The Sub Male Lead is Burning with Jealousy - Chapter 8 Part 9
For him, it was only natural to hunt down and kill the human mage who tried to escape with Radiel. But she couldn’t accept that.
In the end, Radiel, became gravely ill and did not survive even two months after that. Kirthalros ground his teeth, remembering how, even on her deathbed, she had called out another man’s name.
Even after her soul left her body, Kirthalros couldn’t let her go. He had trapped her soul and engraved his magic into it.
‘If I had known it would come to this, I would never have allowed myself to sleep.’
Without Radiel, even breathing in this world felt excruciatingly painful. That’s why Kirthalros chose to enter a magical slumber in the palace he built for her.
Before doing so, he had scattered magical artifacts across the world that could recognize her presence. The plan was that if Radiel ever donned one of those artifacts, it would immediately awaken him from his sleep.
But humans had evolved at an alarming rate. Before he slept, a Sword Master was a rarity—perhaps one existed across all five continents. But the world he awoke to seemed vastly different.
The level of Sword Masters had far surpassed anything from his time. It had only been a few centuries, yet Kirthalros seethed with rage, attributing this progress to the meddling of gods who favored humanity.
No matter how advanced their skills and knowledge became, there should have been limits. A mere few strikes should not have been enough to tear through the mana-shielded wings of a dragon.
As he remembered Rahil, who had relentlessly pursued him after sending Anais to safety, Kirthalros ground his teeth so hard they nearly cracked. Since he had emerged from his egg, he had never encountered such a formidable and terrifying opponent.
‘Surely not all swordsmen are at that level.’
Though he couldn’t be certain, Kirthalros assumed Rahil must be one of the strongest on the continent. Otherwise the fact that he had been utterly defeated and left in such a wretched state by just another human—would be too humiliating to bear.
In the past, to protect Radiel from being taken from him, he had massacred countless humans. Even that human mage who had sneaked into the palace like a rat… had also died by his hand. The only reason he hadn’t used the same brutal methods this time was out of fear that it might cause her to succumb to another illness of the heart and die.
“……”
Kirthalros now questioned whether Rahil would have survived if he had used those same methods. This time, only Rahil had confronted him, but had he attacked the human capital, he would have faced a multitude of swordsmen and mages simultaneously.
“It seems I’ll need to change my approach.”
No matter how much humans had progressed, Kirthalros believed it was only in the realm of swordsmanship. Magic, he was convinced, remained the domain where dragons held the advantage. Their magic was the result of millions of years of accumulated knowledge, capable of rivaling even the gods at times. Human mages were still merely imitating them.
His impatience had driven him to attempt to bring her back immediately, but now he realized a gentler approach was necessary. Not because he feared that beastly human who had charged at him with those feral eyes.
He was just a mere human!
Yet the memory of Rahil shielding Radiel behind his back, eyes blazing with determination as he glared at Kirthalros, would likely keep him awake for many nights to come.
***
Emilio had truly proven himself to be a worthy Master of the Mage Tower. Despite initially complaining that analyzing the magical traces and tracking down their source would take at least a month, he managed to unravel the spell in just two hours, with the help of Arken’s disciples.
Not only that, but with the assistance of other mages, Emilio was able to replicate the dragon’s magic and reopen the spatial rift that connected the imperial palace to the Dragon’s Palace.
“His Majesty!! Her Majesty the Empress!”
Emilio, who was maintaining the magic, looked utterly exhausted, like someone whose brain had nearly burnt out from overuse in just one night. Rahil didn’t hesitate; he scooped Anais into his arms and stepped through the rift, returning them both safely to the imperial palace.
As soon as they set foot in the familiar surroundings, Emilio, completely drained, collapsed to the ground as he released the magic.
“Your Majesty, are you all right?”
The knights rushed over, but Sion pushed through them to reach Rahil first, quickly assessing his condition. Though Rahil was covered in blood, he appeared unharmed. Gently, Rahil set Anais down and called for the maids.
Anais’s trembling had ceased while she was in his arms, but her breathing, which had been shallow and unsteady, only returned to normal once they were safely back in the palace.
She appeared calm on the outside, but Rahil knew she couldn’t be fine. A dragon—facing something like that would unnerve even the most seasoned warriors, let alone someone like Anais, who had always been far removed from violence. Even now, as the maids supported her, Rahil feared she might collapse if they let go.
Rahil wiped his face with a wet towel brought by a servant and then reached out to Anais again. He had intended to let her change clothes, clean up, and rest while he explained the situation to his subordinates, but it seemed that wouldn’t work after all.
‘I’ll need to assign a Sword Master to her.’
Only a Sword Master had the strength to pierce the dragon’s thick hide and magical defenses. There were few unoccupied Sword Masters, but Rahil immediately thought of Anais’s brother, Francis.
Francis would eagerly take up the role of his sister’s shield. In fact, he would probably be itching to hunt down and kill the dragon that caused all this.
Rahil felt a deep frustration that he hadn’t been able to sever the dragon’s paw that had dared to touch Anais. Even cutting off its wings would have been some consolation.
“Come here.”
Rahil said, his voice rough with lingering anger. Despite his tone, Anais collapsed into Rahil’s arms without any sign of discomfort. Holding her close, Rahil turned to face his subordinates, the knights, and the mages who had gathered.
