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Chapter 207 Side Story 3: Baby Dragon, Leto
Jet’s days were so busy he barely had time to breathe.
“Head cook, have you checked the ingredients from the human realm?”
“Yes, Lord Kinain’s been eating better than usual lately. I think we should keep preparing some human-realm dishes alongside the usual.”
“Good. Then we’ll keep bringing them in.”
“Jet-nim! All the palace repairs are finished! The palaces too damaged to fix were all torn down!”
“Well done.”
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that everything happening in the dragon palace passed through his hands once. Dragons paid no mind to such trivial matters — no, more precisely, the only thing a dragon paid mind to was his mate — so a retainer was needed to handle everything else.
In the old days, each of the four clans selected one retainer for the dragon. But in Asad’s era, the Wing Clan was all but extinct, and the Scale Clan retainer who had come in with him had been injured during Asad’s demonization and returned home. Normally the Scale Clan should have chosen a new retainer, but no one wanted to take the seat. Asad left the situation alone with an “if you don’t like it, don’t” attitude, and in the end only Jet and Targen remained to attend Asad.
But honestly, Targen was strong and not much help with anything else, so it was as if Jet was doing everything alone.
“Jet-nim! Could you check this?”
“Jet-nim, is this all right?”
“Jet-nim!”
“Yes, yes… just a moment.”
Jet’s steps halted as he turned toward those calling him.
‘Hm, what’s this?’
Something felt wrong. His vision swayed, and the floor felt like it was sinking beneath him. As if there were an earthquake.
But unless the dragon allowed it, natural disasters like earthquakes didn’t happen inside the dragon palace. Could it be—
‘Surely Lord Asad didn’t cause another accident?’ That was his last thought.
When he opened his eyes, Jet was lying on a bed.
“Jet, are you all right?”
He turned his head toward the voice and saw Kinain looking at him with worry.
“Why am I here…”
“We found you collapsed in the corridor.”
“I collapsed?”
Only then did Jet realize that what he’d felt hadn’t been an earthquake caused by Asad, but dizziness.
He laughed hollowly to himself. Even in the days when Asad went around committing tyrannies like they were meals, he’d never once been sick — so what was this all of a sudden?
“Ahem, then I’ll be going.”
“Yes, thank you for coming.”
“Not at all. Call me anytime.”
Only then did Jet notice one more person present. In the meantime, the Scale Clan doctor bowed to Kinain and left the room. But just before leaving, the doctor’s look at him was strange. It felt like pity, somehow.
What business did a doctor have pitying a patient?
…Could this be something serious?
The sudden thought made his chest tighten. Jet clenched his trembling hands and asked Kinain carefully.
“Lord Kinain, what did the doctor say?”
“Ah, that is…”
“Don’t hide it, tell me. Is it a very serious illness?” Kinain’s eyes wavered. Seeing that, Jet’s heart sank.
The Kinain Jet knew was not a man shaken by ordinary things.
From the first time he’d seen him, Jet had recognized that exceptional mental strength. Even enduring things that would have sent an ordinary person running, Kinain had never once wavered. Back then Jet had admired that side of him while also being wary of it. Back then, he thought a human must not become the dragon’s mate.
If Kinain, of all people, was shaken like this, there could only be one reason.
‘It must be an incurable disease.’
Jet braced himself. He’d written his will the day he became the dragon’s retainer and kept it stored, so there was no need to write it again. What remained was choosing a successor and handing over duties, and that too had been ongoing since the next dragon, Leto, was born, so he only had to finish it up.
The problem was time. He only wished he had enough time left to wrap things up.
“Hmm, the doctor said it’s extremely serious…” Kinain said with a grave face.
“It’s overwork.”
“I knew it… …what?”
Kinain burst out laughing. Only then did Jet realize he’d been teased. That the wavering in Kinain’s eyes had been from holding back laughter, not shock.
A groan escaped his lips.
“Lord Kinain…”
“Haha, sorry. Rest a little and you’ll be fine, so don’t worry.” What made him feel curiosity rather than resentment at being teased was probably that smiling face.
A face like a mischievous boy. Two eyes as clear as a clean lake, laughter without a single shadow. Who could guess what that person had endured, looking at that unscarred, clear face that looked like it had never once received a wound?
When he’d first seen Kinain, he’d seemed like a superman unbent by any hardship. But in this moment, Jet felt he understood that it had been a mask made to hide weakness from others, and that this mischievous, boyish look was the real Kinain.
‘Speaking of which, it’s about time he showed up…’
“What is so amusing?”
“Ah, Asad.”
Of course.
Asad entered the room naturally and embraced Kinain from behind. Just how terrifying was that fiercely glaring face? Unless eyes grew on the back of his head, Kinain would never know.
‘Does Lord Asad plan to keep this up for the rest of his life?’
No matter how much of an alpha he himself was, unless he was out of his mind, would he covet the dragon’s mate?
But no matter how much Jet protested his innocence, Asad’s attitude never changed. Not just Jet — the moment any other alpha was in the same room as Kinain, he’d appear in an instant and shoot them a murderous glare. Honestly it was worse with alphas, but it was the same with everyone else too. The fact that he couldn’t even stand attendants serving Kinain and had ended up doing servants’ work himself was something every spirit in the dragon palace knew.
He’d known a dragon’s obsession toward his mate was extraordinary, but experiencing it firsthand was honestly exhausting. He’d thought it would get better with time, but wasn’t it getting worse?
‘No — not that it’s gotten worse. Maybe he was just holding back before, so it only looked like that.’ In the past, with so many sins committed, he’d watched Kinain’s expression and held himself back. But now that Kinain accepted him, he was showing his true colors more and more.
Thinking about it that way, it was Kinain who was truly remarkable. He calmly accepted an obsession at a level that would have anyone else reeling. Jet had even seen him look at Asad as if he were something very cute and adorable several times…
As they said, not just anyone could be the dragon’s mate — Jet shook his head inwardly.
Meanwhile, Kinain, unaware of Jet’s thoughts, opened his mouth calmly.
“Asad, it would be good to give Jet a vacation.”
“Vacation?”
The word he’d never once considered startled Jet.
Asad, on the other hand, merely kissed Kinain’s cheek with an indifferent expression.
“Yes, whatever you want.”
Asad would grant anything Kinain wanted. So Jet began trying to persuade Kinain.
“Wait, Lord Kinain. I don’t really want to rest. There’s a lot to do, and I’d actually feel more anxious without work…”
Workaholic though he was, Jet loved working. He’d just think about the pile of work waiting for him on vacation anyway, so resting wouldn’t really be resting.
“Hmm, really?”
Kinain stared at Jet, who was waving his hands in refusal. A faint trace of deliberation crossed his pale face. No matter how much Jet said he was fine, he couldn’t ignore the doctor’s advice that he rest for a while.
What could it be? Something light on work, yet too important for Jet to refuse… At that moment, a good idea came to Kinain’s mind.
“Then I’ll assign you different work, Jet.”
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