Chapter 19

Children of Luo Beidra

"Was I wrong?"

Duke Vailen did not answer.

He stood there with a complicated expression, facing the young man before him. He looked like a young and beautiful human male. His skin was pale, and his eyes and hair were as black as a moonless night.

That young man was his father. Duke Vailen had lived for over six hundred years. As a result, his appearance had reached that of a man entering middle age—yet his father looked not even half his age.

Their skin, eyes, and hair bore no resemblance, nor did their facial features. No one would suspect they were related by blood.

And yet, they were father and son.

Because the young man was not human. He was a dragon named Narbakayani, and his current form was merely a shell carved by the dragon himself.

"Vailen, you came to seek compensation from me, didn't you? For leaving your mother—the human woman, Penelope—behind."

There was no warmth on the father's face as he looked at his son. Nor was it cold. To Narbakayani, Vailen seemed no different from an object placed before him.

"I—"

"Vailen came to meet you, Kayani."

Ulrich cut him off and answered.

"The reason is because you are his father."

"Not because he came to ask for help with shedding?"

"That's right. Though I can't say that's entirely untrue."

"Is that truly the reason?"

Narbakayani tilted his head. There was no mockery in his tone. He was genuinely asking how such a thing could even be a reason.

"You haven't changed at all. Not one bit."

"It seems so. I thought I had come to understand humans, but now I see I was mistaken. No matter how well I acted, it was only ever an act."

"An act?"

Vailen asked, incredulous.

"You're saying what you did to my mother… was an act?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Narbakayani replied,

"Yes."

"To be precise, it would be more accurate to say I 'imitated' it. I spent a long time with Ulrich, observing how he treated other humans, and I merely followed that."

"Wh-what…?"

"From the beginning, I never intended to stay long with that human woman, Penelope. Didn't he tell you? Dragons do not form groups."

Family and offspring were concepts that only humans placed value on—nothing more than that to dragons, Narbakayani added. Unless there was no other choice, dragons did not form groups.

"Then… then what was your plan? Why did you choose my mother? Why was I born? If your actions were an act—part of a plan—then there must have been a reason!"

"I wanted to understand humans."

Turning his back, Narbakayani sat down in a chair before the round table. He gestured for the humans to sit as well. No one accepted the invitation, but he calmly tilted the teapot over an empty cup.

The scent of the tea drifted gently toward them on the breeze. Roberta unconsciously frowned slightly.

It was pine pollen tea.

She hadn't expected to smell such a strong fragrance here, at this moment. As she found it absurd, she suddenly glanced at Ulrich. Something about the dragon wearing a human guise resembled someone—her intuition whispered.

"Ulrich. Ulrich of Dithmarschen."

Narbakayani said, looking at him.

"You're using quite a long name this time. Around now, I would think you'd be getting bored of it. What name will you use next?"

Ulrich did not answer. Narbakayani did not seem to expect one either, as he gently stirred his tea and continued speaking.

"When that ageless, undying human used the name Oscar, he took me from my nest and made me his companion, wandering the world. Back then, I felt the need to understand humans."

When the dragon, wearing a human form, first traveled the world, the age already belonged to humans. In the era of humans, dragons were nothing more than ferocious beasts. Even if a dragon revealed its true form, humans would only be briefly startled—then quickly make it their prey.

How could humans, crawling the earth in such small bodies, capture dragons that soared through the sky? How had dwarves and fairies been defeated by humans and lost their era?

Narbakayani wanted to understand that. And so, he decided to experience life as a human.

"Meeting Penelope—that bold human woman—was merely a coincidence."

He took a sip of tea and continued.

"Through her, I tried to understand humans. Compared to the time I've lived, and even to Oscar's, it was nothing more than a fleeting moment—and in the end, it was a failure… but it was a worthwhile experience."

The reason he left behind offspring was, in his own way, a form of compensation. He had concluded that there was nothing more to gain by staying with Penelope, and before leaving, he decided to grant one of her wishes.

At the word wish, Vailen's shoulders trembled. His very existence revealed his mother's choice—and also the choice she had given up.

"As I recall, Penelope had no reason to seek me. If she had felt strongly enough to leave words asking for me, she would have chosen me from the start—not you. She would have asked me to stay. So when you said you came looking for me, I assumed the will was just an excuse—and shedding was your true purpose."

Dragons could change their form into that of other species. But what would happen if they had offspring while in another form?

Usually, the child would be born in that altered form and remain that way until death.

However, in some cases, the original form would reemerge. Because the process resembled shedding a skin, it was called shedding. Hybrids that underwent shedding would take on a form closer to that of a dragon.

Narbakayani asked if that wasn't what he wanted.

"Vailen, is there truly no other reason?"

"…If I said there wasn't, that would be an obvious lie. Of course there is."

Vailen let out a hollow, quiet laugh. The honorific tone had vanished from his voice.

"But… it's also true that I came because you are my father—and to deliver my mother's last words. If you ask which reason came first… I can't even answer that."

He took out a letter wrapped in silk from his chest and held it. It must have been the letter his mother left behind. Narbakayani glanced at it briefly, but nothing more.

