your protection, so it’s better to do it now.”
There was a plan. If Anais was pushed too hard, she might lose consciousness, so the idea was to light three or four gems on the ring, then continue like this with an hour of rest in between. If they had done it that way from the start, it would have been easier, but whenever Rahil held Anais, his greed took over, and he forgot to consider it.
Today, he was determined to remove the ring. He couldn’t allow the dragon another chance to kidnap Anais.
After hearing the dragon call Anais’s name so blatantly, Rahil felt like he was about to lose his mind, though he didn’t show it.
‘How dare he call my Anais by name…!’
Rahil had briefly read about people in old books who had their lovers or wives stolen by dragons, but he never imagined he would become one of those people. The number of dragons had drastically decreased since his grandfather’s time, and they no longer clashed with humans.
The ancient dragons had already perished, and the remaining dragons were only dragons in name, not even deserving to be called such. But now, a ghost from the past had appeared.
The dragons might be hiding, but they certainly weren’t extinct. There might still be dragons, like the one now, lurking somewhere and watching humans from the shadows.