"I see. But the order doesn't matter. In the end, the moment you arrived before me, haven't you already achieved all your purposes? You have met your father, you can deliver your mother's will—and if I grant it, I can even complete your shedding."

Vailen let out a deep sigh and tilted his head back.

He saw the sky. The snowstorms of the Ice Peninsula had been so fierce, yet the sky above the garden crafted by the dragon was clear, without a single cloud.

The journey was now nearing its end. Meeting his father, facing his mother's memory, achieving shedding—all of it could be accomplished with just a few words.

"So this is what a dragon is."

Yet what escaped his lips was a long breath closer to a lament.

An emptiness devoid of even the slightest sense of achievement settled within him.

"Laurent, there is something I wish to ask."

"Go ahead."

"What happens if I undergo shedding?"

He was not asking because he truly did not know about shedding.

"It differs from individual to individual. If you are fortunate, you become a complete dragon."

"…You mean I would become like my father?"

"That is highly likely."

"And if I am not fortunate?"

"That also depends on the individual," Ulrich replied.

"You may not become a dragon, but the ambiguity of standing between human and dragon will be resolved. There must be something you expect from it? Most of it will come true. However, the problems remain the same."

Tap, tap—he lightly tapped his own temple with his finger.

Vailen nodded as if he had expected that.

"In the end, you were right, Laurent. I had hoped that coming here would resolve all my problems—but not a single one has been fully resolved. Now I understand why you tried to stop this journey."

"You seem greatly disappointed."

"How could I not be?"

Silence followed, then Ulrich spoke.

"That may not necessarily be true. Perhaps you're mistaken."

Vailen asked with his gaze what he meant.

"Didn't I say? It's a matter of possibility. After shedding, you may become a dragon. And unlike Kayani, you might still be able to understand us. Even if you don't become a dragon, the same applies."

Ulrich added that there were precedents.

"If you become such a being, how about trying what I once did?"

He was referring to the time he wandered the world with a dragon under the name Oscar. Vailen considered it, his expression shifting slightly—but soon he shook his head.

"What would that change?"

"What was the result of my actions?"

"..."

"I didn't travel with Kayani to change him. I simply had no choice but to take him as my companion. And as a result, you now exist in this world. If I had never traveled with him, would you have been born?"

Ulrich stepped closer and placed a hand on Vailen's head.

"There is nothing eternal. Nothing in this world remains unchanged."

Not all dragons had lived alone. The progenitor of dragons, Luo Beidra, and a few others had understood humans.

Though their numbers had been too few to change the fate of their kind, Ulrich said, perhaps it was still possible to change even a single dragon.

"But… what if I come to no longer understand you?"

"You only have one chance. Banares had four."

Vailen trembled.

"And if not, then giving up shedding and holding on might not be a bad choice either. Fortunately, you have quite a lot of time ahead of you. Isn't it worth trying? Rather than being consumed by impulsive boredom, take on an endless challenge. I wouldn't mind guiding you until you grow tired of it—or until your time runs out."

Laurent smiled gently as he stroked Vailen's head, as if recalling a child he had once cared for. Their appearances made it seem as though their roles were reversed, but none of the humans present perceived it that way.

"If that child comes to understand you… if it truly happens… then our journey will have been truly worthwhile."

Ulrich spoke softly.

"And when that time comes, let me know. I have more time than both of you, so I will wait as long as it takes. Descendant of Banares."

Vailen's eyes reddened, and soon tears flowed.

"Yes… I will. Laurent."

Vailen, grandson of King Banares, chose to awaken his father's blood.

He declared to Ulrich and Roberta that once he completed shedding, he would travel the world together with Narbakayani. His remaining vassals chose to follow him.

Narbakayani welcomed the will of his half-blood son. He wondered if perhaps he could learn, through that son, the emotions he had failed to understand in pure humans.

"Will he really succeed?"

Roberta wondered.

She hoped Vailen would achieve his goal—but hope and possibility were different things. Hadn't Ulrich told her? Even the progenitor of dragons had failed to save their kind. Of course, Vailen was not trying to change a species—only a single dragon.

And there was no guarantee he would safely complete shedding. He might fail to become a complete dragon, or lose his humanity entirely.

"No… he can do it. I have to believe that."

She shook her head, scolding herself for foolish thoughts. Vailen was strong. No matter what trials came, he would overcome them.

But she would not live to see the outcome.

She was human—untainted by any other blood. Even if Vailen succeeded, by then she would have long turned to dust.

Such was the life of a human—one that could not even wait.

The only thing she could do was pray in the name of Ganymea. Every day, she offered prayers for those she had formed bonds with in her short life—and now Duke Vailen and his vassals were among them.

Though not devout, she prayed sincerely to Ganymea, who had departed for the heavens. She also hoped that Hestio would return and guide humanity once more.

"Mother Ganymea, please watch over the humans your son has nurtured."

Roberta finished her prayer and stood.

It was dawn, with the first signs of sunrise appearing.

After eight humans departed, fifteen days passed before two returned riding giants. With Ulrich's help, Roberta returned to the city of Freiche.

Thus, the journey to the Ice Peninsula with the visitors from the Kingdom of Carbonihar came to an end.